ISRAELI police have identified former spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s family Nir Hefetz and ex-communications ministry boss Shlomo Filber as suspects in an ongoing sleaze probe.

Mr Hefetz and Mr Filber are accused of helping telecoms company Bezeq during a merger with another firm in return for favourable coverage of the PM. Text messages to senior officials at the company from Netanyahu associates appear to instruct them to remove certain news items relating to the premier’s family.

Police also accuse Mr Hefetz of having offered judge Hila Gerstel the post of attorney-general if she would “kill” a case relating to Mr Netanyahu’s wife Sara’s household spending.

Mr Netanyahu has indignantly denied the claims, as he has with other corruption allegations, though police say they have enough evidence to charge him with bribery, fraud and breaches of trust over gifts he apparently received from US and Australian millionaires and legislative intervention to favour sympathetic press outlets.