PRIME Minister Andy Burnham insisted today that he would publicly disagree with US President Donald Trump if it was Britain’s national interest.

The Labour leader spoke to his US counterpart within an hour of arriving in Downing Street last Monday.

He told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “I can’t at any point say that I won’t take a different opinion from him [Donald Trump], that I will need to voice a different idea that is right for Britain.”

Mr Burnham added that he would publicly disagree with Mr Trump if necessary, saying: “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.”

No 10 described Mr Burnham’s 20-minute conversation with Mr Trump as “extremely warm” after relations between Washington and Sir Keir Starmer’s government became increasingly fractious over the Iran conflict.

Following the call, the president stated in a post on Truth Social that Mr Burnham “has got a big job ahead of him, but he will be able to do it” and pledged that the US “will be there to help.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Mr Burnham refused to be drawn on a timetable for increasing defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP.

He said that he was “very aware” of Chancellor John Healey’s resignation as Sir Keir’s defence secretary, citing a lack of commitment to spending that amount by 2030.

Mr Burnham also ruled out an early general election, saying that Britain had “voted for a manifesto” in 2024 and said that “I don’t think people want” an election.