Boris duped in 18-minute prank call by ‘Kremlin tricksters’
BORIS Johnson faced embarrassment yesterday after being tricked into an 18-minute phone call with ‘Kremlin-linked’ pranksters.
A pair of notorious Russian jokers managed to discuss sensitive issues like the Skripal poisoning with the Foreign Secretary – before he rumbled them.
The security services were last night assisting a Whitehall inquiry into how Alexei Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov, known as Lexus and Vovan, managed to get through.
The pranksters have already claimed a series of high-profile victims including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Sir Elton John.
In their call to Mr Johnson they pretended to be newlyelected Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Mr Johnson did not reveal any classified information during the 18-minute call. But he did discuss sensitive topics, including the Skripals, UK relations with Russia and British plans to ‘tighten the grip’ on Russian oligarchs in London.
A senior diplomatic source said the pranksters were thought to be linked to the Kremlin – a claim they deny.
The source said the incident appeared to be a Moscowinspired plot to embarrass the Foreign Secretary by eliciting secret information.
‘This seems to be the latest desperate attempt by the Kremlin to save face after it was internationally shamed in the wake of the Skripal attack,’ the source said.
‘Boris rumbled them pretty quickly and ended the call.
‘It is tragic to see a major international power reduced to failed pranks you would usually only see on TV.’ Mr Stolyarov yesterday told pro- Kremlin media that Mr Johnson had turned out to be ‘a smart diplomat, an intellectual’.
He said it was ‘probably the first time the person we talked to was not a fool’.
Whitehall sources said the prank followed a brief call by the jokers to his deputy Sir Alan Duncan, who suggested the Foreign Secretary should talk to them. It is understood that the move may have enabled the pranksters to bypass normal Foreign Office procedures and get through to Mr Johnson directly.
It also emerged that a similar attempt by the pair to contact Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson had failed. A defence source said officials had ‘smelt a rat immediately’.
The call with Mr Johnson took place three weeks ago, but only emerged yesterday when a recording was released by the pranksters. The Foreign Secretary can be heard congratulating the caller on his ‘remarkable success’ in taking charge in Armenia, a former Soviet repub- He then embarks on a lengthy discussion on relations with Russia, saying it is ‘very important we don’t have a new Cold War.’
‘ Obviously we had hoped to have better relations with Russia than we currently do, I’m afraid Russia seems to be unable to resist malign activity of one kind or another,’ he said, adding: ‘If I have a message to Putin, it’s that we don’t want a Cold War but we do want to see an improvement in the way Russia behaves.’
Mr Johnson said Moscow had made a ‘terrible mistake’ in ordering the nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, adding that the behaviour of the Putin regime was ‘very, very disruptive and bad for Russia’.
Asked whether he was sure the Kremlin ordered the nerve agent attack, Mr Johnson said: ‘We are, like, almost 100 per cent sure.’ The Foreign Secretary says Britain is ‘absolutely determined to stand firm’ against Russian aggression.
And he suggests pro-Putin Russian oligarchs living in London could face further measures, adding: ‘We will continue to look for ways that we can tighten our grip... introduce fresh sanctions on those who may have ill-gotten gains and who are associated with Vladimir Putin.’
He added: ‘You throw a stone in Kensington and you’ll find you’ll hit an oligarch.’
The prankster also claimed Mr Putin was funding the Labour Party and had said he ‘has influence’ over Jeremy Corlic. byn.’ Mr Johnson replied: ‘Really, he told you that?’ before probing for further details.
The call finally ended when the prankster tried to interest Mr Johnson in an antidote to Russian poisons, which he said was carried by the Ukrainian president.
‘Rumbled them pretty quickly’