TORY MP Mark Spencer has been accused of using "outrageous and reckless language" after he suggested “some little man in China” could be eavesdropping on his conversations with his wife.

The comment came as he was asked about reports over the weekend that former Prime Minister Liz Truss had her personal phone hacked by Russia.

The Mail on Sunday said the Kremlin was thought to have gained access to sensitive exchanges with foreign officials on Ukraine, as well as private conversations with Kwasi Kwarteng.

News of the hack came as the row over Rishi Sunak's decision to reappoint Suella Braverman as Home Secretary intensified. 

She had been sacked from the post by Ms Truss for using her personal email to send confidential documents to a backbench MP. 

Asked about the use of personal phones and emails, Mr Spencer, the UK Government's minister for Farming, Fisheries and Food, said: “The former prime minister clearly was hacked.

“So, that is the first thing you do, say ‘Oh my goodness, I’ve been hacked, help’, and the security services will help you with that challenge.

“Now, of course, you don’t always know, which is why you’ve got to be super-careful.”

Questioned on the potential breach, Mr Spencer said: “We all talk on personal phones, don’t we? I ring my wife, maybe there’s some little man in China listening to the conversations between me and my wife.

“But, you know, you’ve just got to be careful about what information you use on which phone and you get a lot of help and support from the security services on that.”

MP Sarah Owen, who is chair of East and South East Asians for Labour, accused Mr Spencer of "ignorance."

She told the Huffington Post: "Clearly government ministers like Mark Spencer do not understand the severity of the now repeated Conservative security breaches and that no amount of deflecting, even by throwing out the crass and archaic ‘little Chinese man’ trope, will distract us from the fact the PM chose to re-hire Braverman just six days after a ministerial code violation to one of the most sensitive positions of state."

Labour MP Afzal Khan said:" Outrageous and reckless language used here."

In the interview, Mr Spencer -a former Chief Whip - said ministers get “quite a lot of briefing” on “what to do and what not to do”.

Asked if he uses his government phone for personal business, he said: “I do not, no.”

He added: “You do get quite a lot of briefing from the security services on what to do and what not to do. So, you know, it’s quite important to get that right.

“I don’t want to comment too much on it because, of course, what I don’t want to do is tell the world exactly what that briefing says. But you do get a lot of support when you become a Government minister on what is appropriate and inappropriate as a Government minister.”