An embarrassing security lapse allowed the British prime minister’s phone number to be posted online.
The Sun stated that social media pranksters released audio of the phone ringing and the British prime minister’s answerphone message in response, revealing Rishi Sunak’s personal mobile number.
We don’t comment on security-related issues, a Downing Street spokeswoman stated.
The phone number is the same one Mr. Sunak has long used, the newspaper reported, including while he served as UK chancellor and when the Tory leadership race was held last year.
When he began serving as president about a year ago, he supposedly received a new, unique number.
However, it appears from the web video that surfaced on Sunday that the personal number has remained active.
It was revealed earlier this month that Mr. Sunak had informed the UK’s Covid-19 Inquiry he was unable to share WhatsApp conversations made from the number because he had not backed them up and had switched phones numerous times so he “does not have access” to them.
This is not the first time that a British prime minister’s cell phone number has been published online.
In May 2021, when Boris Johnson was serving as prime minister, it was discovered that his phone number had been publicly accessible online for 15 years. Boris Johnson was urged to stop using his personal phone and not access it again for security reasons.
It took a long time to extract his messages for the COVID-19 investigation as a result, which was apparently hampered by the fact that he had forgotten his passcode.