UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham reportedly exchanged messages with someone posing as a senior White House official on July 20, as U.S. law enforcement agencies continue to warn about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to impersonate government officials.
According to Politico, the UK leader believed he was communicating with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles during the recent exchange. Sources say the two sides exchanged only "a few messages" and the content was "nothing significant." However, Burnham later grew suspicious, cut off contact, and reported the incident to the relevant authorities.
The UK Embassy in Washington is said to have been deeply concerned about the matter and decided to notify the White House. The White House confirmed that "the incident was not related to any hacking of Ms. Wiles' devices."
A UK government spokesperson declined to comment on the report, stating that discussing "national security issues" runs against general policy.
The episode has raised concerns about communications security during President Donald Trump's second term. Last year, the FBI, alongside the White House, launched an investigation into an impersonator of Ms. Wiles who had contacted Republican officials and business figures. Two months later, the U.S. State Department also announced an investigation into an individual posing as Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reach out to three foreign ministers.
Additionally, the Trump administration faced criticism after it emerged that an American journalist had been added to a Signal chat group where top security officials discussed military plans to strike Houthi forces in Yemen in March 2025. A Pentagon report published in December concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may have endangered U.S. troops by sharing classified information in that conversation.
