A Welsh Senedd member for South Wales East, Laura Anne Jones, has used a racist slur to describe Chinese people in a WhatsApp group chat. She used a highly offensive term when referring to the Chinese-owned video app, TikTok. The Conservative politician has apologized and issued a statement saying that “the word was unacceptable, and I deeply regret using it”. Conservative Senedd leader, Andrew RT Davies, has recently been accused of racist language by the Muslim Council of Wales for an article he wrote about halal meat in schools.
Jones’ colleague, Conservative MS Natasha Asghar, stated that she was “positively livid” and “embarrassed” by Jones’ use of the term. Asghar, who represents the same region as Jones added, “language like this is unacceptable at every level”. Two Conservative MSs have stated that Jones should lose the whip and be removed from the Conservative group.
Jones was recently stripped of her position as the Conservative Party’s culture spokesperson, after texts from her phone appeared to show an employee was asked to maximize expenses claims. She has also been the subject of a police investigation over expenses allegations, which saw her removed from the shadow cabinet. A solicitor on her behalf said at the time: “Ms Jones is satisfied that any allegations in relation to impropriety surrounding expenses are entirely misconceived”.
Plaid Cymru has called on the Conservative group in the Senedd to “reflect on their recent behavior and understand that their actions and words have consequences” and described the language used in the WhatsApp conversation as “vile” and “completely unacceptable. The Welsh Conservative Party has declined to comment on the matter
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