BREXIT must not result in money and powers being taken away from Wales, a new Welsh Government report has said.

The report launched today calls for a new, less bureaucratic way of managing financial support for poorer communities and demands the £370 million Wales currently receives from the European Union to be replaced by the UK Government post-Brexit.

Carwyn Jones will officially launch the paper today, which also calls for partnerships made up of local authorities, communities and businesses to be formed to support regions of Wales, while setting up a Council of Economic Ministers from all four nations of the UK.

The first minister said: “The decades of Wales’ partnership with the EU leaves us a legacy upon which we can build our economic future.

“However, the vote to leave the EU was also a call for change.

"And so we are proposing a way forward for regional investment based on local knowledge, which does away with unnecessary bureaucracy and focuses on the needs of businesses and communities - a way forward which improves our roads and railways, improves broadband networks, gives people the skills they need, boosts entrepreneurship and promotes innovation to support economic growth across Wales.

“The people of Wales are best placed to make those decisions and to create a new system for the future.

"We have the local knowledge, the people and the networks to deliver this.

"Any move to a system where unelected officials in Whitehall can veto much needed investment in our local communities would be completely unacceptable and a betrayal of devolution.

He added: “We will also not stand for any loss of funding as a result of Brexit.

"During the referendum campaign, we were promised Wales would not lose out on a penny if we left the EU. This promise must now be honoured or the people of Wales were misled.”