British Prime Minister held two hospitality dinners with Man City Chairman, deleted records reveal

Andy Burnham held two hospitality dinners with Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in 2017 and 2018 while serving as Greater Manchester mayor, according to a BBC News report published on Wednesday. The dinners, valued at £300 and approximately £699 respectively, were recorded in a previous register of declarations that has since been removed from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) website.

The first dinner took place during Everton’s visit to the Etihad Stadium in August 2017, while the second was held during the Manchester derby in April 2018. Burnham also declared £150 tickets for an Ed Sheeran concert at the stadium in May 2018. However, the GMCA’s statement published on Monday outlining Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City did not specifically mention the two dinners.

The authority said Burnham had met Al Mubarak formally at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit in October 2021 and informally at Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in 2019. It added that the former mayor had attended a small number of City home matches as a guest.

According to the BBC, the GMCA register was removed in line with a policy of publishing declarations only from the current mayoral term. The authority has been asked to explain why some older entries remain available online. The disclosure comes amid growing scrutiny of Burnham’s relationship with City following his remarks expressing concern over a possible sale of the club by its owners.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for details of meetings between Prime Minister and senior City figures to be released, while shadow sports minister Louie French said Burnham had promised “full transparency”.

City was found by an independent commission in September to have breached Premier League financial regulations over a nine-year period, including rules relating to commercial agreements. The club denies wrongdoing and has appealed the findings, with sanctions yet to be announced.