British PM Burnham would call out Trump if it’s in Britain’s interest, he tells BBC
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New British PM Andy Burnham said all leaders “have to defend your own national interest before anything else”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- British PM Andy Burnham says he will always prioritise Britain's interests, even if it means calling out US President Donald Trump.
- Burnham rules out an early general election before 2029, stating people do not want one.
- He is committed to fulfilling NATO defence promises and aims to ensure full funding for the defence investment plan.
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LONDON – New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham “will always put Britain’s interests first”, he told the BBC when asked in an interview – parts of which were released on July 26 – whether he was willing to call out US President Donald Trump.
Burnham’s predecessor Keir Starmer, who announced he was stepping down in June, had a fraught relationship with Trump, who criticised him due to differences over the US-Israeli war on Iran, immigration, energy and tech regulation.
While Trump initially described Starmer’s successor as “extremely liberal”, he said this week he had a “very good conversation” with Burnham, who became Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade on July 20.
BBC journalist Laura Kuenssberg asked Burnham, in his first major interview since taking office, if he was willing to call out Trump if he thought it was the right thing to do.
“All leaders have to do that. 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,” he said.
He also said he would not call a general election before 2029. “I’m going to rule it out. Yeah, there’s no early general election. I don’t think people want it.”
On Britain’s national defence, Burnham said he was “absolutely committed” to what was promised to NATO partners.
London has pledged to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035, in line with a new NATO target.
“We’ve got to work out the way of doing that,” 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,” he said.
Burnham’s newly appointed Chancellor John Healey resigned as defence minister in the previous government after saying that, unless a commitment was made to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030, Britain would not be safe.
Burnham did not commit to the 2030 target in the interview.
“We’ve got to work out the way of doing that,” Burnham said when pressed on the 3 per cent of GDP commitment.
When asked on July 26, Wes Streeting, who was appointed defence secretary by Burnham last week, said any timetable for increasing defence spending was the decision of the finance minister.
“It’s for the chancellor to set out, both at the budget and future spending reviews, how we will achieve 3.5 per cent by 2035,” he told Sky News.
The full interview will air on the BBC’s Panorama programme on July 27. REUTERS
