REPORTS that Llangennech protestor Michaela Beddows was suspended by the Labour Party following an open letter written to leader Jeremy Corbyn by a Plaid Cymru MP have been questioned.
As The Herald reported this weekend, Welsh Labour confirmed that Ms Beddows had been ‘administratively suspended’ by Welsh Labour while an investigation into complaints received took place. The story was also covered by the national media and the BBC.
Speaking to The Herald, Ms Beddows said: “I am disappointed and bewildered as to why such a story would be printed without any attempt to contact me, my reputation in the village has been tarnished thanks to these unfounded reports, I am not a member of the Labour party so I cannot be suspended from such. I am really upset that such lies can be printed especially by this newspaper the reporters of which I hold in very high regard.”
However, the Carmarthenshire Labour Party, whose response we withheld on their instruction while they assessed Ms Beddows’ claims that she was not a party member – which were also made to the BBC – disagreed.
“An individual member who holds no official post or candidacy beyond membership has been suspended,” they confirmed.
It was widely believed that an open letter penned by Jonathan Edwards MP detailing a series of allegations, including the sharing of far-right facebook posts, had been partially responsible for the internal investigation taking place.
However, the Carmarthenshire Labour spokesperson told us that the referral had been acknowledged by Welsh Labour some days before this letter was released.
“The suspension was carried out by Welsh Labour following alleged matters being referred from the Llanelli CLP prior to February 12th, when the referral was formally acknowledged by Welsh Labour,” they added. “The actions are a purely internal Labour Party matter and are unrelated to any comments or actions of members, officers or representatives of other parties or organisations, who have no role or status within the Labour Party’s internal organisation.
“As suspension is a neutral administrative act to facilitate proper investigation of allegations, we are unable to further comment on the substance or scope of the investigation as this may be prejudicial to the proper legal operation of the due process. We would hope other people outside the Labour Party will similarly respect the importance of due process being carried out, without external, potentially prejudicial or even unlawful intervention for political purposes. ”
It is unclear how the confusion arose over Ms Beddows’ membership, especially given that in an interview with local media as recently as February 9 she claimed she would be standing as a Labour community councillor in Llangennech.
However, a Labour spokesperson told the BBC that until her suspension, Ms Beddows ‘had not notified the party that she no longer wished to be a member’.
Add Comment