Closed museum's contents safe, minister tells Senedd

Collections at a major Welsh museum that closed suddenly on Sunday are safe, Wales' minister for culture has said.

Jack Sargeant says he has been reassured by officials responsible for National Museum Cardiff, which closed because of safety worries.

He said he looked forward to the museum's doors being open to the public "very soon". The closure has been blamed on a mechanical issue in an isolated area of the building.

One opposition Plaid Cymru politician said it was a matter of "grave concern".

Plaid's Heledd Fychan, who forced the Welsh government to address the Senedd through a topical question on the issue, said: "I hope you can appreicate why this is of such grave concern."

She said the national museum organisation, known as Amgueddfa Cymru, and the National Library of Wales had warned "for a number of years that the state of the buildings, because of chronic under investment by this Welsh Labour government and previous ones, is putting the national collections at risk".

She warned that most of the national museum of Brazil's collections were destroyed by fire in 2018.

"Repeated warnings fell on deaf ears," she said.

Sargeant said: "Let me be clear, the museum is closed because of a mechanical issue, not a structural issue.

"Both the chair and the chief executive of Amgueddfa Cymru have assured me that the national collections in their care are safe."

He said the repair team was working "diligently to address this issue."

"The museum decided to close the building to ensure that the repairs could be undertaken as quickly as possible with fewer people on site," he added.

Independent MS Rhys ab Owen said the museum was "one of a number of institutions which secured Wales' status as a nation".

Its establishment in 1912, he said, was an "important milestone in the history" of the country.

The memorial service for the late Welsh Liberal Democrat politician Baroness Randerson is due to be held there, ab Owen said.

He asked why it was shut so suddenly.

Sargeant replied: "Mechanical issues do happen, and they happen suddenly on certain occasions."