Gwyther GM censure vote is lost

A GM maize trial at Sealand is behind the motion

A censure motion over Assembly Agriculture Secretary Christine Gwyther's failure to prevent GM seeds being sown in Wales, has been defeated.

The motion was defeated with 26 AMs voting against, nine supporting it and 20 abstentions.

The motion was proposed by Welsh Conservatives who accused Ms Gwyther of failing to uphold the views of the Assembly and keep Wales a GM-free zone.

Nick Bourne: Inaction claim

The party were not happy that she faced her third censure motion in a year.

But they believe that her failure to stop a Flintshire farmer from using genetically modified maize proves that Ms Gwyther is incapable of delivering for Welsh agriculture.

According to Nick Bourne, the Tory leader in the Assembly, her inaction over this issue is the latest in a long line of disasters.

He said that Ms Gwyther's days as Agriculture Secretary should be brought to an end.

The censure motion read: "This Assembly censures the Assembly Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development for her failure to address the concerns of the National Assembly for Wales, by failing to secure a GM free environment."

Christine Gwyther: Legal advice

Glyn Meanwhile, Davies AM, the Conservative spokesman on finance, has asked Christine Gwyther to publish the legal advice on which she based her decision not to ban GM crops in Wales.

Mr Davies said Assembly's presiding officer Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas has agreed to a request to publish the advice that a ban is within the Assembly's jurisdiction.

However, this attempt to remove Ms Gwyther is unlikely to succeed.

Both Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems said they intended to abstain - on the grounds that a more creative way to stop GM seeds being used should be found.

Even had the motion been successful, Christine Gwyther's future is ultimately the decision of the first secretary.