Following Monday’s Pride of Britain Awards, our inspirational winners were invited to celebrate at a special reception at the Prime Minister’s Downing Street home today
Andy Burnham will be running the Great North Run next year for Pride of Britain winners Andy’s Man Club. The founders of the pioneering men’s suicide prevention charity were among the Pride of Britain Award winners invited to celebrate at a special reception at the Prime Minister’s Downing Street home today.
After presenting the charity’s founders, Elaine Roberts and her son-in-law Luke Ambler, with a Special Recognition award on stage at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on Monday night, at the amazing Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards in partnership with P&O Cruises, Mr Burnham said: “Forget celebrities, the real stars were on the stage.”
Describing the array of extraordinary winners as “down to earth, full of humour” he continued: “The best bit of Britain is the people. If we get Britain pulling together, in the same direction, we’ll be unstoppable.”
A massive fan of Andy’s Man Club, he told The Mirror: “I have followed their progress over many years and I do feel a real connection with them – and not just because my name is Andy.
“To present them with an award last night was brilliant. And to say to Elaine and Luke, ‘you’ve changed so many lives, saved lives, in the name of the son and brother-in-law that you lost’ – it’s just an amazing thing for people to do.
“When I was in the Wakefield by-election and Andy’s Man Club was going on in the back room, I popped in. I’m a huge supporter of what they do. I would go so far as to say it’s critical infrastructure in any community to have a place like that and services like that.”
Andy’s Man Club is a simple, barrier-free space for men to have “a brew and a chat”. Launched by Elaine and Luke, after her son, Andy, took his own life in 2016, aged just 23, his devastated family had no idea that he had been struggling so much.
But they soon discovered that male suicide is the biggest killer of UK men under 50. Luke said: “The Prime Minister told us that he’s running the Great North Run next year for Andy’s Man Club and it’s a real wow moment for us. Who better to have on board than the leader of the country?”
Andy’s Man Club started as one group meeting with just nine men in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and has now – ten years later – expanded into more than 360 community groups across England, Scotland and Wales, alongside online sessions
Mr Burnham said: “The debate about mental health has changed in this country about a decade ago, with people being more open, but there was still a real lack of places to go and support. And the statutory services couldn’t find a way of providing what many people were looking for.
“Andy’s Man Club is a place in the community to open up with people who were in a similar position and talk in a way without judgment or stigma or anything like that.
“Having been to some of the sessions, it’s quite humbling to see men of all ages of different backgrounds, some in tracksuits, some in hi-vis, some in work suits, just sitting down together and talking. It’s quite a thing.”
The charity even had an impact on Pride of Britain Special Recognition winner Esther Ghey, who while collecting her own award, told the audience on Monday night how – following the tragic murder of their daughter, Brianna – Andy’s Man Club helped her father Peter Spooner, who turned to them for support.
She and the other Pride of Britain winners were given a hero’s welcome by Mr Burnham and his wife Marie-France van Heel, who praised their bravery. Esther, who has tirelessly campaigned for stricter online safety regulations, smartphone restrictions for minors, and improved youth mental health support, said Brianna would be proud.
Of her award, she said: “This is for Brianna. I like to think she’d be proud of us. I like to think of her looking down on us.”
Pioneering heart surgeon Asif Hasan spent 36 years saving Britain’s sickest children, and was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award. He told the Mirror: “As a 12 year old boy, growing up in Pakistan, I never imagined for one moment that I’d be meeting the Prime Minister. It’s a real privilege to be here.
“The walls have so many stories. I love the history. As I walked up the stairs I took my time and looked at all the photographs.” Mr Hasan has performed over 400 transplants and was surprised on stage at the Pride of Britain Awards by 19 of the young people he saved.
Meanwhile, Child of Courage winner, Kirsty Waugh, 12, who has raised nearly £250,000 for research after being diagnosed with a benign brain tumour, aged 10, told The Mirror she was “totally starstruck” meeting the Prime Minister.
She said: “I’m so excited to be here. Andy is great, it’s funny meeting him and realising he is a real person. This building is amazing, everything from the pictures to the chandeliers, it’s like being inside the TV – and the staff keep coming round with canapes and I can’t refuse. I’m full to the brim and I don’t want to go home. I do like being in the spotlight so maybe I could be Prime Minister one day.”
Elsewhere, fellow Child of Courage winner Zac Howells took home a very special memento of his day at Downing Street, as he got the Prime Minister to sign his scrapbook. “Dear Zac, You are the pride of Wales and the pride of Britain,” Mr Burnham wrote, signing his name at the bottom.
Zac, 13, who won his award for steering his mum’s car to safety when she passed out at the wheel last year, said: “I’m going to keep it in my bedroom with my Pride of Britain award. I can’t believe I’m at No10. I’m going back to school tomorrow with quite a story.”
Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, spoke with the brave little lad and his mum, Nicola Crump. She said: “We’re in good hands if the next generation is anything like Zac.”
Calling Pride of Britain “a tonic,” she continued: “Pride of Britain is honouring people who do extraordinary things every single day. It gives a big dose of hope. It reminds us too what our communities are about. Often we hear challenging stories about division, anti-social behaviour. But hearing these stories and seeing what people are able to overcome, it’s what we all need to hear sometimes.”
And Mr Burnham agreed. He said: “These guys are the epitome of hope. They filled the room with hope last night and they fill the country when it’s broadcast on ITV. They give you hope in tough times.
“What it shows though, is the British public have not changed. They’re still as brilliant as they ever were, and this country is full of people who will make a sacrifice in a heartbeat, even if it puts themselves at risk, or will turn private grief to public good. That’s who we are.
“Every year, Pride of Britain reminds you of that, and that’s why it’s such an incredible thing.”
*Don’t miss The Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards on Thursday 22 October at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
