In the 1970s and 1980s, over 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C via contaminated blood products.
When Andy Burnham became Health Secretary on 5 June 2009, terminal patients and activists targeted him immediately. They staged a protest outside his constituency office on 19 June.
Instead of acting, Burnham's department blocked statutory public inquiries, signed off letters denying government liability, and left the archives un-declassified under the standard 30-year rule.
Yet in 2017, conveniently on his very last day as an MP before becoming Manchester Mayor, he went on TV calling the scandal a 'criminal cover-up'.
His speech went viral. The media and victims' groups praised his passion, completely forgetting he himself had sat at the top of that 'covering-up' department. He chose to stay silent until there was zero political risk.
And this is not the only instance.
The Mid-Staffs Scandal (2005–2009), one of the worst care failures in NHS history, saw up to 1200 NHS patients die from systemic neglect. Patients were left in filth and drank from dirty flower vases.
Who was the Health Secretary tasked with handling the aftermath?
Andy Burnham.
His administration ignored 81 separate requests from grieving families, MPs, and health organisations for a full public inquiry, opting instead for a highly restricted, private independent review.
Why?
To protect Labour from an NHS crisis right before the 2010 election. The full statutory public inquiry was only granted after Labour lost— by the incoming Conservative Health Secretary.
Burnham didn't cause the scandals, but he did choose how to handle them. He suppressed the truth when he held power, then played the hero once he left office.
The ultimate political opportunist.
today at work this girl was saying how ‘she’s the best at Mario kart & no one has ever beaten her’ so one dude asked her who’s her main and after saying she doesn’t know she goes ‘I’d probs be boring and pick Mario’ and me and the dude looked at each other like 😑
this larp shit is actually insane
was out with some people from work and this girl was going on and on about how much she loves pokemon and then made fun of me when i pulled out my gameboy to show my friend some shiny pokemon
I'm not a shia and don't think I'll ever be, but I have no qualms about acknowledging that this man was better than any muslim leader. The sunni world is a band of shameless cucks and if just one or two of our leaders had courage like Khamenei's, the world would be v different
@greateranglia I am very grateful for your train drivers for getting us home safe eventually. And your station staff were fantastic despite the circumstances. Thank you