VAUGHAN GETHING faced a fresh grilling at First Minister’s Questions today over his links to an environmental company at the heart of a donation to his Welsh Labour leadership campaign.

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew Davies raised the issue of a landfill site at Withyhedge where residents find the odour unbearable and public health warnings have been issued.

Mr Davies said that the First Minister needed to register a conflict of interest, as this landfill site is run by a subsidiary of Dauson Environmental Group, whose owner David Neal gave the donation of £200,000 to Mr Gething’s leadership campaign.

Mr Gething said that National Resources Wales was the regulator and needed to take the required action to deal with the site.

Mr Davies pressed the point about the First Minister not making a declaration of interest, saying that any other member would have had to do so. 

Mr Gething said: “If I’m conflicted, then I can’t answer the question. I don’t think that it does prevent me from setting out the government’s position that the issue needs to be resolved properly with the requirements of the regulator.”

Welsh Conservative Tom Giffard said there was cross-party support for recalling Senedd members and wanted it in place ahead of the next assembly election.

Plaid Cymru’s Adam Price also wanted the First Minister to commit to bringing forward legislation in the current Senedd term to address the changes needed for recall and deliberate deception.

Mr Gething pledged that his government would work constructively with all parties and would try to ensure that the measure is delivered in the current Senedd to apply to the next one.