Councillor removed from committee positions after setting up company with similar name to new council-owned airport business

Cllr David Knight formed Fly Doncaster (Auxiliary Services), with fellow Reform UK councillor Rachel Reed.

He is now listed as an independent on Doncaster’s website.

Cllr Reed stayed on as deputy leader of the council for a few days after the controversy began but has now resigned that post though remains a Reform UK councillor. She has also now resigned her directorship at Fly Doncaster (Auxiliary Services), Companies House records show.

Cllr Knight has been removed from the overview and scrutiny management committee and will no longer chair the health and adult social care overview and scrutiny panel. Cllr Reed is no longer shown on Doncaster’s website as having any committee appointments.

The council had registered Fly Doncaster as an airport management company. Its directors are local government officers listed at Companies House as chief executive Damian Allen, programme director Chris Foster and executive director Deborah Hogg.

Only Cllr Knight is now shown at Companies House as a director of the other company.

Reform UK’s local spokesperson, Cllr Jason Charity, confirmed to Local Government Lawyer that he had told the BBC: “It was Councillor Knight's idea. He thought that the auxiliary services around DSA have not been established, and he thought there was a business opportunity in it.”

Cllr Charity said the business was legal but “not something that Reform UK would have approved” and Cllr Knight made a “big mistake [by] not consulting with local leadership or national HQ”.

Fly Doncaster was formed by the council as part of Labour elected mayor Ros Jones’ efforts to reopen the airport, which closed in 2022 with its then owner Peel Group citing lack of viability.

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority decided in September to reopen it at a cost of £159.52m on top of £16m already committed.

The authority is a partnership of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield councils.

Cllr Knight has been contacted for comment.

Mark Smulian