Formal Challenge to Andy Burnham

Formal Challenge: Andy Burnham's Claim I "Regularly Make Misleading Allegations about the Mayor of Greater Manchester's Response to Child Sexual Exploitation"

Dear Greater Manchester Combined Authority,

This email constitutes a formal challenge to the statement published via the official GM Mayor account alleging that I "regularly make misleading allegations about the Mayor of Greater Manchester's response to Child Sexual Exploitation".

That is a serious allegation concerning my credibility and integrity.

Your statement does not identify any specific factual inaccuracy in my published article, nor does it specify which statements are alleged to be misleading. Instead, it relies on generalised assertions and redirects readers to a timeline of activity. That is not a rebuttal. It is an evasion.

For clarity, I require GMCA to respond directly to the following factual points. Please state clearly whether each point is disputed, and if so, on what evidential basis.

1. Andy Burnham commissioned the Independent Assurance Review into historic safeguarding practices in Oldham and subsequently publicly promoted and defended it. The Review was published on 20 June 2022.

2. The Review cleared then Oldham Council leader (now MP) Jim McMahon of wrongdoing.

3. The Review did not interview a single Pakistani rape gang survivor, despite organised exploitation by Pakistani grooming gangs being a central and repeatedly documented issue in Oldham.

4. Survivors and campaigners challenged the Review’s scope, methodology, and omissions at the time of publication in June 2022 and consistently thereafter.

5. The Review asserted that it found “no evidence of a cover-up”, yet its terms of reference, scope, and powers did not place it in a position to determine whether a cover-up had occurred. In particular:

- it was not structured as a cover-up determination exercise,
- it did not operate with statutory/compulsory powers to obtain all relevant material or compel testimony,
- and it could not forensically test contested evidence against reluctant institutions or individuals.

In those circumstances, a conclusion of “no evidence of a cover-up” is inseparable from the Review’s limitations and exclusions, rather than proof that no cover-up occurred.

6. The Review did not establish or publish the number of children in Oldham who were victims of Pakistani grooming gangs, despite that being fundamental to any serious assessment of scale, harm, and institutional failure.

7. Despite contemporaneous criticism from survivors and campaigners, Andy Burnham continued to publicly defend the Review as credible and sufficient for more than two and a half years. During this time Labour Party politicians relyed on his Assurance Review findings to resist calls for further independent or national inquiry.

8. It was not until January 2025 that Andy Burnham first began to acknowledge limitations in his Review’s scope, after sustained pressure and only Elon Musk brought this to global attention.

If GMCA disputes any part of this record, please state precisely:

- which point is contested,
- on what factual basis, and
- when survivor and campaigners concerns raised at the time of publication were substantively addressed.

Given that GMCA has publicly alleged that I regularly make misleading allegations about the Mayor of Greater Manchester's response to Child Sexual Exploitation, I now formally require clarification of that claim. Please either:

- specify precisely which statements you contend are misleading and the evidence relied upon, or
- confirm that the allegation is withdrawn.

This request is made to allow the matter to be resolved without escalation. If an allegation affecting my reputation is maintained without substantiation, I will consider my position accordingly.

I request a substantive response within fourteen days of the date of this email. In the absence of clarification or withdrawal within that timeframe, I will draw my own conclusions as to whether the factual record itself is genuinely in dispute.

I am content for your response to be published in full.

Regards,
Raja Miah MBE

I exposed how Andy Burnham and the Labour Party weaponised the worthless Oldham Independent Assurance Review to try and whitewash the cover up of the Pakistani Rape Gangs.

Had the Labour Party had its way, there would be no national inquiry. Which is why, now that a Labour Party insider has been appointed to chair the inquiry, Burnham and his kind want us all to shut up and go away.

Most of you who follow my work do not subscribe to my newsletter. Even if you subscribe for free, with my ongoing legacy media blacklisting, it is the most difference you can make to this campaign.

Politicians did not wake up one day and decide to do the right thing. Journalists did not suddenly decide this is newsworthy. We are not where we are because of them. We will not get where we need to be if we leave it to the very same people that were part of the cover up to deliver justice. Stand with me.

I'm Raja Miah. For seven years, I led a small team that exposed how politicians protected the rape gangs. Before that, I spent over a decade safeguarding children and protecting communities from extremists.

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