A councillor who posed with a gun and posted an 'anti-English' message on his social media page has handed over the weapon and is being dealt with through a "restorative justice" approach, police have confirmed. Jon Scriven, the Plaid Cymru Councillor representing Penyrheol in Caerphilly, shared a Facebook post which saw him appearing to pose with a rifle.
The now-deleted picture appeared on Councillor Jon Scriven’s Facebook page on August 8 captioned that he was making sure “there wasn’t any English people trying to cross the channel”. The post read: “Ogmore-by-Sea tonight for a quick swim and make sure there wasn’t any English people trying to cross the channel”.
The post resurfaced online on August 22. Plaid Cymru have confirmed that he has now been suspended pending investigation and that the post was "inappropriate". South Wales Police also confirmed they were investigating a report of malicious communications in relation to Mr Scriven's post.
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The deleted post was made public by Caerphilly's Labour Senedd Member, Hefin David, on August 22 after he shared a screenshot on his Twitter account, stating that it was "not appropriate". His tweet has now been liked hundreds of times. You can get more politics news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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Mr Scriven apologised for the post, writing on his Facebook page which can be publicly viewed: "I would like to apologise for any offence caused by my now deleted Facebook post. It was ill-judged and I have apologised to the group leader Lindsay Whittle who has accepted my apology."
South Wales Police have confirmed that after the report of malicious communications was received, Mr Scriven attended Cardiff Bay Police station and is now being dealt with through a "restorative justice process." They say this process is an out of court disposal. The weapon has been surrendered.
Plaid Cymru have yet to confirm whether Mr Scriven's will be reinstated. They previously said his post went against the party's "views and values" and that while he was right to apologise for offence caused, he has been suspended pending investigation.
The post has been attacked by other politicians, with Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies responding to say that he was “speechless”. In a Tweet he said: “This is a Plaid Cymru councillor. [Plaid Cymru leader] Adam Price cannot let another scandal rage on without decisive action. This sort of xenophobic attitude is beneath us.”
Labour MS Hefin Davies, who shared the initial post, also added: "At a time when our society is facing huge challenges, it's incredibly concerning to see this from a Caerphilly Plaid councillor. We should be seeking to unite people and address real concerns like the cost of living, not posting disturbing images that are calculated to divide us."
Before the suspension was announced, the Welsh Liberal Democrats called on Plaid to suspend the councillor, with a spokesperson stating that there was “a clear implication of violence and xenophobia in this post”.
A spokesperson from South Wales Police said: "A 47-year-old man from the Caerphilly area has attended Cardiff Bay Police Station after complaints of malicious communications were made to police about a social media post.
"The individual concerned has been dealt with through the Restorative Justice process and has agreed to apologise for his actions. Restorative Justice is an out-of-court disposal which allows police to deal with relevant offences quickly and proportionately when an individual accepts full responsibility and it is consistent with national policies and guidance.
"We have also investigated alleged firearms offences and worked with colleagues in Gwent Police to ensure the weapon in question was surrendered."
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