Jewish Chronicle How fabrications of writer who came 'out of nowhere' shook the paper

Elon Perry gave the impression he was a mover and a shaker.

- Peter Beaumont Matthew Weaver Sam Hudson

There are the photos of him alongside Michael Gove and taking selfies in Downing Street.

And there are interviews too. In 2014 he told the Jewish Telegraph he was a former commando turned TV journalist who had set up his own production company and rubbed shoulders with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He suggested the door to Downing Street was open to him as he met influential Tory politicians behind the scenes to improve the image of Israel.

But Perry is now at the heart of a scandal that has shaken the Jewish Chronicle to its core. He is accused of fabricating stories that have since been taken down, and misrepresenting himself in his résumé.

It has been a humiliation for the world's oldest Jewish newspaper, which is reeling from the resignation of some of its leading writers - and is now facing renewed questions over its ownership.

Perry, however, is the focus of the immediate crisis.

On his website he described himself as a lecturer and historian and highlighted his involvement in the Israeli hostage mission to Entebbe in 1976.

And while the Guardian found some of his claims contained a kernel of truth, the reality of Perry's claimed connections and career seems embellished at best.

The lectures that the Guardian was able to identify were low-key affairs: in golf clubs and on short cruises in British waters.

There was also less than meets the eye to the intimate political connections that Perry suggested he had. Instead, they appear to have largely been encounters at events organised by his wife Gillian's charity, the Anne Frank Trust UK, whose branding is prominently visible in some of the pictures.

In Israel, one of his stories was officially denied and called "baseless" and others were called wild fabrications in off-the-record briefings.