**Gordon Brown has called for a “full investigation” into how fraudulent British passports were allegedly used by the killers of a Hamas commander.**Six Israel-based UK citizens have said they had nothing to do with the murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.
The Gulf state believes 11 “agents with European passports” were responsible.
Lib Dem MP Sir Menzies Campbell wants Israel to explain claims its security service Mossad was involved. Israel says there is no proof of this.
The UK prime minister told London’s LBC 97.3 FM radio station: "We have to carry out a full investigation into this.
"The evidence has to be assembled about what actually happened, about how it happened and why.
“The British passport is an important part of being British and we have to make sure everything is being done to protect it.”
ANALYSIS
Katya Adler, BBC Middle East correspondentIsrael is alive with rumour as to whether Israel’s intelligence service, Mossad, murdered Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.Mossad has used fraudulent foreign passports and stolen identities to carry out its missions in the past, provoking diplomatic rows with a number of friendly countries.
Former Israeli secret service officer, Gad Shimron, says agents steal identities to escape tougher security checks. But would Mossad want to point the finger at innocent Israeli citizens
At least five of the names listed by Dubai match those of Israeli dual nationals.
Maybe Mossad thought this was a clear way, without making a public declaration, of letting the world know it organised the murder - thereby sending a warning to Israel’s enemies abroad.
It is possible another country masterminded the attack, designing it to look like a clumsy Mossad operation. Or maybe Israel co-operated with others.
Pictures of ‘11 Europeans’
Israel’s ‘covert killing’ history
Earlier, Sir Menzies had called for the Foreign Office to summon the Israeli ambassador to give an explanation, amid suggestions Mossad agents used the fraudulent passports to carry out the killing.
“If the Israeli government was party to behaviour of this kind it would be a serious violation of trust between nations,” he said.
Hugo Swire, chairman of the Conservative Middle East Council, said he wanted a “full investigation” and that the British government should demand evidence of the Israeli and Dubai intelligence services.
But Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Army Radio: “There is no reason to think that it was the Israeli Mossad, and not some other intelligence service or country up to some mischief.”
Israel had a “policy of ambiguity” on intelligence matters, he added.
The UK Foreign Office believes the six British passports used were fraudulent and is investigating.
Other Britons in Israel who share names with the suspects are James Leonard Clarke, Stephen Daniel Hodes, Michael Lawrence Barney and Jonathan Lewis Graham. They all deny involvement in the killing.
Salford-born Mr Hodes, 37, who lives in Israel, told the BBC he was “in shock”.
“I don’t know how they got my details, who took them. I haven’t left the country, I think, for two years and I’ve never been to Dubai ever. I don’t know who’s behind this. I am just scared, these are major forces,” he said.
A “shocked” Mr Barney, 54, told the Daily Mail he had undergone a quadruple heart bypass and was “not exactly spy material”.
Mr Mildiner, 31, told the Jerusalem Post he was “angry” his identity had apparently been stolen.
“Clearly it isn’t me. It doesn’t look like me,” he said.
"The details are not correct. The date of birth is wrong. I’ve never been to Dubai.
“I went to bed with pneumonia and woke up a murderer,” he said.
Kent-born Mr Keeley, 42, a builder who has lived on a Kibbutz in northern Israel for the past 15 years, told the Daily Telegraph newspaper it was “all very worrying” but he had done nothing wrong.
‘Professional hit’
“I immediately looked to make sure my passport was still there and it was,” he said.
Mr Graham, who the Daily Mail said was from north London but lived near Jerusalem, told the paper: “It’s not me.”
Their family names are not common in Israel, according to BBC’s Middle East correspondent Katya Adler.
Ireland’s government says it has been unable to identify suspects Gail Folliard, Evan Dennings and Kevin Daveron as “genuine Irish citizens”.
Another two men, one using a French passport and one using a German passport, are also under suspicion. The French and German governments have also reportedly raised doubts over their identities.
Mr Mabhouh was murdered in his hotel room in Dubai on 20 January.
Reports have suggested he was in Dubai to buy weapons for the Palestinian Islamist movement, Hamas. Hamas has accused Israeli agents of killing him.
Two Palestinian suspects were being questioned about the murder. Police said they had “fled to Jordan” after the killing, without releasing their names.
Officials in Dubai, who have issued arrest warrants, said the team appeared to be a professional hit squad, probably sponsored by a foreign power.
They released CCTV footage which they said showed some of the suspects in disguises, including wigs and false beards, in the hotel near Dubai’s international airport.
The suspects allegedly trailed Mr Mabhouh when he arrived in Dubai from Syria, paid for everything in cash and used various mobile phones.