Burnham Holds First Trump Meeting at UN, Faces Friction Over Chagos Deal, Authorises RAF Support for Saudi Jets Against Houthis

Prime Minister Andy Burnham met US President Donald Trump for the first time on 22 September 2026 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, an encounter Trump called warm, saying trans-Atlantic relations were 'more up than they were with your last prime minister' and describing Burnham as 'a natural business person.' The one point of friction in the 30-plus-minute meeting was the Chagos Islands sovereignty transfer to Mauritius, which Trump called a 'terrible' and 'ridiculous' deal given the strategic importance of the joint UK-US Diego Garcia base, saying he expected Burnham to reconsider it; Burnham responded that he had inherited the agreement from predecessor Keir Starmer and was 'confident we can find' a resolution with US partners. In his UN General Assembly address, Burnham pitched Britain as a leading AI power and sought to reset relations with European neighbours after a decade of Brexit-driven discord. As he flew to New York, Burnham also announced he had authorised 'limited' UK military support for Saudi Arabia, with a Royal Air Force Voyager aircraft refuelling Saudi jets engaged in defensive action to shoot down Houthi missiles fired from Yemen.