LONDON: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged messages with a person pretending to be Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, according to reports published on Monday.
Politico, which first reported the incident citing anonymous sources, said Burnham sent a “few messages” through an unspecified communication channel to someone he believed was Wiles before becoming suspicious about the person’s identity.
The incident was considered serious enough for the British embassy in Washington to notify the White House, according to two sources cited by Politico. Details about when the exchanges occurred and what was discussed have not been disclosed.
Burnham became prime minister on July 20 after succeeding former Labour Party leader Keir Starmer.
A spokesperson for Burnham’s Downing Street office said, “We do not comment on national security matters,” without confirming or denying that the exchanges had taken place.
The incident is not the first time a senior British politician has been targeted by an impersonation scam. In 2024, the British government released footage of a phone conversation in which then-Foreign Secretary David Cameron was deceived by someone posing as former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.
