Yehuda Avner, a former ambassador to the UK and senior adviser to a succession of Israeli prime ministers, died aged 86 on Tuesday.

Born in Manchester in 1928, Mr Avner moved to Jerusalem in 1956, before joining the Israeli Foreign Service.

During a long diplomatic career, he served as speechwriter to five Israeli prime ministers, including Menachem Begin and Golda Meir, and worked at the Israeli Consulate in New York and the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC. After his ambassadorial post in the UK, he was envoy to Australia.

He won acclaim in 2010 when he published The Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership, a candid account of his career as a political aide.

His son-in-law, David Sable, called Mr Avner "a true servant of the Jewish people. His legacy is Medinat Yisrael, the State of Israel, to which he dedicated his life". Israeli envoy to the UK Daniel Taub said: "Yehuda Avner will be deeply missed as a consummate diplomat who represented Israel … I have been truly privileged to have enjoyed his guidance and friendship."