THE WELSH Government has been accused of ‘misusing’ statistics released as part of a leaflet promoting the M4 relief road.

Friends of the Earth Cymru has questioned the accuracy of the statistics and also raised concerns about the ‘credibility’ of the complaints procedure.

It comes after the environmental group complained about the figures, and was referred back to the leaflet in question for further information.

The environmental group lost a case earlier this year when it challenged whether the government properly assessed alternatives when deciding to go ahead with the £1bn motorway through the Gwent Levels.

It now contests information on a Welsh Government leaflet, including that the M4 motorway is 95 per cent full, saying it is ‘almost always emptier than this’.

They have also raised concerns about claims that the construction of an M4 relief road would create up to 6,500 jobs, saying this is the highest range projected by modelling, and one projection suggests as few as 750 extra jobs.

Construction costs estimated at being £1bn have also been questioned, with the group saying this does not include VAT nor maintenance, which together could bring the cost up to £2bn.

Gareth Clubb, Friends of the Earth Cymru director, said: “There are three important points of principle here. Firstly, the complaints procedure needs to be credible. That means that if serious allegations of misconduct are made, they should be investigated thoroughly.

“It appears in this case no consideration has been made of the specific allegations of misuse of statistics.

“Secondly, it strikes as being poor governance for a complaint to be dealt with by the minister in charge of the portfolio under which the complaint is made.

“There’s a clear conflict of interest where a minister is asked to judge the behaviour of civil servants under her direction. There should be an independent adjudicator. And thirdly, the original concerns over misinformation are yet to be addressed.

“The Welsh Government is driving a cart and horses through statistical practice... it’s misinforming the Welsh public over the rationale for the biggest and most damaging engineering project since devolution.”

But a spokesman for the Welsh Government countered: “The complaint was dealt with through the Welsh Government’s complaint procedure, which is in line with the procedure used by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

“The information used in the public exhibitions is accurate and the sources of the data used are clearly explained in the exhibition summary brochures. More detailed information is also published on the Welsh Government website.”