CANCER patients could "suffer greatly" if access to medication is restricted as a result of leaving the European Union, a Gwent AM who is himself being treated for the disease has said.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, South Wales East’s Steffan Lewis, who announced in December last year he had been diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer and has since been undergoing treatment, said he was concerned a so-called no-deal Brexit would restrict access to vital medicines.

And he called on the Welsh Government to put in place a mitigation plan for the possibility of leaving Europe without a deal.

“We need a plan that preserves the public services of Wales,” he said.

“From my own experience of having chemotherapy, the nuclear medicine was coming in from Munich, so if we have no agreement patients in Wales are going to suffer greatly.”

Saying the chances of a no-deal Brexit had “become increasingly likely”, the Plaid Cymru AM added: “There needs to be proper preparation here on behalf of the Welsh Government.

“Putting our hands on our heads and running around screaming isn’t going to be a sufficient response to this. We need proper action now.

“Everyone accepts we’re not going to be able to fully mitigate a no-deal Brexit, particularly from an economic point of view. But to say there is nothing we can do to mitigate any element of it is a dereliction of duty.”

Mr Lewis also quizzed the Welsh Government's finance secretary Mark Drakeford on the issue in the Assembly later on Tuesday afternoon.

And, responding to the Plaid Cymru AM, Mr Drakeford said: “The stakes here are absolutely real, and the impact on our nation if we do not get an agreement with the European Union will be felt in the lives of people right across this country.”

He added: “We both agree that you cannot plan away the catastrophic consequences of a no deal Brexit, that it is not just something that you can devise a way of mitigating such an outcome.

“Does that mean that we do not do contingency planning of the sort that he described?

“Well, of course it doesn't mean that, and events of the last week mean that the urgency of that contingency planning has to increase.”

Mr Drakeford also said planning for a no-deal Brexit would "intensify over the summer", saying: "We have to make sure we're doing everything we can to protect Welsh interests."

Mr Lewis was the brains behind the Welsh EU Continuity Bill, which would have kept European law in devolved areas in place in Wales post-Brexit. Although the bill was voted through by AMs, it has since been repealed after the Welsh and UK Governments came to an agreement over the process.