Diplomats are planning how to manage a face-to-face meeting between Prime Minister Andy Burnham and US President Donald Trump at the United Nations, aiming to limit potential diplomatic tensions. White House sources suggest they want to minimize Trump's interaction with Burnham because he is unlikely to exhibit the deference Trump expects. The article highlights previous disagreements over issues like sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, defence spending, and drilling in the North Sea, suggesting areas where their policies clash sharply.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-20,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Wes Streeting, Britain’s defence secretary, announced that annual payments worth at least £120 million to Mauritius are on hold as the government reconsiders an agreement over the Chagos Islands. This decision came after Donald Trump criticized the deal during a meeting with Prime Minister Andy Burnham at the UN General Assembly in New York. The original agreement would see the UK cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius and pay approximately £101 million annually to lease back a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, which is strategically important due to its location in the Indian Ocean.
Streeting emphasized that the deal cannot proceed without US support, highlighting the need for cooperation with American allies to ensure the agreement safeguards the long-term future of the base at Diego Garcia. The defence secretary noted that previous efforts to adapt the deal have not succeeded, and current negotiations are focused on reaching an arrangement that both Mauritius and the US can accept.
Written for “Chagos Islands Deal” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 38 other(s) covering the same event.
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Diplomats on both sides of the Atlantic are trying to solve a particularly knotty problem this weekend: how long should Tuesday’s meeting between Andy Burnham and Donald Trump last?
asserted
meeting → see → Burnham
And another worry is: how should they stop the US President roaming off piste into treacherous diplomatic waters?
asserted
President → stop → waters
Ahead of the pair’s first face-to-face encounter at the United Nations, one White House source told The Mail on Sunday they were trying to ‘limit the President’s exposure’ to Mr Burnham, because the Prime Minister ‘will not kiss the ring in the way Donald likes’.
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Donald → tell → way
Mr Burnham and Mr Trump have spoken twice on the phone since he entered Downing Street, with the exchanges said to have been cordial.
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exchanges → speak → Street
In theory, Tuesday’s meeting – arranged to coincide with Mr Burnham’s first participation at the UN General Assembly – will stick to relatively safe topics such as AI, Iran and Ukraine.
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meeting → arrange → AI
But in recent weeks, the President – who has previously described Mr Burnham as ‘the mayor of a town’ and ‘on the liberal side’ – has departed from decades of careful Anglo-British diplomacy.
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who → describe → diplomacy
He has done so by calling for a united Ireland and questioning the UK’s right to sovereignty over the Falklands.
There are also stark differences over Labour’s reluctance to drill in the North Sea, the UK’s level of defence spending as a member of Nato and Ed Miliband’s decision to sanction Israeli settlers.
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He → do → settlers
Prime Minister Andy Burnham is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the United Nations this week, with diplomats working to manage the length and focus of their first face-to-face talks
Trump has criticised the UK government's agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius
In particular, Mr Trump has criticised the Government’s decision to relinquish sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, home to the joint UK-US military base at Diego Garcia, by describing it as an act of ‘great stupidity’.
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Trump → meet → stupidity
His opposition means the deal with Mauritius is yet to be ratified.
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deal → mean → Mauritius
British officials have worked hard to avoid the humiliation suffered by Labour’s Gordon Brown at the UN in 2009, when No10 made multiple requests for private talks with then president Barack Obama – only for it to turn into an informal 15-minute chat in a kitchen.
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it → work → kitchen
A British official says: ‘It will be more formal than Obama but the timings are unclear.
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timings → say → Obama
It’s hard to control at the UN – anything could happen.’
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anything → ’ → UN
The Prime Minister plans to be less fawning in his approach to Mr Trump than predecessor Sir Keir Starmer, pledging to ‘say what he feels’ about areas of difference.
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he → plan → difference
When the President indicated that he might not help the UK to defend the Falklands if Argentina launched an attack, Mr Burnham said Britain would be ‘relentless’ in defending the islanders’ right to be British.
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Britain → indicate → right
And during his time as mayor of Greater Manchester, Mr Burnham suggested Mr Trump would not be welcome in the city due to his ‘poisonous’ politics.
But after succeeding Sir Keir this summer, the Prime Minister said that he tried ‘to find common ground’ with other politicians.
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he → suggest → politicians
Mr Burnham added: ‘He’s said things as well, and everyone says things as politicians.
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everyone → add → politicians
‘In the moment you meet people where they’re at, and you find a connection with people, and that’s always been my style.’
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that → meet → people
Mr Trump made his comments backing a united Ireland last weekend while meeting Irish premier Micheal Martin in Dublin.
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Trump → make → Dublin
‘I don’t want to cause any problems, but I’d love to see it unified,’ he said.
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he → want → problems
‘It’s going to happen eventually.
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It → go → ?
It may as well happen now.
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It → happen → ?
I think it would be a fantastic thing.’
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it → think → ?
It came just days after Mr Burnham said a referendum on Northern Ireland leaving the UK was ‘off the table’.
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Ireland → come → table
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