Vaughan Gething, who is set to become Wales’ first-ever black leader, has faced criticism for refusing to return a donation of £200,000 from Atlantic Recycling, owned by a man who has been twice convicted for environmental offences. The donation was made towards Gething’s successful campaign to replace Mark Drakeford as the Welsh Labour leader. Gething has defended his actions, stating that he only asked Natural Resources Wales for compliance with their objectives so that “jobs in the business could be maintained.” Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives have called for him to return the money.
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has said that regardless if rules were broken or not, “it just doesn’t feel right” to keep the money, and the “one way to fix that” is to return it. Meanwhile, Andrew RT Davies, Senedd leader of the Welsh Conservatives, believes it would be “sensible” for Gething to return the donation.
Despite the controversy, Mr ap Iorwerth did not indicate that this issue would impact Plaid Cymru’s cooperation deal with the Labour government. Gething, in his response to the criticism, stated that the company asked for compliance with NRW objectives so that it could maintain jobs in his constituency. He said that there is “nothing wrong with what we’ve done” and that they have only followed the rules.
Gething has been in the news for other reasons too, as on evidence that he gave last week to the UK Covid Inquiry, he stated that knowing what they know now, they would’ve made different choices on many things. He also talked about the cancellation of the Wales vs Scotland Six Nations match in the early days of the pandemic and said that in hindsight, it would have been a really critical signal that would’ve been consistent with all the other things they were doing. On the controversial Sustainable Farming Scheme, which mandates farmers to have trees on 10% of their land and earmark another 10% as wildlife habitat, Gething said that the results of the consultation with farmers would be taken seriously, but he did not indicate any changes he would look to make.
The debate over Gething’s donation is unlikely to abate soon, as opposition leaders continue to call for him to return the money and justify their statements stating that it flouts ethical principles
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