Senior Plaid Cymru MS denies involvement in ‘cover-up’ of taxi groping incident

Martin Shipton

Plaid Cymru’s former group whip at the Senedd Sian Gwenllian has denied taking part in a cover-up to conceal an incident in which an MS groped a woman in a taxi.

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

But former Plaid staffer Math Wiliam has now gone on the record alleging that Ms Gwenllian took no action when it was first reported.

‘Sexually assaulted’

In a series of diary entries sent to Nation.Cymru he stated: “On a night out with colleagues in September 2021, I am told by a number of them that Rhys ab Owen had sexually assaulted a female member of staff on a night out, shortly after being elected.

“I spoke directly to the alleged victim, who described the incident to me, saying he had sworn at her, touched her without her consent and put his hand on her in a taxi. Several individuals tell me that they gave statements to Sian Gwenllian … but that no action was taken. I set up an informal system at work whereby young women who felt scared could contact me at any time they felt threatened and I would ‘turn up’.

“On the evening of March 25 2022, I was with the alleged victim of Rhys ab Owen in a pub during Plaid’s Spring Conference.. We left very late. As we exited, we bumped into Rhys and his identical twin brother, Rhodri ab Owen (who was at this point the deputy leader of the lobbying firm Positif).

“The victim confronted him over his actions. Rhys initially denied the claim, but eventually admitted to being so intoxicated on the night in question, he didn’t remember what had happened. He also said he believed her. This incident was extremely traumatic and went on for hours.

“The next morning, I asked to speak to [a senior party official] upon arriving at conference. I explained what had happened and that the victim would be arriving in the building shortly, so he should expel Rhys for the rest of conference until some process could be put in place to deal with the issue.

“He refused to do so until Rhys had taken part in some panel he was on. I told [the party official] at this point I thought the party was in a very dark place with this incident and numerous instances of bullying, making it a toxic place to work.

“The victim turned up a short while after. [The party official] asked her whether she’d talk to him, and she agreed. She then came to find me to say that what [the party official] told her was that Rhys had written her a letter of apology months earlier, but that [the party official] had ‘forgotten’ to send it … She later received the letter, but it was obviously written by a lawyer and completely worthless.

“Later that evening I saw SG [Sian Gwenllian] in the pub. She asked me what had happened, and I explained. She obviously already knew about the assault. What she said to me at this point was: ‘Well, I hope she got it out of her system so that everyone can now move on’.

“In August 2022 the same SG who had obviously covered up Rhys’s actions published an article on Nation.Cymru saying this: ‘If an elected politician has severely damaged the integrity, the credibility and the reputation of our party by contravening one of its core values, then that person should no longer represent the collective, democratic voice of our members. So now as a party, we must review our standing orders to reflect the views of our democratically elected body in the future.

“We must also build upon recommendations I made in a report before the pandemic to tackle misogyny within our party. This should include mandatory training underlining the incredibly serious nature of domestic violence, its impact on women and children and its political significance as part of the persistent fight to end gender inequality in Wales.

“We must also take further steps to ensure that women’s voices are equally represented in all parts of our party, ensuring that tackling gender inequality including gender based violence is embedded in everything we do.’

‘Suffering’

“This is probably the worst example of hypocrisy I’ve ever seen in politics. I had spent the time between March and August trying to deal with what I knew, having been told in detail about the suffering that had been caused and covered up by Plaid Cymru. This made me ill, and I had to miss work. I could not live with the injustice, nor justify continuing to work in the service of a party that would act in such a manner. I knew for a fact that at least half the group knew of what had happened, yet did nothing, while making pious speeches about women’s rights in the Senedd.

“Sian’s article angered me so much that I decided to send the party’s Westminster leader, Liz Saville Roberts, a message, on the basis that I didn’t trust anyone in the Senedd group to do anything. SG responded saying the issue had been ‘dealt with’. (I have evidence of this in the form of WhatsApp screenshots).

“A few days later I submitted a complaint against Rhys ab Owen to Plaid Cymru. This is the point where things escalated dramatically. The party leadership immediately changed their attitude towards me, becoming actively hostile. It was obvious the fact of the complaint, and that it was I who had made it, had been widely shared.

“I later (October 14) received a reply from the party saying someone I referenced in my complaint (and I had only referenced the victim of the alleged sexual assault) had asked me to withdraw the complaint, because she considered the matter closed and wanted her privacy respected. I was very surprised at this, because I had proactively sought her consent before making the complaint, around six weeks earlier. So I contacted her to ask whether she had made this request.

“She said she had not done so. But she also said she had forgotten the conversation where I’d discussed putting in a complaint and asked me to withdraw it because she’d by this point submitted her own complaint to the Senedd’s parliamentary oversight body, the Standards Commissioner. I then withdrew my complaint, in accordance with her wishes.

“The situation continued to deteriorate, having a seriously detrimental impact on my mental health. I started briefing journalists off-the-record about what was going on.”

“In November the group chair, Llyr Gruffydd, called a staff meeting. He said Rhys would be suspended and that it was crucial nobody discussed the matter with anyone, lest it compromise the investigation. He added that any staff member found to have discussed the matter would be subject to disciplinary procedures. The party provided a statement to the press saying: ‘This is a neutral act, without prejudice, pending the conclusion of an investigation by the Senedd standards commissioner into an alleged breach of the code of conduct for members of the Senedd.’

“This was nigh-on incomprehensible, since I knew for a fact it related to a complaint that they had already received and dismissed.”

Standards Commissioner

The Standards Commissioner later upheld the victim’s complaint against Rhys ab Owen.

Responding to Mr Wiliam’s allegations, Sian Gswenllian, the MS for Arfon, 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.”

Baseless

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson added: “Accusations of a cover-up are baseless and untrue and have already been thrown out by the Senedd Standards Commissioner.

“The incident referred to is a historic case which is now concluded.

“The matter was investigated thoroughly by the Standards Commissioner. The member in question has been excluded from the party following a Plaid Cymru internal disciplinary processes.

“This also predates ‘Prosiect Pawb’ – a wholesale review of Plaid Cymru’s practices and culture. Plaid Cymru has already acknowledged that our governance procedures at the time were insufficient. We have since implemented new party wide processes and strengthened the procedures within the Plaid Cymru group in the Senedd.

“As a party we have taken decisive action to implement the recommendations within it. We remain committed to creating an environment which is safe, inclusive and respectful for all.”

Editors Note: In the original version of this article it was stated that an extract of a letter from the Standards Commissioner had been provided to Nation.Cymru “with permission”. In fact the commissioner had not given permission to Plaid Cymru for the extract to be published.