- Trump called Britain's Chagos Islands deal "terrible" at his first meeting with PM Andy Burnham
- Diego Garcia base sits on the islands — Trump wants Burnham to reconsider handing sovereignty to Mauritius
- Burnham says he inherited the issue from Starmer, confident of a resolution with the US
- Trump still called Burnham a "natural business person" and praised warmer UK-US ties
DONALD TRUMP used his first face-to-face meeting with Andy Burnham to reopen his criticism of Britain's deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, calling the arrangement "terrible" and warning it was "amazing how strategic" the territory was.
The islands are home to the Diego Garcia base, a joint US-British military facility, and Trump said he expected Burnham to reconsider the agreement to hand the archipelago to Mauritius.
Burnham later told reporters he had inherited the issue from his predecessor, Keir Starmer, and was "confident we can find" a resolution with US partners.
UK defends Chagos Islands deal after Trump calls it 'great stupidity'
It was the only significant point of friction in an otherwise warm 40-minute meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Trump called Burnham a "natural business person" and said relations with Britain were "more up now" than under Starmer, whose government fell out with Washington after refusing to back the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Government denies halt to Chagos legislation amid US talks
Burnham said the two leaders had found "common ground" on cost-of-living pressures, ending the Middle East conflict and reindustrialisation, adding: "He was very upbeat about the country's prospects, which, to be honest, was great to hear."
The prime minister also said he would "stand firm" against any threat to the Falkland Islanders' right to remain British, after Trump indicated in August he was reviewing Washington's neutral stance on the territory.
