Andy Burnham accused of withholding details over hospitality dinners with Manchester City chairman
Andy Burnham has been told to “come clean” after deleted records reportedly show he had two hospitality dinners with Manchester City’s chairman during his tenure as mayor of the city, reports BritPanorama.
Questions have been raised over the prime minister’s ties to the scandal-hit club while he served as Greater Manchester mayor. He assured MPs that “all of my dealings” with the club’s Abu Dhabi owners would be publicly disclosed.
On Monday, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) acknowledged that Burnham had a formal meeting with Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak during an investment summit, conversed with him at a star player’s testimonial game, and was accompanied by club staff on official overseas visits.
However, it has recently come to light that Burnham also dined with Al Mubarak at matches in 2017 and 2018, with the record of these dinners purportedly deleted from the GMCA website.
These encounters were not mentioned in the GMCA’s initial statement on Monday. When questioned why the GMCA omitted the dinners, Burnham’s press secretary pointed to a passage indicating that he had been a guest of Manchester City at home matches on a limited number of occasions.
“The PM’s attendance and the hospitality he received at them was declared in the usual way,” the press secretary stated.
When pressed about the deletion of the entries, the press secretary referred reporters to the GMCA’s website policies, which typically maintain online declarations throughout a mayoral term.
Shadow sports minister Louie French criticized the prime minister, asserting he “cannot hide behind the GMCA” and advocating for greater transparency. “We have been given precious little information about these meetings, what was discussed and what may have been agreed,” he said.
“If Burnham has nothing to hide, why is he being so tight-lipped? His bizarre intervention in defense of Man City’s owners has raised serious concerns among fans,” French added.
Previously, Manchester City was found guilty on all counts of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules, including failing to cooperate with the league’s investigation.
On Wednesday, Burnham informed the Commons that the club’s owners and directors did not raise the charges against Manchester City during their meetings.
A GMCA spokesman clarified that in October 2021, Andy Burnham, acting as mayor, had a formal meeting with Al Mubarak during the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit, organized by the Department for International Trade. Additionally, he was a guest at home matches a few times, including Vincent Kompany’s testimonial in September 2019, where he spoke informally with the chairman.
Routine involvement also included representatives from Greater Manchester sporting clubs participating in international business delegations during his mayoral term.
