The security breach is said to have taken place when she was foreign secretary (Picture: Number 10)
Liz Truss had her phone hacked by Kremlin spies while she was working as foreign secretary, according to a report.
The former prime minister’s personal messages with former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng were raided, as well as sensitive details of international negotiations, it is claimed.
Security services discovered the major security breach during the summer Tory leadership election, according to the Mail on Sunday.
One unnamed source claimed to the paper that the device was so compromised it is now in a secure government location for analysis.
Details of the breach were passed to then-PM Boris Johnson and cabinet secretary Simon Case, who moved to prevent details becoming public, the paper claims.
Security officials were said to be concerned about the risk of blackmail due to criticism of Mr Johnson contained with the year’s worth of messages downloaded from the phone.
Messages with allies about the situation in Ukraine are claimed to have been among those accessed by Russian agents.
Liz Truss visited Moscow on one occasion in February for talks at the Kremlin (Picture: Reuters)
An unnamed security source said the leaked ‘caused absolute pandemonium’ behind the scenes and Mr Johnson wanted a ‘total news blackout’ to avoid embarrassment.
It’s unclear how the breach occurred but it is known that Ms Truss travelled to Moscow on one occasion as foreign secretary.
She met with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov at the Kremlin during a tense meeting in February 2022.
A UK government spokesperson told the paper: ‘We do not comment on individuals’ 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.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
The former PM was the victim of a major security breach while she was foreign secretary, a report claims.
