Vaughan Gething may have misled the UK Covid-19 Inquiry when he denied intentionally deleting WhatsApp messages, leaked messages appear to show.
The First Minister of Wales may be recalled to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry after messages emerged appearing to contradict his claims he did not delete WhatsApp messages during the pandemic.
In a text message posted to the ministerial group chat on Monday August 17 2020, Mr Gething appears to have said: “I’m deleting the messages in this group.A spokesman for the UK Covid-19 Inquiry confirmed it has been made aware of the message and is now considering whether Mr Gething will need to provide further information.“The inquiry is considering the information available and whether it is necessary to seek further evidence from Mr Gething.
Mr Gething is expected to be asked about the message during First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday afternoon.Telling lies at a statutory public inquiry, such as the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, amounts to the criminal offence of perjury, which on conviction can lead to a prison sentence of up to seven years. Both the Conservative and Plaid Cymru opposition leaders are calling for the First Minister to be recalled to the inquiry to give further evidence.
He said: “We all sought transparency but were told all was in the open for the UK inquiry to see. This undermines any belief that that is the case. “Vaughan Gething is running away from an independent investigation into a donation to his Labour leadership campaign but must not be allowed to dodge an investigation into this extremely serious matter.”
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