Tory Senedd candidate deletes tweet praising ‘natural beauty’ of Tryweryn lake

A Tory Senedd candidate has deleted a tweet praising the “natural beauty” of Tryweryn lake.

Charlie Evans, who is standing in Dwyfor Meirionnydd, posted a picture of the man-made lake that drowned Capel Celyn on Twitter and added that Gwynedd’s “natural beauty” was “outstanding, and thankfully untouched by politicians”.

He was criticised on the social media platform for his tweet, with one man describing it as “the most ignorant faux pas” he had ever seen and another saying it was “truly sickening”.

It was pointed out that the picture was of Llyn Celyn a reservoir constructed between 1960 and 1965 in the valley of the River Tryweryn.

Construction of the reservoir for Liverpool Corporation Waterworks involved flooding the village of the Welsh-speaking Capel Celyn.

Charlie Evans tweeted the photo of Llyn Celyn saying: “I believe I am the luckiest @WelshConserv candidate standing in Wales #LlynCelyn #LoveWales #CaruCymru.”

After coming under fire for the tweet, he added: “With respect, my picture has nothing to do with politics. The Cardiff Bay Clique has left behind Dwyfor Meirionnydd.

“Its natural beauty however is outstanding and thankfully untouched by politicians. They’d undoubtedly ruin it.”

Stacey Rees said: “Do people even know about Tryweryn? They should come up with a catchy slogan. Something like ‘Remember Tryweryn’. I don’t know why they haven’t thought of this.

Another critic on Twitter said: “This is truly sickening, Charlie. You need to brush up on your history before making such crass and demeaning statements. Absolutely disgusting.”

The Welsh Conservatives have declined to comment on the matter.