Welsh government minister spared Senedd ban after ‘Tories happy children killed’ post
A minister in the Welsh government is set to be censured after he posted that Conservatives were “happy” to see “children killed”.
He made the comments on the social media platform X, in response to the party’s opposition to the 20mph rollout.
The Welsh government changed the default speed limit in built-up areas in September last year.
It recently announced it was carrying out a review and that some roads might be changed back later in the year.
Mick Antoniw has been the government’s counsel general, its top legal job, since 2021.
The Senedd‘s standards commissioner received a complaint about a post by Mr Antoniw.
“Tories so happy to see people and particularly children killed and injured on our roads. Wholly irresponsible but not surprising,” the post stated.
‘Offensive’
The commissioner considered the comment to be offensive and Mr Antoniw accepted the assessment when contacted by him.
Mr Antoniw publicly apologised and deleted the post.
Standards commissioner Douglas Bain found the comments were “not only offensive but could bring the Senedd into disrepute”.
The cross-party standards committee accepted that a breach of the members’ code of conduct had occurred.
But the committee noted that Mr Antoniw “acted promptly, and undertook the necessary steps, to rectify this matter”.
Censure ‘warranted’
At first minister’s questions last September, leader of the Senedd’s largest opposition party Andrew RT Davies described the post as “unacceptable language”.
Then first minister Mark Drakeford told him the counsel general “took the tweet down immediately”.
He said Mr Antoniw had “since acknowledged that he would not have expressed it in that way had he been in a position to give it further consideration”.
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The committee concluded that a censure was “warranted”, rather than no further action, “given the pejorative characterisation of a section of the electorate”.
A censure is a way for the Senedd to note its disapproval of a member’s behaviour, but stops short of a temporary ban.
Nigel Farage has successfully exploited the Commons recess to “grab the mic” and “dominate” the agenda, Harriet Harman has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Labour peer said that the Reform UK leader has been able to “get his voice heard” while government was not in “full swing”.
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Mr Farage used a speech this week to set himself, rather than Kemi Badenoch’s Tories, up as the main opposition to Sir Keir Starmer at the next election.
The prime minister responded on Thursday with a speech attacking the Clacton MP.
Baroness Harman said: “It’s slightly different between opposition and government because in government, the ministers have to be there the whole time.
“They’ve got to be putting legislation through and they kind of hold the mic.
“They can dominate the news media with the announcements they’re making and with the bills they’re introducing, and it’s quite hard for the opposition to get a hearing whilst the government is in full swing.
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“What we used to do when we were in opposition before 1997 is that as soon as there was a bank holiday and the House was not sitting, as soon as the half-term or the summer recess, we would be on an absolute war footing and dominate the airwaves because that was our opportunity.
“And I think that’s a bit of what Farage has done this week,” Harman added.
“Basically, Farage can dominate the media agenda.”
She went on: “He’s kind of stepped forward, and he’s using this moment of the House not sitting in order to actually get his voice heard.
“It’s sensible for the opposition to take the opportunity of when the House is not sitting to kind of grab the mic and that is what Nigel Farage has done.”
But Baroness Harman said it “doesn’t seem to be what Kemi Badenoch’s doing”.
She explained that the embattled leader “doesn’t seem to be grabbing the mic like Nigel Farage has” during recess, and added that “there’s greater opportunity for the opposition”.
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