Ex-first minister Mark Drakeford suggests Wales Office should go

Former Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford has said it is time to consider scrapping the UK government's Wales Office.

Drakeford said "the time has come" to think about abolishing the department, which was largely stripped of its powers when devolution began in 1999.

Asked on S4C's Y Byd yn ei Le if he would be happy to get rid of the Wales Office, Drakeford said: "Yes, I think the time has come for us to think about that."

But Labour MP Ruth Jones described the suggestion as "foolish", arguing Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock was "fighting the corner for Wales".

The future of the Wales Office has been the subject of regular speculation since devolution, with successive UK governments considering whether its functions could be folded into a single department, also covering Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Earlier this year, then-First Minister Eluned Morgan said there remained " a role " for the Welsh secretary, but argued the post should be "the voice of Wales at the cabinet table" rather than "the UK government's voice in Wales".

Under a previous UK Labour government, Peter Hain combined cabinet responsibility for Wales and Northern Ireland between 2005 and 2007.

Asked if he would be happy to get rid of the Wales Office, Drakeford said: "Yes, I think the time has come for us to think about that.