Knighton first came to prominence in 1989 for his aborted £20 million bid to buy Manchester United, which resulted in him taking a seat on the club's board.

At the time, this was a record figure for a British football club and the offer was accepted by chief executive Martin Edwards.

[7] Knighton promised to invest £10 million in the team's stadium, Old Trafford, as well as re-establish the club as England's top side.

The vehicle for the takeover was a Knighton-controlled company, MK Trafford Holdings, based in the Isle of Man and set up specifically for the purpose.

[3] The MK Trafford investors comprised Knighton, former Debenhams executive Bob Thornton and Stanley Cohen of the Betterware home shopping company.

In 1996, Knighton threatened to sue the local newspaper, the Evening News and Star, and resign from the football club after being "publicly humiliated" over claims he and his wife Rosemary had seen a UFO in 1976.

[20] Irishman John Courtenay was later backed to take over, but negotiations were protracted and Knighton fired manager Roddy Collins for his comments over the deal.

Eventually, after Carlisle were put into voluntary administration, Courtenay purchased the club from Knighton in July 2002 and reinstated Collins.

At the end of the day, the club is a community asset, and any owner should respect that" Since leaving Carlisle United in 2002, Knighton has not returned to the city.

Some coverage of the exhibition appeared in The Daily Telegraph newspaper stating "Canterbury Cathedral offered Christ sculpture 'worth £70 million".