Labour is entangled in a fresh row over Israel after it emerged that Jeremy Corbyn has refused to attend an official dinner with the the country’s prime minister this week to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, which helped to pave the way for a Jewish nation state.

The Labour leader’s snub came as Israel’s ambassador to London told The Sunday Times that those who oppose the historic declaration are “extremists” who reject Israel’s right to exist and could be viewed on a par with terrorist groups such as Hamas.

The ambassador, Mark Regev, also suggested a “vocal minority” of British students and academics are still intent upon the destruction of Israel, 70 years after the country came into being.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli