Welsh government minister spared Senedd ban after ‘Tories happy children killed’ post

Published

7 months ago

June 28, 2024

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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”.

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.