A FORMER Welsh Government minister who served alongside Carl Sargeant, who died on Tuesday, has made claims of a “toxic” culture within Carwyn’s Jones’ cabinet.

Mr Sargeant was found dead at his north Wales home on Tuesday morning, just days after he was sacked as communities and children secretary and suspended from the Labour Party following allegations of misconduct around women.

And today, Thursday, former colleague and friend Leighton Andrews, who served in the Welsh Government cabinet between 2009 and 2013, and again between 2014 and May 2016, has made a number of shocking claims about the culture within Carwyn Jones’ cabinet.

In blog post the former AM said the atmosphere within the cabinet offices in the Senedd during his first stint as a minister was “toxic”, with “minor bullying, mind-games, power-games, favouritism, inconsistency of treatment to different ministers, deliberate personal undermining on occasion”.

“I found that the atmosphere was unquestionably worse after I returned to government in September 2014 than it had been in the period May 2011 - June 2013,” he said.

“Carl was unquestionably the target of some of this behaviour.

“The relentless drip-drip of disinformation – and worse – had a strain on his and others’ mental health.

“The first minister was made aware of this by several ministers, including myself.

“Nothing was done.

“In a normal workplace, it would have been tackled.

“It was damaging to the mental health of ministers and special advisers.

“Speaking personally, I know that my own mental health has been a lot better since leaving politics.”

Mr Andrews also said he believed Mr Sargeant was “not given the benefit of due process over the complaints made against him, and that the interviews given on Monday by the First Minister prejudiced any inquiry in themselves”.

He added he had made a complaint to Carwyn Jones about “deliberate personal undermining” of Mr Sargeant in 2014, but no action was taken after an informal investigation.

Mr Jones is meeting with Labour AMs in the Senedd this afternoon, with an announcement to be made afterwards.