Image source, Reuters

Andy Burnham is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Downing Street later today following his third Prime Minister's Questions.

Leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch pushed the prime minister on a number of issues, spanning topics from energy security through to the Brexit referendum and Russian interference.

On the latter, Burnham told the Commons "we know hostile actors have sought to interfere in democratic process" - but it followed him scaling back claims earlier in the week that it was "clear" Russia had interfered in the Brexit referendum.

Meanwhile, the prime minister rejected accusations he was delaying addressing energy security issues for fear of a row with his backbenchers - he said decisions on the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the North Sea had been delayed in the courts under the Conservative government.

Progress with both welfare and social care was also put to the PM - who pledged to "bring down the welfare bill" and said he wants to "get on and build this national care service".

And just before the session began, news emerged of two hospitality dinners Burnham had attended with the Manchester City football club chairman while mayor of Greater Manchester, which were not included in a statement released by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority earlier in the week.

Addressing MPs today, the PM said he is "very happy for everything to be set out in full" and added that the club had not raised the situation it now finds itself in with him.

We'll be closing our live coverage shortly. We've got more on the latest Man City developments as well as on today's upcoming meeting between Burnham and Zelensky.

Image source, PA Media

Before this week's PMQs, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told BBC Radio 5 Live there had been no attempt to cover up that Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dinner twice with the chairman of Manchester City football club, as reported below.

It comes after it emerged the then-Greater Manchester mayor had two hospitality dinners with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at matches in 2017 and 2018. These details weren't in a statement released by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) on Monday.

Burnham had declared those dinners at the time but later the declarations were deleted, as was apparently the usual practice of the GMCA.

Nandy stressed there had been no attempt to cover it up and said it would have been odd if Burnham hadn't met the chairman of Manchester City, "one of the most successful football clubs in the world that over a decade earlier had decided to put significant investment into an area of Manchester that he was responsible for".

As a reminder, during PMQs Burnham was asked whether anyone linked to the running of Manchester City football club had raised the charges they've now been found guilty of with him or members of his team.

Burnham said no, adding that he was happy for "everything to be set out in full".

Archived document reveals Burnham’s Manchester City meetingspublished at 14:07 BST 14 October

14:07 BST 14 October

By Tom Edgington

At PMQs a little earlier, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he had asked the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) “to set out a full statement of my key dealings with the owners of Manchester City football club”.

That statement - published on Monday - said Burnham had a meeting with club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK government’s Global Investment Summit in October 2021.

The statement said he was also a guest of Manchester City at “home matches on a small number of occasions”.

It said they included “attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the chairman informally in the stands”. It said these meetings “have been declared in the usual way”.

BBC Verify has located a document from 2020 showing Andy Burnham’s register of interests as mayor of Greater Manchester, which was first reported by the Sun this morning.

The document, signed by Burnham on 7 December 2020, declares two dinners with Mubarak at the Etihad stadium - one in August 2017 and one in April 2018.

BBC Verify accessed an archived version of it from the Wayback Machine - an internet archiving website. We have asked the GMCA why the date on its statement does not match these dates on the register of interests document.

Image source, Getty Images

Recent claims from Andy Burnham that Russia had interfered with the 2016 Brexit referendum formed one of Kemi Badenoch's criticisms in the chamber this afternoon.

The prime minister told The Rest is Politics podcast , externalon Monday he had had a "clear answer" that Russia interfered in the 2016 vote when he asked about it as he came into Downing Street.

The prime minister was later forced to clarify his comments - and a No 10 spokesperson said that while the prime minister believed it was highly likely Russia tried to influence the referendum result, he did not believe those efforts were successful.

Yesterday, in an annual update, the head of MI5 said it was "not new news" that there had been attempts from Moscow but distinguished between "interference attempted" and "outcome achieved".

Today, the prime minister said "we know hostile actors have sought to interfere in democratic process", as Badenoch asked him whether he ever tired of "putting his foot in his mouth".

Burnham's comments on the Brexit vote come as he has openly said he wants "deeper cooperation" with the EU. He has, however, emphasised that Labour's manifesto commitments to not return to the single market, the customs union, or freedom of movement, will stay in place until the next election.

