A Reform UK politician who used a racial slur to describe Chinese people faces a two-week suspension after being found to have brought the Senedd into disrepute.
Laura Anne Jones, who jumped ship from the Tories to Reform over the summer, also breached the Welsh Parliament’s rules on discrimination, an investigation found.
But she was cleared of allegations of fraudulent expenses, with the investigation accepting her explanation and concluding she did not instruct staff to make false claims.
In today’s (November 12) report, the standards committee recommends a 14-day suspension and Senedd members are likely to agree the sanction on November 19.
Standards commissioner Douglas Bain conducted the lengthy investigation, following a complaint from a former staffer who was sacked by Ms Jones in February 2024.
In the report, the standards committee said the “inappropriate and offensive” comments fell well below expected standards and “have no place in our Senedd or society more widely”.
‘Unacceptable’
Mr Bain’s investigation found Ms Jones, who was a Conservative Senedd member for South Wales East at the time, had breached the code of conduct on five counts.
Ms Jones used a racial slur in a WhatsApp group chat in August 2023 about the Chinese-owned video app TikTok, writing: “No chinky spies for me!”
Mr Bain’s report concluded this comment breached Senedd rules against discrimination, brought the Senedd into disrepute and failed to uphold leadership principles.
The standards committee said Jones had “accepted her post was ‘completely inappropriate and unacceptable’ and has apologised for it”.
The commissioner also found Ms Jones broke rules by failing to challenge “offensive and unacceptable” comments made by one of her employees in a separate chat. This included a message from a staffer, stating: “If you’re an Islamist it’s all fine, spew all the hate you want.”
Ms Jones was found to have used abusive language herself, calling an ex-staffer a “wanker” and a “bitter, twisted, useless person” in a WhatsApp exchange.
‘Misinterpreted’
The committee rejected poor health as an excuse, stating the findings “point to a pattern of poor culture within the office of the member rather than an isolated incident”.
The report cleared Ms Jones of the claims of fabricating expenses, which police had investigated before dropping the probe after finding “no evidence of fraudulent activity”.
Ms Jones testified that she “did not keep an accurate record of all journeys” and had instructed her staff to ensure all proper claims were made.
Mr Bain’s report accepted her version of events, finding she did not instruct the complainant to make false expenses claims. However, he found Ms Jones breached rules by failing to provide any training to her staff on the code of conduct or Senedd expenses.
Ms Jones and her staff have since received diversity training.
The investigation has been mired in controversy, with the commissioner criticising the complainant and his report leaked to the press months in advance.
‘Revenge’
The committee rejected the notion that media leaks should lessen the punishment, saying: “In fact, the member herself even commented on the commissioner’s report before it was provided to members of this committee.”
In an earlier leaked report, Mr Bain was “not impressed” by the complainant’s “demeanour when interviewed” and suspected the complaint was made in “revenge” for her dismissal.
He wrote that her conduct was “not the conduct of an honest and trustworthy person”.
The complainant, who is thought to be autistic, wrote to the standards committee to protest her treatment, stating she felt “mocked and humiliated” by the commissioner.
She said her ability to raise concerns earlier was impaired by the “toxic and bullying environment” as she insisted she was trying to do the right thing. The committee urged the commissioner to consider reasonable adjustments regarding neurodiversity in future.
‘Hounded’
Ms Jones, Reform’s sole Senedd member, said: “I am delighted to have finally been cleared of any wrongdoing in relation to the malicious accusation of fraudulent activity.
“I am now looking forward to drawing a line under this after nearly two years of being hounded over it, and the detrimental impact that it has on both me and my young family.
“I have apologised, and I apologise again, for the regrettable comments that I made in a private message. I never meant to cause offence to anyone.”
A Reform UK Wales spokesperson said: “We thank the independent standards commissioner and the police for their thorough investigation and for concluding that no fraudulent activity had taken place.
“Laura has rightly apologised for her comments, made in a private WhatsApp, and has made a clear effort to make amends for these comments.”