A FOREIGN mercenary allegedly funded by the United Arab Emirates targeted a British Muslim activist in London, an investigation revealed on Wednesday evening.

Activist and academic Anas al-Tikriti said he felt physically sick when he found out he was being surveilled by a dual Hungarian-Israeli citizen, who was at the head of private security firm Spear Operations Group.

Abraham Golan reportedly received millions of dollars from UAE to carry out the operation in 2016 against Mr Tikriti, who is also the chief executive of the Cordoba Foundation think tank, according to an investigation by ITV News.

Financial records seen by the news channel showed that the alleged mercenary was receiving payments from UAE while carrying out the surveillance operation.

Living in the US at the time, Mr Golan was being paid a six-figure annual retainer and bonuses, including a payment of $1m (about £700,000), weeks before travelling to London ahead of an operation in Yemen.

Mr Golan previously worked with a former US special forces operative to track Mr Tikriti, according to ITV, which said its investigation was based on testimony from witnesses, emails, Whatsapp messages and financial records.

He was also said to have told a British strategist, who was helping him target the activist, that he was working with the UAE, which believed Mr Tikriti and his foundation to be aligned with so-called terrorist groups.

Mr Golan offered his London contact £50,000 to help locate Mr Tikriti, later increasing it to £100,000.

He also allegedly discussed a potential plan to physically eliminate Mr Tikriti, before making a hand gesture across his throat.

The London contact decided to withdraw from the operation after this conversation, after which Mr Golan left Britain for the US adding that his “team” remained in London.

Mr Tikriti said he felt “physically sick” after being shown information collected by the alleged mercenary, adding: “At the time, my children were three and one-and-a-half years old.”

The campaigner was involved in Stop the War Coalition protests against the 2003 invasion of Iraq, later becoming the organisation’s vice-president.

His Cordoba Foundation says it is “bridging the gap of understanding between the Muslim World and the West” but has previously been accused of links to the Muslim Brotherhood.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is our longstanding policy not to comment on security and intelligence matters.”