‘Security protocols followed’ says Sunak after PM’s mobile number found online

The Chancellor said “all security protocols had been followed” after a security expert warned revelations that Boris Johnson’s phone number was easily accessible online could put him at increased risk of snooping.

Rishi Sunak sought to play down fears that the Prime Minister had opened himself up to possible covert activity by hostile states and exploitation by criminal gangs after it emerged that his personal contact details had been accessible on the internet for the past 15 years.

Lord Ricketts, the UK’s first national security adviser, said the disclosure could mean that “thousands” of people have Mr Johnson’s mobile number, putting him at “increased risk”.

But senior Cabinet minister Mr Sunak, speaking on a by-election campaign visit to Hartlepool, said: “As far as I’m aware, all security protocols have been followed.

“Part of what makes the Prime Minister special is that he is an incredibly approachable individual.

“You see it wherever he is out and about – people feel they can relate to him, they can talk to him, they can tell him what’s on their mind.”

It emerged on Thursday that, in 2021, Mr Johnson’s contact number was still listed at the bottom of a 2006 press release dating back to when he was shadow higher education minister.

It follows a row in recent weeks over so-called Government-by-text after it emerged that lobbyists and others from the business world had personally messaged the Prime Minister in a bid to get him to intervene in issues.

Downing Street did not deny reports earlier this month that Cabinet Secretary Simon Case advised Mr Johnson to change his long-held phone number because of concerns over how many people had his direct contact details.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the wide availability of the Downing Street incumbent’s mobile carries “a security risk”.

“He was warned about it – that tells its own story,” he told reporters in Hull.

“I think a lot of people will be concerned, not just about who’s got the number but who’s been using it.

“I changed my number when I became director of public prosecutions, and I’ve kept my number secure since then.”

Lord Ricketts, who advised former prime minister David Cameron on national security matters, said it is in Mr Johnson’s “own interest to be much more digitally secure than seems to be the case now”.

Asked if there could be security concerns, the peer told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I know that modern systems like WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted; nonetheless, I think one would be worried if a hostile state who had sophisticated capabilities had the mobile phone number itself.

“That must increase the risk that they’re able to eavesdrop on some at least of the communications that are going on, and possibly other non-state actors as well, like sophisticated criminal gangs.

“So, there is no way of knowing whether that’s true, but there must at least be an increased risk if the number is widely available.”