Tory Senedd member investigated over allegedly overstated expense claims | Wales

BBC Wales has seen text messages apparently sent from the phone of a Conservative Senedd MP in which she appeared to ask a member of staff to inflate her expense claims.

Police in South Wales have received information from the Senedd Commissioner for Standards which is still being investigated, police said.

The BBC published screenshots of messages, including one that Laura Anne Jones allegedly sent to a staff member, which read: “When I drive petrol I always earn more than I used to. Please add something to that, OK.”

When the employee asked, “Like visits to the constituency office?” the answer was, “Yes – things like that.”

Lawyers acting on Jones’ behalf said: “Ms Jones is satisfied that all allegations of expense irregularities are entirely without merit.”

BBC Wales reported that it had seen WhatsApp messages sent to a staff member in response to a question about whether expense claims should be submitted for days when Jones was sick. There was no direct response to this, but the screenshot appears to show a spreadsheet of suggested expenses that the staff member had sent to the politician’s phone.

A response from Jones’ phone read: “If you could always do more than what is written there, that would be fabulous, thank you.”

During the investigation, Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said: “I have asked Laura Anne Jones to step down from the Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet while the investigation is underway.”

“We will not comment on ongoing investigations.”

BBC Wales said it was not possible to verify the context in which the messages were sent or whether their messages represented the full conversations between the people involved. The Guardian has not seen the messages, apart from screenshots released by the broadcaster.

A spokesman for the Senedd Commissioner for Standards said the commissioner was prohibited from “disclosing information about complaints received or not received”.

According to the BBC, Jones was originally reported to the Standards Commissioner over her handling of bullying allegations by a senior member of staff.

Lawyers acting on Jones’ behalf told the Guardian in a statement: “Ms Jones has not received a formal complaint of bullying against any of her staff.”

On the expense claims, they added: ‘Ms Jones considers that the complaints made to the Standards Commissioner are without merit.

“As these matters are subject to ongoing investigations, it would be inappropriate for Ms Jones to comment further.

“Ms Jones has no objection to the Guardian/BBC or her sources referring these allegations to the police and/or the Information Commissioner. This will give her the opportunity to respond formally as part of the investigation should the authorities request it.

“Any publication containing a statement or allusion with defamatory meaning will result in the initiation of defamation proceedings.”