(Title Image: BBC Wales)
Standards Committee
Self-referral by Helen Mary Jones MS (Plaid, Mid & West Wales)
Published: 17th March 2021 (pdf)
In February 2021, Helen Mary Jones retweeted comments from a domestic violence campaigner “hoping” that a man on trial at Swansea Crown Court for killing his wife would be found guilty of murder. This was because the defendant was using diminished responsibility (described as an “I just snapped” defence) as a plea for a less-serious manslaughter conviction after admitting unlawful killing.
The defendant was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in prison. On the day of sentencing, Helen Mary Jones and the original tweeter were summoned to court by the judge to explain themselves.
Helen Mary Jones accepted that she hadn’t read the tweet fully and apologised to the court. The judge decided not to pursue the matter further, but believed both of their behaviour to be contempt of court, saying their conduct “ran the risk of influencing the jury”. The judge added that Helen Mary Jones’ “gross irresponsibility sets a very bad example to others”.
Following this, the MS referred herself to the Standards Commissioner for an investigation and accepted her actions fell short of those expected by someone in her position.
Senedd members are outright barred from discussing ongoing court or legal proceedings in the Senedd chamber unless it brings a ministerial decision into question – presumably this extends to social media/private discussion.
The Standards Commissioner concluded that Helen Mary Jones had fallen short of the Members Code of Conduct with respect to acting with integrity and demonstrating leadership. However, he noted that this was reckless behaviour rather than deliberate, as well as noting her immediate apology to the court and the Commissioner.
The Committee recommended that Helen Mary Jones is formally censured for her behaviour.
