First Minister Mark Drakeford heard saying Boris Johnson 'really is awful' after call with the prime minister
First Minister Mark Drakeford has been heard saying, ''he really, really is awful'' after a call with Boris Johnson in a new S4C documentary.
Mr Drakeford made the comments after a COBRA conference call on December 21 last year, which was held to discuss closing the border between France and the UK.
Parts of the call, which was the first meeting between the two men in three months, appeared on Prif Weinidog Mewn Pandemig (First Minister in a Pandemic) which aired on Sunday.
In the programme, Boris Johnson is heard saying: “Thanks everybody for joining this call. I think we must urgently look at the implications of the travel ban that some of our European friends have imposed.“We will hear from Mark Drakeford and…various others.”The First Minister appears to laugh at this and, once the meeting is over, says: "Dear me, he really, really is awful."Mr Drakeford adds: "Imagine that some deadly new variant of the virus had been discovered in France and they were trying to persuade us that there was no need to take any action to stop French lorry drivers from driving across the continent."
On Monday, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd Andrew RT Davies criticised Mr Drakeford's comments, saying they were not "a good look" for him.
Mr Davies said: "This type of rhetoric might play well with the nationalists ahead of Senedd coalition talks but I'm not sure this is a good look for Labour's First Minister.
"It's a fact that shouldn't escape the First Minister but over half a million Welsh people voted for the Prime Minister in the 2019 general election, which by my maths is half a million more than has ever voted for him.
"While the First Minister might not like the rosette on the Prime Minister's lapel, he should respect the office."
Mr Drakeford told MPs at the Welsh Affairs Committee on Thursday that Mr Johnson's "lack of regular engagement" with the devolved nations was undermining attempts from unionists like himself to stop the UK from breaking up.
He also described his relationship with the Prime Minister as "remote", saying they had only met once in person, before adding the pair "rarely have a meeting of minds".
Asked about Mr Drakeford's comments after the conference call, a UK Government spokesperson said: “Now more than ever, the people of the United Kingdom want to see all parts of the country working together to protect lives and livelihoods.
''We have confronted this virus as one UK, working closely with the devolved administrations, including the Welsh Government. This will continue as we move to build back better together.
''Decisions on restrictions are made based on the latest scientific evidence”.
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