Many in Cardiff’s Labour group feel stronger leadership was needed amid the long suspension and ultimate expulsion of a councillor found to have behaved inappropriately towards a 17-year-old girl
The expulsion of a senior Labour councillor after a complaint of sexually harassment against a teenager against him was upheld has exposed claims of a “toxic” culture within the ruling group at Wales’ largest council. It has also raised questions about the lack of action from one of the party’s Senedd members.
Keith Jones, an experienced councillor and senior adviser to a serving Senedd member, is a former teacher who chaired the Cardiff Labour group and was head of the city’s planning committee.
In his time in the public eye, he has been disbarred as a teacher, and suspended from Labour after inappropriate messages sent to female colleagues.
He was thrown out of the party in May 2025 at the conclusion of a three-year investigation after an allegation was made of inappropriate behaviour towards a teenage girl. While he was suspended for the investigation into the incident, council colleagues organised a “morale-boosting curry” for him.
It has been claimed that allies of Cllr Jones were able to exert their influence within the council – including over leader Huw Thomas, who is considered a rising star among Labour ranks and even spoken of as a possible future First Minister in some quarters. Questions about Cllr Thomas’ leadership were raised by several people we spoke to.
On the night his colleagues were told the independent panel had found the sexual harassment proved senior Cardiff councillor Russell Goodway told a meeting of their colleagues Cllr Jones had been “hung out to dry”.
This is the story of the infighting at the top of Wales’ largest local authority – an organisation with an annual budget of more than £800m and responsibility for the nation’s capital city – and how a lengthy disciplinary process brought about serious questions for not just individuals but the party itself.
Throughout the saga, Cllr Jones has also remained employed by Labour MS Rhiannon Passmore, who represents Islwyn, and has not responded to questions over whether she has taken any action and whether he remains in her employment.
The lengthy downfall of Keith Jones
At their monthly group meeting on May 19, 2025, Cardiff’s Labour councillors were told by Welsh Labour general secretary Joe Lock that Keith Jones, the councillor for Llanrumney, had been expelled from the party after an investigation process that had lasted three years.
During that time and independent panel had looked at the allegations and heard from witnesses and the victim.
The former teacher, who was first elected as a councillor in 2012, had been found to have engaged in conduct which was “grossly detrimental” and prejudicial to the party, contrary to party rules and the party’s sexual harassment procedures after he was alleged to have behaved inappropriately to a then-17-year-old girl at a party event.
The events leading up to the decision to expel Cllr Jones have however caused a divide in the 52-strong group on Cardiff council, and beyond. Some have expressed frustration over the handling of Labour’s disciplinary process investigating the incident, mainly how it took three years from the point the complaint was made for the investigation to be concluded.
More than one person voiced concerns that despite two previous serious disciplinary issues, Cllr Jones held key roles in the Labour group, including as chair, and also on the council itself. Between 2017 and 2022 he was head of the planning committee – seen as one of the most important roles on the council. Both those roles are elected by Labour councillors after nominations are sought.
After his suspension as a teacher, and subsequently from Labour, Cllr Jones was employed by a Labour Senedd member, Rhianon Passmore, who represents Islwyn. He has continued in that role until at least May 19, 2025.
Numerous sources were also raised concerns over the role of the Labour group leader on Cardiff council, Huw Thomas. Sources highlighted to us what they consider a weakness in Cllr Huw Thomas’ leadership by claiming he was beholden, politically, to senior councillors who were allies of Cllr Jones and who had helped get him become leader of the council after the messy ousting of former leader Phil Bale in 2017.
A string of issues
Cllr Jones has faced complaints in the past.
It was widely reported, including on WalesOnline, that in 2010 Cllr Jones was found to have committed unacceptable professional conduct when he faced a General Teaching Council for Wales hearing. He had been sacked as a history teacher by Radyr Comprehensive School for tampering with work handed in by 25 pupils in 2007 and then banned from teaching for a year.
Three years later there were different allegations, including that he had “liked” images of young girls on Instagram.
There were two separate investigations into these allegations, one by the Public Services Ombudsman, and one by the Labour Party.
The ombudsman investigation found there had been no breach. At the time, Elizabeth Thomas, director of investigations at the Ombudsman’s office, said: “Whilst Councillor Jones has responded to photographs using the ‘like’ feature or has engaged in online ‘discussions’ they appear to have been ‘two way’ conversations and I have seen nothing improper or indecent in any of the photographs or Councillor Jones’s online responses.”
Ms Thomas also said that while witnesses, who were not prepared to be identified and therefore could not be interviewed, had provided anonymised statements which described “behaviour which may, if proven, have been distasteful” they do not provide evidence of behaviour which could constitute a breach of the code.
