HERALD EXCLUSIVE
TWO senior figures in the Party of Wales face an internal investigation following allegations of serious misconduct.
A former Plaid Cymru employee made the allegations via Twitter yesterday (Tuesday, November 1).
The Herald has screenshots of the allegations. However, we cannot detail the allegations or identify the persons they relate to for legal reasons.
We spoke with the complainant and respect their request for their identity to remain anonymous.
The former employee has now deleted their tweets and locked their Twitter account.
The tweets allege a toxic culture within Plaid Cymru, echoing the “Pestminster” scandal that engulfed the House of Commons in 2017/18.
We approached Plaid Cymru on Tuesday, November 1. We asked them to respond to the serious allegations, including one of sexual assault. We provided details of the tweets and asked for a response before publication.
A Plaid Cymru spokesperson told The Herald: “Plaid takes all allegations very seriously, and the party has processes in place to investigate them.
“At present, the allegations in question remain just that.
“We ask for everyone to respect the process the party must follow in this situation, and to guard against making any comments that may be considered to be baseless insinuations, or indeed defamatory about the situation or the individuals involved in it.”
The Herald believes the Chair and the Head of the Disciplinary Committee discussed the allegations in a meeting yesterday.
Plaid Cymru came under scrutiny earlier this year for the National Executive Committee’s attempt to rewrite its disciplinary procedure after one completed that did not lead to the result some on the NEC wanted.
As a result, Plaid Cymru said it would revisit and strengthen its disciplinary procedures to provide more protection to those making allegations of abuse.
A Plaid Cymru insider told The Herald: “These are extremely serious allegations.
“The party has covered up other incidents of this nature; however, in this case, the victim going public means that those who have covered up in the past cannot hide from this issue any longer.
“The only way for the party to restore public confidence is through a transparent investigation and, if necessary, strong disciplinary action against those concerned.
“While the investigation takes place, those concerned should not participate in the party’s activities and the party must safeguard the complainant.”
