"(Interior) Minister (Avraham) Poraz took the decision today because he is convinced that Peter Hounam is likely to act in ways which would hurt state security," Tova Ellison told AFP.

A freelance reporter, Peter Hounam was part of the Sunday Times newspaper's "insight team" which broke the story about Israel's secret nuclear weapons programme in 1986.

Top-secret details about the programme were leaked to Hounam by Vanunu, a former technician at the Dimona nuclear plant in southern Israel, who recently completed an 18-year prison sentence for his revelations.

Freed on April 21, Vanunu is subject to a series of sweeping restrictions, including a ban on talking to foreigners without prior security service authorisation.

"The minister believes Hounam is likely to collect sensitive and important information, which could damage security, and that he is likely to try and have further contact with Vanunu and tell him how to circumvent the security restrictions," Ellison said.

In late May, Hounam, who was working on a documentary about Vanunu for the BBC, was arrested by Israeli security agents at his Jerusalem hotel and deported after spending 24 hours in custody.

Senior security officials said he had secured an exclusive interview with Vanunu in violation of the security restrictions.

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