However, a separate investigation into the same allegations by the Labour party found he “sent inappropriate communications via social media” to women party members.
The result of that was a two-year suspension from the party. By the conclusion of the proceedings, most of that time had already been served and he was readmitted to the Labour group a few months later and subsequently stood for re-election.
The allegation for which he has now been expelled took place in 2016. It was alleged that he had acted inappropriately to a 17-year-old girl. She made a formal complaint to the party in 2022 after Cardiff council leader Huw Thomas named Cllr Jones on a list of provisional cabinet members. Cllr Jones was nominated as the future executive member for transport.
After the complaint was made, Cllr Jones’ name was pulled from the proposed cabinet list and he was suspended from the Labour group pending investigation.
Cllr Jones kept his party membership and remained a member of the Association of Labour Councillors. He was required to follow the whip in council meetings but was not permitted to attend group meetings while suspended. He remained a councillor, sitting as an independent.
Throughout the three-year period from the complaint to his expulsion, Cllr Jones was, and remains, employed by Labour Senedd member Rhianon Passmore. We asked her to explain why she employed someone with Cllr Jones’ disciplinary record, and continued to do so while he was under investigation for the most recent incident.
As of May 19, 2025, his register of interests to Cardiff council says he is still employed by her. She has not replied to our request for comment.
Disquiet within the party
The female accuser whose allegation led to Cllr Jones’ expulsion from Labour declined to speak to us formally but passed on, via a third party, that she wanted it to be clear she was 17 years old at the time of the incident.
People in Cardiff Labour say the investigation took too long and the three-year process put untold stress on all those involved – not least the young accuser.
Even the general secretary of Welsh Labour told the council group the lengthy disciplinary process was not fit for purpose and had been “grossly unfair” to both accuser and accused.
However, some of Cllr Jones’ colleagues say they are shocked that, given two serious previous disciplinary incidents, he was ever considered suitable for a cabinet role and questioned whether pressure was put on council leader Cllr Thomas to appoint him to that role.
There is also anger that colleagues within the Labour group elected Cllr Jones to two senior roles – chair of the Labour group and head of the planning committee – after his initial suspension from the group for inappropriate behaviour in 2014.
Numerous sources told us they directly raised concerns with group and council leader Cllr Thomas about Cllr Jones.
When, in 2022, Cllr Jones was announced by Cllr Thomas as the prospective cabinet member for the transport portfolio, his critics in the group believed that was due to pressure from two of Cllr Jones’ key allies – Russell Goodway and Lynda Thorne.
There is a widespread belief in the group that Cllr Thomas felt he owed them loyalty for helping him become leader in 2017.
While Cllr Thomas backtracked and did not appoint Cllr Jones to the cabinet, there was concern he had ever been considered appropriate for the role.
“Huw was aware of Keith’s history – everyone was,” one source told us.
The group did at one stage agree a motion to be sent to Labour’s ruling committee to express their concern about the length of the investigation following the 2022 allegation.
Written by his ally Cllr Thorne, it was later pulled and not pursued.
That motion read: “Cardiff council Labour group is deeply concerned about the prolonged timescale for addressing complaints. The extended duration is detrimental to both the complainant and accused. One of our members has been suspended pending an investigation for nearly three years. Such a timescale is unacceptable for any organisation and it is particularly troubling for a party committed to social justice There appears to be insufficient consideration on the impact on both well being and reputation”.
Welsh Labour’s role to ‘win elections’ rather than sort discipline
The conduct of supporters of Cllr Jones – in particular that of Cllrs Goodway and Thorne along with fellow councillor Michael Michael – has been raised as a source of concern within the group. This was highlighted in a meeting of the full Labour group where members were told he had been expelled from the party when general secretary Joe Lock announced the expulsion, and Cllr Goodway said his colleague had been “hung out to dry”.
In September 2022 a “morale-boosting curry” was organised for Cllr Jones at Spice Island in Rumney by Cllr Thorne and people were asked to attend to offer him support. A number responded including the group leader, Huw Thomas, who had initially said would try to attend but eventually did not, citing scheduling issues.
Others have said that despite a warning from Welsh Labour not to discuss the case while it was ongoing, it continued to be raised at group meetings.
While Cllr Thomas followed the rules and procedures in terms of escalating the concern to Welsh Labour when he was notified, some within the group say he was not forthright enough to intervene to stop conversations and that it was brought up by councillors in terms of the impact on Cllr Jones alone.
One alleged it was pursued by Cllr Jones’ supporters in an “aggressive” way while another said it was “unpleasant” whenever the topic was raised.
