AMSTERDAM: When Dutch police arrested a man suspected of drunk driving, they were shocked to see the name “Boris Johnson” on his driver’s licence.
According to a report in The Telegraph, the document was made in Ukraine and had an official photo of the former prime minister of the UK and his accurate date of birth.
The licence, which was awarded in 2019, is valid until the year 3000. The discovery was made by authorities looking into a crash shortly after midnight on Sunday, according to police spokesman Thijs Damstra, who was quoted by the source. Although the driver was later reported standing close by on the bridge, the car was abandoned.
“The person could not identify himself and denied to go for a breath analyser test,” Damstra shared with AFP.
The 35-year-old man came from Zuidhorn, a small settlement west of Groningen. Police searched his car after he was taken into custody. According to Mr Damstra, “Police discovered a fake driver’s licence inside that belonged to Boris Johnson.”
According to an article in The Telegraph, Groningen police posted on its Instagram account, “Unfortunately for this person, we did not fall for his forgery.” Police could not determine the location of the forgery. Still, journalist and former Russia correspondent for public broadcaster NOS Kysia Hekster claimed that tourists could easily get false driver’s licences in Ukraine.
Damstra noted, “As far as I’m aware, the real Boris Johnson was not in the Netherlands at the time.”
