Ex-TV boss accused of abusing Mike Phillips when 'drunk' says she was treated differently

A former senior executive at S4C, who was dismissed by the channel for gross misconduct, has claimed she was treated differently to other senior figures at the broadcaster who had faced allegations "capable of amounting to gross misconduct".

Llinos Griffin-Williams was dismissed from her role as chief content officer in 2023 after claims she had allegedly been drunk and verbally abused former rugby player Mike Phillips while attending the Rugby World Cup in Nantes, France, in a work capacity.

She is bringing a case at the High Court against her former employer and the former chair, Rhodri Williams, who dismissed her.

S4C said there was "no record of complaints about the alleged inappropriate behaviour of any other member of S4C staff".

In October, it was revealed that S4C had agreed to an out of court settlement with its former chief executive, Sian Doyle, who had also instigated legal action against the broadcaster, in a separate personal injury claim.

The cost of the settlement has not been disclosed with no admission of liability by any party.

In court documents recently filed, Llinos Griffin-Williams alleges she was treated unfairly by the broadcaster as she was never given "the opportunity to give her version... as part of a fair process".

She claims "there was no proper investigation into the allegations" and "no opportunity to respond to the allegations made against her" before she was sacked.

She denies acting "in a way which amounted to gross misconduct in a public setting" and says she would have denied the allegation had it "been put to her".

Documents previously filed at the High Court by S4C's legal team say Ms Griffin-Williams was "intoxicated to such a degree that it adversely influenced her behaviour" and she used "unprofessional language" and expletives towards Mr Phillips and production staff in Nantes.

Ms Griffin-Williams claims that other individuals at S4C "about whom allegations capable of amounting to gross misconduct had been made" were not summarily dismissed as she was, although those individuals are not named in the court papers.

She claims she was "performance managing staff....for allegations of misconduct".

She refers to allegations that members of staff had been "severely intoxicated" at work events, such as award ceremonies, and that in these instances the guidance from S4C's human resources department had been to either take no action or the individuals were given an "off the record chat," moved to another team and/or given an informal warning.

Her legal team claim that the the whole process against their client was "procedurally unfair" and that a different sanction short of dismissal may have been appropriate had her then employer been "fair and open minded".

In her submission, seen by Newyddion S4C, Llinos Griffin-Williams also challenged the credibility of accounts about her behaviour, one of which which she alleges may have been based on "hearsay".

She claims that Ron Jones, the executive chairman of Llanelli-based media company Tinopolis was not "present at the time of the alleged conduct" and says there was a risk he was "not an objective or reliable witness in relation to the account" due to a decision by her to cancel a number of programmes by the company.

Ms Griffin-Williams also states that the former chairman of S4C, Rhodri Williams, who dismissed her, was a co-founder of Agenda along with Mr Jones, a company that would eventually become Tinopolis.

Mr Jones declined to comment

It is also alleged by Ms Griffin-Williams that another witness, Liam Bowen, was "not an eyewitness to all of the alleged conduct he recounted".

It was claimed he was not at an event where Llinos Griffin-Williams was alleged to have used "unprofessional language" towards rugby player Mike Phillips and others.

She also alleges that there had been "personal tension" between herself and Mr Bowen - who was, at the time, a sports social media officer for S4C - after she requested that social media content relating to the Wales v Fiji game, posted by Mr Bowen, be removed, a week before the trip to Nantes.

She also says Mr Bowen subsequently left S4C to work with Ron Jones and Tinopolis.

Mr Bowen told BBC Wales that he was not present at the first location in Nantes where the alleged behaviour took place - as he always made clear from the start - but he had been informed of the behaviour by production staff, and he had also seen behaviour by Llinos Griffin-Williams at a second location in Nantes that had caused him concern.

He also pointed out that he left S4C to work for BBC Wales Sport, and did not join Tinopolis until nine months later.

In a separate document, Llinos Griffin-Williams claims a report produced by Capital Law for S4C, on allegations of bullying and toxic culture at the channel, "took anonymous allegations at face value" that were not put to her as part of a formal complaint.

She challenges the fairness of that report and claims that the former chairman of S4C, Rhodri Williams, was "actively involved" in how it was to be "framed and presented publicly" and he had a "clear conflict of interest" as he was the "subject of complaints" himself.

Mr Williams told BBC Wales he denied all the allegations made by Llinos Griffin-Williams and has previously denied leaking information to the media in court documents. He also denies acting in "bad faith" against Llinos Griffin-Williams.

Prior to the commissioning of the Capital Law report, the broadcasting trade union, BECTU, had raised concerns with S4C that members felt "ignored and belittled" by members of the management team and referred to a "culture of fear" at S4C and concerns about bullying.

S4C have said that the Capital Law investigation was a "reasonable and proper response" to the issues raised by BECTU.

Ms Griffin-Williams is making claims against S4C and former chairman Rhodri Williams for misfeasance in public office or wrongdoing by a public official, and data breaches.

She alleges in her claim that there was "a flagrant disregard for fundamental features of due process".

Both S4C and Rhodri Williams deny her claims and are defending the lawsuit and the case continues.

The contents of the the court documents could lead to a potentially embarrassing and public legal battle between the Welsh language channel and Ms Griffin-Williams, if the matter is eventually heard at the High Court.

In a statement for BBC Wales, Ms Griffin-Williams said that she had "no alternative" but to take High Court action and that her legal battle was over "truth, accountability and the basic right to be treated fairly."

She added that she would "always... fight for equality".

A spokesperson for S4C said: "The defence that S4C has presented to the allegations reflects our position. It would not be appropriate for us to offer further comment in the media on allegations that have not yet been heard in a court case.

"As noted in our defence to the court, there is no record of complaints about the alleged inappropriate behaviour from any other member of S4C staff.

These allegations relate to a period that is now more than two years ago. Since then, S4C has undergone a period of transformation in terms of governance, management and culture to ensure this is a healthy workplace where everyone can thrive."