Burnham latest: PM says he will seek ‘common ground’ with Trump in first face-to-face meeting

Donald Trump hailed Andy Burnham as “a great prime minister” as the pair met face-to-face for the first time – but slammed the UK’s “ridiculous” deal to give away the Chagos Islands.

In a much-anticipated session involving two leaders who could hardly be more different, Mr Burnham said he and Mr Trump discussed the Falklands, Ukraine, immigration and more.

Answering questions after their private talks, Mr Trump said relations between the UK and US were “more up” than they were under Sir Keir Starmer.

The prime minister said beforehand he was hoping to find “common ground” with the US president when they held talks in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York .

Economists are warning that tax rises will be almost certain in this month’s Budget after government borrowing rose in August to the second-highest level for the month on record.

Official figures also showed the Treasury had borrowed £8bn more than expected this year.

Mr Burnham said he and US president Donald Trump had "established a ⁠good ​connection ⁠in our early discussions" ⁠as they met in ​New ⁠York for ‌the first time.

"We really appreciate ‌that this relationship ‌matters so much to us and ⁠we we'll build on that relationship," Burnham said.

Donald Trump said relations between the UK and US were “more up” than they were under Sir Keir Starmer.

Responding to a question on fluctuating relations between London and Washington, the US president told the press after a bilateral meeting at the UN in New York: “I think you’re up. Well they’re more now than they were with your last prime minister, let me put it that way.”

Mr Trump said the deal over Rolls-Royce was a “deal that nobody else could make”.

He continued: “We made sure that Rolls-Royce was being properly taken care of. We didn’t force them to do things like build the Rolls-Royces in Brooklyn, New York. We didn’t do that.”

He added: “I think right now, based on my relationship with your Prime Minister, Andy, I think we’re doing very well.”

For a man who said on the plane to New York that he was looking forward to his meeting with President Trump, Andy Burnham looked extremely nervous.