VALE of Glamorgan MP Alun Cairns has come under fire for comments in which he appeared to link Plaid Cymru with xenophobic action taken against migrants in Welsh-speaking communities.

Conservative Mr Cairns appeared on BBC One’s Question Time programme on Thursday, alongside Plaid leader Leanne Wood, where he claimed “direct action” had been taken against non-Welsh people in Wales.

Addressing Ms Wood he said: “Many of your members have taken direct action in the past, many have broken the law to that effect, and I would hope that you would condemn them.”

He added: “It wasn’t so long ago that some of the cottages were being burned down.”

Although he has since remained silent on the issue, Mr Cairns has faced calls to apologise or quit following the comments, with first minister Carwyn Jones calling his words “unwise and baseless”.

Writing on Twitter, the first minister said: “In a week when the Tories sunk to new lows they should be careful about pointing fingers at others.”

And Ms Wood slammed the Tory minister, claiming he was “distorting history with smears and insinuation”.

“The secretary of state for Wales is guilty of peddling the exact sort of myths and smears which breed hostility and turn people against each other,” she said.

“Such comments and insinuations are not what you would expect from a government minister.

“If he had any integrity, he would withdraw what he said.”

Newport West MP Paul Flynn also joined the criticism of Mr Cairns, calling his comments “inept” and “indefensible”.

But, writing on Twitter, the veteran MP also called on the minister not to quit over the row, saying: “All possible replacements are even worse”.

Since the programme was broadcast on Thursday evening Plaid supporters have been tweeting their experiences of feeling welcome in Wales with the hashtag #WeAreWales.

Mr Cairns has declined to comment.