Baroness Jenny Jones, a Green Party peer, has said she chose her words "very badly" after telling BBC Question Time Syria used to be a "good place to live" but it has been Western military action has made it one of the worst places on the planet.
She said on Thursday evening: "I have worked and visited Syria many many times. The fact is, it was incredibly stable country, considering it was a vile dictatorship and so on.
"It was actually a very safe stable country. People were repressed, but actually they got on with their lives. There was a lot of employment. Food was cheap. It was a good place to live and believe me, our bombing has made it one of the worst places on earth to live."
On Friday morning, Baroness Jones told The Huffington Post UK: "I chose my words very badly. Dictatorships are never acceptable, and countries with repressive regimes aren’t good places to live, even if they are stable.
"I stand by the fact that continued western interference in the region has brought about increased chaos, war and suffering for people.
"The Assad regimes, father and son, were murderous and repressive, yet things are even more awful now with 250,000 deaths, 11m refugees, communities torn apart, towns and cities flattened.
She added: "I’d be pleased to have a briefing from Syria Solidarity UK to hear more from them."
Since the civil-war began, which has seen fighting between a complex number of groups including the forces of president Bashar al-Assad and Isis, nearly 300,000 people have been killed. Millions have fled to neighbouring countries and to Europe.
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Syrian Civil War Death Toll
Earlier this week it was reported that David Cameron has shelved plans to hold a Commons vote on extending British military strikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria.
Downing Street insisted the government's position has not changed and that it only ever intended to ask MPs to approve expanded bombing if it was convinced it could secure a victory in the vote.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is opposed to a UK bombing campaign in Syria. And the Commons foreign affairs committee also warned the prime minister that it would be a mistake.