FIRST minister Mark Drakeford has launched a furious defence of Wales' coronavirus rules, amid claims they "punished" sectors of the economy.

He said the £340 million Welsh Government support for affected traders far outstripped what was being offered to hospitality firms in England – where restrictions are being enforced on a local basis, rather than nationwide.

Currently, hospitality venues in Wales cannot allow alcohol to be consumed on their premises, and must close at 6pm each day.

Laura Anne Jones, Conservative Senedd member for South Wales East, called on the Welsh Government to publish the scientific evidence behind the rules, "in the interest of transparency".

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Speaking in the Senedd today (Tuesday), she asked Mr Drakeford: "Do you recognise the anger and frustration of businesses across Wales that have made great efforts to ensure the safety of their customers, only to be punished by these latest government damaging restrictions?"

In response, Mr Drakeford said the Welsh Conservatives were "avoiding responsibility for facing up to" the rising number of cases, and "wants instead to make ridiculous allegations about sectors of the economy being punished in Wales".

The first minister said the Welsh Government does "our very best to be able to help [the hospitality sector] deal with the consequences of this emergency".

"But this is a public health emergency and it's time the Conservative Party in Wales really did recognise that," he told the Senedd, adding that hospitality in Wales was receiving £340 million worth of support from the Welsh Government, while the Conservative-led government in Westminster was "providing £40 million for the whole of England".

The new hospitality rules, which came into force last Friday, proved unpopular with many publicans in the Gwent region.

They are also the subject of a Senedd petition, which closes today, calling on the Welsh Government to publish the evidence behind the rules.

As of this afternoon, the petition had collected more than 25,000 signatures.

Delyth Jewell, Plaid MS for South Wales East, said she felt there would have been "less resistance" to the rules "if there'd been a longer lead-in time, which would have allowed businesses time to plan".

She asked Mr Drakeford for assurances the hospitality sector would be given more time to prepare for future rule changes.

"I think it is incumbent on government to act as soon as reasonably can be on that evidence," the first minister said. "And the longer you wait, the more lives are lost."

In Wales, hospitality was notified of the current restrictions a week in advance, he said.

"I don't deny for a minute that that is a short period of time for businesses to be able to react, but we did give them what I thought was the longest we could, consistent with the advice we received – that action was needed, it was needed as soon as possible, and that every day we delayed meant the coronavirus was going to get worse," Mr Drakeford added.