Skip to content
ThreadOut
Jody McIntyre@jodymcintyre_ · Oct 5, 2026

EXCLUSIVE: Andy Burnham donor is vice-chair of UAE parliamentary group. It has emerged that a key funder of Burnham’s…

14 tweets2 min read♥ 9.2Koriginal

Summary

An investigation reveals that Andy Burnham's key campaign donor, Labour peer David Blunkett, serves as vice-chair of the UAE parliamentary group, raising questions about potential foreign influence. Multiple UK politicians across both major parties who chair or serve on the UAE APPG board have received substantial donations from Emirati sources and maintain close ties to pro-Israel lobbying groups.

Summarized by ThreadOut AI from the full thread. May miss nuance — read the thread below.

  1. #1

    EXCLUSIVE: Andy Burnham donor is vice-chair of UAE parliamentary group. It has emerged that a key funder of Burnham’s Makerfield campaign serves on the board of the United Arab Emirates APPG. Growing questions for the PM on Abu Dhabi connections. Here’s what I’ve discovered:🧵

  2. #2

    Labour peer David Blunkett was a central funder of Andy Burnham’s by-election campaign. The day Burnham won in Makerfield, he registered thousands more in Manchester mayoral donations, including from Blunkett. But Blunkett is also on the board of the United Arab Emirates APPG.

  3. #3

    Ex-Home Secretary David Blunkett is a longstanding supporter of controversial lobby group Labour Friends of Israel. Burnham previously served as Blunkett’s private secretary, after which they reportedly “became close”. Both were key supporters of Tony Blair’s invasion of Iraq.

  4. #4

    Another vice-chair of the UAE parliamentary group is Tory MP Mark Garnier. In 2012, Garnier registered a £3500 donation from the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. He has also twice accepted trips paid for by Conservative Friends of Israel.

  5. #5

    The UAE parliamentary group is chaired by Tory ex-Deputy PM Oliver Dowden. In January, Dowden registered a £13,645 donation from the Emirati Embassy in London. Dowden, a “strong supporter” of CFI, has previously said he was “very pleased” with Keir Starmer’s statements on Gaza.

  6. #6

    Last October, former Deputy Prime Minister Dowden registered a £7250 donation from the UAE Embassy. In January, the UAE parliamentary group were hosted in Abu Dhabi by the Emirati government on a trip worth £22,501. Dowden was accompanied on the trip by Labour MP Dan Carden.

  7. #7

    Former LFI chair Steve McCabe also served on the board of the UAE parliamentary group. In February 2023, McCabe registered a £6051 donation from the Emirati Foreign Ministry. That same month, he delivered a personal gift from Starmer to Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

  8. #8

    From 2019-24, McCabe received over £10,000 worth of donations from LFI. As an MP, McCabe reportedly promised that the Israeli state could “rely” on Labour. At a 2021 LFI lunch, McCabe announced that he was working with Keir Starmer to make Labour a “home for friends of Israel.”

  9. #9

    Until last year, John Woodcock was the government’s “independent adviser” on political violence, but he is also a former vice-chair of the UAE parliamentary group. Woodcock has previously accepted donations from AICE, a think-tank co-founded by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

  10. #10

    Ex-Conservative minister Leo Docherty was another vice-chair of the UAE parliamentary group. In 2024, Docherty said that he was “immensely proud of the F-35 project” and described the Israeli state as “an extremely important ally”. He now works for surveillance firm Palantir.

  11. #11

    In May 2023, then Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood praised the UAE for “discreetly shaping” events in the region. From 2021-23, he received donations of over £19,000 from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2017, Ellwood described himself as a “longstanding friend of Israel”.

  12. #12

    Days before the Man City verdict, chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak met with Burnham’s Trade Minister, Jonathan Reynolds. In 2018, Reynolds was hosted by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He had previously worked as an assistant to James Purnell, Burnham’s new chief of staff.

  13. #13

    The Mandelson-McSweeney corruption scandal eventually brought down the Starmer regime. But now, can Burnham survive the Emirati debacle? These investigations take MANY hours of meticulous research. Please consider contributing to support what I do: chuffed.org/project/189578…

  14. #14

    EXCLUSIVE: Key Burnham donor is vice-chair of UAE parliamentary group: jodymcintyre.substack.com/p/exclusive-ke… Subscribe to read my investigations before anyone else: jodymcintyre.substack.com/subscribe Follow @jodymcintyre_ for more on this story as it develops.