WITH public trust in politicians appearing to have plunged to an all-time low, the leader of Plaid Cymru has published a new draft Bill to make any deliberate lying a criminal offence.

Adam Price has presented the Elected Representatives (Prohibition of Deception) Bill, which would see elected politicians in the European, Westminster and devolved parliaments face criminal charges if they knowingly mislead the public.

He pointed to the collapsing trust in the leadership of the Tory and Labour parties, and said the Bill would go some way to restoring faith in an age of “fake news, fake views and fake figures”.

His Bill reads: “It shall be an offence for an elected representative acting in their capacity, or an agent acting on their behalf, to make or publish a statement they know to be misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular.”

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Price said the Trade Descriptions Act, passed in 1968, had been in place for more than 50 years to stop companies misleading consumers.

His proposal is an update of a 2007 Private Members’ Bill he introduced in the House of Commons.

Price said: “People have lost faith in our politics, and we have a duty to restore it before it’s too late.

“It’s depressing that it has come to this, but if we need a law to stop politicians from lying then that is what should be in place.

“I proposed a similar draft law over 10 years ago, when the lies that lead to the dreadful Iraq war were surfacing.

“Our politics, once again, faces a crisis of confidence thanks to the fake news, fake views and fake figures that have been peddled, particularly by the main two Westminster parties.

“Over half a century ago we made it illegal for companies to lie to us with the Trade Descriptions Act.

“Sadly, it looks like now we need the same principle to apply to politicians.

“Honesty is the most important currency in politics.

“We have to restore it, before we bankrupt our whole society.”