British journalist freed by Hamas in Gaza

A British journalist was freed by the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip today, four weeks after his arrest on suspicion of spying for Israel.

Paul Martin, 55, a film maker, was held while he was in Gaza to give defence evidence in a court case involving a man accused of working with Israeli security services.

A diplomatic convoy today left the Palestinian enclave for Israel, thought to be carrying Martin, a London freelance film-marker and reporter in his fifties with British and South African nationality.

Britain's vice-consul in Jerusalem, Stephen Brown, said: "We're all relieved Paul is out."

Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas official, said: "He is an Israeli spy."