The justice system is failing people in Wales and only full devolution can fix it, says Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville Roberts.

The MP held a House of Commons debate on 16 December, where she urged UK Government to devolve full responsibility for justice and policing to Wales.

Raising the case of her constituent, 22-year-old Gwenno Ephraim from Blaenau Ffestiniog, Ms Saville Roberts said she was “failed” while in the care of the state, from her time in prison, hospital and the times in between when she was on licence.

Gwenno experienced serious mental health problems since she was 16 and had been in and out of hospitals as a result. In 2024, she assaulted a nurse in the mental health ward of Ysbyty Gwynedd, Hergest, and was sentenced to 44 weeks in prison.

Because Wales has no prison or secure accommodation for women, Gwenno was sent over 100 miles away to HMP Styal, Manchester. She was held there for three months but when released, despite being on suicide watch while in prison, her refusal to engage was sufficient reason for accommodation to be withdrawn. With no fixed abode, Gwenno faced temporary stays in bed and breakfast rooms, breaches of licence conditions and short returns to HMP Styal – eight times between January and July 2025.

On 7 August North Wales Police put out a missing person appeal for Gwenno, stating she was last seen in Bangor on 28 July. CCTV footage appears to show her walking alone between 10.20pm and 11.10pm, and is understood to have reached the Menai Suspension Bridge. She has not been seen since.

Ms Saville Roberts drew on research by Dr Rob Jones and the Wales Governance Centre of Cardiff University’s recent report on prisons and imprisonment in Wales, which she says allows us to “understand the cracks” in our criminal justice system.

The MP also said Gwenno’s story shows what happens when real families “fall between the gaps” as a result. During her speech, Liz Saville Roberts said only through full devolution of the criminal justice system we can start to fix structural problems and be able to address systematic issues hindering both effective rehabilitation and the safety and welfare of victims, survivors, and their families.

Her call is supported by the findings of three independent commissions, including the Thomas Commission and the Commission on the Constitutional Future for Wales, all of which have recommended the devolution of justice to various degrees.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Davies Jones, who is also the MP for Pontypridd said her thoughts were with Gwenno’s family, and said Gwenno is a “prime example of exactly how the criminal justice system is not working”.

Ms Davies Jones said this case was “exactly why we need to close the gaps and ensure that women like Gwenno are given the support that they need, rather than necessarily a prison sentence”. However, while she acknowledged that interfaces exist between reserved and devolved responsibilities, she said that “it is not necessarily true that they cause problems in the delivery of justice in Wales”.