Diolch, Llywydd. On behalf of Plaid Cymru, can I send our deepest condolences to Oscar’s family—to Firdaus, Natasha—and to friends and Senedd colleagues, especially on the Conservative benches? Oscar was generous and genial to his core—a political free spirit in many ways; a larger than life character who could never be contained in the confines of any one party. He belonged to all of us in different ways at different times.

Politics was never about ideology for Oscar. He was a people person par excellence, more than a conventional politician in any sense. At the centre of his world were his family. Indeed, it was because of his daughter Natasha that he first joined Plaid Cymru. Natasha had written to the various parties asking for work experience opportunities. Jocelyn Davies responded, and Natasha ended up enjoying it so much that she did an extra week. This created such an impression on her doting father that he invited Jocelyn and Ieuan Wyn Jones to his Newport home, the welcome epitomised by his trademark warmth and hospitality. As Ieuan Wyn recounts, you never left Oscar’s home without a full stomach. I was reminded of this generosity at first hand a year or two ago, when Ieuan and I were chatting in the Senedd cafe. As Ieuan walked towards the counter, Oscar rushed towards the waitress and bellowed, ‘This is on me’, insisting on buying us both a cup of tea.

The Islamic faith, as we’ve heard, was essential to Oscar—a devout Muslim and the first to sit in our Senedd. He had strong links with the wider Muslim community, and he was never happier than when creating connections, building bridges, opening doors. Thanks to Oscar, Ieuan was the first Plaid Cymru leader to address the mosque in Newport. But, Oscar was respectful of all faiths. He soon invited Ieuan back to address a Plaid meeting in Newport in a building run by the Catholic community, and when Ieuan commented on this, Oscar responded, 'Jesus is one of our prophets too.'

When it came to election time, Oscar didn't really canvass, he merely checked in with people, speaking to everyone, knowing who everyone was, as we've heard, and taking for granted that they all voted for him. To ask the question even would have been both demeaning and unnecessary. He knew Newport like the back of his hand and loved it dearly. He was so proud when we took our party conference there.

His love of his motherland also ran deep. Ieuan joined Oscar on a visit to Pakistan in 2005, visiting Islamabad and Kashmir. It would have been a stern test for Oscar if a Welsh cricket team, which he passionately campaigned for, ever faced his beloved Pakistan. Oscar was particularly close to Ieuan at that time. I've seen references to him flying Ieuan around in the 2007 campaign, making good use of his pilot's licence. As the director of the campaign, I think I wouldn't have known about this if it had happened, but I wish I'd had the idea at the time.

I remember the moment in which Oscar's face flashed up on the television as the dawn rose on the morning of 4 May 2007 as he was elected on the South Wales East list. It was an emotional moment in so many ways. That our party had secured the first black and minority ethnic Member of the Senedd was a source of pride, and I knew that his election also meant that we would be entering Government probably for the first time, though in the days and weeks ahead, there was deep debate within the party on how and, more particularly, with whom. 

Oscar had a knack of cutting through the mist and crystallising an idea in a colourful phrase. When the rainbow coalition fell through and an offer of co-operation came from the Labour Party, some wondered whether this was genuine. Quick as a flash, Oscar responded, 'If they're not going to visit, why ask for the address?' And when One Wales emerged as a real possibility, Oscar enthusiastically supported the idea, saying to Ieuan, 'If you can't be king, then you must become crown prince.'

The events of 2009 are a long time ago. We were sad to lose Oscar as a Member, obviously, but though allegiances evolve, friendships endure. Oscar belonged to all of us, firstly Labour, then Plaid, and latterly the Conservatives. We all had the pleasure of sharing his kindness and good humour. This Senedd term, as the First Minister has said, has seen some of the darkest days most of us can remember, and we will miss the light of his smile and the grace of his soul. His life was a symbol of that enduring truth: that, at a human level, the spirit that connects and binds us all is greater than every divide.