Boris Johnson has pledged to deliver a “proper Welsh dimension” to the UK’s Covid inquiry.

Mark Drakeford said he “pressed” the prime minister for a guarantee that the UK-wide inquiry would look at the actions of the Welsh Government throughout the course of the pandemic.

The first minister tweeted that he wanted the inquiry to look at how his government had handled the pandemic and the “experiences of the people of Wales.”

Following a meeting with the prime minister and other first ministers, Mr Drakeford said: “Today I pressed the prime minister for a guarantee the UK Covid inquiry would properly examine the actions of the Welsh Government and experiences of the people of Wales.

 

“The prime minister confirmed there will be a proper Welsh dimension to the inquiry and spoke of its importance to the whole of Wales.”

Opposition parties in Cardiff have called for a specific inquiry into the Welsh Government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking last week following the parliamentary committee Covid report, Conservative shadow health minister Russell George MS said: “These lessons cannot only be learnt in Whitehall when there are other governments across the UK that were responsible for their own decisions, including Labour in Cardiff Bay.

“Indeed, what this report – which focusses entirely on the British Government’s response – shows is why we need a Wales-specific Covid inquiry, so that the Labour Government can also receive the due scrutiny that every democracy deserves.”

While Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said: “It is now more important than ever that we get a Wales-only public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic. We cannot settle for a mere chapter in a UK-wide inquiry.

"We need to look at what happened in detail, and in public, to learns lessons for the future - there should be no avoidance of detailed scrutiny.

“The people of Wales – and the bereaved families - will expect and deserve nothing less.”