Britain · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Andy Burnham Seeks Common Ground With Donald Trump at UN in New York
Burnham will meet Trump for the first time at the UN General Assembly. He plans to press UK priorities on Ukraine and Middle East conflict costs.
Which tension leads US criticism versus special relationship.
7 of 9 outlets skipped it: the UK and US launched a heavyweight torpedo from an uncrewed undersea drone.
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Reuters
“will not want to antagonise Trump, his team says, and will be happy to find areas to maintain the so-called "special relationship"”Read the original ↗
SSource: Houston Chronicle
“hope to avoid U.S. criticism of the U.K.’s decision to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.”Read the original ↗
Reuters frames the meeting as preserving the special relationship, while the Houston Chronicle foregrounds avoiding US criticism over West Bank settlement trad…
First meeting, AI and war
Andy Burnham said he expects to find "common ground" with Donald Trump at their first face-to-face meeting on Tuesday in New York City at the United Nations. Burnham told reporters on his flight to the US that he will make the case for closer international co-operation on AI, a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, and renewed efforts to bring an end to the conflict in the Middle East. Burnham also said he will announce the start of work on a new AI and Autonomy partnership between the UK and the US, focused on protecting critical national infrastructure using AI tech.
Downing Street said the UK and the US have, for the first time, fired an American torpedo from a British undersea drone in a military exercise, with the torpedo described as "heavyweight" and designed to sink ships and deep diving submarines. Burnham said he would seek "common ground" with Trump while the prime minister and US president are in New York for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.
Torpedo test and Gaza
Downing Street said the torpedo was launched in UK waters last week from a 12-metre long undersea drone called Excalibur, made in Plymouth.
Burnham said, "Our work together already shows what can be achieved when our two countries combine our expertise and innovation," as he discussed the UK-US relationship.
Labour Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said Burnham would be "pragmatic," adding, "We won’t agree with the U.S. administration on everything."
Olivia O'Sullivan, director of the U.K. in the World program at the Chatham House think tank, said Burnham would want to impress upon Trump the European line on Ukraine and the need for continued support to Ukraine.
Olivia O'Sullivan said Burnham would probably use the rest of his time at the U.N. General Assembly to highlight the U.K. government’s ongoing concerns about Gaza and Israeli settlements in the West Bank, while also trying to avoid that becoming a bone of contention with the U.S. government.
Third way, AI safety
Burnham told reporters he believes the UK and US relationship is "as strong as it's ever been" as he prepared to meet Trump. Burnham said he will also announce the start of work on a new AI and Autonomy partnership between the UK and the US, while Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey is expected to criticise the plan at the final day of his party's conference. Sir Ed Davey is expected to say the plan "doesn't come close to meeting the scale of the threat" and "only risks making us more dependent on a Trump administration in the pocket of the tech bros".
Burnham said he will be making the case for closer international co-operation on AI and renewed efforts to bring an end to the conflict in the Middle East, while the UN General Assembly is expected to focus on the opportunities and dangers associated with artificial intelligence (AI). Burnham said he will be making the case for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and renewed efforts to bring an end to the conflict in the Middle East, as he sought to project confidence in the UK’s position on AI regulation.