Boris Johnson spent 18 minutes on a phone call with pranksters pretending to the Armenian Prime Minister, it emerged today.
The Foreign Secretary’s long phone call touched on the UK’s relationship with Russia, the nerve agent attack in Salisbury and the Iranian nuclear deal.
Mr Johnson is said to have ‘rumbled them pretty quickly’ and sounded particularly startled when the pranksters claimed Vladimir Putin had revealed he was influencing Jeremy Corbyn.
He did not reveal any sensitive information and spoke in similar terms as in media interviews.
The call on May 8, which was connected by Foreign Office staff, eventually ended abruptly but pranksters successfully reaching the Foreign Secretary has raised security questions from critics of Mr Johnson.
A senior diplomatic source blamed the Kremlin for the stunt, which was carried out by Alexei Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov – better known online as Lexus and Vovan. They said it was ‘tragic’ Russia had been reduced to high school pranks.
Boris Johnson (pictured today in Chile) spent 18 minutes on a phone call with pranksters pretending to the Armenian Prime Minister, it emerged today
The call on May 8, which was connected by Foreign Office staff, eventually ended abruptly but pranksters successfully reaching the Foreign Secretary (file image) will raise security questions
The pair have successfully made a series of prank calls to high profile figures, including the US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.
Senior US senator John McCain was also ensnared, while Sir Elton John was persuaded he was talking to Putin.
The success has prompted suggestion they have access to sophisticated communications technology which allows them to trick officials managing calls.
After congratulating the caller at the start of the call, Mr Johnson talks of developing UK-Armenia trade and investment links.
He says he is ‘almost 100 per cent sure’ that Mr Putin was behind the Salisbury attack and that it is important to avoid a ‘new cold war’.
He then advises the caller to show ‘determination and firmness’ when dealing with Mr Putin – while vowing to continue a crackdown on his oligarch allies in London.
When the man claims the Russian president talked of his ‘influence’ over the Labour leader and that his goddaughter ‘met with people of Mr Corbyn’, Mr Johnson asks for more information.
He probed: ‘Did he go into any detail or did he just say that Jeremy Corbyn was somebody who was able to influence?’
And then following a lengthy exhange, Mr Johnson said: ‘I am sure our intelligence will be listening on this line and they will draw the relevant conclusions.
‘Thank you very much for that interesting titbit of information.’
A senior diplomatic source blamed the Kremlin for the stunt, which was carried out by Alexei Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov – better known online as Lexus and Vovan
Asked whether he was sure Vladimir Putin’s Russia ordered the Salisbury nerve agent attack on the Skripals, Mr Johnson said: ‘I think it’s very important for the Russians to know that, certainly the UK, is absolutely determined to stand firm against them.
‘We will continue to tighten the squeeze on some of the oligarchs who surround Putin… you throw a stone in Kensington and you’ll find you’ll hit an oligarch.
‘Some of them are close to Putin and some of them aren’t.’
He added: ‘Russians should know that the UK will counter them firmly and we will continue pressing on some of Putin’s circle oligarchs.
‘We will look for ways to put more pressure on them in line with our legislation.’
He also warns the pranksters: ‘If I have a message to Putin, it’s that we don’t want a Cold War but we do want to see an improvement in the way Russia behaves.’
Early in the call, the man posing as Armenia’s PM thanked Mr Johnson for giving the time on his ‘day off’.
He also said ‘I’m a fan of your poetry’ – picking out a satirical poem Mr Johnson wrote about the Turkish President having sex with a goat.
A senior diplomatic source blamed Vladimir Putin’s (pictured today in St Petersburg with Christine Lagarde) Kremlin for the stunt which was carried out by Alexei Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov, better known online as Lexus and Vovan
A senior diplomatic source told MailOnline: ‘This seems to be the latest desperate attempt by the Kremlin to save face after it was internationally shamed in the wake of the Skripal attack.
‘Boris rumbled them pretty quickly and ended the call.
‘It is tragic to see a major international power reduced to failed pranks you would usually only see on Trigger Happy TV.’
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘The Foreign Secretary realised it was a hoax, and ended the call. We checked it out and knew immediately it was a prank call.
‘The use of chemical weapons in Salisbury and Syria, and recent events in Armenia are serious matters. These childish actions show the lack of seriousness of the caller and those behind him.’
Details of the call were first published in the pro-Kremlin tabloid newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda and those responsible expressed disappointment that <r Johnson had not made a fool of himself.
Stolyarov told the paper Mr Johnson turned out to be ‘a smart diplomat, an intellectual’.
A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: ‘What a joker. His bumbling may be funny but this is clearly a security risk.’