Reform MS accused of being north Wales’ answer to Del Boy Trotter

Martin Shipton

A Reform UK MS has been compared to the fictional rogue and wheeler-dealer Del Boy Trotter from the TV comedy series Only Fools and Horses after making grandiose claims about the business he founded.

John Clark was elected in May as one of six MSs to represent Bangor Conwy Môn.

One of his constituents wrote to Nation.Cymru stating: “Mr Clark’s own published CV describes him as the ‘Founder and CEO of Artificial Art Ltd’ and describes the business as ‘one of north Wales’s leading digital agencies’, claiming clients including PLCs, NGOs, hospitals, charities and financial-services businesses. That wording remains publicly available on a Reform branch website.

“What particularly interests me is the use of the title CEO and the overall impression of commercial scale and success that was being presented to voters.

“There is, of course, nothing inherently wrong with the director of a very small company describing himself as a CEO. But surely the overall impression matters when those credentials are being used to establish a candidate’s suitability for public office.

“Public company information describes Artificial Art Ltd as a micro company, while corporate data providers report it as employing just one person. Its latest accounts also appear to show negative shareholders’ funds.

“Against that background, describing yourself during a political campaign as the ‘Founder and CEO’ of ‘one of north Wales’s leading digital agencies’ starts to sound rather grandiose.

“It all feels frightfully reminiscent of Derek Trotter appointing himself managing director of Trotters Independent Traders.

“Joking aside, I think there is a serious public interest question here.

“Mr Clark chose to place his supposed commercial experience prominently before voters. Has Nation.Cymru investigated how large and successful Artificial Art actually was, how many people it historically employed, what turnover or commercial activity sat behind the claims being made, and whether his campaign CV gave voters an exaggerated impression of his business credentials?

“In particular, I think it would be useful to establish what sat behind the ‘CEO’ title in practical terms and whether the scale of the business matched the image being presented to the electorate.

“There is now an additional reason why I think this deserves scrutiny.

“The Senedd has been developing substantially stronger rules around honesty and accountability in Welsh politics. The new standards framework includes an explicit obligation on Members not to make deliberately misleading statements and a duty to correct factual inaccuracies at the earliest opportunity.

“Separately, the Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) legislation establishes a recall framework and requires further provision to address false or misleading statements of fact made during election campaigns. The Senedd has been very clear that deliberate deception of voters is an issue it intends the new accountability regime to confront.

“I appreciate that these provisions should not be overstated. Nevertheless, surely that makes the factual position surrounding Mr Clark’s campaign claims even more worthy of journalistic examination.

“The relevant questions seem fairly straightforward:

“What factual representations did Mr Clark make about his business record? Were those representations accurate? If they were not, were they merely puffery and political presentation, or was information presented to voters in a way that materially overstated his experience?

“Given the direction in which the Senedd itself is moving on deliberate deception and political accountability, I would have thought this was an especially pertinent case to examine.

“I am not asking Nation.Cymru to accept my interpretation. I am asking whether you will independently test the claims he chose to make to the electorate against the underlying company records and give Mr Clark an opportunity to explain the apparent disparity.”

‘Micro-entity’

Artificial Art Ltd was established in September 2000 with Mr Clark – whose full name is Thomas John Clark – as the sole director.

The company – initially called Inpressmedia Ltd – was incorporated with Mr Clark and another man called John Michael Clark each being allotted a £1 share.

In its first year of trading, the company had a turnover of £17,147 and made a profit after tax of £3,715. Its principal activity was described as “that of a general commercial nature”.

In the second year of trading it had a turnover of £26,609 and a profit after tax of £5,633.

In 2010, by which time the company was no longer obliged to file annual profit and loss accounts, it declared shareholders’ funds totalling £493.

Its latest accounts, for the year ending March 31 2026, in which it is described as an “audit exempt micro-entity”, show that the firm had net liabilities of £11,522.

Russia

We wrote to Mr Clark, inviting him to comment on the remarks made by his constituent, but he did not respond.

During the Senedd election campaign, historic social media posts by Mr Clark were reported in the Welsh media. These included him stating that “NATO wants to bleed Russia dry” and was “happy to use Ukraine as an excuse”.

We invited him to state whether he stood by these comments, but again he did not respond.

---

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.