Gething urged to return controversial £200k campaign donation

Plaid Cymru has urged Vaughan Gething to return a controversial £200k donation or give it to environmental charity.

Mr Gething, who was confirmed as the new leader of Welsh Labour on Saturday, has been strongly criticised since it was revealed by Nation.Cymru that he had received a campaign donation of £200,000 from David John Neal.

The businessman had previously been convicted twice of environmental offences as head of two companies, Atlantic Recycling and Neal Soil Suppliers, for illegally dumping toxic sludge in the Gwent Levels, a sensitive wetlands landscape near Newport.

Atlantic Recycling was also fined £300,000 in February following the death of one of its workers, after it pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety at work rules.

Perception

Speaking on the BBC Politics Wales programme, Plaid Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth said:  “I’ve made it very clear that it doesn’t feel right, does it? There’s a perception issue around this money.

“Vaughan Gething and the outgoing First Minister say they have considered very carefully, and no rules were broken here but it’s more than just the rules. It doesn’t feel right, and one way to clear that up would be to pay the money back. Pay it to an environmental charity, why not?”

He added:”I will absolutely hold Vaughan Gething firmly to account for his judgement and for his political actions because he inherits a whole host of problems from a government that he himself has been a key part of over so many years.

“My relationship will be to hold him to account on the one hand firmly and on the other hand to offer that alternative vision because I know that this isn’t as good as things can get for Wales.

“When I talk about building a fairer and more ambitious future for Wales, I will do that every day in holding the government to account with a new First Minister, and in the work that I do with Plaid Cymru the length and breadth of Wales talking to people about how things could be pretty different if we had a different kind of government.”

Lessons

Speaking after his election success was confirmed in Cardiff on Saturday, Mr Gething said, “everyone has lessons to learn”, after being quizzed about what is believed to be largest political donations ever made in Wales.

He said that he did not recognise suggestions that there was widespread anger within the Welsh Labour party over the matter.

Asked if he would return the donation, he said: “No. We’ve done nothing outside of the rules. There’s nothing wrong with what we’ve done.”