NEWPORT'S Celtic Manor Resort became embroiled in the reignited debate over the national minimum wage today, after Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Owen Smith said a £5 an hour rate for casual staff "should not be acceptable."

Referencing Labour's intention to raise the national minimum wage to £8 by 2020 - at the party conference in Manchester - Mr Smith said the recent Nato Summit at the Resort was a "fantastic advert" for Wales but "also a moment to reflect on the shameful inequalities of our world and our country."

"The Summit was held in one of Wales most expensive hotels, where the poshest room costs £2,000 a night - but one which pays its casual staff just £5 an hour," he said.

"You’d have to work for two and a half months at that rate to lay your head on the pillow in the presidential suite.

"It’s a small but telling story - and it should not be acceptable to us. In 2014, in one of the richest countries on earth, that gulf in wealth and opportunity is a scar and a slur on Britain."

A Celtic Manor Resort statement explained that it employs 400 casual staff for large conferences and events.

"The advertised wage rate of £5 per hour referenced by Mr Smith is the lowest paid by the Resort and applies only to casual staff aged under 18, some 55 young people,.

"This rate of pay is substantially above the national minimum wage for this age group, of £3.79.

"Members of staff enjoy rates of pay across the wage spectrum which stand favourable comparison with the hospitality industry and the marketplace. They also enjoy a variety of staff benefits and rewards."