THE head teacher of a Gwent primary school criticised National Assembly officials for stopping his pupils eating packed lunches inside the Senedd building during a visit yesterday.

A group of 28 nine- and ten- year-olds from Ysgol Gymraeg Cwmbran had been invited to the new debating chamber which opened in Cardiff Bay on St David's Day.

While planning the trip earlier in the week, however, head teacher Edward Jones was dismayed to discover that school children eating packed lunches in the building was deemed unacceptable by officials.

He said: "We've done lots of trips in England and Wales and there's usually a room or corner of the building where children can go to eat their sandwiches. I'm disappointed because it's a building that cost £70m to build, they're encouraging children to visit and take an interest in politics, yet they don't have the room for something as basic as this.

"One official even suggested we take them outside but it was horrible rainy weather yesterday."

The children eventually ate their sandwiches on the bus on their way out.

An Assembly spokeswoman said: "We've always had educational visits to various buildings and over 7,000 school pupils visit every year.

"However, we don't have the space or facilities for children to have picnics.

"This has always been our policy, even before the Senedd opened."