NEW: Brentford FC co-owner bankrolled Andy Burnham’s leadership campaign. As the Prime Minister comes under pressure…

NEW: Brentford FC co-owner bankrolled Andy Burnham’s leadership campaign. As the Prime Minister comes under pressure over potential UAE links, more details of his funding arrangements emerge. Burnham’s position is becoming increasingly untenable. Here’s what I’ve discovered:🧵

On July 15th, Andy Burnham accepted a £25,000 donation from Brentford FC co-owner Gary Lubner. Five days later, he was Prime Minister. The money was earmarked for a Burnham “leadership campaign”.

On June 9th, just nine days before Burnham’s by-election in Makerfield, Lubner pumped £175,000 into the think tank once known as Labour Together. He has now given the group over £2 million. Under Morgan McSweeney, Labour Together was caught concealing £739,492 in donations.

Brentford FC shareholder Gary Lubner has injected £7.5 million+ into Labour over the last five years. He has said that he was first convinced to back the party after a private meeting with Rachel Reeves in late 2021. Reeves went on to receive £106,000 in donations from Lubner.

In 2024, Labour MP Nicholas Dakin received £5000 from Lubner, twelve months before he bought a stake in Brentford FC. In July, Dakin was made Burnham’s private secretary. Labour’s Chief Whip described the appointment as a “clear signal of that change we are trying to achieve”.

Yvette Cooper received £210,000 from Lubner to pay for three members of staff. The disgraced Labour Together think tank, which was also funded by Lubner, provided Cooper with staffing services worth £112,150. Shortly after taking office, Burnham appointed Cooper to his cabinet.

Kanishka Narayan received £7500 from Gary Lubner. He was gifted an additional £10,000 by Danny Luhde-Thompson, a strategic advisor at the tax haven-based hedge fund Quadrature Capital, and his wife Cressida Pollock. On July 20th, Burnham appointed Narayan as Minister for AI.

Labour’s Dan Tomlinson also received £7500 from Gary Lubner. Tomlinson was gifted an additional £6250 from Trevor Chinn and £5000 from Martin Taylor, two more financers of Labour Together. On July 22nd, Burnham appointed Tomlinson as Minister for Growth.

This year alone, megadonor Martin Taylor has pumped £525,000 into the scandal-ridden think tank, now re-branded as ThinkLabour Limited. Gary Lubner has given £400,000. David Sainsbury, another financier of Andy Burnham’s leadership campaign, has put in £250,000.

Lobbyist Alison Phillips oversaw the rebranding of Labour Together. Soon after, she resigned as CEO to join Team Burnham. Burnham’s leadership bid received £22,186 worth of support from her former employer. On July 20th, Phillips was appointed as the PM’s deputy chief of staff.

David Sainsbury financed the Burnham campaign to the tune of £164,347.42, spread across four separate payments. Last October, he gifted £40,000 to Bridget Phillipson, spread across two payments. On July 28th, Burnham appointed Phillipson as Labour Party chair.

Before Andy Burnham even arrived at No. 10, James Purnell was announced as his chief of staff. He had reportedly attended dinners at the home of Labour megadonor and now Brentford FC co-owner Gary Lubner in the past. Now, he is desperate to dismiss calls for an early election.

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