Burnham must avoid ‘summer of speculation’ on tax, warns CBI chief

Rain Newton-Smith urged Andy Burnham not to neglect businesses’ costs – in particular, sky-high energy bills, a longtime CBI bugbear. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian

Andy Burnham must avoid another “summer of speculation” on tax and spend that would spook British business, the chief executive of the CBI has warned.

As Burnham prepares to take up the Labour leadership on Friday, with a new cabinet to be announced on Monday, Rain Newton-Smith urged him to tread carefully.