The foreign secretary went to great lengths to patch up strained diplomatic relations between Britain and Israel yesterday.

During talks with his counterpart in London, Jack Straw took Silvan Shalom to see the prime minister, showered praise on Israel and announced a change of ambassador to the country after a series fall outs.

Shalom said he saw Britain as a "close friend" his country and that he wanted to restore the "warm relations" that had deteriorated in recent months.