'No jobs on a dead planet' - former commissioner defends helping scrap M4 relief road

A former independent commissioner says she helped scrap the M4 relief road over concerns about the environment because "there are no jobs on a dead planet".

Sophie Howe made the comment on a BBC podcast after it was suggested the cancelled 14-mile (22km) motorway in Newport could have helped boost the economy.

Howe, who was the world's first future generations commissioner , described helping get dozens of other road projects cancelled including a third Menai crossing over concerns about the environment and wellbeing.

The Welsh government said it was reviewing options for the M4 around Newport after the previous Labour government under Mark Drakeford scrapped plans for a relief road in 2019.

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The government had already spent £114m planning the road, and an inquiry it commissioned - which featured criticism of Howe - found the economic need for a road outweighed concerns about environmental damage.

Howe had been a Labour councillor and police and crime commissioner when she was appointed the first future generations commissioner for Wales in 2016, a role she held until she left in 2023.

The job meant she had to ensure the government and public bodies considered the long-term consequences of projects and policies.

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