ANDY Burnham has responded to an emotional plea directed towards him on live TV by a Scottish swimmer with terminal cancer.
Archie Goodburn appeared on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, where he called on the new Prime Minister to help ease the "unbearable" suffering of brain cancer patients and their families by investing more money and resources into research.
The 25-year-old, who competed for Scotland in the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games and reached the final of the 50m breaststroke, was diagnosed with inoperable brain tumours in 2024.
Since his diagnosis, he has been a vocal advocate for increased research into brain cancer.
The Edinburgh athlete called on the Prime Minister to"give us a chance to fight for our lives", saying: "Andy Burnham, if you believe and want to make a change and a difference to the future of our country and our young population, please listen to us.
"Please establish a national brain cancer lead and give us a chance to fight for our lives because the things that patients are going through out there are unbelievable and so unjust."
In tears, the swimmer continued: "Please invest and make the difference. I'm on my knees begging for – not just my own life – but for those of my best friends and those that are affected and the families around the country.
"This has to change. It's been going for too long and the suffering is unbearable."
The Prime Minister has now responded, saying he would "really like to meet" the Team Scotland star.
Writing on social media platform TikTok, Burnham said: "Archie, thank you for this. I know how hard it must have been.
"What you're doing for other people, while you're going through all this yourself, shows the best of us."
The Prime Minister added: "I'd really like to meet you and hear from you directly, and I've asked my team to get in touch."
