Sport minister should consider quitting, says MP

Image source, Catherine Ivill

Tonia Antoniazzi has accused Dawn Bowden of a "cynical attempt to rewrite history"

Labour's sport minister should consider resigning over how she handled the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) sexism scandal, an MP from the same party has said.

Tonia Antoniazzi has accused Dawn Bowden of a "cynical attempt to rewrite history" in a BBC interview where the minister defended her actions.

Ms Bowden said she did not have details of complaints, but Ms Antoniazzi said she gave her details of women affected.

The Welsh government has been asked to comment.

It was produced in the wake of a BBC Wales documentary said that a former boss at Welsh women's rugby said she considered suicide because of the organisation's culture.

Ms Antoniazzi, Labour's Gower MP, had raised concerns about issues within the WRU in March of the previous year both in the House of Commons and directly with the deputy minister, Dawn Bowden.

In a strong-worded statement posted to her website, Ms Antoniazzi said she had given contact details of women affected prior to the BBC Wales documentary's broadcast, but claimed Ms Bowden did not contact them.

She asked Ms Bowden to "withdraw her recent remarks about me, to apologise to the women whose outreach she ignored, and to seriously consider her position".

Dawn Bowden said she needed more information before intervening

The deputy minister for arts, sport and tourism did not meet WRU bosses to discuss culture issues until after a BBC Wales Investigates documentary highlighting a "toxic culture" of sexism and homophobia was broadcast in January 2023.

The minister, a Member of the Senedd (MS) for Merthyr Tydfil, told the BBC's Politics Wales programme she could not intervene sooner because she needed "details of their complaints" to give her "assurances that what was being said was actually real".

"It's distressing for me to hear that that was being said about me and that I never gave those details," she said.

"I looked for ways to do it without blowing any doors off, without causing too much trouble, but looking for the most effective way to make change happen for the women that I spoke to.

She added it was "extremely upsetting" and "offensive" to learn that Ms Bowden had denied she had received the details.

"These women have been let down and are reliving their trauma again," she said.

On calling for Ms Bowden to consider resigning, she said: "How can you trust somebody who's let you down?

"As a former international rugby player, as a woman still engaged in sport, I wanted to be able to support others, so that's what I did."

Ms Bowden told Politics Wales on Sunday that what her Labour colleague said in the House of Commons and the concerns she had raised with her in meetings and in official letters was not enough for her to act.

"What I had said and I made it very clear is that I needed something more than just a kind of sense that there was a problem that couldn't be pinned down," she said.

"What I did offer Tonia was for her to let me have the details of who it was, what the details of their complaints were, that they could provide that to me in confidence.

"I would not be divulging that to anybody but it would give me the assurance that what was being said was actually real.

"That didn't materialise. I never got those. Those individuals subsequently went to the BBC but had they come to me a year earlier, and said to me 'this is me, this is my story, this is what happened', I would have been in a very different situation."

She added she did use her influence as a minister with the WRU, and said "that influence I think has brought us to the place where we are now".

"The WRU is an independent, multi-million pound business that I have no control over. I have no control over their policies, procedures, their employment, who they put on the board, who the chair is, who the chief executive is," she added.

A BBC Wales Investigates documentary broadcast in January 2023 highlighted a "toxic culture" of sexism and homophobia in the WRU

In her statement Ms Antoniazzi said: "I first raised concerns regarding sexism and misogyny at the WRU with Dawn in early 2022 and she indicated that she was happy to speak with any of the women involved.

"I followed this up on multiple occasions, sharing the contact details of the women affected who were willing to meet with Dawn, as well as making her aware of the emotional impact this was having on these women.

"I am still unclear as to why Dawn chose not to contact these women.

"Given the seriousness of the allegations I shared I remain extremely frustrated that my representations to Dawn were met with what I can only describe as apathy, and that seemingly it was only media interest that led to action.

"Whilst I am pleased that action has now been taken, I am again disappointed at a rather cynical attempt to rewrite history in order to hide political inaction."