Gething has lessons to learn, says ex-FM Carwyn Jones

There are "lessons to be learned" after Vaughan Gething's decision to accept the donations, said Carwyn Jones

Vaughan Gething has "lessons to be learned" after he received £200,000 in donations from a company run by a man convicted of environmental offences, according to an ex-first minister.

Carwyn Jones, who was Wales' first minister between 2009 and 2018, said the decision was "unfortunate".

Voting closed on Thursday and the next Welsh Labour leader will be announced on Saturday.

Economy minister Mr Gething said all donations were properly declared.

Electoral Commission records show Dauson Environmental Group, owned by David Neal, made two donations worth £100,000 in December 2023 and January 2024.

Mr Neal was given a suspended prison sentence in 2013 for illegally dumping waste on a conservation site.

In 2017, he was given another suspended sentence of 18 weeks, with fines and costs of £230,000 after failing to remove the waste.

Carwyn Jones says it's "crucial" to do proper due diligence when "somebody offers you a large amount of money"

"It's unfortunate, there's no other way of describing it," said Mr Jones.

"I know how much my leadership campaign cost and it was £10-£15,000. So £200,000 from one donor is a lot of money.

"I would have been asking questions and perhaps those questions should have been asked with the donation itself.

"It's difficult to know whether it will affect the final vote because it happened quite late in the process.

"That was certainly an unfortunate position that he put himself in."

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Mr Jones added it was "crucial" to do proper due diligence when "somebody offers you a large amount of money".

"That is not what happened on this occasion and clearly there are lessons there to be learned," he said.