The British state continues to avoid accountability over major scandals that cost lives, including the Hillsborough football disaster and the infected blood “calamity” that saw thousands contract fatal diseases, Andy Burnham has said.
The Greater Manchester Mayor has pledged to introduce the so-called Hillsborough Law “in its entirety” if he became Prime Minister as he accused the Government of “re-traumatising” victims of the contaminated blood scandal.
In an interview marking the second anniversary of the Infected Blood Inquiry report, Burnham, who is seeking a return to Parliament via the Makerfield by-election, gave his “absolute support” to campaigners and criticised the Government for creating “new dividing lines” between victims and bereaved families through compensation rules.
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Caption: This undated handout photo shows a house mouse on Marion Island, South Africa. Mice that were brought by mistake to a remote island near Antarctica 200 years ago are breeding out of control because of climate change, eating seabirds and causing major harm in a special nature reserve with ???unique biodiversity.??? Now conservationists are planning a mass extermination using helicopters and hundreds of tons of rodent poison. (Stefan and Janine Schoombie via AP)
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SCIENCE
Why city mice really are bolder than their country cousins
Mice in urban areas are more aggressive than their counterparts in the countryside, scientists have discovered.
The findings bear out Aesop’s fable, in which a bold town mouse invites a bashful country cousin to stay.
City mice will eat through wrappers
Mice don’t hibernate, and instead during winter head indoors for food and warmth
Urban mice are far bolder than rural mice when it comes to finding food, US scientists have found.
One rodent in the study, named Philomene, ate through cake, cheese, bags of plums and “individually wrapped chocolates”.
Exclusive
6 min read
What else the study found
On any given night, a fox will encounter many cats, and the normal outcome is for the two animals to ignore each other (Photo: Matt Cardy/Getty)
More aggressive
All animals living in urban areas are more active, more aggressive and tend to roam more widely than those in rural areas.
130 species studied
The research published in the Journal of Animal Ecology also looked at 130 species – including birds, reptiles, insects and mammals.
Caption: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – APRIL 02: A pigeon feeds on nuts as it perches on a person’s hand at St. James Park in London, United Kingdom on April 02, 2026. (Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Caption: Hedgehog crossing street in front of an oncoming car
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Risk-positive
“City animals seem to be more risk-positive – they’re more bold,” said Dr Tracy Burkhard, of Lewis & Clark College.
TV NEWS
What we know about Married at First Sight UK rape allegations
Who would put themselves through marrying a stranger on national TV? (Photo: Channel 4)
Channel 4 has removed all seasons of Married at First Sight UK from its platforms following “very serious allegations” made against some former stars.
Two women have alleged that they were raped during the filming of the show. A third has alleged a non-consensual sex act.
The allegations
One woman alleged in a BBC Panorama programme that her chosen husband raped her and threatened her with an acid attack.
A second alleged that she was also raped by her husband. She also claims she told Channel 4 and independent producer CPL before broadcast, but the show still aired.
A third woman alleged that her onscreen husband engaged in a non-consensual sex act.
MEDIA
3 min read
How has Channel 4 responded?
Channel 4’s removal of the show from its platforms follows an external review launched in April into the welfare of participants. The broadcaster was presented with serious allegations “against a small number of past contributors, allegations that we understand those contributors have denied,” it said in a statement. The channel said “prompt and appropriate action was taken” related to concerns over welfare protocols.
NEWS
2 min read
Analysis
3 min read
What do MPs say?
Culture Minister Caroline Dinenage’s comments have sparked fury among the cruise industry (Photo: Getty)
‘Deeply shocking’
Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport committee, said the allegations were “deeply shocking”.
‘Horrifying’
The Conservative MP said the premise of the show, which sees single people “marry” strangers who they meet on their mock wedding day, was “horrifying”.
