Monday, December 13, 2004
Four letter words after dinner
OK, even I am now getting bored of the MrsWindsor affair but it would be remiss of me not to record the latest and hopefully, final incident in the saga. The Western Mail this morning reports that relations between Plaid Cymru peer Lord Elis-Thomas and Rhondda AM Leighton Andrews have been under severe strain since the Assembly's Queen's Speech plenary debate on December 1.
It seems that the Presiding Officer felt he had been "stitched up" by Mr Andrews. It is normal in circumstances like this, that where an AM has said something in the Chamber that is considered offensive then the point of order will be raised immediately. The PO however, takes the view that Leighton Andrews waited until he was back in the chair before raising the matter so as to cause him maximum political embarrassment as a Plaid Cymru AM.
The Western Mail takes up the story: "We understand that Lord Elis-Thomas took the opportunity to raise his concerns with Mr Andrews during a private meeting at the Assembly last Tuesday. That evening, and coincidentally, the Presiding Officer and Mr Andrews both ate at La Brasserie in Cardiff. As Mr Andrews was leaving, he passed close to the table where Lord Elis- Thomas was dining with a journalist."
"A witness told the Western Mail, "Lord Elis-Thomas said something lighthearted to Mr Andrews, along the lines of, 'Have you had a good republican dinner?' It is believed that Mr Andrews obviously wasn't in the mood for banter, because he is reported to have immediately turned to the Presiding Officer and told him to '**** off'. It wasn't pleasant at all."
Leighton is in the process of setting up his own blog so no doubt we will soon have access to his thoughts on this issue. In the meantime I think it is time we all moved on.
It seems that the Presiding Officer felt he had been "stitched up" by Mr Andrews. It is normal in circumstances like this, that where an AM has said something in the Chamber that is considered offensive then the point of order will be raised immediately. The PO however, takes the view that Leighton Andrews waited until he was back in the chair before raising the matter so as to cause him maximum political embarrassment as a Plaid Cymru AM.
The Western Mail takes up the story: "We understand that Lord Elis-Thomas took the opportunity to raise his concerns with Mr Andrews during a private meeting at the Assembly last Tuesday. That evening, and coincidentally, the Presiding Officer and Mr Andrews both ate at La Brasserie in Cardiff. As Mr Andrews was leaving, he passed close to the table where Lord Elis- Thomas was dining with a journalist."
"A witness told the Western Mail, "Lord Elis-Thomas said something lighthearted to Mr Andrews, along the lines of, 'Have you had a good republican dinner?' It is believed that Mr Andrews obviously wasn't in the mood for banter, because he is reported to have immediately turned to the Presiding Officer and told him to '**** off'. It wasn't pleasant at all."
Leighton is in the process of setting up his own blog so no doubt we will soon have access to his thoughts on this issue. In the meantime I think it is time we all moved on.
