Ken Skates 'concerned' about message Vaughan Gething's treatment sends to people of colour
Welsh Government cabinet secretary Ken Skates MS speaks with ITV Cymru Wales national correspondent Rob Osborne. You can watch more from Sharp End here.
A senior Welsh Government cabinet member says Vaughan Gething's resignation sends a worrying message to people of colour in Wales.
Ken Skates told ITV Wales' Sharp End that he has already been contacted by many people from ethnic minority communities following Mr Gething quitting as first minister.
Mr Gething announced he would resign on Tuesday after four members of his government quit in protest at his leadership.
In March, he had become the first black leader of any European country.
Mr Skates - who is the cabinet secretary for north Wales and transport - said: "I'm really worried about the message that today's events sends to people of colour in Wales, but also what it sends to the world.
"Racism can be conscious, it can be subconscious. Racial bias can go undetected by the individual, it can go undetected by groups."
He also said he was "not an expert" on racism, however, he believed a "dispassionate" assessment would need to be made in the "cold light of day" with regards to Mr Gething's treatment.
He also added he would prefer professionals to follow this issue after already being contacted by many individuals about Tuesday's events, the majority of which being "minority ethnic".
He continued: "I fear the events of today have perhaps unsettled a proportion of the population who needed the greatest assistance from us in making sure that they felt part of a Wales of the 21st century.
"I think some of the comments that Vaughan made at First Minister's Questions were incredibly powerful in that regard."
He added: "We did have comments from the Labour BAME committee regarding Vaughan's treatment and I've had a lot of people as well contact me raising concerns.
"Pretty much all of the people who contacted me with those concerns are minority ethnic. And so whether there has been an element of racism matters less than how those people who are not white feel right now."
Ever since Mr Gething assumed the role of first minister in March, questions over a £200,000 donation to his Labour leadership campaign have dominated discussions.
A row over a leaked phone message which led to him sacking one of his ministers and Plaid Cymru’s withdrawal of support for his government added to the sense of chaos.
But, the final straw came Tuesday morning after four members of his government quit in protest at his leadership.
The resigning ministers – including his former leadership rival Jeremy Miles – said Mr Gething had to leave to restore confidence in the Welsh Government after a series of scandals.
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