The UK’s intelligence agency GCHQ carried out surveillance on the Israeli military, defence firms and diplomatic missions, French newspaper Le Monde has reported, based on leaked documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden.

“The Israelis constitute a true threat to regional security, in particular because of the position of this country with respect to the Iranian dossier,” a top secret file from Britain’s intelligence-gathering unit reportedly read, despite the UK’s professed support for Israel and the closeness between the two countries.

The document dates from 2009, when a Labour government led by Prime Minister Gordon Brown was in office. Mr Snowden worked for GCHQ’s American equivalent, the NSA, before releasing classified documents and fleeing abroad in 2013.