Who is Bashar al-Assad's wife Asma? How his British-born wife gave up a job in banking to become a key figure in his tyrannical regime before fleeing Syria as their reign ended days before their 24th

On the run after the collapse of her husband Bashar Al Assad's dynasty, the former First Lady of Syria was once called 'A Rose in the Desert' but now she is a figure of reviled hatred likened to Lady Macbeth. On the international stage Mrs Assad cut a demure figure, with her understated attire and photogenic looks, her veilless face was emblematic of Syria's reputation for relative freedom for women in a Muslim country. Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma al-Assad pose during a visit to the Great Wall of China at Badaling on June 22, 2004 For years Asma was the face of female liberation in the Middle East; with her successful career in banking and her secular British upbringing The couple during a visit to Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria, on April 28, 2009 But the next year war broke out in Syria between rebels and Assad's regime over his brutally repressive regime and the reputation of the country as open and secular was trashed. The couple have three children, who are aged between 19 and 23, and are presumed to be with their parents trying to find a safe haven Pictured is the house of the Ahkras family in West London Al-Assad and his wife Asma arrive at official lunch held at the Hotel Marigny in Paris, France on July 14, 2008 Syrian president al-Assad and his wife Asma visit the Sednaya convent, and meet with children and religious personalities on Christmas day, in Sednaya, near Damascus, Syria on December 25, 2016 Asma became one and the same with the Syrian regime's terrible suppression of its people A personal low for her was when Vogue pulled its interview with her from its website in 2012 after public backlash to the war in Syria. Her empire also extended to the distribution of foreign aid - effectively she controlled who got what when With rumours swirling that she and her husband are seeking haven in despotic regimes such as Russia and Iran, her once gilded facade has been torn asunder utterly The home of Mrs Assad's parents in West London, is a spacious terrace, with a brown stone front and white Edwardian glass panelled bay windows.