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Andy
Burnham says he will disagree with Trump in public if necessary
PM
promises to ‘defend national interest before anything else’ in first big
broadcast interview since entering No 10
Peter
Walker Senior political correspondent
Sun 26
Jul 2026 10.13 BST
Andy
Burnham has promised to disagree with Donald Trump if necessary, including in
public, in his first big broadcast interview since becoming prime minister.
Burnham’s
comments came as Wes Streeting, the new defence secretary, said he did not
believe the Trump administration was looking for allies who “suck up”, but
rather those with the confidence to set out disagreements when needed.
Burnham,
who is a relative novice when it comes to foreign policy, spoke at length to
the US president shortly after entering No 10, in a call described by Downing
Street officials as warm.
But with
Washington resuming its attacks on Iran, there is the potential for early
tensions, with Burnham sticking to the policy under Keir Starmer of not backing
US offensive operations, something that prompted fierce public attacks from
Trump.
Speaking
to BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Burnham said: “I can’t at
any point say that I won’t take a different opinion from him [Trump], that I
will need to voice a different idea that is right for Britain.”
The prime
minister said that if needed, he would set out his differences with Trump in
public: “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.”
Streeting,
in an interview on Sunday with Sky News’ Sunday with Trevor Phillips, said he
had spoken to his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, and had been plain about the
continued differences over Iran.
He said:
“I was clear that we have not supported offensive action in Iran and we won’t
support offensive action in Iran. But there are plenty of things that we can
and should do together.”
Such
straightforwardness was valued by Trump and his team, Streeting argued: “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.”
Asked if
he trusted the US president, Streeting said: “I don’t know him, but I do trust
the United States.”
Being in
the defence job, he added, had granted him “a unique insight into just how
close and integral that relationship is when it comes to defence and security”.
Burnham,
in his interview with the BBC, ruled out the idea of a swift general election
to potentially capitalise on any bounce in the polls for Labour. “There’s no
early general election. I don’t think people want it,” he said, adding that
people had “voted for a manifesto” in 2024.
He said:
“I just think what I most need to do is get Britain focused on getting the
country back where it should be.”
On
defence spending, Burnham said he was “very aware” of the desire of John
Healey, who resigned as defence secretary under Starmer and is now chancellor,
to increase defence spending quickly to 3% of GDP, but refused to give a
timetable.
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.”
Streeting
told Sky that as defence secretary he had a duty to make sure any increased
budget was spent wisely.
He said:
“There have clearly been longstanding issues with things like defence
procurement, value for money. And as I said to the team at the Ministry of
Defence this week, these things matter not just in abstract and because it’s
the right thing to do to spend money wisely, it’s also because it matters
because we’re asking a lot of taxpayers.”
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