Andy Burnham say Manchester City owners did not raise Premier League charges with him
Mr Burnham also dined with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at matches in 2017 and 2018.
Andy Burnham has said Manchester City’s owners and directors did not raise the Premier League’s charges against the club when he met with them.
The Prime Minister said he was “very happy” to set out details of the meetings, after they were published on Monday.
Downing Street has sought to downplay reports that two hospitality dinners with Manchester City’s chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak were not included.
Manchester City have been found guilty on all counts of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules and “the majority of charges” relating to failing to co-operate with the league’s investigation.
A Monday statement by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) about Mr Burnham’s dealings with the scandal-hit club while mayor of Greater Manchester revealed that he had a formal meeting with Mr Al Mubarak at an investment summit, chatted to him in the stands at a star player’s testimonial game and was accompanied by staff from the club on official overseas visits.
Mr Burnham was asked about the meetings during Prime Minister’s Questions by Conservative MP Jerome Mayhew (Broadland and Fakenham).
Mr Mayhew said: “The Prime Minister sees himself as a man of candour.
“So will he tell the House, did anyone associated with the running of Manchester City Football Club raise the charges they were facing, and have now been found guilty of, either with him or any member of his team?”
Mr Burnham said: “They did not raise those issues with me.
“I’m very happy, Mr Speaker, for everything to be set out in full.
“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.
“That statement was published on Monday, and it includes the issues in the news today.
“That is the position.”
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch later accused him of “bumbling into a row still ongoing about Manchester City”.
Mrs Badenoch said: “I don’t think his carefully worded answer to (Mr Mayhew) is going to suffice.
“It doesn’t sound like that one’s going away.”
She added: “Does he ever get tired of putting his foot in his mouth?”
Since Monday, it has emerged that Mr Burnham also dined with Mr Al Mubarak at matches in 2017 and 2018.
But these dinners were not included in the GMCA statement, and a register of declarations in which they were listed has reportedly been deleted from the authority’s website.
Asked why the GMCA this week did not refer to the dinners, Mr Burnham’s press secretary pointed to a passage in the statement that said: “He was a guest of Manchester City at home matches on a small number of occasions.
“The PM’s attendance and the hospitality he received at them was declared in the usual way.”
Pressed on why the previous register of declarations for Mr Burnham was deleted, the press secretary told reporters the GMCA’s website was a matter for the authority.
Declarations are kept online only during a mayoral term, it is understood.
Mr Burnham had told MPs that “all of my dealings” with Manchester City’s owners would be published.
A GMCA spokesman said: “In October 2021 Andy Burnham, in his role as mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the chairman informally in the stands.
“These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”