The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for Cardiff Central, Jenny Randerson has today called for an urgent rethink on the way the Ministerial code operates after the First Minister refused to comment on changing the protocol whereby he judges complaints made against himself.
Challenging the First Minister in plenary this afternoon, Jenny Randerson referred to her complaint against comments the First Minister made last month about school reorganisation in Cardiff which may have prejudiced the legal process. The First Minister at the time refused to even have the complaint investigated.
Jenny Randerson said: “There can be no argument made that will detract from the fact that in an open and accountable democracy, politicians should not adjudicate on their own actions and complaints made against them.
“In this case, I followed the processes I was supposed to, this meant writing to the First Minister with my complaint, but he refused to even allow it to be investigated.
“There is something very wrong when politicians seem to be hiding behind rules and protocols to prevent openness and transparency. I am deeply disappointed that he has refused to even discuss changing the rules. This essentially makes the office of First Minister largely unaccountable, something the Welsh people would I am sure, disagree with thoroughly.”
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