UK prime minister Andy Burnham swapped messages with a fake Trump aide in a daft security breach for Downing Street.
Downing Street declined to comment “on national security matters”, but has not denied Burnham was in touch with someone posing as White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
According to the Financial Times those briefed on the mess insisted the chats were by message, not a phone call, and that no significant information was passed across.
They said concerns were raised and the suspicious activity was “quickly reported to the appropriate authorities” after a few messages between the two sides.
Burnham has yet to meet US president Donald Trump in person since taking office last month. The pair have spoken by phone, while Trump has had a pop at the UK’s policies on fossil fuels and immigration.
Politico, which first reported the breach, said the British embassy was concerned enough to notify the White House, which declined to comment.
Last year, the FBI investigated an attempt to hack Wiles’s personal phone after politicians and US business executives received texts and calls from someone claiming to be the chief of staff.
“The White House takes the cybersecurity of all staff very seriously, and this matter continues to be investigated,” a White House spokesperson said at the time.
It is not the first time a senior British politician has been caught out by someone pretending to be a foreign political bigwig.
In 2024, then-foreign secretary Lord David Cameron was the victim of a hoax call from someone impersonating former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.
Several text messages were exchanged between the impersonator and Cameron, who regretted his mistake, according to a Foreign Office spokesperson at the time.
“Whilst the video call clearly appeared to be with Mr Poroshenko, following the conversation the foreign secretary became suspicious,” the spokesperson said.
