WH Smith has apologised after it was revealed to have stocked copies of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion in a branch in an Omani airport.

The British retail giant told the JC that the antisemitic forgery, which purports to describe a Jewish conspiracy for global domination, has been removed from its shelves.

A member of the public alerted this newspaper after noticing copies of the book in Arabic on sale in WH Smith in Muscat International Airport.

It is unclear how it came to be stocked by the store.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, told the JC: “It’s bad enough seeing the Protocols for sale in every bookstore in the Gulf without WH Smith joining in.

“I was less surprised than disappointed. I would have expected WH Smith to have higher standards.”

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a fabricated antisemitic text first published in Russia in 1903 which was disseminated internationally before being exposed as fraudulent by The Times in 1921.

It was claimed to be the minutes of a late 19th-century clandestine meeting in which Jewish leaders discussed their goal of global Jewish hegemony by controlling the press and the world economy.

WH Smith said: “WH Smith has strict guidelines on the books it sells, and it is against our policy to stock books which incite hatred.

“We apologise sincerely on behalf of our local operator in Muscat International Airport and the book is being removed immediately.”