UK PM Andy Burnham under fire over praise for Manchester City owners and secret meetings

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has come under fire over previous remarks praising Manchester City's owners. He has faced political pressure over the matter. An independent commission has ruled the club guilty in a case involving more than a decade of false agreements used to disguise financial accounts. In an interview given while Burnham was Mayor of Greater Manchester, he thanked City's Abu Dhabi owners for their services to English football. He also said it would be a matter of concern if those parties were to leave football. The issue of the interview and the meetings held with City owners at the time were later brought to light by British political parties. Opposition parties have suspected the government of trying to influence football. Burnham has now agreed to make public details of the secret meetings held with City's leaders at the time. Speaking on the "The Rest is Politics" podcast, Burnham said he would reveal details of the meetings. "The opposition leader has asked for the details of the meetings I held to be made public, and I am ready to do that. I will clearly make public the details of the work done with those parties while I was Mayor of Greater Manchester. The biggest meeting was also held in 2021," he said. When asked whether he regretted the previous remarks, Burnham said political matters and matters of football justice are completely two different things. "I don't accept that I spoke wrongly. I would say football matters and investment matters are completely two different things," he said. "Even if people try to combine the two, they are not things that should be looked at together. The decisions issued by the independent commission in football matters are very serious decisions." But as the appeal stage of the case is also ahead, the Prime Minister said it is better to remain neutral on the matter.