Gwent Police: Welsh ministers might back wider investigation

A minister says the Welsh government will consider a call for a national inquiry into England and Wales police forces, after allegations of misogyny, corruption and racism at Gwent Police.

Gwent Chief Constable Pam Kelly has said Wiltshire Police will independently investigate Gwent Police.

But ex-Crown Prosecution Service head Nazir Afzal wants a wider probe.

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said: "We'll consider the call before coming out with a more considered view".

The Welsh government has no jurisdiction over policing matters, which are the responsibility of the Home Office within the UK government.

The Gwent investigation has been compared by Labour MP Ruth Jones to "police officers marking police officers' homework".

Wiltshire Police said it was "not uncommon for police forces to request other forces to take on independent investigations".

Gwent Police is not commenting on Ms Jones's criticism.

The review emerged on the weekend after the Sunday Times reported on messages between serving and retired officers.

A solicitor acting for the family of a policeman whose phone sparked the probe said on Monday that he had "never seen anything like" the messages they found.

Craig Court said messages on the phone of Gwent Police officer Ricky Jones, who died in 2020, revealed affairs, corruption, misogyny and homophobia.

Mr Afzal, until recently a Welsh government advisor, said a national inquiry is needed because problems are "likely to be everywhere" across forces in Wales and England.

"The vast majority of police officers are very good at what they do and clearly not bigoted or prejudiced, but there is a sizable minority, unfortunately, who are racist, sexist, homophobic, corrupt, and there's nothing in my mind worse than a bigot with a warrant card," he said.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Mr Gething said there had been "no hesitation" from Gwent Chief Constable Pam Kelly in expressing "how appalled" she had been "at the allegations" and "the investigation is taking place by a separate police force".

"All of us should be able to have trust and confidence in the police and if it is revealed there are people who wear the uniform who absolutely should not it is, of course, a point of concern," he said.

"I've seen the wider issues in relation to the [Metropolitan Police] and others, I'd want to reflect and consider the call from Nazir Afzal and others for a wider investigation, and to understand how that will practically make a difference."

Mr Gething said he wanted "to make sure that we all get the police force that we deserve as citizens, but also that all the many decent men and women who serve in our police forces" have officers "alongside them that won't embarrass and shame them in the way that, I'm afraid, far too many have done".

"So I think we'll consider the call before coming out with a more considered view on Nazir Afzal's suggestion," he added.