AM stands firm over ‘liar’ remark at Senedd

A RECENTLY-ELECTED Assembly Member has set himself on a collision course with the institution’s Presiding Officer by refusing to stop calling Carwyn Jones a “liar”.

Plaid Cymru’s Neil McEvoy has been strongly reprimanded by Presiding Officer Elin Jones following a series of incidents where he has accused Carwyn Jones of misleading the National Assembly. But Mr McEvoy, a regional AM for South Wales Central, is unapologetic and believes Ms Jones is treating him unfairly.

He said he will not “accept that I cannot call him a liar in the Chamber”.

Mr McEvoy, who is also a Cardiff councillor, has been trying to get the First Minister to withdraw a statement he made in the Senedd four years ago. At that time, Mr Jones said a claim made by Mr McEvoy in a leaflet that Labour was pushing through a Local Development Plan (LDP) that would result in new homes being built on greenfield sites in Cardiff was “a blatant lie”.

On several occasions since his election to the Assembly in May, Mr McEvoy has challenged the First Minister on the issue in the Senedd, in one instance calling him a “liar”. Now Ms Jones has written an email to her fellow Plaid AM, saying: “Although robust political debate is welcome, I expect all members to behave in a consistently courteous and civil manner to one another, even when both sides are disputing evidence. I would ask you to guard against making any remarks in the Siambr [the Assembly’s debating chamber] which appear to call into question another member’s integrity, or indeed endeavouring to create that impression. I hope you will bear this in mind when planning your future contributions to plenary.”

The Presiding Officer said she was disappointed there had been a further “unacceptable exchange” during First Minister’s Questions on April 5.

Ms Jones said she appreciated Mr McEvoy is a newly elected AM, but he had been given the opportunity to attend induction sessions on the way plenary works. Comprehensive guidance was available to him, including on the Members’ Intranet. The Presiding Officer concluded: “I must warn you that I will impose sanctions if you continue to disregard these rules and procedures.”

In a response to Ms Jones, Mr McEvoy wrote: “During the Fourth Assembly, the First Minister branded me a liar, using the term ‘blatant lie.’

“I assume that the rules have now changed. I do call the First Minister’s integrity into question on the basis of fact. He denied making any such announcement about LDPs in 2012 during First Minister’s Questions recently. A simple apology or admission of an error would have sufficed. Instead, he is trying to re-write history.

“Where is the recourse to challenge this, if at this point I accept that I cannot call him a liar in the Chamber? The First Minister was haranguing me during the debate on the ministerial code. He quite clearly shouted out that I was a ‘coward.’ It was simple abuse.” ■ Go to walesonline.co.uk for the full version of this story