Covid Bereaved group rejects allegation that media exposure of Gething is ‘racist’

A woman who campaigns for justice for those who died unnecessarily during the pandemic has robustly denied that holding Vaughan Gething to account can be construed as motivated by racism.

Anna-Louise Marsh-Rees was responding to a statement issued by the Welsh Labour BAME [Black and Minority Ethnic] Committee, which said: “For so many BAME people in Wales, the last few weeks will have been disturbing, unsettling and yet very familiar.

“In the Welsh media the treatment of Vaughan Gething has gone well beyond what one can reasonably call fair scrutiny … We fully endorse thorough political scrutiny from a free press and from an active political community. However, we feel that this scrutiny in recent weeks has crossed a line between fair examination and racially influenced attitudes and judgements, with a Black person being held to a higher standard.”

Incompetence

Ms Marsh-Rees, the lead spokeswoman for the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, which has been highly critical of Mr Gething’s performance as Health Minister during the Covid crisis, said: “What exactly is the line that the Welsh media have crossed? I’d say it’s Vaughan Gething that’s crossed the line in so many ways, I’d like each and every Labour MS to confirm why they think the Welsh media is racist.

“Our bias is very consciously against incompetence, a lack of judgment and zero integrity. And let’s not forget that BAME communities were most affected by Covid.”

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, NationCymru’s CEO Mark Mansfield said: “These are absolutely disgraceful comments and will not stop the scrutiny of Vaughan Gething by @NationCymru or the rest of the Welsh media.

Responding to political commentator Cai Wilshaw, who asked what the real reason was behind our “dogged questioning” of Mr Gething, Mansfield said: “The dogged questioning was *really* about understanding what Mr Gething was doing accepting a £200,000 donation from a convicted criminal.

“We also investigated what actually happened with his spontaneously vanishing Covid messages and found out the truth. It’s called journalism!”

Reflection

Mr Gething’s campaign manager Stewart Owadally asked Mansfield, “Does the fact that these are BAME members elected to represent BAME members not cause any reflection?” He added: “There were also around 40 senior BAME (non party) leaders at FMQs gallery last week who discussed these concerns. This is not political point scoring. There is a lot of worry.”

Mansfield responded: “There should certainly be reflection. You should reflect on the campaign you ran and the fundamental dishonesty of the attack line you are trying to use to close down press scrutiny of the scandals Mr Gething is embroiled in”.

A number of BAME people posted messages dissociating themselves from the Welsh Labour BAME committee statement. NationCymru associate editor Martin Shipton, who first broke the news about Mr Gething’s “dodgy donation”, spoke about the allegation of racism on BBC Radio Wales’ Sunday Supplement programme.

Crossed the line

Asked by presenter Vaughan Roderick whether he agreed with the Welsh Labour BAME Committee’s view that the negative coverage of Mr Gething’s conduct had gone beyond fair scrutiny, Shipton said: “No. I certainly do not think that. The person who has crossed the line is Mr Gething himself. He is the one who took £200,000 from a convicted criminal. He is the one who misled the Covid Inquiry. He is the one who deleted messages that should have gone to the Covid Inquiry, because he was worried that they would be disclosed under freedom of information legislation. Nobody else has done that. He has brought this entire morass on himself.

“I’m afraid that the people from the BAME organisation, who may be heartfelt, But I think there’s a considerable element of naivety in what they’re saying. They have also failed to produce any evidence whatsoever that there is any racial motivation in this. I, as somebody who has always been anti-racist in my perspective, find it quite insulting.

“I also think that it’s pretty disgraceful to be suggesting that people who are criticising Mr Gething are motivated by racism. I’m thinking, for example, of the people involved in the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice organisation, who are angry with Mr Gething because of his actions as Health Minister – nothing to do with his race or ethnicity. I just think that this is a complete red herring that has been brought in, in a desperate attempt really to try to save Mr Gething further embarrassment and indeed his job.”

Doubled down

When asked whether he was completely certain that if it had been Jeremy Miles in exactly the same position, he would have been covered in exactly the same way, Shipton said: “Absolutely right – and the same would apply to somebody from another party. If it were a Tory who was doing this, they would also have been subjected to the same kind of scrutiny.

“One of the problems that has exacerbated Mr Gething’s difficulties, I think, is the fact that he has been unwilling to admit that he’s done anything wrong. He’s doubled down constantly on the decisions that he has made – firstly in taking money from this convicted criminal. He doesn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with that, and all he does constantly is say ‘I’ve worked within the rules’.

“Well I’m sorry, but the perception is by many people in Wales that it was simply unacceptable for him to be dragging the Welsh political landscape down into the realms of the gutter. In other countries, if some politician was accepting money from a convicted criminal like this, and from somebody who the politician himself had been lobbying on behalf of, because we mustn’t forget that Mr Gething was lobbying Natural Resources Wales on behalf of this criminal …”

Roderick interjected to say “because he was a constituent”, to which Shipton responded: “Well, whatever the reason, he was asking Natural Resources Wales to go easy on this businessman, who was being monitored by the regulator. So I do not believe that Mr Gething’s hands are clean, and I think that in all these circumstances he must expect to be held to account. Suggesting there’s some racial motive is really dragging something in that is completely irrelevant and for which there is no evidence whatsoever.”