The new series of Married at First Sight starts this week on Channel 4 (Photo: CPL Production and Channel 4/ Indigo Wild Studio/Simon Johns)
Sheffield City Region’s Labour Mayor Dan Jarvis and local council leaders announced that the Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick had confirmed he would work with them to devolve powers from Westminster (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
‘Deeply concerning’
Labour security minister Dan Jarvis said the allegations were “deeply concerning”.
Will we see a heatwave this bank holiday weekend?
Britons have been told to prepare for hot weather this bank holiday weekend, with some parts of the country set to see temperatures rise as high as 28°C.
A couple pour a glass of wine on Jubilee beach, Southend in June. Yellow heat health alerts were issued by the Met Office (Photo: John Keeble/Getty Images)
Which areas could get a heatwave?
Caption: A person walks along The Queen’s Walk near Tower Bridge in London. Temperatures could reach 32C in parts of central and southern England on Friday and are expected to remain high into the weekend, with a yellow heat health alert in place for all regions in England until July 15. Picture date: Friday July 11, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire
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28°C temperatures
Temperatures could reach 28°C in the south-east of England on Friday, with conditions set to be mostly sunny and dry.
Heatwave threshold
Some places could see a heatwave on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A heatwave is three days in a row with temperatures at a regional threshold.
(Photo: Olga Pankova/Getty).
Caption: Spring flowers bloom in St James’s Park as temperatures in the capital are set to surge as high as 25 Degrees Celsius in London, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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Most likely counties
Herefordshire and Worcestershire appear most likely to hit the threshold, say forecasters.
Bank holiday showers
Caption: People walk through the rain on Southbank in London. Weather warnings have been issued as Storm Barbara is expected to bring gale force winds and heavy showers to southern parts of the UK. PA Photo. Picture date: Wednesday October 21, 2020. See PA story WEATHER Barbara. Photo credit should read: Kirsty O’Connor/PA Wire
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It’s not all good news: forecasters have warned that some parts of the country could see rain because of the humidity.
Some parts of Scotland, Wales and the west of England could see showers on Saturday. The south of England could get rain on Sunday.
OPINION
5 min read
What’s causing warm spell?
Meteorologists said a change in the wind direction was behind the spike in temperatures ahead.
Wind had been blowing from the north during last week’s cold snap. South-westerly winds from the Atlantic have dominated at the start of this week. And later in the week, the wind from the south will bring warmer weather.
Caption: A person struggles to hold onto their umbrella during strong wind in Birmingham. The Met Office has issued a “danger to life” rain weather warning in parts of Wales and South West England amid Storm Bram. Picture date: Tuesday December 9, 2025. PA Photo. An amber rain weather warning has been issued in parts of South Wales and the South West of England as the Met Office warned that some homes and businesses are likely to be flooded and potentially damaged, while some communities could be cut off due to flooded roads. Photo credit should read: Jacob King/PA Wire
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Caption: A woman shades from the sun as she arrives at the Henley Royal Regatta, during warm weather, as temperatures continue to rise across Britain, in Henley-on-Thames, Britain, July 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
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POLITICS
Who are the Labour figures who want to replace Starmer?
said to be privately considering whether he will contest challenges to his leadership, despite having publicly insisted he will fight them.
Labour appears to be heading towards a leadership contest, after disastrous local election results led to almost 100 Labour MPs calling for Sir Keir Starmer to stand down.
Wes Streeting has said he will stand in any contest. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has also made clear he wants to be prime minister – if he can win a crucial by-election.
The frontrunners
Andy Burnham carries hopes of many on the left, as polling shows he is the favourite with the public. He is hoping to win a seat through the Makerfield by-election.
Wes Streeting is viewed by many as a “Blairite” representing the Labour right. He told Starmer he had “lost confidence” in his leadership.
OPINION
5 min read
Who else might run?
Angela Rayner says the party needs to reconnect with younger voters (Photo: Carl Court/Getty)
Angela Rayner
The former deputy Labour leader is thought to be supportive of Burnham – but may still decide to stand and appeal to the left.
Ed Miliband
The Energy Secretary is also keen on Burnham. But if his ally cannot take part in the contest, Miliband may decide to take on Streeting.
