Officials within the British government said Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged texts with a person impersonating President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles.
Politico first reported the impersonation on Monday, citing four officials familiar with the incident. They said Burnham had sent a few messages before becoming suspicious and ending the conversation.
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The British government said it couldn’t comment on the matter, but one of the officials said the communication lasted only a “few messages” and insisted it was “of no significance,” Politico reported.
This was the second time a person had impersonated Wiles since she began her role as Trump’s top adviser. In May 2025, federal authorities launched an investigation after they found that someone hacked Wiles’ phone to access her contacts, then tried to impersonate her and contact several people.
What happened in the latest impersonation incident?
British officials did not say what was discussed in the exchange with Burnham or when the incident took place.
Because of the past incidents involving Wiles, the British embassy in Washington, D.C., was so concerned that her phone may have been hacked again that it notified the White House, Politico reported. But the White House confirmed that the incident didn’t involve Wiles.
“This incident had nothing to do with the Chief of Staff’s devices being hacked,” the White House said in a statement.
Previous hack and impersonation attempt
Wiles was hacked in the past after a person tried to use AI-generated voice clones of Wiles to impersonate her. Officials said the person hacked into Wiles’ phone contact list and began reaching out to influential Republican lawmakers, governors and business leaders.
Officials said those groups began receiving text messages and phone calls that sounded like Wiles. They also said some received messages on Telegram, a secure messaging app.
The Wall Street Journal, which initially reported the hack, said the individual asked some of the groups to provide sensitive information. One lawmaker told the outlet that the hacker asked them for a list of people eligible for presidential pardons. The hacker asked at least one person to provide a cash transfer.
Those who received the messages quickly questioned them, saying the person couldn’t answer questions about Trump and used uncharacteristically formal language and poor grammar. After several reports, the FBI launched an investigation into the breach.
“The FBI takes all threats against the president, his staff, and our cybersecurity with the utmost seriousness,” FBI Director Kash Patel said at the time. “Safeguarding our administration officials’ ability to securely communicate to accomplish the president’s mission is a top priority.”
Since then, the administration hasn’t announced any new findings or developments in the investigation.