Israel’s new Prime Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has been questioned over corruption allegations for at least seven hours by police on Thursday.

Police said that Lieberman was questioned at the national fraud squad headquarters in central Israel on suspicion of carrying out “bribery, money-laundering and breach of trust” as part of an ongoing investigation.

The long-running investigation is examining Lieberman’s business dealings. His lawyer and daughter have also been interrogated.

Lieberman denies all of the allegations and says the corruption probe against him is politically motivated.

Lieberman became Israeli foreign minister on Tuesday after weeks of talks during which Binyamin Netanyahu, the new prime minister, brought together a ruling coalition.

“The same investigation that has been ongoing for the past 13 years, I am in a hurry to end this inquiry”, said Lieberman in a statement.

A spokesman for Lieberman said, “He co-operated fully with police investigators and answered all their questions and enjoyed drinking their coffee”.

Lieberman is one of Israel’s most outspoken politicians and a controversial politician with right-wing nationalist views.

Palestinian officials described him as an “obstacle to peace” whose policies would rebound negatively on Israel.

Israel