HEALTH minister Vaughan Gething has refused to be drawn into allegations a group of Senedd members broke coronavirus regulations by drinking wine in the Senedd, but said "the rules are clear" and "challenges" to them were unhelpful.

Speaking on Wednesday, the day after claims were first reported about three members – including Blaenau Gwent MS Alun Davies and Welsh Conservatives leader Paul Davies – Mr Gething said judgement should be reserved until an investigation into the matter had finished.

"As you know, I've been the subject of press stories myself where some people made comments without wanting to understand the facts or not being interested in them," Mr Gething said. "So I don't think I should weigh in on an issue like this, when I'm simply unaware of all the facts."

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Alun Davies reportedly drank glasses of wine with Tory leader Paul Davies, chief whip Darren Millar and the party’s chief of staff Paul Smith in a Senedd tearoom on December 8.

The Blaenau Gwent MS has been suspended from the Labour group while the Senedd Commission investigation takes place.

All four men have apologised for the incident but deny breaking any Covid-19 rules.

They said they observed social distancing while meeting to discuss working together on a proposed bill before consuming alcohol not bought from parliament premises.

Mr Gething was asked if the incident had damaged the impact of the public health messaging designed to stop the spread of coronavirus.

"Any challenge, any sense of people not being all in this together, isn't helpful in terms of the message that we all need to follow," he said. "We all have a part to play in doing the right thing."

He added: "The more consistent we are in the messaging we give to the public, and in what we then do, the better of we'll all be and the sooner we can get out of the current crisis that affects all of us."

Additional reporting by PA.