Prime Minister Andy Burnham cancels engagements after father's serious illness

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called off a scheduled audience with business leaders at No 10 because his father's health has seriously declined. The prime minister has previously discussed how his father's illness shaped his commitment to reforming social care, noting that his father was unaware of Burnham's rise to power. In response, the Speaker of the House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and several cabinet members offered their sympathies to Burnham, his mother Eileen, his brothers Nick and John, and his grandchildren. Burnham's father, a former telephone engineer who worked for the Post Office and later BT, is in his mid-80s. The prime minister's personal reflections on his upbringing were detailed in his recent book, Look North, co-written with Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram.