Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham "will always put Britain's interests first", he told the BBC in an interview when asked whether he was willing to call out U.S. President Donald Trump.
Burnham's predecessor Keir Starmer, who announced he was stepping down last month, had a fraught relationship with Trump due to differences over the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, immigration, energy and tech regulation.
While Trump initially described Starmer's successor as "extremely liberal", he said this week he had a "very good conversation" with Burnham, who became Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade on Monday.
In his first major interview since taking office, parts of which were released on Sunday, BBC journalist asked Burnham if he was willing to call out Trump if he thought it was the right thing to do.
"All leaders have to do that. 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," he said.
The prime minister also said he would not call a general election before 2029.
On Britain's national defence, Burnham said he was "absolutely committed" to what was promised to NATO partners. London has pledged to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035, in line with a new NATO target.
"The first challenge ... 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," he said.
Burnham did not commit to the 2030 target in the interview.
When asked on Sunday, Wes Streeting, who was appointed defence secretary by Burnham last week, said any timetable for increasing defence spending was the decision of the finance minister.
"It's for the chancellor to set out, both at the budget and future spending reviews, how we will achieve 3.5% by 2035," he told Sky News.
The full interview with Burnham will air on the BBC's Panorama programme on Monday.
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Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham "will always put Britain's interests first", he told the BBC in an interview when asked whether he was willi...
Russian authorities said 11 people, including four children, had been killed by Ukraine in an overnight attack on a holiday camp, accusing Kyiv on Saturday of deliberately targeting civilians.
The U.S. military said it completed a fresh wave of strikes on Iran late on Thursday, marking the 13th consecutive night of American attacks. The latest operation lasted more than two hours, according to U.S. Central Command.
Iran will halt its own attacks as long as the United States maintains its pause on strikes, but Tehran remains sceptical of U.S. intentions, a senior Iranian source told on Sunday.
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A known Islamist suspected of driving a minivan into a crowd near a major LGBTQ Pride gathering in Berlin was shot dead during a police operation at an allotment garden complex, broadcaster RBB reported on Sunday.
Uzbekistan captain Eldor Shomurodov has been shortlisted for the Hyundai Goal of the Tournament award at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with his strike against DR Congo named among the competition’s 12 best goals. The nomination places the Uzbek forward alongside some of world football’s biggest stars.
Firefighters battled on Sunday to contain wildfires threatening the outskirts of Bordeaux, as authorities expanded evacuation orders and warned the blazes were spreading rapidly during an intense heatwave across southern Europe.
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A Romanian F-16 fighter jet pilot shot down a Russian drone over the Black Sea, the defence ministry said on Sunday. It was the latest in a series of airspace breaches by Russia that Romanian President Nicușor Dan called “inadmissible and intolerable.”
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