Burnham’s Ukraine gambit is a symbolic start for PM who wants to look inward

New prime minister wants to focus at home, but his first week already suggests the world has other plans

It took just seven days in office for Andy Burnham to meet his first world leader. As he welcomed Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a naval base in Portsmouth on Monday, the new prime minister told the Ukrainian president it was “no accident” he was his first international visitor since entering No 10.

“It is intended to send a very clear message,” Burnham told him. “We are with Ukraine 100%, I am personally with you 100%, and I will honour every commitment this country has made to Ukraine in full.” In short, the UK’s support for Kyiv would continue despite the change in leadership.
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