AN MP who received a police caution for assaulting his wife will once again be able to represent Plaid Cymru in Westminster.
Last month, a split developed within Plaid Cymru when it was announced that Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards was able to re-join the party. He was suspended by Plaid following his July 2020 arrest on suspicion of assault.
He subsequently had to re-apply for party membership, and his case would be decided by a disciplinary panel.
When Plaid Cymru was asked why pictures of Mr Edwards appeared on the local party group's Facebook page appearing to show him with party members during the time he was suspended, they refused to comment.
The panel decided that Mr Edwards could re-join the party as a regular member, but recommended that he shouldn't represent the party in Westminster.
The party's chair, Alun Ffred Jones, resigned from his position following the panel's decision. The Argus' sister site The National has repoted that this was because of a disagreement over a constitutional issue regarding the panel's remit, and not becuase of any decision the panel made.
Mr Edwards' application to re-join the party came almost exactly a year to the day that he became eligible to do so.
In a statement Mr Edwards said: "I'd like to unreservedly apologise again for the action that led to my suspension and express my deep regret for the pain I've caused.
"The last two years have been a period of deep reflection". He added that he'd been registered on a domestic violence awareness cours which had "helped me to understand the effects my action had on others".
He added that Plaid Cymru has always supported women's rights, and that he "regrets that my actions have taken focus away from this important work".
It appears that splits in the party remain, with MS Siân Gwennlian, who is director of the national executive committee saying yesterday: "If an elected politician has severely damaged the integrity, the credibility and the reputation of our party by contravening one of its core values, then that person should no longer represent the collective, democratic voice of our members".
This reflects comments written for The National by former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood, who said that Mr Edwards shouldn't be allowed to re-join the party under any circumstances if the party was "serious about stamping out misogyny and domestic abuse."
The new chair of Plaid Cymru, Beca Brown, said in a statement that the party would "commission an independent review to identify the steps required for the party to be truly free from a culture of misogyny".
"The principle of allowing members of the party’s ruling executive to discuss a matter of such significance was of the utmost importance", she said.
"Having received further procedural advice Plaid Cymru has now notified Mr Edwards that the processes relating to his membership of the Westminster group has concluded. The whip has been restored to Mr Edwards.
"Plaid Cymru’s NEC will do all it can to ensure that Plaid Cymru elected representatives uphold the highest standards expected of them."
- A version of this article originally appeared on our sister site The National.
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