Wales’ first elected Reform UK politician refuses to answer questions about business failings and Freemason membership

Martin Shipton

The first Reform UK candidate to win an election in Wales has refused to answer questions about a series of companies he was a director of that went bust owing millions of pounds in total.

Stuart Keyte, who took a seat from Labour on Torfaen council in a February 2025 by-election, also refused to tell Nation.Cymru why he had failed to conform with a council requirement that he should declare his membership of the Freemasons.

A political source drew our attention to four London-based companies that Mr Keyte joined as a director after they were formed and before they went out of business.

The source said: “The four companies follow the same pattern: Keyte belatedly joins (as a director) a core group of directors who initially set up the company, and then the company goes insolvent. This happens in four cases. Sometimes Keyte joins when the company is making a loss. What is going on?”

Cllr Keyte became a director of Packmail Ltd on May 23 2008, three years after the company was incorporated. The company was put into administration in 2010 and dissolved in 2011.

The administrator’s report, filed at Companies House, stated: “There are two registered charge holders The first charge holder is HSBC Bank plc who hold a debenture which was registered on 24 July 2008 The debt owing to HSBC Bank at the date of my appointment was £1,408,574. The second charge holder is HIF who provided an invoice finance agreement to the company and were granted a fixed and floating charge on 19 March 2009. HIF has been fully repaid from book debt realisations.

“I have paid the Bank £22,000 from funds which came under my control and they have received surplus funds of £43,323 directly from HIF. No further recovery is expected on the fixed charge. My solicitors have confirmed the validity of the Bank’s security and, in particular, that the security documentation is sufficient for the Bank to capture the HIF surplus and non factored book debts under its fixed charge.

“The company had 38 employees who all had preferential claims for unpaid wages and holıday pay. A small number of employees also had a claım for arrears of pension contributions.The claims of the preferential credıtors totalled £47,196. I have paid a first and final dividend to preferential creditors of £16,518 62 representing a dividend of 35p in the £ on theır claım.

“ Unsecured creditors, as listed in the directors’ Statement of Affairs, total £1,444,350. Regrettably, there are insufficient funds for a dividend to become payable to the unsecured creditors.”

On the same day that Mr Keyte became a director of Packmail Ltd in May 2008, he became a director of Seckloe 378 Ltd, which had been set up two months before. Over the period March to December 2008, Seckloe 378 made a loss of £818,877. The company was dissolved, having filed no further accounts, in August 2012.

Mr Keyte became director of a third company, Consumer Leads Direct Ltd, on May 29 2007. It had been incorporated in November 1999 and was dissolved in January 2013 with a deficit of £550,856.

The fourth company was set up in 1991. Mr Keyte became a director, also on May 29 2007, and the company was dissolved in September 2014.

Report

The administrator’s report stated: “There are two registered charge holders. The first charge holder is HIF who provided an invoice finance agreement to the company and was granted a fixed charge over book debts and a floating charge over all assets on 6 June 2008. HIF has been fully repaid from book debt realısation. The second charge holder is HSBC Bank who hold a debenture, which was registered on 30 May 2008, and a Legal Assignment, which was registered on 12 November 2008. The debt owing to HSBC Bank at the date of my appointment was £1,403,994. I have paid the Bank £190,000 out of the £200,000 realised for goodwill. The Bank has received a return of £106,041 from the book debts and £9,250 from VAT refunds giving total net realısations from fixed charge assets of £305,291.

“My solicitors, Eversheds, confirmed the validity of the Bank’s security and, in partıcular, that the security documentation is sufficient for the Bank to capture the HIF surplus under its fixed charge.

“Under the Sale and Purchase Agreement, all employees of the company transferred to the purchaser, CLD, ın accordance with the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (“TUPE”). Accordingly, there were no preferential claıms.

“Unsecured creditors, as listed in the directors’ Statement of Affairs, total approxımately £3.4m Regrettably, there will not be a dividend to the unsecured creditors.”

Freemason

A Nation.Cymru reader previously contacted us with evidence of Cllr Keyte’s role as a Freemason, whose members have to swear an oath of allegiance to what has frequently been alluded to as “the Brotherhood”.

Links to Facebook pages show that Cllr Keyte was welcomed to Llantarnam Lodge of the Freemasons in March 2024. A Facebook post states: “[A] warm welcome to Bro Stuart Keyte, our newest joining member. Great night had by all. Well done brethren.”

Torfaen council specifies the information about themselves that councillors are meant to include in their entry to the authority’s register of members’ interests.

The requirement includes: “Details of any (a) public authority or body exercising functions of a public nature; (b) company, industrial and provident society, charity, or body directed to charitable purposes; (c) body whose principal purposes include the influence of public opinion or policy; (d) trade union or professional association;(e) private club, society or association operating within your authority’s area, in which you have membership or hold a position of general control or management.

Cllr Keyte states he is a member of Griffithtown Harriers Running Club and Gwent Mountaineering Club, but he does not declare that he is a Freemason.

We rang Cllr Keyte and asked him what he had to say about both matters: his past business interests and why he had not declared to the council that he was a Freemason.

He responded: “Absolutely nothing”, and ended the conversation.

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