Labour drops investigation into Carl Sargeant harassment claims
2 min read
Labour has dropped its investigation into the conduct of the late former Welsh Assembly minister Carl Sargeant.
Iain McNicol, the party's general secretary, said it was "no longer possible to take forward any investigation" under Labour’s internal procedures.
Mr Sargeant was found dead at his home earlier last month, four days after he was sacked from the Cardiff government over allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
In the letter to the solicitor of the former AM's family, Mr McNicol said the party "deems its investigation closed".
"As you know, our procedures require that after a complaint has been received, the Labour party sends an agreed formal statement of the complainant to the respondent so that the respondent may revert," he said.
“The Labour party received the initial complaint on Friday 3 November and was waiting for the formal statement to send to Mr Sargeant when the tragic news reached us of his passing.”
He added: “At no stage did the Labour party assume or confer any guilt on any individual... The Labour party rejects any liability for costs in this matter. We are confident we have acted in accordance with our procedures at all times.”
The move comes amid an investigation by a senior QC into Welsh first minister Carwyn Jones over his handling of the case, which has been the subject of criticism.
Following Mr Sargeant's death, his family insisted that he had protested his innocence, and criticised the Labour party for failing to reveal the full details of the allegations he faced.
Yesterday however Mr Jones told the BBC that he felt “loss” but not guilt over his death.
“Carl was a good friend. I knew Carl for many, many years. We never once argued. I’m confident that I did everything as I should have done," he said.
“Could I have done something different? No. The only way I could have done it different would have been to have ignored the allegations."
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