Draft:Ron Davies affair

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Not to be confused with Glanville Davies affair.
Ron Davies,

The Ron Davies affair or Ron Davies scandal, also simply known as the Davies affair, was a British political scandal which began in late October 1998. It was triggered by the resignation of Ron Davies as secretary of state for Wales, who said he had made a "serious lapse of judgement" when meeting a man, later identified as Donald Fearon, at Clapham Common, a park in South London with a reputation for gay cruising and drug dealing. Famously describing the encounter as a "moment of madness", Davies initially claimed to have been mugged by Fearon after driving him and two of his friends to Brixton but later gave conflicting accounts of the incident. Fearon was charged for the mugging but the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charge due to a lack of evidence. Fearon later accused Davies of using him to link up to a gay prostitute, accusations which Davies denied.

The scandal ultimately led Davies to come out of the closet as bisexual in 1999, and also triggered the "outing" of other cabinet ministers by the press.[1] Cabinet minister Peter Mandelson was outed during the scandal, as was cabinet minister Nick Brown.[2][3] The Sun ran a headline alleging the existence of a "gay mafia running Britain" among the background of what appeared to be a moral panic about homosexuality, though a poll by The Guardian showed that most respondents thought homsexuality was morally acceptable.[3]





Background[edit]

Incident[edit]

Run-up to the incident[edit]

The night-time incident occured on Monday, 26 October 1998.[4][5] Ron Davies is believed to have arrived at the Welsh Office in Cardiff sometime between 8:00 am and shortly after 8:15 am earlier that day.[note 1] Davies remained in Cardiff until at least lunch-time before departing for the Vale of Glamorgan, where he opened a leisure centre close to Hensol at 1:00 pm before returning to his home in Draethen.[6][7][8] He phoned his senior staff and told them that he would drive directly to his flat in Berwick Street in Battersea, South London,[note 2] and departed in his personal car, a gold 1990 Ford Granada,[6][9] at 2:30 pm.[8] He reportedly arrived in South London at around 6:00 pm, parking his car two or so roads from the flat in Berwick Street before walking one mile away to Clapham Common,[8][7] a large triangular park in South London.[5] Two votes in the House of Commons had been scheduled for that night, the first at 7:00 pm and the second at 11:00 pm, with Labour MPs subject to a three-line whip.[7][10] Davies phoned the Whips' Office earlier that day to ask for permission to abstain from the night's votes, telling them that he would be late to London because of the personal and political toll of the weekend; his home in Caerphilly had been badly affected by flooding which had ocurred across Wales on the Sunday just past.[8][7] The Whips' Office allowed Davies to abstain from the votes and take the night off; by the time of the first vote at 7:00 pm Davies had told Tony Blair that he was three miles away from the House of Commons.[10][7]

It is believed that Davies encountered Donald Fearon on Clapham Common at 7:45 pm.[5][11] It is not known for certain what happened at the common that night;[12] Davies has refused to give a full explanation about his experiences at the common or why he went there,[13][14][15] and the exact circumstances around the incident which followed remains unclear.[14][16] Davies is known to have given different accounts of the night's events to the prime minister Tony Blair, the House of Commons, the police and to TV interviewers.[13] While Fearon admitted to meeting Davies on the common that night, he also gave a different account of events to what had been claimed by Davies and reported in the press.[17]

Encounter and mugging[edit]

Signage for the St Matthews Estate in Brixton, where Davies said he was mugged at knifepoint by two men, one of whom he met at Clapham Common earlier that night.

In line with Davies' own claims,[10] it is generally agreed that Davies was at Clapham Common where he found himself conversing with an unknown Rastafarian man, accepting an offer from him to go to a house in Brixton.[12] The man was later believed to be Donald Fearon, a 37 year-old homeless black man.[18][11] Later recounting the events of that night, Davies said the man had approached him on the common and conversed with him "for some minutes" before asking him "to accompany him and two of his friends to his flat for a meal".[19][6] Davies said he accepted the offer.[20] The men then drove together in Davies' car towards Battersea Park where they took another walk together, as stated by the police.[20] Afterwards, the men drove together to Brixton, where they would pick up the man's friends from the roadside; Davies identified the friends as another male and a female.[20][21] The female is then believed to have left the car sometime afterwards.[20]

The subsequent events are less clear, with Davies claiming that he was ultimately mugged at knifepoint.[6] It is believed that Davies and the two men drove toward the St Matthews Estate, a 1960s Brixton council estate located less than a mile away and adjacent to Brixton Hill.[20][22][7] At the estate, Davies alleged that one of the men reached for the drivers seat and took out a knife, holding it against his throat for "10 or 15 minutes".[20] Davies said he was searched and stripped of his possessions, including two wallets and a mobile phone.[20] According to Davies, the duo also tried to force him to withdraw money from a cash machine and buy alcohol from a liquor store, among other things.[23][12] The duo allegedly told him to drop off money at an underground car park the next morning, or else they would torch his car.[12][23] The men left Davies on the side of the road at the estate and drove off with his car, enabling him, he said, to report the incident to the police.[24][25] According to the police, the alleged mugging occured around the St Matthews Estate in Brixton at around 9:30 pm.[6]

