Andy Burnham says he handled fake Trump aide messages correctly
Andy Burnham says he exchanged minimal messages with someone posing as Donald Trump's chief of staff, reported it quickly, and insists he handled it correctly.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Andy Burnham has insisted he handled correctly an exchange of messages with someone pretending to be Donald Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles. The prime minister said the contact was minimal, contained nothing of consequence, and was reported to the authorities as soon as he became suspicious.
Politico first reported that Mr Burnham had exchanged text messages with an impersonator before the hoax was discovered. Downing Street initially declined to comment, citing national security. But speaking later, Mr Burnham said: "There was a minimal exchange of information of zero consequence and it was quickly reported. I handled it in the right way." He said he was not embarrassed, adding that all politicians face such pressures.
The exchange is understood to have involved only a few messages, with no phone call. Officials say nothing sensitive was passed on. The incident was reported to the relevant authorities, and the UK embassy in Washington contacted the White House. A White House official said the incident was not linked to a previous hack of Susie Wiles's phone, which the FBI investigated last year.
The Liberal Democrats have written to Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee calling for a full investigation into what they called an "egregious security breach". Questions remain about who was behind the impersonation, whether it was a prankster or a hostile foreign state, how Mr Burnham's number was obtained, and whether his phone might have been compromised. Politico also reported that it had found the numbers of three other cabinet ministers on the internet.
This is not the first time senior UK figures have been targeted. Boris Johnson, as foreign secretary, fell victim to a Russian hoax call in 2018, and David Cameron held a video call with someone pretending to be a former Ukrainian president in 2024. The prime minister has not confirmed whether he has changed his phone number.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Burnham exchanged messages with a person posing as Trump's chief of staff, but no significant messages were exchanged and the matter was reported to authorities. | · | · | |||||
| Downing Street declined to comment on the matter. | · | · | · | · | |||
| The UK embassy in Washington contacted the White House to raise the matter. | · | · | · | · | |||
| The White House said the incident was not related to Susie Wiles' phone. | · | · | · | · | |||
| Previous senior government figures have been targeted by hoaxes. | · | · | · | · | · | ||
| Andy Burnham said he was not embarrassed and had handled the exchange correctly. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Andy Burnham's personal approval rating rose by 20% since he became prime minister. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Burnham is bound by a manifesto he did not run on, which could create frustration and pressure to call an election. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Downing Street did not say whether the Prime Minister changed his phone number. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Green Party support fell by four points since Starmer's resignation, now at 10-11%. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Labour's poll rating rose to 25-26% after Burnham's first two weeks, up from 19% under Starmer. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| No sensitive information was included in the messages. | · | · | · | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Channel 4 focused on the security breach itself, reporting that a few messages were exchanged, that they were of no significance, and that the incident was reported to authorities. It also highlighted the White House's denial that the incident was linked to a previous hack of Susie Wiles's phone.
- “a few messages were exchanged between Andy Burnham and this unknown individual who was pretending to be President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles”
- “the messages have been described as having no significance”
- “this text exchange is obviously a serious security breach”
BBC TWO did not report on the fake messages story. Its coverage focused on Andy Burnham's political bounce in the polls and speculation about an early election, with analysis from political insiders.
- “since Andy Burnham took over as PM on July 20th, something has changed in the polls”
- “the Burnham bounce is real, but it's not massive”
GB News did not report on the fake messages story. Its segment focused on Andy Burnham's appeal to working class voters, with a debate about Labour's relationship with traditional supporters and the impact of recent policies.
- “Since Andy Burnham's been prime minister, his personal ratings have gone up by 20%”
- “I think that Bill's got a point when it comes to communication. I think the working class has saw Keir Starmer as this managerial-”
BBC NEWS covered the story as a national security matter, reporting Downing Street's refusal to comment and the details of the exchange. It also noted the incident was an embarrassment and raised questions about how the prime minister's number was obtained and whether his phone was compromised.
- “Downing Street has declined to comment on a report that Andy Burnham exchanged text messages with someone posing as President Trump's Chief of Staff.”
- “We do understand that these exchanges or exchange did happen.”
- “This is an embarrassment for Downing Street and a security breach”
5 News reported the story as a potential major security breach, confirming the exchange of messages and stressing that no significant information was passed. It also noted that the White House had been informed and that the incident was not linked to Susie Wiles's phone.
- “The minister exchanged messages with a person posing as the chief of staff to US President Donald Trump.”
- “It's understood no messages of significance were exchanged between Andy Burnham and the person posing as Susie Wiles”
- “the fact of it is still, on the face of it, a security breach”
BBC ONE West covered the story from the initial report through to Andy Burnham's public response. It highlighted his denial of embarrassment and his insistence that he handled the situation correctly, while also noting the Liberal Democrats' call for an investigation.
- “He Burnham says he's not embarrassed that he exchanged messages with someone posing as President Trump's chief of staff”
- “There was a minimal exchange Nothing of consequence and actually quickly I realized that this needed to be reported and I did so so I handled it in the right Way”
- “all politicians, you know receiving these pressures and these challenges But I did everything right”
ITV News focused on the unanswered questions around the security breach, including who was behind it, whether it was a foreign intelligence service, and how the prime minister's number was obtained. It also noted that Politico had found the numbers of other cabinet ministers on the internet.
- “It's emerged today that Andy Burnham had been communicating with someone pretending to be Donald Trump's chief of staff”
- “The official authorities were quickly alerted, but it's still not clear who the impersonator actually was”
- “we don't know who was behind this, whether or not, for example, it was a foreign intelligence service”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.