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Prof Richard Wyn Jones told BBC Wales that Carwyn Jones’ political authority had “ebbed away very substantially”.

Mr Jones is facing two investigations following the ex-minister’s death.

But the Labour assembly group said while “these past few months have been difficult”, they stand firmly behind the first minister.

Former communities secretary Mr Sargeant was found dead four days after being sacked by Mr Jones over allegations of inappropriate conduct towards women.

One investigation is looking at the first minister’s conduct around the sacking of Mr Sargeant, while the other is considering accusations of bullying in the Welsh Government in 2014.

Mr Jones has always insisted he could not have acted in any other way and had operated “by the book”.

But even if the investigations agree with the first minister’s analysis, leading political commentator Prof Jones, of Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre, said it could be too little too late.

He told the Sunday Politics Wales programme: “His authority is clearly in tatters, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.

“And, actually, rebuilding it; even if he’s exonerated – and I have no internal information at all – he may well be completely exonerated, but even if he is, I think it would be very difficult for him to regain his previous stature.

“I’m not saying this is fair. I’m not saying it’s a good or a bad thing.

“I’m just observing that his political authority has ebbed, has flown away, slipped through his fingers.

“And the point about political authority is; once lost it’s extremely difficult to get it back.”

Prof Jones said he was surprised at the lack of allies willing to defend the first minister, saying it seemed the Labour Party had moved on and was looking to the future without Mr Jones at the helm.

“It’s almost as if Carwyn Jones is old news in a sense,” he said.

“There’s the issue of when and how he departs, but the party does seem to have moved on to actually discussing the successor.”

But Aberavon AM David Rees told Sunday Politics Wales he fully supported the first minister, and stressed he has the full backing of the party’s group of AMs in Cardiff Bay.

“I don’t recognise those comments,” he said.

“I see the Welsh Labour government still being in control with Carwyn Jones as leader of the Welsh Government, with the full support of the membership of the group in the assembly.”

Prof Jones’ comments were also dismissed by the chair of the Labour group in the assembly, Vikki Howells.

“There’s no denying that these past few months have been difficult for everyone but the group stand firmly behind the first minister,” said the Labour AM for the Cynon Valley.

“Carwyn is leading the fight against a hard Brexit, to secure Welsh jobs, and get the best deal for our communities.”

Police closed the A477 London Road between Pembroke Dock and Upper Nash while they dealt with the incident near the Kingswood Industrial Estate.

The incident happened just after 10:00 GMT on Sunday, involving one vehicle.

The road reopened to traffic shortly before 13:00.

The headgear was shattered when the Ogwen Valley team member slipped during an an eight-hour operation to aid three men.

The mountaineers had become trapped in appalling conditions on the snow-covered 3,000ft (920m) Tryfan mountain.

The rescuer was later given a check-up at hospital – while the three climbers were safely escorted off the peak.

The alarm was raised on Saturday evening, and torches of the missing trio led the 10 rescuers to them.

But one team member slid on ice close to the spot where the drummer with the Welsh rock band Yucatan was killed last month.

Conditions were described as poor on the peak, with torrential rain, sleet, snow and low cloud.

The stranded climbers were finally lowered to safety on ropes, and led off the mountain at about 01:00 GMT on Sunday morning.

The External Affairs Committee said it was “surprised no plans were being put in place” to prepare for the possibility that the UK and EU fail to reach an agreement.

It has now called on the government to improve its “scenario planning”.

The Welsh Government said its “first priority” was to work against a “no-deal” scenario.

In the report, the committee’s chairman David Rees said: “We do not shy away from addressing the possibility of a ‘no deal’ situation being in existence on 29 March 2019.

“Whilst we are clear that this is not an outcome that we would endorse as desirable, we do believe that, as this is still a possibility, there is a need for the Welsh Government to be doing more in terms of scenario planning, including for a ‘no deal’, to prepare Wales.

“Governments, national and regional, elsewhere in the EU, and the European Commission itself, have preparations in place for such an outcome, why not Wales?”

The committee heard evidence from the Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford, who said the Welsh Government has been “scenario planning from the beginning”.

However, he also told AMs “no amount of public money, no amount of preparation, will avoid the harm that will be done to Wales and its economy by leaving the European Union without a deal”.

The report, which makes seven recommendations, also said that organisations across Wales needed “a stronger steer” from the Welsh Government about how they should be preparing for Brexit.

“Sectors and organisations are looking to the Welsh Government for leadership and it is imperative that they are able to start making their own plans for life outside the EU,” Mr Rees said.

A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: “We welcome the report, which is particularly timely following the publication of our Brexit trade paper that fulfils many of the committee’s recommendations.

“We look forward to engaging further with the committee and will respond fully to the report in due course.

“We have always said that a ‘no deal’ scenario would be an appalling outcome for Wales and the UK, and our first priority is to work against that possibility.”

Grievances against NHS health boards and trusts in Wales are on course for a five-year high in 2017-18.

Wales’ public services ombudsman Nick Bennett said there was “certainly scope” for an improvement in how health boards “deal with the Welsh public”.

The body for NHS bosses said the focus is “delivering the best for patients”

The ombudsman’s office has seen a 14% increase in complaints against Welsh health boards and Wales’ three NHS trusts this year, with 655 grievances registered so far – compared with 574 at this point in 2017.

