Another cabinet member criticises Gething donations

Vaughan Gething is under pressure over how he funded his leadership campaign

It would not be right for Labour to take leftover donations to Vaughan Gething from a company owned by a man convicted of illegally dumping waste, a member of his cabinet has said.

Mick Antoniw said if it was up to him he would not want the party to accept any unspent cash from Dauson Environmental Group (DEG).

The counsel general, who is the Welsh government’s most senior legal adviser, said any money could be given to charity instead.

The Electoral Commission has said any extra cash would go to the UK Labour Party.

It is not currently known how much money is left from Mr Gething’s successful Welsh Labour leadership campaign, which raised more than £250,000.

Mr Antoniw is the second member of Mr Gething's cabinet to say he would not have accepted the money.

Mr Gething's former rival for the leadership, the Economy Minister Jeremy Miles, said last month that he would not have taken the £200,000 accepted by Mr Gething from DEG.

The first minister has defended the donation, insisting that he followed all the rules.

Meanwhile it has emerged that Mr Gething was given £42,000 more than previously reported for his first leadership campaign, in 2018, from the same controversial company.

The Electoral Commission said it had left off the extra money from its donations database in an error, which came to light this week after queries from BBC Wales.

Its website had previously shown that DEG companies gave £38,000 to the 2018 Vaughan Gething campaign, but accounts for the firm from 2018-19 show that it gave a total of £80,000.

The now updated database shows he raised a total more than £112,000 in cash that year, including from DEG companies Atlantic Recycling, Neal Soil Suppliers and Cardiff Demolition.

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast about the more recent leadership contest, Mr Antoniw said he would not have been “personally happy” to have accepted the money from Dauson Environmental Group.

“I wasn’t a candidate in those particular elections. I would have chosen a different course,” he said.

On whether Labour should take the money, he said: “If it was solely up to me, I don't think it would be appropriate to do so.

“It's a matter for the Welsh executive [of the Labour Party] to consider and I think it's also a matter to consider what alternative options that might be.

“Maybe it is something that should be given to charity or some other option.”

Welsh Labour

Under Labour Party rules any leftover money to Mr Gething’s leadership campaign would need to be given to the party.

Welsh Labour has previously told BBC Wales that it, and not UK Labour, would be receiving the money.

But the Electoral Commission has said that the cash would go to the central Labour Party.

It said that Welsh Labour “is a description rather than a separate registered party or accounting unit”.

“When the outstanding money is transferred to the party, the central party treasurer will include this as a donation in the relevant quarterly donation return”.

Labour’s current treasurer is Mike Payne, a Welsh supporter of Vaughan Gething's leadership campaign.

A Welsh Labour source later said that the Welsh part of the party would still be making decisions about leftover donations.

Regarding the 2018 donations to Vaughan Gething, the Electoral Commission said: “Mr Gething supplied five donation reports in 2018, covering five donations, amounting to £62,000.

“Only the first donation report (£20,000) was processed and published on our database at the time.

“This error has now been corrected and all five donation reports have been processed and published.”

The 2018-19 accounts for DEG also show the company gave £20,000 to People's Vote Wales and £20,000 for "Campaigns for Wales".

Dauson

The donations from DEG to Mr Gething are controversial because its owner, David Neal, was given a suspended sentence in 2016 for illegally dumping waste, and again in 2017 for not cleaning it up.

His company owns a landfill site in Pembrokeshire which Natural Resources Wales have said has had "several serious permit breaches".

DEG subsidiary Atlantic Recycling pleaded guilty in January to a fresh environmental offence - a trial of facts is due to take place later this year.

Director of Dauson Environmental Group, David Neal, said: “We want to see the economy, communities and environment continue to prosper in Wales which is why we have and continue to offer our support to campaigns that we feel will benefit Wales as a whole.

"We have also supported Vaughan Gething throughout his journey to becoming first minister as we feel that he is the best person for the job."

He said: “Regardless of the support the Dauson Environmental Group has provided Vaughan Gething, we have not engaged with him or his ministerial department regarding any of our business plans or applications. And we would not expect him to have any involvement or influence in decisions on these matters."

He added the company would be "happy to co-operate with any review or queries should any formal investigation take place" around the donations.