Plaid Cymru MS Sian Gwenllian broke code of conduct by sharing confidential information in ‘groping scandal’

Martin Shipton

Plaid Cymru’s former group whip in Cardiff Bay Sian Gwenllian technically broke the Senedd’s Code of Conduct when defending herself against an allegation that she covered up an incident when an MS groped a young woman in a taxi.

The Senedd’s Standards Committee has upheld a complaint made by an ex-Plaid staffer, but decided that Ms Gwenllian should face no sanction for revealing details of a confidential letter to him from the Commissioner for Standards to Nation.Cymru.

Last year Rhys ab Owen was suspended from the Senedd for six weeks for his unacceptable behaviour, which happened when he was drunk.

Cover up

Later, former Plaid staffer Math Wiliam released to Nation.Cymru sections of his diary in which he accused Ms Gwenllian, the MS for Arfon, of covering the incident up, alleging that she took no action when it was first reported.

Responding to Mr Wiliam’s allegations, Ms Gswenllian said: “I refute in the strongest possible terms any allegations of cover-up or hypocrisy. Complaints along similar lines were made to the Standards Commissioner. All the complaints were investigated and quickly dismissed.”

Plaid Cymru issued an extract from a letter from the Commissioner to Mr Wiliam that said: “I found no evidence of any cover up during my investigation, I was satisfied that the Member dealt with the matter in accordance with the then far from satisfactory Plaid Cymru processes.

“I am unclear why you assert that it is clear from my report that the Member failed to challenge Mr ab Owen’s behaviour. You have not seen my report. From my interviews of both persons, it is clear that the Member did challenge his conduct. You are also incorrect when you assert that she had already investigated and dismissed the internal complaint before I informed her of the complaint I was investigating.

“The Member provided me with a full explanation of her actions. The Member was dealing with a highly sensitive matter and was under no obligation to explain her actions to anyone else.”

Code of conduct

Mr Wiliam complained to the Standards Commissioner, Douglas Bain, that Ms Gwenllian had breached the MSs’ code of conduct by sharing details of his confidential letter.

Mr Bain decided it would be wrong for him to investigate this complaint, and it was passed to his counterpart in Northern Ireland, Melissa McCullough, for her to look into. For the purposes of the inquiry, Ms McCullough was appointed Acting Standards Commissioner for Wales.

Her inquiry report was passed to the Senedd’s Standards Committee, which has now published its own report, which states: “He [Mr Wiliam] alleged that in sharing this information with her party, and ‘consenting’ for it to be shared publicly, Siân Gwenllian MS may have broken rules 15 and 17 of the Members’ Code of Conduct

“In her assessment of the complaint, the Acting Commissioner considered the following rule from the Code of Conduct as the most relevant: Rule 15: “Members must, in relation to the disclosure of information that is confidential or otherwise protectively marked, only disclose it when authorised to do so by the person or authority controlling the information or when disclosure is required or permitted by law; only use information received in confidence in their capacity as a Member of the Senedd and not use, or attempt to use, such information for any malicious purpose or the purposes of financial or any other personal advantage; and not prevent any person from gaining access to information as permitted by law. The Acting Commissioner set out in her report that she did not consider rule 17 to be engaged, as there was no evidence of the Member not co-operating with the Commissioner for Standards.

“The Committee noted that the Member did not contest the fact that she disclosed confidential information. She admitted to disclosing three sentences from the Commissioner’s confidential letter she received dated March 13 2024 that explained the Commissioner’s reasons for considering other complaints made by the Complainant against her to be inadmissible.

“The Committee noted the Acting Commissioner’s view that the extracts from the correspondence disclosed by the Member indicated she was seeking to defend herself from the allegations Nation Cymru might publish.

“The Committee accepts the finding of the Acting Commissioner that based on the evidence, the Member did not disclose the Commissioner’s confidential outcome letter to the Plaid Cymru Group, the journalist, or anyone else. As stated above the Member admitted to disclosing excerpts from the Commissioner’s letter that she understood were confidential.

“The Committee noted that the Commissioner addressed the issue of the release of the extracts from the letter at the point of publication. The article now has an explaining editor’s note that the information was shared without consent and the Commissioner has accepted an apology from Plaid Cymru.

“The Committee also noted that the Acting Commissioner concluded that the Member did not approve or seek to convey the message, ‘We have permission to share this’, to the Plaid Cymru Press Team.

“The Acting Commissioner concluded that: “By disclosing the three sentences from the Commissioner’s letter, it is my view that Ms Gwenllian breached Rule 15(i) of the Code of Conduct. I consider that Ms Gwenllian was not seeking to gain a ‘personal advantage’ but rather was reasonably defending herself, and therefore I do not believe that she breached Rule15(ii) of the Code. Rule 15(iii) is not engaged.”

Integrity

The Committee agreed, stating: “Having considered the Commissioner’s findings and conclusions, along with the supporting evidence provided, the Committee agreed that a breach Rule 15 (i) of the Code of Conduct as identified by the Commissioner had occurred. The Committee finds that Sian Gwenllian MS breached Rule 15(i) of the Code of Conduct. The Committee considers a breach of the Code of Conduct by any Member of the Senedd to be a serious matter. The reputation of the Senedd as an institution, and the public’s trust and confidence in it, rely upon Members demonstrating integrity and leadership through their actions.

“The Committee shares the view of the Acting Commissioner that the Member shared this information in order to defend herself from inaccurate reports being made about inadmissible complaints. There is no evidence of an intention to acquire any personal gain from the sharing of this information. However, in seeking to rebut allegations made in relation to other complaints, the Member inadvertently made herself subject to a further complaint.

“Members should remember the importance of respecting the confidentiality requirements set out in the Code and be mindful that express permission to share such information must be sought. In reaching its decision, the Committee took into account the Member’s acceptance of her action being a breach of the Code, and that she did not explicitly authorise the release of the information for print. However, in sharing excerpts of the letter, the Member did clearly breach the confidentiality rules in the Code of Conduct.

“The Committee finds that the Member is in breach of the Code of Conduct but, given the mitigating circumstances outlined above, consider that no further action is warranted.”

Mr ab Owen was expelled from Plaid Cymru and now sits as as an Independent MS.