UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged messages with an impostor posing as White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, a report said on Monday.
But it also did not deny that the messages were exchanged between Burnham and the person. Burnham has not met US President Donald Trump yet, but the two leaders have had a phone call shortly after the Labour leader took over as Prime Minister.
Burnham grew suspicious of the contact being illegitimate only after communicating with the person in question, according to the Politico report quoting four officials. The British Prime Minister’s Office at Downing Street denied to comment on the breach, calling it a “national security matter”. One person quoted by Politico, who was briefed on the matter, said the communication was never via phone calls and only a “few messages” were exchanged after Burnham took over as the Prime Minister of UK.
Last year, the White House and the FBI launched a probe after senators, governors and US business leaders said they had received text messages and phone calls from someone claiming to be Trump’s chief of staff.
The British Embassy in Washington raised the matter with the White House out of extreme concern, according to two of the officials quoted by Politico.
The UK government feared that Wiles’ phone was hacked again, like it happened last year.
