Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (PTI)
Johnson’s upcoming book, Unleashed, set to be released on October 10, allegedly recounts the incident, which took place at the British Foreign Office while Johnson was serving as the UK’s foreign secretary.
In his memoir, Johnson reportedly claims that during the meeting, Netanyahu—whom he refers to as “Bibi”—excused himself to use the bathroom. Johnson is said to have described the bathroom as resembling “the gents in a posh London club,” located in a “secret annexe.”
Johnson allegedly wrote that after Netanyahu’s visit to the bathroom, a regular sweep for bugs revealed a listening device. “Thither Bibi repaired for a while, and it may or may not be a coincidence but I am told that later, when they were doing a regular sweep for bugs, they found a listening device in the thunderbox,” Johnson reportedly wrote.
The Telegraph noted that it remains unclear whether Israel was confronted regarding the incident.
After the excerpt was made public, Johnson was asked to provide more details, to which he reportedly replied, “I think everything you need to know about that episode is in the book,” according to the British-daily.
Israel planted devices in the White House as well?
At the time, Netanyahu’s government had been accused of planting listening devices in the White House, as noted in a 2019 Politico report that cited three former US officials. Netanyahu denied those allegations, and then-US President Donald Trump also expressed skepticism, reportedly calling the claims “hard to believe.”
According to some US officials, an investigation in Washington concluded that Israel was responsible for planting the devices near the White House and other sensitive locations.
Additionally, the report mentioned accusations that London had been involved in spying on Israel’s government and its foreign missions, based on leaked US intelligence published by the French newspaper ‘Le Monde’ in 2016.
In his memoir, Johnson is also said to recall joking with Netanyahu during the Israeli leader’s visit to the British Foreign Office.
Johnson served as Britain’s foreign secretary from 2016 to 2018 and later as prime minister from 2019 to 2022, when he resigned following accusations of violating Covid-era restrictions enforced by his own government.
First Published: Oct 04 2024 | 2:58 PM IST