Scale of Senedd member abuse revealed after minister announces intention to delete X account

Published

1 year ago

March 10, 2024

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This week a Welsh government minister announced he would delete his X account once he steps back from his transport role, after facing significant abuse on social media.

Lee Waters, the Welsh government’s deputy minister for climate change, said he would now receive “a pile of malign comments for even the most innocuous posts”.

Sky News has spoken to a number of members of the Welsh parliament about their own experiences.

‘Impact on people around me’

Hannah Blythyn has been a member of the Senedd for eight years and has been the Welsh Labour government’s deputy minister for social partnership since 2021.

Since being elected, Ms Blythyn told Sky News she has had to “reflect” on her life.

“If I wasn’t a politician, I don’t think I’d have cameras on my house, so it’s directly connected to the role that I do,” she said.

Ms Blythyn says she made a decision when first elected “to be open about [her] sexuality” as a lesbian.

“I’ve been open to my friends and family for years, and I thought it was really important, as somebody who grew up thinking I didn’t have anybody I could identify with or nobody visible in public life to provide that visibility myself,” she said.

“But I think, with that comes a cost as well, to an extent.”

One member of the public emailed Ms Blythyn, saying she “should seek conversion therapy“.

“The worst for me I think…[was] it’s impact on the people around me,” she added.

“So this same person also contacted my wife. I found out later they’d also tried to contact my dad and contact a number of other people about me.”

‘Rather scared’

Jane Dodds has been leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats since 2017 and has been a member of the Senedd since 2021.

Ms Dodds says she came off Facebook two years ago and recently handed responsibility for her X account over to her team due to its impact on her mental health.

She told Sky News she has received death threats and reported to the police one comment on Facebook which said she should be “hanged”.

During the pandemic, a vote on introducing COVID passes for nightclubs and large events was held in the Senedd.

After the vote, Ms Dodds said that around 80 anti-vax protesters surrounded her car as she left the building. She told Sky News the incident left her feeling “rather scared”.

“I was the first to leave the Senedd after the vote and we came out of the car park and they saw the car coming out and they ran towards us and ran around, shouting and put things on the car,” she said.

Ms Dodds was first elected to Westminster in 2019 for four months but lost her seat in the general election that December.

Having served as a member in both Cardiff Bay and the Commons, Ms Dodds says her brief time as an MP led her to conclude that Westminster creates an “anti-politician environment” and an unsafe atmosphere.

‘Would I want my daughter in this role?’

Sioned Williams has been a member of the Senedd since 2021 and is Plaid Cymru‘s equalities spokesperson.

She told Sky News she had experienced abuse in the past and that the threat of danger was “always there”.

“Sometimes I do ask myself, would I want my daughter to be in this role, would I want my sister to be in this role,” Ms Williams said.

“And when you’re trying to really encourage women to come forward as candidates, there is a little voice in your head as well that’s a little bit worried about what you’re doing because you know what they’re going to face.”

Ms Williams said she had taken steps to “adapt her home” since being elected.

“I lock the doors now when I’m at home, I never used to before. That kind of thing. I’m always conscious about keeping the car doors locked when I’m in the car,” she said.

“I never would have dreamt of doing that before, the camera on the doorbell. I know lots of people have to do that but it’s specifically because I’m a politician that I’m having to take those measures.

“You just have to because of the level of abuse that you do get. I can deal with people disagreeing with my views, that’s what politics is, but it’s the gendered abuse that you get back that is worrying.”

‘Thankful to those before me’

Natasha Asghar was first elected as a member of the Senedd for the Welsh Conservatives in 2021.

She is the first woman of colour to be a member of the Welsh parliament.

Ms Asghar told Sky News that since her election she had been “fortunate” not to have faced much abuse until a recent incident when giving a talk to students.

“It was a really difficult time and it was probably the first time in my career that not just myself, where I felt unsafe, but I felt unsafe and scared for my team as well, which is very important to me,” she said.

“Because ultimately, they are the ones who I work with day in, day out, and if something happens to me, they’re usually in the front line as well.”

