Burnham claims benefit cuts would push people into crime while refusing to say how far the welfare bill will fall

Prime Minister Andy Burnham, speaking to ITV News to mark his first hundred days in office, warned that reckless welfare cuts risk pushing people toward crime and adding strain to the criminal justice system. He declined to set a target for how far the benefits bill should fall, saying he would rather be judged on how many people he gets into employment than on a headline reduction figure. His remarks followed Chancellor John Healey appearing to pledge that the bill would come down before the next election, a position Treasury officials rapidly walked back.

Burnham said cutting benefits 'the wrong way' means 'brutal cuts' with no thought for wider consequences.

Treasury officials distanced themselves from Healey's pre-election welfare-cut pledge within hours of him making it.

Several Cabinet ministers nonetheless lined up to insist Labour is serious about tackling the rising cost of welfare.