Angry scenes broke out in the Welsh Parliament after a top politician was told to “tone down” a question about grooming gangs.
Darren Millar, the Conservatives’ Senedd leader, accused Presiding Officer Elin Jones of “inappropriately interrupting him” as he called for a fresh inquiry into child sexual abuse on Tuesday.
Jones, who chairs Senedd meetings, said Members of the Senedd needed to “make sure that you are keeping well away from inflaming any kind of discrimination” when Millar repeated an allegation of abuse.
The first minister did not support Millar’s call for a new inquiry and her spokesman later said evidence of allegations should go to the police.
Jones said: “You are being overly descriptive, and I think verging on not being totally respectful of the victim at this point. So, can you tone down the rhetoric slightly?”
Speaking on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast on Wednesday, Millar said he had tried to give an example of a case “before being interrupted, I thought inappropriately, by the presiding officer”.
Tory sources said they would not take the matter up with the presiding officer.
The sexual abuse of children was investigated by an independent inquiry, led by Prof Alexis Jay, which reported in 2022.
Calls for another inquiry have been aired recently after interventions by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Millar said a “growing chorus of voices”, including some Labour politicians, wanted another inquiry.
Morgan said the Welsh government was preparing a 10-year strategy to prevent child sexual abuse and that the law in Wales compelled agencies to report suspicions of abuse.
Later, her spokesman said: “If the leader of the opposition has any evidence to support the very serious claims he has made in the chamber he should hand it over to the police immediately.”
The UK government has rejected calls for another inquiry, as has Prof Jay who says victims “clearly want action” instead.
The row in the Senedd came the day after a charity said it would report Millar’s predecessor as Welsh Tory leader, Andrew RT Davies, to the Standards Commissioner.
Responding to a video by school pupils explaining how Wales welcomed refugees, Davies said children should not be used in “propaganda”.
The video has also attracted the attention of Musk and the Welsh Refugee Council said some of its staff have had their lives threatened.
On Wednesday, Millar said “it was incumbent on everybody involved in the political world to be very careful about the language that they use, both online and elsewhere so that we don’t inflame community tensions”.
Asked if Davies had gone too far, he said: “I think if you want to discuss his social media account you should discuss it with him.”