'Mossad chief will apologise' over UK passport fraud

The new head of Israel's secret service is ready to apologise for the use of forged British passports during the assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai, reports The Telegraph newspaper.

LONDON // The new head of Israel's secret service is ready to apologise for the use of forged British passports during the assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai, The Telegraph newspaper reported yesterday.

The report, citing "Mossad insiders", said Tamir Pardo, who took over as Mossad's chief this month, will promise that Israeli agents will never again be allowed to use fake British documents during operations abroad. The Israeli government had no official reaction yesterday to the report.

Mr Pardo's apology during a visit to London, expected early in January, would be the first official acknowledgement by Israel that it was behind the assassination. It is part of a drive to rebuild relations with the UK government, The Telegraph reported.

In March, Britain expelled Mossad's station chief in London after an investigation blamed Israel's secret service for cloning 12 British passports found among 26 forged identity documents used by the hit squad that murdered Mahmoud al Mabhouh.

Mr Pardo, 57, is said to regard the expulsion of the official as a blow. Since then, collaboration between Mossad and the British agencies responsible for security at home and abroad, MI5 and MI6, has been dented.