Burnham's deleted register revealed Man City chairman dinners — SkimNews
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- Andy Burnham had two hospitality dinners with Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in 2017 and 2018 while mayor of Greater Manchester, per entries that were declared on the GMCA register but have since been deleted.
- GMCA's Monday statement on Burnham's meetings with Manchester City listed a 2021 Global Investment Summit meeting with Al Mubarak and a 2019 Vincent Kompany testimonial but omitted the two Etihad dinners with the chairman.
- The deleted register recorded a £300 dinner at an August 2017 Everton match attended with then-council leader Sir Richard Leese and a ~£699 dinner at the April 2018 Manchester derby, alongside a £150 pair of Ed Sheeran tickets in May 2018.
- GMCA said its policy is to publish register entries only from the current mayoral term; the BBC noted the website still contains entries dating back to 2022 despite the current term beginning in 2024.
- Downing Street defended the dinners as declared hospitality received at home games rather than separate meetings with the chairman; Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch demanded No 10 release all details of Burnham's meetings with senior Manchester City figures.
- Manchester City was found guilty in September by an independent commission of breaching Premier League financial rules over a 2009–2018 period via "sham" contracts worth more than £830m; the club denies wrongdoing and has appealed.
Why it matters: With Burnham now PM and the club appealing its September guilty verdict for systematically breaking Premier League financial rules, the opposition is using the deleted-register revelation to challenge his credibility on City-related matters. Kemi Badenoch and shadow sports minister Louie French are publicly pressing No 10 for full disclosure, turning a hospitality question into a live political fight over transparency.
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