20mph: Tory ruled on ‘blanket’ probe while facing same complaint

Mr Bain’s later investigation into Asghar, detailed in a report by the standards committee, said she did not dissent from any part of the committee’s report.

Believing she had recused herself from the committee’s proceedings, Mr Bain found that the initial complaint into her was not admissible.

But one day after the January report was published, Asghar referred to 20mph as a “blanket” speed limit on social media. She did so again in a video the next day.

Waters complained on 18 April that Asghar had used the term in a Senedd discussion – where she said the minister should “tolerate” her description because of the standards committee findings.

He said she had repeated this in social media and the press, later providing social media screenshots when prompted by Mr Bain who could not consider the Senedd remarks.

Asghar denied any wrong doing, saying when she used the blanket description she was expressing an opinion which had to be tolerated because of her right to freedom of expression.

In his conclusions, Mr Bain said it had been accepted by Asghar that she was aware that the standards committee had asked Senedd members to “take care to not intentionally make statements which are imprecise and inaccurate”.

He said that in agreeing a report which said the blanket description was “imprecise and inaccurate” Asghar knew the blanket term was false. “She did not make the statements honestly,” he found, accusing her of “a degree of moral turpitude”.

In his report, the commissioner added: “I am satisfied that by flying in the face of the committee’s report, which she as a member of that committee had agreed, the member was in effect saying one thing and doing the opposite.”