Drakeford fights back tears during farewell speechon March 19, 2024 at 7:07 pm

The first minister has to pause while talking about the “hardest and saddest year of my life”.

Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford fought back tears as he made a farewell speech on his last day in office.

While addressing colleagues in the Senedd, the 69-year-old had to pause briefly as he mentioned the death of his wife of 46 years, Clare, saying the past 12 months had been the “hardest and saddest of my life”.

Touching on the pandemic, among other things, he said he hoped he led a “way through Covid which made people in Wales feel that they were being kept safe”.

He received a standing ovation at the end of his speech and will be succeeded by Vaughan Gething on Wednesday.