Peter Mandelson 'was targeted by hoaxer claiming to be key Donald Trump aide' before Andy Burnham fell for trick

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 06:43 EDT, 25 August 2026 | Updated: 06:49 EDT, 25 August 2026 Peter Mandelson fell victim to a hoaxer claiming to be Donald Trump's top aide a year before Andy Burnham exchanged messages with an imposter, it has been revealed.The peer, who was Britain's ambassador to the US at the time, is reported to have been contacted by a person pretending to be Susie Wiles in 2025.The hoaxer is said to have approached Lord Mandelson with a text message asking the then-ambassador for a convenient time to meet.But, when the British embassy in Washington contacted Ms Wiles' office to fix a date, it said the phone had been hacked, a source told The Telegraph.It comes after it emerged that Mr Burnham was duped by an unknown individual who posed as Ms Wiles, who is Mr Trump's chief of staff.He sent several messages in exchanges that began before he became Prime Minister and continued after he took office on July 20 this year.Mr Burnham has insisted he is not embarrassed by the incident, saying it was 'a minimal exchange' and 'nothing of consequence'.It has since been claimed that the impersonator's number was passed to Mr Burnham by David Lammy, the former foreign secretary who was in post at the same time as Lord Mandelson. Peter Mandelson fell victim to a hoaxer claiming to be Donald Trump's top aide a year before Andy Burnham exchanged messages with an imposter, it has been revealed The peer, who was Britain's ambassador to the US at the time, is reported to have been contacted by a person pretending to be Susie Wiles in 2025 It comes after it emerged that Mr Burnham was duped by an unknown individual who posed as Ms Wiles, who is Mr Trump's chief of staffIt is unclear whether the hoaxer who is said to have approached Lord Mandelson is the same individual who exchanged messages with Mr Burnham, or whether the same phone number was used.Mr Burnham said he 'quickly' realised that he needed to report the incident that saw him duped by the impersonator of Ms Wiles.'I handled it in the right way,' he said last week. 'All politicians are receiving these pressures and these challenges, but I did everything right.'There was a minimal exchange of information of zero consequence, and it was quickly reported.'Asked what action had been taken to find out who had impersonated Ms Wiles, Mr Burnham replied: 'The correct action has been taken here and in the US.'In May last year, Ms Wiles' phone was hacked by an impersonator who used her personal phone contacts to message other top American officials, seemingly using AI to replicate her voice in calls with prominent Republicans.The key aide, who has been described by Mr Trump as the 'Ice Maiden', was also targeted by a cyber espionage unit associated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 2024.A hacker infiltrated her emails just before the 2024 US election and threatened to disclose further emails to the media in June last year following the US bombing of Iran's nuclear sites.But the White House said the incident involving Mr Burnham was nothing to do with Ms Wiles' devices being hacked. Mr Trump brushed it off as a 'miscommunication'.