Burnham insists he acted immediately on grooming gangs while others looked away
Andy Burnham has insisted he “acted immediately” on the issue of grooming gangs, as he criticised others for manipulating the facts.
The Greater Manchester mayor said he had looked towards the issue, while “lots of other politicians, in fact the vast majority, were just looking in the other direction”.
In a video posted on X, Mr Burnham claimed he “initiated the biggest review into this issue that the country has seen”.
The Labour former minister is standing in the Makerfield by-election, which is due to take place on June 18 and is expected to be a tight race between Labour and Reform UK.
If successful, Mr Burnham is widely expected to challenge Sir Keir Starmer by launching a bid for the Labour leadership.
A recent Survation poll has suggested the Labour candidate has a lead of three percentage points over the Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon.
In the clip, Mr Burnham addressed issues and concerns raised on the doorstep, including grooming gangs and clean air zones.
On grooming gangs, he said: “I have got a really clear story that I want to get over, because sometimes people play politics with this issue and manipulate the facts.
“I want to tell you directly what I did.
“Within days of coming in as mayor, we’d seen the BBC programme The Three Girls, and I acted immediately on it, particularly after I’d heard an interview with Maggie Oliver about a police investigation in Manchester, Operation Augusta, which had been closed down.
“I initiated the biggest review into this issue that the country has seen.
“And that was when I was looking towards the issue, but lots of other politicians, in fact the vast majority, were just looking in the other direction.
“That review into Manchester, but with subsequent reviews into Oldham and Rochdale, and the wide-ranging review has led to major police investigations being reopened.
“It has led to arrests, charges, and convictions of perpetrators who would otherwise have walked free.
“Now those are the facts.
“You can look them up, that’s what I did, and I am happy to account on every doorstep.
“Well, actually, I’m having brilliant conversations with people.
“People are really tuning in to this by-election, it’s a really kind of big moment, I think, in British politics, people are getting that.
“It’s good that Makerfield is at the heart of this debate.
“This campaign is really kind of getting focused now, and it’s good, and people are listening, and I’m listening to them.”
Last year, the Government established a grooming gangs inquiry in response to Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
The Makerfield by-election candidates are: Jake Austin (Liberal Democrats), Count Binface (Count Binface Party), Andy Burnham (Labour and Co-operative Party), Dan Clarke (Libertarian Party), John Dyer (independent), Ed Gemmell (Climate Party), Paul Gould (independent), Howling Laud Hope (Official Monster Raving Loony Party), Rob Kenyon (Reform UK), Robert Pownall (independent), Rebecca Shepherd (Restore Britain), Sarah Wakefield (Green Party), Peter Ward (Rejoin EU Bring in PR) and Michael Winstanley (Conservative).