Jennifer Griffiths

MEDIA RELEASE FROM #ExcludedUK FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday 28 October 2026 PM ANDY BURNHAM WILL REGRET THIS! 20 PROMISES CAUGHT ON VIDEO AS EXCLUDEDUK DEMANDS ANSWERS ON BUDGET DAY Six years of promises, no financial redress and not even the apology he pledged to pursue. ExcludedUK confronts the Prime Minister with his own words as Chancellor John Healey delivers the Autumn Budget. 4 houses and 2 businesses lost in the last 6 weeks alone!!!! WATCH THE VIDEO: youtu.be/Yjm6ag4m1xI Prime Minister Andy Burnham has spent more than six years publicly championing the plight of the estimated 3.8 million UK taxpayers excluded from meaningful Covid-19 financial support. Now ExcludedUK is reminding him of 20 promises and commitments captured on video, as the Government delivers its first Autumn Budget under his leadership. Words of support. Promises of action. Commitments to justice. Reassurances that the campaign would not be forgotten. All caught on camera. All waiting to be honoured. For years, Andy Burnham was one of ExcludedUK's most vocal political supporters, participating in numerous campaign events and repeatedly expressing his determination to see the injustice rectified. Now, as Prime Minister, he has the opportunity to turn those words into meaningful action. Jennifer Griffiths, Head of ExcludedUK, who personally co-hosted several events with Andy Burnham, said: "Andy Burnham was one of our loudest and most passionate political champions. I co-hosted several events with him, and time and time again, he made commitments to support our fight for justice. "He told us financial redress was fair, proportionate and doable. He spoke about the injustice being indefensible. He understood the devastation caused to people who had dutifully paid into the system, only to be abandoned when they needed help most. "He pledged to pursue an apology. He spoke about putting things right. He told us that the passage of time did not change the injustice. "Now he is Prime Minister, and we are still waiting. "Not even the apology has materialised. An apology costs absolutely nothing, yet six years later, we are still waiting for that too. "Andy, we believed you. Our members believed you. Your words gave people hope when many had absolutely none left. "Those commitments were not whispered behind closed doors. They were made publicly, repeatedly, and we have them on video. "Twenty promises and commitments. Twenty reminders of the hope you gave us. Twenty reasons why we are not going away. "You told us this injustice could and should be rectified. Now you have the authority to help make that happen. "Prime Minister, we are holding you to your word." THE AUTUMN BUDGET: WHERE IS THE JUSTICE FOR EXCLUDED TAXPAYERS? As Chancellor John Healey delivers the Government's Autumn Budget today, ExcludedUK is demanding answers about the continuing absence of a financial remedy for those excluded from the Covid-19 support schemes. The Chancellor has promised a Budget focused on supporting British businesses, easing financial pressures and restoring hope. ExcludedUK recognises the importance of helping households, businesses and the self-employed through today's economic challenges. However, the campaign questions how the Government can speak of fairness and opportunity while the financial devastation experienced by excluded taxpayers remains unresolved. During the pandemic, billions of pounds were distributed through Government financial support schemes, yet an estimated 3.8 million taxpayers found themselves falling through the gaps. Many were self-employed workers, limited company directors, freelancers, new starters, people on maternity leave and small business owners. They were taxpayers who had contributed to the country's finances, only to discover that the support available to others was inaccessible to them. Dutifully paid in. Deliberately left out. The consequences have been catastrophic. Businesses have closed. Family homes have been lost. Relationships have broken down. People's physical and mental health has deteriorated. Tragically, the campaign has also supported families bereaved by suicide and members who have survived suicide attempts. For these people, the impact of exclusion did not end when lockdown restrictions were lifted. Jennifer Griffiths continued: "We hear politicians talk about supporting entrepreneurs, investing in small businesses and rewarding hardworking taxpayers. "Yet what about those taxpayers who lost everything because they were excluded from the financial lifelines offered to others? "How can we talk about rebuilding Britain's economy without acknowledging the businesses that were destroyed and the people whose financial security was shattered? "You cannot build a fairer Britain by continuing to overlook those who were unfairly excluded. "We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for parity, accountability and justice. "Every Budget that