london —
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged messages with someone impersonating US President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles, sources told CNN.
It is unclear when the exchange took place or what was discussed, but Politico, which first reported the leak on Monday, said the British embassy in Washington was so concerned that it had raised the matter with the White House. Downing Street told CNN it does not comment on national security issues.
CNN understands that the communication was in the form of text messages and that no “significant messages” were exchanged. Burnham immediately became suspicious and the incident was reported to the appropriate authorities.
Mr. Burnham was sworn in as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on July 20, but when he returned to parliament a month earlier, he was essentially in a waiting list.
“This incident has nothing to do with the chief of staff’s device being hacked,” a White House official told CNN.
Phishing efforts by people associated with Wiles have continued in recent months, following an incident in May 2025 that led U.S. law enforcement agencies to investigate efforts to impersonate Wiles.
White House officials said at the time that Wiles told Trump administration officials that he believed his personal phone and contact list had been hacked because the impersonator had only contacted celebrities on the list.
Many of the people who received the messages, including business owners, senators and governors, suspected they were from Mr. Wiles, the official said.
