Rishi Sunak Security: Big lapse in Rishi Sunak’s security, personal mobile number leaked online

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s personal mobile number was recently reportedly leaked online. The incident came to light after internet users posted an audio clip on social media of a phone ringing and Sunak responding to a voicemail message. According to a report in The Sun, Downing Street or the UK Prime Minister’s Office have refrained from commenting on the matter, calling it a security issue.

The report says Rishi Sunak has had this mobile number for years, including during his tenure as Chancellor and during the leadership election last year. When Sunak took office about a year ago, he was reportedly assigned a different number. However, a video that recently surfaced online shows that the original individual number remained active. Rishi Sunak said he failed to back up these messages and switched phones several times, leaving him unable to access them.

This is not the first example of a Prime Minister’s phone number being publicly available. In May 2021, Boris Johnson was advised to stop using his personal phone due to security concerns after it was revealed that his number had been openly available online for 15 years. This led to a complex process of retrieving his messages for COVID-19 testing, made even more complicated by Johnson forgetting his passcode.