‘It’s simply outrageous... why hasn’t he been told any details?’

SUPPORTERS of Carl Sargeant from the equality sector have said they find it “impossible to believe” that the former Cabinet Secretary has behaved inappropriately towards women.

A senior source who did not wish to be named said: “Those of us involved in politics know who the sleazy male politicians are, and Carl Sargeant is not one of them.

“In fact, he’s quite the reverse – a champion of equality who has gone out of his way to promote women’s issues in the ministerial roles he has held.”

The source also said it was “an outrage” that Mr Sargeant had not been given details of the allegations against him when he was spoken to by First Minister Carwyn Jones.

“Where else would you be dismissed from your job without being told of the allegations that had led to that decision? It’s an outrage and a total breach of natural justice.

“He has a right to know what he has been accused of. When ministers at Westminster have sacked or been forced to resign, they have known what they were accused of. The same should apply in this case, and Carl Sargeant should be given details of the allegations immediately.”

The source said that since news of Mr Sargeant’s departure had been made public, many people in the equality sector had been in touch with one another to express their incredulity about what had happened.

Another source said: “There is something very odd about this. At the beginning of the week the First Minister said that no allegations of inappropriate behaviour had been made against any Labour AMs. Then, a few days later, it seems that Carl Sargeant has been told that ‘two or three’ unspecified allegations have been made against him which have only come to light in recent days. If they came to light in recent days, why wasn’t Carl Sargeant removed from office immediately?

“It seems enormously coincidental that these allegations should have come to light right at the time when Carwyn Jones was announcing a reshuffle. There have been rumours and there has been speculation for months that Carl would be told he had to make way for others. The difficulty from Carwyn’s point of view is that if the allegations are not upheld, he ought to restore Carl to the Cabinet.”

Labour sources said the party would be following recently introduced guidelines in dealing with the allegations made against the former Cabinet Secretary.