Becca Brown, Berwyn Parry Jones, Dafydd Meurig and Elin Walker Jones issued a joint statement, saying they “wish to distance ourselves from the comments made by leader Dyfrig Siencyn”.
“We stand with the victims,” they said, adding that they fully support calls for a public inquiry.
“We deeply regret that the council’s leadership issues have drawn attention from what is most important in this tragic situation – namely the suffering of the women.”
In a statement issued by the council on Friday afternoon, the leader said: “I sincerely apologise to all those who have suffered at the hands of sex offender Neil Foden and would wish to reassure the people of Gwynedd, and in particular the victims, that I and my fellow councillors are determined to leave no stone unturned to establish what went wrong and to ensure this can never been allowed to happen again.”
He added: “In addition, in light of the further allegations about Neil Foden on this week’s BBC programme, I support the call for a public inquiry.
“Over the weekend I will discuss with my fellow members and consider my own situation, before deciding on the best way forward.”
Before the council leader’s apology, the Plaid source called the council leader “stubborn” and said his position was “completely untenable”.
Speaking on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, ap Iorwerth failed to support Siencyn, instead saying: “I have confidence, absolutely, that Gwynedd council understands that there’s one job to do here.
“Nothing else is important, and that’s to get to the truth on behalf of all those young people who have suffered at the hands of this paedophile.”
Pressed on whether he would say sorry, he replied: “Everybody involved in any way has to apologise, of course. We don’t really know what it is what the apology is for as yet.”
