Burnham says he's not embarrassed about hoax message exchange
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has defended his handling of a security breach involving a hoax message exchange with someone posing as a US official. While opposition politicians have called for an investigation, Burnham insists he followed proper protocols and that no sensitive information was compromised.
Why it matters
The incident highlights ongoing concerns regarding the digital security of high-level government officials and the vulnerability of political communications to social engineering.
Image source, PA Media By Richard Wheeler Political reporter Published 38 minutes ago Andy Burnham says he is not embarrassed that he exchanged messages with a person posing as US President Donald Trump's chief of staff.
The prime minister added all politicians face "these challenges" but insisted he did "everything right" in how he handled the security breach.
News website Politico first reported , external that Burnham communicated with a person claiming to be Susie Wiles. Burnham said there was a "minimal exchange of information of zero consequence".
Liberal Democrat MP James MacCleary has written to Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) to ask them to consider investigating what he called an "egregious security breach".
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.
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