The Conservatives quit a Senedd committee charged with addressing gaps in the UK Covid-19 inquiry after Labour blocked calls for witnesses to swear an oath.
Senedd members voted 24-23 against a cross-party motion which was tabled by the Tories with the backing of Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats.
The motion proposed amending rules to give the Senedd’s Covid committee a discretionary power to require witnesses to take an oath or make an affirmation
Set up by the Welsh Government, which rejected calls for a Wales-specific public inquiry, the committee published a report this week on gaps in the UK-wide inquiry for further scrutiny.
A Labour majority on the business committee, which organises proceedings in the Senedd, previously blocked calls for powers to require witnesses to tell the truth.
‘Whitewash’
Tom Giffard, who was thought to be at loggerheads with Labour co-chair Joyce Watson on the issue, quit as co-chair immediately after the debate on March 26.
Mr Giffard said: “Without the safeguard of requiring witnesses to speak under oath, this committee has become a pointless talking shop. I refuse to be part of a process that fails to give the public the answers they deserve.”
He told the Senedd: “Covid bereaved families feared that this committee would become a whitewash of politicians marking their own homework.
“I initially resisted that suggestion, defending the committee as best I could. I’m afraid I can no longer do that. I do not have the confidence that this committee will be able to get the answers that the families who have lost loved ones deserve.”
He added: “I will not allow my name and reputation to be tarnished by the perception that this is a committee more interested in protecting the reputation of the government than getting to the bottom of the truth…. I’m unwilling to associate myself with a committee seemingly designed to protect those it is supposed to hold to account.”
‘Lowest point’
Speaking following the debate, Anna-Louise Marsh-Rees, lead for the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru campaign group, said: “Wales has just hit its lowest point in democracy and governance.
“Our Labour Welsh Government isn’t even pretending to be transparent and accountable any more – they have just shouted it out in Cardiff Bay. We’re not sure where this leaves us, devolution or Wales. A very sad day.”
Describing the outcome of the vote as a farce, she said: “This isn’t just another Senedd committee, it is one that has been set up because thousands of lives were lost due to Welsh Government decisions, established so that this never happens again.
“Yet today, Welsh Labour used their whip to block this basic requirement. The message is clear: they do not want their actions during the pandemic scrutinised at any level.”
The campaigner stressed: “We don’t want hollow condolences. The voices of our lost loved ones must be heard and their deaths must be properly examined. Enough is enough. Justice for Wales. Accountability for Wales. The fight is not over.”
‘Vital’
Leading the debate, James Evans said the Conservatives entered the Covid committee process in good faith, committed to working constructively cross-party.
But he told the Senedd: “We believe it is only right that the Senedd’s standing orders be amended to provide the committee with the vital discretionary powers….
“This is not a dramatic proposal, nor is it without precedent, the Scottish statutory inquiry already has the power to compel evidence under oath.
“It is a basic mechanism that helps reinforce public trust in the process and it ensures the seriousness of the testimony, particularly when addressing issues of such weight.”
The Tory rejected concerns requiring evidence under oath could deter witnesses, saying the power was only intended to be used for public officials, ministers and ex-ministers.
‘Interference’
“Without it, we risk undermining the credibility of the committee’s findings and confidence of those people seeking the truth,” he said.
Mr Evans accused Labour of political interference and failing to equip the committee with the necessary tools, asking: “Why deny the committee the tools? What is there to hide?”
He promised the Conservatives would establish a “truly independent” Wales-specific public inquiry if the party was to form the next Welsh Government following the May 2026 election.
Similarly, backing a Wales-specific inquiry, Plaid Cymru’s Mabon ap Gwynfor said Senedd members have a moral duty to learn the lessons from the pandemic to save lives in future.
Mr ap Gwynfor told the Senedd: “Without accurate, factual evidence – it’s impossible to learn the right lessons and, more importantly, there is a risk of learning the wrong lessons.”
‘Moral agreement’
He insisted: “Witnesses must swear an oath … to ensure we stick to our moral agreement with the people of Wales: to find the truth … the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
He suggested the members of the Covid committee voted four-two in favour of requiring oaths before the request was blocked by the business committee.
Sam Rowlands, a former Tory member of the Covid committee, said: “It’s clear that Labour politicians … are stopping the proper work of scrutiny that the people of Wales expect.”
Mr Rowlands emphasised that Wales had the highest Covid-19 death rate in the UK, so families deserve a full and thorough investigation into decisions taken in Cardiff Bay.
Plaid Cymru’s Heledd Fychan questioned why the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru campaign group has had to fight so hard for answers.
‘Sticking plaster’
The Conservatives’ Altaf Hussain, a former surgeon, described the Covid committee, of which he was a former member, as akin to using a sticking plaster to treat a bullet wound.
Jane Hutt, who used her weighted majority to block the request in the business committee, claimed the Welsh Government remains committed to learning lessons from the pandemic.
She reiterated that the judge-led UK inquiry is the “only way” to answer questions about the interconnected nature of the complex response to the pandemic.
Ms Hutt argued requiring witnesses to give evidence under formal oath or affirmation was “clearly unacceptable and inappropriate”.
Senedd members will debate a motion on the Covid committee’s report on gaps in the UK inquiry on April 2 before beginning to take evidence following the Easter recess.