Coal Authority had asked the Welsh government “for any direction they would wish to give” under current legislation but it was told that Labour ministers would not be making a “determination in this case”.

A report by BBC Wales has suggested Labour ministers could have stopped it approving a plan to dig up tens of millions of tonnes of coal at Aberpergwm mine.

In November, Deputy Climate Change Minister Lee Waters said he had urged the UK government to stop "40 million tonnes of coal" being extracted at the site over the next 18 years.

However, last week, Aberpergwm mine was granted a licence to dig up the coal which will be used in processes such as water purification and at sites like Tata Steel.

It has since emerged that the UK Coal Authority had asked the Welsh government "for any direction they would wish to give" under current legislation but it was told that Labour ministers would not be making a “determination in this case”.

Commenting on the developments, Welsh Conservative shadow minister for climate change, Janet Finch-Saunders MS said:

“From the outset, Labour’s handling of this application has been farcical, and the minister has been badly caught out.

“Only in November, Lee Waters tried to claim this was the UK Government’s fault, yet it turns out he had the powers all along to do what he wished but couldn’t be bothered to do so.

“As a country, Wales must tackle climate change and it’s vital we play our part, but this must be done in an economically coherent and sensible manner.

“The decision to proceed on balance is the right one, particularly as the alternative would have seen the loss of well-paid local jobs and coal imported from overseas which would have only increased our carbon footprint.

“However, the handling of this sorry episode once again typifies a Labour administration in Cardiff Bay that is high on rhetoric, low on substance. Labour’s culture of blaming the UK Government for its own inadequacies has to stop.”