Ministers targeted by hoax callers working for Kremlin

Priti Patel, Ben Wallace and Nadine Dorries have received calls from pranksters

- SAMUEL LOVETT

Ministers are being targeted by hoax callers pretending to be British citizens captured by Russian forces in Ukraine, The Independent understands. Russian information operations are believed to be behind the calls, which have been made to the private offices of cabinet members.

To date, two British soldiers fighting with the Ukrainian army have been captured by Vladimir Putin's troops. Both were paraded on Russian television last week.

In an email sent by Cabinet Office security last week, staff were urged not to engage with callers impersonating the soldiers and instead direct them to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. There is concern that the calls are being recorded with the intention of being doctored and then released publicly to embarrass the government, which has already been caught out in this manner.