Andy Burnham insists he's NOT embarrassed after being duped by a hoaxer pretending to be Donald Trump's chief of staff

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT and REBECCA CAMBER, CRIME AND SECURITY EDITOR and MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR and CHARLIE SPIERING, US POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 12:55, 18 August 2026 | Updated: 12:59, 18 August 2026 Andy Burnham today insisted he's not embarrassed by falling victim to a hoaxer pretending to be Donald Trump's chief of staff. The Prime Minister was duped by an unknown individual who posed as top White House aide Susie Wiles.  He sent several messages in exchanges that began before he became PM and continued after he took office on July 20. But, asked by broadcasters on Tuesday if he was embarrassed about the contact, Mr Burnham said: 'No, I'm not. 'Because there was a minimal exchange, nothing of consequence, and actually, quickly I realised that this needed to be reported, and I did so.' Speaking from Wolverhampton bus station, the PM added: 'So I handled it in the right way. All politicians are receiving these pressures and these challenges, but I did everything right. 'There was a minimal exchange of information of zero consequence, and it was quickly reported.' Asked what action had been taken to find out who had impersonated Ms Wiles, Mr Burnham replied: 'The correct action has been taken here and in the US.' Andy Burnham insisted he's not embarrassed by falling victim to a hoaxer pretending to be Donald Trump's chief of staff The Prime Minister was duped by an unknown individual who posed as top White House aide Susie Wiles The British embassy in Washington was forced to flag to the White House that Mr Burnham had been duped.  Andy Burnham is hardly the first senior figure to fall foul of a hoax call. When David Cameron was foreign secretary, he was taken in by an imposter posing as the former president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko. Lord Cameron was video-called and shared text messages with the trickster, despite meeting Mr Poroshenko numerous times between 2014 and 2019. In 2015, while he was prime minister, Lord Cameron was forced to review his security after call handlers put a scammer through to him. The caller claimed he was Robert Hannigan, the head of the monitoring agency GCHQ. Prince Harry was tricked by hoaxers posing as climate activist Greta Thunberg and her father Svante following the Sussexes' 'Megxit' in 2020. The duke was duped by Russian hoaxers Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov - known as Vovan and Lexus - into saying he was 'completely separate' from the Royal Family. He also discussed President Donald Trump, accusing him of having 'blood on his hands' for backing the coal industry in the US. And when Tony Blair occupied No 10, impressionist Jon Culshaw rang him up pretending to be the leader of the opposition, William Hague, to discuss a Cher exercise video. Sir Tony was smart to the ruse and said: 'That's quite a good imitation.' Sarah Palin, the former American Republican vice-president candidate, was pranked in November 2008 by the Canadian comedy act Masked Avengers. Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel kept Mrs Palin on the phone for six minutes pretending to be French president Nicolas Sarkozy. The chat ranged from her ambition to stand for President to shooting animals from a helicopter. Security experts said the tactic could have been copied from Tehran's playbook, but Whitehall sources suggested it was orchestrated in the US. A source close to the White House said: 'Traditionally there would be a trusted chain of communications between British and US officials to make sure all communications were secure and formal. 'Of course, they're gonna say it's inconsequential, but it was clearly big enough that they alerted people to it.' Professor Anthony Glees, a security and intelligence expert from the University of Buckingham, said: 'This looks like a bullseye as far as an attack is concerned. 'It is not an auspicious start to Burnham's relationship with Trump and his attempt to project himself on the world stage. 'To be duped like this is not a good look.' Although other PMs have previously been similarly fooled, Professor Glees said the hoax was a major security concern, adding: 'I think this is very serious. This is no laughing matter. 'For one thing, Burnham exchanged messages with someone he thought was Trump's chief of staff over several days, before and after he became Prime Minister. 'This is not two civil servants talking. This is a conversation as Burnham is taking the reins of power and you would expect Trump's chief of staff to discuss substantive issues. 'Susie's phone had been hacked before. You would expect someone in charge of Burnham's security to be aware of that. 'People in charge of his security, GCHQ and the FBI are the people with red faces here with a lot of explaining to do.' Last May, Ms Wiles' phone was hacked by an impersonator who used her personal phone contacts to message other top American officials, seemingly using AI to replicate her voice in calls with prominent Republicans. The key aide, who has been described by Mr Trump as the 'Ice Maiden', was also targeted by a cyber espionage unit associated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 2024. A hacker infiltrated her emails just before the 2024 election and threatened to disclose further emails to the media last June following the US bombing of Iran's nuclear sites. Last night the White House said: 'This incident had nothing to do with the chief of staff's devices being hacked.' The US President, however, faced questions about Mr Burnham's judgment during an Oval Office press conference, during which Mr Trump brushed it off as a 'miscommunication'. It is understood that Ms Wiles changed her number and email after the hack last year and steps were made to secure her communications during an FBI investigation, which has yet to uncover the culprit.