Welsh Labour deletes post after Reform UK legal threat in Caerphilly

Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage with Caerphilly by-election candidate Llŷr Powell

Welsh Labour has removed a social media post linking Reform UK’s Caerphilly Senedd by-election candidate Llŷr Powell to Vladimir Putin, after Nigel Farage’s party threatened legal action.

The Facebook posts from Welsh Labour, which according to the Meta Ad library ran on Facebook for three hours from October 2, came after Reform’s former Welsh leader Nathan Gill admitted taking bribes to make pro-Russian statements.

Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales and ex-UKIP and Brexit Party Senedd Member, pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between December 2018 and July 2019, while he was a Member of European Parliament. He has denied one charge of conspiracy to commit bribery.

Mr Powell worked as a constituency caseworker for Gill, but had left his employment in 2017 – before the bribery allegations took place.

Speaking to ITV Wales’ Rob Osborne, Mr Powell passionately defended himself – and labelled Gill’s actions as “abhorrent”, “deeply upsetting”, and a “complete and utter betrayal”.

Mr Powell accused opponents of a “smear campaign” and told ITV Wales: “Firstly I think the opponents are despicable in trying to suggest I knew anything like that, it’s all about a campaign, and let’s be clear I’m not going into the gutter like they are right now.”

As reported by BBC Wales, the letter sent by Reform cited the Defamation Act 2013 and the Representation of the People Act 1983.

The Defamation Act protects individuals from false or misleading statements that can harm their reputation, while the Representation of the People Act lays down strict rules governing election campaigns.

These include making false claims about a candidate’s character or conduct and breaches can potentially result in legal penalties, including voiding the election result.

A Welsh Labour spokesperson said: “It is a matter of public record that Reform UK’s former Welsh Leader Nathan Gill has admitted to taking bribes to speak in favour of Russia whilst being a Member of the European Parliament.

“Whilst we have removed the social media posts on request from Reform UK, questions remain as to why Reform UK chose a spokesperson for Russia to be their Welsh leader.

“Welsh Labour will not stop asking these questions.

“The people of Caerphilly and of Wales deserve to know whose interests Reform UK truly stand for.”

A spokesperson for Reform UK said the party had nothing further to add.

Caerphilly’s by-election candidates

Caerphilly Media

Welsh Labour deletes post after Reform UK legal threat in Caerphilly by-election

Caerphilly’s by-election candidates

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