The wife of a British man linked to the murder of Hamas military leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh has said her husband was not involved in the assassination.

Dubai has identified Melvyn Adam Mildiner as one of six British passport holders believed to have been involved in the death of al-Mabhouh in a luxury hotel.

Speaking from their home near Jerusalem, Melvyn Mildiner's wife said: “It wasn’t him. He’s never been to Dubai. The pictures that are being shown everywhere are not of him. It is not his passport. He has it here in the house.”

She claimed her husband, who was born in Britain and attended Newbury Park Synagogue in Essex, was suffering from pneumonia and was unable to speak.

The British Foreign Office said its officials were “seeking further information”.

Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs told Associated Press that the three Irish citizens allegedly involved in the plot “do not exist”.

The names of Gail Folliard, Evan Dennings and Kevin Daveron do not appear in Ireland's records of legitimate passport holders. The department said the passports shown by Dubai officials were counterfeits with the wrong number of digits and no letters.

The other Britons named by Dubai police are Stephen Daniel Hodes, Paul John Keeley, Michael Lawrence Barney, James Leonard Clarke, and Jonathan Louis Graham.

The gang, wearing tennis clothes, and some in glasses, fake beards and wigs are now said to be on the run. They are believed to have arrived on separate planes and spent less than a day in the country.

Other members of the gang were using French and German passports.

Mr al-Mabhouh was found suffocated in his hotel room. CCTV footage released of the assassination shows the assassins following him in the elevator and checking into a room across the hall.

Four of the assassins broke into his room while he was out and pounced on his return.

Dubai has allegedly told Hamas to steer clear of the investigation, but Hamas has opened its own inquiry with the help of Syria and Iran. Hamas would not confirm that Mr al-Mabhouh had been en route to Iran.

In 1997, Mossad agents were caught using Canadian passports during a failed assassination attempt on Hamas official Khalid Mashall in Jordan.