Here's what we've just heard as PMQs returned for the first time since party conference season concluded:

• Before his head-to-head with Kemi Badenoch, Andy Burnham said he was not told by anyone associated with running Manchester City football club about matters relating to the recent charges they have been found guilty of - after being asked about it by a backbench MP

• The first of Badenoch's questions drilled into Burnham's recent podcast appearance in which he suggested Russia influenced the Brexit referendum - does he ever get tired of putting his foot in his mouth, she asked
• Burnham replied that the government should be calling out hostile actors after they have "sought to interfere in the democratic process"
• Onto the UK's energy security, and the Tory leader asked why Burnham is delaying the approval of the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields; the PM said he will set out the government's decision shortly
• Badenoch, though, accused Burnham of delaying the decision to appease backbenchers, and suggested this also applied to arguments about welfare after Labour MPs revolted when Keir Starmer planned benefit cuts
• The prime minister replied that Labour had commissioned the Milburn report - which looks at young people and work - and said: "We will bring down the welfare bill"
• The conservative leader again accused Burnham of avoiding "difficult decisions" as she looked ahead to the Budget, which takes place in a fortnight, but the PM replied by citing his promise to adjust the triple lock to fund a new national care service
• Before finishing, Burnham took the opportunity to praise Kemi Badenoch's conference speech in which she expressed fury at Reform UK's Suella Braveman for her comments on English identity

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the House of Commons

Green MPs Sian Berry and Hannah Spencer look stony-faced during the PM’s sharp criticism of their party’s position on Zionism

Conservative MP Harriet Baldwin turns the discussion to the Green Party's recent motion declaring Zionism a form of racism.

She asked the PM to make it clear whether he would rule out cooperating with the Greens after what she calls the "Green Party's descent into the most abhorrent antisemitism" .

Burnham condemns the motion "unequivocally" - calling it "wrong" and "antisemitic".

"This side of the House will have nothing to do with it," he adds. "We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds a position that has recently been adopted."

Image source, House of Commons

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says young men from Iran are coming into the UK "every single week", and some of them "pose a genuine security threat to our nation".

He asks Burnham whether it's time for the government to "recognise that what's going on in the English Channel is a national security emergency".

Before addressing the question directly, Burnham references threats to Nigel Farage's safety, saying "there's a lot we disagree on, but I agree with his right to say it". Burnham says he'll work hard to secure Farage's and other politicians' safety.

On Iran, Burnham acknowledges issues at RAF Fairford and says they've been dealt with by police and security services.

"We do need to get boat crossings down, I hope he would recognise that they are coming down. Removals are up," adding: "There's much more to be done but there's clearly progress in the right direction."

Before moving on, the Speaker says they risk running out of time for all questions, suggesting Burnham needs to "speed up some of the answers".

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, PA Media

The Liberal Democrats have long seen offering a punchy public critique of President Trump as something it is important for them to do.

They argue that it is something, in their view, the Conservatives are often unwilling to do and the government is unable to do - such is the need to be diplomatic and maintain a decent relationship with the White House.

Ed Davey spoke bluntly about President Trump’s diesel deal with Russia - and invited the prime minister to do the same.

Instead, Andy Burnham’s language about Ukraine’s predicament as a result of that deal was powerful - it was “another dark and difficult moment for him”, Burnham said, referring to President Zelensky, who is visiting Downing Street this afternoon.

But he resisted any temptation to criticise the White House, saying it was his job "to try to repair bridges so the support comes back” - in other words try to keep Washington on board in its support for Kyiv..

He added that extra UK support for Ukraine is coming - saying that Zelensky "won’t be going away from Britain today empty handed.”

Davey now turns to the US, noting that ahead of the mid-term elections in November, President Donald Trump has done a deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to buy diesel from Russia.

The Lib Dem leader asks if Burnham agrees this is a "shameful betrayal" of the European people and their security.

Firstly, Burnham refers back to Davey's comments on social care, saying he will arrange "a new round of cross-party talks" on the matter.

Then, responding to his comments on the US and Russia, the PM says he called Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday because he recognised "it was another very dark and difficult time for the Ukrainian leader" as the war pushes into the winter.

"What I have to do in my role is to try and repair bridges so support comes back," Burnham says. "That is the role I intend to play. It's the right role."

He says he will listen to Zelensky closely and that the Ukrainian leader "won't be going away from the UK today empty handed."

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the House of Commons

There are ironic cheers from the Tory benches as Sir Ed Davey gets up to speak.

The Lib Dem leader has had a bumpy few weeks with talk of leadership challenges, which he appears to have seen off.

Leader of the Lib Dems, Ed Davey, stands to ask a question on social care.

He says he was "delighted" with Burnham's announcement over the summer that there would be cross-party talks on the issue.

Davey further cites Burnham saying when he previously tried to address the issue back in 2009, his mistake had been leaving it too close to an election.

Davey asks whether he still thinks this now - and when the next round of talks will be.

Burnham says he is "happy to admit that again now" and stresses this is "not an issue for point scoring".

