Jonathan Edwards: MP who assaulted wife should quit, Plaid leader says

Jonathan Edwards sat as the independent MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr after his suspension by Plaid Cymru, but has been readmitted to the party

An MP who assaulted his wife should resign and leave Plaid Cymru, according to party leader Adam Price.

Jonathan Edwards, the MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, was suspended from the party in the wake of the assault in May 2020, but was recently readmitted.

Mr Edwards has said he will not rejoin the Plaid group of MPs at Westminster.

His wife, Emma Edwards, had said she was "appalled" after Plaid announced he would be allowed to return to being a Plaid MP.

Mr Edwards has criticised senior party figures for "vindictive and vengeful" attacks.

Mr Price cannot simply expel Mr Edwards from the party because Plaid's internal democratic rules and processes mean the party leader does not have the power to do so.

Mr Edwards, who accepted a police caution, said he will regret his actions on the day of the assault "to the end of my life". Details of the incident are unknown.

Mr Price said: "I would like to thank Emma Edwards for speaking out yesterday and for her to know that her voice has been heard.

"I would also like to offer my apology to her and all domestic abuse survivors for the pain this has caused."

He called on Mr Edwards to "leave the party".

"His actions do not represent our values and his position as an MP sends the wrong message out to domestic abuse survivors in Wales and beyond," Mr Price said.

Mr Edwards was first elected Plaid MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr in 2010. At the last election in 2019 he had a majority of 1,809 over the Conservatives.

Mr Price also said work would begin immediately on changing the party's disciplinary processes to "give victims of gender-based violence a central role in any inquiries".

Mr Edwards has also issued a statement in which he criticised "a very dangerous environment when there is no space for anyone in the public sphere to speak honestly about mistakes they make, to be allowed to show genuine remorse and to try and build a better life".

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He said: "I am concerned that there has been no distinction in any of the discussions about the difference between an incident and a pattern of behaviour."

Mr Edwards accused "senior figures within the party" of misusing "their positions of power by subjecting me to vindictive and vengeful coordinated political attacks".

Analysis

This has been a particularly difficult issue for party leader Adam Price, because he is the Senedd member for the same constituency that Jonathan Edwards represents in the House of Commons - and there has been strong support for Mr Edwards in the local party.

The Plaid leader cannot simply terminate Mr Edwards' membership, and he is facing questions about why he's taken this long to make his call for him to quit, given Mr Edwards was suspended more than two years ago.

Mr Price says he had to let the disciplinary process take its course - the panel ruling on Mr Edwards only readmitted him to the party last month and until legal advice forced a U-turn on Wednesday, the party's ruling body was recommending that he should be prevented from sitting as a Plaid MP.

Mr Price says the intervention of Emma Edwards prompted him to make his call on Saturday.

But that begs another question - if Mrs Edwards hadn't made her public statement, would he have said anything at all?

In answer, he told me that her statement contained information that changed the party's perspective - he apologised to her and said she shouldn't have been put in that position.

His membership of Plaid Cymru was restored last month by a disciplinary panel but the party's ruling executive also recommended that he should not be allowed to rejoin their group of Plaid MPs at Westminster.

The decision split the party.

On Wednesday they backtracked, after receiving legal advice, and restored the whip. His wife said she was "disappointed" at the decision.

The couple are getting divorced.