Overview
- The cross-party standards committee backed a 14-day suspension after the commissioner found breaches of five code provisions, including leadership, disrepute, discrimination, abusive attack, and staff oversight.
- The case stems from an office WhatsApp exchange in which Jones wrote a slur about Chinese people during a discussion about TikTok, for which she has apologised.
- Investigators also cited derogatory remarks about a former staff member and a failure to challenge an anti-Islam message posted by a staffer in the group chat.
- Members of the Senedd are expected to vote on the recommended sanction next week following publication of the committee’s report.
- South Wales Police’s Economic Crime Unit found no evidence of expenses fraud, while Reform UK welcomed that outcome and her apology as Plaid Cymru and others condemned the language; Jones is Reform’s sole MS after defecting from the Conservatives.