The bodies are paying tens of millions of pounds each year in damages and legal fees for medical negligence.

The ombudsman wants more legal powers to investigate public bodies like the health service.

Mr Bennett, whose office has seen complaints against public bodies double in 10 years, said complaints about care in hospitals were a “significant concern”.

“They have got to deal with an aging population and extra demand but these are significant organisations, and I think there is scope to improve the culture and the way in which they deal with complaints from the public,” said Mr Bennett.

“There needs to be a willingness and preparedness to listen to the experience of service users. Their feedback should be used as a free consultancy to ensure there is improvement in the way in which the public receives services.

“Prevention is better than cure, if we can do more to make sure there is a proper culture of learning and improvement, then we’re less likely to see service failures that could lead to preventable deaths.”

Mr Bennett is halfway through his seven-year term as ombudsman and has received 7,901 complaints to date, upholding 638 and making 842 early resolutions.

The ombudsman’s office could have extra powers, including initiating its own investigations, by the end of this year.

“We can’t just stand back and see complaints go up and up,” he said.

“I’m not here sharpening a knife looking to pick on any body… the more learning there is, the less chance of those mistakes happening again.”

Mr Bennett said health boards should “generate a culture that wants to deal and learn from complaints” and see it as “positive scrutiny”.

The Welsh NHS Confederation, the body that represents Wales’ seven local health boards and three NHS Trusts, said a recent survey showed 91% of patients were satisfied with the care at their last hospital appointment and 96% said they were treated with dignity.

“NHS staff at all levels are committed to making sure that all patients receive the high standards of care that they deserve,” said Vanessa Young, director of the confederation.

She said that while most have a “positive experience” with the Welsh NHS, they “recognise this is not always the case”.

“When care does not meet the high standards which patients deserve and expect, we must make sure action is taken to put things right,” said Ms Young.

“We strongly encourage anyone who is concerned about their care or treatment to talk to a senior staff member on duty as soon as possible, so their concern can be dealt with immediately.

“The feedback and experiences of patients, their families and staff are critical in helping the NHS in Wales to provide the high standards of care that staff strive to deliver on a daily basis.”

The incident happened at about 12:15 near Regent Walk.

Police said they were taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Their injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

King Street is currently closed between Orchard Street and Regent Walk.

Tairu Jallow, 29, died at the property in Havelock Street, Kettering, on 14 January.

Police said a group of men broke into the Gambian national’s house before the attack at about 21:00 GMT.

Clever Makande, 23, of Brandwood Crescent, Kings Norton, Birmingham, is accused of murder and is due at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

A 29-year-old man from Birmingham and a 31-year-old man from Nottingham remain in custody on suspicion of murder.

Northamptonshire Police said they would like to speak to anyone who saw a silver Audi A4 convertible and a dark blue BMW 1 Series which were believed to have been in the area around the time of the incident.

The offenders used equipment attached to the vehicle to try to steal a cash machine from the store at Horspath Driftway late on Saturday.

However, their attempts failed and they fled on foot empty-handed. No-one was injured in the incident.

Thames Valley Police is appealing for witnesses and is investigating whether it is linked to other burglaries.

One woman, who did not want to be named, saw the wrecked aftermath on Sunday morning, and said it was “shocking to see”.

She added: “At first we thought it might just be someone who had parked really badly. But then we wondered if it was a ram-raid.”

Sir Vince Cable accused the Labour leader of “collusion” with the Conservative government to enable Brexit to happen.

He admitted there was no clear evidence of people changing their mind on EU membership.

But he insisted a growing number of people wanted a vote on the final deal reached with Brussels.

Mr Corbyn says Labour is “not supporting” a second EU referendum, as favoured by some party figures like Tony Blair.

Instead the Labour leadership is calling MPs to have a “meaningful vote” on the Brexit deal before the UK leaves the EU.

Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, Sir Vince claimed there was a “simmering anger” within Labour about Mr Corbyn’s stance.

When it was put to him that with just 12 Lib Dem MPs, he had no chance of forcing another referendum, he said: “I think as we get through this year and we get closer to the final decision, and it becomes clear that we are going to get a very bad deal from these negotiations, he will be under enormous pressure to support a referendum on the final deal.

“I think the Labour Party will come round to it as well as a significant number of dissident Conservatives.”

Sir Vince said Brexit was not inevitable.

“The probability is that it will happen, but there is a significant possibility that it won’t,” he added.

Last month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights based in Costa Rica ruled such alliances should be recognised.

The court’s decision led to a backlash in the Central American country.

A conservative Christian evangelical preacher who has campaigned against same-sex marriage has become the most popular candidate.

In recent weeks, preacher Fabricio Alvarado surged to the top of opinion polls, campaigning against same-sex marriage.

In all, 13 candidates are running to replace President Luis Guillermo Solis of the centre-left Citizen’s Action Party.

Mr Alvarado represents the right-wing National Restoration Party.

He has gone from being an also-ran with just 2% support amongst the electorate to being the leading candidate in a crowded field with 17% support, according to a poll released on 31 January by the University of Costa Rica.

However, more than a third of the electorate appear to be undecided.

A run-off on 1 April seems certain as no candidate is likely to win the 40% of the vote required to win in the first round.