A “kangaroo court” on the Covid-19 pandemic will be formally disbanded after members quit but another Senedd committee will take over rather than a judge-led Wales-specific inquiry.

At least 13,000 people died in Wales during the pandemic but, more than five years later, Senedd scrutiny of the decisions made in Cardiff Bay has stalled – if it ever got going.

Elin Jones, the Senedd’s speaker, announced the end of the “Wales Covid-19 inquiry special purpose committee”, which was set up to look at gaps in the UK inquiry.

In March, Tom Giffard, its co-chair, and his Conservative colleague Sam Rowlands quit the committee after Labour blocked calls for witnesses to swear an oath.

He said he had no confidence in the committee, saying he would no longer associate himself with a process "seemingly designed to protect those it is supposed to hold to account”.

The Welsh Government refused to set up a judge-led Wales-specific inquiry in the wake of the pandemic like in Scotland where a public inquiry was established to learn lessons.

Ms Jones announced the committee would be dissolved in autumn after months of wrangling behind closed doors, with the Senedd’s public accounts committee picking up the baton.

In a statement on 16 July, she said: “Due to the breakdown of the co-chair model that was adopted, it hasn’t been possible for the committee to proceed with its work.

“It’s been evident through discussions… that a different model will be required to move forward with the committee’s scrutiny of this vital work.”

Mark Isherwood, who chairs the public accounts committee, expressed concerns about the committee’s capacity and the limited time left in this Senedd term, with an election on the horizon in May 2026.

But he said: “We have agreed to take on the task that has been asked of us to ensure that some scrutiny of these important matters is done within this Senedd – rather than none.

“We may not be best placed to pursue this work.

“And we cannot be sure any outcome will be sufficiently comprehensive to satisfactorily address the issues arising from the module one report, rather than through a Wales-specific public inquiry.

“However, we will do our best to conduct work as effectively as we can within these constraints.”

Mabon ap Gwynfor said: “Unfortunately, the main lesson that we’ve learned over the past few years is that the Welsh Government has an ongoing hatred of accountability.”

Plaid Cymru’s shadow health secretary paid tribute to the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru group for their tireless campaigning on the issue.

Mr ap Gwynfor expressed concerns about the “shambolic” handling of the Covid committee, with months “wasted debating the actual purpose of the special purposes committee”.

James Evans, the Conservatives’ shadow health secretary said resigning from the committee he co-chaired was never his preferred outcome but it was better than the alternative.

“Presiding over a kangaroo court that would never have got to the bottom of the issues that the families deserve,” he said.