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Cabinet member fails to back leader over Bryn

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countyhallA PROMINENT Cabinet Member on Pembrokeshire council has failed to endorse claims made by the Council Leader Jamie Adams in a response to an incendiary letter from former Audit Chair John Evans MBE.

This weekend county councillor Jacob Williams revealed on his website that senior councillors, officers and Mr. Evans were summoned to an 8.15am meeting in the CEO’s office on May 16, in which Bryn Parry Jones threatened the use of private investigators to uncover the source of a leak to this newspaper.

David Simpson, spokesperson for Housing, has told the Herald there is only a limited point of difference between his recollection of events at a secret meeting held on May 16 in Bryn Parry Jones’ office and that of the former Audit Committee Chair’s.

A press statement provided by the Leader says:

“It is unfortunate that Mr Evans did not take up my offer for the two of us to meet together to discuss the letter which I assumed he had sent to me privately.

“The meeting with the Chief Executive to which he refers was also attended by several others, including the Chairman of Council and a Cabinet Member.

“They have a rather different interpretation of events to Mr Evans.”

No need to be accompanied

The Herald can tell its readers that while Cllr Adams was happy to meet one on one with Mr Evans to discuss the letter dated July 3, he baulked at the prospect of Mr Evans being accompanied to the meeting, which was scheduled for August 6.

Cllr Adams confirmed to the Herald that Mr Evans had requested that Cllr Baker come with him to any meeting with the IPPG Leader.

Jamie Adams told the Herald:

“I offered to meet with John Evans but when he asked to be accompanied by Phil Baker, I told him I did not see the necessity for a third party to be present. I believe John Evans misinterpreted the meeting with the CEO and it would have been cleared up if he had agreed to meet with me to discuss it privately.”

davidsSimpson begs to differ

In an embarrassing development for IPPG Leader Adams, one of the councillors at the May 16 meeting in the CEO’s office does not back the robust position the leader has set out.

Spokesperson for Housing (and Pembrokeshire Bench Magistrate) David Simpson has told the Herald:

“I have read the letter by John Evans. My only difference [in his account] of the event is that I did not experience any ‘hostility’ as described by John.”

What Jamie told councillors

The Herald can reveal that in a series of email exchanges with councillors, the Leader has robustly defended Bryn Parry Jones’; conduct. The Leader has claimed that far from bullying or intimidating staff, the CEO was protecting council officers’ interests by trying to get to the bottom of who leaked the identity of “Minute Meddler” Gwyn Evans to the Herald for our May 9 front page scoop.

In emails sent to councillors, Jamie Adams has claimed that – far from their being a difference in interpretation – Mr Evans’ account “does not accord with the account of the two Council Members present and also is not supported by the officers present at the meeting.”

Responding to the Leader’s email to all councillors, Pembroke St Michael Councillor, Jonathan Nutting, demanded answers from the IPPG leader:

“You have basically said that Mr. Evans did not give an honest account in his letter about his early morning meeting with Mr. B.Parry Jones.

“As this is a serious allegation in open email I demand you rapidly back it up.

“By tomorrow morning I expect a full account of the meeting by Cllr. David Simpson and Cllr. Tom Richards for all councillors to read.

“If this is not forthcoming I will take it that you have not got their backing for your words of condemnation.”

Brinsden calls for action

Tony Brinsden, the unaffiliated member for Amroth wrote to Jamie Adams in stark terms:

“Up to now I have had no wish to get involved with the emails and blogs regarding the “mishaps” of this Council over the past years. However your tirade has made me change my mind.

“You have the audacity to try to farm out the blame for some incidents on your predecessor, and this whilst you were his deputy. You question Mr Evans’ account of an early morning meeting in the CEO’s office.  I know who I would prefer to believe given your economy with the truth over the grant fiasco in Pembroke Dock and indeed with Mr Evans resignation.  Was he getting too close to something that you and the CEO didn’t want exposed?

“As far as the CEO is concerned why hasn’t he been suspended during Police enquiries?

“You are the leader of Council, show us you have some guts and suspend him for the duration of the Police enquiry.  If it was any other employee they would have been suspended immediately.”