Ms Asghar’s father was Mohammad Asghar, who served as a Senedd member from 2007 until his death in 2020.

Up until his death, Ms Asghar said her father “experienced awful hate [on social media] from people from all over the place”.

“And the things that they said were not only against him, his politics, but him as a person, his religion, his family. Everything got slated, and he just took it,” she added.

“I’m very fortunate, but I know those before me equally had a very rough ride, so I’m thankful to them for tolerating what they tolerated.”

‘Difficult to stomach’

Samuel Kurtz is another of the 2021 Tory intake of Senedd members.

He told Sky News that he “quite regularly” experiences trolling online.

“It does impact on your wellbeing when you see someone coming and attacking you personally rather than professionally,” he said.

“That’s quite difficult to stomach, and especially for family members who have to read that.

“I’ve had incidents of my mum ringing me up, going ‘Who’s this and why are they saying this about you?’

“And I’m like ‘Mum, don’t worry about it, it’s trolling, it’s someone anonymous. No idea who they are, they just get their kicks from doing that so don’t worry’.

“But that’s a difficult conversation to have with my mum and it’s most probably a difficult thing for a mother to see for her son. Unfortunately, that’s just the age of social media.”

Mr Kurtz said he hadn’t experienced much abuse face-to-face.

“I did have one incident where I was just opening the door in my office to leave while someone was trying to open it to come in and they did, and then they started berating me around COVID vaccines,” he said.

“I didn’t feel personally threatened, but with some of the language that they were using, sort of ‘traitor’, ‘blood on your hands’, you don’t want to hear that.”

‘Don’t feel safe’

Vikki Howells has been a Senedd member since 2016 and is the Welsh Labour group leader.

She told Sky News that “every female politician” she knows had experienced some form of gender-related abuse.

“Lots of female politicians have faced rape threats, lots have faced threats of violence which perhaps would not be directed towards them if they were male,” she said.

“I do know of politicians within the Senedd who’ve faced those threats.”

Ms Howells said that female politicians especially can feel “physically vulnerable when [they’re] out in public”.

“If you’re leaving a meeting in the dark and there’s no one else around, the worry that people might know who you are and there could be someone who’s following you,” she added.

“It’s not just me, I’ve spoken to a number of female MSs who don’t feel particularly safe in and around Cardiff Bay after dark.”

Ms Howells said she once received a comment on social media that she “should be dragged through the streets by [her] hair”.

But she said she “wouldn’t want women to be put off going into politics as a result of the actions of a minority”.

“We’ve got really talented women in Welsh Labour and we need to do all we can to make sure that they feel that they can put their names forward if they want to, and not face a barrage of abuse,” she added.

A spokesperson for the Senedd Commission said it takes “the safety and welfare of all members, staff and other stakeholders seriously”.

“Members of the Senedd and their support staff can access a comprehensive range of equipment, guidance and support from the Senedd security team, and this is kept under constant review in response to evolving challenges,” the spokesperson added.

“Training on a range of security matters (such as online security and personal safety) is also available to members and their staff.”

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‘My voice box was removed after NHS missed my throat cancer’

Published

2 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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'My voice box was removed after NHS missed my throat cancer'

Steve Barton is angry, and he has every right to be.

The 68-year-old retired engineer stares at his medical notes that, he says, expose in black and white the moment his life changed forever.

“I have somehow missed… due to my mistake,” a doctor writes in one of the notes, after it became apparent that Mr Barton had not been urgently referred to specialists over what later became an aggressive form of throat cancer.

Steve now has a prosthetic voice box and is one of many British patients fighting medical negligence claims after being misdiagnosed.

NHS officials in Scotland are dealing with thousands of cases annually. Meanwhile, Westminster’s Public Affairs Committee (PAC) recently disclosed England’s Department of Health and Social Care has set aside £58.2bn to settle clinical lawsuits arising before 2024.

Mr Barton, who lives in Alloa near Stirling, repeatedly contacted his doctors after he began struggling with his breathing, speaking and swallowing. His concerns were recorded by the NHS as sinus issues.

