A man has been charged with stalking and possession of a flick knife after allegedly targeting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and his family.

Inigo Rowland, 58, of Surbiton, south London, was arrested last Monday, but it was only made public on Sunday.

He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody, the Met Police said.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between June and October.

Sir Ed, the MP for Kingston and Surbiton, lives in southwest London with his wife, Emily, their 17-year-old son John, and his younger sister Ellie.

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “Inigo Rowland, 58, of Surbiton has been charged with stalking and possession of a flick knife.

“He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 7 October and was remanded into custody. He will next appear at the same court on Tuesday, 14 October.

“He was arrested on Monday, 6 October in relation to the offences, which are alleged to have taken place between June and October.”

A Lib Dem spokesperson said: “We cannot provide any details at this time, Ed’s number one priority is the safety of his family.”

Calls for a meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer have been snubbed by No 10, the leader of Plaid Cymru has told Sky News.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, who has served as leader of the Welsh nationalist party since June 2023, is looking likely to become Wales’s first minister next May, but when he asked to meet with Sir Keir after his election last year, he says he was turned down.

Speaking with Sky News’ political correspondent Liz Bates, Mr ap Iorwerth said he had “never” had a conversation with the prime minister but it was “not because I haven’t tried”.

He added: “When I contacted the prime minister to ask for a meeting, after his election last year, I was turned down and it was passed on to the Secretary of State for Wales.

“People can read into that what they want.

“I’ve spoken very openly about wanting to have a constructive relationship with the UK prime minister.”

The former journalist said in his reporting days he had not interviewed Sir Keir and now, in politics, their “paths had never crossed” but he said he felt it was “important”.

“I have certainly asked if we could meet. And that is certainly something that I would still love to happen,” he said.

Mr ap Iorwerth said a conversation would be key because if he became Welsh first minister, there would be “serious negotiations on serious issues around funding for Wales – on investing in infrastructure in Wales, on the future of how we’re able to influence and use our natural resources in Wales”.

“So I want to have that constructive relationship,” he said.

In an apparent nod to current Labour first minister Eluned Morgan, Mr ap Iorwerth said Sir Keir would be in “no doubt” that his loyalty “would always be to the people of Wales”.

He said: “I won’t be pulling my punches in order to save the Labour Party embarrassment.

“I’ll be really laying out what’s in the interest of Wales. And that’s, I think, a fundamentally different relationship. But it has to be, and I want it to be, a constructive one.”

The next Senedd election is May 2026, when voters in Wales will elect 96 members for the first time – an increase of more than 50% from the current 60.

Welsh politics has traditionally been dominated by Labour.

Labour’s grip on Wales sliding?

Welsh Labour MPs have been the largest group sent to Westminster in every general election since 1922 – and the party has been in government in the country for more than a quarter of a century.

But if the polls are accurate, Labour’s long-standing grip on politics in Wales is fading.

Plaid Cymru and Reform UK are running almost neck and neck, while Labour trails significantly.