British Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged messages with a person posing as White House chief of staff Susie Wiles before becoming suspicious and ending the communication, according to a report published by Politico on Monday.
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Citing four unnamed officials, the report said Burnham believed he was communicating with Wiles, one of US President Donald Trump's closest advisers, until doubts about the authenticity of the messages prompted him to cut off contact.
A spokesperson for Downing Street declined to comment, saying it was government policy not to discuss "national security matters", news agency AP reported.
According to Politico, only a handful of messages were exchanged after Burnham entered 10 Downing Street, and one official familiar with the matter described them as being of "no significance."
The British embassy in Washington was sufficiently concerned to raise the matter with the White House, the report said.
The incident initially fuelled concerns within the British government that Wiles' phone might have been compromised again. However, a White House official rejected that suggestion, saying the episode had "nothing to do with the chief of staff's devices being hacked."
Lat year, the White House and the FBI investigated a series of text messages and phone calls sent to elected officials, governors, senators and business executives by someone impersonating Wiles.
Soon afterward, the US state department warned diplomats about attempts to impersonate secretary of state Marco Rubio and possibly other senior officials using artificial intelligence. The warning came after an individual posing as Rubio reportedly contacted at least three foreign ministers, a US senator and a state governor.
