UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged text messages with an impostor posing as White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles shortly after taking office on July 20, 2026. Burnham cut off communications after becoming suspicious, and the British Embassy in Washington alerted the White House. Downing Street declined to comment on the security breach, citing national security. The incident follows previous US investigations into the hacking of Wiles' contacts and broader warnings about AI-enabled impersonations of officials.
Burnham-Wiles impersonation incident
- ▪United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham became suspicious of the messages, cut off communications, and reported the activity to the appropriate authorities
- ▪A spokesperson for Downing Street and Prime Minister Andy Burnham declined to comment on the incident, citing a policy of not discussing national security matters
- ▪The British Embassy in Washington, D.C. informed the White House about the impersonation exchange involving United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham
- ▪United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged text messages with an impostor posing as United States White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles
Wiles phone contact hack investigation
- ▪The United States government and the FBI investigated a series of messages sent to elected officials, business executives, and governors from an impersonator using Susie Wiles' hacked personal phone contacts list
- ▪The White House stated that the impersonation of Susie Wiles in the exchange with Prime Minister Andy Burnham was not related to her devices being hacked
- ▪Susie Wiles was targeted in 2024 by a cyber espionage unit associated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards
AI-enabled impersonation pattern
- ▪The United States State Department warned diplomats that an impostor using artificial intelligence to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio had contacted at least three foreign ministers, a senator, and a governor
- ▪The FBI issued warnings regarding malicious actors misusing artificial intelligence to impersonate senior United States government officials
UK-US diplomatic relations context
- ▪Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who assumed office on July 20, 2026, has sought to establish strong relations with the White House following Keir Starmer's tenure
- ▪United States President Donald Trump initially warmed to former United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer before relations between the two leaders soured
Previous UK official impersonation incidents
- ▪In 2024, then-Foreign Secretary David Cameron fell victim to a hoax call and exchanged text messages with an impostor pretending to be former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
- ▪In 2022, United Kingdom Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel were targeted by an impostor pretending to be Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal
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