Conservative MP Jamie Wallis walked away from scene after crashing car into lamppost, court hears

A witness has told a court that they saw Conservative MP Jamie Wallis walk away from the scene of a car crash after driving into a lamppost last year.

The politician, who represents Bridgend, has appeared at Cardiff Magistrates' Court charged with four traffic offences relating to the incident.

Wallis is accused of failing to stop, failing to report a road traffic collision, driving without due care and attention and leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position.

The 38-year-old from Cowbridge has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In March, Mr Wallis became the first MP in the UK to come out publicly as transgender when he shared a statement online about being diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

In a follow-up statement, Mr Wallis added that he intended to keep using the pronouns he/him/his, for now.

The collision happened in November 2021 on Church Road in Llanblethian, south Wales.

Carina Hughes, prosecuting, said residents Adrian Watson and Natalie Webb were having a gathering nearby when just after 1am they heard a “very loud bang, significantly louder than a domestic firework”.

Mrs Webb told the court he went outside and saw amber flashing lights and that a Mercedes E-Class saloon had crashed into a lamppost.

Mr Watson said he looked inside the car and saw “a white male wearing a white long-sleeve top which was tight to the body, a black leather PVC mini-skirt, tights, dark shoes with a high heel and a pearl necklace”.

When he asked Wallis if he was okay, Mr Watson claimed the male said: “I’m sorting it. I’m sorting it.”

Mr Watson then told the court he said he was going to call the police and that Wallis began walking away from the scene.

Mr Watson said he followed him and witnessed him make two phone calls, during one of which Wallis claimed he was being “accosted”.

He was then picked up by a Land Rover Discovery.

Wallis told the court he had been wearing "women's clothes" on the evening before the crash before deciding to drive "three to four minutes" away to visit his estranged wife.He said: "I was wearing the clothes that I feel most comfortable in, as I often do when I'm in my home, which were women's clothes."

Wallis claimed he had swerved in the road when a cat ran out in front of his vehicle, and had ended up crashing.He said: "A cat ran out from left to right in front of me."I just instinctively swerved. I didn't think about it. I just swerved to avoid the cat. That's when the collision happened."It was the worst accident that I have been involved in. It was quite powerful."

'PTSD attack'

The court heard Wallis had been diagnosed with PTSD after being raped in September last year.

He said he became "obsessed" with his safety and was suffering nightmares and flashbacks following the incident.He said the last time he had worn women's clothes was during the alleged rape - and felt "vulnerable" when he saw witnesses approaching him after the crash.He claims he left the scene of the crash because he had a "PTSD attack" and felt "as if I was going to be attacked again".

Miss Hughes said phone records showed Wallis sent text messages and made phone calls between 1:32am and 1:42am.

But Wallis claimed he was incapable of ringing 999 due to his "state of shock."

Miss Hughes said after returning home Wallis was able to lock the door, undress, find medication and move from his flat to the main house to find a bedroom.She said: "All that with your mobile phone in your possession."There was no reason why you couldn't send a message or phone the police or ask somebody else to phone police."

On the morning of Wallis' arrest, Police Sergeant Gareth Handy said that when he attended Wallis’ family home address, he forced entry into the property out of concern for the MP.

Mr Handy told the court Wallis was found asleep in a bedroom with "make-up on his face.”

Pc Louis Hall, who was the officer who found Wallis, said: “He appeared to be wearing make-up. His eyelids were dark, his lips were red and his cheeks were bronzed, and he had red nail polish on his toes."

The court heard a black leather skirt and pearl necklace were found next to the bed and were seized by police.

The court also heard that when officers searched his flat at the property, they found a “blonde wig” on a table.

Wallis was then arrested at 7:21am.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash and no-one was injured in the collision

The trial began at Cardiff Magistrates' Court on 11 July and is expected to last two days.