A TORY chairman has asked Leigh MP Andy Burnham to apologise for ‘insulting the employees of McDonald’s’.

Chairman of Wigan Conservative Federation Richard Short has written an open letter to the Shadow Health Secretary saying that he must apologise for comments he made during at a speech to Unite the Union in Liverpool.

In his speech, Mr Burnham said: “What sort of message are we sending out when we say social care is the lowest form of work – lower even than McDonald’s.”

In response, Mr Short wrote: “In what can only be described as a contemptuous lack of judgement on your part you have singled out an employer of 91,500 people at all levels in the UK as a metaphor for an employer of low esteem and scant regard.

“Not only have you insulted the employees of McDonald’s in the UK but also directly insulted those currently employed in the Tyldesley, Lowton and Leigh branches, some of whom are my friends, all of whom your constituents.

“You have swallowed hook, line and sinker the clichéd stereotype of employees of fast food restaurants and used it for your own political expedience.

“You must apologise for this incredulous lack of judgement to the employees of McDonald’s but specifically to your constituents who have found gainful employment with a responsible employer.”

A spokesman for Andy Burnham MP said: “Andy Burnham was making clear that social care workers aren’t always paid the minimum wage and treated properly. This is extremely worrying given the important role they have in the lives of the most vulnerable people in society.

“Under Mr Short’s Tory Government, 300,000 care workers are on zero hour contracts and many are paid less and have worse working conditions than those in fast food.

“Mr Short should address this real issue rather than cheap political point scoring.”