�鶹Լ��

Labour ministers decided not to attend Senedd proceedings in person on Tuesday after the expansion of local coronavirus restrictions.

Instead, First Minister Mark Drakeford took part through Zoom from government offices.

Senior Tory Andrew RT Davies accused the Welsh Government of abdicating responsibility.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething said the move was in accordance "with our understanding" of the local rules.

But presiding officer Elin Jones told those Members of the Senedd (MSs) physically in attendance they were doing so "in line with regulations".

Cardiff - where the Welsh Parliament is based - and most of south Wales is currently subject to travel rules, banning people leaving or entering the council areas affected without a reasonable excuse.

People are being asked to work from home where they can.

The Welsh Parliament has been sitting in hybrid sessions since the late summer - with a limited number of people in the Senedd in Cardiff Bay and others contributing remotely via Zoom.

Responding to criticism from Welsh Conservative group leader Paul Davies, Mr Drakeford told the Senddd: "I say to people in Wales, all the time, that they should avoid unnecessary journeys."

"I believe that I'm clearly able to answer questions in the way that we are doing now as I would be if I were in the chamber."

He said it would be "entirely wrong for the government to ask people in Wales to take action in one direction and then not behave in the same way ourselves".

Attendance 'in line with regulations'

Elin Jones, presiding officer of the Welsh Parliament and the institution's figure head, told members that their attendance in the Senedd chamber was "in line with regulations and guidance".

MSs are "fully participating equally", she said, whether they are taking part virtually or in person.

But ahead of a long day's Plenary session she appealed to members to focus on the "content of what we have to say rather than where we may be saying it".

The row comes follows a row last week about news of pub closures being released in the media before Senedd members were told.

Andrew RT Davies, Welsh Conservative MS for South Wales Central, accused the government of "sticking two fingers up to the Senedd and the opposition" by not attending.

Brexit Party Member of the Senedd Mandy Jones said: "This kind of behaviour is what we'd expect to see in a tin-pot dictatorship, and not from a government which wants to be perceived as operating in a healthy democracy."

A Plaid Cymru source said: "If ministers are taking part from Cathays Park, why not the Senedd?"