Disbelief over decision that Vaughan Gething’s £200k donations from a convicted polluter do not breach the Ministerial Code

Martin Shipton

Senior Welsh Labour figures have reacted with disbelief to the official view that donations from a convicted polluter totalling £200k made to party leadership candidate Vaughan Gething do not represent a breach of the Ministerial Code.

The contest to succeed Mark Drakeford as Welsh Labour leader and First Minister has been rocked by Nation.Cymru’s revelation that David Neal, the boss of Dauson Environmental Group which made the donations, got two suspended jail sentences for dumping toxic sludge on the Gwent Levels, a sensitive wetland landscape near Newport that Mr Drakeford rescued by rejecting plans for an M4 relief road that would have gone through it.

Many have argued that by accepting such a large sum from a convicted polluter, Mr Gething has breached the Ministerial Code and brought the Welsh Government into disrepute. The Ministerial Code states: “”Ministers should not accept any gift or hospitality which might, or might reasonably appear to, compromise their judgement or place them under an improper obligation.”

Solar energy plant

Further concerns have been raised following the revelation that another of Mr Neal’s companies has applied for permission to build a giant solar energy plant near his group’s recycling centre on the eastern outskirts of Cardiff – and that Welsh Ministers will decide whether it is approved or not.

The First Minister initially set out the Welsh Government’s line in a letter to Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies, stating: “I am writing in response to your letter of February 22 calling for an investigation under the Ministerial Code into donations received by Vaughan Gething MS from Dauson Environmental Group. The Ministerial Code does not govern the process for the receipt of donations to Senedd Members. These are set and regulated by the Electoral Commission.

“There is an established system in place for the recording and safeguarding of Ministers’ interests and I would expect donations made during these campaigns to be included in future ministerial declarations of interest.”

Investigation

Responding to a question from Mr Davies during a Senedd plenary session, Mr Drakeford said: “I want to make it clear that I followed the absolutely normal procedures of investigation. I don’t say that I’m not having an investigation – I asked for an investigation and the investigation advised me that there was no breach of the Ministerial Code. So there has been an investigation and the answer was provided to me in unambiguous terms.

“Again, for the record, let me make it absolutely clear to people who know nothing about what has gone on, I have received not a single message from anybody about that investigation. Nobody has asked me to accelerate it, nobody has asked me to avoid it. I haven’t had a single piece of correspondence.

“I dealt with it as I would have dealt with any other letter that I would have received under the Code. If anybody wants any further matters to be investigated, they should write to me. They should set out what they think needs to be investigated, and it will be done absolutely by the book.”

Irrelevant

But a senior Welsh Labour figure who did not wish to be named told Nation.Cymru: “The decision that accepting the donations did not amount to a breach of the Ministerial Code is astonishing. The rationale is that the funds were received by Vaughan in his role as an MS rather than as a minister. This is entirely irrelevant.

“The fact is that Vaughan has sought and accepted the largest political donations ever made in Wales. This places him under a clear obligation. It also does not answer the question about what Vaughan promised the company and on what basis did he accept the donations.”

A former Welsh Labour minister told us: “Understandably the First Minister wants to draw a line under this unhappy period. However, I suspect this will satisfy no one. The fact that donations have to be declared to the Electoral Commission has nothing to do with it. That doesn’t detract from the perception that he could be influenced by such a large donation.”

Conflict of interest

Andrew RT Davies said: “The First Minister, by failing to investigate Vaughan Gething, is allowing a perception of a conflict of interest to hang in the air. The scale of these donations, paired with the fact the Welsh Government will rule on business plans made by the donor company, warrants investigation.

“Mark Drakeford should not protect Vaughan Gething from a proper investigation just because Gething is running to be First Minister.”

Another fact arguably inconsistent with the advice given to Mr Drakeford is that ministers who stand as candidates are expected to declare to a Ministerial Register of Interests any donations they receive.

Meanwhile one of Mr Gething’s strongest supporters – former Cardiff Labour councillor Ashley Govier, whose company owns the freehold of the iconic Coal Exchange building in Cardiff Bay – said he saw no problem with Mr Gething accepting such a large donation from Mr Neal’s company, despite his environmental convictions.

He said: “David has been around Welsh Labour circles for many years. – he hasn’t just arrived from nowhere. He’s well known as a Labour supporter and in the past has attended Wales in London dinners, either buying tables or seats.

“We need a business-friendly First Minister, and Vaughan Gething is, in my opinion, the best candidate for the job.”