History is 'catching up' with Boris Johnson, claims First Minister Mark Drakeford
History is "catching up" with Boris Johnson, the First Minister of Wales has said.
Speaking at Friday's Welsh Government coronavirus press briefing, Mark Drakeford said he was not surprised that the Prime Minister is now embroiled in so-called partygate.
"If I'm truthful about it, the Prime Minister is someone who's been sacked from two previous jobs for not telling the truth," Mr Drakeford told the briefing.
"I think The Times wrote an editorial on the eve of the December 2019 election pointing to the many flaws in the Prime Minister's record and in many ways, I think what you see is his history catching up with him."
The Prime Minister is facing down an attempt from some Tory MPs to oust him as leader over lockdown parties held in Downing Street.
He has called on potential rebels to wait for the outcome of civil servant Sue Gray's inquiry into the parties, expected next week, before passing judgment.
On Thursday it was announced that so-called 'Plan B' measures in England - such as working from home guidance and compulsory mask wearing - are to be dropped.
However, First Minister Mark Drakeford claimed the move was a political decision designed to shore up support for Mr Johnson and deflect attention from the partygate saga.
'The government is simply not functioning'
Mr Drakeford said: "Everything that goes on in Whitehall and Westminster at the moment, for the UK Government, is seen exclusively through the lens of 'how does this make a difference to the efforts that are being made to shore up the position of the prime minister?'
"That's the lens any decision is being taken through and that means the government is simply not functioning.
"This is a government that, at the moment, is simply not capable of doing the ordinary business of government in a competent and sensible way.
"It is overwhelmed by the headlines that surround the dreadful events that went on in Downing Street."
Also on Friday morning, Mr Drakeford told Sky News that Boris Johnson had irretrievably damaged his reputation over partygate and it is "very hard" to see him continuing as Prime Minister.
'A straightforward deflection tactic'
The Welsh Conservatives criticised the First Minister for his remarks, accusing him of using a "deflection tactic" of his own.
Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Senedd Conservatives, said: "These are completely unnecessary and inappropriate comments by the First Minister and is further proof that it's always been about the politics, and not the science, for his Labour administration in Cardiff Bay.
"They are a straightforward deflection tactic from a government that has punished Welsh families and businesses with the harshest restrictions in the UK throughout the pandemic but has also tragically experienced the highest death rate of all home nations.
"Drakeford's claim that he follows the science doesn’t stand up to any sort of scrutiny either.
"Only at Christmas, he was told by the Labour Government's scientific advisors to lockdown for four weeks over Christmas to tackle Omicron but chose not to do so."
Wales is set to move to alert level zero on January 28 unless the coronavirus situation deteriorates.
The phased plan to gradually relax the alert level two measures and move back to alert level zero will continue, Mr Drakeford said.
The latest public health data suggests Wales has passed the peak of the Omicron wave and coronavirus cases are falling back to levels similar to those seen earlier in the autumn.