subject were fundamentally opposed to those of his predecessor. Hughes's term of office was also deeply affected by the tragedy at Aberfan in October 1966, when a colliery spoil heap engulfed the primary school, leaving 144 dead, the vast majority of them children. Hughes immediately flew to the scene, and helped direct the rescue effort and ensure the well-being of survivors. An inquiry was set up under Lord Justice Edmund-Davies which, amongst its conclusions, stated that Lord Robens, the National Coal Board chairman, had misled Hughes in claiming that all tips were regularly inspected. Hughes described the Aberfan disaster as the darkest days of his life. He spent much of his time developing the nascent Welsh Office, creating a new civil service structure in Wales and seeking to build the economic base. This included the opening of the Anglesey Aluminium smelter at Holyhead in his constituency. In 1967, Hughes was successful in securing that the Royal Mint be located at Llantrisant in south Wales rather than in Scotland or Durham, as argued by his cabinet colleagues William Ross and Anthony Greenwood respectively. The episode was regarded as enhancing the stature of the relatively new Welsh Office, as well as strengthening Hughes's position in the Cabinet. Minister for Agriculture In 1968 Wilson moved Hughes to become Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Hughes was disappointed to leave the Welsh Office, not least because he had done much preparatory work for the investiture of the Prince of Wales scheduled for 1969. This included sending a monthly letter on Welsh affairs to the Prince, then at Cambridge. At Agriculture, Hughes replaced Fred Peart, who was strongly opposed to the Common Market. In contrast, Hughes was a supporter, and a great admirer of Roy Jenkins. Despite an early gaffe when he told Danish bacon producers that their product was "the choice of the British housewife", Hughes fared better than most Labour incumbents in this post, and set out to boost home food production with incentives for producers of cereals and red meat. He also dealt effectively with the consequences of a severe outbreak of foot and mouth disease by ensuring that the recommendations of an enquiry chaired by the Duke of Northumberland were implemented. This action prevented another major occurrence of the disease for many years. During his time as Secretary of State for Wales, Hughes had favoured extending the nascent department's powers over