Plaid Cymru has hit back at Reform’s criticism of a Gwynedd Senedd candidate’s archived social media posts.

Reform say Elin Hywel shared posts calling Kemi Badenoch a ‘black collaborator’, and Wales the ‘racist capital of the UK’, and also said in 2020 that the UK Government was actively trying to cull its people.

Elin, from Bangor, has served as Gwynedd councillor for North Pwllheli since 9 May 2022 and sits on a number of council bodies, including the Planning Committee, the Communities Scrutiny Committee, the Dwyfor Area Committee, the Cambrian Coast Railway Liaison Committee, the Pension Board, and the Pwllheli Harbour Consultative Committee, where she has served as Vice-Chair. She is also listed as Chair of Gwynedd’s Pensions Committee.

Within Plaid Cymru locally, Hywel is publicly described as Vice-Chair of the Plaid Cymru Gwynedd Group. She has also been selected as fifth on Plaid Cymru’s list for the Gwynedd Maldwyn constituency for the 2026 Senedd election.

Reform say archived social media posts show that Elin criticised the flying of the UK flag outside a government office in 2021, and that she shared a post saying Kemi Badenoch is a ‘black collaborator’ in 2024. Also in 2024, she is accused of posting that Cardiff was the ‘most unappealing city in the world’, and in 2021 of sharing a post saying Wales is the ‘racist capital’ of the UK. In 2024 Reform say Elin shared another post supporting the blocking of removal of illegal immigrants, and in 2020 claimed the UK Government was actively attempting to cull its people.

Reform also say that in the wake of October 7, she shared post suggesting Hamas aren’t terrorists, claimed Israel was planning to kill people from Ireland with support of UK and Welsh Governments in 2024, and shared a post suggesting Hezbollah were not terrorists in 2024.

They sent links to these archived messages, along with another shared post saying Israel should not have right to exist in 2024, and another that year saying Israel is an ethno-nationalist apartheid state, to a number of journalists.

A Reform UK Wales spokesperson said: “These quotes are not some misguided musings of a teenager, but are the sincerely held beliefs of someone who should know better.

“This raises significant questions for Plaid Cymru about their attitudes towards Israel, but most importantly their attitude towards Wales and its people.”

But Plaid Cymru hit back at Reform, calling them “a party mired in controversy, lacking judgment, and unfit to represent the people of Wales”.

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “Reform are desperately deflecting from their shambolic campaign, which has seen four candidates drop out in one week - including one candidate who appeared in an image where they appeared to show a Nazi salute.

“This is a party mired in controversy, lacking judgment, and unfit to represent the people of Wales.

“Only Plaid Cymru can stop them on 7 May.”

Plaid said Elin would not be commenting personally about the archived social media posts.