Trump downplays impersonation incident involving UK prime minister

US President Donald Trump on August 17 played down concerns over messages exchanged by UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham with someone impersonating White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

Asked by reporters whether he was concerned about Burnham’s judgment or the state of communications between the United States and the United Kingdom, Trump said, “No, I’m sure that he had a miscommunication," POLITICO reports. 

“I spoke to him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We had a good conversation. A couple of them,” he added.

Trump’s comments followed a report that Burnham had communicated with someone posing as Wiles before becoming suspicious of the contact.

According to a person who spoke to POLITICO, only “a few messages” were exchanged and they were “of no significance.”

The incident has raised questions over the security of communications involving senior officials, although Trump indicated that he did not view the episode as a significant problem in US-UK relations.

By Sabina Mammadli