xZ[o\~_q[`$6A ?$E iWRbi%[y_9+N6 xx|s#L}tYlNWW3T0}q=;q^8^aV9[vs!`JrB],ui]}Xj3*u\_FanE?tj=PL>=-Pe$fLNk4dr)|6c|FmH&zmh)R9OL/KaOO| No arrests have been made and officers are working closely with Manchester council.. stream Beth Abbit, editor of the M.E.N's Mancunian Way newsletter, puts readers to the test, Tragedy as woman, 31, dies on way home from work as nightclub shot girl, Kelsey Stuttard, from Cheadle, suffered catastrophic injuries in the 3am smash, 'Hold my hands up' - Graeme Souness admits he got it wrong about Manchester United star Lisandro Martinez, The Argentinian was picked apart following defeat at Brentford but has since been a revelation in red, 'I witnessed my first murder aged 11 and I was stabbed and left for dead - now I fight gang culture', Mark, from Moss Side, became a victim himself after leaving prison for armed robbery. Questions were raised over Mr Burkes dealings with subcontractors working for GB on the schemes, which are thought to include the 14m Bowes Street scheme in Moss Side. An alliance of seven emirates made in 1971, the UAE's native Emirati people have generally been considered content with their stable and wealthy way of life. It is understood that questions have been raised over Mr Burke's dealings with subcontractors working on the projects which were both contracted to a firm called GB Building Solutions. Global Edition. A few weeks later, the city was targeted by a suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a concert in Manchester Arena. In Manchester at the "Peterloo Massacre" of 1819, 11 people were killed and 600 injured by cavalry when attending a speech by Henry Hunt, a campaigner for adults to have the vote. Uefa is now under mounting pressure to act again and demonstrate that such apparent disregard for its rules cannot be tolerated. 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It is made up of 96 councillors. He did not respond when contacted by the M.E.N but is said to be challenging the decision. The Premier League rejected that proposal but says it does ask the government about owners and will have been told that the UAE is a trusted ally. The leader of Manchester City Council has announced that he will step down after 25 years in the role. GB Building Solutions has launched its own investigation after Manchester council suspended its head of corporate technical services, Terry Burke, following allegations that he profited from deals done by the council. Analysis: Political fallout could cost Labour the citys mayoralty and votes in Mays local elections, It was a devastating indictment of one of Britains most powerful councils: a rotten culture of dubious contracts and backroom bullying, where staff were silenced and official records dumped in skips. The police investigation into the case is still ongoing. Whether it is top clubs jostling for a bigger share of TV money, La Liga staging matches overseas, a proposed new Saudi-backed club World Cup, or the threat of a breakaway European Super League, or City apparently flouting FFP, the rules and the established order, seems to be under threat. The petition expressed profound respect for Khalifa and the Federal Supreme Council, the law-making organ of state run by the seven emirates' ruling families. And who can forget the. It is understood that the allegations involve multi-million pound building projects for the city. This despite the club earning praise for the way it has invested 1.45bn of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth since. At the first court hearing on 4 March 2013 in Abu Dhabi, Amnesty and HRW reported that several defendants told the judge they had been "seriously ill-treated during months in detention". Its a city that was standing on the world stage. "I, with another person, initiated the petition, then I was subjected to a smear campaign, arrested for comments deemed to be insulting to the president, and put in jail," he said. You can agree with the principle of FFP or reject it. in 2016 after the European Commission ruled that preferential loans to the clubs and deals on tax and property constituted illegal government help. Liverpool council may have squandered up to 100m of public money, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. A broader organizational review is needed; an introspection that will . Sign up for our daily newsletter to get the day's biggest stories sent direct to your inbox. Please don't include any personal or financial information, for example your National Insurance or credit card numbers. "Therefore anyone can resort to the public authorities to report assault, request protection, or claim compensation and ensure that any person committing any offence or felony is punished under law.". Its findings led Merseyside police to launch Operation Aloft, under which 11 people have been arrested over allegations ranging from fraud to witness intimidation. The fact that a new FFP system was adapted earlier this year, meaning clubs are now prevented from running a deficit of more than 90m/season purely on transfer spending, suggests an acceptance that the original rules were flawed. A senior town hall manager has been suspended amid claims of corruption. The Emirati population, which numbers around one million, are still considered by commentators to be largely content, particularly given the country's stability in a Middle East in turmoil and civil war elsewhere. The investigation escalated in December with the arrest of Joe Anderson, the councils figurehead for 12 years, alongside four other men including Derek Hatton, the 72-year-old leftwing firebrand who ran Liverpool three decades ago. Some have suggested that City's apparent attempts to circumvent FFP are nothing more than a canny and understandable exploitation of various loopholes in the rules, and should be viewed with some sympathy, given the controversy surrounding FFP. The anti-corruption commission will scrutinise the officials for allegedly awarding contracts to various.. Australia One News Page: Thursday, 2 March 2023. It is understood allegations were made involving multi-million pound building projects across the city. "It is a very difficult and ugly feeling when you cannot express yourself because you are in fear of being arrested. Remember that as far back as 2014, Uefa had concerns over the value of City's shirt and stadium sponsorship with airline Etihad, and deals from image rights and intellectual property. has learned. 