Image: AP

Just how paranoid are the Brits? Well, according to The Telegraph, UK government ministers are banned from wearing the Apple Watch during Cabinet meetings because of fears that the Russians could be listening in on what’s going on.


The Telegraph reports:

Under David Cameron, several cabinet ministers wore the smart watches, including Michael Gove, the former Justice Secretary. However, under Theresa May ministers have been barred from wearing them amid concerns that they could be used by hackers as listening devices. Mobile phones have already been barred from the Cabinet because of similar concerns. One source said: “The Russians are trying to hack everything.”

Smartphones have been banned from cabinet meetings since late 2013, with ministers going as far as to place phones in lead-lined boxes, you know, just in case someone was listening.


On Facebook, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had a pretty funny response, which The Mirror translated:

Apple Watch, easy. It is strange that the Daily Telegraph do not know that ‘Russian secret agents’ can hack Breguet even better.

I don’t know how many Brits use an Apple Watch, but I do know that British government seems paranoid as fuck.