THE future of the leader of Plaid Cymru is in doubt in the aftermath of a damning review which found a culture of harassment, bullying and misogyny in the party.
Adam Price, who was elected as party leader in 2018, could be set to step down, according to reports from Nation.Cymru.
Plaid Cymru Senedd members met on Tuesday to discuss the report – which had been commissioned jointly by Mr Price and the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC). It was led by former Plaid politician Nerys Evans, and it began to look into the party’s culture last December.
Mr Price last week said he was “deeply sorry” and that all the recommendations would be taken on board.
Following these talks of Tuesday, Mr Price has called a special meeting of the NEC to discuss the future of the party.
A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said on Tuesday evening: "The Plaid Cymru Senedd Group met to discuss the implementation of the recommendations of the Prosiect Pawb report.
"Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price has subsequently called a special meeting of the NEC where the next steps for the party will be discussed.
"Plaid Cymru's priority remains the well-being of its staff and members, and fostering a culture which is safe, inclusive and respectful to all."
Speaking on ITV's Sharp End programme on Tuesday, the chairman of Plaid Cymru’s Senedd group, Llŷr Gruffydd, declined to comment on whether Mr Price had the full support of the party.
When asked if Mr Price would be leader next week, he said: “I don't have a crystal ball, but what I do know is that our priority is making sure we respond in the most positive way possible to the accusations made in that report.”
Mr Gruffydd was asked if Mr Price - the MS for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr - had the backing of all of Plaid’s Senedd members.
“I'm not going to enter into gossip of that sort,” he said.
“It isn’t on an individual. You cannot pin this on one single solitary person. This is a much wider corporate issue that Plaid Cymru is grappling with.
“It’s happened on my watch, it’s happened on other people’s watch, and we all now have to step up and respond.
“You can’t just point a finger at one person.”
The Prosiect Pawb report stated the Welsh nationalist party had “failed to implement a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment” and that women had been “especially” let down.
It also said “too many instances of bad behaviour” by elected members have been tolerated within the party so staff felt “there is little point in raising concerns”.
A total of 82 recommendations were made to “detoxify” the party’s culture.
In a joint statement following the publication of the report, Mr Price and Plaid chairman Marc Jones said: “It is clear that there are instances – both historically and in more recent times – whereby unacceptable behaviour has been allowed to take place or go unchallenged and that our processes and governance arrangements have been inadequate to address this.
“Individuals have been let down as a result – women especially, but also men.
“For that, on behalf of the collective leadership of Plaid Cymru, we are deeply sorry.
“It is clear that we must do better if we are to foster a culture which is safe, inclusive and respectful to all. That is how we will regain the trust of colleagues and members.”
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