Embarrassment at 10 Downing Street: Prime Minister corresponded with an impostor posing as Trump's Chief of Staff

Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, exchanged messages with a person posing as the Chief of Staff to Donald Trump. The Prime Minister sent a message to an individual posing as Susie Wiles, who is considered one of the most powerful figures in the White House.

The incident, first reported by the American news site Politico, caused such concern at the British Embassy that officials raised the matter with their counterparts in the White House. Sources at Downing Street admitted that Mr. Burnham was in contact with the impostor, but maintained that the messages were of no significance.

However, the incident still raises concerns regarding national security. It was reported that British officials feared Ms. Wiles' phone had been compromised again, after an impostor allegedly sent text messages and called her contacts in May 2025 to request financial and presidential pardons.

Keir Starmer resigned four days after the election to make room for his successor, who ran for the Labour leadership unopposed. Last year, US intelligence services warned of a "sustained malicious text and voice campaign" in which actors posed as American officials to target specific individuals.

US authorities previously blamed hackers acting on behalf of Iran during the final months of Mr. Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Information security has been a persistent concern at the White House; in April 2025, a hacker managed to breach the communication service used by Mike Waltz, the former National Security Advisor. They intercepted messages from a range of American officials, while the White House also admitted that Salt Typhoon, a supposedly extensive Chinese cyber-espionage operation, targeted and recorded conversations of "very senior" American figures.