In his debut as UK prime minister at the UNGA debate, Andy Burnham declared "Britain is back" 10 years after the country dealt with the turbulence caused by Brexit.

Burnham said the UK is "restoring our stability" and "building a more dynamic economy" while seeking trade and working together with other countries to tackle shared problems.

However, he said the UK needs to deal with forces of division and instability. He said this begins with Britain boosting its defense expenditures as a NATO member state and strengthening European capabilities.

Another issue Burnham addressed was disinformation being sowed online by Russia-aligned actors.

"Russian agencies have used every means at their disposal to spread lies and disinformation and prey on people's fear," Burnham said. "They've used bots and fake websites. Falsified newspaper articles. Forged the branding of 28 British organizations — including universities and the BBC. They've amplified far-right narratives."

The UK prime minister said there is evidence that Russia tried to interfere in the 2019 UK general election. He said the Kremlin spends around £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion, €1.5 billion) annually to sow disinformation.

As a solution, Burnham announced the National Centre for Information Defence to fight disinformation which hurts British interests.

Burnham also addressed the issue of AI, saying global standards are needed because "fundamental decisions on this technology are too important to be left to chance." Burnham said the UK will work on convincing other countries regarding rules on AI transparency and access to AI models.