Andy Burnham blasted by Martin Daubney for Caribbean steel drum stunt ‘as UK goes down the swanny’

But earlier, Mr Burnham took part in “leisure activities” on the island of Antigua, much to the frustration of the GB News host.

Videos circulating online show the Prime Minister playing the nursery rhyme Mary Had A Little Lamb and was later joined by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband for a duet.

While Khan Cordice, director of the Hell’s Gate steel orchestra, was left impressed and told Mr Burnham “you’re a musician”, Martin was unequivocally displeased.

Martin said: “While the country goes down the swanny, while we prepare to take the knee to Brussels, there’s the Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband playing the steel drums with the Prime Minister Andy Burnham in Antigua.”

Further footage online showed the Labour leader trying his hand in cricket with Sir Viv Richards, an Antiguan former cricketer who represented the West Indies.

It did not go entirely to plan, however.

Mr Burnham was undecided whether to run or not after hitting a shot, ultimately changing his mind halfway between the two stumps and rather embarrassingly falling over.

“How’s that for a political blunder?” Martin asked.

He added the clip was a “metaphor for slipping up; of simply not playing cricket with the electorate”.

Martin added: “But seriously, people back home can’t be their heating bills, and they’re ponting around on the steel drums.”

The presenter compared Mr Burnham with Sir Keir Starmer who, during his two-year tenure, attained nicknames such as “jet-setting Starmer” and “never here Keir”.

“Andy Burnham is taking things a step further… he’s auditioning for the Antigua Steel Drums orchestra,” Martin raged.

The tour of the Caribbean has been set against a grave backdrop of louder calls for slavery reparations.

King Charles, addressing leaders of the Commonwealth, was able to skirt around the issue.

He described slavery in the British Empire as a “shameful chapter of history” that “fills my heart with horror and my soul with the most profound personal sorrow” – but stopped short of issuing a formal apology.

Meanwhile, Mr Burnham admitted he was contemplating offering an apology on behalf of Britain’s involvement in the historic trade this weekend.

He is also set to hand Caribbean nations a whopping £40million for projects.

Martin seethed on Britain’s News Channel: “Talking about marching to a different drum… Andy Burnham has put his foot in it this tour.

“The whole thing has been overshadowed by slavery, by reparations, and I think that’s setting the tempo for all these few trips. Is it time to scrap off all these foreign trips – what’s the point?

“It’s just a ritualistic tarring and feathering of Britain and the Empire.”

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