Mayor of Doncaster tells MP to apologise for “blatant lie” over Doncaster Sheffield Airport

Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones has today (19 February) released a statement responding to claims that were printed in a campaign leaflet by Conservative Don Valley MP Nick Fletcher last week.

In a leaflet sent out to constituents, Mr Fletcher claimed that Doncaster Council were responsible for the closure of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

The airport closed in 2022 following a strategic review by owner Peel Group.

Since, the council has been working to create a leasehold agreement with a new operator to reopen the site.

The leaflet read: “Nick is continuing the campaign to to re-open Doncaster Sheffield Airport, challenging the council’s decision to close it.”

In response, Mayor Ros Jones said: “A claim by Nick Fletcher MP that it was “the council’s decision to close” Doncaster Sheffield Airport, is a complete and utter lie!

“City of Doncaster Council had nothing to do with the closure of our airport, quite the opposite in fact, we did everything we could to keep our airport open, including offering to cover its losses whilst a new buyer was found.

“This was a commercial decision by the airport owners, as stated by Anne-Marie Trevelyan the former Secretary of State for Transport at the time said, “it was ultimately a commercial decision made by the owners of DSA”.

“I have written to Nick Fletcher on a number of occasions in relation to where he has stated misinformation.

“On this occasion I expect Nick Fletcher MP to retract this statement and apologise to his constituents and the people of Doncaster.

“All our MPs must be held to account, especially when they purposely lie in an attempt to mislead the electorate.

“Nick Fletcher, as one of our Doncaster MPs, has been updated regularly on the progress to save and reopen our airport and such inaccurate comments do little to help with its reopening.”

Mr Fletcher has since replied with a lengthy post in which he refused to back down from his claim, stating “I will not tolerate being called a liar.”