- Burnham exchanged a few brief messages with someone he believed was Trump aide Susie Wiles, then grew suspicious.
- He said he was not embarrassed, called the exchange minimal, and said he handled and reported it correctly.
- The British embassy in Washington raised the incident with the White House; neither the date nor message content is known.
New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Tuesday confirmed he had exchanged messages with someone pretending to be US President Donald Trump’s chief of staff.
Burnham sent a “few messages” via an unspecified communication channel to a person he believed to be the top aide, Susie Wiles, before becoming suspicious, Politico reported on Monday.
But addressing the hoax while on a visit to the central English city of Wolverhampton, Burnham said nothing sensitive had been discussed in the messages.
Asked if he was embarrassed at being taken in, he 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.
“So I handled it in the right way. All politicians are receiving these pressures and these challenges, but I did everything right,” he told broadcasters.
“The correct action has been taken here and in the US,” he added.
The incident was deemed serious enough for the British embassy in Washington to raise the matter with the White House, according to two sources cited by Politico.
Neither the date nor the content of the exchanges is known.
Burnham succeeded former Labour Party leader Keir Starmer as prime minister on July 20.
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