Andy Burnham exchanged messages with someone impersonating a top staff member at Donald Trump's White House, it has emerged. The Prime Minister sent messages to a person who was pretending to be Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff.
Messages 'of no significance'
According to Politico, a person briefed on the matter said the communications between the two were 'of no significance' and the PM soon became suspicious that the person was illegitimate. Once concerns were raised, it is understood the suspicious activity was quickly reported to the relevant authorities.
It is unclear when the incident took place, though it was after Burnham entered No 10. Politico reported that the British embassy was so concerned, it brought up the case with the White House.
Government response
A UK Government spokesperson said: 'We do not comment on national security matters.'
It is not the first time Wiles, who has served as the chief of staff for Donald Trump since he returned as President at the start of last year, has been the victim of impersonation efforts. Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that an unknown person had contacted top Republicans and business leaders while pretending to be her.
Previous impersonation incident
According to the US newspaper, senators and governors were among those who received texts and phone calls from someone posing as Wiles. The FBI and White House launched an investigation to figure out who was behind the effort, with Wiles telling associates her phone contacts were hacked, the WSJ said.
Burnham first spoke over the phone with President Trump on July 20, the day he took over from Sir Keir Starmer as the UK's Prime Minister.
