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A Plaid Cymru disciplinary panel is split over whether to readmit South Wales Central AM and Cardiff councillor Neil McEvoy to the party, we can reveal.

The panel met for nearly five hours on Monday evening, but did not complete its deliberations. It is expected to reconvene within days.

Mr McEvoy was expelled by Plaid in March 2018 after a party panel decided he had brought the party into disrepute.

Initially Mr McEvoy was told he would have to wait for 18 months before being allowed to reapply for party membership, but that was reduced to 12 months.

Before being expelled from Plaid Cymru, Mr McEvoy was expelled from the Plaid group at the Assembly, who said they could not work with him.

He applied to rejoin the party in March, when his 12-month period of expulsion was over.

It is understood that at Monday’s hearing, arguments were put on both sides by members of the 12-strong panel, who are only able to consider Mr McEvoy’s behaviour since his expulsion.

Supporters of Mr McEvoy said he had a very good chance of defeating Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford in Cardiff West at the next Senedd election in 2021, a victory that would strengthen Plaid Cymru’s chance of entering government.

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It was also pointed out that he had played a leading role in last February’s Ely by-election, which resulted in a Plaid councillor being elected in what had previously been a solid Labour ward.

But his participation in the by-election campaign was itself a matter of contention, with opponents saying he should not have taken part while expelled from the party.

Opponents of Mr McEvoy are understood to have presented a series of videos which showed the AM in action at the Senedd in both plenary sessions and at committees. One of the videos saw him criticising the Children’s Commissioner.

While opponents suggested that his abrasive manner brought Plaid Cymru into disrepute, Mr McEvoy’s supporters claimed he was doing his job in a robust manner.

It is also understood that among the case documentation was criticism of Mr McEvoy over comments he made suggesting that former Plaid AM Simon Thomas should have been jailed after being convicted on child pornography charges.

In October 2018, Thomas admitted making more than 500 indecent photographs of children and more than 70 films. He was given a 26-week suspended jail sentence.

Sources have told us that the panel, chaired by solicitor Fflur Jones, will meet again to consider a report with recommendations being drafted by her.