Trump praises UK’s Burnham as a ‘natural businessperson’

Andy Burnham is a “natural businessperson” Donald Trump can do business with, the US president has told reporters after a first meeting with the UK prime minister at the UN General Assembly in New York.

But Trump again voiced opposition to the government’s deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, calling it a “terrible deal”.

The Diego Garcia base, leased back from Mauritius under the deal, was “strategically very important”, Trump said, particularly for US operations in Iran. The prime minister, the US president added, was going to be looking at the agreement.

Speaking to broadcasters afterwards, Burnham said the government had “inherited the situation” and that it was “critical to safeguard the future of the base”. The government would “work hard” to find a resolution with Mauritius and the United States.

The two leaders are also at odds over artificial intelligence (AI). Burnham used meetings with business figures including Apple’s Tim Cook to call for a “single set of global principles and standards”.

Trump, in a speech to the General Assembly earlier on 22 September, had said the US “totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme” to control the technology.

In the same speech, the US president described facing a “big decision” on Iran, warning of a possible move to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if the conflict went unresolved. A deal with Iran, Trump said, would come after November’s midterm elections.

According to the official Downing Street account of the meeting, the leaders discussed reopening shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the need to stop Iran ever obtaining a nuclear weapon. Burnham also noted how the conflict was affecting the cost of living at home.

The Downing Street account also says the leaders discussed migration, with Burnham setting out how summer small boat crossings were at the lowest in six years and net migration down, while noting the contribution made by those who came legally to Britain.

The case of British citizen Jimmy Lai was also raised, with Burnham reiterating the need for Lai’s immediate release.

Burnham said the Falkland Islands had come up in private discussions with Trump. The islands have been the subject of comments by the US president and by Argentina’s president, Javier Milei.

Britain would “stand firm in the face of any threats” and defend the right of Falkland Islanders “to self-determination and to remain British”, Burnham added.

It was Burnham’s first encounter with Trump since becoming prime minister in July.

Burnham told Trump that Britain had been through “too much turbulence” and that it was time to “turn the story” of the country into a positive one.