Andy Burnham brushes off Donald Trump attacks after once saying US President was 'not welcome' in Manchester

You are about to be charged £0.00* *Your gift has been applied Thank you for subscribing! Andy Burnham brushes off Donald Trump attacks after once saying US President was 'not welcome' in Manchester 'Politicians say things throughout their career,' the Prime Minister said as he prepared to meet Mr Trump The fearless champion of Britain, its voices and its values. Join the fight for free speech and fearless journalism. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Community Rules. Don't Miss Most Read Latest Andy Burnham has dismissed his past attacks on Donald Trump, saying that “politicians say things throughout their career” as he prepares to meet the US President for the first time at a major summit in New York. The Prime Minister - who is en route to the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York - also said that he had chided the US President for describing Manchester as “some town”. It will be the pair’s first face-to-face meeting since Mr Burnham became Prime Minister two months ago. Since then, they have spoken twice on the phone. In the past, Mr Burnham has been heavily critical of Mr Trump. The former Greater Manchester Mayor previously said he was "not welcome" in his city. During the Capitol Hill riots on January 6, 2021, he said “any UK politician who gave Trump the time of day should be ashamed right now”. When confronted by his past criticism, Mr Burnham said: “Politicians say things throughout their career, but now the important thing is to focus on the moment you are in. 'Politicians say things throughout their career,' the Prime Minister said as he prepared to meet Mr Trump |HOUSE OF COMMONS “I did say to the President in our first phone call... I said: 'Mr President, Manchester isn't "some town".' I said: 'This is Manchester'. “And so yes, the right thing to do is to have a laugh about it, isn’t it, and move beyond it.” Asked about his approach to dealing with Mr Trump, the PM said: “I’m looking forward to it. "We’ve had two warm phone calls where we found a lot of common ground and connection, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings.” He also addressed the Chagos Islands - a significant point of contention between Britain and the States since Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025. READ MORE ON ANDY BURNHAM: Andy Burnham has dismissed his past attacks on Donald Trump |GETTY The Prime Minister reiterated his support for the deal to hand over the sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius. "We are remain determined to secure the long term operation of the base, which is crucial to our security and that of our allies," he said. "The assurance I gave was I will work towards a resolution. "At the moment we don't have that - but I gave an assurance that I would commit to working towards one." Mr Burnham will use the meeting of the UN General Assembly to announce that next year's meeting of the G20 group of world leaders will be in Manchester in late November. He said: “I really am pleased to welcome him to Manchester and actually it’ll be a great opportunity to point to the incredible US history that there is in Manchester. "It’s the place where the cotton workers in 1862 refused to hand over slavery cotton. You know, that’s a massive piece of history that hopefully will resonate as the world gathers for the G20.” Mr Burnham is also set to use a speech to other world leaders to say that developed countries should consider AI to be a “force for good”. He said: “I’m really looking forward to giving the speech tomorrow. It’s a big moment for me, really excited about it, because I’m going to be talking about British leadership in a new era, pointing to the 10 years we’ve lived through with Brexit and turbulence, and say we’re moving beyond that.” He added: “So as we approach the G20 presidency, we will want to pick up the work that the U.S. presidency has done on AI and seek global agreement - unite the various initiatives that are there so we can really use the focus of the presidency to do that.”