 

 

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Surrogacy: Carmarthenshire solicitor calls for legal reform

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ON the anniversary of the Law Commission’s call for surrogacy law to be overhauled, JCP Solicitors’ Angela Killa, Director in the Family team, is calling on prospective surrogates and parents to better understand the legal rules around this complicated path to parenthood.

Proposing a new regulatory route for surrogacy arrangements in the UK, the Law Commission’s recommendations for the Government puts forward a change to the law so that intended parents would become parents of the child from birth in certain circumstances. Currently, intended parents must wait months to obtain a parental order ¾ which causes stress and anxiety, not to mention administrative difficulties when registering the child.

A Surrogacy Register would also be created under the new proposals, allowing surrogate children to trace their birth origins later in life. Overall, the recommendations laid out in the report would improve regulation of domestic surrogacy to dissuade UK residents from going abroad, as international surrogacy agreements can bring greater risk of exploitation of women and children in some countries.

A year on from the reform suggestions, surrogacy rates continue to rise in the UK – surging by 350% over the past 12 years. Now, legal experts say it is more relevant than ever to understand the full implications of entering a surrogacy agreement.

Angela Killa, Director in the Family team at JCP Solicitors, explains: “In the UK, a surrogate (and her husband or male civil partner, if relevant) are considered the mother (and father) of a child at birth. Intended parents must apply for a Parental Order, which is heard before the Court ¾ making it highly advisable for those involved in surrogacy cases to appoint a Solicitor.

“We often see immense stresses from both the parents and the surrogate, as the current law means that the parental order can take months to obtain which can be incredibly anxiety-inducing.

“For example, intended parents may worry that the surrogate will change her mind or will not give her consent freely, whereas surrogates may also worry that the intended parents may change their mind(s) or make unreasonable demands during pregnancy.

“This feels particularly difficult given the fact that many intended parents are likely to have dealt with a lot of trauma before considering surrogacy: many have faced fertility struggles and may even have dealt with the devastation of failed pregnancies or baby loss. For LGBTQ+ couples, there may have been additional challenges faced due to discrimination or prejudice. Therefore, empathy and consideration is of paramount importance when discussing this issue.”

The government published an interim response to the report in November 2023, with Maria Caulfield MP stating: “While we appreciate the importance of this work, parliamentary time does not allow for these changes to be taken forward at the moment.” Despite this response, legal experts working in surrogacy encourage the Government to take action and fully consider the proposed amendments. 

Angela explains: “The reforms laid out in the Surrogacy Reform Act by the Law Commission may help to ease the stress and pressure for all involved. The Government are encouraged to provide a full response as soon as possible so progress can be made in this important area of law”.

Angela Killa is a member of Resolution, a family law organisation advocating for a constructive approach to family issues.

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Community

Mayor of Bergen visits Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre

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IT was a Mayoral gathering when the Burgermeisterin of Bergen, in Germany, paid a visit to Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre in the company of Councillor Aden Brinn, the Mayor of Bergen’s twin town, Pembroke.

There to meet Burgermeisterin Claudia Dettmar-Muller and her colleague Silvia Bothe were two former Mayors of Pembroke Dock, Councillors Pam George and Maureen Colgan, and trustees and volunteers who run the Centre. Joining them was Pembroke’s Deputy Mayor, Councillor Ann Mortenson.

Trustee Peter Mitchell and colleagues gave a guided town of the Centre which has extensive displays on Pembroke Dock’s rich maritime and military history spanning just over two centuries, and its connections with RAF flying boats.

Pic By Martin Cavaney.

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Police ask motorists to avoid A44 trunk road due to heavy snowfall

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DYFED-POWYS POLICE have issued an appeal to motorists to avoid a 25 mile section of the A44 trunk road between Aberystwyth and Llangurig due to it being impassable due to heavy snowfall.

In a warning issued at 4am on their social media accounts the police said: “Please avoid the area and find alternative routes for your journey.”

Meanwhile, last night The Nags Head in Lampeter uploaded pictures of the snowy scenes in the area, and were encouraging customers to come in and sit next to their ‘nice warm fire’.

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