Clwyd West MS and Shadow Minister for Covid-19 Recovery, Darren Millar, has hit out at the Welsh Government for insisting that shoppers needing to buy items, currently not permitted for sale, will now have to explain their personal circumstances to shopworkers.

Softening its eleventh-hour decision last week to prevent supermarkets and shops from selling “non-essential” items during the 17-day firebreak period, the Welsh Labour-led Government has now said that customers can ask for non-essential items in exceptional circumstances.

The new guidance, issued after meetings with businesses and trade unions, follows a backlash after supermarkets closed off sections of their shops selling clothes and other goods.

Commenting on the latest changes, Darren said:

“Why should people in Wales have their privacy violated by having to explain to shopworkers if they need something because they are fleeing domestic violence or are buying pyjamas because a child has been rushed into hospital?

“It is their business why they need a particular item and they should not be forced to divulge this personal information to a complete stranger in a public setting. It is simply not acceptable.

“The Welsh Government needs to accept that it got it wrong over this issue and listen to the 67,000 plus people who have signed a petition calling on them to sell all non-essential items during lockdown; politicians ignore them at their peril.”

He added:

“This draconian decision is disproportionate and unnecessary and sadly it is the people of Wales who are suffering.”