London: The phone number that UK PM Rishi Sunak used for long has been leaked online, Express.co.uk reported.
The breach came to notice after pranksters posted an audio clip of Sunak’s phone ringing, and his message in response.
The phone number was in use for many years including while he was chancellor and during last year's leadership election.
He was given a new number after he became the prime minister; however, the leaked message suggests that the number was still operational.
A Downing Street spokesman said that ‘We don't comment on security matters.’
A Tory MP on the home affairs committee refused to call it a security breach, while admitting that ‘ it is very inconvenient for him’ .
‘'But I'm not sure it constitutes a security breach when thousands of work colleagues & friends probably had it already - as well as hostile intelligence agencies,’ the MP reportedly said.
Sunak told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry earlier this month that he had changed phone several times, and he was unable to provide WhatsApp messages sent from the number.
‘Having changed my phone a number of times over the last three years, I do not have access to the WhatsApp messages that I sent or received during the relevant time, and neither were the messages backed up,’ he was quoted as saying.
The phone numbers of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Liz Truss were previously leaked in similar security breach.
Johnson changed his number in April 2021 following reports that it had been available online for 15 years.
The suspected Russian agents working for Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier hacked former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss's personal phone.