Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Welsh devolution is “not a success” when it comes to health.

The comments were made during a visit to Hilltop Honey’s new Vastre factory on the first day of the Welsh Conservative Spring Conference.

Asked if mid Wales should have its own hospital following the recent failures in care at the Shropshire and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Montgomeryshire’s nearest acute hospital, Mr Johnson said: “What happened to the Welsh Labour Government? Can’t they get their act together and sort it out?

“I think you must have an integrated approach between services across England and Wales. I think it’s primarily a matter for the Welsh authorities.”

He added: “Welsh devolution is not a success when it comes to health. Devolution can work but it needs local management and efficiency.”

Following the Shrewsbury maternity scandal findings, which affected dozens of Powys families, Mr Johnson said the government “will learn from it”.

“I share the people’s distress about what happened with the baby loss and childbirth. I can only imagine how people feel about that and we will learn from it.”

Speaking to journalists, Mr Johnson said the high fuel prices were a major part of the cost of living crisis that has impacted household across mid Wales and the UK. He said the government would “tackle those who fail to pass on” the cut in fuel duty.

The Prime Minister added: “To help the rural community, it’s fuel and broadband which is of massive importance. In Wales, broadband is looking better and it’s something we want to drive up and make a big economic difference.”

Asked what can the government do to make housing affordable for local people to stay in their communities, Mr Johnson said he believes the best answer was developing brownfield sites.

“What you need is access to mortgages and that will give you 95 per cent of the value of the home," he said. "It’s easier to convert your rent into a mortgage. I would much rather go down that way."

He said last year’s record number of first time buyers has since slowed down but he wants the government new builds to “speed up again”.

“That’s why we’re bringing improvements to the planning system. I believe there is much more good brownfield land around the country, sites that could be developed if they had the right infrastructure. That’s how you can allow affordable housing to be built.”

Leaving the Hilltop Honey factory on Friday afternoon before his speech at the Hafren Theatre, Mr Johnson said it was "fantastic” adding that he had “never seen so much honey in my life”.