A furious Burnham has told broadcasters it’s untrue to claim he was warned that he would be blocked prior to his application to stand in Gorton & Denton:
“It is simply untrue to say that I was told that I would be be blocked. So, I can’t say any more than that. I went through the whole weekend having conversations with people in Number 10, people in senior positions of the party to discuss the pros and cons. And that’s all I can say. It’s simply untrue to say that there was a message given that I would definitely be blocked because after all the NEC is meant to be an independent body. So how could somebody say it’s definitely going to be blocked if they are an independent body? So it doesn’t stack up what they are saying and it is simply untrue as I said.”
