MARK Drakeford has defended Wales' diversion from the four-nation agreement on Christmas restrictions, but the move has prompted a wider debate over letting people exercise their common sense.

Between December 23 and 27, two households in Wales can join together in one 'bubble' - with the addition of an extra single-adult household.

The Welsh Government announced the policy - which will be made law - hours after Westminster put forward a UK-wide approach allowing three-household bubbles.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight on Wednesday, Mr Drakeford said the Wales-specific Christmas restriction was "not a matter of criminalising people," and was made "reflecting the seriousness of the situation we're in in Wales".

The First Minister said it was "pejorative" to suggest the Welsh Government did not trust people to act responsibly, but said "we still see levels of household mixing in Wales that are encouraging the growth of the virus".

He said the new two-household rule would "harness the goodwill" of people wanting to "do the right thing".

Responding to Mr Drakeford's comments, former Brexit Party MEP, Baroness Fox, told Newsnight that criminalising people with the new law would instead "squander" public goodwill.

"Adults should be left to make choices," she said, arguing that "draconian" rules had not worked in Wales and that government should instead encourage the public to "balance risks".

Baroness Fox said "nobody is suggesting letting [coronavirus] rip".

"What we're talking about is guidance [and] people are asked to make responsible decisions within that," she added.

But Simon Williams, a behavioural expert at Swansea University, told Newsnight "politicians should stop talking about common sense".

He added: "There's no such thing as common sense in unprecedented times. None of us has been in a pandemic before."

Dr Williams said the "vast majority" of people were following coronavirus rules despite being "not happy" with the impacts of those restrictions on their livelihoods and wellbeing.

But he warned there was evidence of "alert fatigue" because of "constantly changing rules".

"The public are increasingly confused over time with frequent rule changes," he said, adding: "The very rationale, in some ways, for the Christmas bubble has been undermined – it was going to improve people's emotional wellbeing and mental health. A lot of people are feeling stressed about this decision they now have to make."