Welsh health minister apologises for Thatcher reshuffle gaffe

Margaret Thatcher had been prime minister from 1979 to 1990

Wales' health minister apologised on Monday after she joked that the late Margaret Thatcher could be next for government.

Commenting on a reshuffle that saw David Cameron return to cabinet, Eluned Morgan said on Facebook: "What next? Thatcher's hearse arriving at No.10?!"

Tory MP Fay Jones said it was a "nasty little post".

A spokeswoman for Ms Morgan said the minister apologised for any offence caused. The message has been deleted.

The post from the Labour Member of the Senedd for Mid and West Wales included a picture of Lady Thatcher's funeral hearse as it passed Downing Street in April 2013.

Lord Cameron was made a peer on Monday and appointed by Rishi Sunak to be his foreign secretary in a reshuffle.

"Talk about a full circle moment - the man who sparked a decision that divided the nation is now poised to save the government," Ms Morgan had said in the Facebook message.

The inclusion of Lady Thatcher prompted calls for Ms Morgan to apologise and delete the post from Laura Anne Jones, Conservative Member of the Senedd for South Wales East.

She said on X, formerly Twitter: "This is well beyond the pale, the public expect far better from their ministers. Her last sentence here is appalling."

Fay Jones, MP for Brecon and Radnor, replied: "Wouldn't it be great if her attention had gone to the Welsh NHS, instead of a nasty post like this?"

Ms Morgan initially removed the joke and picture of the hearse, before deleting it completely.

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Lord Cameron, who resigned as an MP after he quit as prime minister in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum result, was appointed as part of Mr Sunak's cabinet reshuffle.

He took the place of James Cleverly, who has taken Suella Braverman's job as home secretary after she was sacked on Monday morning.

Downing Street said the reshuffle "will give the prime minister a united team".

The Facebook post was deleted after a Welsh Conservative called for her to apologise

The move to give a great office of state to a Lord - who cannot be held to account in the House of Commons - was called a "disgrace" by a senior Welsh Labour MP.

As a peer Mr Cameron will not be able to address MPs in the Commons.

Writing on X shortly before the appointment was confirmed, Sir Chris Bryant said: "It would be a disgrace to have a foreign secretary in the Lords especially at a moment of major political instability with war on the continent of Europe and a hideous conflagration in the Middle East."

"We're a democracy not an elective dictatorship," the Labour Rhondda MP added.

Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts claimed the Conservatives had "no longer even a shadow of a pretence of democratic accountability".

Labour's Shadow Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said: "Just a few weeks ago, Rishi Sunak said David Cameron was part of a failed status quo. Now he's bringing him back as his liferaft."

Former Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said on social media: "Having worked with David Cameron in Cabinet I have seen first hand his drive, commitment, and innovation.

"His experience will be invaluable. His appointment demonstrates Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives are serious about governing and winning".

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