FM broke rules by not declaring union donation

Eluned Morgan broke the Senedd's rules by failing to declare she had money from a trade union, a watchdog has found.

The first minister made a reference to the Unite union while talking about Tata's Port Talbot steelworks in the Welsh Parliament last year.

A report says she should have declared an interest at the time as a member of Unite who had received £3,500 in sponsorship from the union.

The Senedd's standards committee said the "passing" reference to Unite breached the code of conduct, but that no further action was required.

The donation is recorded online in Morgan's entry on the Senedd's register of interests.

Before speaking in the chamber, the Senedd's rules say MSs must declare interests – including financial ones – that they or their families have.

Standards Commissioner Douglas Bain said there was "nothing to suggest" the first minister's registered interests influenced her in the chamber.

"However, the issue is not whether they had any influence but whether her interests might reasonably be thought by others to influence her contribution."

Morgan denied breaking the rules, telling Mr Bain she was acting as first minister and that there was no vote in the Senedd after the debate.

He said there was "no doubt" she was acting as first minister, but the lack of a vote was "irrelevant".

The cross-party standards committee said it was "satisfied that this was a breach due to inadvertence rather than an intentional disregard of the requirements around declaring relevant interests".

It also called for dates to be included when declarations of interest are made in the register.