Laura Kuenssberg 'bias' row explodes as 'car crash' Andy Burnham remark sparks BBC viewer fury: 'Pure propaganda now!'

As he is a directly elected mayor, Mr Burnham had to seek approval from Labour's national executive committee (NEC) in his bid to stand at the by-election.

But Labour refused, saying the party decided to deny Mr Burnham permission to stand to "avoid an unnecessary mayoral election, which would use substantial amounts of taxpayers' money and resources that are better spent tackling the cost-of-living crisis".

The ruling was announced on Sunday afternoon but hours earlier, Ms Mahmood, who served as chair on the NEC who made the decision, was put on the spot by Ms Kuennsberg.

"I really respect Andy Burnham. I’ve worked closely with him. I’ve talked about policing with him on a regular basis. We worked very closely together after the Manchester terrorist attack that took place at Heaton Park synagogue," Ms Mahmood began when asked about Mr Burnham's soon-to-be-dashed by-election hopes.

Ms Mahmood went on: "So, you know, he’s an exceptional politician. He’s a great member of the Labour team. He’s been a great parliamentarian before."

Referring to the NEC's role, she went on: "He’s got to make a case. He’s made that case for standing. Our rules require sitting mayors and PCCs, if they want to seek election for another political office, to seek permission. That’s what we’ll be doing."

Ms Kuenssberg then asked Ms Mahmood whether she'd be voting for Mr Burnham to be approved. "Well, I’m an independent chair of that committee. I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to start commenting in a way that might be construed as trying to sway the way that the debate takes place," Ms Mahmood promptly replied.

"I don’t want other members of that officers group that’s going to meet later today to feel that I use my position as the NEC chair and speaking in the media this morning in a way to sway that. I’m there to make sure that the debate takes place in the proper way."

Ms Kuenssberg continued digging: "But other people, including one of them who will sit on that committee, Lucy Powell, the deputy leader of the party, she and Ed Miliband and Angela Rayner and Sadiq Khan, they have all made it perfectly clear in their view that he should be allowed to run."

Ms Mahmood replied: "I think people are entitled to their views. Lucy has her own mandate from the party membership. And of course, she’s a member of parliament from that region. And of course, there have been politicians, members of the cabinet, other party members, councillors — people will have their own views. Of course they will."

Ms Kuenssberg interjected: "But hang on, they’re trying to put the pedal to the metal here. You know, they’re trying to say that Andy Burnham should be allowed to run.

"Well, we understand, and I know it from talking to people around Downing Street myself, they do not want him to run. They see nothing but risk for the Labour Party here, potentially allowing Reform a crack at a mayoralty, costing millions of pounds.

"We’ve already got a situation where some of the cabinet are out there saying he should be allowed to run, and the impression from Downing Street is he should not. I mean, it’s already a mess, isn’t it?"

Ms Mahmood answered: "Well, I mean, people will have their own views and the NEC officers group will come to its own decision. And there are different perspectives on this. So, of course, some people will want to — yes, some people will, of course, want to have Andy as the candidate. And he’s obviously made his own case for that.

"One of the reasons why we brought this rule in, though, is not to say mayors and PCCs can never run for parliament or other elected office, but because it does have organisational implications. So there will be some who worry about that. There’ll be others who just want the strongest candidate in the field. It’s a finely balanced discussion.

"There will be different perspectives amongst members of the National Executive Committee. And it is my job to give a chance for all of those perspectives to be heard."

Ms Kuenssberg then pointed to Mr Burnham's popularity, particularly in the area in which he was hoping to stand.

When Ms Mahmood referred back to the party's rules, Ms Kuenssberg suggested any opposition to Mr Burnham standing in the by-election within the Labour Party was more to do with his threat to Sir Keir Starmer's leadership.

After Ms Mahmood reeled off the intricacies of her party's rules once more, Ms Kuenssberg continued to shift the questioning towards the optics of the ongoing Labour saga.

She pointed out that the decision on whether Mr Burnham could stand or not was down to a select few members of the party, many of whom were allies of Mr Starmer.

"To the critics of Keir Starmer, restricting it to an inner core just makes it look like a stitch-up," Ms Kuenssberg suggested. "You’ve already got members of the cabinet saying, 'Let him run.' You’ve got Labour activists, Labour MPs out there saying, 'Let him run.'

"If Keir Starmer and you and his other allies stop that happening, you’re going to end up with an absolute car crash, aren’t you? People are already raging about this moment."

Ms Mahmood stood firm: "Well, look, people have strong views, and it’s not unusual in internal Labour Party politics for there to occasionally be, you know, big rows over selections. As I said, I’ve been around a long time. I’ve seen this look in parts of the party before.

"People will have their views. And I fully appreciate that people have already come out to express some of those views. Others have sought to put an opposing view. It’s for the NEC officers to consider the issues in the round. There will be, I think, strong views in the room later on today, and my job is to make sure they’re heard.

"I do appreciate how this looks to the country, by the way. And that’s why — well, I just urge all my colleagues that the most important thing to do, and I discussed this on your show before Christmas when there was other briefing as well — Labour governments don’t come along very often, and it is our job to make the case to the country every day, to bring change in our country every single day, and to make the most of the great privilege of being the government of our country."

The discussion soon moved on to Ms Mahmood's role as Home Secretary, specifically, but for many watching at home, the interview had already left a sour taste thanks to Ms Kuenssberg's approach to the story.

Many took issue with Ms Kuenssberg's framing of the issue, accusing her of an "anti-Labour bias". "Laura Kuenssberg calls the current Burnham/Starmer issue a 'car crash' yet never used such a phrase when the Tories went through three different Prime Ministers in less than two months #BBCLauraK," one viewer fumed on X.

A second was similarly irked by the remark: "Laura has used the phrase car crash to describe Labour 3 times already. Remember this is the so called neutral journalist who sat across from Liz Truss and took her seriously as PM. #bbclaurak."

"#BBCLauraK Laura K's absolute delight in calling Burnham 's actions a 'potential car crash'. She'll run with this story for weeks now," a third said, while a fourth fumed: "If you compare the tone @bbclaurak uses with Labour govt ministers to that she used with Tory ministers it’s chalk and cheese. Her bias is off the scale. #BBCLauraK."

Another echoed: "Absolutely no point in attempting to watch this today. Cue Laura crowing over the Burnham story, declaring the end is nigh for @UKLabour, whilst platforming and promoting Reform. Am I close???#BBCLauraK."

And a sixth weighed in: "@Bbclaurak showing how the media is too focused on the Westminster bubble rather than the issues that matter. Stop asking the same questions about Andy Burnham and ask the hard questions about policing, so much wasted time about the Labour psychodrama. #BBCLauraK."

Meanwhile, a seventh commented: "Laura was never this ferocious in her interviews when the Tories were in Government, the anti Labour attacks are ridiculous. This is pure propaganda now. #BBCLauraK." (sic)