PLAID Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts accused the UK Government of “wilful misrepresentation” over Covid support funding announced for Wales during a Commons debate this afternoon.
Yesterday the Chancellor unveiled a new package for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses forced to close under new Covid-19 restrictions – an initial notice from his department said there would be extra funding for the devolved governments.
The Treasury initially said Wales would get an extra £277 million, but minutes later this was changed and it was confirmed not to be new money after all.
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak's U-turn on Covid cash vow leaves Scotland 'short-changed'
A spokesperson for the Welsh Government said: “The UK Treasury has confirmed that today’s announcement does not include new money for Wales.
"This funding is already within our existing Covid funding guarantee.
"Greater transparency is urgently needed to prevent the confusion these UK announcements cause for people and businesses across Wales.”
In Scotland it was initially reported that Holyrood would receive an extra £325m but this too turned out not to be new money. The Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said she was “surprised and disappointed” by the news.
Today in the Parliament Saville-Roberts hit out at the Tories over the confusion.
She said: “A Conservative Party newsletter recently told party members to ‘say the first thing that comes into your head, even if its nonsense’.
“Yesterday it appears the Chancellor took on board this advice and unwrapped £227m of already announced funding as new for Wales.
“This is, and I choose my words with extreme restraint, wilful misrepresentation which deliberately misinforms desperate businesses in Wales.
“Will the Prime Minister apologise on behalf of his Chancellor and recognise that for Welsh Covid measures to be most effective, there’s an urgent need to lift financial borrowing constraints imposed on Wales by Westminster?”
Responding, Boris Johnson said: “I’m sure the right honourable lady for whom I have a keen regard would not want to accuse the Chancellor of ‘wilful misrepresentation’."
He insisted that the UK Government funds all parts of the UK and “the important thing is that the Labour government in Wales spends it sensibly”.
Before moving on to the next contribution to the debate, the Speaker cut in: “Can I just say while you’re online, I’m not over happy with ‘wilful’.
“I think we’ve got to think about the language we use within the Chamber, these are times which are unprecedented but I really do think members out to be careful on the language they use.”
READ MORE: LISTEN: Minister tells BBC they're being misled by Tories over Scottish funding
It comes after this morning Scotland’s Economy Secretary criticised the BBC’s coverage of the story.
Fiona Hyslop told Good Morning Scotland: “It’s important that there are good lines of communication, that the UK Government doesn’t present things as UK-wide when they’re really not –“
Presenter Laura Maxwell interrupted: “Murdo Fraser says that was just a mistake and that it was corrected within minutes.”
Hyslop responded: “Well, if it was corrected within minutes the BBC was running the story all day and into the evening, saying that this was new money that was being made available to the whole of the UK.
“So I’m afraid that they were obviously misleading yourselves as well as business, and I think that’s the problem.”
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