5 0 obj Several were given severe sentences, including the lawyers Mohamed al-Roken and Mohamed al-Mansoori, both sent to prison for 10 years. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Critics argued it was a restrictive and crude attempt to entrench the status quo, favouring the established clubs with the biggest incomes, and making life difficult for ambitious challengers, contributing to a lack of competition in some leagues. GB has now carried out and completed its own probe, in line with the ongoing police and council investigation, the M.E.N. We along with others, have made clear our concerns about allegations of torture and mistreatment, and some aspects of the way the trial was conducted, such as lack of access to international observers, accusations that defendants could not access their lawyers, and the length of the sentencing.". He became leader in May 1996, a month before the IRA planted a huge bomb outside the Manchester Arndale shopping centre, which was timed to coincide with the Euro 96 football tournament. The UAE authorities' response to the torture allegations, which were raised in court, is to argue that the alleged victims should have reported them to the police. PROBE INTO DEALS: Terry Burke has been suspended from his post at Manchester council. When David Silva, Sergio Agero and Yaya Tour weave their patterns in the Etihad Stadium, the hoardings around the pitch beam "Visit Abu Dhabi, Travellers Welcome" to the 200 countries where Premier League football is viewed a great global advert. A senior town hall manager has been suspended amid claims of corruption. Scousers have got long memories, said one council insider. The UAE authorities have maintained there was due process and a fair trial. Such a denial now appears undermined. The police are also investigating after the case was referred to them by council chiefs. And while some observers will be dismayed by Der Spiegel's rare and fascinating insight into the murky underbelly of the football industry, and the decisions apparently taken by City's hierarchy as they plotted their assault on English football's established order, others will merely view it as reinforcing their suspicions and their perceptions of a game already tainted by a series of financial controversies. Three Florence City Council members submitted their resignation overnight amid a growing corruption scandal. But anyone expecting City to be kicked out of the Champions League is likely to be disappointed. Dine wrote that the British government has followed the trial closely, and the foreign secretary, William Hague, had: "Raised the importance of ensuring the human rights of all Emirati citizens are fully respected. Other allegations of torture included one detainee saying he was "beaten with a plastic tube all over my body"; another wrote he was tied to a chair and threatened with electrocution. The trial before the Manchester Parish Court started last year. An internal auditing process carried out by the council then picked up irregularities. The report said the judge ordered medical examinations of the defendants, so the allegations could be investigated, but both human rights groups say no such investigation has taken place. What Der Spiegel's revelations claim to have shown for the first time however is how it was done, and the extent of the alleged deception. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. The people arrested were mostly members of a long-established Muslim social organisation, al-Islah, who say they are not fundamentalist but do openly take issue with elements of the country's rule. The council is controlled by the Labour Party and led by Bev Craig. We have known since 2014, when City reluctantly accepted a settlement with Uefa that included a 49m fine (two-thirds of which was suspended and avoided) along with restrictions on their European squad and incoming transfers, that the club were found to have breached the FFP rules. The official opposition is the Green Party with three councillors. In Manchester at the "Peterloo Massacre" of 1819, 11 people were killed and 600 injured by cavalry when attending a speech by Henry Hunt, a campaigner for adults to have the vote. The UAE authorities argue it was not the petition itself that led to those posting it being arrested but the continued criticism with which they followed it up. In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, Sir Richard said he wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren, adding: "I don't want to do 60-hour weeks and 12-hour days.". Trusted News Discovery Since 2008. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Amnesty said the treatment of the 94 in the United Arab Emirates, where Sheikh Mansour al-Nahyan's family, rulers of the richest emirate, Abu Dhabi, are dominant, "shows the authorities' determination to crush any form of dissent". She ruled that Elliot and his co-conspirators, Harris and Roberts, were all guilty of conspiracy to defraud. Manchester council has launched an investigation and called in the police after allegations were made against its head of corporate technical services, Terry Burke. Combine that fatigue with fans' tribalistic loyalty to their team, and it is easy to see why sport seems so able to withstand such controversies. Visit our website at www.manchester.gov.uk achieving an annual profit in each of the past four years of accounts, developing a respected youth system, and regenerating parts of east Manchester. % Others however, insist that if clubs sign up to play in Uefa's tournaments, then they should abide by the rules, and that a failure to do so damages the fundamental sense of fair play on which sport is meant to depend. Elliots mother, Myrtle and a former bank teller, Radcliffe McLean are the other two defendants whove been set free. I must admit - Nicky Butt concedes he was wrong about Manchester United hero Casemiro. 