British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is facing fresh scrutiny over two hospitality dinners he attended with Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak while serving as Mayor of Greater Manchester.
The dinners, held at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium in August 2017 and April 2018, were reportedly valued at £300 and approximately £699, respectively, according to records cited by the BBC.
The revelations have renewed questions about the extent of Burnham’s relationship with the football club and whether all his dealings with its leadership have been fully disclosed.
The dinners were not specifically mentioned in a statement published on Monday by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which outlined Burnham’s interactions with Manchester City during his time as mayor.
Although Burnham had previously declared the hospitality, the register containing the records has since been removed from the GMCA website. The BBC reported that the authority’s policy was to publish declarations relating to the current mayoral term.
However, questions have been raised over the policy, particularly because some older records dating back to 2022 remain accessible online.
The controversy comes after Manchester City was found by an independent commission to have breached Premier League financial regulations relating to the period between 2009 and 2018. The club has denied wrongdoing and appealed against the findings.
Burnham has faced criticism over comments he made following the verdict, particularly his expression of concern about the possibility of the club’s Abu Dhabi owners selling the team.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, he was asked whether Manchester City officials had discussed the financial charges against the club with him.
Burnham told MPs that the issues had not been raised during his discussions with the club.
He also said he had asked the GMCA to publish a statement detailing his key dealings with Manchester City’s owners in response to calls for greater transparency.
The authority’s statement identified a formal meeting between Burnham and Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit in October 2021. It also disclosed an informal encounter between the pair during a 2019 testimonial match for former City captain Vincent Kompany.
The statement further noted that Burnham had attended a small number of the club’s home matches as a guest.
Downing Street defended the hospitality arrangements, describing the dinners as benefits received during home matches that had been declared, rather than separate meetings with the club chairman.
However, opposition politicians have continued to demand further explanations.
Conservative shadow sports minister Louie French said Burnham had promised the public and Parliament full transparency regarding his dealings with Manchester City.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has also called for details of meetings between Burnham and senior figures associated with the club to be released.
Burnham previously said he was willing to disclose his dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as mayor, maintaining that he had held only one significant meeting with the club’s leadership in 2021.
The issue has also drawn attention to Manchester City’s wider relationship with public authorities in Greater Manchester, following questions over agreements involving land and investment linked to the club’s ownership.
As calls for further disclosure continue, the controversy has intensified scrutiny of the relationship between public officials, football club executives and private investment interests.
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