“Covid-bereaved families in West Wales deserve answers” - says Pembrokeshire Senedd Member

A Welsh Conservative Senedd Member for Pembrokeshire has accused Plaid Cymru of betraying the trust of families who lost loved ones during the Covid-19 pandemic, after the Welsh Government announced a review rather than the full, independent public inquiry previously promised by senior Plaid figures.

The Conservative Ceredigion Penfro Senedd Member Paul Davies is backing calls for a Wales-specific, judge-led statutory public inquiry into the Welsh Government's handling of the pandemic, warning that families across Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and the whole of Wales must not be denied the answers they have waited years to receive.

Mr Davies said the pandemic had left a lasting impact on communities across West Wales, with families losing loved ones, care home residents separated from relatives, businesses forced to close and NHS staff working under extraordinary pressure.

He argued that the decisions taken by the Welsh Government during that period must be subject to proper independent scrutiny.

For years, senior Plaid Cymru politicians demanded a Wales-specific Covid inquiry with statutory powers.

Adam Price called for a statutory public inquiry in 2020, while Rhun ap Iorwerth said in 2021 that the Welsh Government had "no excuse" not to establish one.

As recently as July 2025, Mabon ap Gwynfor pledged that a Plaid Cymru Government would establish a Covid inquiry for Wales within its first year in office.

However, following the 2026 Senedd election, the Plaid Cymru-led Welsh Government has announced an expert-led Wales Covid-19 Review rather than the statutory public inquiry previously demanded.

The decision has prompted criticism from bereaved families, including campaigners who have spent years fighting for answers and accountability.

Mr Davies MS said:"Families across Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion know only too well the devastating impact Covid-19 had on our communities. Behind every life lost was a family left grieving, often without the opportunity to say a proper goodbye.

“Those families deserve the truth about the decisions that affected their loved ones. They deserve transparency, accountability and the reassurance that lessons will genuinely be learned.

"Plaid Cymru spent years telling bereaved families that Wales needed its own full public inquiry. They made those demands in opposition and repeated those promises ahead of the election. Yet now they are in government, they are offering something very different.

"You cannot demand a full statutory inquiry when you are in opposition and then decide that a review will suffice when you have the power to deliver. This is not about reopening old political arguments. It is about establishing what happened, understanding why decisions were taken and ensuring that the people responsible can be properly questioned.

“An expert-led review is not the same as an independent statutory inquiry with the powers to compel witnesses and demand evidence. For families who lost loved ones, this is deeply personal. Their grief should never become a political bargaining chip, and promises made to them should not simply be forgotten once an election is over.

"I am supporting calls for a full, independent, judge-led public inquiry into the Welsh Government's handling of the pandemic. The people of West Wales, and particularly those who lost loved ones, deserve nothing less."