Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has become the latest big name speaker to join the line up for this year’s Society of Editors conference.

The year’s biggest media gathering takes place in Manchester in just over two weeks’ time with ‘trust in the media’ as one of the key themes.

Mr Burnham, left, will join a panel discussion on the issue with Greater Manchester chief constable Ian Hopkins, Manchester Evening News editor Darren Thwaites and Bénédicte Paviot, President of the Foreign Press Association.

They will debate the aftermath of the Kerslake report into the aftermath of Manchester Arena bombing which described some media behaviour as “intrusive and overbearing.”

Mr Burnham, a former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, was elected Mayor of Greater Manchester in May 2017 and led the city’s response to the terror attack, which occurred seventeen days after his election to the role.

He joins an already impressive line-up of conference speakers which also includes former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre, Guardian editor Kath Viner, Reach plc editor-in-chief Lloyd Embley and BBC media editor Amol Rajan.

Ian Murray, executive director of the Society of Editors said: “Mayor Burnham was instrumental in ensuring the spotlight fell on the role of the media following the Manchester Arena atrocity which resulted in the Kerslake Report’s criticism of some sectors of the industry.

“His thoughts on the report and the way the industry is responding will be a vital part of the Society’s Conference looking at the Trust Factor surrounding the UK media at the moment.”

The conference will take place on Sunday 4 November and Monday 5 November at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester.

Places are still available and more information on can be found online at https://www.societyofeditors.org/soe-conference-2018-manchester