Exclusive: Andy Burnham’s Northern home address easily available since becoming Prime Minister
National security concerns deepen after some basic sleuthing from The Lead saw Number 10 act swiftly, reports Michael Holmes
Andy Burnham’s home address has been publicly available for years on a government website - leaving the new Prime Minister dangerously exposed.
The huge house in Cheshire, bought for less than £300,000 in the early 2000s and now thought to be worth more than triple that, could until yesterday be easily found online. The Lead has agreed not to name the site for security reasons.
The revelation, revealed today by The Lead, comes days after Burnham was duped into swapping messages with someone pretending to be US President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles.
And it follows last month’s death of Ann Widdecombe, the former Conservative MP allegedly killed at her home in Devon, and the jailing in June of two men for conspiring to torch a car and two houses linked to then-PM Sir Keir Starmer in London for Russia.
The security gaffe raises major safety fears at a time when the current UK terror threat level stands at severe - meaning an attack is considered “highly likely”.
Security expert Chris Phillips, former head of the National Counter-Terrorism Security Office, told The Lead: “It’s most definitely a security breach. Even if he’s not living there full time, it’s the fact the address is out there.
“His wife and kids are all under some kind of security blanket now but that’s not necessarily enough if you get firebombed in the middle of the night.
“It’s one of the things that really should have been picked up by security teams when it looked like he was going to become Prime Minister, but it’s clearly fallen through the net.”
Phillips added: “Even as a mayor you wouldn’t want your address put up.”
Burnham’s address was only removed after The Lead contacted No 10. Officials have been scrambling to get the address taken down, with a number of security meetings also held over the past 24 hours, it is understood.
“We don’t comment on security matters,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Although linked to a previous business venture, the address had remained public since 2008, including when Burnham was mayor of Greater Manchester and since he became PM.
The safety of MPs has been called into question several times in recent years, especially after the murders of Jo Cox in 2016 by a right-wing extremist, Sir David Amess in 2021 by a sympathiser of the so-called Islamic State, and Widdecombe last month.
The 78-year-old Reform UK spokeswoman was found dead at her home after allegedly being beaten to death.
Her home was on television less than a week before her body was found, with the bungalow shown in detail on an episode of Celebrity Yorkshire Auction House on Quest.
Joshua Kerry, 28, of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, is charged with her murder, with a court told during his first appearance that Widdecombe was hit on the head 21 times with a hammer.
Last year, a car and two houses linked to Sir Keir were set on fire in north London by Ukrainian Roman Lavrynovych, 22, who had been recruited by a Russian online sabotage network.
Romanian Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, helped his friend, egging him on and offering to help convert £3,000 in cryptocurrency into cash.
A Toyota Rav4 once owned by Sir Keir and the front doors of two houses were set alight - with one owned by the then-Labour leader and occupied by his sister-in-law.
The arsonists were jailed for seven and two years respectively.
The Lead’s sister title The Blackpool Lead earlier this year told how councillors in the seaside town have been forced to go into hiding - with three-quarters now keeping their home addresses secret from the public - following physical attacks and violent threats.
Speaking on Tuesday about exchanging messages with someone pretending to be top White House aide Susie Wiles, Burnham insisted he is not embarrassed.
He is said to have become suspicious after several messages and reported the incident.
“No, I’m not (embarrassed),” Burnham told broadcasters. “Because there was a minimal exchange, nothing of consequence.
“And, actually, quickly I realised that this needed to be reported, and I did so.
“So I handled it in the right way. All politicians are receiving these pressures and these challenges, but I did everything right.” ■
About the author: Michael Holmes is an award-winning journalist living near Blackpool whose previous roles include investigative reporter, news editor and production editor in the regional and national media. He writes regularly for The Blackpool Lead.
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