Miliband refuses to investigate Man City owner over Sudan atrocities

Ed Miliband is refusing to investigate the Emirati owner of Manchester City for his alleged involvement in atrocities in Sudan, The Telegraph understands. The Foreign Secretary has been urged to open an investigation into Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan amid claims that he has provided support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the militia group accused of slaughtering civilians and committing widespread sexual violence in the Sudanese city of El Fasher .

Earlier this week, Mr Miliband announced a series of sanctions against RSF leaders, saying that UK-funded investigations had shown that “rape and starvation are still being weaponised against the people of Sudan”. Calling these “crimes against our humanity”, he said that the perpetrators “must be held accountable and support from all external backers to the warring parties must end”. However, The Telegraph can reveal that the Foreign Secretary has rebuffed calls to investigate the alleged role of Sheikh Mansour, despite being presented with a dossier about his alleged links to the RSF leadership.

The relationship between Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister, and Sheikh Mansour is under scrutiny because the United Arab Emirates (UAE) invested billions in Manchester, helping deliver the “Manchester miracle” of economic growth that propelled Mr Burnham to Downing Street. City face sanctions that could include relegation from the Premier League after the club was found guilty of 114 breaches of financial rules by an independent commission.

At the Premier League ruling, Mr Burnham said he would be “really concerned” if City’s Emirati owners sold the club, because they had been “a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester”. He was later forced to reverse his stance, with Downing Street insisting no team was “above the rules”. In October, Mr Miliband was privately urged to investigate the role of Sheikh Mansour, a senior member of the UAE’s ruling family, for allegedly “providing support” to the RSF in Sudan and to consider “the imposition of sanctions”.

The Foreign Secretary was presented with evidence including the findings of a recent report by the UN International Fact Finding Mission for Sudan, which repeatedly identifies the UAE as a key provider of weapons, fighters and supplies to the RSF. The UN report noted that “evidence verified by the mission ... provides reasonable grounds to believe that a transnational network facilitated the military operations of the RSF through interconnected air, land, and maritime supply routes linking individuals and entities” located in the UAE among other countries.

The report goes on to say: “The evidence identified Bosaso, Somalia, as a recurring logistical hub and transit point used by external actors to date, including UAE-based individuals and entities, for personnel and cargo destined for RSF-controlled areas. “Witnesses further reported that UAE-based individuals and entities maintained facilities in Bosaso, including a military base through which foreign contractors transited.” It added that “based on the totality of the evidence”, it found that “individuals and entities operating from, registered in, or linked to the UAE played a significant role in networks involved in the recruitment, financing, transportation and deployment of foreign military contractors and the provision of military-related support benefiting the RSF”.

The report said that this support sustained RSF military operations during a conflict marked by “serious violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights law and the commission of international crimes” adding that this was “particularly clear” in the El-Fasher massacre. The organisation FairSquare, which campaigns against human rights abuses in sport, wrote to Mr Miliband in October urging him to investigate Sheikh Mansour.

This followed an earlier dossier they had sent the Foreign Office in April about his alleged links to the RSF. As deputy prime minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mansour is one of the most senior figures in the Emirati government, and has been a key figure in UAE foreign policy. The dossier notes that a meeting took place in the UAE between General Hemedti, the head of the RSF, and Sheikh Mansour, around seven weeks before fighting broke out between the RSF and Sudan’s conventional army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), in April 2023.

On February 23, 2023, the Emirates News Agency published a photograph and brief details of their meeting, saying they “discussed the fraternal relations and opportunities of enhancing cooperation and joint work in various fields for the benefit of the development objectives and the two countries’ aspirations”. The write-up of the meeting went on to say that Sheikh Mansour “emphasised the UAE’s support for the framework agreement” that was recently signed to establish a new civilian-led government.

The RSF chief then “extended his thanks and appreciation for the UAE’s unwavering and historic stances as well as its supportive initiatives for Sudan’s stability.” Sheikh Mansour is closely linked to two UAE entities that funded a field hospital at the Am Djarass airport in Chad, which the UAE allegedly used to funnel arms and supplies to the RSF, according to the dossier. The hospital was built with financial backing from the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, which Sheikh Mansour is the chairman of, and the Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, where he last year ordered a restructuring of its board of trustees.

A UN report from 2024 noted that its Panel of Experts said reports that the UAE and Chad were “providing military support to RSF through Am Djarass” were “credible”. The UAE said the cargo planes had a humanitarian purpose, “in particular to establish a field hospital in Am Djarass for Sudanese refugees”. Mr Burnham has also faced calls from MPs to take action against the UAE and Sheikh Mansour over their alleged involvement with the RSF.

In September, former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who is chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on Magnitsky sanctions and reparation, said in parliament: “Why in heaven’s name are we not sanctioning key operatives in the UAE now?” adding that it is “high time that we imposed sanctions on those key UAE operatives.” He said: “We can also look at the links back to Sheikh Mansour, who has well-documented ties with the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, and has even been described as Hamdan Dagalo’s closest ally in the UAE.

“In March 2023, Premier League clubs, apparently unanimously, [decided] that they would not allow individuals involved in human rights abuses to own clubs, yet Mansour is still in charge of Manchester City. The question is, why, and why are the Government so determined not to pursue these individuals? “I suspect that the reason involves a lot of money in investments and the ownership of football teams, but that should not stop the Government from pursuing these people, because the UAE would be very suspect in that.”

Mr Burnham has faced wider questions over his relationship with the UAE since City was found guilty. The Telegraph has reported that he oversaw a £55m taxpayer loan to UAE-owned businesses while he was mayor of Greater Manchester. The money was awarded to three Jersey-based property companies ultimately controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, the owner of City, and was used on property developments in Manchester. There is no suggestion the arrangement broke any rules.

The Premier League’s verdict on Manchester City has triggered a diplomatic rift between the UAE and Britain. Earlier this month, the Gulf state threatened to pull billions of pounds of investment out of the UK in retaliation, in a potential blow to plans for a new hi-tech hub between Oxford and Cambridge. Manchester City deny wrongdoing and have made clear their intention to appeal against the decision of the independent commission, which found that the club had used “sham contracts” to disguise secret funding of more than £830m.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The UK supports the vital work of the UN Fact Finding Mission for Sudan and welcomes this important report. “The report highlights the role that external support to both of the warring parties has played in sustaining the conflict. The UK’s position on this is clear. All external support serves only to fuel the bloodshed, and must end. “That is why the UK has imposed an arms embargo on Sudan, is calling for compliance with the existing UN arms embargo on Darfur, and is supporting US-led efforts to extend its scope further.

It is why we have introduced five rounds of sanctions since the conflict began, targeting military commanders and Colombian mercenaries, and illicit gold networks fuelling the conflict. “And it is why the UK will engage all countries with an influence on this conflict to push for peace, and for an end to any external support.” The UAE declined to comment.