Former MP Gwynoro Jones acquitted of groping woman on train

A former Labor MP has been acquitted of groping a woman on a train.

Gwynoro Jones, 83, has denied sexually assaulting a woman on a Great Western Railway service from London to Swansea in July 2024.

The hearing at Swansea Crown Court heard Jones told the woman she was “so beautiful” and allegedly asked if she was married before touching her bottom.

Mr Jones, who was the Labor MP for Carmarthen from 1970 to 1974, said he may have touched the woman by accident but denied the attack and insisted he had “no sexual intent”.

A unanimous jury acquitted him on the single charge Tuesday afternoon.

Judge Geraint Walter told the politician: “Mr Jones, you can now leave the defendant.”

The judge thanked the jurors for their work during the trial.

He said he would consider an application for Mr Jones, who does not receive legal aid funding, to have his privately paid costs covered.

During the trial, the court heard that Mr Jones was a passenger in the train’s first class carriage and bought two small bottles of red wine on board.

Prosecutor Georgia Donohue said he then asked the complainant “personal questions” and told her she was “very beautiful”, which made the woman “uncomfortable”.

Mr Jones allegedly touched the woman as she walked backwards in the carriage towards where he was sitting.

However, Ms Donohue insisted during police interrogation that this was not done deliberately and that there was no “sexual motivation”.

He told officers that if the touching had occurred, it could have been accidental.