Burnham Exchanges Messages with Susie Wiles Impostor

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged messages with an impostor posing as President Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, according to reports published Monday by multiple outlets including Politico, UPI, and CBS News. The communications were brief, consisting of only a few messages deemed 'of no significance,' before Burnham became suspicious and cut off contact.

The incident raised concerns within the British government about potential hacking attempts. According to reports from Politico, cited by multiple outlets, four unnamed officials confirmed that Burnham thought he was messaging with Wiles but soon grew suspicious. The messages were exchanged via a secure channel used for high-level communications.

A spokesperson for Burnham declined to comment on the matter, citing policy not to discuss 'national security matters.' CBS News reported that Downing Street did not immediately respond to their request for comment but had previously stated it would not comment on national security issues. The British Embassy in Washington reportedly reached out to the White House about the incident.

The White House denied any involvement of Wiles' devices being hacked, stating 'This incident had nothing to do with the Chief of Staff's devices being hacked.' This denial was reported by both Politico and CBS News. The FBI has previously warned about 'malicious actors' misusing AI to impersonate senior U.S. government officials, including an incident last year where an impostor posing as Wiles contacted several prominent figures.

The State Department had also issued warnings following the discovery that an impostor posed as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and attempted to contact foreign ministers and other officials. Burnham, who became prime minister less than a month ago, has been working to forge good ties with the White House. Trump initially warmed to Burnham's predecessor, Keir Starmer, before souring on him.