Family of Welsh politician who apparently killed himself say he was not given details of the allegations but denied wrongdoing

The family of the former Welsh assembly member Carl Sargeant have released correspondence indicating that he was facing allegations of “unwanted attention, inappropriate touching or groping”, which he denied.



In a statement, the family said that the 49-year-old was not given details of the allegations against him before he apparently took his own life on Tuesday, but said they were “not in a severe category of transgression”.

There was also criticism of the Welsh first minister, Carwyn Jones, for giving more details about the inquiry in a television interview on Monday than Sargeant had been provided with.

Jones sacked Sargeant from his post as Wales’s cabinet secretary for communities and children on Friday after the allegations – understood to have been made by three women – first publicly emerged.

A family spokesperson said: “In light of the continued unwillingness to clarify the nature of the allegations made against Carl, the family wish the release into the public domain correspondence between Carl’s solicitors and the Labour party on Monday of this week (6 November 2017).

“Up to the point of his tragic death on Tuesday morning Carl was not informed of any of the detail of the allegations against him, despite requests and warnings regarding his mental welfare.

“The correspondence also discloses [Sargeant’s] solicitor’s concern that media appearances by the first minister on Monday were prejudicing the inquiry.”

The statement added: “The family wish to disclose the fact that Carl maintained his innocence and he categorically denied any wrongdoing. The distress of not being able to defend himself properly against these unspecified allegations meant he was not afforded common courtesy, decency or natural justice.”

Meanwhile, the calls for an independent investigation have grown. Sir Alistair Graham, a former chairman of the committee on standards in public life, called for a senior lawyer to carry out a review.

He said he did not believe that Sargeant was dealt with fairly and that the decision to remove him from the cabinet was taken hastily. “You don’t dismiss somebody from a position without first going through due process,” he said.

Jenny Rathbone, the Labour assembly member for Cardiff Central, said: “Clearly, he wasn’t dealt with fairly in the most basic sense. If allegations are made against you, you must know what they are so you can respond to them. That doesn’t appear to have happened.”

In a BBC interview on Wednesday morning, Labour’s Dawn Butler, the shadow minister for women and equalities, said Labour’s policy was for an accused person to be told what allegation they faced, and she called for a full investigation.

Later she tweeted: “After giving an interview this morning, I have looked further into the process followed in this case. It seems that the appropriate process was followed, including preserving the anonymity of alleged victims at each stage of the process.”

Sargeant was summoned to Jones’s office on Friday, against a backdrop of intense focus on the conduct of politicians at Westminster and elsewhere. It is understood three women made complaints against him, but there was no police involvement.

Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Jones said he had become “aware of a number of incidents” at the beginning of last week. “I asked my office to speak to those women involved who had provided detail of those incidents.

“As a result of those conversations I felt I had no choice but to refer the matter to the party. If we have somebody who is in a position where they could embarrass the party or bring the party into disrepute, then action is taken.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said on Wednesday: “The Labour Party governance and legal unit spoke with Carl Sargeant and, in line with agreed procedure, outlined the nature of the allegations that had been received and how the complaints process works.”

Chris Risley, chairman of Connah’s Quay town council and a long-time friend of Sargeant’s, said: “The biggest thing for me is that something like this should have triggered a helpline he could have called. He had nothing. He was thrown out and the doors closed behind him and he was left to the wolves.”



The correspondence states that at 4.33pm on Friday 3 November, Sam Matthews, head of disputes at the Labour party’s governance and legal unit in London, emailed Sargeant’s lawyer, Huw Bowden, about the case. He said that the allegations were covered by an NEC rule stating: “No member of the party shall engage in conduct which in the opinion of the NEC is prejudicial, or in any act which in the opinion of the NEC is grossly detrimental to the party.”

A case number and investigations officer were allocated.

On Monday 6 November at 4.48pm Bowden wrote to Matthews saying that neither Sargeant nor he had heard from an investigations officer.

He wrote: “Despite this the first minister has felt able to conduct interviews with the BBC. In those interviews he has indicated he became ‘aware of a number of incidents at the beginning of last week’.”

Bowden said: “This is clearly prejudicing what is allegedly an independent inquiry by your office. It would seem that already a large number of people have spoken to the complainant or complainants yet we still have received no disclosure of the complaint or complainants.”

In a second letter dated Monday 6 November and addressed to Matthews, Bowden Jones solicitors wrote: “We would make it clear at the outset that our client categorically denies any allegation that he has acted in a manner that is either prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the party. We are led to believe the allegations concern conduct that you described as our client having acted towards others in such a way as alleged to be ‘unwanted attention, inappropriate touching or groping’. We make it clear that any such allegations are categorically denied.

“We would request immediate details as to the nature of the allegations that have been made against our client to enable him both to defend himself and to be satisfied as to the legitimacy and transparency of the procedure conducted upon receipt of the complaint.”

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.









