Reform MS Branded ‘Inflammatory and Dangerous’ After Claiming Attacks by Sudanese Asylum Seekers Were ‘Inevitable’
Reform MS Branded ‘Inflammatory and Dangerous’ After Claiming Attacks by Sudanese Asylum Seekers Were ‘Inevitable’
A Reform Member of the Senedd has been accused of deploying inflammatory and dangerous rhetoric after claiming that attacks by Sudanese asylum seekers were “inevitable” during First Minister’s Questions in Cardiff on Tuesday.
Joe Martin, Reform MS for Caerdydd Penarth, made a series of allegations about Sudanese people committing crimes, implying that asylum seekers from the country posed a systematic safety risk to the Welsh public.
What Was Said in the Senedd
Martin questioned First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth over the Welsh government’s Nation of Sanctuary scheme, which aims to help refugees and asylum seekers placed in Wales integrate and access public services.
He referenced a recent attack in Belfast — for which a Sudanese man has been arrested and appeared in court earlier this month — and the murder of Rhiannon Whyte by a Sudanese asylum seeker.
Martin then claimed that Health Minister Mabon ap Gwynfor and Deputy First Minister Sioned Williams had called for the “same men” to be welcomed in Wales.
“First Minister, what will you do to make sure that when the next inevitable attack happens, it doesn’t take place in Wales?” Martin asked.
The comments prompted audible gasps in the chamber.
First Minister’s Response
Rhun ap Iorwerth rejected Martin’s framing directly, telling the Senedd: “I guess we’re going to have to get used to this kind of contribution where there is an attempt here to drive wedges between communities.”
“I, as First Minister, and I know I speak for my government, will not rise to that from the Reform benches,” he added.
Ap Iorwerth also referenced the tenth anniversary of the murder of MP Jo Cox, stating that focus “should be on finding ways of getting over divisions rather than trying to create them.”
He further noted the “difficulty” Martin faced in addressing the Ukrainian refugee element of the scheme — a reference to former Reform Wales leader Nathan Gill, who is currently imprisoned for accepting money to make pro-Russian statements in the European Parliament.
Emotional Rebuttal From Labour MS
Labour MS Shav Taj was visibly distressed as she responded, telling the chamber she was a “proud child of immigrants” and that she was “really proud of the fact that my late father chose Wales over and above England.”
The Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf MS defended the Nation of Sanctuary scheme, which originated under Labour, and condemned what she called an attempt to conflate immigration broadly with the programme.
“To conflate the issue of immigration with the Nation of Sanctuary and then, of course, some of the vile stuff that we’ve just been hearing, is actually really shocking,” she said.
Cross-Party Reaction
Plaid Cymru’s Niamh Salkeld issued a statement after the session, saying: “The Reform member’s contribution was inflammatory and dangerous, plain and simple. There is no room for such hatred in our politics.”
Conservative MS Sam Rowlands offered a more measured position, arguing it was “absolutely right for members of this place to ask for assurances from its government as to the safeguarding arrangements that are in place.”
Policy Context
Asylum policy is determined by the UK government in Westminster, not the devolved Welsh administration. However, the Welsh government retains responsibility for providing healthcare and education to asylum seekers placed in Wales.
Martin had acknowledged during his remarks that most funding under the Nation of Sanctuary scheme is directed toward Ukrainian refugees, and said he did not know why it was “necessary to spend additional money over and above what Westminster already spends.”