Tory MS claims Mark Drakeford misused Welsh Government resources to attack previous Westminster government

Martin Shipton

A Tory MS has called for an investigation into former First Minister Mark Drakeford, accusing him of breaking the Ministerial Code by misusing Welsh Government channels to attack the previous UK Conservative Government.

The Welsh Government says Mr Drakeford, who is now the Finance Minister, is allowed to express his views on the actions of other governments in the UK.

In a letter to current First Minister Eluned Morgan, Laura Anne Jones, the Welsh Conservative MS for South Wales East, said: “I am writing to draw your attention to a statement made by Mark Drakeford, published on the Welsh Government’s website, which appears to be a clear breach of the Ministerial Code.”

‘Mismanagement’

The statement cited by Ms Jones is headed: “UK Budget: First step to repair damage from the last 14 years”, and states: “It marks the first steps in the right direction after 14 years of economic mismanagement by previous UK governments and the impact its decisions have had on people and communities.”

Ms Jones said in her letter: “This assertion seems to violate paragraph 8.1 of the Ministerial Code, which stipulates that government communications must adhere to the principles set out in the Propriety Guidance for Government Communicators.

“The second principle of this guidance specifies that communications ‘should be objective and explanatory, avoiding bias or critical tones that could undermine constructive relationships with opposition groups’.

“This approach is crucial for maintaining the integrity of government communications and the impartiality of civil servants. The appearance of such a politically charged statement on a publicly funded website, managed by civil servants, raises serious concerns about adherence to these principles and the code.

“I would respectfully request that you forward this complaint to Andrew Goodall, the Permanent Secretary of the Welsh Government, for him to provide guidance on whether or not a breach of the Ministerial Code has occurred in this instance.

Views

A spokesman for the Welsh Government responded: “Welsh Ministers are fully entitled to express their views on the actions of other governments across the United Kingdom, and the context in which they take their own decisions.

“The Member will receive a response to her letter in due course.”

Ms Jones’ complaint is the second instance recently where a Welsh Tory politician has challenged Labour ministers over their alleged misuse of government resources. It appears to show that there is a fundamental disagreement between the two parties over what is an acceptable use of government resources.

In October Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens was accused by her then Tory Shadow of appearing in a “politically-charged” video filmed in her department in breach of official rules.

Ms Stevens also rejected the allegation made by Lord Byron Davies of Gower.

‘Urgent explanation’

In a letter to Ms Stevens, Lord Davies stated: “I write to you seeking an urgent explanation as to why your department deemed it appropriate to create and subsequently post a politically-charged video across all its social media platforms.

“In the video posted earlier this week, the Secretary of State for Wales said: ‘I was very clear about what we, as a government, wanted to achieve and what I wanted to achieve in this role on behalf of the Wales Office, which was to reset the relationship with Welsh Government, so moving from that sort of squabbling, fractious, tense relationship … where the Wales Office was essentially a platform for giving Wales a good kicking.’

“The video, which was filmed inside the department and posted across social media, is highly political in nature, as I know you will agree.

“The severity of the situation worsens given it also breaches the Civil Service Code, which states: ‘You must not act in a way that is determined by party-political considerations or use official resources for party-political purposes.’

“The political video was, quite clearly, determined by a party-political consideration then assembled using official resources.

“It is shocking to see taxpayer-funded resources being misappropriated for pure party-political gain and therefore I call for a swift investigation to unc

A Wales Office spokesperson responded: “The Secretary of State outlined government policy regarding the reset of the relationship between the UK and Welsh governments.

“There is nothing improper in expressing regret about the manner in which the previous administration conducted itself and the disrespect that it had for the Welsh Government and devolution.”