UK and Germany Ratify Kensington Treaty, Expand Cooperation
Prime Minister Andy Burnham offered Germany a chance to join the GCAP fighter jet program.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
El 'premier' Andy Burnham junto al canciller Friedrich Merz.TOBIAS SCHWARZAFP
Photograph: El Mundo (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Germany and the UK have ratified the Treaty of Kensington, enhancing collaboration across multiple sectors.
- British Prime Minister Andy Burnham proposed that Germany join the UK's GCAP fighter jet development program.
- The two nations will share intelligence and coordinate actions to counter hostile activities, particularly from Russia.
- Burnham expressed a desire for closer ties between the UK and the European Union during his visit to Berlin.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 7 of the 14 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
57/100
Hype
41/100
14 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 1 of the 7 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Germany and the United Kingdom have ratified the Treaty of Kensington, which expands cooperation in security, defence, economy, research, and education. The agreement was negotiated with the previous British prime minister and signed in July 2025. The treaty aims to strengthen relations between the two countries following Brexit. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz exchanged the instruments of ratification in Berlin, allowing the treaty to enter into force.
During his visit, Burnham offered Germany the opportunity to join the GCAP fighter jet program, which the UK is developing with Italy and Japan. Burnham stated his readiness for Germany to join the project, which is seen as opening the door for discussions, though no German decision to join has been announced. This initiative follows warnings from German intelligence services about the increasing danger of Russian operations. London and Berlin intend to improve their response capabilities to threats affecting both security and economic functions.
Burnham also positioned his visit as an effort to foster closer relations with the European Union, ahead of a bilateral summit scheduled for the end of the year. He advocated for increased collaboration with the bloc to stimulate economic growth and address irregular migration. Chancellor Merz, for his part, reiterated his regret over the UK's departure from the EU and presented the treaty as a means to regain collaborative opportunities, particularly in educational exchanges and facilitating visa-free stays for students.
Disagreement on treaty negotiation
El Mundo reported that the Treaty of Kensington was negotiated with the previous British prime minister, Keir Starmer. None of the other reports mention who negotiated the treaty.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated reports mention the specific areas of cooperation beyond security and defence, such as economy, research, and education, that are covered by the Treaty of Kensington. The digests from these outlets also did not mention the exchange of ratification instruments in Berlin.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 8 Oct 2026, 15:01, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
We have not written our reading of the left coverage of this story. The left-rated outlets that ran it are listed below.
Centre
1 rated outlet
We have not written our reading of the centre coverage of this story. The centre-rated outlets that ran it are listed below.
Right
5 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports focused on Prime Minister Andy Burnham's stated desire to bring the UK closer to Europe and the European Union. El Mundo's headline stated the UK 'Opens the Door' from its fighter aircraft to Germany, and its report detailed the GCAP fighter jet offer and the security cooperation against Russia. Welt's headline highlighted Burnham's "delicate mission in Berlin" ahead of a UK-EU summit, suggesting the Chancellor's conditions for cooperation. Spectator Australia's headline suggested Burnham's visit "won’t give Merz the boost he’s hoping for," implying a less than fully successful diplomatic effort. Guido Fawkes also focused on Burnham's statement about bringing the UK closer to Europe.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover UK and Germany Ratify Kensington Treaty, Expand Cooperation?
- Of the 7 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 14% are rated left, 15% are rated centre, 71% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 14. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is UK and Germany Ratify Kensington Treaty, Expand Cooperation left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 7 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of UK and Germany Ratify Kensington Treaty, Expand Cooperation biased?
- UK and Germany Ratify Kensington Treaty, Expand Cooperation is one event reported by 14 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting UK and Germany Ratify Kensington Treaty, Expand Cooperation?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered UK and Germany Ratify Kensington Treaty, Expand Cooperation?
- 14 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is the Treaty of Kensington?
- The Treaty of Kensington is an agreement between Germany and the United Kingdom that expands cooperation in security, defence, economy, research, and education. It was ratified by both nations in Berlin.
- What was offered to Germany regarding fighter jets?
- British Prime Minister Andy Burnham offered Germany the possibility of joining the GCAP fighter jet program, which the UK is developing with Italy and Japan. This offer opens the door for further discussions on potential German participation.
- How will the UK and Germany cooperate on security?
- The UK and Germany will share information and coordinate actions to detect and thwart hostile activities, with a particular focus on threats from Russia. This cooperation aims to enhance the protection of critical infrastructure.
- What is Prime Minister Burnham's stance on UK-EU relations?
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham expressed his desire for closer ties between the UK and the European Union. He advocated for increased collaboration with the bloc to foster economic growth and address issues like irregular migration.
Read it at the source
14 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
1Right
5- Britain turns to Berlin to ease its way back towards Brussels (opens brusselssignal.eu in a new tab)
brusselssignal.eu — is brusselssignal.eu biased? Our profile of this outlet
- UK 'Opens the Door' From Its Fighter Aircraft to Germany (opens El Mundo in a new tab)
- Burnham: We Want to Bring the UK Closer to Europe (opens Guido Fawkes in a new tab)
Guido Fawkes — is Guido Fawkes biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Meeting with Merz: "Great Britain and Germany Join Forces Today – Andy Burnham's Delicate Mission in Berlin (opens Welt in a new tab)
- Burnham’s Berlin visit won’t give Merz the boost he’s hoping for (opens Spectator Australia in a new tab)
Spectator Australia — is Spectator Australia biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
Not rated
7- Burnham committed to deeper EU cooperation, he tells Merz – Europe live (opens online-listing.com in a new tab)
online-listing.com — is online-listing.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Britain Wants to Get Closer to the European Union Again. British Prime Minister's Announcement After Meeting with Germany's Leader (opens Aktual24 in a new tab)
- UK Prime Minister Burnham Says He Wants to Bring His Country Closer to Europe (opens Habertürk in a new tab)
- British Prime Minister Burnham Said in Berlin that He Wanted Closer Ties with Europe. (opens Haberler in a new tab)
- UK Prime Minister Committed to Closer Cooperation with the EU (opens Mediafax in a new tab)
- Burnham seeks to 'bring UK closer to Europe' (opens BizToc in a new tab)
- BBC.COM * EUROPE: "BURNHAM TO MEET GERMAN CHANCELLOR IN BERLIN TO DISCUSS SECURITY AND EU TIES" - Journalist Agency Opinion. News From Italy - World / Trentino Alto Adige (opens Agenzia giornalistica Opinione in a new tab)
How did this read?
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