Doncaster Council EGM to reconvene after false accusations fiasco
A chaotic extraordinary meeting of the City of Doncaster Council which was adjourned after false accusation against senior officers will reconvene next week.
Reform UK’s deputy leader, Councillor Jason Charity, read a pre-written statement in the chamber on March 5, 2026, alleging senior officers had altered a motion submitted by party leader, Cllr Craig Ward, without his permission.
However, it transpired that, despite Cllr Ward being “adamant” with other councillors he had not agreed to any changes, the Roman Ridge councillor had indeed given his permission in a WhatsApp message to the chief executive, Damian Allen.
In a statement the week following the meeting, a Reform UK spokesperson said Ward now acknowledged he did not read the email in sufficient detail before responding. Referred to as an “error in judgement he accepts”.
Reform UK had called the extraordinary meeting in hopes of discussing the lease signed between Doncaster Council and the Peel Group over Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA).
The lease was leaked to journalists in January 2026 and a number of clauses reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) and Yorkshire Post.
Cllr Charity wrongly accused officers of altering a motion regarding the lease without Cllr Ward’s permission as the motion proposer.
The ensuing fiasco meant the meeting was adjourned to a later date and the motion on DSA was abandoned without a vote.
Advance UK group leader, Cllr Nicola Brown, subsequently attacked Reform for the chaos in the chamber, saying her party, and the Conservatives, who backed Reform UK in the meeting, were “misled”.
A spokesperson for the City of Doncaster Council said: “Motions put forward for debate in the council chamber are submitted by a requisitioner and go through a due process ahead of them being publicised, ordinarily a week in advance of the meeting.
“Motions’ wording has been agreed before they are discussed in the council chamber – this was the case here. The motion was agreed as a proper and legal motion with the approval of the leader of the Reform Group. It was circulated to all requisitioners ahead of the council agenda being issued.
“If there were any issues with the agreed motions, then they need to be raised with the proper officer at the council before the meeting takes place. The extraordinary full council has been adjourned to a future date to be determined.”
When the meeting is reconvened on April 2, 2026, the agenda will not include the DSA-linked motion.
The agenda, published on the council’s website, includes one single item for discussion – a motion, proposed by Cllr Ward, with concerns about the order of normal full council agendas.
Sources have previously told the LDRS that Reform UK, Conservative and Advance UK councillors would like the period for questions from councillors to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, and her cabinet to be moved to the start of a meeting, rather than come at the end.
On multiple occasions since the May 2025 elections, the meetings have hit the statutory three-hour time limit before, or during, the question period.
It means the council often agrees to forego supplementary questions following the Mayor or cabinet members’ answers.
If questions are to be moved to the start of full council meetings, it would be implemented in the council’s constitution at the annual general meeting in May 2026 and enacted from the July 2026 meeting.