Redacted Carl Sargeant leak report refused by senior civil servant

Dame Shan Morgan said to publish the report would have implications for future investigations

Wales' most senior civil servant has refused to publish a redacted version of a report into whether the sacking of Carl Sargeant was leaked before a cabinet reshuffle.

Dame Shan Morgan said it would have implications for future investigations.

Her conclusions came despite a vote in the assembly calling for publication of a version of the report changed to ensure the anonymity of witnesses.

The Welsh Conservatives said the decision was "bitterly disappointing".

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The leak inquiry was one of three ordered following the sacking and subsequent death of the former communities secretary and Alyn and Deeside AM, who is thought to have taken his own life.

There were calls for a redacted version of the report to be published after the conclusions of the leak inquiry were questioned.

The inquiry had found that there was no evidence of prior unauthorised sharing of information by the Welsh Government last November's the cabinet reshuffle.

Carl Sargeant was found dead four days after he was sacked as communities secretary

In a letter to AMs Dame Shan, the Welsh Government's permanent secretary, said she was asked by First Minister Carwyn Jones to give further consideration to her position that the report should not be disclosed following the vote.

AMs had passed a non-binding motion calling for a redacted report in February after Labour members abstained.

She said: "I do not feel it appropriate to release the report itself, either in full or in a redacted form, because of the implications for the handling of future investigations."

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said: "This is simply unacceptable and bitterly disappointing.

"The will of the National Assembly was clear and the excuses for not publishing the report are at best weak, and at worst plain obstructive."

He said the conclusion of the inquiry, which is repeated in the letter, "once again invites more speculation".

"The longer this facade continues the more damaging it is for the Welsh Government, and our democratic processes cannot continue to be marred by persistent stonewalling, particularly when matters of significant public interest are at stake," he added.

The Welsh Government said it had nothing to add from the letter.