Burnham to publish all details of his dealings with Manchester City
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised to publish everything about his work with football club Manchester City while he was Greater Manchester mayor. The pledge follows his remarks backing the club's owners.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will publish full details of his dealings with English football club Manchester City during his time as mayor of Greater Manchester. The move comes after his comments in support of the club's owners prompted questions in political circles.
Background
Last month Burnham said he would be "really concerned" if City's Abu Dhabi owners sold the club following a ruling against it, describing them as "a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester". Downing Street later sought to clarify, saying the prime minister regarded the judgment as serious and believed those responsible should face consequences where wrongdoing is established.
Manchester City was found guilty of breaching Premier League financial regulations between 2009 and 2018. The club maintains its innocence and has appealed. An independent commission found the club arranged "sham" commercial deals with several sponsors, which paid only part of the relevant fees, while the remainder was funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Ltd, owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who then owned the club.
Burnham's pledge
In an interview with The Rest is Politics podcast, due to be released on Monday, Burnham said he would "put out there" everything he had done working with the owners as mayor. He said none of it was recent and that he had only one significant meeting, in 2021. He stressed that the football issues are serious and the independent process must run its course, but should be kept separate from investment issues.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch had urged him to publish everything related to his work with the club. The Liberal Democrats wrote asking for meeting minutes and a declaration of all hospitality gifts received from the owners. Shadow sports minister Louie French called on Burnham to also come clean about any meetings since entering Downing Street, and urged Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to answer his questions.
