WITH less than two months to go until he leaves office, first minister Carwyn Jones is yet to see the final report of the planning inquiry into the M4 relief road.

Mr Jones will step down as first minister at the start of December - but is due to make a decision on whether or not to give the long-awaited scheme the go-ahead before then.

But, speaking in the Senedd earlier today, Tuesday, the first minister revealed he had not seen the final report of a year-long inquiry into the scheme, which ended in May.

The inquiry looked into the viability of the £1.4 billion 'black route' - a new stretch of motorway running south of Newport, bypassing the Brynglas Tunnels - along with alternatives including the 'blue route', which would involve converting the Southern Distributor Road and Steelworks Road into a dual carriageway.

The first minister said the predicted increase of traffic on the motorway resulting from the impeding scrapping of tolls on the two Severn bridges meant a decision had to be made soon.

"When the Severn tolls go, there will be an effect on the tunnels," he said. "I think we are deceiving ourselves if we think that the situation will improve in the near future.

"So, there has to be a solution.

"From my perspective, the decision that I will be asked to take is, should it be the black route or not? That is something, of course, I have an open mind on because I have not yet seen the planning inspector's substantial report on this matter."