Risk Professional: UK loses patience with Israel over passports

Just three months ago, Miliband, one of two brothers in Parliament, found that the UK is not the unquestioning supporter of Israel that the USA is often portrayed to be. And with an election looming - and public opinion turning against the increasing annexation of Palestinian land and the continued assaults on the Palestinian people and their daily routines, Miliband is being pressed into election mode: interviewed in The Times, he said that he had made repeated suggestions to Israel that it freeze settlements. But Israel "obviously doesn't agree." He went on to say " the corrosive effect of the absence of a Palestinian state is very real."

Little did he know that, as he spoke, in the middle east Mossad agents were trailing Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, using British, Irish and other passports, they tracked him to Dubai and murdered him in a hotel room.

That at least was the case put forward by Dubai police after a detailed investigation which surprised the world by demonstrating just how "wired" Dubai is: film, almost unbroken coverage, of the suspects from their arrival in Dubai until they left, including in the hotel and reconciling film images with immigration footage and scans of passports. Dubai police were "certain" that the murderers were Israeli - and produced evidence to show that the team of 27 used non-Israeli passports, 12 of them British.

Right at the outset, it was clear that the British authorities had been privy to detailed information. The Foreign Office - Miliband's department - made its first statement on the issue declaring the passports to be "fraudulent." Note, it was not said they were "fake."

The case was referred to the UK's most senior domestic law enforcement agency: the Serious and Organised Crime Agency. This is the group set up to take over the handling of such offences when MI5, the domestic spy agency, was reassigned to focus on terrorism; and it's headed by the chap who was at that time the head of "5."

SOCA's report put Miliband in the position where he had no choice but to make a stand, naming Israel as the bad guy.

First, yesterday he called the Israeli Ambassador to the UK into his office - or he would have done if it were anyone else: in this case he "met him in Brussels." Miliband told him that investigations established that "Israel was responsible." He told the Ambassador to send one of his spies home. That's headline grabbing and it's not much of a penalty: embassies have two kinds of spy - those the host government is told about ("declared") and those the host government are told are in the country for some innocuous purpose e.g. "trade secretary." The spy kicked out was on the declared list - and Israel can simply replace him. So it looks good for the public but in truth it's not even a slap on the wrist, particularly to a country that clearly has no regard for the opinions of its hosts. " I handed over a letter seeking a formal assurance from him that in the future the State of Israel would never be party to the misuse of British passports in such a way."

Miliband went further: his department amended the travel warnings on the Foreign and Commonwealth website. Now, right at the top of the Israel page in bold print, it warns British citizens travelling to Israel to be cautious - their passports may be "captured for improper uses while your passport is out of your control." Remember that the Dubai police had scans of the passports used? The FCO goes on "We recommend that you only hand your passport over to third parties including Israeli officials when absolutely necessary." The warning is clear: even at immigration, your passport information is being recorded and may be abused.

The warning also rings alarm bells for travellers - since 11 September 2001, and in many countries before that, hotels have been required to record details of passports. To do so, they take them away and photocopy them. Wary travellers, especially those in anti-fraud industries, have been alert to the risks of this for some time. The Foreign Office's warning covers this situation, too.

Miliband's statement to the House of Commons, made when he was supposed to be at the Israeli Embassy as Guest of Honour at a re-dedication ceremony, said that the full SOCA report would not be released. However, he, the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary had all read it and considered it. He said "The Israeli authorities met all the requests SOCA made of them."

Then came the hammer: "SOCA were drawn to the conclusion that the passports used were copied from genuine British passports when handed over for inspection to individuals linked to Israel, either in Israel or in other countries. They found no link to any other country. The Government judges it is highly likely that the forgeries were made by a State intelligence service. Taking this together with other inquiries and the link to Israel established by SOCA, we have concluded that there are compelling reasons to believe that Israel was responsible for the misuse of the British passports."

For sure, Miliband back peddled on Israel: "The Israeli people crave and deserve legitimacy and security. The United Kingdom will not compromise its support for this."

But at least he has made a stand, albeit one that sounds more impressive than it is and will look good come election time. And the story will be dead by tea-time today because the UK media, at least, will focus on Alistair Darling's budget statement.

The last time Mossad did something so serious, Margaret Thatcher booted them all out of the UK. But then again, re-election was not something she cared about if she felt her actions were justified.