Details of phone calls kept secret
FIRST Minister Mark Drakeford has refused to release details of calls made by his predecessor Carwyn Jones to two lobbyists in the immediate aftermath of Carl Sargeant’s death.
Mr Sargeant took his own life in November 2017, four days after being removed from his job as Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children following allegations of sexual harassment. He denied any wrongdoing.
During an inquest which concluded last month, it was revealed in evidence that immediately after hearing of Mr Sargeant’s death, Mr Jones made four telephone calls: one to his wife, one to his father and one each to Cathy Owens and Jo Kiernan, both of whom work for the Cardiff lobbying firm Deryn.
According to Dr Neil Hudgell, solicitor to the Sargeant family, who had details of the phone calls supplied to him in the evidence bundle for the inquest, the calls to Mr Jones’ wife and father were “short” while the calls to Ms Kiernan and Ms Owens were “long”.
In an Assembly Question, former Conservative Assembly group leader Andrew RT Davies asked Mr Drakeford: “Following the inquest into the death of Carl Sargeant, and with reference to the telephone calls made by the former First Minister to two lobbyists in the aftermath of Mr Sargeant’s wife, will the First Minister confirm the duration of these calls, which were made on a Welsh Governmentowned phone?”
Mr Drakeford responded: “The telephone records we hold are only held because they are required by a court order for the specific purpose of the inquest.
“This information is exempt under section 32 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Section 32 is an absolute exemption, which is therefore not subject to the public interest test. It applies to information held by a public authority only for the purposes of court proceedings and/or investigations or inquiries.”
Mr Davies said: “It is understandable that after hearing of Carl Sargeant’s death, Carwyn Jones immediately telephoned his wife and father.
“What is not so understandable is why he found it necessary to telephone two employees of the lobbying firm Deryn.
“I believe it is a matter of public interest to find out what was happening here.
“For the sake of Carl Sargeant’s family, and in the public interest generally, it’s important that we get as full an understanding as we can about what happened.”
Comments were sought from Mr Jones, Ms Owens and Ms Kiernan, but they did not respond to our messages.