As panic grew and his voice became weaker, Mr Barton paid to see a private consultant who revealed the devastating news that a massive tumour had grown on his larynx and required part of his throat to be removed immediately.

“I am angry, I am upset, I don’t want anyone else to go through this,” Mr Barton told Sky News.

“There were at least four, possibly five, conversations on the phone. He [the doctor] said to me that it sounds like I’ve got reflux.”

‘He was palmed off’

Mr Barton is now unable to work and cannot shower by himself because if water enters the hole in his neck, he could drown.

And a windy day can cause a debilitating coughing fit if a gust catches his prosthetic voice box.

Asked if he believes this was avoidable, Mr Barton replied: “Absolutely. 100%.”

His wife, Heather, told Sky News: “He hates this. You see him crying. It breaks my heart. It’s been hard emotionally.”

She added: “Everybody knows their own body. He was palmed off and the consequence is a neck dissection. It [life] changed overnight.”

Legal battle over compensation

The Barton family have been locked in a legal battle over their ordeal with the Medical and Dental Defence Union Scotland (MDDUS) – a body which indemnifies GPs.

It has not admitted formal liability in this case but has agreed to settle financial compensation to Mr Barton.

Izabela Wosiak, a solicitor from Irwin Mitchell who represents the Bartons, said: “Cases like Steve’s are complex and usually quite difficult, but solicitors have accepted there was no defence to this case.

“They have arranged to make an interim payment; however we are still in the process of negotiating final settlement.”

A MDDUS spokeswoman refused to comment while talks are being finalised.

What is the scale of medical negligence in Britain?

The NHS in Scotland is under the devolved control of the Scottish government.

Figures suggest there were almost 14,000 clinical negligence claims and incidents in 2023/24, an increase on the previous year.

It comes as PAC warned that the total liabilities in England’s health service has hit £58.2bn.

PAC chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP told Sky News: “I extend my sympathies to Steve and his family. Unfortunately, he is not alone.

“Some are really heart-wrenching tales. Every single claim somebody is involved, someone has been in some way injured, so this is a terrible thing.

“We are going to be working on how we can make the whole system less litigious and get compensation paid out quickly because if the state does harm to somebody, the least they could do is to compensate them as quickly as possible.”

Paul Whiteing, the chief executive of patient safety charity Action Against Medical Accidents, told Sky News: “The NHS itself last year [in England] paid out just over £5bn in compensational set aside money for compensation that it would need to pay out.

“It’s a huge cost and of course that doesn’t speak to the cost to every individual, every family, every person who is impacted by the consequences of some form of medical accident and the trauma that can go with that.”

UK

‘Shameful’ that black boys in London more likely to die than white boys, says Met Police chief

Published

2 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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'Shameful' that black boys in London more likely to die than white boys, says Met Police chief

It is “shameful” that black boys growing up in London are “far more likely” to die than white boys, Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley has told Sky News.

In a wide-ranging interview with Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the commissioner said that relations with minority communities are “difficult for us”, while also speaking about the state of the justice system and the size of the police force.

Sir Mark, who came out of retirement to become head of the UK’s largest police force in 2022, said: “We can’t pretend otherwise that we’ve got a history between policing and black communities where policing has got a lot wrong.

“And we get a lot more right today, but we do still make mistakes. That’s not in doubt. I’m being as relentless in that as it can be.”

He said the “vast majority” of the force are “good people”.

However, he added: “But that legacy, combined with the tragedy that some of this crime falls most heavily in black communities, that creates a real problem because the legacy creates concern.”

Sir Mark, who also leads the UK’s counter-terrorism policing, said black boys growing up in London “are far more likely to be dead by the time they’re 18” than white boys.

“That’s, I think, shameful for the city,” he admitted.

“The challenge for us is, as we reach in to tackle those issues, that confrontation that comes from that reaching in, whether it’s stop and search on the streets or the sort of operations you seek.

“The danger is that’s landing in an environment with less trust.

“And that makes it even harder. But the people who win out of that [are] all of the criminals.”

