Brown tells Livni she is "always welcome" in Britain

Dec 16, 2009, 15:26 GMT

London - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stepped into the row with Israel over an arrest warrant for ex-foreign minister Tzipi Livni Wednesday assuring her that she would 'always be welcome' in Britain.

Brown, who is at the Copenhagen climate summit, gave the assurance in a telephone call to Livni Wednesday in which he told her he was 'disappointed' that she had been unable to visit Britain, a government spokesman in London said.

Meanwhile, the government reaffirmed that it was considering changes to legislation that grants courts universal jurisdiction in war crimes cases to lift the potential threat of detention from visiting foreign politicians.

The assurance, given in parliament by Deputy Prime Minister Harriet Harman, came as tensions were high in relations with Israel over the arrest warrant for Livni issued by a district judge in London.

Israel had called on Britain to review the 2001 International Criminal Court Act, which gives courts in England and Wales the power to detain people suspected of war crimes anywhere in the world.

Livni cancelled a visit to London last weekend after it emerged that a magistrate had issued a warrant for her arrest - most likely at the request of pro-Palestinian groups - which was later revoked.

The procedure has raised a storm of protest in Israel and soured relations with London. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said late Tuesday that the government was seeking to change the law to 'avoid this arising again.'

He described Israel as a 'strategic partner' and a 'close friend' whose leaders should be free to travel to Britain.