The father of a Conservative MP alleged to have obstructed officers investigating his son for fleeing the scene of a car crash has had a charge against him dropped. Darryl Hamilton Wallis, 57, is the father of Bridgend MP Jamie Wallis who was found guilty of three driving offences.
On November 28 last year the Mercedes Wallis Jr was driving hit a lamppost and telegraph pole in Church Road in Llanblethian, Vale of Glamorgan. Wallis claimed he left the scene of the crash out of fear he would be "raped, killed, or kidnapped" due to post-traumatic stress disorder which he said he developed after being raped in September.
Taking to the stand at Cardiff Magistrates' Court on Monday, Wallis Jr said the day before the crash he was at home "wearing clothes I felt most comfortable in, which I often do when I’m alone, which are women’s clothes". Peter Rouch QC, defending, asked Wallis: "How long have you felt like this?" Wallis replied: "Since I was a small child."
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Wallis Jr said he would describe himself as transgender. In March 2022 Wallis became the first MP in the UK to come out as transgender. Wallis revealed in the same public statement that he had been raped. You can read the full court story here.
The MP was disqualified from driving for six months and fined £2,500. District Judge Tan Ikram said he did not find Wallis to be "credible", adding: "When I watched him give evidence it seemed to me not only was he fitting his own behaviour around the behaviour of PTSD and his actions on the night does not suggest he was overwhelmed and acting out of fear that night."
Mr Wallis Sr appeared at the same court on Wednesday having pleaded not guilty to obstructing or resisting a constable in the execution of their duty on November 28 last year at his home in Crossway House, Cowbridge. He was due to stand trial but the charges were dropped after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) failed to serve disclosure documents on time.
District judge Shoman Khan asked prosecutor Alycia Carpanini why this had not been done and she said the relevant documentation had not been reviewed until the day before the trial. As a result she applied for the case to be adjourned.
But Mr Wallis Sr's barrister Peter Rouch QC argued the delay would cause difficulties to his client who was funding his own representation and a number of business owned by the defendant had been affected. He added: "It's obvious the prosecution have had ample time to put their house in order and have been reminded by defence solicitors to submit disclosure."
District judge Khan refused the application for an adjournment on the grounds the CPS were at fault for the disclosure failings, which he described as "lamentable". As a result of this Ms Carpanini offered no evidence and the case against Mr Wallis Sr was dropped.
Addressing Mr Wallis Sr the judge said: "You may be fortunate, I don't know, in the way matters have unfolded. There was a case to answer that needed to be tested and matters challenged but as a result of the failure of the CPS there's no evidence to be offered. The case against you is dismissed."
District judge Khan demanded an explanation from the CPS regarding the disclosure failings. He added: "Because this is such a lamentable failure it's not good enough for an internal inquiry. I want to see a letter from the chief crown prosecutor to explain why this has happened, how this has happened, and what steps will be taken to avoid this in future."
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