UK welcome to rejoin EU ‘anytime’, French finance minister says as Burnham visits Berlin

Prime minister Andy Burnham will head to Berlin on Thursday for his inaugural face-to-face talks with German chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The leaders are set to establish a joint UK-Germany security framework aimed at countering cyber attacks, sabotage and other hybrid threats from hostile foreign actors, particularly Russia.

The strategic agreement will see both countries share intelligence and coordinate action to monitor, deter and disrupt potential dangers, while building greater resilience around critical national infrastructure.

Mr Burnham and Mr Merz are also scheduled to discuss aid for Ukraine, responses to Middle East instability, and the disruption of key global shipping lanes such as the Strait of Hormuz.

Furthermore, the pair will convene a UK-Germany Regional Growth Forum featuring British and German business leaders, aimed at driving investment, deepening industrial ties and ensuring economic benefits reach communities in both nations.

Thursday will also mark the formal ratification of the Kensington Treaty, which was signed in July last year, committing both nations to significantly deeper cooperation across science, technology, defence, security and growth.

Ahead of the visit, Mr Burnham said: “Attacks on our infrastructure, our businesses and our democracies are not a distant threat.

“They reach into people’s homes and workplaces, and they are designed to make us weaker and more divided.

“Britain and Germany are joining forces to find, expose and disrupt this activity.

“Security and growth go hand in hand, and both must be felt in every town and city in our two countries.”

The Prime Minister’s trip comes amid an intelligence scandal that has rocked Germany; its former spy chief has been arrested on suspicion of espionage.

August Hanning, who headed Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from 1998 to 2005, is “strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason, and espionage”, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Mr Hanning, 80, is accused of using classified intelligence to “draft an analysis” for an employee of one foreign intelligence service, and of “passing on information” to an employee of another foreign spying service.

A former aide, identified as Manfred D, was also arrested and has been charged with aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage.

The prosecutor’s office said Manfred D worked as Mr Hanning’s chief of staff and later served as chief of staff for several subsequent BND presidents from 2012 until 2026.

Mr Burnham’s visit also comes at a time when concerns about sabotage and hybrid threats are on the rise in both the UK and Germany.

Last month, the British Government summoned a senior Russian diplomat to protest over an “egregious and reckless attack” at Germany’s Leipzig airport, a major international freight hub used for providing support to Ukraine.

A drone carrying explosive was found near Ukrainian cargo planes in August, but failed to explode and was subsequently defused.

Investigators suspect a second drone collided with a cargo aircraft nearby and a third drone was reportedly found near the airport 10 days later.

Germany’s interior minister Alexander Dobrindt said the Leipzig airport attack followed the “well-established pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe” and the assumption was that Germany would be targeted again.

Moscow denied involvement and Russian president Vladimir Putin accused Germany of planting evidence to blame Moscow.