Caption: Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband reacts to a heckler at the Fabian Society 2026 New Year Conference at the Guildhall, central London. Picture date: Saturday January 24, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: James Manning/PA Wire
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Shabana Mahmood has embarked on a radical overhaul of the UK’s immigration system (Photo: Kin Cheung/AP)
Other ministers
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Armed Forces minister Al Carns may also decide to run.
How would a contest work?
A Labour leadership contest would be triggered if one MP gets backing from 81 MPs.
Other candidates can join if they have 81 backers.
Keir Starmer can decide to contest the leadership election, and does not need 81 MPs to do so. But he could decide to stand down.
Labour members and affiliated unions then vote by ranking candidates in order of preference.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) decides on the timetable.
More from The i Paper on Labour
The average British retiree falls short of moderate lifestyle
The typical pensioner in the UK does not have enough income to live comfortably, new research has found.
‘As a private renter now working part time, I am in a precarious situation and may have to rely on savings,’ says a reader (Photo: Alex Tihonov/Getty)
What does average pensioner live on?
£26,200
This is how much the average tax-paying pensioner between 65 and 69 lives on.
This is according to an analysis of 2024 HMRC figures by AJ Bell.
£22,700
This is how much the average tax-paying pensioner between 70 and 74 lives on.
This is according to an analysis of 2024 HMRC figures by AJ Bell.
What you need for moderate lifestyle
An individual pensioner needs £31,300 a year for a moderate standard of living, according to Retirement Living Standards research by Loughborough University.
Some state pensioners will have their income protected from tax (Andrii Yalanskyi / 500px/Getty)
The man is currently drawing a small defined benefit (DB) pension (Photo: SimpleImages/Getty)
A pensioner couple need £43,100 a year to live to a moderate standard, the Retirement Living Standards research discovered.
The good news and bad news
Average pensioner incomes fall “well short” of what the average Brit is hoping for, said Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell.
Women are even more stretched than men in retirement. Women aged 65 to 69 received an average of £23,000, while men received £29,600.
However, the standards are a “fairly blunt instrument”, said Coles, because they don’t take into account the income you are used to while you’re working.
Watch more from The i Paper
The Parliamentary Standards watchdog has launched a probe into the £5m ‘gift’ from businessman Christopher Harborne to Nigel Farage in 2024. A Reform UK spokesman said: “Mr Farage’s office is in communications with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. He has always been clear that this was a personal, unconditional gift and no rules were broken. We look forward to this being put to bed once and for all.” nigelfarage reformuk ukpolitics
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London, UK – April 15 2025. General view of Broadcasting House, the BBC headquarters in central London, with people walking outside.
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MEDIA NEWS
The new BBC plan to axe channels and avoid scandal
The corporation could close TV channels and move shows to YouTube as it tries to save £500m and cut up to 2,000 jobs.
The new director-general, Matt Brittin, has warned staff in an email that “tough choices are unavoidable”.
Which channels could go?
The bew BBC director general, Matt Brittin, will formally begin his role on 18 May (Photo: BBC/PA)
Brittin decides
Insiders predicted that the new director-general would look at the case for closing the BBC’s entire channels.
BBC Three in doubt?
Roger Mosey, ex-head of BBC TV News, said BBC Two and BBC Four could merge, while BBC Three could be “finally laid to rest”.
Caption: Programme Name: Fleabag – TX: n/a – Episode: n/a (No. n/a) – Picture Shows: Fleabag (PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE) – (C) Two Brothers Pictures Ltd. – Photographer: Screengrab
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Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock in the 2010s BBC version (Photo: Robert Viglasky/BBC/Hartswood Films)
Daytime shows
Mosey also suggested that the BBC could drop “filler” daytime programmes in favour of high-impact drama.
How BBC will avoid scandals
Former BBC Director General Tim Davie arrives at Broadcasting House on November 11, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Brittin will protect “editorial excellence” to avoid errors like Panorama’s misleading editing of a Donald Trump speech.
