UK 'very closely' examining death of British White Helmets founder who fell to his death in Istanbul following ‘completely untrue’ Russian smear-campaign claiming he was a spy

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A British diplomat has said the UK will look 'very closely' at an investigation into how a former British soldier died in Turkey days after Russia accused him of being a spy.

Detectives believe James Le Mesurier, an ex-Army officer who helped to found the White Helmets civil defence group in Syria, may have fallen to his death from his home in Istanbul.

Karen Pierce, the UK's representative to the United Nations, called Mr Le Mesurier a 'true hero' and 'real humanitarian', adding that claims he was a spy were 'categorically untrue'.

Karen Pierce (pictured), the United Kingdom's Ambassador to the United Nations, speaks during an emergency UN Security Council meeting called by the UK to discuss developments in the Salisbury nerve agent attack in New York on 6 September 2018. Pierce has said the United Kingdom will be 'looking very closely' into Mr Le Mesurier's death. She added that accusations against the late humanitarian, labelling him a spy, are 'categorically untrue' 

The sealed entrance of the home where Mr Le Mesurier was found dead, photographed yesterday morning. Mr Le Mesurier's body was found while his wife lay asleep in bed. It's not currently known which balcony he fell from

Last week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Mr Le Mesurier of being a former British agent working in the Balkans and the Middle East.

She accused him of being a 'former agent of Britain's MI6' and working for the agency in the Balkans, Middle East and Kosovo.   

The White Helmets have been a favourite target of pro-Syrian and pro-Russian groups who have accused the group of supporting terrorists in Syria and doctoring footage of atrocities committed by regime forces - claims strongly denied by its supporters.

Mr Le Mesurier's wife, Emma Winberg (pictured in 2005), is the director of Mayday Rescue. She revealed yesterday that her husband had been the target of a years-long smear campaign orchestrated by the Russian government

Mr Le Mesurier had also been a key target of propaganda released by pro-Assad activists and Russian diplomats for years, which had branded him as an MI6 spy working for al-Qaeda, reports The Times.      

Dame Karen told reporters on Monday: 'The causes of death at the moment are unclear.

'We will be looking very closely to see how the investigation goes. I hope the Turkish authorities will be able to investigate thoroughly, and I'm sure we'll want to give them any assistance they might require.

'I do just want to take the opportunity though to say on the record that the Russian charges against him, that came out of the Foreign Ministry that he was a spy, are categorically untrue.'

The Istanbul governor's office said 'comprehensive administrative and judicial investigations into Le Mesurier's death have been initiated'.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said police established that no one had entered or left his home at the time of the incident, and believe he may have fallen to his death.

His body was found near his home in the Beyoglu district by worshippers on their way to a mosque, according to reports by Anadolu.

Mr Le Mesurier was the founder and chief executive of May Day Rescue, which started and trained the White Helmets, also known as the Syria Civil Defence.

Russian Foreign Ministry's Spokesperson Maria Zakharova gives a weekly press briefing in October this year. Russia has been a critical voice against the White Helmets movement and has accused them of being a front for Western security services. Zakharova, pictured, alleged last week that Mr Le Mesurier was a former agent of British intelligence operating in the Middle East

He fell from a balcony on the block of flats where he lived with his wife. (Pictured: A Turkish police officer stands guard outside the offices. It is not known which balcony he jumped from) 

The White Helmets group confirmed his death on its Facebook page, and offered 'deepest condolences' to his family.

The group, which has had more than 3,000 volunteers in opposition-held areas, says it has saved thousands of lives since 2013 and documented Syrian government attacks on civilians and other infrastructure.

The 48-year-old was under 'intense stress' and had suffered a years-long Russian smear campaign against him, his wife Emma Winberg revealed yesterday.  

Winberg, who works as the director of Mayday Rescue, told police that he had been taking medication because he was under 'intense stress' and that the pair moved to the area to be near a medical centre, Anadolu reported.  

His death is being treated as suspected suicide, Turkish security sources said on Monday, but there are claims it was a state-sponsored hit.  

BBC journalist Mark Urban reported that there was a 'good level' of suspicion that his death may be 'murder by a state actor' - but he added that others had suggested he may have taken his own life. 

