GMCA statement omitted Burnham’s two lunches with Manchester City chairman — Anadolu Agency

In the United Kingdom, a statement by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority did not mention two lunches attended by Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in 2017 and 2018. This was reported by Anadolu Agency, citing The Sun.

Lunches during matches

According to the publication, Burnham attended the first lunch in August 2017 during Manchester City’s home match against Everton. Al Mubarak and then Manchester City Council leader Richard Leese were with him.

The second lunch took place in April 2018 during the Manchester derby between Manchester City and Manchester United. The value of hospitality at the event was estimated at around £699, or $930.

Both events had previously been declared in the GMCA register, which was later removed from the authority’s website. They were not separately mentioned in the GMCA statement reported on Monday.

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Contacts with the club

Instead, the GMCA listed Burnham’s official meeting with Al Mubarak at the UK government’s investment summit in October 2021 and an informal meeting at the 2019 farewell match of former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany.

The authority also said that Burnham attended a small number of Manchester City home matches as a guest, and that the hospitality was declared through the usual procedure. During Prime Minister’s Questions, Burnham stated that club representatives had not raised the issue of the Premier League’s financial charges with him.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch called for greater transparency regarding Burnham’s contacts with the club. In September, an independent Premier League commission found Manchester City guilty of breaching financial rules in 2009–2018. The club denies wrongdoing and is appealing the decision; no sanctions have yet been announced.