EARLIER today first minister Mark Drakeford announced that the M4 relief road had been scrapped. Following the announcement, Argus politics reporter Ian Craig met the first minister to talk about the decision and what happens next. Here's what he said:

On the new commission which will be set up to look at new ways of managing traffic on the M4:

"Its different from the public inquiry in lots of ways.

"It's not a stakeholder commission - the inquiry was outward-looking in which all those people who had a view about the proposal could come and make their views known.

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"The commission is much narrower than that - it's a group of experts in transport solutions - they are not going to be engaged in hearing from people about whether they think the M4 relief road is a good idea or not. To be honest, I think we understand those arguments. Not everyone will agree with the decision of course, but the arguments are well understood.

"What I wanted was a small group of people who are genuinely experts in crafting alternative solutions, looking at all those ideas which were put to the inquiry, looking at other ideas that have come in since, looking at some of the ideas which were being suggested on the floor of the Assembly this afternoon, because what I want is those practical ideas that are the most readily available, that can start making a difference as fast as possible in the lives of people in and around Newport who face the challenges which are currently there on the M4.

"It is those practical ways we can get on with making things better rather than 'big bang' solutions which inevitably take many years in development and many years putting them into practice."

On the new measures already planned to be put into place in an attempt to relieve traffic problems on the M4:

"There are two different sorts of problems people face around the Brynglas Tunnels - there are predictable delays - when, because of volumes of traffic at certain times of day you can be pretty sure there will be some problems - and there will be unpredictable delays.

"I know predicable delays are difficult for people, but right across Wales and around the UK people face predictable delays if you're trying to travel across congested urban areas at peak times. But if they're predictable you can plan for them.

"The real problem comes when there's an unpredictable delay. The tunnels are prone to incidents and accidents which cause unpredictable delays.

"We think there are things we can do in the next few weeks to try and begin to make a difference to those things - more police patrols so people get to accidents quicker, measures to clear those things away from the motorway so you don't have the motorway held up for long periods, better information for motorists so they know what's going on, and some behavioural things as well.

"There are ways in which people can drive which can reduce incidents and accidents as well, and there is a job of work to do to persuade people to play their part as well as improve the services which deal with things after they have happened.

"We can get on with those now, we don't need to way for the commission for those. In a matter of weeks we can put those services in place and I hope people will begin to see them having an impact very much in the short term."

On the public inquiry report:

"I first saw the report in February. I spent a lot of time in the half term at the end of February reading the report for the first time.

"Ever since I have been engaged in getting advice from legal experts, policy experts here, meeting people, considering the additional advice, and going back to the report.

"I've re-read it - some parts more than twice - and I've done my best to approach it with a genuinely open mind and come to the best decision I can based on the best assessment I can make on the issues at stake.

"I think I finally came a decision two weeks ago.

"I had to do that because the decision had to be translated into the legal text.

"This is a highly contested decision - it's legally vulnerable to challenge we know, so it's important all the documentation is drawn up in the best possible way."

On the £1 billion Newport City Council leader Cllr Debbie Wilcox has said will be available to improve transport in the city:

"When the original M4 relief road idea was put back in the table in 2014 it was on the basis that the costs of building that road would be met from an entirely new source of funding the Welsh Government was about to get - and that's borrowing.

"We've never had the ability to borrow before. Now we have the ability to borrow up to £1 billion - it's at £150 million a year, it doesn't come in one big cheque, but in the period it builds up.

"The original cost of the relief road was less than £1 billion, so we could pay for it without having to take money away from building hospitals, schools, housing and doing other public transport things in other parts of Wales.

"What I have said today is the commission which will come up with these alternative ideas will have first call on this £1 billion worth of borrowing. I want to be clear to the people who do the work - if they've got good idea which will make a difference to the people of Newport, and make that difference quickly, the money won't be standing in their way.

"The involvement of Newport Council is very important in that, because lots of the things which may be possible in that practical way will rely on powers that they have and actions that they can take."

On the possibility the decision could face a legal challenge:

"The advice I had was that I ought to proceed on the basis that it would be legally challenged.

"I think I knew for certain if I made the opposite decision it would be legally challenged because campaign groups had already said they would intend to do that.

"There may be people who wish to challenge this decision and I made in the basis that that could happen, and therefore wanted to get the decision into the best possible shape so that, if a challenge was made, we could defend it vigorously."

Economy and transport minister Ken Skates is due to reveal more about the new commission and the new measures to be taken on the M4 in the Assembly tomorrow, Wednesday.