Andy Burnham says bravery shown by women who reported Russell Brand will 'change the system' as he vowed to be 'relentless' in giving support to victims

Andy Burnham has praised the bravery shown by women who came forward to report Russell Brand and promised it will 'change the system'.Mr Burnham said he would be 'relentless in making whatever improvements we can' to provide more support for victims, including making sure there are rape and serious sexual offence teams in every police force.The Prime Minister - who has faced questions over his previous attempts to woo the comedian while he was at the height of his fame - has already vowed to look at changing rape trials to encourage more women to come forward.Brand was convicted last week of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others. Mr Burnham and ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband are among those who feted the now 51-year-old as they sought to harness his following to help the party win over voters and get back into power after the 2010 election.In 2014, Mr Burnham, then shadow health secretary, tweeted his support for Brand and praised him for using his celebrity status 'to help others'.By that point Brand already had a chequered background. It was seven years after he had been sacked by the BBC over a sleazy crank call he made to Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs, boasting of a sexual encounter with his granddaughter. The PM has previously said the social media support was 'well over a decade ago' and insisted he had 'no idea of the full extent of what he was doing or what he went on to do'.Speaking today during a visit to a hospital in Hertfordshire, Mr Burnham promised more support for the victims of sex crimes. Andy Burnham today praised the bravery of Russell Brand's victims. The PM is pictured this morning during a visit to a hospital in Watford Brand with his wife Laura Gallacher at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday morning, hours before he was convicted'I'll be honest and say I don't think you ever can do enough to get the right support in place for victims to give them the confidence to come forward, because we know that still isn't there in the way that it should be,' he said. 'But I have already taken a decision to make sure there are rape and serious sexual offence teams in every police force by the end of next year.'It was going to be 2029, I brought it forward, and I kind of lean back on my work as mayor of Greater Manchester in this regard.'There is so much that needs to be done. We have to bring it forward.'Obviously today, everybody will be thinking about the women who had the courage to come forward. Their bravery will, I believe, change the system more broadly, and we will be relentless in making whatever improvements we can.'But there's no complacency here. There's a lot more that needs to change.'Brand appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court for his sentencing today wearing a dark grey suit black waistcoat and white shirt. He immediately caught his wife Laura Gallacher's eye and asked: 'Are you OK?'Laura smiled and nodded in reply. Brand then said: 'It'll be OK, I don't know how, but it will' to his wife as he took a long look at his family and friends sitting behind him in the public gallery.The pair also nodded to each other as the judge outlined how the sentencing would unfold. One member of Brand's entourage held a Bible with passages highlighted as they sat behind him.Brand is said to have been petrified and left cowering in his cell after three nights in HMP Wandsworth. He is expected to be moved to a prison specialising in male sex offenders, with HMP Littlehey, HMP Whatton and HMP Rye Hill among the possible destinations.It comes as Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said his force is encouraging anybody else to come forward if they have any further allegations against the celebrity. Sir Mark told Times Radio: 'Every case like this depends on brave victim survivors who are prepared to step forward and tell their story to police officers and tell their story to a court when you've had something so intrusive and awful happen that that really shows real bravery and determination, and you have to admire that.'I'm proud of our officers and the support they've offered them and the case they've built. They've spoken to 100 witnesses. They've taken 400 statements. It's a sizeable investigation.'As you've heard, there's two more rape allegations that we're looking at. We're encouraging anybody else to come forward if there's any other allegations.'The wider point I would make: this looks at one hand it's a celebrity, but most sex offending is where someone of power exploits that with someone who is less powerful themselves.'It might be an uncle, it might be a teacher, it might be a vicar. Could be a whole range of different situations. And what cases like this show is, it doesn't matter how powerful the person is, we will support you, and we will try and bring down the person who did something ghastly to you.'