Bullying claims were made three years ago, says AM

CARL Sargeant told Assembly colleagues there was bullying in the First Minister’s office three years ago, a Conservative AM has claimed.

Conservative Clwyd West AM Darren Millar, pictured, took the unusual step of making a personal statement to the Assembly on Tuesday.

In it, he said that Mr Sargeant had approached him three years ago and told him that bullying in the First Minister’s office was taking “a toll” on him.

Mr Millar told the Assembly he would be seeking to present evidence to James Hamilton, the independent lawyer who has been asked to look into claims that the First Minister misled AMs “in relation to allegations of bullying back in 2014”.

Mr Millar said that on November 4, 2014, he asked questions to First Minister Carwyn Jones regarding allegations of bullying.

In an answer received on November 11, 2014, Mr Jones responded: “No allegations have been made.”

He was also asked if any exit interview with special and/or specialist advisors had taken place, to which Mr Jones responded: “No such interviews took place.”

A third question was whether any special or specialist advisors had left Welsh Government employment.

Mr Jones responded that in the last three years, three special advisors had left Welsh Government employment, in each case due to resignation.

“Over the same period, three specialist policy advisors have left, one due to resignation and two on expiration of their contracts,” he said.

Mr Millar said he was asked to table those questions by Carl Sargeant.

“I had a private conversation with Carl in early October 2014 away from the National Assembly building. During that conversation, Carl told me he was unhappy because there was bullying going on within the Welsh Government which was coming from an individual in the First Minister’s office,” he said.

“And that this was taking a toll on him personally along with others.”

Mr Millar said he would not name the individual, but “at no time” did Mr Sargeant accuse the First Minister.

“I offered to help, although I felt powerless to do so,” he said. He said that, two weeks later, on October 22, 2014, Mr Sargeant gave him a handwritten note containing draft questions he wanted Mr Millar to consider tabling to the First Minister. He gave him the note in the members’ tearoom during plenary.

Mr Sargeant said he hoped that would be enough to prompt an internal investigation “to address the bullying problem”.

Mr Millar said he redrafted the questions slightly and shared those with Mr Sargeant who asked him to hold off asking the questions until a later date.

Mr Sargeant then asked Mr Millar to table the questions because “the time was now right”.

He told Mr Millar that was because a complaint had then been made to the First Minister about “the conduct of a special advisor”.

He then tabled the questions on November 4, 2014. He said when he received the written answers, he shared them with Mr Sargeant.

“He was surprised and disappointed by the answers,” he said. “He resigned himself to the situation continuing.

“Carl Sargeant was a loyal member of the Welsh Government and a loyal member of the Labour Party. He took his cabinet duties and collective responsibility seriously.

“His only motivation in disclosing the problems within the Welsh Government to me and requesting my support in this way was to attempt to resolve the frustration and stress of the ongoing situation at that time for him and his colleagues in WG.”

He told Assembly members that he had told Mr Sargeant’s family before making the statement, which he said he did not want to issue before Mr Sargeant’s funeral.

In response, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The First Minister stands by his previous answers on this matter and has already encouraged people to provide any relevant evidence to the independent advisor, James Hamilton.”