Questions now from party leaders. The leader of the opposition, Paul Davies.

Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, can you tell us why you vetoed some of the proposed recent changes to the operational protocol recommended by Paul Bowen into the independent Queen's Counsel inquiry into the events surrounding Carl Sargeant's death?

Can I welcome the Member to his position as leader of the opposition? He's asked me questions before, of course, and now he is officially in place. No doubt we will tussle in this Chamber over the next few months.

The answer to his question is: I haven't vetoed anything.

Well, let me remind the First Member what he said in his statement last week. You made it clear in your statement that these proposals were significant and that you agreed with the majority, which means you did not agree with all. In that case, and in the interests of openness and transparency, can you tell us what you didn't agree with and will you now publish all of these proposals, including the ones that you rejected?

That's a matter for the investigators, not for me. There are two issues particularly that have been mentioned. One is cross-examination of witnesses—that's not appropriate for an inquisitorial process. That happens in a trial—as a lawyer, I know that.

Second is the suggestion that witnesses should be compellable. Again, there's no legal basis for doing that in a non-statutory inquiry. So, there is a restriction on what can be done in terms of the law.

First Minister, this is all about openness, transparency and accountability. You claim in your statement that the investigations are conducted at arm's length from you and your office, yet it is clear that you are having a significant involvement in the direction and remit of this inquiry. Surely, this diminishes any integrity connected to this inquiry, given that you are included in this investigation and you are, at the same time, controlling the terms of reference. That cannot be right.

We've seen a succession of so-called independent inquiries relating to your Government. We've seen time and time again your Government seeking to protect the Government from criticism at all costs. Therefore, how can you reassure the Welsh people that this is not just another inquiry that ultimately leads to accusations of a Welsh Government cover-up?

First of all, there's no evidence at all to back up what he has just said. The inquest, of course, will take place—it will take place at the end of November. That is the primary procedure in this process.

Secondly, I've not interfered with the protocol at all. It's been in the hands of the Permanent Secretary. I've set the terms of reference—that is true. If it is the case that that's right, then the court will say so. 

The reality is that I did not have to set up this investigation—I didn't have to set it up. There was no legal responsibility on me to do it. I did it in terms of transparency. The QC was agreed by the family, the protocol was agreed by the family at the time, the QC is fully independent and under no pressure from Government, and the QC is in a position to ask whatever questions he wants of me as a witness, and that is a fundamental principle of independence that is preserved as part of the investigation. 

Leader of the UKIP group, Gareth Bennett. 

Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, I note that the Welsh Government has been developing its intention to turn Wales into a nation of sanctuary for refugees and asylum seekers. Is this a major priority for your Government?

Well, can I welcome the Member as the latest leader of UKIP in this Chamber? I have absolutely no idea why he has such a problem with refugees. We have a proud record of giving sanctuary to people who've been persecuted around the world, children, particularly, who have seen things that he has never seen, he has never seen—adults who have seen people killed in front of them, people who have seen war, people who have been the subject of persecution, sometimes of genocide. And there he is, saying that somehow a nation of sanctuary is not something we should pursue. 

Actually, I asked you a question. I didn't make any assertion, but I thank you for your—[Interruption.] I thank you for your reflections. It does sound from your answer, First Minister, that this is going to be a major priority for our Government, so that's very interesting. As you may recall, I was the only member of the Assembly's communities committee who opposed the nation of sanctuary idea. Now I have made an assertion. I thought that we should be looking after our own people first. [Interruption.] Obviously, a strange idea to many people in this Chamber. There are massive problems of housing, destitution and access to mental health provision in Wales already before you agree to encourage another very needy group of people to come here in greater and greater numbers, which is what you are doing with your nation of sanctuary status.

Now, when I raised this issue a year ago, the Welsh Government didn't—[Interruption.] When I raised this issue a year ago, the Welsh Government didn't like what I had to say. I did—[Interruption.] I did get a lot of support from the general public. I had a whole load of supportive—[Interruption.] I had a whole load of supportive e-mails on this point. So, your Government may not be in sync with the opinions of the people of Wales on this point.

Another issue where you may, once again, be dangerously out of touch is on the issue of the burka. Now, I commented on the burka issue recently, because I was asked to by members of the media, and you didn't like what I had to say. Now, do you think that this whole issue of the burka is taboo and that nobody has the right to comment on this? 

Is it right that a man should tell a woman what to wear? He thinks so—he thinks so; it's typical of his position. And what on earth does what people wear have to do with politics? We are a free country. It is a very un-British thing to say that people do not have the right to wear a particular item of clothing. That belongs in a previous time in a previous country, if I can put it that way.

Let me remind him that each and every one of us in this Chamber is the descendent of an immigrant—each and every one of us. It's all a question of when our families originally came. This country is a country of immigrants. There were no people here; people arrived here from elsewhere. The Welsh language has its roots in Sanskrit. That's how far the Welsh language has travelled over many, many millennia. I do not see why offering sanctuary to a very small number of people should be taboo for him. 

