Burnham makes his first official visit to Berlin. Security talks with Merz, and a French minister says Britain may 'come all the way back' to the EU
The Prime Minister was greeted with military honours and agreed deeper cooperation on cybersecurity and sabotage. Talk of rejoining the EU came from Paris, not from Downing Street.
Andy Burnham, who took office on 20 July after Sir Keir Starmer resigned, was received with military honours in Berlin on Thursday at the start of his first official visit as prime minister, the BBC and Euronews reported. The BBC's preview said he would discuss security and EU ties with Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The talks were billed as security talks. Downing Street said the two countries will deepen cooperation on cybersecurity and on countering sabotage, sharing information and coordinating action to monitor and disrupt threats. The visit came after a drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport in August, which Berlin has accused Russia of orchestrating. The leaders also marked the Kensington Treaty, signed by Mr Merz and Sir Keir Starmer last year, which covers security, the economy and freedom of movement and set up joint forums, including between intelligence services. Mr Burnham said Britain is open to Germany joining the GCAP fighter-jet programme; German officials did not publicly confirm they want to join, and Mr Merz did not mention it in the joint statement. There was no press conference. The statement to the press lasted about seven minutes. Government releases later in the day announced the first UK-Germany tech corridor and a £1 billion German investment to build 4,000 affordable homes across the UK.
The headline question was the European Union. The Financial Times described the visit as a bid to win Mr Merz's support for closer ties with the EU, and Sky News asked whether Berlin will help Britain rejoin. The loudest answer came from Paris. France's finance minister told the BBC, the Independent and The Times that Britain is welcome to "come all the way" back to the EU, and could do so "anytime". Neither Mr Burnham nor Mr Merz said that. Mr Merz said the two countries are, at the least, concluding a bilateral agreement, and no application has been made. Domestic politics is watching. The Conservatives have pledged to rip up the UK-EU food deal, which the FT said risks "huge uncertainty", and The Times has called his EU rethink a puzzle for the SNP. The Spectator said he looked ill at ease in Berlin. The government's own line is that the visit delivers jobs, homes and security. The FT reported separately that the government will press ahead with the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, another growth project, and that Germany is heading for its fastest growth since 2022, a reminder of what a closer partner looks like from London. The question the visit leaves is whether closer European ties can be sold to voters who are still divided on Brexit, and how far Mr Burnham is willing to go before he says so. For now the substance is security and money, not membership, and the words "rejoin" and "EU" were left to others.