Burnham Stands Firm on Falklands as Trump Signals Warmth Towards New PM

Donald Trump has said Andy Burnham is a man he can do business with, after the two leaders met in person for the first time. The US president said UK-US relations are "more up now" that Burnham is in power, following their meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Speaking to reporters, Burnham said he had "established a good connection" with Trump and they had "taken that further today" following discussions on trade and immigration.

But the American president made clear his opposition to Britain's "terrible" deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and pay to lease back a joint UK-US military base on the archipelago's largest island, Diego Garcia. Asked by broadcasters whether the deal is "dead", Burnham later said Britain will "work hard" to find a resolution between the different sides and he is "confident we can find it working with our US partners".

The two men met on Tuesday as they attended the United Nations for the annual gathering of world leaders. Following bilateral talks, Burnham sat alongside Trump and used his opening remarks to say: "You and I have established a good connection in our early discussions and we've taken that further today." The two men then faced questions shouted from the assembled press pack.

Asked by the BBC whether Burnham was a man he could do business with, Trump said: "Yeah I do, I think he's a natural businessperson, we've had a lot of discussions even before this meeting we've spoken to each other numerous times on the phone. Yeah, I think so, he gets it, he understands what he has to do." Burnham later said he had explained to Trump that Britain has been in "too much turbulence" in recent times but it is time to "turn the story" about the country into a positive one. The US president added that Britain is a country with "great patriotism", and he thinks it is "waiting for good leadership, waiting for success".

Relations between Sir Keir Starmer and Trump also began well before becoming increasingly strained earlier this year, when the then-prime minister refused to permit the use of UK bases for the initial US-Israel strikes on Iran.

Trump reiterated his criticism of the Chagos Islands deal and stressed how a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia is "strategically very important", particularly in relation to US operations in Iran. The agreement would see Britain cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius and pay an average of £101m per year to lease back the military base. In April the deal was paused indefinitely because Trump withdrew his support. Speaking on Tuesday, Trump said: "I think the prime minister is going to be looking at [the deal]." Burnham replied: "Yep." He later told broadcasters he has "inherited the situation and we need a resolution". Burnham added: "It's critical to safeguard the future of the base, and that matters to us for security reasons, but also clearly to the United States as well. What I said in the meeting is that we will work to find that resolution between the different sides, and we'll work hard to find it."

The prime minister had spoken to his Mauritian counterpart, Navin Ramgoolam, ahead of his trip to New York. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has long criticised the deal, posted on X: "The Chagos deal is dead. Thank God."

Burnham also referenced that his private discussions with Trump included the Falkland Islands, which have been the subject of comments by the US president and Argentina's president, Javier Milei. The Falklands, in the south-west Atlantic Ocean, remain the subject of a sovereignty dispute between Britain and Argentina, more than 40 years on from an armed conflict over the territory. Earlier this month, Trump hinted he would not come to Britain's aid in a potential future conflict with Argentina over the British overseas territory. He had previously said the US could revise its neutral position on the islands' sovereignty if Britain failed to increase defence spending. Milei heightened tensions after warning he would impose economic sanctions on firms exploiting oil close to the Falklands. During a national address in early September, Milei also said: "The Falklands are our future, we need to recover these islands which are nationally relevant. There is no other path forward." Burnham told broadcasters: "We will stand firm in the face of any threats, we will defend the right of the Falkland Islanders to self-determination and to remain British. And I just wanted the president to know directly from me, that's the clear British position, and he very much understood what I was saying."

One of the areas Burnham has been keen to focus on during his trip to the UN is artificial intelligence. The prime minister met business leaders, including Apple's executive chairman Tim Cook, on Tuesday. He told them he wants a "single set of global principles and standards that are very much about unlocking the full potential whilst guarding against the risks". Burnham's approach could cause friction with Trump, who used his address to the General Assembly to say that the United States "totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme" to control AI. Trump dubbed AI "super intelligence" and said the US will "encourage it, not rein it in". Burnham later met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, apologising for arriving around 10 minutes late because his bilateral with Trump had run over. Von der Leyen reassured him, saying: "These things are understandable."