Multiple people told us they directly asked Cllr Thomas why more was not being done to stop the investigation being discussed in the meetings when the directive from Welsh Labour had been clear.
In the group meeting on June 19, Welsh Labour general secretary Joe Lock defended Welsh Labour’s handling of the process saying disciplinary issues are dealt with by the UK party on the basis they have in-house legal expertise to call upon. He said the Welsh party’s role was to “win elections”.
Questions for senior councillors
Council leader Cllr Thomas is seeking election to the Senedd in the election in May 2026 and is someone with growing political ambitions.
While no-one disputes that he followed party processes once a complaint was raised, his handling of his group’s internal disputes has raised concerns from those who have witnessed it first-hand.
The Labour group on Cardiff council has long-standing history in terms of different factions operating under the umbrella of the wider party. One of those we spoke to summarised him as being caught between a group who thought what was happening was unacceptable and those whom he relies on politically.
As a group leader, he cannot take disciplinary action unless a complaint is made. He has admitted frustration at how the matter was handled.
Cllr Thomas told WalesOnline that once he was made aware of “specific allegations” against Cllr Jones he “immediately advised that they be submitted formally to the Labour Party, to be properly investigated. Councillor Jones was subsequently suspended from the party shortly afterwards and was not appointed to the cabinet”.
However, critics say Cllr Thomas avoided difficult conversations and by trying to keep the different factions of his group together as his predecessor Phil Bale had failed to do, he has failed to serve anyone. “I think he knows he shouldn’t have appointed Keith [to the prospective cabinet] – I think he was under pressure,” said one.
The whole case highlighted “weakness in his leadership”, one person told us, because despite being politically intelligent “he doesn’t want to have hard conversations and potentially undermine his position”.
The figures people believe are responsible for that are Cllrs Goodway and Thorne.
Cllr Goodway, who has 40 years of council experience under his belt, returned to the authority’s cabinet in 2017 when Cllr Thomas became leader.
“There’s always been this view that he runs the show,” one said. On one side of the argument that makes him a good operator, it was said, while on the other it leaves colleagues feeling uncomfortable.
““He creates a bad culture and Huw lets that happen,” according to one party source. “Huw has failed to act and he’s lost the faith of many colleagues.”
Some of those we spoke to expressed worries about what the handling of the complaint against Cllr Jones – both locally and nationally – shows to others who may wish to come forward now or in future.
“It sends a message that if you go after a powerful man with powerful friends they will be rallied around and that could put off future victims,” one person told us.
What those at the heart of the claims told us
We approached Keith Jones, Huw Thomas, Russell Goodway, Lynda Thorne, and Welsh Labour for their responses to the claims made above.
Neither Cllr Goodway nor Cllr Thorne responded. We also asked Rhianon Passmore, the MS for Islwyn a series of questions. She too did not respond.
Cllr Jones was contacted with the claims in this article, he did not respond to requests for comment.
In response to our questions, Cllr Thomas said: “The recent conclusion of the Labour Party’s investigation into Councillor Keith Jones brings to a close a long and difficult chapter for all involved.
“In May 2022, Councillor Jones was included on a provisional cabinet list based on his then-current roles, where he had served as chair of the Labour Group and chair of the council’s planning committee for five years, and had recently been re-selected as aLabour Party candidate in his ward.
“Following the publication of that list, I was made aware of specific allegations against Cllr Jones. I immediately advised that they be submitted formally to the Labour Party, to be properly investigated. Councillor Jones was subsequently suspended from the party shortly afterwards and was not appointed to the cabinet.
“Throughout this process, my priority, both publicly and privately, has been to respect and protect the integrity of the investigation. However, I share the deep frustration at how long it has taken to reach a conclusion. Delays of this nature serve no one – in particular the complainant in this case – and risk undermining confidence in the systems we rely on to uphold standards.
“I recognise the distress and pain this has caused, particularly for those who raised concerns, and am committed to ensuring that lessons are learned. The Labour group strives to be a respectful and inclusive environment for everyone.
“If any member of the group has concerns about conduct or culture, they can be raised directly with me, or a trusted member of the group executive, so they can be addressed appropriately and constructively.”
A Labour party spokesperson said: “Keith Jones was expelled from the Labour Party following the conclusion of an independent investigation. Action will always be taken if party members or elected representatives are found to have breached the high standards the Labour Party expects of them. All complaints are investigated thoroughly in line with our rules and procedures.”
We also asked Ms Passmore to explain why she employed Cllr Jones in light of his previous issues with relation to teaching standards, and his previous suspension from Labour and while this latest investigation was ongoing. She did not respond before publication.