Andy Burnham has promised to call out Donald Trump in public if necessary to defend Britain’s national interest, in his first major broadcast interview as prime minister.
Speaking exclusively to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Burnham described his initial call with the US president as “really warm” but twice declined to say whether he trusted Trump. “It’s a changing world isn’t it,” he said, “and you just obviously have to call things as they develop.”
“Burnham says he will call out Trump if necessary to defend UK's national interest, in first major interview as PM.”
Pressed on whether he would voice disagreement with Trump publicly, Burnham replied: “Of course. You have to defend your own national interest before anything else. That’s what you’re required to do if you’re to do this job properly.”
The comments come as Washington resumes attacks on Iran – a policy the previous UK government did not support. Burnham said he had “concern” about the conflict and “wouldn’t hold back from saying what I think is right”.
Defence secretary Wes Streeting told Sky News he had been “clear” with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth that Britain “have not supported offensive action in Iran and we won’t support offensive action in Iran”. Streeting argued the Trump administration valued straightforwardness: “The first thing you do is, you don’t suck up. My impression is, President Trump, his administration – that’s not what they’re looking for. He’s a straight talker.”
On defence spending, Burnham avoided committing to the 3% of GDP target by 2030 – a demand on which chancellor John Healey resigned from the previous government. The prime minister said: “We’ve got to work out the way of doing that.”
In the same interview, Burnham ruled out an early general election: “There’s no early general election. I don’t think people want it.”
Away from foreign policy, Burnham’s reputation as a “man of the people” was reinforced by his 53-minute 15-second finish in a recent 10K race – almost exactly the average for a British male. The former mayor, who has run the London Marathon and Great Manchester 10K, uses running as an outlet from the pressures of political life.
