John Sleightholme was the chairman of Derby County Football Club. He is a barrister and deputy coroner, [1] and was nominally made chairman and owner of two-thirds of Derby County in October 2003, [2] in a move arranged by Murdo Mackay. There were also two other directors, Jeremy Keith, who owned one-third of the club, and Steve Harding. Mackay soon became more formally involved by Sleightholme, and he was promoted to director of football.
Derby County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football, and has played its home matches at Pride Park Stadium since 1997.
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the philosophy, hypothesis and history of law, and giving expert legal opinions. Often, barristers are also recognised as legal scholars.
A coroner may conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jurisdiction.
In early 2006, the club was facing a boardroom battle between Sleightholme and Keith. Following protests by the Rams Protest Group and RamsTrust, it didn't seem that Sleightholme and Keith would be chairman and chief executive respectively for much longer and, indeed, in April 2006, Sleightholme resigned, [3] stating "My position has been made untenable. Recently it has come to my attention that meetings have been held, important decisions taken and documents signed without my knowledge. Important information has been withheld from me." Keith himself departed later in the month, to be replaced by a new board led by Peter Gadsby. [4]
Peter Gadsby is a millionaire property developer and lifelong Derby County fan who led a consortium to buy out Derby County football club in 2006.
In March 2009, Sleightholme gave evidence in the court case against Jeremy Keith, Murdo Mackay, Derby County's former finance director Andrew MacKenzie, accountant Mark Waters and solicitor David Lowe who were all charged in relation to a fraud allegation centred on a loan from a Panama-based company that effectively saved Derby County after their relegation from the Premiership. [1] Mackenzie, Keith, Mackay and Lowe were subsequently jailed for their involvement. [5] Neither Sleightholme or Steve Harding, were implicated in the fraud, not charged with any offence, while Waters was found innocent [6]
Jeremy Philip Charles Keith became chief executive of Derby County after a corporation he controlled with two others bought the club out of receivership for £3 in 2003. He had previously been a director at Portsmouth and had a financial role at Leeds United. Jeremy Keith has 15 current or previous company director or secretary appointments but only one company, Purus Advisory Ltd, is active.
Murdo Mackay is a Scottish businessman and sports agent. He worked as director of football at Derby County F.C. between October 2003 and March 2006. In July 2009 Mackay was convicted of fraudulently claiming money from the club as commission for brokering a loan, and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Central America, bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half the country's 4 million people.
