Mark Drakeford has been forced to correct the record after telling the Welsh Assembly he did not use WhatsApp. After it emerged yesterday that Welsh Government officials may have deleted their WhatsApp messages, he claimed had never deleted anything, as he didn’t use WhatsApp. Turns out the Welsh leader does in fact have the app…

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies received a screenshot of Drakeford’s WhatsApp profile, prompting the First Minister to write a letter to Elin Jones, the Senedd’s speaker, saying:

“I have reviewed my exchange with the leader of the Welsh Conservatives during First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) yesterday (7 November) and I would like to clarify that I have WhatsApp downloaded to my Senedd-issued mobile phone. I do not use it regularly to send messages. I would appreciate it if the Record could be amended on this particular point.”

Oops…

Probably still seeing red after this one…

During the local elections last year, Keir Starmer hailed the Welsh Labour government, under Mark Drakeford, as “incredible”, and an example of how things can be run “differently and better” without a Tory government. Well, checking in with the People’s Soviet of Wales we are currently seeing a classic example of that “better” leadership, as they plan on banning the sale of energy drinks to children on the basis consumption acts as a gateway to “alcohol and tobacco use”. As well as, somehow, school exclusions…

Responding to a question by Tory leader Andrew R.T. Davies about the assessment they’d made about the policy’s affect on personal freedoms, minister Lynne Neagle wrote:

“Our approach to the consultation which was launched on 9 June and runs until 1 September is evidence based. It has been shown that children who drink energy drinks on five or more days per week were most likely to have low psychological, physical, educational and overall wellbeing. In turn, this can cause headaches, sleep problems, increased alcohol and tobacco use, irritability, and school exclusion. We want to protect the health and wellbeing of our population and to take the necessary measures to protect our children and young people

Detailed consideration is given to all Welsh Ministers’ statutory obligations including those under the Human Rights Act. Of course, as the policy is developed, further analysis will undertake including the impact of the policy on the rights of those affected.“

Guido would warn Drakeford of the unintended consequences: for a country that allows 14-year-olds to register to vote, how on earth will they be able to engage with a Drakeford speech without the help of high-sugar, high-caffeine drinks?

The Welsh Tories have a lot to be annoyed about. After Guido revealed Mark Drakeford to be privately calling for a Christmas lockdown; nightclubs are now to close after Christmas; sports matches won’t be allowed crowds; and today it emerged they’ve introduced fines for people who go into work when they could work from home. Up to £60 – employers up to £10,000 if they repeatedly fail to allow staff to work from home…

Welsh Leader Andrew RT Davies today demanded the recall of the Senedd so they can scrutinise and vote on the government’s restrictions. The Welsh Tories would be right to scrutinise the rules, at least in the hope that this year their leader doesn’t brazenly break them again. Co-conspirators will remember Guido’s scalp of the Welsh Tory leader and chief whip last year over the original lockdown party…

While they’re scrutinising Drakeford’s new rules, they may also want to scrutinise their own letters:

The global marketing and comms company Omnicom will be shocked to learn about their expansion into the global plague market…

As expected, Andrew RT Davies is once again the leader of the Welsh Tories after yesterday’s resignation of Paul Davies. Will he be able to turn the sinking ship around before the elections?

Read the announcement in full here:

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