A SENIOR producer in the BBC’s Jerusalem office has been barred from Israel because of his role in an interview conducted with the nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu just weeks after his release from prison.

The Israeli authorities have not renewed Simon Wilson’s visa, so preventing him from returning to his job as deputy chief of the Jerusalem bureau.

Talks between Israeli officials and the BBC in London have so far failed to resolve the row, which has rumbled on since Mr Wilson was due to fly back after his visa expired last month.

Israel’s nuclear weapons have been a thorny issue for the broadcaster.The latest spat flared after Peter Hounam, a journalist on The Sunday Times, helped to conduct an interview with Mr Vanunu, who is banned from speaking to foreign journalists as a condition of his release. The interview, intended for broadcast on the BBC, was filmed last May by an independent company. It led to Mr Hounam’s arrest before he was told that he could leave.

Israeli officials said that Mr Wilson, who was acting BBC bureau chief at the time, was asked to submit the material to the censor because of fears that Mr Vanunu might harm national security with revelations about the Dimona plant.

Israeli government sources said that the BBC man ignored the request. The BBC said in a statement that it was still in negotiations with the Israeli Government. Assaf Shariv, a spokesman for Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister, said that the affair was still under review.

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