passes without addressing this injustice is another reminder of the promises that remain unfulfilled." EXCLUDEDUK TAKES THE EVIDENCE DIRECTLY TO PARLIAMENT Today, Wednesday 28 October 2026, ExcludedUK is taking its message directly to Westminster. A digital video van is circulating Parliament Square between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm, displaying powerful testimonies from excluded taxpayers, the human consequences of exclusion and the political commitments made to the campaign. The van is taking the voices of those who have been ignored for more than six years directly to the heart of Government. The campaign is also drawing attention to footage of Andy Burnham's repeated commitments to ExcludedUK. Watch the video of his promises here: youtu.be/Yjm6ag4m1xI WHAT EXCLUDEDUK IS DEMANDING Our three demands remain unchanged: 1. An apology from Government so this injustice is recognised, together with an assurance that this will never happen again. 2. Parity of support 3. Acknowledgement of loss of earnings/profit and consequential loss. These demands are not new. They are the same fundamental principles of fairness and accountability that ExcludedUK has been fighting for since May 2020. We dutifully paid in, but were deliberately left out. Lives and livelihoods lost. More than 40 lives have been lost to suicide among those affected by exclusion, according to ExcludedUK's records, while our dedicated mental health and welfare team has provided vital support to hundreds of people experiencing severe distress. "PRIME MINISTER, WE HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN. HAVE YOU?" Jennifer Griffiths concluded: "Andy Burnham once told us that the passage of time did not change the injustice. He was right. "Six years have passed, but those words are as relevant today as they were when he first spoke them. "The difference is that he is no longer simply a politician offering support from the sidelines. "He is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. "He has the opportunity to demonstrate that those promises were more than words. "Twenty promises and commitments, all captured on video. Millions of taxpayers still waiting for justice. "To those who have lost their businesses, their homes, their livelihoods and, in some tragic cases, their loved ones, this is about far more than politics. "It is about accountability. It is about fairness. It is about restoring faith in the promises made by those who seek our trust. "Prime Minister, we haven't forgotten. Have you? "We Are Not Going Away. We Are Relentless." ENDS NOTES TO EDITORS About ExcludedUK ExcludedUK is a grassroots campaign representing the estimated 3.8 million UK taxpayers excluded from meaningful Government financial support during the Covid-19 pandemic. The campaign seeks parity of financial support, official recognition, accountability and fair financial redress for those affected. ExcludedUK works alongside the Gaps in Covid-19 Financial Support All-Party Parliamentary Group to raise awareness of the long-term consequences of exclusion. Video of Andy Burnham's commitments to ExcludedUK: youtu.be/Yjm6ag4m1xI Budget Day campaign activity: ExcludedUK digital video van, Parliament Square, Westminster, Wednesday 28 October 2026, 9.30 am to 5.30 pm Media enquiries: Jennifer Griffiths Head of ExcludedUK jennifer@excludeduk.org Website: excludeduk.org #ExcludedUK #WeAreNotGoingAway #Relentless Come on @andyburnham ... remember your promises to #ExcludedUK members and fulfil your promise to stand by the excluded! youtu.be/Yjm6ag4m1xI 🚨PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE OUR EXCLUDEDUK PETITION🚨 ✍️ PLEASE SIGN IT HERE: WHILST WE ARE WAITING FOR PM ANDY BURNHAM TO HAND OUT THE PARITY HE PROMISED…. 🚨THIS IS HOW YOU CAN HELP….🚨 ✍️ SIGN our Parliamentary petition petition.parliament.uk/petit… 💜 DONATE to help fund the campaign: buymeacoffee.com/excludeduk 🌐 VISIT our website to learn more about ExcludedUK excludeduk.org 🔗 FOLLOW & SHAREour Linktree to find all our social media channels and campaign links linktr.ee/excludedukofficial 📣 SHARE our posts and help keep #ExcludedUK visible 🏛️ CONTACT YOUR MPand ask them to support ExcludedUK and the Gaps in Covid-19 Financial Support APPG.. even ask them to join by emailing admin@excludeduk.org Every signature, donation, share and voice helps. @JohnHealey_MP @ExcludedFighter @SadieMHarris @JohnMartinComic @inkbyboston @harrisonmaxwell @NickFerrariLBC @ITVX @PA @ExcludedUK @andyburnham @JohnHealey_MP @downingstreet @switherdenMP @MP4Stratford @AlPinkerton @gregsmith_uk @RichardNewby3 @ExcludedFighter @SadieMHarris @APPGGapsSupport @UKLabour @LibDems @Conservatives @theSNP @reformparty_uk @thisisyourparty @Plaid_Cymru @TheGreenParty @thatginamiller @MartinSLewis @JohnDCaudwell @itvnews @GMB @GBNEWS @BigIssue @LBC @itvnews @BBCNews @PA @AP @BBCBreakfast #Excluded #Covid19 #APPG #PMQs #FinancialRedress #BounceBackLoans #MentalHealth #justicefortheexcluded

