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Vaughan Gething has dramatically resigned as the first minister of Wales just hours after four of his ministers quit his government.
In a parting shot, the group told him they could not do their jobs “without you standing down”.
Mr Gething said he recognised that “rebuilding and renewal” was “not possible” under his leadership.
In a statement announcing his resignation, he said: “I have this morning taken the difficult decision to begin the process of stepping down as leader of the Welsh Labour Party and, as a result, First Minister.
“Having been elected as leader of my party in March, I had hoped that over the summer a period of reflection, rebuilding and renewal could take place under my leadership.
“I recognise now that this is not possible.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer thanked him for his service and said he had decided to quit “because he feels it is the best decision now for Wales”.
He added: “Vaughan should take enormous pride in being the first black leader of any country in Europe. That achievement will have broadened the ambitions and raised the gaze of a generation of young people in Wales and beyond.”
He added: “It has been the honour of my life to do this job even for a few short months…I have always pursued my political career to serve Wales.”
Earlier as his ministers quit they told him they could not do their jobs “without you standing down”.
The four ministers, Mick Antoniw, Julie James, Lesley Griffiths and Jeremy Miles resigned on Tuesday morning and posted separate letters on social media in which they called for Mr Gething to go.
In his letter quitting as Welsh economy secretary, Mr Miles told Mr Gething: “We cannot continue like this.”
Mr Miles, who ran against Mr Gething for the Welsh Labour leadership, added: “The events of the last few months including your loss of the confidence vote in the Senedd, have been incredibly painful.
“It’s essential that we begin to repair the damage immediately, and I have reached the conclusion very regrettably that this cannot happen under your leadership.
“I can’t see any way forward for us which allows us to get on with job we are elected to do, without you standing down.”
It was the latest crisis to hit his leadership in its short tenure.
He lost a non-binding no confidence vote only a few weeks ago and was seen in tears in the Senedd chamber.
He has come under fire over a series of rows concerning donations he took while running to lead his party and after he sacked former minister Hannah Blythyn over an alleged government leak.
Last week, in a highly unusual move, the publication which received the leak went public to state that she was not its source.
In June Mr Gething vowed to carry on in the job despite losing the vote of no confidence, as he branded the motion “a transparent gimmick”.
He lost the vote by 29 votes to 27, but the motion, tabled by the Welsh Conservatives, was non-binding, meaning he was not ousted from his role.
However, the result was highly embarrassing as Labour had enough votes to win, but two members of the party were reported to be unwell.
Mr Gething, who has been the Welsh Labour leader only since March, was seen in tears before the vote, which followed the collapse of his electoral deal with Plaid Cymru.
The sacking of his minister followed a report on the Nation Cymru news website that featured a message to a ministerial group chat in August 2020, during the Covid crisis, from Mr Gething, stating that he was deleting the messages in the group.
Mr Gething has always insisted that all rules were followed when he took the donation and denied the leaked message contradicted the evidence he had given to the official Covid inquiry.
Source: independent.co.uk
