THE leader of the Welsh Conservatives has been ordered by a High Court judge to lift the suspension of Monmouth Assembly Member Nick Ramsay pending a court hearing later this month.

Mr Ramsay, aged 44, was suspended from the Welsh Tory Assembly group and the party after being arrested at his home in Raglan on the evening of New Year’s Day.

He was released from custody the following afternoon, with Gwent Police stating he would face no further action, but his suspension has remained.

On Friday (January 31) Mr Ramsay launched legal action against Paul Davies - the leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Assembly - to lift the suspension at Bristol Civil Justice Centre, saying in a written statement he was “at his wits’ end”.

Judge Jonathan Russen QC ordered the suspension to be lifted until a trial into the matter takes place between February 19 to 21.

"In my judgement, it is appropriate that he is restored to the membership of the group," the judge said.

The court heard Mr Ramsay was elected to the Welsh Assembly in 2007 and became a member of the Welsh Assembly Conservative Group.

He was arrested around 8pm on January 1 and spent the night in custody in Newport before being released without charge on January 2.

The AM hasn’t spoken publically about the circumstances that led to his arrest.

At 1.31pm on January 2, Mr Davies emailed Mr Ramsay to tell him he had "no option" but to suspend him from the Welsh Conservatives group.

Representing Mr Ramsay, who chairs the Welsh Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, David Lock QC said Mr Davies "lacked the power" to do so and had not conformed to the rules of the group’s constitution.

Mr Lock added: "The matter is primarily urgent because the claimant has important responsibilities as an elected member of the Welsh Assembly which are being thwarted by his unlawful suspension from the group.

"He tried to work within the Conservative party to resolve matters in a sensible way but, for the reasons explained in his witness statement, this proved to be impossible."

In a written statement, Mr Ramsay said he was at his "wits’ end" and sought the assistance of the High Court to "end the stalemate".

Richard Price QC, representing Mr Davies, asked for an adjournment to prepare for the case as he had been given less than 24 hours’ notice.

Mr Price said eight members of the 11-strong assembly group had supported the suspension and it was not the case that Mr Davies had "acted solo".

"The defendant and the other members of the group who are involved in the process are concerned there is a risk, if your lordship were to refuse my application for an adjournment, that this matter would be decided simply on the back of the evidence of the claimant alone," he told the judge.

The judge refused the application for an adjournment and allowed the interim injunction until the case is heard at a three-day trial in February.

He said his ruling did not affect the disciplinary processes of the group.

Speaking outside the court, Mr Ramsay said: "I am disappointed that I had to come to court today to achieve this result.

"However, I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving my constituents and discharging my public functions."

He also said he was "completely committed" to his colleagues and the wider Conservative party.

Lawyers, Sanders Witherspoon of Essex, acting on behalf of the politician the previous week, said: ”Until the Conservative Party explain why he is suspended (they have not) the matter will be unresolved.

"For the avoidance of doubt, Mr Ramsay has done nothing wrong and did not invite the suspension.

"Mr Ramsay is in limbo but that is not his fault. The quicker the Conservative Party do something and deal with this properly the quicker this will be resolved.

"At the moment they seem to be relying on unsupported conjecture, which is wholly unsatisfactory.”

The party group said they would be reviewing the AM’s suspension on January 3 after his release from custody, but made no subsequent statement.

The trial is to be listed at a court in either Bristol, Cardiff or London.

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