Plaid Cymru calls for Gething statement on sacking of junior minister after Senedd return

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has written to the First Minister requesting an urgent statement in response to axed minister Hannah Blythyn’s personal statement delivered to MSs today (9 July).

The former Social Partnership Minister, was sacked in May by Vaughan Gething, who accused her of leaking information to the press.

Ms Blythyn, whose speech came following several weeks on sick leave, told MSs that she was not shown any evidence before being sacked and was not advised that there were allegations she had broken the ministerial code.

She has maintained her innocence and told members on her return to the Senedd how the last few weeks have affected her mental health.

Due process

In his letter to the First Minister, Mr ap Iorwerth wrote: “You are on the record as stating that it is your belief that the Member in question was responsible for leaking material to the press, a claim which Ms Blythyn denied at the time, and which was refuted again today.

“I have previously raised with you my concerns that no proper process was conducted prior to the Minister’s removal from office and having heard the Member’s representations today, I remain unsatisfied that due process was undertaken.

“Your authority as First Minister has been significantly undermined by your acceptance of a £200,000 donation and your subsequent disregard of the result of a Senedd vote of confidence.

“We again have two conflicting accounts pertaining to the allegation of the unauthorised release of information which casts a further cloud on your ability to govern without distraction.

“In the interests of transparency and out of courtesy to the Senedd, I ask you to publish all the evidence which supported your decision to dismiss the Deputy Minister and make an urgent statement in the Senedd tomorrow setting out your response to the concerns raised in today’s personal statement by the Member for Delyn.”

Scandal

Mr Gething, who won the Welsh Labour leader election in March, faced a no-confidence motion on June 5 less than three months into his scandal ridden tenure.

Both Ms Blythyn and former Deputy Minister Lee Waters failed to take part in the confidence vote because they were off sick.

In her personal statement, Ms Blythyn said: “I share this now not in search of sympathy – I don’t want people’s sympathy – but because my recent experience has brought home to me that whilst we talk the talk on mental health, there is still more to do to improve our understanding.”

The former minister went on to say that kinder politics calls for “kinder people” adding that although she isn’t “broken”, she now knows that she is “breakable”.

She said: “Our own conduct and character is key to the public having trust in those who serve them and believe that politics can be a force for good.”

Ms Blythyn said it had been a “privilege” to serve in her country’s Government – particularly under the leadership of Mark Drakeford.

Speaking about struggles with her sexuality, she said herself as a younger woman would never have believed that she would go on to spearhead a plan to make Wales the most LGBTQ+ friendly nation in Europe.

Applause.

The sacked minister received a round of applause from politicians on opposition benches after her personal statement – while most of the Labour Senedd group remained quiet.

The First Minister sacked Ms Blythyn after she was accused of handing screen grabs to Nation.Cymru that revealed he had deleted messages in a ministerial group chat during the height of the pandemic.

Ms Blythyn has always denied being the source of the leak telling Labour politicians in the Chamber that she can look all her colleagues “in the eye” and say that she had “never leaked or briefed the media” about any of them.

Nation.Cymru has never revealed the source of the Covid messages.