Andy Burnham's father, Roy, has died, prompting the Prime Minister to cancel his engagements for the following two days, Downing Street has confirmed. Roy had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease and was unaware that his son had become Prime Minister, something Burnham had previously described as a source of sadness given how proud his father would have been.

Speaking in July, shortly before taking office, Burnham recalled visiting his father in his care home and reflected that his becoming PM was "a whole family achievement" despite his father's inability to comprehend it. Alzheimer's, the most common cause of dementia, has long shaped Burnham's political priorities, and he has cited his father's condition as a key motivation behind his push to reform social care, vowing in a major speech after becoming PM to help "my dad and the millions like him" affected by shortcomings in the current system.