David Lammy gave the PM the phone number of the con artist pretending to be Donald Trump’s aide

Exclusive NewsPolitics The PM fell for a hoaxer pretending to be one of Donald Trump's most powerful aides DAVID Lammy gave the PM the phone number of the con artist pretending to be Donald Trump’s chief-of-staff, The Sun on Sunday can reveal. Andy Burnham exchanged several messages with someone pretending to be Susie Wiles – one of the most powerful figures in Washington. David Lammy gave PM Andy Burnham the phone number of the hoaxer pretending to be Donald Trump’s aide Susie Wiles Credit: PA White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is one of Donald Trump’s most powerful and trusted aides Credit: AP It was a major security gaffe by the new No10 regime and the British embassy had to admit their blunder to the White House. We can reveal that it was Mr Lammy who gave the bogus number to Mr Burnham, believing it to be genuine. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! It suggests that it was the PM who first made the contact. A source said: “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. “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.” Mr Lammy had boasted of his close ties with the Trump administration when he was deputy PM under Sir Keir Starmer. He made much of his friendship with Vice President JD Vance, even taking President Trump’s deputy fishing at his then grace-and-favour home Chevening House. Most read in The Sun The blunder with the bogus number is a major embarrassment for Mr Lammy, who was sacked from the Cabinet when Mr Burnham became PM. Downing Street has said only a handful of messages were exchanged and they contained nothing significant. Britain’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged several messages the faker pretending to be Susie Wiles before he raised the alarm Credit: AFP But they have refused to give details about exactly what was in the message and when they were sent. Quizzed on the blunder earlier this week, the PM denied he was embarrassed by the gaffe. Mr Burnham said: “No, I am not because there was a minimal exchange, nothing of consequence and 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.” Ms Wiles is one of President Trump’s most trusted and senior aides. Her personal phone was hacked in May last year, sparking an FBI probe. But the White House said the latest incident had “nothing to do” with Ms Wiles’ phone being hacked. When approached by The Sun on Sunday, Mr Lammy’s team said it would not be appropriate to comment on matters relating to national security . No10 also declined to comment. Comment now