Burnham's Manchester City hospitality dinners absent from detailed meeting statement

Andy Burnham attended two hospitality dinners with Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak while serving as mayor of Greater Manchester, according to records seen by BBC News. The BBC reported that a statement issued by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on Monday did not individually detail the dinners, although it acknowledged that Burnham had been a guest at a small number of City's home matches.

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The earlier register recorded hospitality valued at £300 for an Everton match at the Etihad Stadium in August 2017, including dinner with the club chairman and then-Manchester City Council leader Richard Leese. A second entry listed dinner with the chairman at the Manchester derby in April 2018, valued at approximately £699. Burnham had declared both occasions, the BBC reported.

That register has since been removed from the authority's website. The BBC said it understood the authority's policy was to publish declarations only from the current mayoral term, rather than retain every earlier register online. It has asked for clarification because entries dating to 2022 remain available despite the current term beginning in 2024. The removal does not change the report's finding that the dinners were previously declared.

Downing Street defended the hospitality, saying it was received at home games and did not constitute separate meetings with the chairman. Monday's authority statement identified a formal meeting at the government's Global Investment Summit in October 2021 and an informal encounter in the stands at Vincent Kompany's 2019 testimonial. It did not provide details of what was discussed, according to the BBC.

The scrutiny comes after an independent commission found Manchester City had breached Premier League financial rules, a verdict the club is appealing. BBC News reported that sanctions had not yet been announced and that City denies wrongdoing. Burnham, now prime minister, faced criticism after expressing concern last month about the possibility of the club's owners selling up following the ruling.

At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Burnham said the club had not raised the charges with him when asked whether anyone had discussed them with him or his team. He also said he was willing for his dealings to be fully set out. The BBC has asked the authority why the two dinners were not specifically identified in Monday's statement.