UK’s Burnham names Trump critic Ed Miliband foreign secretary as ex-Thatcher aide brands pick ‘disastrous’

British Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband walks on Downing Street before a cabinet meeting after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a timeline for his resignation, in London, Britain, June 23, 2026. (Toby Melville/Reuters)

During Trump’s first presidential campaign, Miliband described him as a “racist, misogynistic, self-confessed groper.” The comment resurfaced after Trump won the 2024 election, when BBC Breakfast presenter Jon Kay questioned Miliband about how he would work with the incoming president.

“How are you going to build a relationship with someone you described in the past as a racist, misogynistic, self-confessed groper?” Kay asked during the Nov.12, 2024, interview.

“I’ve said some things in the past,” Miliband responded.“My job now as a government minister is to work with people.”

The differences extend beyond Miliband’s rhetoric about Trump.As energy secretary, Miliband became the public face of the Labour government’s net-zero agenda and its opposition to issuing new licenses for North Sea oil and gas exploration.Trump and members of his administration have pushed Britain to increase domestic fossil-fuel production.

�s appointment was a “disastrous” decision.

“I think the appointment of Ed Miliband as U.K.foreign secretary is disastrous for Britain,” Gardiner said in an interview Tuesday.“It’s a demonstration of a real lack of strategic thinking on the part of Andy Burnham.”

“Ed Miliband is no friend of the United States,” Gardiner continued.“He has been an outspoken critic of President Trump.Miliband is also widely viewed by U.S.conservatives as the architect of the whole net-zero agenda, which is viewed as completely poisonous by the U.S.administration.”

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British Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband, left, and California state governor Gavin Newsom pose after signing a clean energy agreement at the Foreign Office in London on Feb.16, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Gardiner called the appointment a “very high-risk move” that “makes no sense.”

“Burnham is already off to a very bad start with this appointment,” he said.“I’m in no doubt there will be very significant tensions between President Trump and Prime Minister Burnham, and Miliband’s appointment is quite possibly the worst appointment that Burnham could make as foreign secretary.”

As he delivered his first remarks following the appointment, Miliband mentioned his family’s experience as Holocaust survivors.

“It’s the honor of my life, being asked by the prime minister to be the foreign secretary of our country,” Miliband said in a statement Tuesday.“My parents came here, Jewish refugees fleeing from the Nazis, and for them Britain provided sanctuary and a beacon of hope in the fight against fascism.”

“At a time when the values of democracy, the rule of law and freedom are under threat as never before, I will carry that spirit, their spirit, into my work as foreign secretary,” he said.“And now I’m going to go and get on with the task.”

Miliband also pledged to nurture Britain’s “strong, enduring and essential alliance” with the United States while deepening its strategic relationship with the European Union, according to the Financial Times.

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Prime Minister Andy Burnham assumes the leadership role without being elected, a fact not lost on critics of his democratic-socialist agenda.(Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

His appointment has also raised concerns among some British Jewish and pro-Israel commentators.

Stephen Pollard, a former editor and current columnist for The Jewish Chronicle, argued in an opinion piece published Tuesday that Miliband’s record as Labour leader, including changes to party leadership rules that preceded Jeremy Corbyn’s rise, should concern British Jews and supporters of Israel.Pollard predicted that the Burnham government would pursue additional sanctions against Israel with the support of a Jewish foreign secretary.

The Burnham government had not announced additional sanctions against Israel as of Tuesday.

Conservative Member of Parliament Priti Patel separately criticized Burnham and Miliband over plans to proceed with theChagos Islands agreement.

“Burnham and Miliband are wrong to press ahead with Labour’s appalling Chagos Surrender,” Patel wrote on X, arguing that the agreement would transfer British territory and cost taxpayers £35 billion (approximately $47 billion.)

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 Andy Burnham delivers his inaugural speech as UK’s new Prime Minister on on July 20, 2026 in London, England.The Member of Parliament for Makerfield becomes the UK’s 59th Prime Minister, succeeding Sir Keir Starmer, who resigned as leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister in June. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

“Once again, the same old Labour Party is underminingour national securityand making Britain weaker on the international stage,” she added.

On Monday,President Donald Trumpsaid he spoke with Burnham shortly after he took office, calling the conversation “very good.” Trump added that he and Burnham plan to meet in the “not too distant future” to discuss issues of mutual interest.

The White House, State Department, Miliband’s office and Burnham’s requests for comment.

� Bonny Chu contributed to this article.

Efrat (Effie) Lachter is an investigative journalist, filmmaker and war correspondent.She has directed and produced over 200 documentary segments across more than 40 countries.Recipient of the 2022 Peres Center for Peace Award, Lachter is also a 2023-24 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan.She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in political science.