FIRST Minister Mark Drakeford said he would take a “very dim view” if he discovered there had been parties happening in Welsh Government buildings during the pandemic.

“Well, I’m not aware of any parties or anything of that sort,” he told reporters at Friday's Welsh Government Covid briefing

“If there had been such an event, then I would take a very dim view of it.

“Time after time, I’ve come here to say that I believe that people who make the rules have a special obligation to make sure that they themselves are following the rules.

“That’s how we’ve tried to conduct ourselves in the Welsh Government.”

Mr Drakeford also said the report on the alleged Downing Street parties should have been put in the hands of someone independent.

He said: “I know Sue Gray, I’ve been an admirer of her abilities when she worked in the Northern Ireland office and we would have contact with her as devolved governments.

“My own view has been, from the very beginning, that the report should have been given to someone entirely independent of the UK Government. It should’ve been judge-led, or someone in that independent position.

“I think Sue Gray has been put in a very challenging and pressurised position, and it would’ve been better if some other mechanism, more clear-cut, would’ve been put in place.”

Mr Drakeford was also asked whether the alleged Downing Street parties had eroded trust in politicians.

He said: "When public figures who are part of making rules appear to believe that the rules don't apply to them, of course it damages public confidence.

"I hope people see the Welsh Government in a different light.

"It's vital they see that we have absolutely not been part of any culture that believes that somehow you are above and beyond the rules that apply to other people."