Carl Sargeant: Assembly turns down request for memorial

Carl Sargeant was found dead in November 2017

A request for a memorial in the Senedd to the late communities secretary, Carl Sargeant, has been turned down by the body that runs the assembly.

A cross-party group of assembly members had called for a plaque in the former Alyn and Deeside AM's memory.

But the assembly commission told them it only considers requests for AMs who have died at least ten years earlier.

Mr Sargeant took his own life in 2017 days after he was sacked amid claims of inappropriate behaviour towards women.

In a letter to the assembly commission, which is made up of senior AMs charged with overseeing the running of the institution, Tory Andrew RT Davies, Labour's Jenny Rathbone and Plaid Cymru's Bethan Sayed asked for the rule on memorials to be revised.

"We humbly request that you and the other commissioners allow this rule to be waived in exceptional cases where members have died in office," they wrote.

"These are dramatic and rare events where the whole assembly is plunged into mourning."

• Sacked ministers need support, coroner says

• 'Meaningful' investigation call by Sargeant family

• Timeline: The death of Carl Sargeant

In response, presiding officer Elin Jones told the AMs: "The commission is of the view that it is important to maintain the integrity of the policy and therefore concluded that it was not possible to accommodate your request."

The policy was set in February 2019.

'Fitting tribute'

Ms Sayed said she was disappointed with the decision.

"I think this would have been a fitting tribute to Carl Sargeant - the same would be true of other AMs that have passed within the 10 year mark," she said.

Bethan Sayed said the plaque would have been a "fitting tribute" to Carl Sargeant

Mr Davies said: "As an assembly we've yet to properly commemorate the passing of Carl Sargeant and indeed a number of other AMs, and this needs to be rectified."

An assembly commission spokeswoman highlighted that the assembly had held a special meeting "where members paid tribute to Carl Sargeant in the presence of his family".

The former Welsh Conservative leader Mr Davies added that Mr Sargeant left an "indelible mark on public life" through "his dedication and service within the cabinet, and the way he took legislation through the assembly".

He would like to see a commemoration within the assembly estate to members who have died in service, such as Plaid AM Steffan Lewis, who died of cancer in January 2019, as well as Mr Sargeant.

"Instead of putting up obstacles, the assembly commission should listen and work with AMs to deliver a fitting tribute to those who have lost their lives whilst serving Wales," he said.

The commission spokesman said the policy is to ensure "that a sufficient period of time has elapsed for the commission, at the time, to reach an objective decision on the merits of every case."

"The policy is necessary to provide clarity and consistency," she added.

A plaque was placed at the Senedd in 2018 to Labour AM Val Feld, who died in 2001 from cancer, at the age of 53.

It was the UK's first purple plaque to commemorate notable women.