Prime Minister Andy Burnham has indicated he would be prepared to publicly criticize U.S. President Donald Trump if he believed it was in Britain's best interest.
In an interview with the BBC, Burnham emphasized that his primary responsibility is to defend the United Kingdom's national interests. "You have to defend your own national interest before anything else," he stated. "That's what you're required to do if you're to do this job properly."
Burnham mentioned that he had expressed "concern" regarding the U.S. president initiating a conflict with Iran and affirmed that he "wouldn't hold back from saying what I think is right."
Regarding defense spending, Burnham addressed concerns raised by his Chancellor, John Healey, who resigned from the previous government citing the need for a commitment to spend 3% of GDP on defense by 2030 for national safety. Burnham confirmed he appointed his Chancellor with an awareness of his views on the critical importance of defense spending.
"The first challenge facing us both is to ensure that the defence investment plan is fully funded and that's the thing that's right in front of us and we need to work that through as we go towards the budget later this year," Burnham said. He did not commit to a specific date for achieving the 3% GDP defense spending target but indicated it is a priority to be addressed in upcoming budget discussions.