Prime Minister Andy Burnham has told Donald Trump that he would “open up the North Sea” for oil drilling, the US president has said. During a White House briefing on Wednesday, Mr Trump claimed the UK would be “a really rich country” if it drilled for oil, and that there was up to 700 years’ worth under the sea.Pressure to halt burning fossil fuels is ramping up further as the UK suffers its fourth heatwave of the year, with a record number of days over 35C and half the country in official drought. France and Spain have been racked by devastating wildfires during an even worse heatwave amid the climate crisis.The president said he had tried to persuade Sir Keir Starmer during his premiership to “open up the North Sea” but that he could not get the then prime minister to do so.Mr Burnham and Mr Trump spoke on the phone last Monday, but there was no mention of oil in the Downing Street summary of the conversation.There had been reports then that the new prime minister would back new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, which reportedly boosted Mr Burnham in Mr Trump’s view. The president told reporters on Wednesday: “Well, he did say one very good thing. He said he’s going to open up North Sea oil. If he does that, you’re going to be a wealthy country.”Insisting the UK had “windmills all over the place”, which were made in China, he said Britain also bought oil from Norway, which extracted it from the North Sea. “Norway's got trillions of dollars in the bank. Trillions. It sells its oil from the North Sea, and Scotland has a better part of the North Sea,” Mr Trump said. More to follow...Subscribe here to get the latest updates from The Independent.