If Andy Burnham failed to spot prisons crisis, how will he cope in massive live emergency?

You can’t wing it as PM, Mr Burnham KEIR STARMER’S former right-hand man Morgan McSweeney admitted the ex-PM and his top team were never ready to govern. The Number Ten chief of staff for almost two years admitted last month: “We didn’t prepare enough for what kind of world we were going to be in.” If Andy Burnham failed to spot prisons crisis, how will he cope in massive live emergency? Credit: PA A petition of million signatures are opposing the release of unrepentant yobs Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, responsible for the death of hero PC Andrew Harper Credit: PA It is a spot-on assessment of Sir Keir’s disastrous Labour regime. But if that was true of a leader who fought and conclusively won a general election, what does it say about our new unelected Prime Minister Andy Burnham? Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! First he was anointed unopposed without any proper manifesto or scrutiny. Then he offered two weeks of glad-handing and feelgood vibes. READ MORE ON ANDY BURNHAM Before we knew it he was swanning off on holiday, leaving the country in the midst of a full-blown prisons crisis. A crisis which, by the way, has been on the horizon for nearly three years. Instead of preparing for the tough decisions needed to meet this head-on, the new PM made sympathetic noises. He then feebly held up his hands and said it was impossible to prevent the early release of two of the thugs responsible for the death of hero PC Andrew Harper. Most read in The Sun The British people are rightly furious. This has resulted in a petition with the best part of a million signatures opposing the release of unrepentant yobs Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole. Only now does it seem likely that Mr Burnham will consider a U-turn to find a way out of the mess he has created for himself. It won’t be easy. It may involve new legislation. It may even involve some hard work to re-open shuttered prisons like HMP Dartmoor, which is sitting empty but expected to cost taxpayers £100million. But leadership involves planning as well as tackling difficult and unpopular issues. Which raises a vital question. If Andy Burnham failed to spot THIS crisis coming, how will he cope when a massive live emergency is thrown at him? End tax whipround OUR story on Pages 14 and 15 about the PIP benefit claimant who also works as a dominatrix raises serious questions. Melanie Bull claims more than £1,000 a month in welfare, some of which is compensation for being so disabled that her work prospects are limited. But she can also earn up to £1,000 a month financially humiliating her clients. The DWP needs to investigate. Her clients may get their kicks from being financially humiliated. Taxpayers do not. Comment now