Andrew RT Davies slammed for 'abhorrent' social media post

Emily Price 

A former Welsh Government minister has branded Conservative MS Andrew RT Davies "utterly abhorrent and completely irresponsible" for sharing a misleading video of school girls online.

Former Counsel General Mick Antoniw called for the recently ousted leader to "realise what an appalling thing" he had done and give a "full apology".

Mr Antoniw's comments came after Mr Davies was reported to the Senedd's standard's commissioner over a video he shared on X featuring young school girls from Brynteg School in Bridgend.

The South Wales Central MS claimed the girls were being used as "propaganda" by the Welsh Government’s Nation of Sanctuary plan – an initiative to help refugees and asylum seekers integrate into Welsh communities.

In an X post, Mr Davies said: "Under this ideologically motivated project, Labour wanted to pay ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS £1,600 a month. Unacceptable."

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Abuse

It later transpired that the video of the children had been filmed over a year ago as part of a project to welcome families fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.

The footage was withdrawn in 2023 after the school and pupils concerned suffered extensive online abuse.

The video resurfaced on X at the weekend from a far-right account named Cillian, who said the Welsh Refugee Council was using 12-year-old girls in ads to "entice migrant men to come to Wales".

The post was then amplified by Mr Davies as well as billionaire X owner Elon Musk and political journalist Isabel Oakeshott.

The video was later earmarked by an X community note as "potentially misleading" after concerns were raised that it had been edited to remove male school children and omit details of the welcome project relating to Ukrainian refugees.

Nation.Cymru found that the footage had been taken from a group of videos made by both girls and boys which are still stored on Google drive.

Mr Davies says the fact the video could have been edited is a "side issue".

In a post to X, he said: "I don’t know if it was edited. If it was, that’s a side issue. The Welsh Refugee Council went into the school and used children for its propaganda. That’s very wrong and should not have happened."

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Complaint

The council says it is pursuing a complaint against the Tory politician with the Senedd's standards commissioner - an independent person who investigates grievances about the conduct of MSs.

Former trustee of Welsh Refugee Council and Pontypridd MS Mick Antoniw expressed his solidarity with staff at the charity and called for an apology from Mr Davies.

Mr Antoniw is of Ukrainian descent on his father’s side and speaks the language.

He recently appeared in a programme on a Ukrainian television channel alongside Labour backbencher Alun Davies which documented their journey to personally deliver vital aid to the war torn nation.

In a statement posted to Facebook, he said: "As the son of a refugee, and former trustee of the Welsh Refugee Council, I read this report with sadness, anger and digust.

"It seems that Andrew RT Davies, a former political leader in our Senedd, has lowered himself (further) to posting misleading and highly offensive comments about the nature of a video made by schoolchildren who simply wanted to share a message of compassion toward refugees and signpost support available to them.

"On his Twitter/ X account, Mr. Davies not only makes the false claims that children were being used for ‘propaganda’, and that ‘Labour wanted to pay illegal immigrants £1600 a month’ , but he has also re-posted the video in question (which features the schoolchildren he claims to care about) from a far-right X.com account riddled with racism and conspiracy theories. Nobody who really cared about the safety of young people would do such a thing.

"It’s no surprise to me that this has attracted the attention of an individual as vile as Elon Musk, who has also made shameful comments about the nature of this video on the social media platform he owns (and has wrecked), but it is reprehensible for a serving member of our Senedd to deliberately sow division and hatred.

"This is utterly abhorrent and completely irresponsible behaviour, which makes the lives of people who have fled their country of origin to seek peace and sanctuary, and those who help them, more difficult and dangerous.

"I very much hope that he will come to realise what an appalling thing he has done and give a full apology.

"I want to express my solidarity with all staff at the Welsh Refugee Council and everyone who works with refugees, as well as to everyone who has fled their country seeking peace and safety here in Wales, which, despite people like Andrew RT Davies, is a Nation of Sanctuary."

The Welsh Conservatives were invited to comment but did not respond.