By India Today Web Desk: The personal phone of former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who lasted just 44 days in power amid a massive economic crisis due to her tax cuts, was hacked by suspected agents working for Russian President Vladimir Putin when she was the UK foreign minister, a Daily Mail report said on Saturday.
The Russian agents gained access to top secret details of negotiations with international allies in addition to private messages exchanged with Truss’s close friend Kwasi Kwarteng, who later became finance minister, the report said.
The hack was discovered during the Conservative Party leadership campaign that Liz Truss won, becoming prime minister.
The messages are believed to have included discussions about Russia’s war in Ukraine, including details about arms shipments, the report said.
Besides, the messages also contained criticism of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson by Liz Truss and Kwarteng. The messages that fell into foreign hands led to a potential risk of blackmail, the report added.
Liz Truss, who now holds the undesirable record of sitting on the PM’s chair for just 44 days, left the economy in the doldrums in her wake. The record for the shortest stint as PM was previously held by George Canning, who served for 119 days till his death on August 8, 1827.