Mark Drakeford has refused to appear before a powerful Senedd committee in North Wales.

The Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister – comprised of Senedd committee chairs and headed by the Deputy Presiding Officer – was due to hold Mr Drakeford to account on several issues in a meeting in North-East Wales tomorrow.

Members of the Committee and the First Minister had meetings arranged with residents and organisations from North Wales to listen to their concerns first hand.

However, arrangements for the day had to be cancelled or scaled down due to the First Minister cancelling his physical appearance so that he can attend other events in South Wales and offering to attend the Committee virtually instead.

The Committee tends to meet in different parts of Wales to demonstrate its commitment to speak with people beyond the Cardiff Bay bubble. 

Commenting, Welsh Conservative and Shadow Minister for North Wales, Darren Millar MS said:

“Many people in North Wales will regard the cancellation of the First Minister's attendance of the Committee in North Wales as a snub to the region. 

"Local groups and residents had been looking forward to engaging with the Committee and watching its proceedings live so they are hugely disappointed that it has been cancelled at such short notice because the First Minister prefers to cancel his in person attendance here rather than at appointments elsewhere. 

"Decisions like this do nothing to heal the North-South divide in Wales."