Thank-you @carolvorders and the @LBC team, for dedicating an hour to this appalling scandal, and you have brought a glimmer of hope back into the lives of millions of victims of this Tory Gov. The #ExcludedUK hope that @UKLabour @LibDems @theSNP @Plaid_Cymru will now help us.

Thank-you @carolvorders and the @LBC team, for dedicating an hour to this appalling scandal, and you have brought a glimmer of hope back into the lives of millions of victims of this Tory Gov. The #ExcludedUK hope that @UKLabour @LibDems @theSNP @Plaid_Cymru will now help us.

Thank-you @carolvorders and the @LBC team, for dedicating an hour to this appalling scandal, and you have brought a glimmer of hope back into the lives of millions of victims of this Tory Gov. The #ExcludedUK hope that @UKLabour @LibDems @theSNP @Plaid_Cymru will now help us.

Thank-you @carolvorders and the @LBC team, for dedicating an hour to this appalling scandal, and you have brought a glimmer of hope back into the lives of millions of victims of this Tory Gov. The #ExcludedUK hope that @UKLabour @LibDems @theSNP @Plaid_Cymru will now help us.

Brilliant questioning by @TVNaga01 of Business Minister highlighting the plight of the self employed & the #ExcludedUK who have received nothing whilst not being able to work Worse, the Minister fails to appreciate that

📢 #IsItOK to campaign alongside 3.8 million excluded UK taxpayers for over SIX YEARS, promise them justice, then fall silent when you become Prime Minister? @andyburnham, we are still waiting for answers. #IsItOK that another #ExcludedUK member was made homeless last Friday... the fourth house last in the last SIX weeks!!! We thought you were trying to end homelessness?!?!!! For well over six years, Andy Burnham was one of the most vocal and passionate political supporters of #ExcludedUK, campaigning WITH us for the millions of hardworking UK taxpayers who were wholly or partially excluded from meaningful Covid-19 financial support. These included freelancers, the self-employed, small business owners, company directors and thousands of people, including those working in the TV and film industries, many of whom saw their livelihoods disappear overnight. Andy did not simply offer a few words of sympathy. He actively campaigned alongside us, co-hosting several events with Jennifer Griffiths, Head of ExcludedUK, speaking directly to our members, listening to their devastating experiences and repeatedly pledging his support. 🎥 WATCH THE ATTACHED VIDEO In this recording, Andy Burnham promises to pursue financial remedy AND a public apology for those so appallingly let down. He knew the human cost of exclusion. He knew that at least 40 people had taken their own lives, with their deaths reported to ExcludedUK in connection with the devastating consequences of being denied support. He has described the exclusion as "indefensible" and said a solution was "fair, proportionate and doable". Yet since becoming Prime Minister, the man who stood beside us for well over six years appears to have fallen silent. 📩 Our emails and messages to Andy Burnham have gone unanswered. 📩 Our correspondence to Chancellor @JohnHealey_MP has also failed to secure the answers and action we have been seeking. 💔 Families are still grieving. Lives and livelihoods remain shattered. People are still living with the financial and psychological consequences of decisions made more than six years ago. Attemtped suicides are still a regular occurence! Not even the promised apology has materialised. 💥 An apology costs NOTHING! No Treasury funding. No Budget allocation. No complicated financial calculations. An apology is FREE, and that is something we can ALL afford! So, Andy, we ask you: ❓ #IsItOK to promise hope to millions of people and then leave them waiting when you finally have the power to deliver? ❓ #IsItOK to acknowledge the devastating human cost of exclusion but still fail to provide even a public apology? ❓ #IsItOK for those who dutifully paid into the system, but were deliberately left out, to still be fighting for justice more than SIX YEARS later? Andy, you stood with us when you were campaigning. We need you to stand with us now that you are in power. 3.8 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN. We are not going away. #ExcludedUK #IsItOK #TheLastLeg #AndyBurnham #JohnHealey #Channel4 #AdamHills #JoshWiddicombe #AlexBrooker #TVandFilm #Freelancers #SelfEmployed #Covid19 #CovidSupport #ExcludedFighter #WeAreNotGoingAway #Relentless

