Plaid Cymru reverses pledge to hold Wales Covid inquiry
Getty ImagesPlaid Cymru has backtracked on its commitment to a Wales-specific Covid inquiry if it wins May's Senedd election.
The pledge was made in the party's 2024 general election manifesto and repeated in the Welsh Parliament last year.
The party's finance spokesperson Heledd Fychan told BBC Wales on Thursday that the party was now proposing an investigation, but not a full inquiry.
Recent polling suggests that Plaid Cymru and Reform are vying for top spot in May as Labour fights to hold on to power.
Fychan said: "We called for one [a Covid inquiry] previously, but now we would be looking to learn those lessons and ensure in a different way, and in a way that we have discussed with Covid bereaved families and with the NHS, because now we are six years on from when the pandemic started.
"A lot has changed in the NHS.
"What we need to ensure is that when a pandemic happens again we are in a better position to respond to ensure safety of both staff and patients."
Asked to clarify the party's position were it to run the next Welsh government, Fychan added: "There would be an investigation into what happened during Covid, but not a full inquiry.
"There should have been one. We supported one and called for one. But now we need to ensure those lessons are learned quickly."
Speaking in the Senedd last July, Plaid Cymru health spokesperson Mabon ap Gwynfor had said that the party would "establish a Covid inquiry for Wales within the first year of the next Senedd term".
The pledge was also in the party's 2024 general election manifesto.
The change of policy was revealed as the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice Group Cymru issued a statement saying a Welsh inquiry was vital.
It was responding to a report from the UK Covid inquiry on Thursday, which warned the Welsh NHS came "close to collapse" during the pandemic.
Group co-leader Sam Smith-Higgins said: "A Wales-specific Covid Inquiry is now essential.
"Welsh people deserve a full and transparent investigation into the decisions made and the conditions patients, families and healthcare workers were forced to endure.
"There must be a deeper dive into what went wrong in Wales so that meaningful accountability and change can follow."
Where do the other parties stand?
The Welsh Conservatives and Welsh Liberal Democrats remain committed to a Wales-specific Covid inquiry.
The Welsh Labour government has refused to hold such an inquiry, on the basis that the pandemic needs to be investigated in a wider, UK context.
In a compromise with the Conservatives, ministers agreed to form a Senedd committee to examine gaps in the UK inquiry's approach to Wales.
But the plan fell apart last year after the Conservatives objected to a government refusal for ministers and officials to give evidence under oath.
The Wales Green Party said a Welsh inquiry should have already been conducted.
A spokesperson said: "We should have had one.
"The time has now passed and we believe we need to focus on implementing the recommendations of the UK inquiry and building up the resilience of the Welsh NHS."
BBC Wales has been told that Reform believes more Wales-specific work is needed to learn the lessons from the handling of the pandemic.
