A former colleague and friend of Harold Wilson has expressed dismay that veteran Labour MP Sir Gerald Kaufman has been handed a role in organising events to mark the centenary of the former Prime Minister's birth.

Sir Gerald, who was part of Lord Wilson's inner-circle during the 1970s but is now a vociferous critic of Israel, has been asked to join the committee planning events including a lunch in the Speaker's House and a lecture at Oxford's Bodleian Library.

Lady Cocks said she would not sit with Sir Gerald at any commemoration event given his anti-Israel views. She said: "Gerald and I have quarreled for years. The things he has said about Israel and Jews lately are beyond the pale."

Lady Cocks revealed that Lord Wilson's widow, Lady Wilson, had attempted a reconciliation by asking Sir Gerald to "make friends" with her at a memorial event in Westminster Abbey.

Lady Cocks said: "Gerald came over and said: 'Valerie, I would very much like to make friends.' I told him, if he were the last person on earth I would not make friends with him."