Walkout in Senedd as Reform politician accused of racism sparks second row

Members of the Senedd from Plaid Cymru, Labour and the Greens walked out of a speech by a Reform MS on Wednesday where he joked that Welsh students are unable to read, and said Indian nurses were taking Welsh jobs.

It was the second day that Joe Martin had upset members in rival parties, after Plaid had accused him of "racism" over a speech on Tuesday claiming attacks from Sudanese asylum seekers were "inevitable" .

Presiding Officer Huw Irranca-Davies rebuked the MS for Caerdydd Penarth for the second of the two speeches - but the BBC heard some in Plaid believe the Senedd's figurehead should have been firmer with Martin sooner.

Earlier the party's chief whip defended Martin's speech in first minister's questions on Tuesday , telling political rivals to "get used to it".

In a Reform debate about international spending, Martin gave a speech where he mocked a list of examples of spending.

He said: "We send Uganda money to plant trees as well, because we won that competition, who can find the stupidest use of taxpayers' money"

He joked the same question was asked to "some Welsh students who had been through our underfunded education system, but we didn't get a reply because we emailed them and they couldn't read".

In response to interruptions from across the Senedd floor, he replied: "Have a look at illiteracy rates for students graduating."