Neil McEvoy has let a lot of people down, says Plaid AM

Former Plaid Cymru AM Neil McEvoy has "let a lot of people down", his ex-colleague Rhun ap Iorwerth said.

Mr McEvoy was expelled from the party for 18 months on Friday after a party hearing found him guilty of misconduct over how he behaved at a conference.

Mr ap Iorwerth, who said he had supported Mr McEvoy in the past, said the AM's behaviour had been appalling at that event.

The expelled politician has said he intends to appeal against the decision.

He remains an independent AM for the region, and a Cardiff councillor for the ward of Fairwater, and will have to re-apply for party membership after the 18 months are up.

According to copies of complaints against Mr McEvoy, Plaid chairman Alun Ffred Jones said he had asked the AM to not hold a rally at the spring conference.

A welcoming party later greeted Mr McEvoy at the Newport venue.

The event had come shortly after a tribunal finding against him that saw him suspended from Cardiff council for a month.

Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday, Mr ap Iorwerth said: "I thought it was pretty appalling what happened around Neil McEvoy at conference last year."

"I hear that he says it was somehow a surprise to him that there were people there with placards.

"He's had the photo of him with placards at the Newport conference as his Twitter page banner for the past year, so he's not exactly hidden it, has he," he said.

"I've been a big supporter of Neil in the past, but he's let a lot of people down."

"I supported him, want Plaid Cymru to be light and shade and different textures, and different colours literally and metaphorically. I want us to reach out to different parts of Wales," he said.

"Sometimes you have to come to a conclusion that some ways of behaving and some actions are not going to take us anywhere positive, and unfortunately I came to that conclusion in this case."

Mr McEvoy has complained of a lack of due process or natural justice in the process against him.

In his own press conference on Tuesday, he hopes to rejoin the party after his 18-month expulsion and stand again as their candidate in future elections.

"All things are open." he said. I would hope to win on appeal.

"The process was so flawed. I think what some party colleagues are missing is that the process has been so bad that a lot of people out there in the public, a lot party members are so de-motivated by this whole process.

"And I would hopefully be successful to draw a line and try and move on. How possible that is we have to wait and see."

He said he could no longer be leader of the Plaid group on Cardiff council after he was thrown out of the party.

"Maybe we can have a Plaid and independent group, we will have to see," he said.