Covid Bereaved group calls for Gething peerage to be blocked

Martin Shipton

A group representing hundreds of Welsh families who lost loved ones during the pandemic has written to the body that vets new peers urging it to block the appointment of disgraced former First Minister Vaughan Gething as a member of the House of Lords.

Mr Gething was forced to resign as Welsh Labour leader and First Minister in July 2024, after just four months in office, after Nation.Cymru revealed how he had accepted donations totalling £200,000 from a company owned by businessman David Neal, who had received two suspended prison sentences for dumping toxic sludge in the protected waterlands landscape of the Gwent Levels.

Nation.Cymru also revealed how Mr Gething had lied under oath to the UK Covid Inquiry, failing to reveal that he had deleted messages exchanged in a phone chat with ministerial colleagues, in order to prevent its disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

Last week The Times reported that Mr Gething was on a list of potential new Labour peers due to be appointed to the Lords following a number of Government defeats in Westminster’s second chamber.

While the Lords cannot block Government legislation indefinitely, it has the power to delay its progress.

According to The Times, Keir Starmer plans to create two dozen new Labour peers to shore up Labour’s voting strength in the Lords.

Currently Labour has 210 peers, against 283 Conservatives, 75 Liberal Democrats, 178 crossbenchers, 42 non-affiliated members and 14 peers from smaller parties.

Anna-Louise Marsh-Rees and Sam Smith-Higgins, co-leaders of the group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru have now written to the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

‘Profound concern’

In their letter they state: “We write on behalf of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru (CBFJ Cymru), an organisation representing hundreds of families across Wales who lost loved ones to Covid-19. Our mission is to secure accountability, transparency, and meaningful lessons from the pandemic—ensuring that the voices of those failed by public health and governmental decision-making are heard, and that future policy protects the most vulnerable.

“It is with profound concern that we note the potential nomination of Vaughan Gething for a peerage, as reported in The Times on 4 December 2025. Given Mr Gething’s central role as Minister for Health and Social Care before & during the pandemic, and in light of significant evidence now emerging from the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, such an appointment would cause deep distress to our families and would risk eroding public confidence in government and public institutions.

“We believe the following issues must weigh heavily in any assessment of his suitability (the references cited below in brackets are to published evidence by the UK Covid-19 Inquiry):

“1. Fundamental lack of grip on pandemic preparedness. During his evidence to Module 1 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, Mr Gething admitted that he had not read key documents central to Wales’s pandemic preparedness—including the Tier One risk register, the National Risk Register, the 2011 Influenza Strategy, and the Exercise Cygnus report. Despite holding ministerial responsibility since 2016, he described himself as a “layman” in this area. This represents an extraordinary failure to engage with essential public duties at the highest level. (UK Covid-19 Inquiry, Module 1, Day 14, 4 July 2023, pp.119–121.)

“2. Misrepresentation of scientific advice. During a public Q&A on 23 June 2020, Mr Gething stated repeatedly that the decision not to test hospital patients being discharged to care homes was based solely on ‘the advice and evidence’, and denied that limited testing capacity influenced the policy. Whereas evidence heard by the UK Covid-19 Inquiry demonstrates that testing capacity was severely constrained at the time and that this constraint was directly relevant to the decision not to test asymptomatic care home residents and admissions. This raises profound concerns about the nature of ministerial communications with the Welsh public during a national emergency. (UK Covid-19 Inquiry, Public session, 23 June 2020.)

“3. Suspension of vaccines for care home residents.On 25 November 2020, Mr Gething suspended provision of Pfizer vaccines to care home residents contrary to JCVI guidance prioritising this high-risk group. This decision materially increased risk to life and was accompanied by public statements of the Welsh Government that misrepresented key facts, including the proportion of residents vaccinated by mid-February 2021. (UK Covid-19 Inquiry Module 4/Day 8.)

“4. Deletion of information to evade Freedom of Information scrutiny. Evidence before the Inquiry shows that Mr Gething instructed ministerial colleagues to delete communications to prevent them from being captured within a Freedom of Information request. These actions suggest a deliberate attempt to frustrate transparency in government and may represent a breach of both the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Ministerial Code. (UK Covid-19 Inquiry, INQ000479040, INQ000493685.)

“5. U-turn on Covid-positive hospital discharges. In December 2020 Mr Gething reversed guidance preventing Covid-positive hospital patients from being discharged into care homes. This resulted in inconsistent guidance at a critical moment, which placed vulnerable residents of care homes at unnecessary risk, and together with the decision to delay their vaccinations, demonstrates how they were de-prioritised by the Welsh Government during the pandemic. (Closing Written Submission of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru, page 29)

“6. Additional concerns regarding integrity and confidence. Although not directly related to the pandemic response, we also. believe it is essential to highlight serious matters of public propriety:

“Mr Gething accepted a total of £200,000 in donations from a company whose owner had previously been convicted of environmental offences. The size of the donation and the donor’s criminal history have raised serious questions about judgement, propriety, and public confidence.

“Mr Gething resigned as First Minister after only four months in office, precipitated by the resignation of four senior ministers who publicly declared they could no longer serve under his leadership.

“These issues collectively raise significant questions about judgment, integrity, and suitability for elevation to one of the highest offices in public life.

“In light of the above, and given that this potential nomination is already in the public domain, we respectfully but firmly request that these concerns be fully and rigorously considered in any evaluation of Mr Gething’s suitability for a peerage. For the families we represent—many of whom lost loved ones in circumstances shaped directly by decisions made under his leadership—such an appointment would be deeply distressing and would further undermine confidence in the fairness and credibility of public institutions.”

The letter has also been sent to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Mr Gething denies any wrongdoing.