The commissioner added: “I’m so determined to find a way to get past this because if policing in black communities can find a way to confront these issues, together we can give black boys growing up in London equal life chances to white boys, which is not what we’re seeing at the moment.

“And it’s not simply about policing, is it?”

Sir Mark said: “I think black boys are several times more likely to be excluded from school, for example, than white boys.

“And there are multiple issues layered on top of each other that feed into disproportionality.”

‘We’re stretched, but there’s hope and determination’

Sir Mark said the Met is a “stretched service” but people who call 999 can expect an officer to attend.

“If you are in the middle of the crisis and something awful is happening and you dial 999, officers will get there really quickly,” Sir Mark said.

“I don’t pretend we’re not a stretched service.

“We are smaller than I think we ought to be, but I don’t want to give a sort of message of a lack of hope or a lack of determination.”

“I’ve seen the mayor and the home secretary fighting hard for police resourcing,” he added.

“It’s not what I’d want it to be, but it’s better than it might be without their efforts.”

‘Close to broken’ justice system ‘frustrating’ and ‘stressed’

Sir Mark said the criminal justice system was “close to broken” and can be “frustrating” for others.

“The thing that is frustrating is that the system – and no system can be perfect – but when the system hasn’t managed to turn that person’s life around and get them on the straight and narrow, and it just becomes a revolving door,” he said.

“When that happens, of course that’s frustrating for officers.

“So the more successful prisons and probation can be in terms of getting people onto a law-abiding life from the path they’re on, the better.

“But that is a real challenge. I mean, we’re talking just after Sir Brian Leveson put his report out about the close-to-broken criminal justice system.

“And it’s absolutely vital that those repairs and reforms that he’s talking about happen really quickly, because the system is now so stressed.”

Challenge to reform the Met

The Met chief’s comments come two years after an official report found the force is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

Baroness Casey was commissioned in 2021 to look into the Met Police after serving police officer Wayne Couzens abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard.

She pinned the primary blame for the Met’s culture on its past leadership and found stop and search and the use of force against black people was excessive.

At the time, Sir Mark, who had been commissioner for six months when the report was published, said he would not use the labels of institutionally racist, institutionally misogynistic and institutionally homophobic, which Baroness Casey insisted the Met deserved.

However, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who helped hire Sir Mark – and could fire him – made it clear the commissioner agreed with Baroness Casey’s verdict.

A few months after the report, Sir Mark launched a two-year £366m plan to overhaul the Met, including increased emphasis on neighbourhood policing to rebuild public trust and plans to recruit 500 more community support officers and an extra 565 people to work with teams investigating domestic violence, sexual offences and child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Watch the full interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips from 8.30am on Sunday.

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Police hunt four people who fled from Mercedes after fatal M40 crash

Published

2 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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Police hunt four people who fled from Mercedes after fatal M40 crash

Police are trying to locate four people who got out of a Mercedes car and ran off after it was involved in a motorway crash that left a man dead.

The vehicle was travelling northbound on the M40 when it was involved in a collision with a black Volkswagen Golf that was travelling in the same direction just before 1.15am on Saturday.

Thames Valley Police has said the driver of the Volkswagen, a 27-year-old man from High Wycombe, died of his injuries.

The force added that his passenger, a man in his 20s, sustained serious but non life-threatening injuries and has been taken to hospital.

A 26-year-old man from Beaconsfield has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and possession of a knife blade/sharp pointed article in a public place.

He remains in custody.

However, police are still trying to locate two men and two women who got out of the blue Mercedes and left the scene on foot.

Police are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage following the collision near junction two.

Detective Sergeant Edward Crofts said some witnesses had reported seeing the Mercedes AMG C250 being “driven erratically”.

He said: “Tragically, as a result of this collision, a man has died of his injuries. His next of kin are aware and are being supported by specially trained family liaison officers.

“Four people in the Mercedes left the scene of the collision and work is ongoing to identify and locate these individuals.

“I am appealing to anybody who was driving on that stretch of the M40 in the early hours of this morning and witnessed the collision to please get in touch with Thames Valley Police.”