UP TO YEAR’S WORTH OF MESSAGES TRUSS’S PHONE ‘HACKED BY PUTIN AGENTS’
LIZ Truss’s personal phone was hacked by hostile spies suspected of working for Vladimir Putin, it was claimed last night.
Agents thought to be working for the Kremlin downloaded a year’s worth of messages and top-secret discussions with international allies, it was reported.
The then Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case agreed to cover up the cyber attack through a news blackout, it is alleged.
The leak was discovered during the summer Tory leadership campaign, it is understood, and allies were worried that if the story broke it could derail Ms Truss’s chances of getting into No10.
It was also claimed that the ex-Foreign Secretary “had trouble sleeping” until Mr Case “imposed a news blackout”.
The revelations last night raised serious questions about both the UK’s security and the judgement of Mr
Johnson and the Cabinet Secretary. Mr Case this week decided not to investigate Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s alleged leak of sensitive information, despite widespread calls for a probe.
A Government spokesman said: “We do not comment on individual’s security arrangements. The Government has robust systems in place to protect against cyber threats.
“That includes regular security briefings for Ministers, and advice on protecting their personal data and mitigating cyber threats.”
It is claimed the messages that were downloaded included discussions with international allies regarding the war in Ukraine, including detailed information about arms shipments.
And there were alleged to be exchanges between Ms Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng – who she would later name Chancellor – criticising Mr Johnson.
It is feared that such disclosures could have left the senior Tories
Boris was told immediately and it was a agreed there should be a news blackout
ON HOW NO.10 REACTED TO THE HACK
open to blackmail. One source claimed the phone was so heavily compromised it is now “in a locked safe inside a secure government location”, according to the Mail on Sunday.
A source with knowledge of the cyber attack is quoted as saying the incident caused “pandemonium”.
They added: “Boris was told immediately, and it was agreed with the Cabinet Secretary that there should be a total news blackout.”
Ms Truss changed her phone number shortly before becoming Prime Minister, after using the same one for more than a decade.
It was later found among a cache of numbers available for sale online for £6.49, and which included contact details for 25 Cabinet ministers.
Security services have become increasingly concerned
about cyber attacks against politicians and other public figures.
One hacking system, Israeli-made software known as Pegasus, can infect devices with just one text message – which does not even have to be opened for the hack to work.
The software runs in the background, allowing hackers to download information from the device and listen in on the microphone.
Pegasus was allegedly used to hack billionaire Jeff Bezos’s phone in 2018.
An unsolicited file was apparently sent to the Amazon founder and Washington Post owner from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s WhatsApp account.
Large amounts of data were downloaded from the device within hours.
Saudi Arabia has denied that it targeted Mr Bezos’s phone.
The British Government has been warned before about such cyber
attacks. In April, research group
Citizen Lab revealed it had found evidence of multiple suspected infections of devices used within No10 and the Foreign Office in 2020 and 2021.
A Government official confirmed to the New Yorker at the time that the network had been compromised, and that the National Cyber Security Centre had tested several phones – including Mr Johnson’s.
But the source of the breach was never determined.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper last night called the alleged hack of Ms Truss’s phone an “extremely serious” incident.
She added: “It shows the severity of the threats from countries that would do us harm and why cyber security needs to be taken so seriously by everyone in Government. There are immensely important national security issues raised by an attack like this by a hostile state.
“It is essential all of these security issues are investigated and addressed at the very highest level.”
Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesman Layla Moran MP said: “We need an urgent independent investigation to uncover the truth. Was Liz Truss’s phone hacked by Russia, was there a news blackout, and if so why?
“If it turns out this information was withheld from the public to protect Liz Truss’s leadership bid, that would be unforgivable. We cannot allow the Conservative Party’s political games to be put ahead of the country’s interests and national security.”
mikey.smith@mirror.co.uk