Cameron takes call from drunk hoaxer
Print Edition
British Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday security would be reviewed, but no harm had been done, after an apparently drunk hoaxer claiming to be the director of Britain鈥檚 eavesdropping agency was put though to his mobile phone.
Cameron had been walking near his home in central England on Sunday when his BlackBerry phone rang and he was told there would be a conference call with Robert Hannigan, the head of Government Communications Headquarter, or GCHQ.
鈥淎 voice came through, a voice I didn鈥檛 recognize. The voice said he was sorry to wake me up, which I thought was strange as it was 11 o鈥檆lock in the morning,鈥 Cameron told reporters. 鈥淪o I quite rapidly asked 鈥榳ho is this?鈥 to which the answer came 鈥榠t is a hoax call,鈥 and so I pushed the red button on the BlackBerry which ended the call.鈥
Hours earlier, GCHQ was also tricked into handing over Hannigan鈥檚 mobile phone number after apparently being fooled by the same hoaxer, although the government said it was not a phone used to discuss sensitive or confidential information.
Cameron鈥檚 spokesman said security procedures would now be reviewed and all government departments had been put on alert for further hoax calls.
鈥淣o harm was done, no national security was breached, but it is important when these things happen to make sure we do everything we can to put in place systems to weed out hoax calls,鈥 Cameron said.
The Sun newspaper reported the unnamed man, who it described as being well-spoken and in his 20s, had called GCHQ in the early hours of Sunday pretending to be a Downing Street aide and saying Hannigan was required to attend an emergency meeting. He was then given Hannigan鈥檚 private mobile number and hours later he called Cameron.
鈥淚鈥檝e just made complete monkeys out of GCHQ,鈥 the hoaxer told the Sun in a phone call afterwards. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 more, I am off my face on booze and cocaine. I had some spliffs too. I鈥檝e been up all night. I鈥檓 utterly wasted. Hilarious.鈥
In 1998, an impressionist pretending to be former Conservative Party leader, William Hague, was put through to Prime Minister Tony Blair.
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