Labour politician sorry for saying TB hit farms should find other work

A Labour politician has apologised for comments where she suggested farmers hit with perpetual bovine tuberculosis (bTB) infections should "find another business".

Joyce Watson's remarks upset the NFU Cymru farming union which called her remarks "shocking" and "insensitive".

In the Senedd Ms Watson, whose region is largely rural, said she was sorry for any upset caused.

"I was clumsy and did not express myself terribly well," she said.

Plaid Cymru had called for her to apologise last week, while the Welsh Conservatives said she had shown a "complete lack of empathy".

Last week the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Mid and West Wales asked Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths if she "looked at any farms that have perpetual TB status".

She asked if she had "considered the question of whether those particular farms should be dairy farms at all".

"Because if it is the case that they are in perpetual TB infection status, surely they need to find another business?" she added.

Ms Griffiths, who had been speaking about Wales' bovine TB eradication programme, did not answer the question in her response.

Joyce Watson was first elected to Cardiff Bay in 2007

On Tuesday, Ms Watson told the Senedd: "In this case, I was clumsy and I didn't express myself terribly well. And I'm sorry for any upset that was caused.

"I should have been clearer that I was talking about farms which have been continuously impacted by TB and the ongoing pressures of the current system."

Ms Watson added: "In those cases I think there should be a conversation about how that situation can be resolved, or at least improved, and diversification should be part of that."

Ms Griffiths, who was taking questions in her role as minister for government business in the Senedd, said: "I'm sure your words will be welcomed by the agricultural sector."

Ms Watson's region of Mid and West Wales covers much of rural Wales in the areas of Powys, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion.

'Unacceptable'

Earlier Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said Ms Watson's comments were "not worthy of putting on the floor of the Senedd".

In first minister's question time, he said that it was "unacceptable" to expect farms with perpetual TB to leave farming.

Labour's First Minister Mark Drakeford told the Senedd there was no government policy requiring farms with perpetual TB to leave farming.

He was pressed by Mr Davies on whether Ms Watson should reconsider the remarks. Mr Drakeford acknowledged the "emotional and mental health impact that farmers experience".

He said the Welsh government had invested millions in a "safety net" to assist farmers, and added: "I've read since that Joyce Watson has explained that had she had an opportunity to set out her views more fully, it was never her intention to suggest that people would be forced off the land."

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