Security concerns over Johnson communication with MBS on Whatsapp
Sources say Prime Minister did use technology while foreign secretary, as Jeff Bezos hack row continues
BORIS JOHNSON has been in communication with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince over Whatsapp, several former government figures have told The Daily Telegraph, raising major security concerns in light of the Jeff Bezos hack.
One source said they were “99 per cent sure” Mr Johnson sent messages over the platform to Mohammed bin Salman while others noted he made a habit of handing out his private number to many world leaders while foreign secretary.
It raises serious questions about potential vulnerabilities given MBS, as Prince Mohammed is known, is now being accused of personal involvement in the hacking of Amazon founder Mr Bezos’s phone via Whatsapp.
No10 did not deny the suggestion last night, with Mr Johnson’s press secretary saying: “It’s not something we would comment on.” The Prime Minister is not alone, with Simon Collis, the UK ambassador to Saudi Arabia, also understood to have shared messages with MBS over Whatsapp. The Foreign Office also declined to comment.
Former Foreign Office insiders said the new generation of Middle Eastern royalty “love their phones” and UK ministers and officials often use Whatsapp to stay in touch with them.
The communications do not just raise fears that messages could be monitored but also that they could make UK government phones vulnerable to hacks.
Prince Mohammed is accused of sending a corrupt video to Mr Bezos which obtained access to his phone.
To establish the use of Whatsapp messaging between British officials and Middle Eastern figures in general, and those involving Mr Johnson in particular, this newspaper contacted a dozen current and former UK government figures yesterday.
Four sources said they suspected Mr Johnson communicated with Prince Mohammed over Whatsapp, citing varying degrees of certainty and firsthand knowledge. One former Foreign Office source said: “He certainly had his number and would ping him the occasional message.”
A UK source who overlapped with Mr Johnson in government recalled hearing he had discussed messaging Prince Mohammed over Whatsapp.
Another ex-foreign Office source said it was “commonplace” to engage with Middle Eastern notables via Whatsapp and said they “wouldn’t be surprised” if Mr Johnson had done the same with Prince Mohammed.
A fourth former government insider said that Mr Johnson had frequently given his number to counterparts while foreign secretary, a role he held between July 2016 and July 2018.
Mr Johnson initially championed Prince Mohammed as the younger Saudi royal rose to prominence as an apparent reformer, writing a glowing opinion piece in The Times ahead of his UK state visit in March 2018. Sir Kim Darroch, the former UK ambassador to the United States, is understood not to have been in Whatsapp communication with Prince Mohammed.
Theresa May, the former prime minister, was not a frequent user of Whatsapp but David Cameron, her predecessor, would often send texts to politicians, according to sources.
While Whatsapp opens up the possibility of foreign surveillance some security experts played down the fears.
Sir Mark Lyall Grant was the UK national security adviser until April 2017. “Prime ministers I worked with were fully aware that all those forms of communication were not 100 per cent secure,” Sir Mark told The Telegraph.
“In my experience most text or Whatsapp messages were relatively short and more detailed conversations would take place face-to-face or on telephones.”
Asked whether Mr Johnson communicated with Prince Mohammed over Whatsapp, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I have no idea.”
Asked if Boris Johnson was on Whatsapp, his press secretary added: “We are not going to comment on the security arrangements of ministers.”