FIRST minister Mark Drakeford has branded working with the UK government on easing travel restrictions an "utterly shambolic experience."

At the daily coronavirus press conference, Mr Drakeford said that he wanted to address the government's handling of the easing of quarantine restrictions for travellers coming to the UK after a suggestion "circulating out of Whitehall" that the devolved administrations held up Westminster's announcement on air bridges.

"Nothing could be further from the truth and I just wanted to make sure that I put that on the record today," he said.

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He described the experience as "dealing with a government that never appears capable of making up its mind, let alone communicating that sensibly to devolved administrations."

"I've seen it as our responsibility to put onto the statute book here in Wales the regulations that allow that UK scheme to operate here in Wales," said Mr Drakeford. "But dealing with the UK Government over the last few days has been an utterly shambolic experience.

"If ever there was an example of making an announcement first and then trying to work out what you meant by it - that is what we have seen since this announcement was first trailed in the press.

"And day after day we have attempted to get a sensible answer from the UK Government on how they intend to make these changes, which countries they intend to extend the arrangements to, and I just have to say it's been an impossible experience to follow."

The first minister said he has "lost track of the number of weeks" that have gone by since he last had direct contact with prime minister Boris Johnson.

However, when asked if this meant the 'four nations approach' to combatting the coronavirus had failed, he said he was in contact with the UK Government, and that way the issue of air bridges had been handled was "the exception and not the rule" in terms of relations with Westminster.

Mr Drakeford is not the only leader of the devolved governments to speak out on this, with Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon also describing the UK government's decision-making on air bridges as "shambolic".

Speaking during the Scottish Government's coronavirus briefing, she said: "When so much is at stake as it is right now we can't allow ourselves to be dragged along in the wake of, to be quite frank about it, another government's shambolic decision process.

"Just to illustrate the point [on] the shifting sands of the UK government's position - the list of countries that they were yesterday demanding that the Scottish Government sign up to, and suggesting we were a barrier to getting an agreement on, is not the same as the list they have shared with us today."

However, prime minister Boris Johnson said they have had "very good conversations" with the devolved nations on this.

"I am sure that everybody will work together to make sure that people's holiday's to those countries - and it is a small list of countries where we are going to have the air bridges - can go ahead," he told LBC radio.

"There will be large parts of the world, I'm afraid at the moment, where you will have to observe 14 days' quarantine when you have come in and that is only right.

"We have made a huge effort in this country to get this virus under control. We cannot have reinfection from abroad."