NEW YORK, 23 Sept. - (ANA) - British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has met with US President Donald Trump face-to-face for the very first time in New York City, with a top body language expert decoding their actions.

 

The meeting was at a joint press conference after their talks at the United Nations General Assembly. Seated side by side, Trump claimed relations between the United States and the United Kingdom are "more up" now that Andy Burnham is Prime Minister than when Sir Keir Starmer held the role.

 

Trump also called Burnham a "natural business person." Trump opened the meeting by congratulating Burnham on his election victory and said the pair had discussed everything from Rolls-Royce to energy and immigration. Burnham responded by stressing the importance of the US-UK relationship and saying he and the president had "taken that further today."

 

Despite the positive comments, the meeting also exposed areas of disagreement between the two leaders. Trump launched a strong criticism of the UK's agreement with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, describing it as a "terrible deal" and "ridiculous."

 

The two men also discussed Iran, with Burnham telling Trump that Britain remained ready to play its part in the Middle East and agreeing that Iran must not become a nuclear power.

 

Burnham said: "We're still ready to play our part in the Middle East, in terms of helping you stop the conflict, open the Strait [of Hormuz]. We're with you that Iran must never be a nuclear power."

 

Speaking to reporters, one reporter asked the US president what he thinks about the UK announcing sanctions over illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

 

Trump responded: "Well, I don't know about the move."

 

He then asked Burnham: "Do you know about the move?"

 

To which the UK Prime Minister said: "We did call you just to say why we had taken that [decision]".

 

He added: "If there's a situation where there's a tender to put settlements on the West Bank, that in effect makes a two-state solution non-viable, what do we do?

 

"If we do nothing, it further erodes people's trust in politics. They'll think you're all talk, and when it comes to it, you're not prepared to follow-up on that talk." -(ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/23 September 2026 - -