Children from Piddington have written letters to Andy Burnham, urging him to protect their childhoods, as GB News revealed the emotional pleas on Tuesday. The village in Oxfordshire is opposing government plans to house up to 1,250 men in a local military barracks.
Residents push back against migrant housing
Returning to GB News, presenter Patrick Christys announced that residents of Piddington are "hitting back" at the Labour government's use of military barracks for migrant housing. He contrasted the situation with Burnham's summer holiday, saying: "Andy Burnham is relaxing on a nice summer holiday with his family. Well, the families of Piddington, they're certainly not relaxing."
Christys revealed that "the children of that area have today written very powerful letters to Andy Burnham, begging him to protect their childhoods." He showed examples of handwritten letters, noting that the children describe how much they love playing in their local park and walking their dogs. They also issued video messages.
Reaction to Burnham's holiday
Christys remarked: "It's really sad, isn't it? It is so sad that we appear content to ruin or negatively impact the childhoods of so many of those youngsters for the sake of accommodating those illegal migrants."
Burnham has faced criticism for taking a summer holiday just weeks into his administration. Following the crisis in Ceuta, where over 60,000 migrants overwhelmed the Spanish enclave, Burnham promised to be "relentless" in handling immigration.
Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson MP said: "Two weeks into the job and Andy Burnham has already had enough. After dropping a number of unfunded commitments and overseeing over 2000 illegal migrants breaking into our country, he's bunked off for a jolly abroad. This isn't a prime minister that's serious about leading."
