Mark Drakeford was a widely-respected leader during Covid who won support and affection from across Wales for the father of the nation approach he adopted throughout the pandemic.

Yet Baroness Heather Hallett's Covid inquiry report published on Thursday gives a damning verdict on his government's actions in the autumn and early winter of 2020 as the second wave of Covid-19 hit Wales.

In a video message summing up her verdict on the Welsh Government's handling of the pandemic, the respected judge praises the former First Minister's leadership style, which she describes positively in comparison to the other governments of the UK for making decisions on the basis of consensus within the full Welsh cabinet.

Yet she condemns as "inexcusable" the failure to learn lessons from the first wave

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