Welsh First Minister WON’T quit over handling of claims against tragic Labour politician Carl Sargeant and insists he acted ‘by the book’

THE DEFIANT First Minister of Wales tonight faced down calls to quit, insisting he acted "by the book" when he suspended Carl Sargeant over sex abuse claims.

Carwyn Jones said he had "no alternative" but to kick the politician out of Labour when he was accused of sexual harassment - four days before he killed himself.

Rival politicians have slammed the First Minister for suspending Mr Sargeant without letting him know the details of the allegations against him.

They said he should resign in the wake of Mr Sargeant's death on Tuesday - but this evening he vowed to carry on.

After a day of meetings with Labour colleagues, Mr Jones paid emotional tribute to his late friend during a press conference in Cardiff.

He said: "We’re all very shocked by what happened this week. There is great hurt, anger and bewilderment.

"Carl was my friend. In all the years that I knew him I never had a cross word with him. For 14 years we worked together.

"He was a great chief whip and a minister who served his country with distinction."

The First Minister insisted he and his staff would co-operate in full with the inquest into Mr Sargeant's death and admitted that an independent investigator may have to probe his own behaviour.

But he denied any wrongdoing in the case, telling reporters: "I quite properly did all that I could to make sure that everything was being done by the book.

"I had no alternative but to take the action that I did and I hope that people will understand that."

Mr Jones, who appeared close to tears during his statement, concluded: "These are the darkest days any of us can remember in this institution – but they are darkest of all for the family, and we must respect their right to grieve in peace at this time.”

He left the conference hastily without taking any questions from the media.

Mr Sargeant, a member of the Welsh Assembly, was told last week that he was accused of "groping, touching and unwanted attention" by multiple women.

After he was found dead at his North Wales home, his family revealed he never knew exactly what he was alleged to have done.

The Sun can reveal that one of the charges was reportedly investigated and dismissed by bosses 18 months ago.

Sources said that Mr Jones challenged Mr Sargeant and accepted his response.

One of his allies told The Sun: “Family and friends are convinced the sacking was all about politics.”

A senior Labour councillor said last night that Mr Jones should step down over his treatment of Mr Sargeant.

Bernie Attridge said in a message to the First Minister: "I call on you to do the right thing and resign. The way you have treated Carl is unforgivable."

Neil Hamilton, Ukip's leader in Wales, added: “By publicly sacking Carl without giving him details of the allegations, he subjected Carl to trial by innuendo and left him to twist in the wind.

"Carwyn Jones is an experienced criminal law barrister and must be held to the highest standards of due process. He acted disproportionately and without human sympathy.

"The First Minister should accept his personal responsibility and resign.”

Alun Michael, the former First Minister who also served in the Cabinet under Tony Blair, said today that Mr Jones has questions to answer.

He told BBC Radio 4: "I hope it will become clearer what the allegations were and why it was that the matter was referred to the Labour party to deal with.

"I hope that the family will have the response that they are understandably seeking - what were the allegations and why were they not shared with Carl, as the person who was under criticism, and why was the support not given and who should have given it?

"The problem for everybody - family, friends, people involved in the wider public life in Wales - is that we don't know what this is all about."

The First Minister spent hours today talking to other Labour members of the Welsh Assembly behind closed doors in Cardiff today.

Mr Sargeant's friend Daran Hill expressed "disbelief" at Mr Jones's decision to talk to colleagues before giving a public statement or contacting the grieving family.

Jeremy Corbyn refused to give Mr Jones his backing today, saying he could not comment on the case while an investigation is ongoing.

The Labour leader told LBC: "It’s totally tragic what happened. Carl died and an inquest will take place.

"His family are devastated, the community is devastated and the way the family put it, he was the glue that held us all together.

"An inquest will take place and obviously there will be recommendations from the coroner on the verdict."

Asked if Mr Sargeant should have been given details of the allegations, he replied: "I can’t answer any more questions on the details of what happened because it is now in the hands of an inquest."

Yesterday, the politician's relatives published an exchange of letters between his lawyers and Labour HQ.

The documents showed that Mr Sargeant begged for details of the allegations which led to his being sacked as communities minister and suspended from Labour last Friday.