Trade between Britain and Israel dipped by almost nine per cent in the first four months of 2015.

According to figures from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, bilateral trade between January and April dropped by 8.96 per cent compared to the same period last year.

There was a 13.68 per cent fall in exports from the UK to Israel and a 4.24 per cent decrease in exports from Israel to the UK.

Excluding the trade of services and diamonds, exports from Israel to the UK amounted to £1.08bn; exports from the UK to Israel came to £420m.

Sources attributed the fall to political uncertainty ahead of general elections in both countries.

Hugo Bieber, UK Israel Business chief executive, said he was "surprised" by the results. "I would expect that they are influenced by the elections in both countries. We know that deals were on hold full-stop until after the elections."

A source close to the Israeli embassy emphasised that the dip was unconnected to the BDS movement.

UK-Israel trade amounted to a record-breaking £3.9 bn in 2014, 7 per cent up on the previous year.