Gary Lineker has joined more than 100 UK-based millionaires in signing an open letter urging new prime minister Andy Burnham to increase taxes on wealth, arguing that the country's richest people can afford to pay more. The letter, organised by campaign group Patriotic Millionaires UK, comes as Burnham looks to fund a series of early cost-of-living policies and has previously left the door open to a wealth tax, telling Lineker his government may "ask for a little more" from the wealthy.

Signatories include screenwriter Richard Curtis, novelist Val McDermid and former City trader Gary Stevenson, alongside Lineker, who said "paying your fair share is a basic British value". The group specifically called for a 2 per cent levy on wealth over £10m, which they say could raise £24bn a year, and stressed this should target unearned wealth rather than working income. The intervention follows a Labour row over how Burnham's policies, including a £2 bus fare cap and an £850m cut to electricity bills, will be funded, with critics including Conservative shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride questioning the government's fiscal plans.