Burnham says he will defend Britain’s national interest in dealings with Trump

British prime minister Andy Burnham says he will put the UK’s interests first in his dealings with Donald Trump, even if it means disagreeing with the US president.

The pair spoke over the phone on Monday, within an hour of Burnham arriving in Downing Street.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Burnham said: “I can’t at any point say that I won’t take a different opinion from him [Donald Trump], that I will need to voice a different idea that is right for Britain.”

The new UK prime minister said he would publicly disagree with Trump if necessary, adding: “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.”

After the call, Trump stated in a post on Truth Social that Burnham “has got a big job ahead of him, but he will be able to do it” and pledged that the US “will be there to help”.

Downing Street described the 20-minute conversation as “extremely warm”.

It comes after relations between Washington and Keir Starmer’s government became increasingly fractious over the Iran conflict.

Speaking to the public broadcaster, Burnham ruled out an early general election, saying Britain had “voted for a manifesto” in 2024.

“There’s no early general election. I don’t think people want it,” he said.

He added: “I just think what I most need to do is get Britain focused on getting the country back where it should be.”

Defence policy remained a key issue during the interview, with the prime minister also refusing to be drawn on a timetable for increasing spending to 3 per cent of GDP.

Burnham said he was “very aware” of chancellor John Healey’s position and resignation as Starmer’s defence secretary following disagreements over the issue.

He said: “The first challenge facing us both is to ensure that the defence investment plan is fully funded and that’s the thing that’s right in front of us and we need to work that through as we go towards the budget later this year.”

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

Healey accused the former chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and Starmer, of putting the country’s security at risk with a disagreement over the long-awaited defence investment plan.

The former prime minister had said he would increase defence spending by £15 billion.

This would put the UK on a trajectory for defence spending to hit 3 per cent of GDP in the next parliament, according to Starmer, but this would still be below the Nato target of 3.5 per cent by 2035.

It had been speculated that Burnham could increase defence spending to meet Nato’s target.

He told reporters on Wednesday that he and Healey wanted to “honour” the UK’s Nato commitments.

Elsewhere, new defence secretary Wes Streeting said he shared “very warm conversation” with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth.

They are thought to have brainstormed ideas for an international conference which allies of the UK and US would attend, but have not yet firmed up the details of a summit.

A source close to Streeting last week said: “The Defence Secretary had a very warm conversation with Secretary Hegseth.

“They discussed the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and how allies can work together.

“They also discussed defence investment and the UK’s commitment to meeting our Nato commitments.”