LONDON — British Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged messages with someone posing as US President Donald Trump’s chief of staff.
Downing Street has declined to comment on the security breach.
The prime minister was in contact with an unknown individual pretending to be the senior White House aide Susie Wiles before concerns were raised about the incident. No messages of significance were sent and the suspicious activity was quickly reported to the appropriate authorities, sources said.
The British Embassy in Washington raised the matter with the White House, according to Politico, which first reported the exchange.
A UK government spokesperson said: “We do not comment on national security matters.”
It is unclear when the messages were sent and what was discussed between Burnham, who succeeded Keir Starmer in Downing Street on 20 July, and the impersonator.
It is understood the communication between Burnham and the person posing as Wiles was in the form of messages and there was no conversation between the two.
Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI had launched an investigation into efforts to access Wiles’s phone after an unknown person pretending to be her contacted prominent Republicans and business chiefs.
The impersonation was targeted at her personal phone, not government phone, but recipients included US senators, governors and top business executives.
Wiles, a key Trump ally, was also among those targeted by a cyber espionage unit associated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 2024.
In 2024, the Foreign Office (FCDO) confirmed then-foreign secretary David Cameron had fallen victim to a hoax call with someone pretending to be former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
Lord Cameron also exchanged some text messages with the impersonator pretending to be Poroshenko, who was president of Ukraine between 2014 and 2019.
During his term as prime minister, Lord Cameron had multiple dealings with the Ukrainian leader, including meetings at international summits.
The FCDO said it released details of the exchange publicly over fears it could be “manipulated”.
Two more government ministers were targeted in 2022, by an imposter pretending to be Ukraine’s prime minister between 2020 and 2025, Denys Shmyhal.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace blamed Russian “dirty tricks” for the calls, made via Microsoft Teams, which Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed she also received.
At the time, a Ministry of Defense source said the video call was “fairly sophisticated” and came via “another government department”, which added to its credibility.
Source: Saudi Gazette