Politician criticised for lack of 'respect' in Covid hearing

A Welsh Labour politician has been accused of not respecting families who lost relatives to Covid after he was seen using his phone during a Senedd committee hearing.

In a heated exchange, Sam Smith-Higgins, from the bereaved families campaign group, told Mike Hedges to "listen to us" when she pointed out that he was on his phone.

The Swansea West MS retaliated saying he had been "looking things up", before adding that he would "certainly listen" as the group would "have to listen" to Mr Hedges later on.

Later, Hedges told BBC Wales that he had been "checking something, prior to asking a question".

The Senedd's Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee is hearing evidence about the Covid pandemic, after a committee set up specifically to look at the Welsh government's handling of the pandemic collapsed.