Rt. Hon Carwyn Jones, First Minister of Wales
In recent days communications between the Minister for Natural and Resources and Food and civil servants in his division have been drawn to my attention. The emails indicate that the Minister asked the civil service to give him private information about the financial interests of a number of Members of this Chamber. These relate to CAP payments made to these individuals. The relevant e-mails are attached to this statement.
I believe that these requests were poorly judged, inappropriate and the fact that they were made at all is unacceptable to me as First Minister. As a result, I have asked the Minister for Natural Resources and Food to leave the government.
I made this decision with some regret and would like to record my appreciation for the contribution that Alun Davies has undoubtedly made to the work of the government during his time in office.