Andy Burnham exchanged messages with fake Trump Chief of Staff

The messages were flagged to authorities

The prime minister communicated with the person before becoming suspicious that the contact was illegitimate, according to Politico, which first reported the exchange. Downing Street has declined to comment on the security breach, BBC News reported.

Officials say the contact was limited to messages, with no phone conversation between the two.

According to the Guardian, no messages of significance were sent and the suspicious activity was quickly reported to the appropriate authorities.

The British embassy in Washington was concerned enough to raise the matter with the White House. A government spokesperson said: “We do not comment on national security matters.”

Why Andy Burnham Is Not the First Target

Burnham, who succeeded Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street on 20 July, secured an early endorsement from Trump in a discussion that took place within an hour of his arrival at No 10 last month.

The impersonation of Wiles, meanwhile, has form: last year the FBI opened an investigation after US senators, governors and business leaders received texts and calls from someone who appeared to have gained access to the contacts on her personal phone, as the Wall Street Journal first reported.

The messages did not come from her number.

"They breached the phone; they tried to impersonate her. Nobody can impersonate her. There’s only one Susie."

- Donald Trump, speaking to reporters at the time of the FBI investigation

British ministers have been caught out before. In 2024 the Foreign Office confirmed that the then foreign secretary David Cameron had fallen victim to a hoax call, and exchanged text messages, with someone pretending to be the former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.

The department released the details publicly over fears the exchange could be “manipulated”.