Andy Burnham has issued an update on a phone call he held with US President Donald Trump on Thursday. The Prime Minister told Mr Trump he has left the door open for future North Sea drilling as he said “we can’t ignore” the resources there.

The two leaders held a phone call on Mr Burnham’s first day in office, during which the US president said the new Prime Minister told him he would “open up North Sea oil”. “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,” the Prime Minister said.

“There is a resource there. When people are struggling, we can’t ignore that. Hence, me indicating that to the president,” he added.

These comments appeared to clash with Labour’s 2024 manifesto, according to which the party would not issue new North Sea licences. Ed Miliband, who held the energy and net zero brief under Sir Keir Starmer and was a strong supporter of the election pledge, has now taken the Foreign Secretary role.

His successor as Energy Secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, has said the manifesto was clear there is scope to exploit existing licences and that oil and gas are “part of the mix” – but would not be drawn on whether there are plans to go further.

Mr Burnham’s Government is also facing calls from the energy sector to approve the Jackdaw gasfield east of Aberdeen and Rosebank oilfield west of Shetland. Campaigners have warned that doing so would break the Labour manifesto. Consultations on the projects are due to run until August 10 and August 17, respectively.

The US president, a vocal supporter of fossil fuels, has long railed against “windmills”. He lost a legal battle with the Scottish Government to stop a wind turbine development visible from his Aberdeenshire golf course. Mr Trump also added that PM Burnham would have to tackle immigration, which is “killing your country”. Mr Burnham maintained that progress had been made on curbing migrant crossings over the English Channel.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski warned the Prime Minister against further North Sea drilling as it “will worsen the climate breakdown”. He said: “Our country is burning. Crops are failing. Thousands have been killed by extreme heat. The first duty of any prime minister is to keep the people of this country safe, and right now, people are feeling scared.

“Allowing new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea will worsen the climate breakdown, putting more lives at risk and doing untold damage to our economy.”

The North Sea basin includes Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Offshore wind, offshore oil and gas are considered key sectors in the area.