The sole Reform UK member of the Welsh Parliament, Laura Anne Jones, is facing a two-week suspension from the Senedd’s debating chamber following a recommendation from its standards committee.
The proposed ban stems from a racial slur she used in a WhatsApp message exchange.
Ms Jones, who defected from the Conservatives earlier this year, made the offensive remark about Chinese people in a group during a discussion about the Chinese-owned app TikTok in August 2023.
She wrote: “No ***** spies for me.”
While Ms Jones has previously issued an apology for the comment, the Senedd standards committee concluded that her actions “fell far below the standards expected” of a member of the Senedd.
Members of the Senedd are expected to formally approve the 14-day suspension next week.
In its report, members of the committee said: “The committee is clear that inappropriate and offensive comments have no place in our Senedd, or society more widely.
“These messages were contained within an office group WhatsApp chat, rather than a public forum. However the code is clear that it applies to members at all times.”
The committee also looked into allegations that Ms Jones had fraudulently made false expenses claims but found “no breach of the code of conduct” in relation to that.
In a statement released after the committee’s report was published, the Reform Senedd member said: “I am delighted to have finally been cleared of any wrongdoing in relation to the malicious accusation of fraudulent activity.
“I am now looking forward to drawing a line under this after nearly two years of being hounded over it, and the detrimental impact that it has on both me and my young family.”
She added: “I have apologised, and I apologise again, for the regrettable comments that I made in a private message. I never meant to cause offence to anyone.
“I would like to thank both the police and standards commissioner for their thorough investigation, and I accept their conclusions.”
A Reform UK Wales spokesperson said: “We thank the independent standards commissioner and the police for their thorough investigation and for concluding that no fraudulent activity had taken place.
“Laura has rightly apologised for her comments, made in a private WhatsApp, and has made a clear effort to make amends for these comments.
“However, it is quite clear that there is a serious issue with two-tier policing in this country, and no politician should be barred from our national parliament for discussing this.
“It is a great shame that, because of a committee made up of only Labour, Plaid and Conservative politicians, there will be no Reform voice in the Senedd now for two weeks.”
A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “The language used was vile and completely unacceptable, and should never be used by anyone – especially those elected to represent our communities in our national parliament. It is only right the member faces the consequences of her actions.
“The fact that Reform accepted the member’s defection following this information coming to light tells us everything you need to know about the party, whose divisive rhetoric only serves to pit our communities against each other.”
