President Shimon Peres said on Wednesday that the arrest warrant issued against opposition leader Tzipi Livni in Britain was one of the country's biggest political mistakes in recent years.

Israel's government confirmed on Tuesday that Livni canceled a planned London trip this month after her office received news of a secretly issued arrest warrant awaiting her arrival.

Peres said before heading for the Copenhagen climate conference to represent Israel, that London has pledged to remedy this situation, and it is high time they did it.
Britain pledged Tuesday to reform the peculiar legal power that lets judges order the arrest of visiting politicians and generals - a threat currently focused on Israeli visitors that, one day, might be invoked against Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin.

Lawyers working with Palestinian activists in recent years have sought the arrest of senior Israeli civilian and military figures under terms of universal jurisdiction. This ill-defined legal concept empowers judges to issue arrest warrants for visiting officials accused of war crimes in a foreign conflict.

Their latest target is Tzipi Livni, Israel's former foreign minister and current opposition leader, who staunchly defends Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband later announced that Britain would no longer tolerate legal harassment of Israeli officials in this fashion.

Speaking after meeting Israel's London ambassador Tuesday night, Miliband said the British law permitting judges to issue arrest warrants against foreign dignitaries without any prior knowledge or advice by a prosecutor must be reviewed and reformed.

Miliband said the British government was determined that arrest threats against visitors of Livni's stature would not happen again.

"Israel is a strategic partner and a close friend of the United Kingdom. We are determined to protect and develop these ties," Miliband said. "Israeli leaders - like leaders from other countries - must be able to visit and have a proper dialogue with the British government."

By Barak Ravid