British Prime Minsiter Andy Burnham was reportedly deceived into exchanging messages with a person posing as US President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles, according to a report by Politico.
The
incident allegedly took place around the time Burnham took charge at 10 Downing Street on July 20. According to people familiar with the matter, Burnham communicated with the person claiming to be Susie Wiles “before becoming suspicious that the contact was illegitimate”.
The messages were reportedly quickly brought to the attention of the relevant authorities once their suspicious nature became clear.
Downing Street declined to comment on the matter, saying, “We do not comment on national security matters.”
The communication is understood to have taken place entirely through messages, with no phone conversation between Burnham and the impersonator.
The British embassy in Washington reportedly raised the matter with the White House after becoming concerned about the incident.
A White House official said the episode “had nothing to do” with Wiles’ devices being hacked.
The incident comes after Wiles was herself targeted in a similar impersonation case last year.
The White House and the FBI had investigated after several US senators, governors and business executives received messages and calls from someone claiming to be Trump’s chief of staff.
The Wall Street Journal had reported at the time that Wiles told associates that her cellphone contacts had been hacked.
Trump had defended his chief of staff during the episode, saying: “Nobody can impersonate Susie. There’s only one Susie.”
Wiles, a close Trump ally, was also among the people targeted in 2024 by a cyber espionage unit linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The latest incident comes as the UK government is also taking steps to improve the security of ministers’ personal contact details.
The government is removing the personal mobile numbers of three Cabinet ministers from websites where they had previously been publicly available.
The numbers of Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, Justice Secretary Alex Norris and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant were reportedly accessible online.
A UK government spokesperson said it had “robust procedures in place to ensure the security of sensitive information.”
(With inputs from agencies)
