To what extent as part of a Welsh Government reshuffle was the decision of Dafydd Elis-Thomas was appointment as Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport and his acceptance made by Carwyn Jones realising that if he was to suspend Carl Sargeant his Goverment (with the one LibDem) would be reduced to 29 out of 60 AM.
Bringing in Dafydd Elis-Thomas would help ease the situation making sure of his vote and securing a nominal majority with the Llywydd (Presiding Officer) being neutral)
He writes.'When did Carwyn Jones know about Carl Sargeant claims?'
In a television interview two days ago, the day before the death of the ex-cabinet secretary, Carwyn Jones insisted that the first time he heard of the allegations was last week. This is what he told ITV Cymru Wales' political editor Adrian Masters.
Adrian Masters: "So you knew at the beginning of the week, you had not heard any hint of these allegations before then?
Carwyn Jones: "No, they were drawn to my attention at the beginning of the week".
That is quite clear, but this is the problem: multiple sources from more than one party have told me that Carwyn Jones has discussed allegations of misconduct with Carl Sargeant once before, and had received an explanation of the incident.
The same sources also suggest the allegation was one of those that the first minister had asked the party to investigate following his sacking.
If so, the response of Carwyn Jones to the question of Adrian Masters was misleading to say the least.
Are the sources right? The simple answer is I don't know.
But Carwyn Jones knows the truth and he should answer the question as soon as possible.
In the meantime, true or not, rumours spread and the first minister's support erodes.
The Wasting Mule reported before Mr Sargeant's tragic death that
A Labour AM has expressed concern that unspecified allegations relating to the former Communities Secretary Carl Sargeant were not referred by First Minister Carwyn Jones to the Civil Service.
Instead, after a brief inquiry by a Welsh Government special adviser, complaints made by an unnamed woman were referred to Welsh Labour.
Mr Jones spoke to Mr Sargeant last Friday morning (3rd November) and they agreed that Mr Sargeant should step down from his Cabinet post immediately. Later that day Mr Jones completed a Cabinet reshuffle.
Welsh Labour continues to provide no details about the investigation, and says it will not do so.
Meanwhile it is understood that Mr Sargeant, who represents Alyn & Deeside, has still not been given details of the allegations against him
A Labour AM, who did not wish to be identified, told us: “It is quite appalling that Carl Sargeant has not been told what the allegations against him are.
“It also seems wrong that a special adviser was asked to carry out an initial inquiry. A special adviser is not equipped to carry out inquiries of that kind. It should have been handed straight to the Civil Service for investigation under the Ministerial Code.”
Another Labour source pointed out that Theresa May’s deputy, First Secretary of State Damian Green, was being investigated by Sue Gray, Whitehall’s head of propriety and ethics.
The source said: “That’s what should have happened in the case of Carl Sargeant. His was a Crown appointment, like Damian Green, who has kept his job pending the inquiry.”
Mr Jones told ITV Cymru Wales he’d had no choice but to refer allegations relating to Mr Sargeant’s personal conduct to the Labour Party. Speaking to the broadcaster’s political editor Adrian Masters, the First Minister said it was important there was an open investigation into the allegations.
Mr Jones said he became aware of the accusations against Mr Sargeant on Monday last week and, as a result, his office spoke to the women involved. He then decided that he had to refer the matter to the party.
The police had not been involved and it was a matter for the General Secretary of Welsh Labour to put in place the structure of the investigation. There is no indication of how long the inquiry may last.
Sadly the events of Mr Sargeant's death has intensified the questions we need to ask over both the nature of the alligation while being careful not to speculate to early and allow his family time to grieve.
But clearly the First Minister has not handled this well
2 comments:
Not sure what carwyn jones could have done very differently to be honest glyn. By all accounts allegations of sexual misconduct were made against carl sargeant by a number of women - imagine the reaction there would have been if carl sargeant had been allowed to remain in post in light of these allegations?
Yes damian green is still in post but lets not forget there have been many who called for him to step down from his position in the cabinet pending investigations into the allegations against him (and among those calling for him to stand down have been some in the labour party who are now rather oddly questioning carwyn jones decision to suspend carl sargeant).
A couple of other relevant points need to be made on this matter - relevant points which alas seem to have been lost on some of those ive sen commenting on this matter online and on social media. Firstly its standard proceedure in workplaces for people to be suspended from a job if they are facing serious allegations. Secondly people need to understand that the jimmy savile scandal changed everything. As a result of the failures of various institutions and people to act on allegations against savile many people were victims of his abuse over many years who need not have been. In effect the savile case meant that allegations of sexual misconduct against public figures would in future have to be investigated (and rightly so).
And yes it's right carl sargeant's family are given time to grieve - but what about the feeklings of those women who alleged carl sargeant assaulted them? They seem to have been completely forgotten in the row which has broke since he took his own life.
The one thing Carwyn Jones should not have done was to elaborate on the allegations in a TV interview on Monday giving the impression that the process was tainted.
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