Apple Watches follow smartphones into the banned list for cabinet and other government meetings

Government security fears over hacked connected devices

Apple Watches and other connected devices have been banned from cabinet by Prime Minister Theresa May over fears that hacked devices could be used to eavesdrop on confidential meetings.

Smartphones and tablet computers were banned back in 2013 over security fears, but now smart watches, including the Apple Watch worn by some cabinet ministers, have been added to the banned list.

Back in 2013, Number 10 was worried about the security services of China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan hacking connected devices and using them for surveillance. But today the focus is very much on Russia. One source, quoted but not named by The Daily Telegraph said: "The Russians are trying to hack everything."

In response to the supposed threat, cabinet ministers have been required to hand their smartphones to security staff, who lock their computing devices away into sound-proofed, lead-lined boxes before cabinet meetings - although it could be argued that handing over a computing device to someone you don't know "for safe keeping" is hardly a secure practice either.

The first Apple Watches contained a number of high profile security flaws, which ought to have been fixed with updates and new versions of Apple's watchOS operating system

It was also feared that complimentary USB sticks handed out to delegates at the G20 Summit in St Petersburg in 2013 might contain a virus.

When the Apple Watch was released in 2015, a number of government ministers wore theirs into cabinet meetings. Now, they too have been added to the banned list.

News of the Apple Watch ban comes after Russian spies were accused of trying to hack computers and devices that will be used in the US presidential election. According to FBI director James Comey, hackers based in Russia have attempted to hack voter registration databases this year and there are fears that certain makes of voting machine could be targeted.

However, a more basic explanation could be the distraction that smartphones and other devices cause. Former Prime Minster David Cameron reportedly banned BlackBerrys and other mobile phones - back in 2010 when they were still widely used - for that reason.

Ex-education secretary Michael Gove, meanwhile, claims that he treated a cabinet meeting to an accidental blast of Beyonce while fiddling with his Apple Watch back in 2015, before they were banned.