Burnham to publish details of Manchester City meetings

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 11 Oct, 19:30 · Archive

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has agreed to release details of his meetings with Manchester City's owners following criticism of his comments about the club's guilty verdict.

Manchester City was found guilty of all charges related to Premier League financial rule breaches between 2009 and 2018. An independent commission determined the club had created 'sham' contracts with commercial partners to secretly channel more than £830m into their football operations.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham, whose previous role as mayor of Greater Manchester has raised questions about his relationship with the club's Abu Dhabi ownership, initially said he would be 'really concerned' if City's owners decided to sell following the guilty verdict. He credited them with being 'a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester'. Downing Street subsequently issued two clarifications, with a spokesperson insisting the guilty verdict is 'serious'.

Burnham faced calls to keep politics out of football, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch demanding details of all meetings between the Prime Minister and City figures. Burnham agreed to publish everything related to his work with the club's owners during his time as mayor. He defended his comments in an interview with the Rest is Politics podcast, saying the football and investment issues are separate matters that should not be conflated.

Sanctions have not yet been announced, and Manchester City has lodged an appeal against the verdict.

How it is being reported

• Andy Burnham to publish all details of his dealings with Manchester CityMove comes after criticism of remarks in support of football club’s owners following financial regulations breach ruling Andy Burnham has said he will publish all details of his dealings with Manchester City in his previous mayoral role after his intervention in support of the football club’s owners raised eyebrows. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative party leader, had urged the prime minister to publish everything related to his work with the club as Greater Manchester mayor and the Liberal Democrats wrote to him asking him to release the minutes of the meetings and declare all hospitality…Guardian World · 11 Oct, 20:49
• Andy Burnham vows to publish details of Man City dealings: Prime Minister will 'put out there' material from time as mayor after backlash for comments in support of shamed ownersAndy Burnham has said he will publish all details of his dealings with Manchester City in his previous mayoral role after his intervention in support of the football club's owners raised eyebrows.Daily Mail Sport · 11 Oct, 20:14
• Burnham vows to publish details of his meetings with Man City ownersPrime minister stands by his ‘concern’ Manchester club’s Abu Dhabi owners could sell upThe Independent · 11 Oct, 19:06
• Burnham to release details of Man City meetingsAndy Burnham has faced criticism for comments he made in the wake of Manchester City being found guilty of all charges related to breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.BBC News · 11 Oct, 19:01

In this story: Andy Burnham · Kemi Badenoch · Manchester City · Premier League · Greater Manchester

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