The scandal led to the resignation of Tim Davie, pictured above.
Brittin will also appoint a deputy director-general with news experience to get ahead of future scandals.
Analysis
3 min read
A reinvented licence fee?
The BBC is keen to extend the base of people required to pay the licence fee – possibly including those who watch streaming platforms.
Brittin has yet to publicly state his personal preference on how to reinvent the charge imposed on TV viewers.
But the former Google boss has already met Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to push the case for reform.
More from The i Paper on the BBC
New BBC director general Matt Brittin has told BBC staff that “tough choices are unavoidable” on his first day in the job. The former Google Europe boss has taken on the role during a tumultous period at the broadcaster, despite having no previous TV production or planning experience. This is everything he has to do deal with from the outset. #UK #news
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It comes as bereaved parents accused the Government of a cruel “cost-cutting exercise” after new compensation rules excluded the vast majority of parents who lost children to the infected blood scandal.
As survivors of the worst treatment disaster in NHS history gathered at St Paul’s Cathedral on Tuesday for the first national memorial service, Burnham said he would “be with them every step of the way”.
‘A catalogue of failures’
The Infected Blood Inquiry found that the scandal – in which more than 30,000 people were infected with diseases including HIV and hepatitis C through NHS-supplied blood and blood products – was “largely avoidable”.
The final report, published in May 2024, described the scandal as a “calamity” caused by a “catalogue of failures” across governments, the NHS and the medical profession. More than 3,000 people have died, yet no individual has been held accountable.
Burnham has drawn parallels between infected blood, the Hillsborough stadium disaster in which 97 people died in 1989 and the Grenfell tower block fire which cost 72 lives in 2017, warning that the British state repeatedly fails to deliver accountability after major injustices.
Speaking to The i Paper, Burnham said: “This is sadly the bit – the accountability bit – that the British state still can’t do. Obviously, that was the case with Hillsborough. Ninety-seven people unlawfully killed, with one minor conviction against an individual and nothing else.
“Again, in the case of infected blood and the lies told. Terrible injustice in terms of the pervasive nature of the cover-up, and yet, again seemingly there is no culpability. What is it about the British state that it won’t hold people to account?”
He added: “You can’t have faith in politics and government unless there’s real accountability, and the lack of it is dangerous. For the way the country is run and the way people feel about things. Yeah, we all want to feel good about the country – patriotic – and yet it lets people down and it’s not healthy.”
Duty of candour
Burnham has long backed the introduction of a Hillsborough Law, which would place a legal duty of candour on public authorities and officials, requiring them to tell the truth and co-operate fully with investigations and inquiries.
He became closely associated with the Hillsborough families during his time as culture secretary and later as health secretary and has argued that the law could have prevented cover-ups in scandals including contaminated blood and Grenfell.
Despite repeated promises from successive governments, the legislation has yet to be implemented amid disputes over its scope and resistance within Whitehall over the extent of the legal obligations it would place on public bodies and officials, including the security services.
Burnham said: “I’m committed to the Hillsborough Law in its entirety. We call it Hillsborough Law, but it could be the Infected Blood Law because I left the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in 2008 and went to the Department of Health, and it was that drawing of parallels, that’s how I first started to join the dots on infected blood.
Liverpool fans display a banner in memory of the victims of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster before a match last year (Photo: David Klein/Reuters)
“And in many ways the duty of candour in this instance would have just changed everything, wouldn’t it? If I wasn’t told the truth when I was health secretary, what chance did the families have?”
Burnham also criticised the timing of Rishi Sunak’s decision to call the 2024 general election just days after publication of the Infected Blood Inquiry report.
He said: “The calling of the general election straight after the inquiry left a bad taste in my mouth,” he said. “The enormity of what had been revealed – we needed days to absorb it.”
