Andy Burnham issues defiant Falklands message to Argentina ahead of UN general assembly address

The comments came after the Prime Minister met Donald Trump for the first time during the UN General Assembly, where the pair had discussed the Falkland Islands, amongst other topics.

When asked about what he discussed with the US President, Mr Burnham said: "Well, I think it's important where I'm going to make a statement that I tell him in advance and I will mention the Falkland Islands.

"I didn't react immediately when the Argentinian president made his recent comments.

"But in this forum, I think it's right for me to set out the position clearly.

"And the clear position is we will stand firm in the face of any threats.

"We will defend the right of the Falkland Islanders to self-determination and to remain British.

Mr Burnham said the UK 'will stand firm in the face of any threats' when asked about the Falkland Islands

PA

"I just wanted the President to know directly from me that's the clear British position and he very much understood what I was saying."

Mr Trump had confirmed earlier this month the US was reviewing its position on the South Atlantic territory, telling GB News he will "settle" the dispute between Britain and Argentina.

Argentina's President and Mr Trump ally, Javier Milei, has long defending his country's claim over the islands, saying they "were, are and will always be Argentine".

The archipelago has been a British Overseas Territory for over 193 years.

The Prime Minister's comments come after his first meeting with US President Donald Trump

REUTERS

The UK's sanctions on Israeli settlements, which were announced earlier this month, also fuelled Falklands fears.

Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly recognise the overseas territory as Argentinian.

Mr Burnham also raised other foreign affairs issues during his post-Mr Trump interview, such as the Chagos Islands.

The US President said in a press conference following their bilateral meeting that he thought the deal with Mauritius was "terrible" and he did not "support it".

When questioned about Mr Trump's remarks, the Prime Minister said: "Obviously we inherited the situation and we need a resolution.

"It's critical to safeguard the future of the base [Diego Garcia] — that matters to us for security reasons, but also clearly to the United States as well.

"So what I said in the meeting is that we will work to find that resolution between the different sides and we'll work hard to find it.

"It was clear that we need to come to that agreement, but I'm confident we can find it working with our US partners."

The International Court of Justice ruled in 2019 the Chagos Islands should be handed to Mauritius.

The UK signed a deal in May 2025 to do so, alongside billions of pounds in payments to lease back the Diego Garcia military base.

Mr Trump had previously called the deal an "act of great stupidity", however, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed earlier this month the Government will push ahead with the agreement.

The Prime Minister was also asked if he had invited the US President to the UK, to which he said Mr Trump is "always welcome".

He said: "Not today, but he's always welcome. We talked about the Irish Open and golf and lots of other things. I said one thing — that I'd like to deliver on things that I say.

"I said I was having second thoughts about playing golf with him, given a recent performance of my own was probably not up to the right standard. But we'll keep working at that."

Mr Burnham is due to address the UN General Assembly later this evening.