Trump praises new British PM Andy Burnham but slams U.K. deal on Indian Ocean islands

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Updated – September 23, 2026 09:04 am IST – United Nations

Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham, left, meets with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, in New York City
| Photo Credit: via AP

Freshly in office, United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham got off to a strong start with U.S. President Donald Trump at their first meeting, with the President brushing aside differences over West Asia and calling the British leader “a natural business person”.

The two men met for more than the scheduled 30 minutes on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday (September 22, 2026), where Mr. Burnham used his inaugural speech at the global gathering to warn of the dangers posed by unconstrained artificial intelligence and socially corrosive disinformation.

It's a baptism of fire for the neophyte leader, who has gone from mayor of the northwest England city of Manchester to leader of a G7 country in a matter of weeks.

But despite U.K. nerves about how the meeting with Mr. Trump would go, as they sat in front of U.K. and U.S. flags, Mr. Trump declared that trans-Atlantic relations were “more up than they were with your last Prime Minister”.

“Based on our relationship with the Prime Minister, Andy, I think we're doing very well," he said.

U.K. officials know that the President can be fickle. Mr. Trump initially warmed to Mr. Burnham's predecessor, Keir Starmer, before falling out over the UK's unwillingness to join the US-Israeli war on Iran.

But there was relief that Mr. Burnham emerged largely unscathed from his first meeting with a president who once dismissed him as “the mayor of a town".

“We don't hold it against you,” Mr. Burnham said.

Mr. Burnham nodded at U.S.-U.K. differences, noting that Mr. Trump had been “good enough to listen to us" on issues including trade and the Falkland Islands.

Mr. Trump has recently mused about the future of the British-controlled South Atlantic archipelago, which is also claimed by Argentina, which calls it the Malvinas. The two nations fought a brief 1982 war over the islands.

But on one potential flashpoint, the U.K.'s decision to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Mr. Trump professed ignorance.

Mr. Trump's harshest words were reserved for Britain's plan to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius.

The U.K. says the deal will preserve the future of a strategic U.S. military base on one of the islands, Diego Garcia. But ratification of an agreement stalled after the Trump administration withdrew its support.

U.K. officials acknowledge the deal is now in limbo.

Mr. Trump called it “a terrible deal” over a “very important piece of real estate, militarily and strategically”.

“I think the Prime Minister is going to be looking at it,” he said.

Mr. Burnham said Britain is working to come to an agreement, and “I'm confident we can find it working with our U.S. partners.”

Before the meeting, Mr. Burnham said he would raise with Mr. Trump ways to end the on-off war between the U.S. and Iran, which has choked off oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz and sent global fuel prices soaring.

Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure are making the problem worse while rendering Mr. Burnham's pledge to ease cost of living pressure for British voters even harder.

As he flew to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders, Mr. Burnham announced he had authorised limited military support for Saudi Arabia to repel attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

A Royal Air Force plane will refuel Saudi jets engaged in “defensive” action to shoot down Houthi missiles, he said.

Mr. Burnham also said he would urge Mr. Trump to step up U.S. support for Ukraine by providing air-defence missiles to Ukraine ahead of another winter of Russian attacks. It was unclear whether he made any progress on that front.

Published – September 23, 2026 09:03 am IST

Donald Trump

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USA

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United Kingdom

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United Nations

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diplomacy

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Fonte: The Hindu – International