UK's new PM messaged with person claiming to be Trump's chief of staff

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has admitted to exchanging messages with someone posing as US President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles. During a trip to central England, Burnham stated that he was not ashamed of the incident, which was brought to the attention of the White House. Politico initially reported on Monday that Burnham engaged with a few messages sent by someone impersonating Wiles through an unspecified communication channel.

The Prime Minister admitted he became suspicious of the contact and promptly reported the situation. The British embassy in Washington then notified the White House, according to two sources cited by Politico. The exact details of the exchange, including the date and number of messages, have not been disclosed to the public. However, Burnham assured that no sensitive information was discussed during the brief interaction.

Downing Street declined to provide further information on when the conversation took place. Federal authorities had previously investigated a similar attempt to impersonate Wiles in 2025, following an unknown individual posing as her and contacting prominent Republicans and business executives. Wiles reported her personal phone being hacked, with her contact list exposed.

The White House denied any connection between the incident involving Burnham and Wiles' hacked devices. Numerous individuals who received messages from the impersonator reportedly became skeptical when the fraudster attempted to shift the conversation to Telegram. Burnham is not the first British leader to be targeted by a hoax call.

In 2018, Boris Johnson discussed sanctions against Russia during a lengthy hoax conversation while serving as foreign secretary. Former Prime Minister David Cameron also fell for hoaxes in 2024, 2015, and even spoke with a caller impersonating former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko while serving as prime minister in 2015. Downing Street connected him with a caller pretending to be the head of the UK Government Communications Headquarters.

Burnham emphasized that the correct action was taken in both the UK and US, acknowledging that scammers can target anyone. He offered some warning signs to identify scam calls, as provided by Scamwatch.