Welsh Parliament Committee Recommends Criminalisation For Politicians Who Deliberately Lie
Public Law and Judicial Review
The Senedd Standards Committee has published a report recommending that politicians who deliberately lie to the public should face criminal penalties. The report proposes amending election laws to make deceptive statements by candidates an offence and suggests reforms to the Senedd Standards Regime along the lines of the “ICDR Model,” which would require false statements to be corrected and allow for sanctions.
Sam Fowles, Director of the Institute for Constitutional and Democratic Research (ICDR) and a member of Cornerstone’s public law team, welcomed the report, emphasising that democracy cannot function without political honesty. He argued that existing laws already define deliberate deception and called for politicians to be held to the same professional standards as other regulated professions.
Sam Fowles, along with Matt Hutchings KC and Josef Cannon KC, has advised on the legality of former Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price’s proposals to disqualify politicians from the Senedd for deliberate political lying. Fowles appeared before the Senedd’s Standards Committee on 24th June 2024, stating that the proposals were clearly drafted, based on long-established legal principles, and could be confidently defended in a judicial review.
Fowles, Hutchings, and Cannon also addressed a cross-party meeting of Senedd members on 27th June 2024. The Senedd will vote on the proposal on 2nd July 2025.
