Prime Minister Andy Burnham allegedly exchanged messages with an individual impersonating Susie Wiles, a close aide to former President Donald Trump and White House Chief of Staff, officials have claimed.
The communications occurred after Mr. Burnham entered his Downing Street office on July 20, according to a source familiar with the messages. While the content of the exchanges has not been disclosed, the source described them as being "of no significance." Four officials speaking anonymously confirmed the report to Politico, with two indicating that the British embassy in Washington had raised the matter with the White House.
Downing Street has not provided a detailed explanation, with a government spokesperson stating, "We do not comment on national security matters." However, it is understood that no telephone call took place between Mr. Burnham and the imposter, and the incident was promptly reported to the relevant authorities.
Concerns were reportedly raised among UK officials about the potential hacking of Ms. Wiles's phone. This incident echoes a previous report from May 2025, detailed by The Wall Street Journal, in which the FBI was investigating attempts by unknown individuals to access Ms. Wiles's personal phone. At that time, it was claimed that an impersonator used her contacts to message other high-ranking American officials, including senators, governors, and business executives.
The alleged exchange with Mr. Burnham is one of several instances of hoax communications targeting government officials in recent decades.
In June 2024, Russian pranksters Alexei Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov, known as Lexus and Vovan, released footage of a video call with then-Foreign Secretary David Cameron. They had tricked him into believing he was speaking with former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during the 15-minute call before he realized it was a hoax.
Earlier, in March 2022, a prank call involving the same Russian duo led Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to believe he was conversing with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Downing Street at the time accused the Kremlin of orchestrating these calls to obtain sensitive or embarrassing information.
Other incidents include a May 2018 call where Lexus and Vovan posed as Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to speak with Boris Johnson, who was then the Foreign Secretary. During that conversation, Mr. Johnson discussed UK-Russia relations and the Salisbury nerve agent attack.
In January 2015, then-Prime Minister David Cameron received a hoax call on his Blackberry from someone claiming to be participating in a high-level conference call. The caller, who purported to be Robert Hannigan, then director of GCHQ, was connected to Mr. Cameron, who quickly ended the call.
Additionally, in 1998, an impersonator successfully reached Tony Blair at Downing Street. Radio host Steve Penk, with the help of impressionist Jon Culshaw, who mimicked the voice of then-opposition leader William Hague, offered Mr. Blair a Cher exercise video. Mr. Blair reportedly took the joke in good humor.
Former Home Secretary Priti Patel has also confirmed speaking with imposters, and an unsuccessful attempt was made to target former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries.