Drakeford accuses Conservatives of ‘advocating people and companies break the law’
The First Minister Mark Drakeford has accused the Welsh Conservatives of “advocating people and companies break the law”.
He sent a letter to Welsh Conservative leader Paul Davies in response to a tweet written by Health Spokesman Andrew RT Davies.
Andrew RT Davies had written a tweet in which he copied in Welsh supermarkets and said: “In the absence of any common sense emerging al the top of government. please do take a stand for your customers. Wales is behind you.”
Mark Drakeford said it was one thing to oppose the firebreak but another thing to encourage others to break it.
“While your group has made it clear you do not support this two-week firebreak to bring coronavirus under control and to save lives, it is another thing entirely for the Welsh Conservatives’ health spokesperson – an elected Member of the Senedd and a lawmaker – to be advocating people and companies break the law,” he said.
“We face a very serious situation in Wales; people are dying every day as a result of coronavirus. We need everyone to work together to rnake this firebreak successful if we are to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed and even more people losing their lives this winter.
“I look forward to your response and your confirmation that. from now onwards, the whole of the Welsh Conservatives group in the Senedd will be unambiguous in its support for the law.”
‘Pathetic’
In response, Andrew RT Davies said that Mark Drakeford was trying to intimidate opposition members and silence criticism of his ban on non-essential items in supermarkets.
“At a time when rising numbers people are tragically dying due to hospital-acquired infections and thousands of livelihoods in Wales are going to the wall, Mark Drakeford’s priority is to try and silence criticism of his barmy shopping ban,” he said.
“Whatever your view on the barmy ban, we’re all entitled to an opinion, and for Labour’s First Minister to go into work this morning and set out to intimidate members of the Senedd is a disgrace and there should be no room in Welsh democracy for these dictator-style tactics.
“I’m astonished that during a pandemic with deaths rising and the Welsh economy crashing, Mark Drakeford has time on his hands to compose such pathetic and inaccurate letters.
“Wales is not a dictatorship and given there are far bigger issues that require his attention, our country deserves much better from its First Minister.”
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