Fake ‘Boris Johnson’ arrested for drink-driving by Dutch police

Motorist refused to give police any licence, but a fake ID featuring the name and picture of the former UK PM was later found in his car

A Ukrainian driving licence featuring an image of former prime minister Boris Johnson (INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT GRONINGEN CENT)

A Dutch motorist who was pulled over for drink-driving by police was carrying a fake ID depicting former UK prime minister Boris Johnson, police in the Netherlands have revealed.

The Ukrainian driver’s faux licence, which also carried Mr Johnson’s name and birthday, was supposedly issued on 24 July 2019 – the day the ex-PM became Britain’s leader.

But for stunned police, the more surprising detail was that the licence was valid until the end of the year 3000 – covering “Boris Johnson” for another 977 years on the road.

Police spokesperson Thijs Damstra said officers investigated an incident shortly after midnight on Sunday when a car collided with a pole near the Emma Bridge in the northern city of Groningen.

The vehicle was abandoned, but Mr Damstra said police were later told that the motorist was standing on the bridge.

“The person could not identify himself and refused to undertake a breathalyser test,” he said on Monday.

The 35-year-old man, from Zuidhorn, a small town to the 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 the police Instagram account: “Unfortunately for this person, we did not fall for his forgery.”

Police found the fake licence inside the car of a 35-year-old man (INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT GRONINGEN CENT)

The force could not say where the document has been acquired, but former Russian correspondent Kysia Hekster said in a tweet published by the NOS that fake driving licences could easily be bought in tourist shops in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv or the city of Lviv.

Damstra added: “As far as I’m aware, the real Mr Boris Johnson was not in the Netherlands at the time.”