Mr Le Mesurier, who was also a British Army officer and established Mayday Rescue that helped train the White Helmets in 2013, was honoured by the Queen with an OBE in 2016. 

His wife said he had been taking medicine to help with 'extreme stress', reports Anadolu, although suspicions that he was murdered have also been raised. (Pictured: Police forensic officials work at the site in central Istanbul's Beyoglu district today)

Just three days ago, Mr Le Mesurier was accused of being a spy in a tweet by the Russian Foreign Ministry

His body was found at 4.30am local time on Monday morning, (1.30am GMT) on the street in front of an office building used by Mayday Rescue that also doubles-up as his home.

The humanitarian's wife has told police that he had been taking medicine to treat 'intense stress' and that they moved to the area to be near the health centre, Anadolu reported.

It has also been alleged that these were anti-depressant pills, according to Turkey's DHA news agency.

Mr Le Mesurier took the pills before going to bed, reports German publication Bild.

Pictured:A woman looks at the house of former British army officer James Le Mesurier who helped found the 'White Helmets' volunteer organization in Syria, after his body was found, in Istanbul, Monday, 11 Novembers, 2019. Mr Le Mesurier's body was found outside his flat at 4.30am local time, pictured on the right. It is not known which balcony he fell from

Police officers stand guard outside the flat yesterday. Suspicion surrounds the death of the Good Samaritan, with some alleging it was murder by 'a state actor'

Police officers and members of the public outside Mr Le Mesurier's home on Monday morning. Amnesty International UK has called for a 'proper investigation' into the death

His wife said they had been up until 4am (1am GMT). 

After going to bed, she said she was woken by a doorbell and saw her husband's body from the open window of their third floor apartment. 

Their home is only accessible by fingerprint identification, reports Middle East Eye, and only Mr Le Mesurier and his wife were in at the time according to Turkish police.

They have also established that no one had entered or left his home at the time of his death, Anadolu reported. 

The Istanbul governor's office has launched a 'comprehensive administrative and judicial investigation' into Mr Le Mesurier's death, as his body waits for an autopsy.  

Amnesty International UK's Syrian Campaign Manager has called for a 'proper investigation' into the tragic circumstances of the campaigner's death.

'In helping to found the White Helmets, Le Mesurier was instrumental in saving the lives of thousands of Syrian civilians.

'The brave men and women of the White Helmets have repeatedly risked their own lives to dig people out of the rubble after devastating Syrian Government and Russian airstrikes on homes, market-places and hospitals.' 

A police seal hangs from the door of the house of Mr Le Mesurier yesterday in Istanbul

Police officers pictured outside the home yesterday. They have said that no one entered or left the property at the time he fell, reported Anadolu

Police secure tape near Mr Le Mesurier's home yesterday morning in Istanbul, Turkey, after his death

Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a cabinet meeting in Moscow, Russia, Monday, 11 November 2019. Russia has regularly condemned the White Helmets and accused them of falsifying video evidence of attacks on civilians carried out by Putin's forces in Syria

Mr Le Mesurier had set up volunteer led organisations the White Helmets and Mayday Rescue, which had more than 3,000 members and worked to rescue and administer medical assistance to civilians in areas that had been bombed by the Assad regime and its Russian backers.

The humanitarian shared tweets online of bombed out hospitals and overturned ambulances which were alleged to have been hit by Russian and Syrian Regime forces.

He has also received funding from the British Foreign Office along with other western governments including Norway and the Netherlands for his work.

And he has campaigned for the UN to investigate the Human Rights situation in Syria, which the UN General Assembly voted to allow last week.  

The White Helmets expressed their 'deepest condolences and 'sorrow' to his family, as well as their 'solidarity' in a post on Twitter this morning. 

'We have learned with shock and sadness the news of the death of James Le Mesurier, founder and director of the humanitarian organisation Mayday Rescue, early on Monday at his home in Tophane in Istanbul, Turkey', they said on Twitter.

'The Syrian Civil Defense family extends its deepest condolences to the James family, and we express our deepest sorrow and solidarity with his family.

'As we also must commend his humanitarian efforts which Syrians will always remember.'