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", Nicholas McGeehan, UAE researcher for HRW, describes the country in the light of the recent trial as increasingly "a black hole" for many basic human rights: "In this situation, a Premier League club is being used as a branding vehicle to promote and effectively launder the reputation of a country perpetrating serial human rights abuses," he said. Former Councilmen Jose Huizar and Mark Ridley-Thomas face criminal charges for racketeering and bribery, respectively. Meanwhile, in handing down her judgement, Judge Grainger found Elliot guilty of 17 of the 25 counts brought by the Crown. "That should be of concern to football supporters as well as human rights organisations. It could slash the number of councillors by two-thirds, from 90 to 30, potentially tilting the balance of power away from Labour for years to come. Elliots mother, Myrtle and former Bank Teller, Radcliffe McLean were set free after it could not be proven that they hand any knowledge of the criminal enterprise. Elliot was also found guilty of three counts of engaging in transactions that involved criminal property. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter'. Pastor and . No arrests have been made. Last updated on 7 November 20187 November 2018.From the section Football. A building firm is helping with a council corruption probe following the suspension of a town hall boss. Town Hall Extension, Albert Square, Manchester, M60 2LA. If you think of the city in terms of the early to mid-90s and Manchester today - that's the difference Sir Richard Leese has led," he said. They pointed out that the system allowed for a club like Manchester United to be saddled with hundreds of millions of pounds of debt and interest repayments by its Florida-based owners the Glazers - who also take tens of millions out of the club for themselves each year - yet punished City. No one else employed by the council is currently believed to be involved. Former [] They are thought to include the 14m Bow Street construction scheme in Moss Side and a 6m Building Schools for the Future project at Southern Cross primary school in Chorlton. The remaining three submitted theirs throughout Tuesday. So far the claims of financial malpractice fall into two broad categories; firstly, that sponsorship deals were artificially inflated and not valued fairly or independent (as City previously insisted), with tens of millions of pounds thought to have been paid by commercial partners, actually coming directly and discreetly from the club's owner. "There is insufficient evidence that a multiparty system works in the Arab world," Gargashsaid. Extent of Manchester City's corruption revealed in the full UEFA judgement - Etihad renegotiated deal four times despite being tied to club for 10 years Posted by Biscan's Boots 2 years ago. You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk, 'No one told me it wasn't normal to be hospitalised for period pains. Manchester council has launched an investigation and called in the police after allegations were made against . The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". This despite the club earning praise for the way it has invested 1.45bn of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth since Sheikh Mansour's takeover in 2008, achieving an annual profit in each of the past four years of accounts, developing a respected youth system, and regenerating parts of east Manchester. The reconstruction has been done with a care to appreciate the fans' loyalty through City's long-suffering years and to celebrate the club's heritage and former players in ways no previous Manchester owners ever managed. 2:16. Man United were heavily linked with a move for Dutch attacker Cody Gakpo prior to his move to Liverpool in January. Amnesty and HRW have stated that they believe torture is "a systematic practice" in Abu Dhabi and UAE state security jails, and that complaints that these men were tortured, including to extract confessions, have not been investigated. The two great Manchester football clubs emerged from this industrial tumult and social progress; United formed with the approval of employers at the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1878, City two years later by Anna Connell, vicar's daughter at St Mark's church, Gorton, part of an effort to provide some decent recreation in the toughest of neighbourhoods. In July two lawyers who had defended Ahmed Mansoor in the "UAE 5" trial, Dr Mohamed al-Mansoori and Dr Mohamed al-Roken, were arrested. The Cunard building, on the Liverpool waterfront, is home to the city councils administration. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Anwar Gargash, the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, has rejected critics of the regime, arguing they do not give enough credit for the UAE's achievements, including the "secure and stable livelihood" the UAE enables its residents to have in a trouble-torn region. This decision is subject to an ongoing appeal.. The major northern football clubs have flourished on pay TV after so much industry collapsed around them but the Premier League's economics are such that clubs, Arsenal in the Emirates Stadium apart, struggle to compete against Manchester United's dominant wealth without a billionaire's backing. A mayor accused of a coverup. The 48-year-old outlined he had concerns upon Casemiro's arrival but the Man United ace has since quelled his fears. How all this strife and struggle over the rulers by birth of a complex, faraway country ended up washing into the fabric of Manchester City is a story of our times. HRW made specific reference to Manchester City, arguing that ownership of the Premier League club is enabling Abu Dhabi to "construct a public relations image of a progressive, dynamic Gulf state, which deflects attention from what is really going on in the country". They described prolonged solitary confinement, hooding, sleep deprivation and being subjected to extremes of temperatures. Eighteen months ago, the Independent newspaper claimed that City was making millions of pounds from image rights deals, three years after saying they were forfeiting that income to secure a lump sum to help comply with the FFP rules. