Burnham says he told Trump UK will be pragmatic about North Sea oil

Although the government has not made any announcements on the issue, Trump has praised what he perceives as a change of stance by the UK government.

In a social media post, published the day before Burnham became prime minister, Trump wrote: “The People of Aberdeen, in Scotland, are dancing in the streets because the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has stated that he will be opening up, all the way, the invaluable North Sea Oil!”

This week, when asked about his conversation with Burnham, Trump said: “He said he’s going to open up North Sea oil.

“If he does that, you’re going to be a wealthy country.”

He later added: “You buy a lot of your energy, as you know, from the North Sea. You buy from Norway and Norway gets it from the North Sea… Norway’s got trillions of dollars in the bank.”

“Scotland has a better part of the North Sea.”

Asked about Trump’s comments, Burnham said: “I indicated in the phone call that we had a week last Monday that I would take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea, and that is my intention as we go forward from here.”

In response, Green Party leader Zack Polanski said: “Our country is burning. Crops are failing. Thousands have been killed by extreme heat.