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Andy Burnham has said it is time to move beyond his previous criticism of Donald Trump as the UK prime minister prepares for his first face-to-face meeting with the US president.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has played down his previous critical comments about Donald Trump ahead of a planned meeting with the US president during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Speaking to journalists while travelling to the United States, Mr Burnham said politicians make different comments throughout their careers and argued that the focus should now be on the relationship between Britain and the United States.
The meeting will be the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders. The UK government has said Mr Burnham's UN trip will focus on international cooperation, including artificial intelligence, Ukraine, the Middle East and climate change.
Mr Burnham has previously been openly critical of Mr Trump.
In 2017, when he was mayor of Greater Manchester, he said he would not meet Mr Trump as a matter of principle, referring to material the then-US president had shared online.
Mr Burnham also criticised Mr Trump after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. More recently, he accused the US president of contributing to instability around the world.
Asked whether those comments could affect their forthcoming meeting, Mr Burnham said it was appropriate to move beyond previous disagreements.
He also referred to comments Mr Trump had made about Manchester, saying he had told the president during an earlier phone conversation that Manchester was not “some town” but “this is Manchester”.
Mr Burnham said the appropriate response was to have a laugh about the disagreement and move forward.
The prime minister was also asked whether he trusted the US president.
Mr Burnham said that, after taking office, he had come to understand how deep the relationship between Britain and its allies was.
He said: “We trust our allies. Of course, we do.”
When asked specifically whether he trusted Mr Trump personally, Mr Burnham replied: “Yes.”
The comments come as the two countries prepare for talks covering a range of international issues.
The UK government has said Mr Burnham will use his visit to New York to promote international work on artificial intelligence and discuss conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, alongside other global challenges.
Mr Burnham also rejected accusations that his government had been complacent about the security threat posed by Russia.
He said Britain remained firmly committed to supporting Ukraine but stressed that he did not want the UK to contribute to further escalation.
He said the UK's position on Ukraine had remained consistent through successive prime ministers and would continue under his leadership.
His comments followed criticism from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage over the government's approach to the threat from Russia, according to the political report supplied for this story.
The meeting comes at a significant moment for UK-US relations, with both governments seeking cooperation on security and emerging technologies.
The UK government announced on Tuesday that Britain and the United States had jointly carried out the first firing of a US torpedo from a British-made uncrewed undersea vessel. Downing Street described the development as part of wider cooperation on maritime security, artificial intelligence and autonomous technology.
Mr Burnham is also expected to use his appearance at the United Nations to present his vision for Britain's international role.
Ahead of his UN address, he is expected to argue that Britain is not “on the slide” and to draw a line under years of political uncertainty following Brexit.
The prime minister's meeting with Mr Trump will therefore bring together two politicians who have previously exchanged criticism but are now discussing areas of cooperation between their countries.
For Mr Burnham, the immediate focus is on diplomacy and maintaining the UK's relationships with its international partners as he begins his first UN General Assembly visit as prime minister.
