The Senedd's standards commissioner has concluded that Laura Anne Jones breached the Welsh Parliament's code of conduct by using a racial slur about Chinese people in a WhatsApp group and by failing to challenge abusive comments made by a member of staff, but cleared her of making fraudulent expenses claims.
Douglas Bain's unpublished investigation report, obtained by BBC Wales, found that Jones — who was a Conservative Member of the Senedd for South Wales East at the time of the messages and later defected to Reform — wrote in August 2023: "no chinky spies for me" in a group chat. The commissioner ruled that the remark contravened rules against discrimination, brought the Senedd into disrepute and failed to uphold the leadership principle.
Bain also found Jones did not challenge other offensive comments from a former staff member, including a reference to a colleague as a "Grade A prick" and a claim that policing was applied differently depending on ethnicity or class. The commissioner said those failures breached obligations to uphold respectful conduct and to avoid subjecting anyone to excessive or abusive attack.
The report examined separate complaints about Jones's expenses after earlier reporting and a police referral, which resulted in no criminal charges. Bain accepted Jones's account that incorrect mileage and petrol claims were made on her behalf because messages from her were misinterpreted by a staff member responsible for submitting claims. The commissioner said Jones identified and repaid claims for journeys she had not made and was satisfied that there was no evidence she had instructed fraudulent claims.
The investigation criticised Jones for not providing staff with training on the code of conduct and on the use of Senedd resources, saying that omission was itself a breach of the rules. But Bain rejected the complainant's assertion that Jones had instructed or conspired to submit fictitious claims, finding that witnesses named by the complainant did not support her version of events.
Bain's assessment of the complainant's credibility is a central and contested element of the unpublished report. The commissioner described the complainant's demeanour at interview as unimpressive and suggested the complaint may have been made out of "revenge" after the complainant's dismissal. The complainant has rejected that characterisation, telling the standards committee she had been trying to "do the right thing," that she felt mocked and humiliated during the process, and that her ability to raise concerns earlier was impaired by autism and a "toxic and bullying environment."
Jones issued a brief response, saying leaks of the report had taken a significant toll on her and her family and that she could not comment on leaked material without breaching rules. She said she looked forward to making a full response once the report is published in line with the standards process.
The report will be considered by the Senedd's standards committee, which will decide whether to recommend a sanction to the full Senedd. The committee can recommend measures including suspension for a period of time but cannot remove a member from office; any final reprimand or penalty would be determined by the Senedd itself when the report is published and the committee reports.
Bain described the report as confidential until it is published by the standards committee and said it would be inappropriate for him to comment further. The complainant has written to the standards committee alleging shortcomings in the commissioner's approach and saying she was denied a fair process. The Senedd is expected to decide publicly how to proceed once the standards committee completes its consideration and releases the report.
An earlier police inquiry into the expenses allegations concluded there was no evidence of criminality. BBC Wales has reported additional text messages attributed to Jones in which she discussed submitting larger petrol and mileage claims, but the commissioner and the police considered the available evidence insufficient to establish fraudulent intent. The standards process will now determine whether the findings about discriminatory language and failures to challenge staff conduct warrant a formal sanction by the Senedd.