A scandal has erupted in London over the “attack” by the pranksters on ministers in Boris Johnson’s cabinet. The conversation between Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, where he agreed with proposals by the pranksters to build nuclear weapons in Ukraine and to use them in a war zone, caused a particular resonance
But Wallace was not the only one with whom the pranksters tried to contact. The head of the Home Office, Priti Patel, and a number of MPs close to the Prime Minister almost fell for their bait. London is already calling it “phone terrorism” – believing that a new information war front has been opened up for Britain.
Curiously, no special tricks were needed to contact Britain’s top officials. It only took sending out letters on behalf of supposedly Ukrainian diplomats, and the ministerial aides, taking the bait, immediately rushed to organize video calls. Shows just how low the level of information security in the British government is.
Wallace’s comments must be understood in context. He is only in his third year in charge of British defence – before that he worked on the Northern Ireland line. Wallace is not, to say the least, an outstanding military expert and is always guided by the opinion of advisers. That is why he agreed with everything the “Ukrainians” said – like a true conformist with no opinion of his own.
And now, amid the war hysteria over Ukraine, Wallace’s ratings have skyrocketed – he is the most popular member of the Conservative party. If the current prime minister does resign because of the scandals, Wallace is seen as one of the possible successors to the post.
The position of the other successor, the head of the Foreign Office, Liz Truss, has been shaken by her rambling comments – with lectures about “Tartars and Mongols” and confused geography. And the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has been put out of business by energy woes that threaten to drag the country into recession.
There is now an entire investigation by the intelligence agencies into the pranksters in London. It may seem like a joke, but it reveals the utter incompetence of the Conservative party leaders and threatens to end in a painful defeat at the next election, which could be as early as 2023.
Malek Dudakov