10 Downing Street has been forced to change its switchboard message after top Tory Michael Gove blurted out the phone number to millions of live radio listeners.
Callers to the Prime Minister's official residence now get an extra warning that they cannot ask about his diary after Mr Gove issued the number in a distraction stunt.
Mr Gove was asked on Radio 5 Live why Boris Johnson had refused to do an election interview with BBC rottweiler Andrew Neil.
Host Chris Warburton asked: “On a scale of 1 to 10 what’s the chance of the Andrew Neil interview with Boris Johnson happening? Just give us a number?”
But cynical Mr Gove replied: " I think the number would be..." and then read out the number for the Downing Street switchboard.
He added: "If you ring the Prime Minister’s diary secretary, he will know or she will know what the Prime Minister is going to do, I am not the Prime Minister’s diary secretary."
The number is publicly available online but there were unconfirmed reports on Twitter of No10 being "inundated" with calls.
Now anyone who rings the switchboard receives the message: "You have reached the Downing Street switchboard.
"Unfortunately we are unable to give out any information relating to the Prime Minister's diary on this phone line.
"To listen to further contact details, please press 1."
Perhaps unsurprisingly, 10 Downing Street declined to comment.
