Neil Foden: Gwynedd councilors leave cabinet in front row for pedophiles

Becca Brown, Berwyn Parry Jones, Dafydd Meurig and Elin Walker Jones issued a joint statement saying they wanted to “distance themselves from the comments made by leader Dyfrig Siencyn”.

“We stand with the victims,” they said, adding that they fully support calls for a public inquiry.

“We deeply regret that the council’s leadership issues have drawn attention away from what is most important in this tragic situation – the suffering of the women.”

In a statement from the council on Friday afternoon, the leader said: “I sincerely apologize to all those who have suffered at the hands of sex offender Neil Foden and would like to reassure the people of Gwynedd, and in particular the victims, that I and my fellow councilors are determined to leave no stone unturned to determine what went wrong and ensure this can never happen again.”

He added: “Furthermore, in light of the further allegations about Neil Foden in this week’s BBC programme, I support the call for a public inquiry.

“This weekend I will discuss with my fellow members and consider my own situation before deciding on the best way forward.”

Before the council leader apologized, the Plaid source called the council leader “stubborn” and said his position was “completely untenable”.

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, ap Iorwerth failed to back Siencyn, instead saying: ‘I have absolute confidence that Gwynedd council understands that there is one job to do here.

“Nothing else matters, and that is to get the truth out on behalf of all those young people who suffered at the hands of this pedophile.”

When asked if he would say sorry, he replied: ‘Anyone involved in any way should of course apologize. We don’t really know yet what the apology is for.’