Coronavirus: Welsh minister attacks Dominic Raab over target comments

Dominic Raab stood in for Boris Johnson on Wednesday

A Welsh minister has accused the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab of making "misguided statements" about one of his colleagues.

Mr Raab singled out Wales' health minister Vaughan Gething for abandoning targets for testing as he faced scrutiny over the UK government's own.

He called on the Welsh Government to work with others to boost testing.

Ken Skates said Mr Raab was wrong to criticise Mr Gething in "such a public way".

The economy minister also said it was a "mistake" for the UK government to miss the EU medical equipment scheme.

Mr Raab, who deputised for the prime minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday, made his comments in the House of Commons.

It was the first hybrid-meeting of the Commons, with many MPs contributing via video-link. Earlier Welsh Secretary Simon Hart became the first minister in history to answer questions from MPs remotely.

• Who is Dominic Raab?

• Wales 'does not currently need 5,000 tests a day'

• Target for 5,000 tests a day abandoned

Mr Raab promised in the Commons that the UK government would meet plans for 100,000 tests a day in England within the next eight days.

Ken Skates attacked Dominic Raab for his comments

Sir Keir Starmer, in his first appearance at the dispatch box as Labour leader, asked how that could be possible given only 18,000 tests a day were being done.

The Welsh Government has given-up on its aim to reach 5,000 tests a day by mid-April, citing procurement issues. On Tuesday Mr Gething said 5,000 tests were not needed anyway, given the impact lockdown has had.

Dominc Raab told Sir Keir: "I do think it's important to have a target and to drive towards a target."

But turning to the Labour-run government, he called on Sir Keir to "join with me, as we engage in this national effort, of saying to Labour's Welsh Health minister, Vaughan Gething - who has abandoned the Welsh target, in Labour-run Wales, of 5000 - that we need to work together in all four corners of the United Kingdom, to make sure that we reach that national effort."

'Wrong'

During the daily Welsh Government press conference Mr Skates said: "I do not know a single politician of any party that isn't putting all of their effort into overcoming coronavirus," he said.

"He is wrong to make that criticism, he's wrong to do it in such a public way."

"Dominic Raab should reflect on that before making other misguided statements," he added.

The Welsh Government's economy minister Ken Skates said it was a mistake for the UK not to join the EU medical equipment scheme.

"I believe that we should have seized the opportunity to work with other governments to overcome a common challenge that we face," he added.