British PM Burnham duped by White House impostor

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has reportedly exchanged messages with someone posing as a senior government official in the United States.

The UK leader believed he was speaking to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in a recent exchange of messages, the Politico news outlet reported on Monday. US authorities have warned in recent months about AI being used to impersonate senior government officials.

According to the report, sources said that Burnham exchanged a “few messages” but that they were “of no significance”. The contents of the messages remain unclear.

Burnham then reportedly became suspicious, cut off communications and informed the relevant authorities.

A British government spokesperson refused to comment on the report, saying it is against policy to discuss “national security matters”.

The British Embassy in the US was reportedly extremely concerned about the incident and decided to inform the White House, which has since confirmed that the “incident had nothing to do with the Chief of Staff’s devices being hacked”.

Concern over communications security has risen during President Donald Trump’s second term.

The FBI warned of “malicious actors” misusing AI to impersonate senior government officials as it launched an investigation last year, alongside the White House, into an imposter who posed as Wiles and contacted senior Republicans and business officials.