"It will be difficult but let's get on and build this national care service," he says.

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the House of Commons

Burnham ends with a swipe at Reform, prompting a flurry of head shaking on the Reform bench.

Suella Braverman is now trying to catch the speaker’s eye.

On the budget, Badenoch says she met a beauty salon owner who is struggling with the Labour government's tax rises, saying she is "dipping into her pension to pay the young people she employs".

Badenoch asks whether Burnham is "too busy appeasing his MPs, excusing his own mistakes and avoiding difficult decisions to give the country the leadership it needs".

Burnham says he used his Labour party conference speech to face up to difficult decisions, including adjusting the triple lock to fund the new national care service.

Before bringing his exchange with Badenoch to an end, Burnham commends Badenoch for what she said during her party conference speech, when she drew a line with Reform UK for suggesting that her children "weren't British".

"That [what Reform said] is wrong in every single respect, she was brave and she was right to call it out, that's what I want to see more of in the next decade as we go forward".

For context: In her Tory conference speech Badenoch expressed anger at Reform MP Suella Braverman's argument that, given her Asian heritage, she believed herself to be British but not English. Badenoch said as the mother of mixed-race children "I don't want to explain to my son, when we're watching our brilliant England team play football, that some people don't think our black players are English".

Image source, House of Commons

Chris Mason
Political editor

It’s the first Prime Minister’s Question Time since Manchester City was found guilty of having “systematically” broken Premier League rules - and the first question to Andy Burnham is about it.

The PM said - of his dealings and conversations with the club - that “I am very happy for everything to be set out in full.”

And he said the situation the club finds itself in has not been raised with him by the club.

The Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch suggested Burnham facing questions about Man City “doesn’t sound” like it will be “going away.”

Downing Street are at pains to insist the investigation, appeal and associated processes involving Manchester City are independent and it is right for him to keep his distance from that.

Badenoch says she didn't, in fact, ask the PM about the Milburn report, but says that it should have been set out before now.

She then refers to an interview with the BBC on Sunday, in which the defence secretary refused to say when the government will meet the target of spending 3% of GDP on defence.

"This the money Britain needs to keep us safe," Badenoch says.

Why won't the PM announce a date for 3% of defence spending in this month's budget, she asks.

Burnham says he is meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this afternoon and that as the UK's leader he will "honour commitments" to Ukraine and Nato.

Burham then criticises previous comments the Tory leader has made over defence, saying: "She comes here every week and poses as the world leading authority on defence."

Image source, House of Commons

Bandenoch accuses Burnham of delaying a decision on energy to avoid a row with his backbenches - just, she says, as he is avoiding another row on cutting welfare.

She cites a report in The Times, external that says there are two million claiming sickness benefits who "may not be sick" - and adds that the last time a PM tried to reform welfare, Labour MPs stopped him.

She asks Burnham if he is "afraid" to cut benefits as he doesn't want a fight with his backbenches.

Burnham responds saying Labour commissioned the Milburn report, external and adds he doesn't want young people in their 20s to be stuck on benefits.

He says we "do need better mental health support" and that he has argued for a different education system with parity for technical education.

We will bring forward the Milburn report soon, he continues, and "we will bring down the welfare bill".

Badenoch says Burnham will "say anything" instead of dealing with tough decisions - like on Britain's energy security.

She then references decisions on the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the North Sea, and asks when he will stop "faffing about" and give the sites the go ahead.

Burnham replies that he is waiting for the government process that was struck down by the courts under the Conservative government to be fixed.

He says he will take a "pragmatic" approach on oil and gas and set out the government's decisions shortly.

Badenoch says you can't fight misinformation with more misinformation, before she goes on to ask Burnham if he agrees with what the head of MI5 said, which was that talking up Russian interference was a mistake.

Burnham goes back to whether Badenoch has read the Russia report mentioned earlier, and whether she read the head of MI5's full comments and whether she heard comments from the former head of MI6.

"If she had, she wouldn't have made the statements she just made in this house", Burnham says, adding that "it's important that we're clear-eyed about what happened in the past".

Outside actors have interfered in our democratic process, and it's "inconceivable that that was not taking place across the whole of the last decade".

Image source, House of Commons

Burnham answers by saying the UK has "lived through a decade of division", adding "we know hostile actors have sought to interfere in democratic process."

"We need to call that out" and look straight at it, he says.

The PM then quotes Badenoch's previous comments, given in Parliament, that she had not read the Russia report.

"It's because they didn't want to see it. They wanted to look in the other direction," Burnham says.

He concludes by saying he won't do the same.