Trans MP Jamie Wallis charged with fleeing from car crash
Conservative MP Jamie Wallis has been charged with failing to stop after a car crash in November 2021. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty)
Tory MP Jamie Wallis will appear in court for failing to report a car crash in Wales last year.
When Wallis come out as trans earlier this year, he opened up about living with PTSD after being raped, linking it to his fleeing from a car crash last year.
“I have PTSD and I honestly have no idea what I was doing except I was overcome by an overwhelming sense of fear,” said Wallis, who has said he will continue to use he/him pronouns for the time being. “I am sorry that it appears I ‘ran away’ but this isn’t how it happened in the moment.”
Now, South Wales Police have charged the MP with failing to report a road traffic collision, driving without due care and attention and leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position, the BBC reported.
According to the force, failing to report a collision can result in a fine, penalty points, or up to six months in prison.
Authorities said the alleged incident occurred in the early morning hours on 28 November in Llanblethian, a village near Cowbridge, Wales.
Wallis, MP for Bridgend, will appear at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on 10 May.
Jamie Wallis told PinkNews that he has been “honest in recent months about my personal life and car accident” but would not be commenting further while the case is still ongoing.
“Whilst this case remains ongoing, I will not be commenting further following advice from my legal team,” Wallis said. “I will, however, issue a statement on this matter when this case concludes.”
Jamie Wallis came out after extortion plot
In March, the Welsh politician became the first British MP to come out as trans.
In a statement shared on social media, he said he had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and had “felt this way since I was a very young child”.
Wallis said the he was blackmailed in April 2020 by a person who outed him to his father and sent photos of him to other family members.
The blackmailer demanded Wallis pay him £50,000 to keep silent about his gender identity. Wallis filed a complaint with the police, and the person was sentenced to over two years in prison.
Wallis recently told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday that his journey has been “challenging and difficult”, but that he had received an “incredible amount of support”.
He hoped to begin the process of transitioning as “quickly as possible”, but he acknowledged that the journey will be “challenging and difficult” with “lots of hurdles”.
Alluding to how bogged down the UK’s trans healthcare system is, Wallis added: “It’s not going to be done overnight, it’s going to take many, many years.
“I think now that I am out and people do know, I’m free to start that and actually go on that journey at a pace that I find comfortable.”
