'Nothing to apologise for' says Mark Drakeford to Conservative attacks over Wales Covid rules

First Minister Mark Drakeford has rejected Conservative calls for him to apologise to pubs and restaurants for the impact of Wales' coronavirus restrictions. 

During the weekly First Minister’s Questions, Tory leader Andrew RT Davies accused Mark Drakeford of keeping tighter restrictions in place than were in force in England during the outbreak of the omicron variant. 

Mr Davies said: “A report last week showed that pubs in Wales lost on average £16,000 pounds due to the government restrictions. This was because the rules that closed some establishments and made other hospitality businesses unviable. 

“Will you apologise for the impact of those restrictions on the businesses that proved to be unviable because of those restrictions?

“And will you as a gesture of goodwill increase the level of funding available to businesses so they can continue going forward creating employment opportunities and creating dynamic businesses the length and breadth of Wales?”

In response the First Minister said he had “absolutely nothing to apologise for.”

He said: "The Conservative Party in Wales has a great deal to apologise for, in the way that it has time after time, sought to deny people in Wales and businesses as well the protections that are needed from a global pandemic.

“We put in measures that were designed to make sure that lives were saved in Wales, and that businesses could go on trading and there’s absolutely nothing to apologise for in doing that, because those measures were necessary, and those measures have been effective.”