PRESSURE continued to grow over the donations to Vaughan Gething’s leadership campaign as First Minister’s Questions were again dominated by the row today.

A BBC Wales documentary broadcast on Monday evening, A Big Stink, revealed that the company at the centre of the donation storm was under a new criminal investigation.

The programme alleged that Natural Resouces Wales is conducting a criminal investigation into a firm controlled by millionaire businessman David Neal, who gave donations totalling £200,000 to Mr Gething’s leadership campaign.

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies wanted to know when the First Minister first found out the company was under a criminal investigation.

Mr Gething said that he found out from the BBC and said: “This is an area where it would be wholly improper or inappropriate for me to know about the investigation that the BBC reported on.”

The Tory leader said: “The businessman had two criminal convictions against him yet you were not prepared to ask the searching questions, you were just prepared to bank the money and run.”

Mr Gething hit back and said that while he was health minister during the Covid pandemic there was no corrupt VIP lane in Wales for personal protective equipment (PPE), unlike that overseen by the Conservatives in Westminster.

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth referred to the BBC revelation that “a senior figure within the Labour Party offered to loan the First Minister £200,000 so he could pay the donation back.”

Mr ap Iorwerth said tomorrow’s vote of no confidence in the First Minister was serious and reflected the undermining of his office by the donations to Mr Gething.