Burnham forced to order wider probe of his dealings with Man City as details of SEVENTH meeting emerge

5 comments 5 Next ANDY Burnham was forced to order a wider probe of his dealings with Manchester City yesterday following The Sun’s investigation into his links with the crisis-hit club. The PM has asked for a “manual trawl” of his previous engagements with the team’s bosses and Abu Dhabi owners — as details of a seventh meeting emerged. 6 Andy Burnham was forced to order a wider probe of his dealings with Man City following The Sun’s investigation into his links with the club Credit: POOL/AFP via Getty Images 6 The PM has asked for a ‘manual trawl’ of his previous engagements with the club’s chiefs, Burnham pictured with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in 2019 Credit: Alamy Advertisement Mr Burnham and his team began the week insisting he had held only one “significant” meeting with City chiefs — in 2021. This was blown apart by our revelations he had been treated to two dinners with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in 2017 and 2018 while Manchester mayor, which had been deleted from the public record. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email. Mr Burnham’s relationship with City has come under fire after he expressed his “concern” that the UAE owners may leave the club, which has been found guilty of more than 100 breaches of Premier League rules. At the PM’s instruction, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority issued a vague statement on Monday failing to mention the two dinners with Mr Al Mubarak. READ MORE ON BURNHAM WHAT'S THE SCORE? PM met City bosses at least 6 times despite claiming he'd had 1 sit-down POLITICS FIX Burnham will have nowhere to hide today over his freebie dinners with Man City The PM yesterday promised “full transparency”, saying: “I’ve asked them to do a more manual trawl of everything, as I want everything possible to be out there. There’s no question about that — full transparency.” But shadow minister Louie French is calling for an apology. He said last night: “The Prime Minister committed to the House of Commons that he would publish all of his Man City dealings on Monday afternoon. “That did not happen and that is his personal responsibility. He must come to the House and apologise.” As well as the two dinners, we can reveal that Mr Burnham met City bigwigs at least five other times. Advertisement Most read in Sport LIS-TEN UP Martinez's Man Utd meltdown triggered by selection of ONE teammate by Carrick 'QUITE SERIOUS' Ex-Chelsea ace in horror injury as boss fears may be 'compromised for life' ON HIGH HORSE Iconic trainer Gary Moore retires live on air interview with daughter Hayley S-MART MOVE Lisandro Martinez wants to QUIT Man Utd in stunning free transfer this summer 6 City’s Erling Haaland in a Champions League match against PSG on October 14 Credit: Jean Catuffe/DPPI/Shutterstock 6 The PM seen in a video at a City match on December 15, 2018 Newly uncovered documents show the PM joined a round-table in China featuring City Football Group in September 2018. It was known he attended an event there for a club office opening, but not that he enjoyed a two-hour lunch with “senior representatives”. Records released under Freedom of Information laws show Mr Burnham’s official itinerary for a four-day trip included a lunch billed as the “Manchester City Football Group Shenzhen Office Opening and CEO Tech Roundtable”. The papers, stamped “Classified: Internal Personal and Confidential”, show the summit ran from 11.30am to 1.30pm on September 20, 2018, at One Shenzhen Bay. Advertisement The £4,796 bill for flights, hotels and costs was covered by the Manchester China Forum, a partnership to boost ties between the two areas. 6 We previously revealed Burnham had been treated to two dinners with Al Mubarak in 2017 and 2018, which had been deleted from the public record Credit: chall11 6 Mr Burnham’s relationship with City has come under fire after he expressed his ‘concern’ that the UAE owners may leave the club, above another of our stories Credit: Unknown In September 2019, Mr Burnham was pictured with Mr Al Mubarak watching Vincent Kompany ’s testimonial match at the Etihad. He then held what he called his only “significant meeting” with City’s chairman at the Government’s Global Investment Summit in October 2021. Advertisement In July 2023, he met City Football Group chief exec Ferran Soriano at an event to mark the completion of the Co-op Live roof in Manchester, the arena co-owned by the Blues’ owner Sheikh Mansour . And in June 2025, Mr Burnham met Roel de Vries, City’s former chief operating officer, again at the arena, for a Brit Awards bash. 5 comments 5