Greater Manchester Police failings: Andy Burnham 'should resign'

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham should resign after the region's police force was placed in special measures, an MP has said.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was placed into an "advanced phase" of monitoring on Thursday after it failed to record 80,000 crimes in a year.

Conservative MP for Bolton West Chris Green said Mr Burnham, who oversees policing in the area, should step down.

The Labour mayor said he would not be stepping down.

On Friday, GMP Chief Constable Ian Hopkins announced his resignation with immediate effect.

He previously announced he would be going on sick leave after suffering from labyrinthitis - an inner-ear infection which affects your balance - since the end of October.

Asked why it was the chief constable who had stepped down and not him, Mr Burnham said: "Because I do not run Greater Manchester Police.

"The police service is operationally independent from politicians and rightly so. My job is different. I have to hold the police to account for the services they provide to the Greater Manchester public, and I am here today doing my job holding the police service to account."

In a report last week, inspectors said GMP's service to victims of crime was a "serious cause of concern".

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services said about 220 crimes a day went unrecorded in the year up to June 2020.

Inspectors found officers prematurely closed some cases without a full investigation, while the force did not properly record evidence that victims supported the decisions, particularly in cases of domestic abuse.

A spokesman for the inspectorate confirmed GMP had been placed in the "engage" stage of its monitoring process.

This means the force, the second largest in England, must "develop an improvement plan to address the specific causes of concern".

As part of his role, Mr Burnham has responsibilities around the governance and budgets relating to GMP, supported by Bev Hughes, the deputy mayor for policing and crime.

Earlier, Mr Green said Mr Burnham should "resign now" as he has "absolute responsibility for policing, its failures".

"His role ultimately is to ensure that GMP is delivering. He is in a position if he doesn't think GMP is performing and is delivering then he can challenge and if necessary he can sack the chief of police," he said.

"That is Andy Burnham's power over policing in Manchester. He has absolute authority."

Following the publication of the report earlier in the week, Mr Burnham apologised on behalf of GMP.

"I would like to say sorry to all of the victims of crime who have found that the service has not been good enough. We owe it to them to improve and we will and we will do it fast," he said.

Former GMP detective Maggie Oliver, who resigned over the way grooming cases in Rochdale were handled by the force, said she and two ex-colleagues had a meeting with Mr Burnham in 2018 to highlight "serious concerns" and were "treated with contempt".

She said they gave him 26 examples of victims being failed by GMP, including "people dying as a result of gross neglect" and he "basically slammed the door in our face".

There was a "culture of arrogance and cover-ups" at the force, she said, and a "radical overhaul" was needed.

Ms Oliver said victim's "trust in the police had gone" and her charity, the Maggie Oliver Foundation, was "drowning in cries for help" from people who "have nowhere else to turn".

Sir Richard Leese, Manchester City Council leader, said the watchdog's findings indicate there are "major issues" that need to be addressed.

"I think it kind of says it all that GMP so far have not put up a spokesperson to explain what the situation is, what's been going on," he added.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the mayor and deputy mayor said they were "putting in place the necessary actions to improve standards of service to victims of crime in Greater Manchester".

Mr Burnham announced that a dedicated hotline for victims who have any complaints was also being set up.

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