LONDON (July 30): British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he planned to take a "pragmatic" approach to developing and using oil and gas resources in the North Sea, setting out his position after US President Donald Trump said the basin would be opened up.

Burnham became Britain's prime minister on July 20, and shortly afterwards spoke to Trump, who told reporters on Wednesday that the new Prime Minister was planning to press ahead with more drilling in the North Sea.

"I indicated in the phone call [with Trump]...that I would take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea, and that is my intention as we go forward," Burnham told reporters when asked about Trump's remarks.

"There is a resource there. When people are struggling, you can't ignore that, and hence me indicating that to the president."

Burnham has said that he will stick to the Labour manifesto from his predecessor Keir Starmer's election win in 2024, but indicated that he might be more flexible in the area of oil and gas licences.

Trump had been sternly critical of Starmer's North Sea approach, which was for the development of existing licences to go ahead but to not issue any new licences for exploration.

Burnham has repeatedly said he wants to reindustrialise Britain, and some trade unions and business groups have called on him to use the North Sea as a way to boost jobs and help lower energy prices.

Two large fields, Rosebank and Jackdaw, are ready to be developed but have been on hold after legal challenges.

The projects were granted licences before the Labour government came into power but developers including Equinor and Shell had been blocked from extracting oil and gas until fresh government consent is granted, which is still pending.

Uploaded by Lam Seng Fatt