Journalist union condemns attacks on Welsh media from Reform UK

Emily Price 

The National Union of Journalists in Wales has “unequivocally condemned” Reform UK’s recent attacks on the Welsh media.

The statement from the trade union’s Welsh Executive Council was released after it was revealed that Reform’s director of communications Ed Sumner had used a highly offensive expletive to describe a respected Welsh journalist.

Messages from an internal party group chat leaked to Nation.Cymru showed that Sumner had branded Will Hayward a “cunt” because he had questioned why Reform UK wouldn’t elect a Welsh leader ahead of the Senedd election.

Sumner and other senior Reform members in the WhatsApp group chat advised ignoring Hayward’s line of questioning.

When one chat member asked what type of person Hayward was, Sumner responded: “Cunt”.

The leaked messaged came after Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage hit out at BBC Wales.

Farage accused the organisation of left-wing bias because its interim director of nations Rhuanedd Richards had previously worked for Plaid Cymru.

Three weeks later, we reported how Reform UK barrister Adam Richardson had tried to bully Nation.Cymru with threats of legal action.

Richardson claimed Nation.Cymru had breached Sumner’s right to privacy after we named him as implicated in the events that led to the suspension of Reform MS Laura Anne Jones from the Senedd.

In June last year, we had reported how Sumner had sent “sickening” and “hateful” messages to a Tory group chat when he worked as a senior advisor to Jones.

The messages included offensive comments about immigration, diversity and “gays” as well as jokes about a Muslim Senedd Member’s dead father.

Allegations

It was later revealed that the same barrister who contacted Nation.Cymru had been communicating with the Guardian regarding the newspaper’s intention to publish claims that Farage had made racist comments during his school days.

The newspaper reported how Richardson had warned that if “the Guardian proceeds to publish any allegation suggesting that Mr Farage engaged in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour, or that such claims bear upon his present character or fitness for office, proceedings will be issued without further notice.”

Despite this, the Guardian published an article on 18 November with the headline: “‘Deeply shocking’: Nigel Farage faces fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at school.”

It’s understood that at least one other Welsh media outlet has received a legal letter from Richardson.

NUJ Wales likened Reform’s behaviour towards Welsh journalists to that of President Donald Trump.

‘Unacceptable’

Dr Rachel Howells and David Nicholson, co-chairs of the NUJ’s Welsh Executive Council said: “The National Union of Journalists in Wales condemns unequivocally the attacks on Welsh media from Reform UK.

“Nigel Farage, the party’s leader, made a wholly unwarranted personal attack on Rhuanedd Richards, the Director of BBC Wales, who is currently performing the role of Interim Director of Nations for the BBC as a whole.

“Without any evidence to back up his claim that the BBC is biased, he has sought to smear Ms Richards on the basis that she is a former Chief Executive of Plaid Cymru.

“This is unacceptable behaviour, and additionally so from someone who is paid handsomely to present his own show on another broadcaster, and has a vested interest in undermining the BBC.

“Ms Richards, by contrast, is a TV executive of the utmost integrity who is strongly committed to impartial broadcasting, a point she made clearly in a speech to the Voice of Listener and Viewer (VLV) Autumn Conference only this week.

“NUJ Wales also condemns the attempt to bully Nation.Cymru with legal threats following articles it has published about Reform UK, in particular a story that exposed racist, homophobic and other offensive comments made by the man who is now the party’s Director of Communications, Ed Sumner.

“In threatening Nation.Cymru, Reform’s barrister has falsely alleged that the news website breached Mr Sumner’s right to privacy.

“Furthermore, the union is appalled at the revelation that in a message chat with Reform colleagues, Mr Sumner used highly offensive language to describe a respected Welsh journalist.

“It is difficult to believe that Reform UK, a party which currently leads the polls in Britain and has ambitions to form the UK government after the next general election, can hope to retain the confidence of the media by behaving in such a way.

“We have seen how President Trump treats journalists who seek to hold him to account. Reform UK’s recent behaviour raises serious concerns that the party may intend to emulate Trump’s attacks on media outlets if it ever comes to power.”