Former Labour MP Geraint Davies, suspended over sexual harassment allegations, joins Plaid Cymru

Former British MP Geraint Davies, who was suspended from the Labour Party following allegations of sexual harassment, has joined Plaid Cymru, the ruling party in Wales.

Davies announced the move on the news website Nation Cymru, where he claimed he was forced out as an MP because of local rivalries and disobeying Keir Starmer's orders by speaking out against killings in Gaza.

He described the allegations of sexual misconduct against him as untrue anonymous hearsay in the media.

In 2023, five women alleged that Davies, a former Commons select committee chair, subjected them to unwanted sexual attention, both physical and verbal, after coming into contact with them through his work as an MP. Davies had the whip suspended as a Labour MP immediately after the allegations were made public but remained a member of the party until 2025.

When the claims were first reported by Politico, Davies said he did not recognize them, adding that if he had inadvertently caused offence to anyone, he was naturally sorry.

In those instances, the women had raised concerns about his behaviour informally but had not complained in writing. At least two women later filed official complaints with the Labour Party, resulting in an investigation lasting more than a year.

Davies was not eligible to stand as a candidate in the 2024 election because he was suspended, and he quit the party ahead of a planned hearing on his conduct in 2025. As a result, the hearing never went ahead.

The former MP for Swansea West argued in the article published on Thursday that the party engineered his removal as a candidate for factional reasons. He said he was made to wait 23 weeks without any complaints, that when complaints were made they were to support other women who had not made any complaints, and that none were reported to Parliament.

Two women who previously made allegations against Davies, and were granted anonymity to protect their privacy, contacted Politico on Friday to object to his statement to Nation Cymru. One, a sitting Labour MP first elected in 2015, said she had entered a formal complaint with the party to raise an allegation of unwanted touching.

That MP said that, having been touched by Geraint against her wishes, she could say the allegations of sexual harassment were more than hearsay. She said she could not speak for other women's experiences, but the way he touched her left her deeply upset and unsettled and she spent most of the years they were both MPs trying to put as much physical distance between them as possible.

A second woman said that, as someone who experienced this behaviour firsthand, she knew the claims were not hearsay, adding that women do not come forward because of exactly this kind of platform and response.

A Labour Party spokesperson said all complaints are assessed thoroughly in line with the party's rules and procedures, and that to protect the confidentiality of complainants the party does not provide information about specific allegations. The spokesperson added that it is categorically untrue to suggest that Davies not being re-selected as a Labour candidate was unconnected to the serious allegations made about his conduct.

A spokesperson for Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, said the party treats all complaints of sexual harassment and abuse with the utmost seriousness, that every concern raised is taken seriously, and that allegations are considered fairly and thoroughly, taking into account all available evidence. The spokesperson encouraged anyone who has experienced or witnessed inappropriate behaviour to come forward so concerns can be properly investigated and appropriate action taken.

Davies did not respond to a request for comment.