Welsh Farm Minister Sacked

The Minister responsible for agriculture in the Welsh Government, Alun Davies, has been sacked after requesting Civil Servants to private information on subsidy payments to his political opponents.  Mr Davies, Minister for Natural Resources and Food has asked for data on CAP receipts of five Assembly Members including the leaders of both the Conservative and Liberal parties.  Despite being told by staff that the information was not in the public domain, he continued to press for the figures.  Mr Davies has always been a controversial figure in Welsh agriculture, expressing some forthright views which didn’t always go down well with the industry.  He was already in trouble after breaking the Ministerial Code in lobbying for a racetrack to be built in his Blaenau Gwent constituency.  There will be no direct replacement for Mr Davies, with his Ministerial responsibilities being split.  The Economy and Transport Minister, Edwina Hart, will take on agriculture, fisheries and food.  Rebecca Evans will become the Deputy Minister for agriculture and fisheries.