Burnham entitled to raise PM concerns, Khan says

London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan would not be drawn on whether he thought Andy Burnham was planning a Labour leadership challenge

Andy Burnham raised "legitimate concerns" about Sir Keir Starmer's leadership, the mayor of London has said.

Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, has criticised the government in recent interviews, which have been seen as a pitch for leadership of the Labour Party - and of the country.

Speaking on LBC radio ahead of Labour's conference next week, Sir Sadiq Khan said: "I think Andy's raising legitimate concerns he has, and, you know, he's entitled to do so."

However, Sir Sadiq did not comment on whether he thought Burnham was planning a return to Westminster. The London mayor's remarks come the day after Sir Keir supported him in the latest chapter of his row with US President Donald Trump.

'Minority unhappy with leadership'

Burnham, who served as health secretary and culture secretary under Gordon Brown, has accused Downing Street of creating a "climate of fear" among some MPs and has set out a vision for how to "turn the country around".

Asked by LBC presenter James O'Brien whether Burnham was manoeuvring for leadership of the Labour Party, Sir Sadiq said that was "your characterisation".

He added: "I think we've got 400 MPs, so it won't be a surprise to anybody that there may be a small minority not happy with the leadership."

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham (right) has been causing headaches for Sir Keir Starmer ahead of the upcoming Labour Party conference

A source close to Sir Sadiq said he had not been commenting on whether he thought Burnham's concerns themselves were legitimate, but had been pointing out Burnham had a right to raise any issues he had.

The source added that the London mayor was "clear" that Sir Keir was the prime minister elected by the country and he was "working hard in the best interests of Britain".

London's mayor also told LBC: "I'm going to conference next week, and the joy of conference when Labour is in government far outweighs any concerns people may have."

Sir Sadiq said he had no intention of running for any other job in politics himself.

The prime minister heads into the Labour conference after a bruising few weeks in which the departures of both Angela Rayner and Lord Mandelson from government and a sustained lag behind Reform in the polls have sparked questions about his political future.

In a series of interviews with regional broadcasters, Sir Keir has insisted he will "lead from the front" into the next general election.