Image caption A man died after the crash near Storey Arms in 2012

£1.7m in compensation and costs was paid by the Welsh Government after it admitted partial liability for a fatal crash that happened in icy conditions in which two died.

It had faced legal action from one of the victims' estates and a passenger who was seriously injured in the A470 crash.

A car and a lorry collided near Storey Arms, Powys, in February 2012.

The Welsh Government said the parties issued proceedings against the dead driver's insurers and ministers, as the highway authority for the A470.

Asked why the Welsh Government accepted the liability, a spokesman said, as the highway authority, "we could have considered shutting the road or installing temporary signage".

"The payment followed a joint settlement meeting between all parties in 2016," he added.

Two people had to be cut from their vehicle and were treated at the scene by the ambulance service.

Senior civil servant Shan Morgan, permanent secretary of the Welsh Government, told the Public Accounts Committee on Monday: "It was a serious accident and a tragic one.

"The Welsh Government admitted some liability and made a 30% contribution to the total losses that were claimed because the case was about road conditions and liability."

Update 30 April, 2020: The story was amended to reflect that two people died in this incident