On 17 August, we learned that PM Andy Burnham had inadvertently been exchanging text messages with a hoaxer. This seemed odd at the time, because you’d assume the prime minister has all his contacts vetted. As it turns out, the number was vetted in a way — namely in the sense that it came from what should have been a trusted source — David Lammy.
In future, this source may not be so trusted:
EXCL: David Lammy gave the PM the phone number of the con artist pretending to be Donald Trump’s chief-of-staff.
Andy Burnham exchanged several messages with the hoaxer.
The blunder was a big embarrassment for the new PM.https://t.co/MBwckTChq4
— Kate Ferguson (@kateferguson4) August 22, 2026
David Lammy — Embarrassing
The person Burnham thought he was communicating with was White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. You’d assume Downing Street would have a rolodex or database containing all the relevant phone numbers for politicians and appointees the world over. Instead, our PM is seemingly reliant on one of his MPs having the number. This is a bad system in normal circumstances; it’s especially bad when you factor in the existence of malicious actors.
Following the revelation that Burnham had been in contact with a fake Susie Wiles, the BBC reported:
It is understood the communication between Burnham and the person posing as Wiles was in the form of messages and there was no conversation between the two.
“No messages of significance” were exchanged and the texts were “quickly reported to the appropriate authorities” once they were believed to be suspicious, sources said.
Downing Street did not say when the messages were exchanged, or how many there were, nor whether they were over WhatsApp or another system.
It’s unclear why Burnham was able to quickly smell a rat when Lammy could not. Perhaps the fake Wiles behaved more suspiciously in conversation with Burnham; perhaps Lammy is just clueless.
“Massive headache”
News of Lammy’s involvement was broke by the Sun. According to a source who spoke with the Murdoch rag:
David Lammy thought he was currying favour with the new PM by getting them the phone number of one of the most powerful people in Washington.
If all this true, it’s a terrible look for everyone involved. It really doesn’t say much for the special relationship that our leader has to scrounge around for contact details like this. Saying that, the so-called ‘special relationship’ was always a propaganda tool to convince Britons we somehow got something out of being America’s lapdog:
Not since George W Bush and his “yo Blair” has there been a humiliation scene like this one. The heir of Churchill Atlee Wilson Callaghan Thatcher on his knees like a schoolboy sneak running around the school bully… https://t.co/rr57JCdqSr
— George Galloway (@georgegalloway) June 17, 2025
The Sun’s source added:
But it turned out to be the wrong one and the whole thing has turned into a massive headache for the PM.
It is a serious embarrassment for David.
And that’s putting it mildly.
What a mess
This situation begs a number of questions:
- How long has Lammy had the number for?
- Where did he get it from?
- To what degree was he communicating with the hoax caller?
- Who else did he give the number to?
- To what degree were they communicating with the hoax caller?
We’re using the term ‘hoax caller’, but potentially that’s diminishing the seriousness of all this. Obviously the government would want us to think it’s some prankster, but this could be a serious security breach.
What a mess.
On the plus side, don’t expect to see David Lammy – the man who tried to scrap jury trials – back in the Cabinet any time soon.
Featured image via PA Wire
By Willem Moore
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