Boris Johnson apologises to Israeli minister over wheelchair access

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologised to Israeli minister Karine Elharrar for her not gaining access to COP26 in her wheelchair on Monday.

Karine Elharrar was forced to return to her hotel 50 miles away on Monday after waiting outside for two hours.

The UK prime minister told her he was sorry for the "confusion" when the energy minister joined a meeting with him and Israel's PM, Naftali Bennett.

Bennett thanked his British counterpart for his "quick intervention on this unfortunate incident". And he called it a "learning opportunity for all of us in the importance of accessibility for all", a statement backed by Johnson.

Elharrar - who has muscular dystrophy - told BBC News she had gone into the climate summit on Tuesday "very easily" and it was "quite a different experience".

But she said Monday's incident had been "a good experience to make sure the next UN conference will be accessible".

The minister added: "We can talk about accessibility and the rights of people with disabilities, but in life we need to implement all the conventions and all the regulations and that was an experience that showed that we need to pay attention to all the details everywhere. "I am sure it will be different in the future."

Earlier, the UK's Environment Secretary, George Eustice, said the incident involving Elharrar was "deeply regrettable" and that the UK government had apologised.

But disability charity Scope said it was "inexcusable" and the organisers "should have seen this coming".