Dispute over airport naming rights reignited

A dispute over the rights to the name of an airport has been reignited.

Businessman Chris Joseph previously requested that the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) paid him £250,000 for the intellectual property rights to the name of Teesside Airport, which he bought in 2015.

Conservative Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen refused and in 2019, Mr Joseph said he would withdraw an intellectual property suit for the good of his own health following online abuse, and the name change went ahead.

But now, Labour Party member Mr Joseph said he would settle his claims for £45,000 towards his human rights organisation and an apology.

He said he was offered £1 for the rights, but never signed anything,

Mr Houchen, who was elected to a third term as Conservative Tees Valley Mayor last week, had previously accused Mr Joseph of “holding Teessiders to ransom”.

In response to the £45,000 offer, Mr Houchen said: "For as long as I’m mayor, this Labour member, supported by a local Labour MP, will not get any money from our airport."

Mr Joseph, who posted a video online in the run-up to the election saying "bin Ben", has now delivered a letter saying he would settle his claims on payment of £45,000 towards his human rights organisation Right Against Might, and a letter of apology from Mr Houchen and the TVCA.

But Mr Houchen said: "This is another attempt to hold our airport to ransom and stop us using its rightful name."

Mr Joseph responded: "That’s never been the case.

"I was the one who proposed it in the first place, why on earth would I not want them to use the name? It is intellectual property."

The five-year-old dispute has also reignited a war of words between Stockton North Labour MP Alex Cunningham and Mr Houchen, who criticised Mr Cunningham in a video post on Facebook for writing to the government about a claim to the airport name.

Mr Cunningham replied he simply wrote seeking some advice for a constituent.

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