Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford regretted losing temper in Senedd

Wales' first minister has told a newspaper he immediately regretted losing his temper in a Senedd row that went viral on social media.

Mark Drakeford erupted in anger following a questions from the Tories' Andrew RT Davies about ambulance response times.

Speaking to the i, he said he left the debating chamber "thinking this is not a good look".

But he added that his comments about the Conservatives did "strike a chord".

Mr Drakeford had accused the Conservatives, then led by Liz Truss, of making a mess of the UK's reputation.

Angrily flipping the pages of his briefing notes, he told Mr Davies: "You think you can turn up here this afternoon and claim some sort of moral high ground?

"What sort of world do you belong in?"

Nicola Sturgeon was among those that praised Mr Drakeford's response.

But the comments earned criticism from the daughter of a man whose long ambulance wait had been raised by Mr Davies.

Keith Morris, 79, from Merthyr, was left in pain on the floor for 15 hours.

His daughter Angela Morris Nicholas said she was "angry and upset" at the first minister's outburst.

• Mark Drakeford loses temper with Tories in Senedd

• Ambulance wait family angry at Drakeford outburst

Mr Drakeford told the newspaper: "I was cross with myself. You should not lose your temper, you should not allow yourself to be provoked.

"I left the chamber angry at myself.

"I was thinking this is not a good look for how we conduct politics in Wales but by the time I got home people were saying, 'Thank goodness you said it, it was about time' It did strike a chord."

He said he did not "deny there are people who don't get the service they deserve".

"But to call the Welsh NHS a Third-World service was just such an insult to people who work so hard in it that I just couldn't react to it in my generally calm way."

Liz Truss failed to make contact with the first minister during her short 49-day tenure as prime minister.

Rishi Sunak spoke to Mr Drakeford on his first day in the job.

Mr Drakeford said her only words to her were "hello Mark" during a memorial service for the Queen.

"That's the full script, verbatim," he said.