Burnham must not make the same mistakes Starmer made with Trump – and show his govt can deliver on defence and migration

Frenemy States ARE Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Defence Secretary Wes Streeting trying to repair the Special Relationship, damaged by Sir Keir Starmer’s Government? Both had previously insulted Donald Trump, but in a charm offensive directed at our American allies, the PM described the “warm” 20-minute phone chat he had with the President last week while Streeting admits Britain would ultimately thank Trump for pushing it to spend properly on defence. Burnham must address any damage done to Britain’s Special Relationship with the US following the Starmer reign Credit: Getty The new PM has previously insulted the US President Credit: Reuters And yet, to appease Trump-hating Labour MPs, Streeting explicitly insisted the UK should not “suck up” to the President while Burnham — channeling Hugh Grant’s Love Actually PM — said he would be prepared to call out Trump to defend UK national interests. They should not make the same mistakes Starmer made. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Sir Keir saw himself as something of a “Trump-whisperer” . . . until the President saw through his ineptitude. And he talked a great game on defence spending but couldn’t back it with cash. READ MORE FROM THE SUN SAYS At least Streeting has vowed to resign if Labour’s Defence Investment Plan is not funded, but that’s a long way from lifting defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by 2030. We’ll see how Trump’s warmth evaporates if Burnham’s Government fails to meet Nato obligations, exploit our oil and gas reserves under the North Sea; or halt the flow of illegal migrants to our shores. Actions speak louder than words. Sick greed “WE’RE going really hard at the layers of bureaucracy in the NHS,” said Wes Streeting when he was Health Secretary last year and record numbers of NHS bosses were revealed to be earning more than £110,000. Most read in The Sun But the Health Service’s army of pen-pushers is not going down without a fight. New figures show the number of NHS managers earning £300,000+ has more than doubled in a year. With pay supposedly linked to performance, you would think the NHS must now be twice as efficient. And faultless. Fat chance. New Health Secretary Yvette Cooper needs to finish what Streeting at least tried to start. Wet blankets BLEEDING-heart social workers and judges keep falling over themselves to protect guilty foreign crooks at the expense of law-abiding Brits. But halting the deportation of an Albanian cocaine-dealer because it might worsen his daughter’s bed-wetting is a new low. Expect every vile criminal to now use similar excuses to get what they want. Human rights law has gone beyond a joke. Comment now