Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards arrested on suspicion of assault

Plaid Cymru announced today that they had suspended the whip from Mr Edwards, 44. - Richard Townshend 
Plaid Cymru announced today that they had suspended the whip from Mr Edwards, 44. - Richard Townshend

Plaid Cymru has withdrawn the whip from one of their MPs after he was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a man earlier this week.

Jonathan Edwards, who has been the MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr since 2010 was arrested on Wednesday.

Plaid Cymru announced today that they had withdrawn the whip pending the conclusion of the police investigation.

Dyfed-Powys Police, which covers the MP’s constituency, confirmed that a 44-year-old man from Ammanford had been arrested on suspicion of assault.

They said that the 44-year-old had been released on bail, with investigations ongoing.

A Plaid Cymru statement released early on Saturday morning said: "Jonathan Edwards MP was arrested following a report of an incident.

"The party whip has been withdrawn pending the conclusion of a police investigation.

"Mr Edwards has accepted this course of action and is complying fully with the police enquiries.

"It would be inappropriate for the party to comment further at this time."

Mr Edwards became the MP for the South Wales constituency after Adam Price, the current leader of Plaid Cymru, stood down to run for a seat in the Welsh Parliament.

He retained his seat in the 2019 General Election, with a reduced majority of 1,809, as well as being a previous Brexit spokesman for the party.

The removal of the party whip means that the party is left with just three MPs, while Mr Edwards sits as an independent in Parliament until Plaid Cymru decides to reinstate it.

The father-of-two has been a strong supporter of Welsh nationalism. While a Treasury spokesman in 2016, he said that Wales had been “denied an opportunity to be treated as an equal nation within the UK”.

Calling for Welsh banknotes, he argued they would “would put us on equal footing with the other nations.”

“If Scotland and Northern Ireland can do it, there is no reason why Wales should not be able to.”

He regularly voiced his opinions on Wales’ relationship with Britain on social media, tweeting in 2014: “At the end of the day unionists loathe their own country. Their ultimate loyalty is to the State.”

He has since deleted his Twitter account.

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesman said: “A 44-year-old man from Ammanford was arrested on Wednesday 20 May on suspicion of assault, who has been released on bail.”

Both Dyfed-Powys and Plaid Cymru did not give any further details about the incident.