‘He can dish out a good b*llocking’: Minister says MoD staff face ‘tough questions’ over how Defence Secretary Ben Wallace spent 10 minutes in a Teams video chat with a Russian pretending to be Ukraine’s PM – but insists no secrets were disclosed
- James Heappey said the Cabinet minister could dish out a ‘good b*llocking’
- Wallace ‘cross and embarrassed’ by fake politician who managed to get through
- He spent around 10 minutes online with a man claiming to be Denys Shmyhal
- Aides facing ‘tough questions’ over how the fake managed to bypass security
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is on the warpath after being duped into a 10-minute video chat with a Russian imposter pretending to be the Ukrainian prime minister, his deputy revealed today.
James Heappey said the Cabinet minister could dish out a ‘good b*llocking’ after being left ‘cross and embarrassed’ by a fake politician who managed to get through several Government departments to speak to him about the war.
Mr Wallace lashed out last night at the Kremlin’s ‘dirty tricks’ after he and Home Secretary Priti Patel were targeted.
He spent around 10 minutes on a Microsoft Teams call with a man claiming to be Denys Shmyhal, who asked about British policy and eventually urged him to shout slogans.
Armed Forces Minister Mr Heappey insisted that Mr Wallace would have followed security protocols and would not have discussed secret matters on Teams before he became suspicious and hung up.
He admitted aides were facing ‘tough questions’ over how the fake managed to bypass security in several departments.
Mr Wallace (left) lashed out last night at the Kremlin’s ‘dirty tricks’ after he and Home Secretary Priti Patel were targeted.
He spent around 10 minutes on a Microsoft Teams call with a man claiming to be Denys Shmyhal (right), who asked about British policy and eventually urged him to shout slogans.
Armed Forces Minister Mr Heappey insisted that Mr Wallace would have followed security protocols and would not have discussed secret matters on Teams before he became suspicious and hung up.
‘But you also know that he’s been a security minister for years before he’s promoted to be Secretary of Defence. He just instinctively understands threat and is always aware of the means of communication that he’s on,’ Mr Heappey added.
‘He knew he was on Microsoft Teams. He was having a conversation with someone who he believed to be the Prime Minister of Ukraine. But because it was on Teams, all that Ben was really doing was exchanging platitudes.
‘And Ben’s suspicions, because of the way that Ben’s mind is so well attuned to security matters, when this guy started asking questions about potential military movements, Ben knew full well that’s not the sort of question that anybody who was really who they say they were, would ever ask on Teams. And so he moved pretty quickly to terminate the call thereafter.’
The level of sophistication involved in the hoax has convinced Government sources that it was a Russian plot.
The video call was set up after an email, purportedly sent from an aide at the Ukrainian embassy, was sent to a government department and then forwarded to the Ministry of Defence.
The call was set up and Mr Wallace was put through on Teams to the ‘prime minister of Ukraine’, posing with the country’s flag behind him.
The Times reported that Mr Wallace was asked about the chances of UK warships going to the Black sea and whether Ukraine should get nuclear weapons or join Nato.
Senior Ministry of Defence sources fear Moscow may attempt to splice together Mr Wallace’s comments in an attempt to embarrass him.
He has ordered an immediate inquiry to find out how the impostor was able to speak to him.
His admission was followed by a similar one by Ms Patel, who said she was targeted earlier this week.
The Defence Secretary said it was a ‘desperate attempt’ but ‘no amount of Russian disinformation, distortion and dirty tricks’ could distract from the human rights abuses carried out during the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s forces.
Mr Wallace revealed he had been targeted by the hoax call in a Twitter post.
The fact that a hoax caller was able to speak directly to the Defence Secretary raises security questions, particularly given Mr Wallace’s suggestion that Russia was behind it.
He said: ‘Today an attempt was made by an imposter claiming to be Ukrainian PM to speak with me.
‘He posed several misleading questions and after becoming suspicious I terminated the call.
‘No amount of Russian disinformation, distortion and dirty tricks can distract from Russia’s human rights abuses and illegal invasion of Ukraine. A desperate attempt.’
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