20mph: Transport minister accuses Tory of encouraging hate

Wales' transport minister has accused his Tory rival of encouraging hate towards politicians.

In one of his last acts in the job, Lee Waters accused Welsh Conservative transport spokeswoman Natasha Asghar of lying, in an exchange in the Senedd.

He accused her of misinformation and abuse in her criticism of the 20mph speed limit and other policies.

Ms Asghar denied the accusation and said the remark was disgusting, accusing Mr Waters of "arrogance".

"Are you actually joking," she said.

Mr Waters was asked to withdraw the remark by the deputy presiding officer, but refused to, and continue to accuse her of abuse.

The MS for Llanelli announced he was leaving his job as transport minister earlier this month.

He accused Ms Asghar, who is an MS for South Wales East, of failing to hold him to account in her contributions in the Senedd.

In his last question and answer session in the Senedd, Ms Asghar accused Mr Waters of branding some of an anti-20mph group at the Welsh Parliament last week as "childish".

Earlier in the exchange Lee Waters, whose title is deputy minister for climate change, said the meeting was actually "a very cordial, constructive half an hour".

"I think that, at one point, when one of them was constantly interrupting me, I said, 'That was childish, and we should have a mature conversation', which we did," the MS for Llanelli said.

Ms Asghar continued to accuse him of ignoring the "just under 0.5 million people" who had signed the anti-20mph petition.

"So, before you jump in your chauffeur-driven car for one last time... are you honestly genuinely proud of your record when it comes to transport in Wales? Because, honestly, I'd say the public really does think the opposite."

Mr Waters said he travels to work most days by bike, but was going home that night by car because he had a large picture to take home. "I hope that's permissible," he said.

He went on: "Absolutely, there are lots of people who are opposed to it [20mph], and they signed a petition, which was riddled with inaccuracies, based a lot on the misinformation that her and her party put out, and are still putting out, and telling lies about our policies.

"I see again last week she is saying that we have banned road building in Wales, when clearly that is not factually true.

"I wish she would ban lying. I wish she would reflect on the contribution she makes to crying hate towards politicians when she contributes to a poisonous culture of language and misinformation."

Deputy presiding officer David Rees intervened, saying Ms Asghar did not encourage hate and the remark should be withdrawn.

"The fact that you've blamed me for hate, are you actually joking?" Ms Asghar asked. She said she was "disgusted" by the remark.

Ms Asghar continue to criticise Mr Waters, including that he was "pumping... obscene amounts of taxpayers' cash" into Transport for Wales, and called the 20mph policy "blanket".

The Welsh government has firmly rejected the latter description of their flagship policy, saying it misrepresents the extent of the speed limit, which is the default in built-up areas.

Mr Waters replied: "I think continually repeating misinformation, false information and lies in our democratic chamber is lamentable, and that is something to be ashamed of. This is not a blanket policy.

"We have not banned road building. We are not shovelling money into Transport for Wales."

He added: "She needs to have some responsibility for the consequences of the words and the language she uses and the way in which she constantly speaks in this chamber in a really unpleasant and personal way."

He added: "She has never partaken in any serious scrutiny. She just stands up and gives abuse."

Mr Rees added: "It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that our tone and our language is respectful of everyone, not just in this chamber, but outside this chamber as well."

He said he would "note and review what has been said this afternoon and will get back to all involved".

In a statement Natasha Asghar said: "The Labour transport minister's time in government will forever be defined by his collaboration with anti-motorist lobbyists in the creation of the blanket 20mph speed limit policy.

"Typical of a Labour Minister, he has been dismissive of people's concerns from the get-go and his arrogance has further alienated people across Wales."