BBC Wales election debate: Gething faces fresh grilling on campaign donations

Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething faced renewed questions over a campaign donation during BBC Wales’ general election leaders’ debate on Friday.

The Welsh Labour leader saw his peer in Plaid Cymru Rhun ap Iorwerth call it a “scandal the likes of which we’ve never had in Welsh politics” in the primetime debate.

Gething said: “Of course I regret the difficulties it has caused to a range of people.”

Gething has previously come under fire repeatedly for taking a campaign donation from a company owned by someone who had previously convicted of environmental offences.

The First Minister lost a no-confidence vote earlier this month in the Senedd, resisting calls to resign – although the loss of this motion has been attributed to the absence of some Labour members.

Speaking ahead of the BBC Welsh leaders debate this evening, he said: “Knowing everything I know now, I would not have wanted all the difficulty that has been presented.”

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Meanwhile the debate saw the Welsh Labour leader speak about his own background as the son of an immigrant, saying: “I’m proud of the generosity we’ve showed to a number of people around the world.”

He also attacked the Sunak government’s Rwanda scheme, slamming it as “divisive”.

Gething succeeded Mark Drakeford as Welsh First Minister after narrowly being elected as Welsh Labour leader in March over Jeremy Miles.

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