In this image taken from file video, showing James Le Mesurier, founder and director of Mayday Rescue, talks to the media during training exercises in southern Turkey, March 19, 2015. Known officially as Syria Civil Defence, the White Helmets are a voluntary search-and-rescue group formed to respond to bombings by Syrian government forces

The Mayday Rescue team, which was headed by Mr Le Mesurier as its CEO, said it was 'heartbroken' to confirm that its founder had died and called for 'restraint' in speculation as to the cause of his death.

'Please give James's family, friends, colleagues time and space to grieve the terrible loss to his family, Mayday and the world,' they said. 

'Remember James as the great leader, visionary, friend, father, husband and son that he was.'

The head of the White Helmets, Raed al-Salah told The Independent that the group is 'devastated' by his death and heralded Mr Le Mesurier as a 'close friend to us and to the Syrian people'.

'We were informed by his family that he had died', said al-Salah.

'As of now, the police are investigating the case and have drawn no conclusions yet. We are waiting for the police report.'  

The Director of Doctors Under Fire campaign group and personal friend, Hamish de Bretton-Fordon, told the BBC that his death is 'absolutely tragic' as he is 'one of the few people who have made a humanitarian footprint in Syria'.

On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted: 'The White Helmets' co-founder, James Le Mesurier, is a former agent of Britain's MI6, who has been spotted all around the world, including in the Balkans and the MiddleEast. 

'His connections to terrorist groups were reported back during his mission in Kosovo.' 

He was honoured by the Queen with an OBE in 2016 for 'services to the Syria Civil Defence group and the protection of civilians in Syria'.

He formed the voluntary search-and-rescue group called the White Helmets, which says it has rescued more than 100,000 civilians during Syria's brutal civil war.

Known officially as the Syria Civil Defence, the group numbering more than 3,000 sends volunteers into bombed areas to help rescue trapped civilians and administer medical treatment.

It has lost 252 volunteers to date and more than 500 have been wounded. 

The group was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 and received the Right Livelihood Award in recognition of 'outstanding bravery, compassion and humanitarian engagement in rescuing civilians'.

Mr Le Mesurier told Al Jazeera in 2015 that he had begun training and supporting the organisation in early 2013 alongside Turkish rescue experts, starting with 'a single team of 20 people'.

'I was working in Istanbul... and got together with a group of Turkish earthquake rescue volunteers,' he said. 

The White Helmets quickly expanded, and are credited with saving tens of thousands of lives during Syria's conflict.

A documentary about the group won an Academy Award in 2017.

The White Helmets have become a favourite target of pro-Syrian and pro-Russian groups. 

They have accused the group of supporting terrorists in Syria and doctoring footage of atrocities committed by regime forces - claims strongly denied by its supporters. 

On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted: 'The White Helmets' co-founder, James Le Mesurier, is a former agent of Britain's MI6, who has been spotted all around the world, including in the Balkans and the MiddleEast. 

'His connections to terrorist groups were reported back during his mission in Kosovo.'

Who are Syria's White Helmets?

Founded in 2013, the Syria Civil Defence, or White Helmets, is a network of first responders that rescues the wounded in the aftermath of air strikes, shelling or explosions in rebel-held territory. 

The White Helmets have rescued an estimated 100,000 civilians that were trapped under rubble or caught up in fighting in battered opposition-held zones along various fronts of Syria's seven-year conflict.

Since its formation, when Syria's conflict was nearing its third year, more than 252 of its volunteers have died and more than 500 have been wounded.

The group's motto -- 'To save one life is to save all of humanity' -- is drawn from a verse in the Koran, although the White Helmets insist they treat all victims, regardless of religion.

A wounded White Helmets volunteer evacuates his injured colleague following a reported air strike on the rebel-controlled town of Hammuriyeh in 2017

Some members have received training abroad, including in Turkey, returning to instruct colleagues on search-and-rescue techniques.

The group receives funding from a number of governments, including Britain, Germany and the United States, but also solicits individual donations to purchase equipment such as its signature hard hats.

Three years ago, a Netflix production called 'The White Helmets' won an Academy Award for best short documentary.

A second film on the group, named 'Last Men in Aleppo,' was nominated for an Oscar in 2018.