Boris Johnson claims Netanyahu bugged his private bathroom in 2017
Benjamin Netanyahu and Boris Jonhson in London, November 2, 2017. (Reuters Photo)
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has claimed that a listening device was discovered in his bathroom at the Foreign Office following a 2017 meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Johnson’s claims were revealed in his new book Unleashed, where he details the incident that took place during his tenure as the UK’s Foreign Secretary.
According to Johnson, after a meeting with Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister used his bathroom, referred to as a “secret annex.” In his account, Johnson described how a bugging device was later discovered during a routine security sweep. “It may or may not be a coincidence,” Johnson wrote, adding that the listening device was found in the “thunderbox,” a slang term for a bathroom.
When asked for further clarification by The Telegraph, Johnson responded, “I think everything you need to know about that episode is in the book.” The Prime Minister’s Office has yet to comment on the former prime minister’s claims.
Johnson’s allegations are not the first time Israel has been accused of espionage. Around the same time as the Foreign Office incident, Israel was also accused of planting listening devices near the White House, according to a report from The Telegraph. In another report from 2022, The Guardian cited accusations that Israeli intelligence had spied on officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for years.
Anonymous sources told the newspaper that Israeli operatives intercepted communications, including phone calls and emails, from ICC officials such as Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan and his predecessor Fatou Bensouda. The intelligence reportedly provided Netanyahu with advanced knowledge of the ICC’s activities.
Additionally, in 2022, Johnson’s office at No. 10 Downing Street was reportedly targeted by Pegasus, a spyware developed by an Israeli company that allows remote surveillance through infected mobile phones.
According to a report by The Guardian, Citizen Lab confirmed multiple suspected instances of Pegasus infections at the Prime Minister’s Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2020 and 2021. While Pegasus is Israeli-made, the report suggested that the United Arab Emirates, not Israel, was behind these specific incidents.
Citizen Lab, which monitors digital threats, stated that the infections linked to the Foreign Office were connected to operators associated with countries including the UAE, India, Cyprus, and Jordan. The infection at the Prime Minister’s Office was linked to UAE-based operators.
The Israeli government has yet to respond to the latest allegations surrounding Johnson’s claims of a bugging device in the Foreign Office. The revelations come amidst a backdrop of previous accusations of Israeli involvement in espionage activities targeting foreign governments and international institutions.
