Committee members recommended strengthening the Senedd code of conduct, which applies to the behaviour of members inside and outside the parliament, and said it should explicitly state that members must not make deliberately misleading statements.
Radical changes suggested by the Welsh parliament standards committee would also make candidates in elections liable to criminal prosecution for making any false statement to win votes.
The Welsh government has committed to introduce “globally pioneering” legislation aimed at making lying in politics in Wales illegal by next year and asked the Senedd’s standards of conduct committee to investigate the best way of doing it.
The committee said it had looked at bringing in a law to make lying for elected politicians illegal in Wales but thought this would be too complex.
The issue is seen as particularly urgent in Wales because changes to the voting system at next year’s Senedd elections and an increased size of parliament are likely to make the campaign particularly febrile, with Reform UK having a good chance of winning seats.
