It's emerged a former councillor attempted to defraud £3,000 while he was working for Anglesey Council.

Iwan Huws was banned from standing from office for three years, after he was found guilty of breaking Cyngor Gwynedd's code of conduct.

A report published by the Wales Adjudication Panel reveals he was cautioned by police after attempting to defraud Anglesey Council, where he worked as a former maritime officer.

But the ex-Plaid Cymru councillor for the Bethel and Y Felinheli ward did not inform Cyngor Gwynedd about the offence within a reasonable time.

The Public Service Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW), Michelle Morris, said Mr Huws had ''demonstrated a lack of respect towards the public on several levels".

In June 2023, a production company asked permission to hire Beaumaris Pier for two days of filming.

The following month, Mr Huws sent an invoice for £3,000, including VAT, asking for the money to be sent to his bank account rather than Anglesey Council. He sent a second email to the production company a fortnight later, again demanding for payment to his account.

The company then flagged up concerns with the council about the finance department, who confirmed the payment details were incorrect.

Mr Huws, who had deleted both emails, was suspended while an investigation took place and subsequently resigned from his role as senior maritime officer.

After admitting the offences to police, he was cautioned in December 2023 and apologised to Anglesey Council.

In July last year, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, who had carried out her own investigation, referred the case to the Wales Adjudication Panel.

When interviewed by the PSOW, Mr Huws had admitted the offence but claimed he "tried to resolve the problem in his own way", alleging the company's request had put him "under time constraints".

Mr Huws said he had intended to pay a proportion of the money to Beaumaris Town Council, who had not been consulted, but "everything accelerated".

The mooring receipt sent to the production company contained his own bank details, with the intention to paying half to the Town Council and keeping the other half for himself.

But Mr Huws said he "started to panic" and deleted both emails containing the invoice after the company had contacted the finance department - at one point in the interview, he said he should have thrown his laptop into the Menai.

Mr Huws said he had been "very anxious about the potential for details about him to be disclosed and the bad press that could attract" and that he turned down the offer of a cabinet role at Cyngor Gwynedd because of the situation.

In the tribunal's findings, the panel said Mr Huws "had shown a lack of insight into the impact of his criminal behaviour", adding that the attempted fraud "took place over a number of days and does appear to include an element of premeditation in its preparation".

Mr Huws had not referred himself to the Ombudsman and did not consider his reputation "besmirched" until the story had broken in the press last October, despite the knowledge of police and both Anglesey and Gwynedd councils.

They added his main interest in the process was "to admit the offence and move on" and criticised his remarks about throwing his laptop into the Menai as "inappropriate" even if intended in jest.

The report adds: "It is striking that he didn’t resign as a member of Gwynedd County Council until September 2025, by which time, the case was under consideration by the case tribunal."

"He had mentioned in his PSOW interview that his intention was to retire from his role with Isle of Anglesey County Council anyway, in order to focus on his political career."

"It is apparent that he intended to continue as a member of the county council, despite his conduct and to all intents and purposes without acknowledging the seriousness of the offence but rather seeking to cover up the offence from his constituents."

Mr Huws resigned as a county councillor in September 2025, three months before the Adjucation Panel's tribunal was held - his seat in the Bethel and Y Felinheli ward was retained by Plaid Cymru in a by-election last November.

He is also a former chief executive of the Eryri National Park and also stood for Plaid as their Aberconwy candidate at the 2011 Assembly elections.

Mr Huws is banned from acting as a member for any relevant authority for three years, although he has the right to appeal through the High Court.