Police statement and resignation[edit]

Davies arrived at Brixton Police Station at 10:25 pm, half a mile away from the scene of the mugging.[16][26] Some reports, including reports from The Guardian,[27] The Observer,[16] The Daily Telegraph[28] and The Times,[29] state that Davies initially told the police a different account of the mugging.[26] According to this account, he was ambushed by a gang of three, including a woman, as he parked his car on Brixton Hill near his flat in Battersea.[30]

Reaction[edit]

Press allegations[edit]

"Outing" of cabinet ministers[edit]

Police investigation[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ A report from The Times from 28 October states that Davies arrived at the Welsh Office "just after" 8:15 am. However, a report from The Daily Telegraph from 29 October states that he arrived at 8:00 am.
  2. ^ Davies had several homes.
  1. ^ Woodward, Will (21 November 1998). "Charges dropped in Davies case". The Guardian. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Pilgrim, David (2018-01-30). Child Sexual Abuse: Moral Panic or State of Denial?. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-26454-9.
  3. ^ a b Keeble, Richard (2008-10-27). Ethics for Journalists. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-08544-6.
  4. ^ Wilson, A. N. (2011). Our Times. Random House. p. 374. ISBN 978-1-4464-9301-4. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Parris, Matthew; MacGuire, Kevin (2004). Great Parliamentary Scandals: Five Centuries of Calumny, Smear and Innuendo. Pavilion Books. pp. 385–388. ISBN 978-1-86105-736-5.
  6. ^ a b c d e Buncombe, Andrew (28 October 1998). "A robbery, a knife and a strange man in Clapham". The Independent. Vol. 3, 754. pp. 1, 5. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c d e f McGrory, Daniel (28 October 1998). "Missed votes that led to a resignation". The Times. No. 66, 344. p. 3. Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via GALE Academic OneFile.
  8. ^ a b c d Newton, Polly (29 October 1998). "The long day that led to 'lapse of judgement'". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. 44, 592. p. 4. Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Caroll, Rory; Woodward, Will; Watt, Nicholas; Campbell, Duncan (28 October 1998). "Mystery meeting that ended a career". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b c Woodward, Will (31 October 1998). "A walk on the wild side that led to ruin for a Welsh bruiser". The Guardian. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b "Man charged over Davies robbery". BBC News. 1 November 1998. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d Sylvester, Rachel (1 November 1998). "Focus: How a personal tragedy became a public farce". The Independent. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Right and Ron". The Daily Telegraph. No. 44, 596. 3 November 1998. p. 25. Retrieved 23 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ a b Assinder, Nick (12 May 1999). "Davies: Author of his own downfall". BBC News. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  15. ^ "There is no alternative". The Economist. 7 November 1998. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  16. ^ a b c Woodward, Will (6 November 1998). "What did Ron Davies tell the police, and just what did the police tell Tony Blair?". The Guardian. p. 3. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Davies asked me to arrange gay sex romp". The Birmingham Post. 7 December 1998. p. 6. Retrieved 24 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Ron Davies 'scandal' man jailed". BBC News. 24 March 2005. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Davies and Blair's words of sorrow". BBC News. 27 October 1998. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g Calvert, Jonathan; Connett, David; Johnston, Lucy; Wintour, Patrick; McSmith, Andy (1 November 1998). "The Minister's story that just didn't add up". The Observer. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 23 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Reiss, Charles (27 October 1998). "Welsh chief quits after 'knifepoint incident'". Evening Standard. p. 241. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Flynn, Paul (1999). Dragons Led by Poodles: The Inside Story of a New Labour Stitch-up. Politico's Pub. pp. 30–31. ISBN 978-1-902301-24-2. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  23. ^ a b "'It was only a moment of madness'". The Daily Telegraph. 31 October 1998. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  24. ^ "Davies walks into the political wilderness: Minister quits over night of indiscretion". The Herald. 28 October 1998. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  25. ^ Brown, Colin (28 October 1998). "'I did something foolish. That is a serious lapse of judgement'". The Independent. Vol. 3, 754. p. 1. Retrieved 21 October 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ a b Baldwin, Tom (1 November 1998). "Focus: A most uncommon affair". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 22. Retrieved 26 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ White, Michael (3 November 1998). "Davies: bitter and defiant". The Guardian. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 27 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Steele, John; Millward, David; Hibbs, Jon (4 November 1998). "Davies resigned after 'attempts at blackmail'". The Daily Telegraph. No. 44, 597. p. 5. Retrieved 27 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ Tendler, Stewart; McGrory, Daniel (31 October 1998). "Ron Davies and the story that kept changing". The Times. No. 66, 347. p. 21.
  30. ^ Freeman, Colin; Shaw, David (30 October 1998). "Davies in new storm over 'lies to police'". Evening Standard. p. 2. Retrieved 27 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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