The Chancellor has had six months to fix attempts to support the economically vulnerable. Some people with small businesses have had no support whatsoever. These 3 million people are in desperate need and the Government needs to step up @ForgottenLtd #gapsinsupport

Please honour your word @andyburnham .... you promised us your backing when you co-hosted this event with Head of ExcludedUK, Jennifer Griffiths, back in June 2024. We know these things take time AND MONEY... but one thing that is FREE that you can do NOW... is the apology we have been asking for! Surely FREE is the price you can afford in exchange for a full and frank apology about how we were all treated at the worst time in our lives? Surely FREE is the right price to posthumously vindicate all those who sadly took their own lives as they saw no other way out of the poverty and shame! As you already know, there are 40 lives lost to suicide that we know of... there will be so many more we don't! Please let the public know that we were not the tax dodgers that @RishiSunak and @BorisJohnson made out we were! Say SORRY to 3.8 million UK taxpayers NOW... please! Then email Jennifer at jennifer@excludeduk.org to arrange a meeting to take the work you promised to do with her and the team at ExcludedUK to revolve this injustice. Thank you #ExcludedUK excludeduk.org

Please do not continue the wall of silence we have become used to from the last @UKLabour PM... we thought you were better than that @andyburnham!! Please contact, Jennifer Griffiths, Head of ExcludedUK to arrange a meeting to look at the way forward... just cast your eye over this video to remind yourself of what you said to her on the livestream you co-hosted with her on 24th June 2024.... an apology is FREE... you promised it... you can afford it...FREE is the right price to vindicate the +40 individuals who saw no othre option but to take their own lives! @andyburnham or @JohnHealey_MP are welcome to make contact.... Jennifer@excludeduk.org DID YOU GET LITTLE OR NO FINANCIAL SUPPORT DURING COVID? Were you excluded from fair and equal Covid-19 financial support? If so, join some of the other 3.8 million UK taxpayers who were, as we campaign for this scandal to be put right.. bit.ly/3UunLTY Dutifully paid in, deliberately left out! Lives & livelihoods ruined! 37+ suicides and hundreds of attempted suicides! Website: excludeduk.org Facebook Group: bit.ly/3UunLTY Sign up to our mailing list: bit.ly/4bdpB0U Sign our petition: petition.parliament.uk/petit… There are over 20 categories of exclusions including: ·New starters ·New Businesses ·PAYE freelancers ·Newly self-employed ·Those denied furlough ·Directors paid in Dividends ·Directors paid PAYE Annually ·Made redundant before 19 Mar 2020 ·Directors of Companies not in Profit ·Self-employed with +£50k trading profits ·Businesses ineligible for Business Grants ·Those in maternity/parental/adoption leave ·Those earning less than 50% income from self-employment ·Those whose personal circumstances have affected entitlement to support e.g. pensions, bereavement allowance, carer’s allowance, students, armed forces veterans… and more… ExcludedUK are asking for: (1) An apology from government so this injustice is recognised and assurance that it will never happen again. (2) Parity of support (3) Acknowledgement of loss of earnings/profit and consequential loss. #ExcludedUK @ExcludedFighter @SadieMHarris @JohnMartinComic @inkbyboston @harrisonmaxwell @NickFerrariLBC @ITVX @PA @ExcludedUK @andyburnham @JohnHealey_MP @downingstreet @switherdenMP @MP4Stratford @AlPinkerton @gregsmith_uk @RichardNewby3 @ExcludedFighter @SadieMHarris @APPGGapsSupport @UKLabour @LibDems @Conservatives @theSNP @reformparty_uk @thisisyourparty @Plaid_Cymru @TheGreenParty @thatginamiller @MartinSLewis @JohnDCaudwell @itvnews @GMB @GBNEWS @BigIssue @LBC @itvnews @BBCNews @PA @AP @BBCBreakfast

