Deleted records show Burnham had two dinners with Manchester City chairman
Developing story first seen 2 hours ago
Newly reported details show that Andy Burnham had two hospitality dinners with Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in 2017 and 2018, which were not specified in a recent Greater Manchester Combined Authority statement. The omission has intensified calls for transparency about Burnham’s contacts with the club, after he said he would be concerned if its owners sold up.
A former register listed the dinners at £300 and about £699, and also recorded £150 tickets to an Ed Sheeran concert at the Etihad Stadium. The register has since been removed; the GMCA says it publishes declarations only from the current mayoral term, though its website includes entries dating to 2022. Downing Street said the dinners were declared match hospitality, while Burnham has said he is willing to publish details of his dealings with the club.
- Records show two dinners with Manchester City’s chairman.
- The GMCA statement did not specify the dinners.
- Political pressure for fuller transparency is growing.
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Andy Burnham is the elected mayor of Greater Manchester, a role he has held since 2017. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which brings together the mayor and local council leaders, publishes information about the mayor’s official contacts and interests.
Manchester City is a major football club based at the Etihad Stadium. Its chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, is also a senior figure in the club’s ownership, which has faced scrutiny over its record and the way the club is run.
Hospitality such as dinners and match tickets can be declared by public officials when provided by outside organisations. The declarations register matters because it allows the public to see what hospitality was received and assess whether official contacts are being disclosed.
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The case for
The dinners were declared in the hospitality register, and the GMCA says its removal reflects a routine policy of publishing entries only from the current mayoral term. Downing Street says the hospitality was declared, and Burnham has offered to publish details of his work with the club; these points support the view that the record’s removal does not itself show concealment.
The case against
Because the dinners were not mentioned in the GMCA statement about Burnham’s contacts with the club, their omission may leave the public with an incomplete picture, even if they appeared in an earlier register. Given scrutiny of his comments about the club’s ownership, fuller disclosure could help people assess whether hospitality or relationships might affect his public statements.
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Originally published by BBC Sport as “Burnham had two hospitality dinners with Man City chairman, deleted records show”.