Rishi Sunak calls for investigation into Vaughan Gething's £200,000 donations

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has waded into the row over Vaughan Gething's £200,000 donation during his bid to become first minister, saying an investigation is needed to provide answers.

During Prime Minister's Questions, the PM responded to a question from Stephen Crabb, the MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire, regarding the donations during the Welsh Labour leadership bid.

During the Welsh Labour leadership campaign earlier this year, it emerged that Mr Gething had accepted £200,000 from Dauson Environmental Group Ltd, whose director, David Neal, was convicted twice for environmental offences.

There has been criticism too because the group is repaying a loan to the Development Bank for Wales (DBW), which is wholly owned by the Welsh Government.

The first minister has insisted that there are no conflicts of interest: he has had nothing to do with any planning decisions involving Dauson and no ministers have any involvement in DBW decisions.

Mr Crabb said: "For six months thousands of my constituents have lived with foul polluted air from the Withyhedge Landfill site.

"The company is owned by someone who has previous convictions for environmental crimes and who a few months ago gave £200,000 to help Vaughan Gething become first minister of Wales, after another of his companies was loaned £400,000 from the Development Bank of Wales, overseen buy the then economy minister Vaughan Gething.

"Does the prime minister agree with me that this serious matter demands an independent investigation, it's not some internal Labour Party matter, and ultimately that company needs to get out of my constituency and allow people in Pembrokeshire to have their life back?"

Mr Sunak said it was an "incredibly important issue and I know that people in Wales are concerned about the relationship he mentions.

"I also agree with him [Mr Crabb] on the need for transparency and an investigation regarding the Welsh Labour leader because it's very clear that the situation is not at all transparent and answers are needed."

Former First Minister Carwyn Jones will chair a review into the process of how leaders are elected in Welsh Labour, including rules about donations.

Mr Jones has told BBC Wales that the review will consider imposing a cap on donations in future leadership campaigns, but has confirmed that it won’t look back at the recent contest.

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