Burnham exchanged messages with person posing as Trump’s chief of staff

Prime Minister Andy Burnham had a conversation with someone pretending to be the chief of staff for US President Donald Trump, according to a report by Politico. Downing Street has not commented on the security breach. The exchange reportedly involved only a small number of texts. Burnham became suspicious of the contact and informed the appropriate authorities promptly, according to sources.

The BBC previously reported that an FBI investigation was underway into Susie Wiles, a Trump ally, whose phone was hacked in May of the previous year. Wiles claimed the impersonator used her contacts to message high-ranking US officials. In 2024, the Foreign Office confirmed that then-foreign secretary David Cameron had exchanged messages with someone posing as former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.