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. We have known since 2014, when City reluctantly accepted a settlement with Uefa that included a 49m fine (two-thirds of which was suspended and avoided) along with restrictions on their European. A council spokesman said: We are carrying out an internal investigation into allegations made about a council officer. Sheikh Zayed, who died in 2004, was widely revered as a visionary, planning Abu Dhabi's super-fast development after the oil riches transformed the country from the 1960s, while retaining traditional Sunni Muslim values. The British barrister Baroness Kennedy, co-chair of IBAHRI, said: "Disturbing reports of an increasing catalogue of detention, deportation, intimidation and harassment of lawyers by the UAE authorities is creating a climate of fear among the legal profession seriously undermining the rule of law in the country.". Yip, a former Labour member who left the party 20 years ago, said he had been shocked by the lack of contrition this week from some of those leading the council over the past five years: Has one of them had the decency to hold their hands up and say sorry? Read about our approach to external linking. HRW argues that is not matched by the reality and points to continuing reports of construction workers being deported after going on strike over low pay and dreadful working conditions on projects in the UAE. Racist backroom plotting. In a series of reports, HRW has highlighted exploitative practices, including burdensome recruitment fees charged to workers before they arrive, low pay of around $8 a day in one of the world's richest countries, the prevailing system of being tied to one employer, and the prohibition on forming a union or striking for better terms. However, Parkinson said the city was not back in the dark days of the 1980s but was under the leadership of a new chief executive, Tony Reeves, who was singled out for praise by the governments inspection team. The 94 were tried on charges of plotting to overthrow the UAE government, which remains adamant this was proven against the 69 convicted. La Liga's condemnation of City and PSG will therefore be viewed in that context. over financial fair play (FFP) rules to detract from pride in their club. Mr Burke, from Worsley, Salford, was suspended from his post at the start of July. Kavanagh, his former regeneration chief, has said he had always acted within the rules and would defend his innocence. On 26 June, Amnesty and HRW issued their most serious statement on the case, detailing allegations of "systematic" torture, based on hand-written letters smuggled out of the jails. Back then, Labour managed to hold on to its control of the council partly by expelling Militant members but today the public mood seems more perilous. An internal audit picked up irregularities and an investigation was immediately launched. Nor will claims - however concerning - that executives ignored internal warnings about the reputational risk of striking a sponsorship deal with a Dubai-based construction company accused of mistreating migrant workers, and that a director sought to delay a response to a Freedom of Information request from a respected human rights expert over a commercial deal with the city council, have spoiled the fans' enjoyment of yet another convincing victory. The former Football Association chairman Lord Triesman proposed including in the sports authorities' "fit and proper person test" for club owners consideration of HRW's human rights reports by country. Trusted News Discovery Since 2008. Mitch Englander: Envelopes Of Cash And A Guilty Plea. What is not yet fully known is how much of this Uefa was already aware of, and how much it really cares. Professor Trevor Munroe, Anti-corruption Activist and Executive Director of the National Integrity Action, speaking this afternoon with Nationwide News. Amnesty and HRW denounced the "mass trial of 94 government critics", arguing that the convictions were: "Based on a fundamentally unfair trial probably violated the right of free association was marred by the denial of legal assistance during pretrial incommunicado detention, and allegations of torture. Elliots wife Tasha-Gaye has also been found guilty. GB was not and still is not implicated in Terry Burkes suspension and we have worked with Manchester council to help with their enquiries and have responded in great detail to every question asked by their audit committee.. The keenly watched hearing lasted over 4 hours today. 0:00. In 2009, some fans clubbed together to pay for a banner, draped ever since along the stand opposite the directors' box. The Constitution is made up of seven parts: If you require any help or advice on the Constitution please contact us at committee.services@manchester.gov.uk. Skip to main content. Only a minority of the UAE population has any kind of vote, the ruling families have been in charge for centuries, and in 2013 it remains a crime to criticise the rulers, belong to a trade union or form any organisation not licensed by the regime. 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We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Many of the council's staff are based at Manchester Town Hall . Hatton has not commented on his arrest. Sir Richard Leese: Manchester City Council boss to quit after 25 years 8 September 2021 Getty Images Sir Richard Leese was elected to the city council in 1984 The leader of Manchester City. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". She was also recognised as the Reporter/Presenter of the Year by her news entity. City supporters are used to such scrutiny of course. A building firm is helping with a council corruption probe following the suspension of a town hall boss.