Andy Burnham says he would be prepared to call out Donald Trump to defend Britain's "national interest before anything else" if it is the right thing to do, in his first major interview as prime minister. Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Burnham said he had had a good first exchange with Trump and found him to be "really warm".
But when asked twice if he would trust the US president, he did not give a direct answer, saying, "it's a changing world isn't it, and you just obviously have to call things as they develop". In the interview, which will be broadcast in full on Monday, he 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."
Burnham added that his approach in office would be shaped by staying close to the public. "My strength is remaining close to people, close to the public, that will not change as prime minister," he said.
Would Burnham confront Trump?
Yes. When asked if he would call out Trump if it was the right thing, he replied, "of course", 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."
Burnham also said he had had "concern" about the president starting the conflict with Iran, and said he "wouldn't hold back from saying what I think is right".
What did he say about defence spending?
Burnham would not commit to a date for the government to spend 3% of GDP on defence. His Chancellor John Healey resigned from the previous government saying that unless a commitment was made to spend that amount by 2030, the country would not be safe.
Burnham said: "I appointed my new chancellor very aware of what he had said about the critical importance of defence spending and the position that he had taken about that.
"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."
Asked again specifically about the commitment to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP, he said: "We've got to work out the way of doing that."
Will there be an early general election?
No. Burnham explicitly ruled out an early general election before 2029, saying: "I'm going to rule it out... I don't think people want it." He said his focus instead was on "getting the country back where it should be".
Watch the full interview on BBC on Monday from 06:00 and on Panorama on BBC One on Monday at 20:00 BST.
Key Facts
- Andy Burnham gave his first major interview as prime minister to Laura Kuenssberg and the BBC.
- He said he would call out Donald Trump if it was right for Britain and said he had found Trump "really warm" in their first exchange.
- Burnham did not commit to a date for spending 3% of GDP on defence.
- He ruled out an early general election before 2029.
- The full interview will be broadcast on BBC from 06:00 on Monday and on Panorama on BBC One at 20:00 BST on Monday.
