Andy Burnham Turns Up Late To His Own Debate, Forces Deputy Speaker To Pad Out Introduction

The deputy speaker of the Commons was forced to stall for time by speaking very slowly on Tuesday awaiting the arrival of Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham, who bowled in late for a debate on policing.

Eleanor Laing meandered through the introduction while frantically looking about the House for the Leigh MP, before Peter Bone jumped in with a timely point of order. Burnham arrived soon after, thanking both the deputy speaker and the Tory backbencher for their padding.