"Three million (Excluded) people ignored and abandoned," Ian Blackford condemns Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak #Budget2021

🚨 ANDY BURNHAM, PLEASE REMEMBER THE PROMISES YOU MADE TO EXCLUDEDUK! 🚨 Six and a half years. 3.8 million taxpayers. Countless promises. Still no justice. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, this video is a reminder of the commitments you have made to ExcludedUK and the millions of taxpayers who were denied parity of Covid-19 financial support. You have been one of our loudest and most consistent political champions since the beginning of our campaign. You have listened to our stories, spoken at our events, stood alongside our members and repeatedly acknowledged the devastating injustice we have suffered. You even co-hosted several events with our Head of ExcludedUK, Jennifer Griffiths, including the livestream in June 2024, when you told us: 🗣️ “The public see you and the public support you.” 🗣️ “The passage of time doesn’t change that.” 🗣️ “The level of injustice that you have faced is indefensible.” 🗣️ “We will work with you to make sure that the excluded is recognised as one of the injustices that this country needs to rectify.” You also spoke about financial remedies that could be “fair, proportionate and doable.” Those words gave people hope, Andy. Real hope. For some of our members, that hope was the very thing that kept them going when everything else seemed lost. But the years have passed. Businesses have disappeared. Homes have been lost. Families have been torn apart. Tragically, we know of more than 40 people who died by suicide, with exclusion contributing to the devastating circumstances they faced. We cannot bring those people back. But we CAN honour their memories by ensuring that this injustice is finally acknowledged and addressed. Today, you are no longer campaigning from outside Westminster. You are the Prime Minister. We understand that financial redress requires careful consideration, political will and public money. But an apology costs NOTHING. Not a penny. Yet even that basic acknowledgement of what happened to 3.8 million hardworking, taxpaying people has still not been forthcoming. We are asking you to honour your commitments: ✅ Deliver a full and frank public apology ✅ Meet with ExcludedUK, our APPG and representatives of the bereaved families and those who survived suicide attempts ✅ Work with us towards a fair, proportionate and achievable financial remedy ✅ Recognise the devastating and continuing consequences of exclusion Andy, you once told us that the passage of time does not change the injustice. We agree. We haven't forgotten your words, and we haven't given up on you. Please don't give up on us. 🎥 WATCH THE VIDEO. LISTEN TO YOUR OWN WORDS. REMEMBER THE PEOPLE YOU PROMISED TO HELP. youtu.be/Yjm6ag4m1xI Dutifully paid in. Deliberately left out. #ExcludedUK #WeAreNotGoingAway #Relentless @andyburnham @JohnHealey_MP @ExcludedFighter @SadieMHarris @JohnMartinComic @TonyRobinsonOBE @inkbyboston @StephenLiddell_ @Travelicious_24 @harrisonmaxwell

In today’s #SpendingReview Chancellor @RishiSunak fails to deliver for the 3m @ExcludedUK. Either he doesn’t understand his own policies and who they exclude, or he just doesn’t care. @ForgottenLtd @RefusedG @ForgottenPAYE