Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak hosted British Prime Minister Andy Burnham at two hospitality dinners in 2017 and 2018 when Burnham was mayor of Greater Manchester, according to records cited by the BBC.
As reported by the BBC on Wednesday, the dinners, held at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium in August 2017 and April 2018, have emerged amid growing pressure on Burnham to provide full details of his dealings with the football club.
The hospitality arrangements were not specifically identified in a statement released on Monday by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which outlined Burnham’s meetings and interactions with the club during his time as mayor.
A previous register of declarations showed that Burnham attended a dinner with Al Mubarak and then-Manchester City Council leader Richard Leese during an Everton match in August 2017. The hospitality was valued at £300.
Another entry listed a dinner with the club chairman during the Manchester City-Manchester United derby in April 2018, valued at approximately £699.
Burnham had previously declared both dinners, as well as a pair of tickets worth £150 to see singer Ed Sheeran perform at the stadium in May 2018.
However, the register has since been removed from the GMCA website. The BBC reported that the authority’s policy was to publish only declarations from the current mayoral term.
The BBC has asked the GMCA to clarify the policy, noting that some records dating back to 2022 remain available online, although the current mayoral term began in 2024.
The development comes as Burnham faces increasing scrutiny over his past dealings with Manchester City following an independent commission’s findings that the club breached Premier League financial regulations.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Burnham was asked whether anyone at the club had raised the charges against it during discussions with him.
“They did not raise those issues with me,” he told MPs.
Burnham said he was willing to disclose details of his dealings with the club and had asked the GMCA to publish a statement outlining his key interactions with its owners.
“It is why I asked the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), in response to a call from the leader of the Opposition and others, to set out a full statement of my key dealings with the owners of Manchester City Football Club,” he said.
“That statement was published on Monday, and it includes the issues in the news today.”
