From: DARREN WILLIAMS Date: 11/09/2013 09:37:41 To: roystonjones@ Subject: Jac o' the North

Dear Mr Jones It has been brought to my intention that, in a recent posting on your blog, 'Jac o the North', you have alleged that Gez Kirby, a leading lay official of my union, PCS, is the same person who previously posted comments on the BBC Wales web pages under the name, 'mapexx'. The arguments that you put forward to support this theory are feeble in the extreme. You seem to think that it would be too much of a coincidence for there to be two people who have been publicly critical of aspects of Welsh nationalism and who have both worked at the ONS in recent years. Considering that the ONS employs around 1,600 staff at its Newport site, virtually all of them computer-literate, as a condition of their employment, and many taking a keen interest in public affairs, it is no coincidence at all. I have known Gez Kirby for some fifteen years. He is one of the most experienced and respected reps serving our union within Wales. I know that he is also held in high regard by his own management at the ONS, for his tenacious but consistently professional pursuit of the interests of the organisation's staff. PCS, as you may be aware, is not affiliated to Labour or any other party and our activists include people who support Labour, Plaid Cymru, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and several of the smaller leftwing parties. Gez's personal allegiance to the Labour party is well-known within the union but he keeps his political activities outside work entirely separate from his trade union responsibilities and from his duties as civil servant. I know that he enjoys the respect of PCS activists who do not share his support for the Labour party, including those who support Plaid Cymru. While it is hardly surprising that Gez, as a Labour councillor, should make robust criticisms of his Plaid Cymru opponents on Caerphilly Council, this does not make him 'anti-Welsh'. And, in fact, I know that most of the views that you attribute to Gez, in the mistaken belief that he is 'mapexx', are not views that he holds, or views that would be welcome within PCS. This union and its predecessors (principally, CPSA and NUCPS) have consistently supported democratic devolution in Wales, campaigning publicly for a 'yes' vote in both the 1997 and the 2011 referenda - as did Gez, as an individual, pro-devolution member of the Labour party. PCS supports the promotion of the Welsh language - as does Gez. And PCS is affiliated to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and supports the establishment of a viable Palestinian state, as does Gez (so far from being 'pro-Israel', as you claim). Indeed, it is particularly galling to see Gez described as a 'bigot' when he has consistently supported the rights of oppressed people around the world - acting, for example, as secretary of Cardiff Anti-Apartheid for several years. Finally, your theory is punctured beyond repair by the fact that Gez has not served as a census enumerator in relation to either the 2001 or the 2011 census (or at any time previously). It is one thing to take issue publicly with someone's politics but quite another to make baseless allegations of unprofessional conduct towards them, without any evidence, and to demand that their employer, their trade union and their political party take disciplinary action against them. It is particularly despicable for an anonymous blogger to do this

(although your inadequate effort to black out the name and address on your letter from the ONS means that I do, at least, know your name). I find it disturbing that anyone should be subject to such public vilification with so little cause; your behaviour amounts to bullying and, if you have a shred of decency, you will apologise publicly and withdraw the offending post.
Darren Williams Acting Wales Secretary and National Officer for the South-West Public and Commercial Services Union Transport House, 1 Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF11 9HA. Tel: 029 20 66636307921 490261darrenw@pcs.org.uk

Dear Mr. Williams, I was amused to read about the trade unions and the Labour Party being solidly in favour of democratic devolution in Wales. Are we talking about the same Labour Party that wrecked any chance of devolution in 1979, with the likes of George Thomas, Neil Kinnock, Leo Abse et al in the van? Even in 1997 there were still people in Labour and the unions arguing against devolution. (Many of them because Labour was back in power!) For too many in the Labour movement Wales seems to be restricted to fifteen men in red shirts. But this isnt about the Labour Party, the trade unions, or my blog its about mapexx. Someone working for the ONS and presumably represented by your union went on a BBC message board in February 2009 using what he / she claimed was information gained as a census enumerator in 2001, and in subsequent interviews, to shore up his / her odious views on the Welsh language. The real issue here is why the ONS chose not to pursue the matter more energetically back in 2009. For surely a crime had been committed? There was also a betrayal of the people who completed their census forms in 2001 in the belief that the information they provided would be treated confidentially. Then again, maybe its not such a such a surprise, for we are dealing now with the body so contemptuous of Welsh nationality that it denied people the chance of describing themselves as Welsh on the 2001 census form. Heres the deal. You (the CPS) and the Office for National Statistics do what you should have done when I made my complaint in March 2009 identify and deal with mapexx, for breaking the terms of his / her contract of employment and for using sensitive information to promote odious political arguments, if not ethnic slurs. Further, if a criminal offence has been committed then I expect to see the case referred to the police. Im sure the BBC will help you track mapexx. You take the necessary action against mapexx and, even though I never stated categorically that mapexx was Gez Kirby, I shall in case anyone else has mis-read my blog post be happy to make it clear that Gez Kirby is not mapexx.

Yours Royston Jones