Shoot all Tories comment councillor avoids suspension

A former council leader who said “all Tories should be shot” will not be suspended, a committee has decided.

Ieuan Williams made the remarks at an internal Anglesey council meeting in June 2023 before apologising and referring himself to the public services ombudsman.

At the time he said he was “angry and emotional” about poverty when he made the “crass remark”.

The ombudsman said the comments “brought the council into disrepute” but, on Friday, the council’s standards committee said Williams would be be censured, but not suspended.

When a politician is censured, it means a formal statement of disapproval is issued by their party or organisation that condemns their actions or behaviour.

During the committee’s meeting, Williams admitted breaching the code of conduct, which a report also found he had failed to comply with.

Williams, an independent councillor for the Lligwy ward, was leader of the council between 2013 and 2017.

He was deputy leader and holder of the education and Welsh language portfolio when he made the comments.

He gave up his role as deputy leader in the aftermath of making his remark, which were described at the time as “inappropriate and unacceptable” by Dylan Williams, chief executive of the council.

The committee heard there were several reasons for the decision to censure Williams, including that the misconduct only occurred once and he reported the matter himself.

It added that Williams had cooperated to correct the failure and accepted that a change of behaviour was necessary, as well as following the code of conduct since the incident.