The Kremlin was behind the hoax video calls that got through to Ben Wallace and Priti Patel, Downing Street has revealed.
Both the defence secretary and the home secretary were embarrassed when the callers got through any security checks – the hoaxer to Mr Wallace pretending to be Ukraine’s prime minister
Boris Johnson’s spokesman said: “The Russian state was responsible for the hoax telephone calls made to UK ministers last week.”
Senior government sources now fear the Russians may attempt to doctor footage obtained in the calls in an attempt to embarrass the UK
It was also revealed that a third attempt was made to get through to a cabinet minister, this time targeting the culture secretary Nadine Dorries.
Mr Wallace has argued no significant information was disclosed, saying he became suspicious and ended the call after the imposter posed “several misleading questions”.
However, an inquiry is underway into whether the guidance issued to ministers’ private offices in such circumstances is sufficient.
The prime minister’s spokesman said: “This is standard practice for Russian information operations and disinformation and is a tactic straight from the Kremlin playbook to try to distract from their illegal activities in Ukraine and the human rights abuses being committed there.
“We are seeing a string of distraction stories and outright lies from the Kremlin, reflecting Putin’s desperation as he seeks to hide the scale of the conflict and Russia’s failings on the battlefield.”
It is understood that the first hoax call saw Mr Wallace put through to a Microsoft Teams video call which lasted about 10 minutes.
It was set up after an email, purportedly from an aide at the Ukrainian embassy in London, was sent to a government department and then forwarded to the Ministry of Defence.
Mr Wallace was put in contact with someone posing as Denys Shmyhal, the Ukrainian prime minister, in front of a Ukrainian flag, who asked what were described as “wild questions”.
He was asked about the prospect of Ukraine dropping its ambition to join Nato, the negotiations taking place with Russia and whether the UK would send warships to the Black Sea, it is believed.
A defence source insisted Mr Wallace “didn’t say anything that was not factual or appropriate” – because he knew it was not a secure line.
Ms Patel then disclosed, on Twitter: “This also happened to me earlier this week. Pathetic attempt at such difficult times to divide us. We stand with Ukraine.”
The spokesman said he was not aware of Mr Johnson himself being targeted by hoaxers, nor any government officials or civil servants.
He declined to discuss the unsuccessful attempt to get through to the culture secretary, saying: “I’m not going to get into more details.”
