Police drop secret recording investigation into Senedd's Neil McEvoy

A police investigation into a Senedd politician has been dropped after the Welsh Parliament withdrew a complaint against him.

Neil McEvoy revealed last year that he made secret recordings of former standards commissioner Sir Roderick Evans.

The politician claimed the recordings revealed sexism and bias.

Sir Roderick resigned but insisted what was shared was misleading and out of context.

The Senedd declined to comment on why it had withdrawn the complaint.

The body, then known as the National Assembly for Wales, referred the matter to South Wales Police when it emerged in November.

Elin Jones, presiding officer, said at the time that the recordings were a "serious breach of trust".

Sir Roderick had been investigating complaints into the politician prior to his resignation.

Mr McEvoy, who was elected as a Plaid Cymru representative for South Wales Central before he was expelled from the party, has maintained he acted lawfully.

He has since formed his own party, which he wants to call the Welsh National Party, but the Electoral Commission is reconsidering whether to allow it to use the name.

In an email to Mr McEvoy, South Wales Police said the Welsh Parliament had notified them that it wished "to withdraw the complaint of misconduct in public office" made on 12 November.

"As a result the investigation will be finalised with no further action being taken by the police," the email said.

Meanwhile, South Wales Police has told Mr McEvoy they would ensure a "robust investigation" into whether Sir Roderick Evans and two members of his staff had themselves committed misconduct in public office.

After it emerged the assembly had complained in November, Mr McEvoy reported Sir Roderick Evans and two members of staff to the police, providing copies of the recordings.

In a separate email written in June, a detective inspector said the police force took the allegation "extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that a robust investigation is carried out", requesting a statement from Mr McEvoy.

South Wales Police confirmed the contents of the correspondence to Mr McEvoy.

A spokeswoman added: "South Wales Police received a number of complaints.

"Enquiries continue into some of these matters and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage."

BBC Wales has contacted Sir Roderick for comment.

Mr McEvoy said: "I was elected promising to burst the Bay bubble and clean up Cardiff Bay. That's exactly what I'm continuing to do."