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PM Andy Burnham suggests cutting benefits would force people into crime while he refuses to name a welfare-cut figure

Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned that slashing welfare without weighing wider consequences could pile pressure onto the criminal justice system, while refusing to name a savings target for the benefits bill.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned that slashing welfare without weighing wider consequences could pile pressure onto the criminal justice system, while refusing to name a savings target for the benefits bill.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned in a 100-days interview with ITV News that slashing welfare without considering consequences would push people towards crime and pile pressure on the criminal justice system. He refused to put a figure on how much he wanted the benefits bill to fall, insisting he preferred to focus on how many people he could help into work. The intervention came after Chancellor John Healey's suggestion that Labour would cut welfare ahead of a general election was swiftly walked back by Treasury officials.

Burnham said targeting a specific cut figure was 'politics done the wrong way', vowing to 'stick to my guns'.

Several Cabinet ministers had lined up to insist Labour was serious about tackling the rising welfare bill after Healey's gaffe.

Critics say Burnham is using crime fears to shield a ballooning benefits bill from meaningful reform.

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