This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The first minister of Wales “fuelled the despair” of a minister he had sacked following allegations of sexual misconduct by giving TV interviews about his case, an inquest has heard.

Carl Sargeant, who had suffered mental health problems for more than five years, felt “broken” following the allegations and distraught that he was not given the details of them, the court was told.

Sargeant, 49, was found hanged at his home in north Wales four days after he was sacked by the first minister, Carwyn Jones, and suspended from the Labour party.

At the start of a week-long inquest, Jones was accused of being irresponsible by giving interviews to the BBC and ITV the day before Sargeant’s death in which he referred to the accusations as “incidents” rather than “allegations”.

The former Welsh minister and a close friend of Sargeant, Leighton Andrews, said Sargeant was very concerned by the interviews.

He told the inquest: “I think the impact of the television interviews by the first minister had a significant impact on his state of mind. They fuelled his despair.”

He also expressed surprise that Jones was speaking about the situation three days after the matter had been passed to the Labour party to investigate.

Andrews said: “I don’t understand why, given that the matter had been handed off to the Labour party, the first minister was elaborating and speculating.”

He added: “The first minister referred to ‘incidents’ rather than ‘allegations’. The allegations had crystallised into incidents … I thought the interviews were inappropriate, I thought they were irresponsible. They invited people to conclude that these were incidents rather than allegations. They cut across process.”

Andrews told the inquest he and Sargeant had worked together on Jones’s leadership campaign in 2009 and had been a “key element” in helping to get him elected.

Andrews said he believed that earlier in Sargeant’s career he had been under “unfair pressure” and there was “micromanagement” of his diary. “I was aware that Carl felt overly policed by the first minister’s office,” said Andrews.

The court was told that Sargeant was diagnosed with “moderately severe depression” in March 2012 after what was described only as a “significant life event” involving a family member.

He took antidepressants until his death. At times he slept poorly and had bouts of tearfulness.

His former special adviser and close friend, Sophie Howe, told the inquest he would sometimes tell her he was having a “black dog day”. Howe said she had no doubt that the first minister knew of the “significant life event”.

She said Sargeant was under enormous pressure at work and described the environment as “toxic”, but did not expand.

Howe, who is now the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, said after Sargeant was sacked he phoned her and told her: “I’m out and it’s really bad.”

“He said there had been some allegations,” Howe said. “I was shocked. He seemed in a terrible state. He said: ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do.’”

She went to pick him up in Cardiff. “He looked ashen,” Howe said. “I found it incredible that he could be sacked without knowing what the allegations were.”

Howe added: “He was distraught, vacant, broken.” Over the weekend, he returned to north Wales. He texted Howe: “I’m in a dark place,” and the inquest heard he was “incredibly upset” when a BBC journalist knocked on his door.

Shortly before he died, Sargeant sent a message to Howe and other friends saying: “Love you all.”

She went into a meeting but suddenly felt panicked. She called his landline in north Wales and found out that paramedics were at his house.

Sargeant’s wife, Bernie, found him hanged in the utility room of their home in Connah’s Quay, north Wales, on 7 November 2017.

He had been sacked from his role as cabinet secretary for communities and children. He was also suspended from the Labour party over allegations of “unwanted attention, inappropriate touching or groping”.

The Welsh first minister is due to give evidence on Wednesday.

Family members including Sargeant’s wife and son, Jack, who succeeded his father as Alyn and Deeside assembly member (AM), were at the hearing. The inquest at Ruthin in north Wales continues.

• In the UK, the 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.