Monmouth Tory Nick Ramsay faces court battle over £25,000

Nick Ramsay has been a Member of the Senedd since 2007

The political future of Conservative MS Nick Ramsay is hanging in the balance as he awaits court action by his local party as well as a looming reselection battle.

Mr Ramsay faces a contempt of court hearing after refusing to pay the Monmouth Tory association £25,000.

He says he is not paying because he wanted to make a complaint about an alleged conflict of interest.

It comes as a new process begins to find a candidate for Monmouth.

In November Nick Ramsay took Monmouth Conservative Association (MCA) to court in an effort to stop them going ahead with a meeting to discuss a petition calling for him to be deselected.

He withdrew his application for an injunction at the last minute and the judge ordered him to pay MCA legal costs.

The meeting went ahead and began a process which led to Mr Ramsay's deselection as the Conservative candidate for Monmouth in the forthcoming Senedd election.

A new selection process has begun and a final meeting to choose a candidate is expected to take place in mid-March. Nick Ramsay will be one of the names on the shortlist.

• Monmouth Senedd Tory Nick Ramsay deselected

• Tory Ramsay accuses party members of 'witch hunt'

• Welsh Tory AM released without charge by police

In a separate matter, Mr Ramsay is now being taken to court by MCA who claim he is in contempt of court for failing to pay the legal costs awarded to them by the judge in the November court case.

In a letter sent to Nick Ramsay's lawyers in December, MCA's solicitor says the breach of a court order is "even more serious in circumstances where the alleged contemnor - your client - is a sitting member of a legislature of the United Kingdom".

The letter continues: "The highest standards of probity should be expected of Members of the Senedd, and defiance to an order of the High Court undermines the rule of law, and itself renders your client unsuitable for public office."

Tim Gir, Nick Ramsay's solicitor said: "Out of respect for the process and the Judiciary it would not be appropriate to comment further on the case at the moment."

"The fact that others involved in the process are prepared to make sensitive communications public, if indeed they have, speaks volumes as to the manner in which Mr. Ramsay is being treated."

Mr Ramsay's lawyers have claimed a complaint about a solicitor acting on behalf of MCA is being filed with the Solicitor's Regulatory Authority, although the solicitor for MCA denies any conflict of interest and told BBC Wales he was not aware of any complaint having been made.

The question of a conflict was raised in court at the November hearing.

Allegation 'doesn't make difference' to costs

His Honour Judge Matthews said it was not an obstacle to him awarding costs to the association: "It doesn't make any difference if the solicitor was entitled to act.

"It matters only who won in the sense of who should be entitled to an order for costs if I make one and the question of quantification can be dealt with at another hearing in due course if any action is taken under the solicitor."

The chairman of the Monmouth Conservative Association, Nick Hackett-Pain, confirmed the court costs had not been paid and that there would be court proceedings as a result.

A date is yet to be arranged for the hearing.

In January, Nick Ramsay resigned as finance spokesman for the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd after reports that he was one of four elected members who drank alcohol in the Welsh Parliament's tea room days after a ban on drinking in licenced premises had been introduced.

At that time his solicitor said: "Our client offered his resignation from the shadow cabinet, in light of the standards commissioner's inquiry."

"Mr Ramsay has fully cooperated with the Senedd Commission's investigation and he will accordingly cooperate properly with the standards commissioner's inquiry."

He has denied being part of a "gathering" in the tea room.