‘Divide and rule’ compensation tactics
Burnham, who served as health secretary between 2009 and 2010, has long campaigned on behalf of contaminated blood victims. In his final speech to Parliament in 2017, he described the scandal as a “criminal cover-up on an industrial scale”, arguing that patients and families had been repeatedly denied the truth over decades.
Describing infected blood as a “colossal injustice”, Burnham said the scale of the disaster had still not fully registered nationally.
“The number of lives blighted by infected blood is colossal,” he said. “It still feels that people don’t truly get it.”
Burnham also attacked what he described as “divide and rule” tactics in the compensation arrangements for victims and their families. The controversy centres on the Government’s decision to introduce a 50 per cent uplift to compensation awards for bereaved parents whose children died under the age of 18, but not for parents whose children were adults when they died.
According to data compiled by the Tainted Blood Bereaved Parents Support Group, around 89 per cent of affected families fall into the excluded category. In a letter delivered to Downing Street on Monday, campaigners warned that the rules effectively “devalue” the lives of victims based on an arbitrary age threshold.
Mike Blake, Rosemary Calder, Diana Blake and Gwynneth Walker – who lost loved ones to the infected blood scandal – delivered a letter to the Prime Minister on Monday saying that government rules effectively ‘devalue’ the lives of victims based on an arbitrary age threshold
Rosemary Calder, writing on behalf of the group, said: “Our children are always our children, always loved unconditionally in the same way, no matter what their age.”
She also described her own family’s agony over her late son, Nicky, who would have celebrated his 52nd birthday last week. Instead, for the past 27 years, his family has spent his birthday visiting his grave. Nicky, who contracted HIV and hepatitis C from contaminated blood products, died in 1999, aged 25.
Reflecting on the compensation arrangements, Burnham said: “This is where these things go wrong, isn’t it? The divide and rule sort of tactics… it doesn’t feel fair, does it?”
‘The fight needs to be forever’
“I know that new injustices have crept in over the last two years, and the fight needs to be for ever,” Burnham added. “They [the Government] should just be making full amends to everybody, not drawing new dividing lines between people, between parents whose children died under 18 and those over.”
Among those attending Tuesday’s service of recognition, remembrance and reflection for the contaminated blood victims, were the Prime Minister and members of the Royal Family. Burnham, however, said he was “gutted” not to attend himself.
His campaigning in the Makerfield by-election is backed by figures connected to some of Britain’s most high-profile justice campaigns. He is widely expected to launch a challenge against Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership if he wins the by-election.
Families of Hillsborough victims are expected to campaign on his behalf in Makerfield, underlining his long association with the fight for accountability.
‘There will be a lot of rough and tumble’
Burnham used the by-election campaign to set out a broader political vision centred on “Manchesterism” – a pitch for more radical devolution and a shift away from what allies describe as Westminster’s overly centralised approach.
He admitted the prospect of returning to frontline national politics had left him feeling “a bit exposed” but suggested he had decided the time had come to act.
“I feel a bit out there, feel a bit exposed, but in life you’ve got to just go for things,” he said. “I was at the [Everton] match with my brothers yesterday, and I was just saying to them, I don’t think I want to live forever where people say you should do this, you should be doing that. At the end of the day, you either do it or you don’t. You either sort of take a moment or you don’t.”
He said he had received encouragement from football supporters during his visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium – contrasting the public reaction with the mood in Westminster.
Even Burnham’s allies admit that standing in Makerfield is a gamble as the seat is one of Reform UK’s target seats.
“I was at Everton yesterday and there were so many people coming up to me and saying, ‘Oh my god you’ve got to do this’,” he said. “It was kind of nice. It’s one thing the Westminster lot and what they say – there’s a different focus group when you get out there.”
Burnham acknowledged the scrutiny and criticism that would come with a campaign but insisted he was prepared for it.
“Well, there’ll be a lot of rough and tumble, but I mean, [I’ll] just try and ignore it all,” he said.
He said: “The fight is for ever. There’s no justice until everyone’s got justice. My support for them [scandal victims and their families] will be absolute, whichever position I’m in.”