Burnham expects to find 'common ground' with Trump in first meeting

Prime Minister Andy Burnham and his wife, Marie-France Van Heel, board the aircraft taking them to New York Andy Burnham said he expects to find "common ground" with Donald Trump at the pair's first face-to-face meeting on Tuesday. The prime minister and US president are in New York City for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. The two men have spoken , with Downing Street saying those calls established a "productive relationship". "We've found a connection. So, I will go with where I feel it's right, to meet him where he is at, and search for that common ground, which I'm sure we'll find," the prime minister told reporters on his flight to the US, adding "I'm looking forward to it." Burnham says he told Trump UK will be pragmatic about North Sea oil Burnham says he's not embarrassed about hoax message exchange Asked about the state of the relationship between the UK and US, the prime minister said he believes it is "as strong as it's ever been". Burnham has travelled to New York with his wife, Marie-France Van Heel, for a day of diplomacy and a speech to the UN General Assembly, which is expected to focus on the opportunities and dangers associated with artificial intelligence (AI). He said: "I will be making the case for closer international co-operation on AI, a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, and renewed efforts to bring an end to the conflict in the Middle East because what happens abroad impacts each and every one of us at home." The prime minister will also announce the start of work on a new AI and Autonomy partnership between the UK and the US, focused on protecting critical national infrastructure using AI tech. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey is expected to criticise this plan at the final day of his party's conference, saying it "doesn't come close to meeting the scale of the threat" and "only risks making us more dependent on a Trump administration in the pocket of the tech bros". He will also call for a global pause on superintelligent AI and propose a new International AI Safety Agency. His criticisms come after a series of stark warnings from the AI industry about the technology's possible dangers. For a new British prime minister, the first meeting with a US president has always been a pivotal encounter, but officials are well aware of the added jeopardy of a public appearance alongside the most unpredictable president in American history.