MOD dismisses prank call video as 'garbage'

A "prank" video call with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has surfaced after Britain blamed Vladimir Putin's Russia for several hoaxes targeting Government ministers in the hope of securing sensitive or embarrassing information.

Mr Wallace suggested the invasion of Ukraine "must be going so badly for the Kremlin" as it resorted to releasing "video fakes" as the footage was published on Monday evening.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has also acknowledged having spoken to imposters posing as the Ukrainian prime minister, while an unsuccessful attempt was also made to target Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries.

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In the video clip shared online, the caller appears to tell Mr Wallace that Ukraine wants to continue a "nuclear programme" to protect itself from Russia – a claim Russian state media has baselessly claimed in the past.

A Ministry of Defence (MOD) source said the video was "garbage", adding: "It's a doctored clip.

"What you don't hear is the Defence Secretary also saying that the UK can't have anything to do with alleged Ukrainian nuclear ambitions, because the UK is committed to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons."

Mr Wallace said at the time of the incident last week he believed Russia was to blame and Downing Street has since publicly pointed the finger at the Kremlin.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "The Russian state was responsible for the hoax telephone calls made to UK ministers last week.

"This is standard practice for Russian information operations and disinformation is a tactic straight from the Kremlin playbook to try to distract from their illegal activities in Ukraine and the human rights abuses being committed there.

"We are seeing a string of distraction stories and outright lies from the Kremlin, reflecting Putin's desperation as he seeks to hide the scale of the conflict and Russia's failings on the battlefield."

Senior Government sources fear the Russians may attempt to doctor footage obtained in the calls in an attempt to embarrass the UK.

Mr Wallace publicly acknowledged he had been targeted shortly after his call on Thursday in an attempt to get ahead of any attempt by Moscow to circulate footage from it.

He also launched a cross-Whitehall investigation to understand how he ended up on the video call.