A major security review is under way in the wake of the attack on Tony Blair's Middle East envoy and his wife when their Mill Hill mansion was burgled.

Fifty-eight-year-old Lord Levy, who is also a prominent Labour Party fundraiser and president of the charity Jewish Care, was said to be shocked at the ease with which the raiders gained access to his £5million home at a time when his political role makes him a potential terrorist target.

A spokeswoman for Number Ten said both Lord and Lady Levy were extremely shaken by the incident in which they were reportedly also beaten with a shovel and threatened with further violence.

Police were camped at the mansion where Tony Blair has been Lord Levy's guest and tennis partner, throughout Sunday, following the burglary on Saturday night. Cash and jewellery worth a reported £80,000 were stolen in the raid.

Lord Levy takes his security seriously and is routinely escorted by minders through Mill Hill Broadway on his way to synagogue every Saturday.

Professor Surya Subedi, a lecturer in international law at Middlesex University's Hendon campus, said those security arrangements may now have to be revised following the burglary.

"Lord Levy could be a potential terrorist target because of his role and responsibility," he said.

"This would suggest to me that he is not getting the security he needs, given his prominent role and the stage of the war in Iraq. If burglars could break into his home this easily it is a worry what organised terrorists could do."

That view was backed by David Smith, former Metropolitan Police commander for north-west London, who now heads the 24-hour security company London Community Services: "Not many people, even within the Government, get personal protection," he said. "But in the current climate anybody of Lord Levy's profile would be subject to a risk assessment carried out by Special Branch and the security services. I think it is of great concern that a person of his responsibility and profile should have been subjected with such apparent ease to such a violent crime."

Detectives believe the gang have burgled before and are analysing similar offences in-and-around Mill Hill. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Three white male suspects broke into the house and handcuffed the middle-aged husband and wife.

"No firearms or other weapons were seen.

"Though the suspects used some violence against the victims, neither suffered any serious injuries."

-From The Hendon Times