London – British Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged messages with someone posing as White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, POLITICO reported Monday, citing four unnamed officials. CBS News sister network BBC News said it had confirmed the exchange. Burnham, who became prime minister in July, exchanged “some messages” that were “unimportant” with the person, POLITICO said, citing one of its sources. Burnham began to suspect that the person she was messaging was not who they said they were during the conversation, officials told the news outlet. The prime minister’s office at 10 Downing Street did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS News, but a representative told POLITICO he “would not comment on national security matters.” Labor Party leader Andy Burnham makes a social media post after a visit to The Passage Homeless Charity, on July 20, 2026, in the Victoria area of London, England. Christopher Furlong/Getty The BBC said it had confirmed the story, reporting that the communication was just an exchange of messages and that Burnham and the unidentified prankster never had a verbal conversation. What was discussed in the messages and when they were sent has not been revealed. Last May, CBS News reported that one or more unknown people had accessed Wiles’ personal cell phone and used her contacts to communicate with other senior officials posing as her. The FBI launched an investigation into the incident. “The White House takes the cybersecurity of all staff very seriously and this matter continues to be investigated,” a White House spokesperson told CBS News at the time. The exchange with Burnham raised concerns within the British government that Wiles may have been hacked again, POLITICO reported. The U.K. Embassy in Washington raised the incident with the White House, two of the officials told POLITICO. Neither the White House nor the British Foreign Office immediately responded to CBS News’ requests for comment on the matter. Burnham replaced former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had led both men’s Labor Party to a landslide election victory just two years earlier, on July 20. In:
