This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/01/dutch-police-find-fake-boris-johnson-licence-in-car-of-suspected-drunk-driver
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
Dutch police arrest fake ‘Boris Johnson’ for suspected drink-driving | |
(32 minutes later) | |
Ukrainian man’s licence had picture of former UK PM and correct birthdate – but officers did not fall for it | |
Dutch police who arrested a man in connection with a drink-driving incident were surprised to find that the name on his driving licence was Boris Johnson. | |
The Ukrainian driver’s fake licence, complete with the former British prime minister’s picture and correct birthdate, was purportedly issued in 2019 and valid until the end of the year 3000. | |
A police spokesperson, Thijs Damstra, said officers investigated an incident shortly after midnight on Sunday when a car crashed into a pole near the Emma Bridge in the northern city of Groningen. The car was abandoned but police were later told that the driver was standing on the bridge. | |
“The person could not identify himself and refused to undertake a breathalyser test,” Damstra said on Monday. The 35-year-old man, from the small town of Zuidhorn, west of Groningen, was arrested and police searched the car. “Inside, police found a fake driver’s licence belonging to Boris Johnson,” Damstra said. | |
Groningen police said on their Instagram account: “Unfortunately for this person, we did not fall for his forgery.” | |
Police could not say where the forged document was made, but Kysia Hekster, a former Russia correspondent for the public broadcaster NOS, said in a tweet published by the NOS that fake driving licences could easily be bought in tourist shops in Ukraine. | |
Damstra added: “As far as I’m aware, the real Mr Boris Johnson was not in the Netherlands at the time.” | |