'As smelly as a fish market in summer!' Morgan McSweeney's phone theft scandal torn apart by top Tory

The Conservative frontbencher raised concerns about multiple aspects of the incident, questioning the responses from the Metropolitan Police, Mr McSweeney himself, and the Downing Street security team.

Mr Griffith suggested the reporting around the lost device appeared "pretty evasive" and noted that officials at the time could not have ruled out the possibility that a foreign state actor had obtained the phone, which potentially contained sensitive government information.

The shadow minister pointed to his own time working in Downing Street, where he briefly possessed an official NO10 device, recalling the intense anxiety that surrounded such equipment potentially ending up in the wrong hands.

He argued there was a straightforward resolution to the controversy, calling on the Prime Minister to pressure his close ally into full disclosure.

"But there's an easy answer to this, which is for Morgan McSweeney today, pressed by his buddy the Prime Minister, to hand over all of his phones, all of his devices, all of his cloud accounts, and we can put all of that in the public domain, and if there's nothing to hide, what has he got to be fearful of?" Mr Griffith said.

He noted that the existence of separate phones for Government officials exists precisely because of security concerns about sensitive information.

Mr Griffith also turned his attention to Britain's diminished military capabilities and the country's weakened position in Middle Eastern affairs.

He described it as "one of the great tragedies" that the UK's significantly reduced armed forces, despite the excellence of serving personnel, meant Britain lacked meaningful influence in regional conflicts.

The shadow minister highlighted the broader economic consequences of this diminished standing, pointing to rising energy costs and the harm being inflicted on British companies.

"In situations like this, which of course, affect us all, the price of energy, the damage being done to British businesses, we really very don't much have a seat at the table," he said.

Mr Griffith acknowledged that Westminster figures found this reality deeply uncomfortable.

He proposed that the Prime Minister could recall Parliament this Saturday to approve measures that would unlock Britain's domestic energy resources, which could then finance the long-delayed defence industrial plan.

The Tory minister said: "The one thing that we could do is start to unleash our natural energy resources. The Prime Minister was pressed on that yesterday. He had all sorts of evasive process answers, but he's the Prime Minister.

"He could summon Parliament this Saturday, give all of the approvals that are needed to start unleashing our natural energy resources that would allow us to go forward and fund the long delayed defence industrial plan."

He emphasised that directing taxpayer funds into necessary defence assets would help restore the UK to the upper echelon of global economies with military forces capable of addressing current geopolitical challenges.

While praising Britain's substantial contribution to Ukraine through assets, intelligence and financial support, Mr Griffith contrasted this with the country's response in the Gulf.

He pointed to the fortnight required to deploy a single frigate and the withdrawal of minesweepers from the Strait of Hormuz before hostilities commenced as evidence of Britain's diminished capabilities.

"That's an embarrassing thing for the position for the UK," he said.