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Oh, if only Edwina Hart had seen this press release before she headed to London yesterday to give evidence to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee.

Not only might it have cheered her up. It would also have given her a come-back to the MP who welcomed her with the words: "Good to see you here, Minister. We didn't think you liked us, took you so long to get here."

Martyn Jones, MP for Clwyd South, has put out a press release calling for free prescriptions for people in his constitutency with long-term conditions. Mr Jones says he is backing a campaign urging Gordon Brown to keep a promise he made over a year ago, to abolish prescription charges for people with long-term conditions.

That'll be in England, then.

Mr Jones says "I'm concerned about the number of people with long-term conditions in my constituency who may be choosing to go without vital medicines as a result of the recession and the rising costs of fuel and other bills. Gordon Brown was right to promise free prescriptions for people with long-term conditions, but he must now follow through and implement this promise as soon as possible."

As Mrs Hart would no doubt have loved to point out, the people of Clwyd South haven't had to pay for their prescriptions for quite some time now. Devolution and all that.

Oops.

UPDATE

Plaid MP Hywel Williams responds like this:

"Oh dear, it appears that someone has not been paying very much attention. I'd be the last to suggest that, in the Christmas rush, he may have put his name to a ready made press release but it is rather an embarrassing oversight!

"On a positive note, I am glad to see him supporting a policy that the Plaid driven One-Wales government is rightly very proud of - and something that he feels Gordon Brown is playing catch up with Welsh policy over."

While Plaid AM Janet Ryder responds like this:

"It appears that the MP has not been paying very much attention to what is actually happening in Clwyd South. I'd be the last to suggest that, in the Christmas rush, he may have put his name to a ready made press release but it is rather an embarrassing oversight!

"On a positive note, I am glad to see him supporting a policy that the Plaid driven One-Wales government is rightly very proud of and something that he feels Gordon Brown is playing catch up with Welsh policies. Next year voters will get a chance to vote for someone who will put the people of the area first and not lose touch."

No question of Plaid MPs and AMs ever putting their name to ready made press releases of course.

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