Neil McEvoy 'to build bridges' at Plaid Cymru conference

A suspended Plaid Cymru AM has said he will attend its party conference next month to "build bridges" with colleagues.

Neil McEvoy was suspended from the Plaid group last week after colleagues said he broke their code of conduct.

The South Wales Central AM said he had not decided whether to appeal against his suspension, as he is entitled to.

But he said he would "try to support my Plaid Cymru colleagues as much as I possibly can".

Asked if he wanted to be a Plaid assembly group member again in future, Mr McEvoy said: "Of course I do, yeah."

He confirmed he would be going to Plaid Cymru's conference in Caernarfon in October and would be holding a fringe meeting, which he said was "booked ages ago".

"It's important for me to possibly build bridges and mend any ill-feeling there may or may not be," he told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.

Mr McEvoy denied having designs on the Plaid Cymru leadership, with party rules requiring Leanne Wood's position needing to be reconfirmed at a conference in 2018.

"I have no interest in challenging Leanne Wood," he y said.

Asked if he would support her return as leader, Mr McEvoy added: "I've expressed a number of times on the record support for her. There's nothing further I can add to that. to be honest."

He confirmed that he had lost his place as a Plaid Cymru member of two assembly committees - public accounts and petitions.

As an independent AM is entitled to one seat, and said he would be interested in staying on as a member of either of those committees.