Ministers have been urged to consider legal action over £432m “owed” to Wales by the UK Government for rail spending and increased national insurance costs.

Former Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price warned that a decision to reclassify an Oxford-to-Cambridge railway line as an “England-and-Wales” project cost Wales £360m in consequential funding.

Mr Price asked: “If the change was made without consultation or adequate reasoning, what legal hurdles would the Welsh Government face in bringing a case and what remedies might be available?”

Counsel General Julie James replied: “I don’t think that’s something we want to particularly take to court.”

Ms James pointed to an extra £445m for rail in Wales in the UK Government’s spending review, welcoming a “step change” in the level of investment.