in the media to be William Hague's first choice for the job. Richards stood down as leader after he was charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm on a young woman. Bourne was then appointed leader by Hague. Richards was cleared of assault in June 2000. Richards had the party whip withdrawn from him following his decision to abstain rather than vote with his fellow Conservatives against the Assembly's budget at the end of 1999. He continued to sit in the Assembly, as an 'Independent Conservative' until September 2002 when he resigned as an Assembly Member (AM) due to problems with alcohol. Richards and his successor, Nick Bourne were known for hating one another. In one interview, Richards said he would consider opposing Bourne if the latter stood for Police Commissioner. When Bourne lost his seat in the 2011 Assembly election, Rod Richards was quoted in the Western Mail saying, "It has been a great week, bin Laden on Sunday Bourne on Friday." Osama bin Laden had been killed by American special forces in the days before polling day. Once Bourne had been appointed party leader by William Hague, he refused to give Richards a portfolio in his 25 August reshuffle, leaving him as the only Welsh Conservative backbencher. Richards stated, "We are perfectly happy to continue to promote the Welsh language. But we will not discriminate against those Welsh people who don't speak Welsh, or indeed anyone else who comes to live in Wales"; and, on Plaid Cymru, "They are an anti-British party. They reject everything that is British: our history, our values, our great achievements, our language, indeed the very existence of our British family. ... They want Wales out of the United Kingdom and into a federal European state. They want separation from England so that Wales can be ruled by Brussels." Defection to UKIP In July 2013, Richards defected to UKIP, after becoming "disillusioned with mainstream parties". He refused to be drawn on whether he wanted to seek UKIP's candidacy in the 2014 European Parliament election. Its then current MEP for Wales, John Bufton, stood down in June 2014, being replaced by Nathan Gill. Personal life Richards was married to a psychologist, Liz, until their divorce, after revelations in June 1996 of his extra-marital affair. The couple had three children. In 1999, while Welsh Conservative leader, Richards was charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm on a young