New papers released by the National Archives reveals Tony Blair's government feared the Israeli army was "out of control", and that the British Library sought to buy the official records of a notorious double agent.

British Government documents are passed to the archives after 20 years and, after processing are released to the public though classified material may be redacted or withheld entirely.

The latest files have been made public on Tuesday, and here are some of the things they show.

Blair government feared IDF soldiers were 'out of control'

Tony Blair (right) with then Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, outside Downing StreetTony Blair (right) with then Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, outside Downing Street (Image: Toby Melville/PA Wire)

During the Second Intifada, Israel sent troops into the occupied West Bank and laid siege to the compound of Yasser Arafat, the leader of Fatah and president of the Palestinian National Authority.

The papers released show both the UK and US governments showing frustration with the death toll and the actions of the Israeli army.

In one heated meeting, the British ambassador in Tel Aviv told a senior Israeli adviser that the IDF’s conduct “was more worthy of the Russian army than of that of a supposedly civilised country”.

Sherard Cowper-Coles told Danny Ayalon, the foreign police advisor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, that the offensive, part of Operation Defensive Shield, was a "major strategic mistake".

He told Mr Avalon that "individual soldiers were out of control and committing acts which were outraging international opinion", such as broadcasting a pornographic video on Palestinian television, knowing it would be deeply offensive to devout Muslims.

Read More:

One senior British Army officer said the IDF was “a second-rate, ill-disciplined, swaggering and bullying force” with troops regularly using “excessive force” against stone-throwing Palestinian youths.

The unnamed soldier said: "The only area where individuals have been held accountable is where IDF actions have resulted in the deaths of their own as opposed to the deaths of Palestinians.

“They look down on the Arabs and despise them. It needs to be said that the average Israeli does not value an Arab life as equal to a Jewish one.

“Combine the proud IDF ethos with a situation where the enemy are lesser mortals and you will get the results we now see.”

Notes from a telephone call between Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush show frustration on the part of the latter.

The note says: "The Israelis were trying to fight a 21st century war with 20th century techniques. Sending tanks into alleyways was simply a PR disaster.

“The US had tried to persuade Sharon privately, but he just would not listen. The bottom line was that Sharon was undermining the US’s ability to pursue the war on terrorism. That was not the action of a good ally.”

British Library wanted to buy Kim Philby papers

Kim Philby

The British Library was willing to pay tens of thousands of pounds to the widow of double-agent Kim Philby for the spy's personal archive.

Viewed as the most successful member of the Cambridge Five spy ring, he passed secrets to the Soviet Union during World War II and the early days of the Cold War.

In his role as MI6 liaison with the CIA he passed information to the USSR including plans for a coup in Albania which ultimately failed.

After being definitively unmasked in 1962 he fled to Moscow and was granted asylum - many speculate was flight was ignored by MI6 to avoid the embarrassment of a public trial.

The papers reveal the British Library wished to acquire his personal archive in a deal worth £68,000 to his widow.

The library sought to reassure the government that no public money would be involved and that they were seeking a “benefactor” who would finance the purchase.

But the then cabinet secretary, Sir Robin Butler, warned even that would be unacceptable, writing: “I doubt whether this is a transaction that the British Library should promote or even whether they should agree to receive the papers.”

The library was first approached by his Russian fourth wife, Rufina, in 1993.

She was asking £68,000 for the collection which included details of a course Philby – a former senior MI6 officer – had run following his defection to the Soviet Union for KGB agents preparing to deploy to the UK.

There were also letters from the novelist Graham Greene, a friend from his MI6 days, and a history of the Communist Party signed by his fellow defector and double agent Guy Burgess with the alias “Jim Eliot”.

In the Cabinet Office, officials feared a public backlash if such a deal was agreed, even if no public money was involved.

One official, Jon Sibson, warned: “I suspect that there might be something of an outcry if it became known that a public body was involved even in this way in a transaction which would enrich a traitor’s widow.”

The plan was quietly dropped and Rufina Philby later sold the collection at Sotheby's for £150,000.

Blair refused television debate

Ahead of the general election in 2001, Tory leader William Hague and the Liberal Democrats’ Charles Kennedy sought to hold a televised debate, commonplace in America and now a feature of UK elections.

However, Mr Blair's advisors urged him to refuse.

His parliamentary private secretary Bruce Grocott wrote to the prime minister advising they were an “irrelevance” which would have no impact on the outcome.

He said: “The country with the most experience of TV election debates is the United States and the practice shows that they are neither informative, illuminating, entertaining nor in any way significant in determining the election outcome."

Mr Blair's successor, Gordon Brown, eventually agreed to a televised debate ahead of the 2010 election.

Blair bus

Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie Booth, preparing to board the party's battle bus at WestminsterTony Blair and his wife, Cherie Booth, preparing to board the party's battle bus at Westminster (Image: Sean Dempsey/PA Wire)

Plans to have a dedicated jet for the Prime Minister as akin to the one the US uses for its Presidents are well-documented - the scheme was even dubbed 'Blair Force One'.

That plan was dropped in 2008, but the National Archive papers reveal that a permanent 'Battle Bus' was also on the cards.

In February 2000, cabinet officials suggested a permanent campaign bus with secure telecoms, including fax and email, as well as TV with a video recorder and a high volume photocopier, with space for the Prime Minister to change clothes or to consult advisers.

The idea was, however, greeted with some nervousness, amid concerns about the likely public reaction.

On official noted “OK to scope very privately” adding that it was “not a large priority”. It appears that the idea did not progress any further.