Andy Burnham says he will disagree with Trump in public if necessary | Andy Burnham

Andy Burnham has vowed to disagree with Donald Trump, including publicly if necessary, in his first major broadcast interview since becoming prime minister.

Burnham’s comments came as new defense secretary Wes Streeting said he believed the Trump administration was looking for allies who have the confidence to air disagreements when necessary, not “bad” allies.

Burnham, a relative foreign policy novice, spoke at length with the US president shortly after entering No 10, in a conversation described by Downing Street officials as warm.

But there is potential for early tensions as Washington continues its attacks on Iran, with Burnham adhering to the policy of not supporting US offensive operations under Keir Starmer, which has led to violent public attacks from Trump.

Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg program on Sunday, Burnham said: “I can’t say I would never take a different view from her. [Trump]“I will have to voice a different idea that is right for Britain.”

The new Prime Minister said that he would reveal his differences with Trump publicly if necessary: ​​”First of all, you should defend your own national interests. If you are going to do this job properly, this is what you have to do.”

In an interview with Trevor Phillips on Sky News on Sunday, Streeting said he had spoken to his US counterpart Pete Hegseth and made clear his ongoing differences on Iran.

He said: “I have been clear that we do not support offensive action in Iran and we will not support offensive action in Iran. But there are many things we can and must do together.”

Streeting argued that such outspokenness is valued by Trump and his team: “The first thing you do is not be terrible. My impression is that President Trump, his administration, that’s not what they’re looking for. He’s an outspoken guy.”

Asked if he trusted the US president, Streeting said: “I don’t know him, but I trust the US.”

He added that being in the defense business gave him “a unique understanding of how close and integral that relationship is when it comes to defense and security.”

In an interview with the BBC, Burnham dismissed the idea of ​​a quick general election to potentially benefit from any Labor surge in the polls: “There’s no such thing as a snap general election. I don’t think people want that,” she said, adding that people were “voting for a manifesto” in 2024.

He continued: “I think the most important thing I need to do is make sure Britain is focused on getting the country back to where it should be.”

On defense spending, Burnham said he was “very aware” of John Healey, who resigned as defense secretary under Starmer and is now chancellor, of his desire to quickly increase defense spending to 3% of GDP, but refused to give a timetable.

He said: “The first challenge we both face is ensuring that the defense investment plan is fully funded and that is what we have before us and we need to work on that as we move towards the budget later this year.”

Streeting told Sky that as defense secretary he had a duty to ensure the increased budget was spent wisely.

He said: “There are long-standing issues around defense procurement, value for money and so on. And as I told the team at the Ministry of Defense this week, these are important not only in the abstract and because spending money wisely is the right thing to do, but also because we are asking so much of the taxpayer.”