Welsh MP arrested for ‘attack on wife’

A WELSH MP has had the party whip withdrawn after being arrested on suspicion of assault.

Jonathan Edwards, 44, is alleged to have attacked his wife Emma at their £290,000 family home last week. The father- of-three was seen returning later the same day on bail to pack his bags.

His party, Plaid Cymru, yesterday said they were suspending the MP while a police investigation continued.

A spokesman said he had ‘accepted this course of action and is complying fully with the police inquiries’.

Mr Edwards, pictured, acted as the party’s Brexit spokesman and has represented Carmarthen East and Dinefwr since 2010. On Wednesday morning, he was seen being led out of his five-bedroom detached marital home by three officers into a waiting police van. After he was released on bail, a neighbour said: ‘He loaded his 4x4 car up with a few bags and clothes and off he went. He hasn’t been home since.’

His wife’s mother, Erica, said her daughter had thrown Mr Edwards out. She told The Sun: ‘Yes, the police were called. Jonathan was arrested and taken by the officers. He is no longer living here. I do not know where he is living now but he won’t be coming back here.’ She added: ‘I’m looking after Emma and my grandchildren.’

His wife, who was seen tending to the family’s horses, declined to comment. She was at the house yesterday with the children. The whitewashed property had a Welsh flag flying in the garden and children’s NHS rainbows in the window with the word Diolch – Welsh for thank you.

Neighbours saw police at the house in the early hours of last Wednesday. They returned later in the day and again on Thursday. The Welsh nationalist MP held his parliamentary seat during the 2017 general election, increasing his majority.

He told constituents the day after lockdown he would be working from his home in Ammanford, and advised them to ‘stay safe’. Mr Edwards has posted several photos of his children on his personal Facebook page during lockdown, including a picture of his wife cutting their son’s hair.

A Plaid Cymru spokesman confirmed Mr Edwards’ arrest and added: ‘The party whip has been withdrawn pending the conclusion of a police investigation.’