MARK DRAKEFORD strongly criticised former prime minister Boris Johnson and former England health secretary Matt Hancock at the UK Covid Inquiry’s session in Wales today.

The First Minister claimed that Mr Johnson had “deliberately” made it appear that lockdown rules applied to all four nations and not just England.

Mr Drakeford told the inquiry that the heads of the devolved nations had told the then prime minister that he needed to be clear in a press conference that changes to rules in the pandemic only applied to England.

Mr Drakeford said: “We said he must make it clear that what he is about to say does not apply to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.”

The First Minister said that the former PM had assured them in the Cobra meeting that he would do his very best to make sure that he does that.

“He then heads to the cameras and he provides a script in which the only time he refers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is when he says early in the press conference ‘as the prime minister of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland’.”

Mr Drakeford claimed that it was a clear indication to people that what Mr Johnson said applied to the whole of the UK and misled the people in the devolved nations.

The First Minister also told the inquiry that Mr Hancock had incorrectly stated that public health was not devolved.

Mr Drakeford said: “So here is the secretary of state for health in England getting the most basic thing entirely wrong.”