Putin’s Russia blamed by Britain for hoax calls targeting Johnson’s Cabinet

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his speech at the concert marking the eighth anniversary of the referendum on the state status of Crimea and Sevastopol and its reunification with Russia, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 18, 2022. (Ramil Sitdikov/Sputnik Pool Photo via AP/PA)

Britain has publicly blamed Vladimir Putin’s Russia for hoax calls targeting British ministers in the hope of securing sensitive or embarrassing information.

British Home Secretary Priti Patel and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace both spoke to imposters posing as the Ukrainian prime minister, while an unsuccessful attempt was also made to target Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries.

This also happened to me earlier this week. Pathetic attempt at such difficult times to divide us. We stand with Ukraine. https://t.co/Lv5s2WtzyE

— Priti Patel MP (@pritipatel) March 17, 2022

Mr Wallace said at the time of the incident last week he believed Russia was to blame and Downing Street has now publicly pointed the finger at the Kremlin.

The British Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Russian state was responsible for the hoax telephone calls made to UK ministers last week.

“This is standard practice for Russian information operations and disinformation 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.”

Senior British government sources fear the Russians may attempt to doctor footage obtained in the calls in an attempt to embarrass the UK.

Mr Wallace publicly acknowledged he had been targeted shortly after his call on Thursday in an attempt to get ahead of any attempt by Moscow to circulate footage from it.

He also launched a cross-Whitehall investigation to understand how he ended up on a video call with a hoaxer pretending to be Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 21 March 2022

Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/o31FnBRw3w

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/reAkTEnHFj

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 21, 2022

Boris Johnson is due to discuss the war in Ukraine with US President Joe Biden and counterparts from other allies later on Monday ahead of a summit meeting of Nato leaders on Thursday.

The UN’s refugee agency said around 3.5 million people had fled Ukraine since the February 24 invasion while millions more are still in the country but have been forced out of their homes.