Andy Burnham’s father Roy has died with the Prime Minister cancelling his meetings today and tomorrow, Downing Street has said.

Shortly before becoming PM, Mr Burnham spoke of a ‘sadness’ that his father would not be aware his son was taking on the top job due to him suffering with Alzheimer’s.

‘That’s a sadness because he would be (proud),’ Mr Burnham said in July, as he described visiting his father in a care home just before he took office.

‘The way I look at it, it’s his achievement as well. A whole family achievement although he doesn’t know it.’

Mr Burnham has often said his father’s Alzheimer’s – the most common cause of dementia – is one of the driving factors behind his bid to reform social care.

In a major speech shortly after he became PM, Mr Burnham vowed to help ‘my dad and the millions like him’ faced with the unfairness of the current system.

Andy Burnham pictured with his father Roy, who now has Alzheimer’s and mother Eileen in 2015

Mr Burnham was on Sunday among 63,000 runners to take part in the Great North Run which he completed in one hour and 57 minutes

Mr Burnham was pictured hugging his mother Eileen on 20 July after arriving in Downing Street after being officially appointed as PM by the King

Mr Burnham has promised to ‘grasp the nettle’ on social care reforms, saying after he replaced Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader: ‘I’ve got personal experience of the system. 

‘My dad has Alzheimer’s and you see what the staff have to put up with. It’s not their fault. The system’s broken. You can’t leave social care like this.’

Mr Burnham also revealed how Roy was unaware that his son had swung behind one of his political passions, a change in the voting system to proportional representation.

Everyone experiences dementia differently. Use this checklist to help you make a note of your symptoms before you talk to your GP.

‘I don’t think he’s ever realised, because of his condition, that I’ve come round to PR, which is one of his missions – to get me to accept that,’ the PM told The Times in July.

Mr Burnham was pictured hugging his mother Eileen on July 20 after arriving in Downing Street after being officially appointed as PM by the King.

Roy, who was in his mid-80s, was a former telephone engineer, first with the Post Office and then with BT.

He and Eileen brought Mr Burnham up in Culcheth, Cheshire, alongside his two brothers.

Mr Burnham inherited his Catholic faith from his mother and attended Catholic schools during his childhood.

The former Greater Manchester mayor has previously spoken about how his non-Catholic father was worried about meeting his mother’s family for the first time ‘as religion was so important in Liverpool then’.

The PM was on Sunday among 63,000 runners to take part in the Great North Run.

Mr Burnham completed the half-marathon in one hour and 57 minutes and was raising money for North East charity Changing Lives, which he visited last month to launch a national drive to end rough sleeping.

The PM had been due to host regional mayors, entrepreneurs and business leaders for roundtable talks in Downing Street on Monday afternoon.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: ‘My condolences to Prime Minister Andy Burnham and all his family.

‘No matter how old you are, or how much you try to prepare, losing your father is a profoundly painful experience.

‘A part of your life that has always been there is suddenly gone forever and it can feel as though a part of you won’t ever be the same again.’

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: ‘My heart goes out to the Prime Minister on the loss of his dad.

‘From our conversations he sounded like a wonderful man. My prayers are with his whole family as they mourn together.’

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, told MPs on Monday: ‘I would like to offer my condolences to the Prime Minister on the death of his father.

‘I’m sure the whole House would want to send our best wishes to him and his family at this sad time.’

Education Secretary Lucy Powell, a close ally of Mr Burnham, also used an appearance in the Commons to send her ‘deepest condolences’ to the PM, as well as to Mr Burnham’s ‘wonderful mum, Eileen, his brothers Nick and John, all the grandchildren and the whole family’.

For confidential advice, call Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Support Line on 0333 150 3456 

Alzheimer’s Society’s symptoms checker can help spot the signs of dementia 

READ MORE: How to spot if someone you love has warning signs of dementia