On 9 November 2017 Alun Michael, Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales and former First Secretary, asked Carwyn Jones, then First Minister of Wales, to set out the allegations made against Carl Sargeant. Former minister Leighton Andrews said that in earlier years Sargeant had been the target of bullying and disinformation in the Assembly which had placed "a strain on his and others' mental health," and that this was known to Jones. UK Independence Party Welsh Assembly member Neil Hamilton called for Jones to resign over the matter, saying that the suspension of Sargeant was both "heartless and in breach of the most fundamental principle of natural justice – giving the accused the right to defend himself."