The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for Cardiff Central, Jenny Randerson, is seeking legal advice following a reply from the First Minister stating that he will not be investigating himself on claims that he may have broken the Ministerial Code by discussing school closures in Cardiff last week.
Jenny has twice written to the First Minister, lodging an official complaint regarding a possible breach of the Ministerial Code, policed by himself, by compromising due process in the case of school reorganisation in Cardiff by claiming the plans could lead to “ethnic polarisation”
The First Minister’s latest reply is short and to the point:
I am writing in response to your letter of 13 February.
I do not think it is appropriate for you now in a second letter to me on this matter to make reference to paragraphs in the Ministerial Code that you failed to identify in your original complaint. In any event my earlier letter makes it clear that I did not initiate this matter but was responding to a supplementary question raised on the floor of the Assembly.
I have no further comment to make on the matter.
This refusal to investigate the claim has brought to light the serious issue about the transparency, accountability and scrutiny of the First Minister and the policing of the Ministerial Code.
Jenny Randerson said: “I am extremely concerned that the First Minister will not investigate this legitimate complaint that he may have broken the Ministerial Code, a code of conduct for the Ministers of Wales, policed by himself.
“By not setting up an independent investigation, he is effectively acting as the judge and the accused in his own case. What sort of precedent is this supposed to give to this young democracy if the First Minister of Wales won’t allow himself to be investigated?
“The First Minister did not understand the seriousness of this complaint in the original letter and his response to the second letter shows his utter contempt for the legal situation that could arise from his comments.
“Across Wales, local authorities are struggling to deal with the extremely emotive and controversial issues of school reorganisation and comments made by the First Minister have effectively prevented the Education Minister from making a decision in an open and fair manner.
“When the decision about school reorganisation is made, it could cause serious legal problems for the Welsh Assembly Government, due to the First Minister’s comments.
“If the First Minister believes that he has not breached his own Ministerial Code, he should have the confidence to set up an independent body to investigate this claim to dismiss the allegations.
“I am currently taking legal advice on this situation as it is not right that anyone, even the First Minister of Wales, can place themselves above transparency, accountability and scrutiny.”
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