³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

A former councillor who heckled Theresa May at a Welsh Tory conference will be allowed to stay in the party.

Stuart Davies was ejected from the event at Llangollen in May, for calling on the then prime minister to quit.

Disciplinary proceedings were launched, but a panel has ruled he was entitled to air his views despite any annoyance.

Mr Davies said he was pleased to be cleared, adding: "I was only saying what a lot of members had been saying anyway."

The day after he was escorted from the conference, the former Denbighshire councillor was pictured at a party function with Boris Johnson.

Three weeks later, Mrs May announced her resignation amid opposition to her Brexit deal, with Mr Johnson winning to contest to succeed her.

Mr Davies, who represented Llangollen on Denbighshire County Council, has now been told there will be no punishment for his actions.

A panel of party members dismissed the complaint against Mr Davies, finding that: "Membership of the Conservative Party does not override an individual's right to freedom of expression or peaceful demonstration.

"Whilst the right to freedom of expression is not unlimited, members of the party should not be precluded from expressing a particular viewpoint even if that viewpoint causes a degree of irritation or annoyance."

Following the news, Mr Davies told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "I am obviously pleased that this has been the outcome.

"I've done so much for the party and I was involved in the campaign to get Boris Johnson elected as our MP in Clwyd South [in 1997].

"I was only saying what a lot of members had been saying anyway.

"It's good that the party has seen sense and will allow freedom of speech. It's an important ideal and one I am willing to sacrifice for."

Mr Davies added that he had not booked a place to attend the Conservatives' autumn conference in Manchester as he did not know whether he would still be a member.