WELSH nationalist leader Rhun ap Iorwerth accused First Minister Vaughan Gething of perjury at the UK Covid inquiry during a rowdy First Minister’s Questions today.
The Plaid Cymru leader made the claim after a press story alleged that Mr Gething misled the UK Covid Inquiry and the Senedd by concealing that he deliberately deleted records of conversations he had with other ministers.
The First Minister had told the Covid inquiry that messages had been deleted from his mobile phone when it was serviced by the Senedd’s IT department.
But a message leaked to online Welsh news site Nation.Cymru suggests Mr Gething had admitted deleting conversations with ministerial colleagues on a group chat.
In a message posted on August 17 2020, when he was health minister, Mr Gething wrote: “I’m deleting the messages in this group.
“They can be captured in an FOI [Freedom of Information request] and I think we are all in the right place on the choice being made.”
Welsh Conservative Party leader Andrew Davies raised the issue and was told by Mr Gething that the message related to a Labour group discussion and he had already arranged for the full unredacted screenshot to be shared with the Covid inquiry.
“I sent the message and the context was entirely about a Labour group meeting and not ministerial decision making,” Mr Gething said.
Mr ap Iorwerth rejoindered: “He told ministers that he was deleting messages because they could be captured under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
“I’m not sure which offence under the Inquiries Act 2005 he thinks he may be guilty of here — the offence of distorting or altering evidence produced or provided to the Covid inquiry, or preventing evidence being produced or provided to the panel.
“But, taken as a whole, does the First Minister understand why people are asking today whether he committed perjury in giving that evidence under oath?”
Mr Gething replied: “That is an extraordinary accusation to make, absent of context or facts of what was happening at the time.
“The individual message relates to a discussion within the Labour group about how people do and don’t talk to each other.
“It’s essentially an appeal for people to consider what they have to say.”
The First Minister said the accusation by Mr ap Iorwerth was “an obnoxious slur” and asked him to withdraw it.
