Calls for an urgent investigation after reports Liz Truss’s phone was hacked
The government is facing calls to carry out an urgent investigation after reports emerged that a phone belonging to Liz Truss was hacked by Russia.
The Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party have described the allegations as “extremely serious” and “concerning”.
Agents suspected of working for Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly hacked the former prime minister’s personal phone during the summer Tory leadership campaign, gaining access to details of negotiations with key international allies.
Private messages between the then foreign secretary and cabinet minister Kwasi Kwarteng were also accessed, according to the Mail on Sunday.
These details were reportedly suppressed by Boris Johnson, who was prime minister at the time, and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.
The government has not confirmed the reports and Sky News has not been able to independently verify the claims.
Speaking to Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove insisted the government takes security issues “incredibly seriously”.
He said: “I don’t know the full details of what security breach, if any, took place.
“What I do know is that the government has very robust protocols in place in order to make sure that individuals are protected, but also that government security and national security are protected as well.
“I think all of us have to be sensitive, particularly those of us in government, to the fact that the more we talk in detail about these things, the more that we risk giving information to people who wish this country and its citizens harm.”
Speaking to Sky News, chair of the Defence Select Committee Tobias Ellwood said he was not aware of the incident but had seen the reports.
“This is a constant threat from Russia, they are getting better and better at these cyber attacks and hacking. We take the most stringent measures to make sure it doesn’t happen,” he told Sky News.
“It is something for the intelligence and security committee to investigate further.”
Tobias Ellwood
‘Serious questions’ need to be answered
In response to the report, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the “serious allegations” raise “serious questions about why this information or this story has been leaked or briefed right now”.
Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sunday, she said: “I really hope that this hasn’t been leaked, for example, to try and distract from some of the other things that are happening, because obviously I think actually it does the opposite and just raises wider concerns about the way in which the government is not taking seriously enough these issues around national security.”
She added that the person who should be “providing reassurance that the government has a grip” is Suella Braverman, but “she can’t do that because she’s still unable to answer those serious questions about her own security breaches and lapses”.
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‘Unforgivable’ if information was withheld to protect Truss
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats called for an urgent investigation to take place and said the allegations raise “serious questions” for Mr Johnson.
The party’s foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran asked: “Was Liz Truss’s phone hacked by Russia, was there a news blackout and if so why?
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“If it turns out this information was withheld from the public to protect Liz Truss’s leadership bid, that would be unforgivable.
“We cannot allow the Conservative Party’s political games to be put ahead of the country’s interests and national security,” she added.
A government spokesperson said there are “robust systems” in place to protect against cyber threats, including regular security briefings for ministers and advice on how they can protect their personal data.
But, they added: “We do not comment on individuals’ security arrangements.”
A man has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China between 2019 and 2023.
Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou, 28, filmed nine of the attacks as “souvenirs”, and kept a trophy box of women’s belongings, jurors in his trial were told.
Warning: This article contains details of sexual offences
He was accused in court of drugging and raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023.
Jurors at Inner London Crown Court found him guilty of 11 charges of rape against 10 women, including two who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced.
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The mechanical engineering student was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol.
He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence.
The trial heard Zou kept a ‘lost property box’ full of women’s belongings. Pic: Met Police
The jury has not reached verdicts on four counts of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Zou – who first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s University before moving to London in 2019 – showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read out in court.
Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, told jurors during the trial that Zou “presents as a smart and charming young man” but is “also a persistent sexual predator; a voyeur and a rapist”.
A discreet camera belonging to Zou. Pic: Met Police
Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China, the court heard.
The jury heard how he would secretly film his attacks using a mobile device and hidden cameras, and was shown evidence found on SD cards at his accommodation of him raping unconscious women in London and in China.
Senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Saira Pike thanked the “incredibly strong and brave” women who came forward to report his “heinous” crimes.
“Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women,” she said.
“In some instances, we have not been able to identify Zou’s victims. Without knowing who these women are, we have not been able to support them through a deeply distressing period of time.
“We have always been determined to seek justice for both the unidentified and identified victims in this case.”
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