Politics
Former Greater Manchester mayor faces scrutiny over Abu Dhabi-linked loans and deleted Manchester City meeting records
October 16, 2026 at 05:33 PM
Coverage
2 reports · 1 in Arabic, 1 in English · over 8 hours
Councillors and former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham are investigating housing loans and unrecorded meetings tied to Manchester City's Abu Dhabi owners.
- Councillors opened an inquiry into over £1bn in housing loans approved under Burnham's mayoralty, including £55m to three Abu Dhabi-owned firms.
- Burnham ordered a full review of his meetings with Manchester City officials after records of two dinners with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak surfaced.
- John Leech, scrutiny committee chair, said the loan approval process had been "very opaque" and the panel wants clearer transparency over approvals.
- Shadow minister Louie French said Burnham must apologise after failing to publish all his Manchester City–related dealings as promised to the Commons.