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Plaid Cymru is calling on First Minister Carwyn Jones to withdraw a claim that Plaid Ministers were involved in a controversial land sell-off.

A critical report by the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee in 2016 found that a firm which bought 15 sites from the Welsh Government for £21m had made £19m profit by selling just some of them.

One of the remaining sites, at Lisvane on the northern outskirts of the Cardiff, was bought for £1.8m but had a potential open market valuation of at least £39m.

The committee investigated the March 2012 sale of land to Guernsey-based company South Wales Land Developments after a report by the Wales Audit Office raised concerns.

Responding to points made by Plaid’s South Wales Central AM Neil McEvoy during an Assembly plenary session in July, the First Minister said: “First of all, we must be careful because there was involvement with Ministers from his own party.”

Plaid’s Mid and West Wales AM Simon Thomas then wrote to Mr Jones asking for an explanation for his statement about the involvement of Plaid Ministers.

Mr Thomas asked whether the First Minister was referring to his former colleagues in the Labour/Plaid One Wales coalition that governed Wales from 2007 to 2011. The sale of the land happened several months after Plaid Ministers left the Welsh Government .

One part of the land is being used for the high-end 1,200-home Churchlands development:

In a letter to Mr Thomas, Mr Jones said: “I write in answer to your request for an explanation of my comments of July 18 regarding your party’s participation in RIFW (the Regeneration Investment Fund for Wales). You are correct in stating that I was referring to the One Wales Government.

“However, I can be more precise and refer to the fact that the Deputy Minister for Regeneration and Housing, together with the Deputy First Minister as Plaid Cymru members of the Government were responsible for approving the establishment of RIFW and the allocation to it of the land assets portfolio in March 2010.”

Mr Thomas said Mr Jones’ response confirmed that the Plaid Ministers had not been involved in the land deal. The fact that they had approved the establishment of RIFW and the allocation of funds to it was irrelevant.

He added: “This is just another example of Labour’s legacy of failure when it comes to governing Wales and the First Minister’s comments are an attempt to deflect from the highly critical reports by auditors.

“The First Minister should retract the remarks and give an explanation to the Senedd chamber.”

A spokesman for the First Minister said: "Plaid Cymru are trying to dance on the head of a pin in order to avoid scrutiny of their time in Government.

"There are always lessons to learn for all concerned, but clearly the RIFW scheme was developed when Plaid Cymru were in Government, and indeed they held the crucial portfolios of Economic Development and Regeneration during its inception."