A Welsh health minister has apologised after being heard swearing about a colleague during a virtual sitting of the Welsh Assembly when he accidentally left his microphone on.
Vaughan Gething made the blunder on a Zoom call as he finished answering questions during a session being held by Zoom.
Gething was referring to Jenny Rathbone, assembly member for Cardiff Central, when he said to an unknown person: ‘What the f*** is the matter with her?’.
Rathbone, who had been asking questions about the Welsh government’s response to coronavirus, was seen getting up from her seat and walking away from the camera.
Some assembly members could be seen laughing and putting their hands over their mouths as Gething made the comments.
Have your say
Send your letters for publication to The New European by emailing letters@theneweuropean.co.uk and pick up an edition each Thursday for more comment and analysis. Find your nearest stockist here or subscribe to a print or digital edition for just £13. You can also join our readers' Facebook group to keep the discussion and debate going with thousands of fellow pro-Europeans.
Presiding officer Elin Jones told Gething to turn his microphone off.
He later apologised and said he was ‘obviously embarrassed’ about the blunder..
Gething posted on Twitter: ‘I’m obviously embarrassed about my comments at the end of questions today.
‘I’ve sent a message apologising and offered to speak to Jenny Rathbone if she wishes to do so.
‘It is an unwelcome distraction at a time of unprecedented challenge.’
A spokesman for the Welsh government said: ‘The minister has contacted the member concerned to apologise.’
Earlier, Gething had faced criticism from foreign secretary Dominic Raab, who was standing in for Boris Johnson during Prime Minister’s Questions.
The foreign secretary said Gething had ‘abandoned’ the Welsh government’s target of conducting 5,000 coronavirus tests per day.
Following the Zoom call, the leaders of opposition parties Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives called for Wales’ first minister Mark Drakeford to sack Gething immediately.
Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said: ‘He does not have the right attitude, skills or temperament to lead the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
‘To maintain public confidence, the first minister needs to relieve him of these responsibilities with immediate effect.’
Paul Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, tweeted: ‘Politicians are entitled to ask serious and challenging questions of ministers and it’s essential that they are able to do so during this pandemic.
‘For a health minister to show such unprofessionalism and disdain at this time is completely unacceptable and he should be sacked.’
Most popular
Farage is forced to explain his finances
Biden’s long-awaited decision is game-changing
Sanity is coming home
Trump is losing it
