Starmer warns Burnham will have to spend time on global affairs, in first interview since quitting

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Starmer warns Burnham will have to spend time on global affairs, in first interview since quitting Figure caption, Starmer says you can't seperate foreign policy from domesticByHenry ZeffmanChief political correspondentPublished14 minutes agoSir Keir Starmer has warned his likely successor Andy Burnham will have to spend just as much time dealing with global turmoil as he has during his time in No 10. In an untypically candid interview, the outgoing prime minister spoke for the first time about the "intensely personal" and "really tough" decision he took alongside his wife and children to accept that his "political career" was "over". Sir Keir told the he had "saved" the Labour Party and been a successful prime minister.

He promised to "keep my mouth shut" under his successor, insisting that he liked Burnham and the pair had "always got on". Sir Keir has faced frequent criticism during his two years as prime minister - an anniversary he is marking this weekend - about the amount of time he has spent on the world stage, with critics labelling him "never here Keir". Among Burnham's supporters in parliament are those who hope he will be able to focus more on issues in the UK such as the cost of living and public services.

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"It is not sensible to think you can just separate these two things out," Sir Keir said. Asked if a prime minister could spend less time on diplomacy than him, he replied: "No, I don't think it is possible. " He added: "There's often this discussion - what's the right balance between dealing with international affairs and dealing with domestic affairs?

They're one and the same thing. "Sir Keir continued: "Whoever's my successor is going to face the same global conflict. We keep saying, and it's true, we're in a more dangerous and volatile world than we've been in for probably most of my lifetime.

That's not just a phrase, that's reality. "That's not going to change. And the domestic challenges aren't going to change.

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"Image source, PAImage caption, Andy Burnham has ruled out calling an early general election if he becomes prime minister later this monthHaving repeatedly vowed to fight on as prime minister, including facing any challengers in a Labour leadership election, Sir Keir ultimately changed his mind and resigned within three days of Burnham's victory in the Makerfield by-election. He described it as a "really, really tough" decision which he ultimately came to that weekend with his wife, Victoria, and teenage children at Chequers, the prime minister's countryside residence. "I grappled with what was the best thing to do for me, for the country, for the government," Sir Keir said.

"And those discussions inevitably start with many discussions with colleagues, with parliamentary colleagues, with the team here, with my immediate advisers, with trade unions, so many people in that discussion. "But for me, and this may be different for other people, in the end it became an intensely personal decision.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.