First Minister defends Welsh Governments Covid record as MSs demand Wales-specific inquiry
The First Minister has told the Senedd that Wales wanted to extend the October 2020 ‘firebreak’ lockdown but could not do so because the UK Government refused to guarantee the financial support.
Eluned Morgan MS made the statement on Tuesday as she faced questions on the Welsh Government’s formal response to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s report on core decision-making and political governance, published on Monday.
“I think it’s fair to say that there were times when we might have wanted to lock down for a bit longer. And the real problem we had was that we couldn’t; we weren’t given the money by the UK Government,” Ms Morgan told the Senedd.
She added: “They also recognised the firebreak was effective, actually. The problem with it was that it didn’t go on for long enough. And we knew that. We had a discussion about it. I remember it very, very clearly. We wanted it to go on longer and we weren’t given the money, the assurances, because that was the money that had to come from the UK Government.”
Darren Millar MS (Conservative, Clwyd West) challenged Ms Morgan on the inquiry’s finding that scientific advisers had warned Wales two weeks before the firebreak that action was needed.
He told the Senedd the inquiry report states the Welsh Government “failed to learn from the experiences in the first lockdown, which then led to local restrictions being implemented too late and too loosely to control the spread of the virus.”
Mr Millar asked Ms Morgan whether the Welsh Government’s hesitation had led to “damaging consequences, even deaths, for people across Wales.”
“I think it is important for us to recognise that it’s not true that we failed to learn lessons. We learned significant lessons all the way through the pandemic,” she said.
The session accompanied the publication of the Welsh Government’s written response to the inquiry’s module 2 recommendations, which confirms the government is operating under a formal legal agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The agreement, entered into on 21 November 2025 under section 23 of the Equality Act 2006, relates to what the document describes as “inconsistencies in how equality impact assessments are conducted and published.”
The Welsh Government has agreed to a two-year action plan of “cultural reforms” to the equality impact assessment process.
The written response also sets out the Welsh Government’s position that decisions on devolved matters “must be taken by the Welsh Government from the outset, and not by COBR,” and that devolved responsibilities “cannot be delegated to any other body, even in an emergency.”
The document identifies the legal concordat underpinning co-operation between the Welsh Government and the UK Government on civil contingencies as out of date, saying it “has not been reviewed for many years and does not reflect developments in civil contingencies and emergency response.” The Welsh Government said it would press the UK Government to update it.
Both Mr Millar and Mabon ap Gwynfor MS (Plaid Cymru, Dwyfor Meirionnydd) pressed the First Minister to commit to a Wales-specific Covid inquiry, arguing the UK-wide process had not fully examined the impact of decisions made in Wales.
Mr ap Gwynfor said: “That’s why we continue to call for a Wales-specific inquiry to ensure the openness, honesty and transparency that the people of Wales deserve.”
Mr Millar asked Ms Morgan: “Don’t you accept that the only way we’re really going to get to the bottom of these issues and to learn the lessons is to make sure that we’ve got a proper COVID inquiry for those people who lost their lives, and suffered harm as a result of this pandemic?”
Ms Morgan did not commit to a Wales-specific inquiry during the session.
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