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Rod Liddle calls for police boss role to be scrapped after Welsh language attack clash

13 May 2021 3 minute read
Arfon Jones, former North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner at Police HQ in Colwyn Bay. Right, Rod Liddle’s column that got him in hot water.

Rod Liddle has called for elected police bosses to be scrapped after one suggested he “should be investigated” over a joke about the Welsh language.

Writing in the Spectator this week, the columnist said that he had spoilt his ballot paper in Thursday’s elections in protest against the Police and Crime Commissioner role.

It comes after North Wales PCC Arfon Jones, who retired last week, reported the “morally repugnant” Rod Liddle in 2018.

Rod Liddle had suggested that the Second Severn Crossing be called “something indecipherable with no vowels, such as Ysgythysgymlngwchfwch Bryggy”.

The bridge, he said, linked “their rain-sodden valleys with the First World”.

Arfon Jones said at the time that he wanted action taken against the columnist over his “irresponsible” comments about Wales.

The PCC said the comments were not criminal but urged the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), to take action against Liddle and the Sunday Times, where the comments were printed.

In an article in the Spectator published this week, Rod Lidde said that he had a “personal gripe” with the Police and Crime Commissioners role.

“A few years back a Welsh politician suggested that I should be investigated for hate crimes because I joked that the Welsh language seemed somewhat short of vowels, and he referred the matter to his local police force,” he said.

“I contacted the Welsh fuzz to suggest that the politician be prosecuted for wasting police time, only to be told that the imbecilic Noggin the Nog in question was actually the local police and crime commissioner.

“Get rid of them all, now (the only major party which proposes such a thing is the Social Democratic party, incidentally).”

‘Unpleasant’

Reacting to Rod Liddle’s outburst at the time, North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones said: “I consider it a badge of honour to be attacked by someone like Rod Liddle in a right-wing publication as it indicates I must be doing something right.

“It seems when it comes to belittling people Mr Liddle can dish it out but can’t take it – I suppose it means he doesn’t have to come up with anything original in his columns but can just recycle his unpleasant prejudices instead.”

IPSO ultimately rejected complaints of discrimination, saying the editor’s code did not apply to groups of people.

In this week’s column, Rod Liddle went on to describe the police and crime commissioner role as “an expensive and damaging waste of time and money”.

“I would like to see our police depoliticised, not beholden to the reflexive jiggery-wokery of failed politicians and their deranged obsessions,” he said.

“The fact that the police today seem to spend 90 per cent of their time investigating imaginary hate crimes is surely the consequence of them being instructed to do so by Labour and liberal politicians who believe that these largely chimeric instances are more important than property theft or stabbing or drug-dealing.”


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Huw Davies
Huw Davies
3 years ago

Does Mr Liddle live in Wales?. If he doesn’t he can’t make a protest vote

Anthony
Anthony
3 years ago
Reply to  Huw Davies

God help him if he did 😂

Cymreigiwr
Cymreigiwr
3 years ago
Reply to  Anthony

Kent, surely?

stuart stanton
stuart stanton
3 years ago

Wiltshire I believe is where the mythical Welsh Hate Crime police will find him. Bit of a lad eh?

Cerith Griffiths
Cerith Griffiths
3 years ago

I think the name this idiot came up with is better than the Prince of Wales bridge.

Richard M Buck
Richard M Buck
3 years ago

I always reckoned they should have renamed the old bridge Pont Siarl so the new one could be Pont Dau.

Huw Roberts
Huw Roberts
3 years ago

Perhaps Mr Liddle might like to comment on the recently elected commissioner for Wiltshire police who has now been disqualified because of a previous drink drive conviction. The re-run will cost a million pounds. That is a genuine waste of money. Over to you Mr Liddle.

hdavies15
hdavies15
3 years ago
Reply to  Huw Roberts

Possibly a drinking buddy of his !

Gwyn Jones
Gwyn Jones
3 years ago

HThe police don’t spend 90% of their time investigating imaginary hate crimes, they spend some of their time investigating complaints of assaults by mem on women. Oops!

Mick Tems
Mick Tems
3 years ago
Reply to  Gwyn Jones

Who pays Liddle for writing such malevolent, hate-filled, stinking sewage? Doesn’t this fat moron know that the English language has only five vowels but the Welsh language tops it with six?

Wrexhamian
Wrexhamian
3 years ago
Reply to  Mick Tems

Seven, Mick. But your point still stands. Liddle has form as regards this kind of bigotted ignorance.

Steffan ap Breian
3 years ago
Reply to  Mick Tems

A, E, I, O, U, W, Y

Alwyn Humphreys
Alwyn Humphreys
3 years ago

Now…who was it that promoted the idea of Police. Commissioners ?….might it have been a globule of the Eton mess – who ended up …doing something unpleasant with a dead pig..?? …..who was it….???

Wrexhamian
Wrexhamian
3 years ago

Ah, the old “it was just banter” defence.

Quornby
Quornby
3 years ago

Liddle is a waste of oxygen. Ooops! Just banter.

Siân
Siân
3 years ago

Maybe he just wants more publicity so don’t want to play into his grubby hands. Before reading the article could guess on the tone.

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