The big criticisms of Mark Drakeford and the one bit of praise in the UK Covid inquiry's report

Mark Drakeford speaking during the pandemic (Image: Getty Images)

Mark Drakeford’s handling of the pandemic in Wales is heavily criticised in a major Covid inquiry report covering the response of the four governments in the UK. Baroness Heather Hallett’s report on the way administrations in all parts of the UK handled the pandemic finds that the four governments were too slow to appreciate the level of risk the UK faced when the pandemic hit, and that people died as a result.

She makes specific criticisms of the Welsh Government ’s handling of Covid and the decisions made by then-First Minister Mark Drakeford and then-health minister Vaughan Gething.

In the early part of the pandemic, Ms Hallett’s report highlights the First Minister’s decision to attend a St David’s Day celebrat