He talked about services like mental health services. Many of them are delivered by immigrants. We would not have a national health service if we didn't recruit doctors from abroad. I have to say, given the tone of what we've heard in this Chamber this afternoon, the question must be asked as to what the difference is between UKIP and the BNP.  

The problem you have, First Minister, is that, once again, you are completely out of touch with your own people. [Interruption.] Sky News conducted a recent poll that indicated that 60 per cent of the British people support a ban on the burka. So, let's just summarise your position here: you've said publicly that my comments on this were racist, yet 60 per cent of the public appear to agree with me. By implication, you appear to believe that 60 per cent of the British people are racists. Going forward, how does your Labour Government expect to be re-elected if it goes around telling 60 per cent of its own voters that they are racists? 

Four Members and dropping: 29. There's the answer to you in terms of popularity, and that's the answer to you in terms of where we sit in terms of public support. You start with the Muslims and then you move on to Jewish people. 'The orthodox Jews dress in a strange way; we can't have that.' Then you move on to people who wear skull caps. You know, 'Why should they dress in a different way?' Then you move on to other sections of the population—people perhaps who are Christians who are members of particular churches who dress in a particular way. This stops now. This stops now. Nobody has the right to tell anybody else in Britain, in Wales, a free country, how they dress. If that's the way that UKIP is going then it's going down some very, very dark alleyways indeed. It's going down the alleyway of racism, and that's what all of us in this Chamber, apart from the famous four over there, will certainly object to and fight. [Assembly Members: 'Hear, hear.']

The leader of Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood.

I'd just like to say that I'm proud to lead a party that stands up for every single citizen in Wales regardless of where they were born, and we stand against everything that was just said by the leader of the far right.

First Minister, 'a lack of ambition', 'taking the easy way out' and 'a matter of fairness' were all phrases used to describe your Government's refusal to introduce universal free school dinners for infants. Those are words from your current Cabinet Secretary for Education. You now plan to restrict the number of eligible children even further. Do you think it can be described as a matter of fairness that, if your household has a net earned income of £7,401, the Welsh Government will cut your free school meals support?

Well, first of all, the consultation's just ended on this. I don't know whether she put submissions into that consultation, but we will look at the responses to that consultation and develop policy accordingly.

First Minister, your poverty of ambition is exacerbating the poverty of our pupils. You are instituting a policy here that is harsher than the Tory Westminster Government's. Just one year after a prominent promise on page 38 of the Labour manifesto, which read

'we will introduce free school meals for all primary school children', you are about to break that promise.

First Minister, the Welsh Government received £15 million extra in funding due to the introduction of free school meals in England, and this has funded the Schools Challenge Cymru scheme, the scheme that closed in July 2017. So, can you tell us what is this extra £15 million now going to be spent on?

Well, the reality is that it wasn't really extra money. We were already, of course, providing free school breakfasts. So, we were already providing free school meals in our schools. That was something that we funded ourselves. Now, we got that consequential. That money, along with any other consequentials that arrive, will form part of the budget and its development over the course of the next few months. But I have to say that, if we look at our education system, we see schools being built all across Wales—I saw two only last week. We saw good results at A-level, good results at GCSE, the development of an all-Wales curriculum. I don't believe that we are letting our children down at all. We're seeing more investment now than ever, and the education system is going from strength to strength.

I'm asking you about food in children's mouths, not about school buildings. Now, the take-up of free breakfasts remains low, and experts from the Bevan Foundation and the Children's Society and the Food Foundation have all highlighted the need for universal free school meals. Free school breakfasts do not preclude the Welsh Government from offering free school meals. Now, First Minister, the Children, Young People and Education Committee confirmed that you have taken £15 million from educational investment. You're snatching money away from children's futures, and soon you will be snatching away their school dinners as well.

Of course, the chaos of universal credit and the effect of austerity is going to make life harder for families right across Wales. Fifty-five thousand children living in poverty will not be eligible for free school meals under your proposals. That's more stigma, more hunger, more food banks. If enacted, the Labour/Liberal Democrats will have imposed the most regressive free school meals policy in the whole of the UK, and that is a point that has been made by the Bevan Foundation, which, along with the Children's Society, is calling for you all to think again.

First Minister, do you agree with the experts that free school meals deliver better health, welfare and educational outcomes? Or do you believe that this investment in our children isn't worth it?

Well, the leader of Plaid Cymru seems to think that we don't have free school meals in Wales. We do. We have free school breakfasts. That point is glossed over. Secondly, we are providing an extra £10 million a year between 2019-20 to 2022-23, providing free school meals. That's despite having no additional funding from the UK Government. The reality is—. And she points out, as she's done before, the general election manifesto for the Labour Party—of course we'd like to be more generous, but we need to see the election of a Labour Government in London in order for that to happen. The reality is she couldn't be more generous; Plaid Cymru haven't got more money hidden in a stash somewhere. We need to see a Government across the whole of the UK that's committed to fairness, committed to social justice and committed to opportunity, as we are here in Wales.