British Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged messages with a person who presented himself as one of Donald Trump's closest advisers, reported “Politico“, quoted by BTA.
The new prime minister thought he was communicating with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles until he suspected that it was not actually her on the other side, sources of the online publication said. The information was also reported by British media.
“We do not comment on matters of national security“,“Downing Street“ said. A person familiar with the communication said “several messages“were exchanged after the prime minister took office at “Downing Street“ 10, but insisted they were “of no significance“.
The British embassy in Washington was so concerned by the incident that it raised the issue with the White House, two of the sources told “Politico“. The British government has raised concerns that Wiles' phone has been hacked again.
A White House spokesman said: “This incident has nothing to do with the Chief of Staff being hacked.“
Last year, the White House and the FBI launched an investigation after senators, governors and US company executives received text messages and phone calls from a man claiming to be Trump's chief of staff.
The US newspaper “Wall Street Journal“ reported at the time that Wiles had told aides that her mobile phone contacts had been hacked.
It is not clear what was discussed in the messages with Burnham or when they were sent, as communications with the impersonator were kept strictly confidential.
Labour Party leader Burnham became Prime Minister on 20 July, but from the moment he won the Makerfield by-election on 18 June it was clear that he would succeed Keir Starmer in both