DYFED-POWYS POLICE have closed an investigation into an alleged rape and false imprisonment in Pembroke after deciding to take no further action. One of the two men originally arrested is now in immigration detention and faces deportation.

The incident took place on Main Street over the weekend of 8–9 November 2025. Police were called at 9:45am on Sunday 9 November after reports of a woman in distress. She was taken to hospital for treatment.

Two men – aged 36 and 27 – were arrested at the scene on suspicion of rape and false imprisonment. They were subsequently released on bail while enquiries continued.

On Tuesday (2 December 2025), the force announced the criminal investigation has concluded and no charges will be brought. A police spokesperson said the decision took full account of the victim’s wishes.

Outcome for the two suspects:

• The 36-year-old man has been transferred to the custody of the Home Office Immigration Enforcement team and is now detained pending deportation.
• The 27-year-old man has been released with no further police action.

A Dyfed-Powys Police statement read: “This investigation was not terrorism-related, and we have no knowledge of any linked incident in Monkton. All rumours suggesting otherwise are incorrect.”

The force has also dismissed separate community speculation that the men entered the UK illegally on fraudulent passports or were due in court this week on terrorism charges.

Detectives stressed that every report of rape or serious sexual assault is treated seriously and victims are supported throughout. Anyone affected has been directed to specialist services, details of which are available on the force website.

No further police updates are expected.

She tells jury Christopher Phillips repeatedly offered to babysit her seven-week-old son alone in weeks before life-changing injuries were discovered

THE MOTHER of Baby C – the seven-week-old boy allegedly raped and seriously injured by Christopher Phillips – has begun giving evidence at Swansea Crown Court.

Speaking in a barely audible voice from the witness box and frequently breaking down in tears, the woman (who cannot be named for legal reasons) described the rapid deterioration of her infant son’s health in the weeks after she began a relationship with Phillips, whom she met on Tinder.

The couple started messaging shortly after Baby C’s birth in November 2020. The mother’s Tinder profile featured a photograph of herself cradling her newborn son.

She told the jury that all of their meetings took place at her flat in Pembrokeshire. Initially, Phillips paid no attention to the baby, but after about three weeks he began showing interest in the child.

“He sent me a message saying that if I ever needed time to myself – for shopping or anything – he would stay in the flat with the baby,” she said. She declined the offer, explaining to the court: “I didn’t know him well enough to leave my baby alone with him. You don’t leave your baby with someone you barely know.”

Days after Baby C received his first vaccinations, the child began screaming in his sleep. The mother described the cries as sounding “as if someone was snapping his bones” – a family expression she said she had grown up hearing.

A few days later she discovered extensive bruising to the baby’s bottom, a swollen testicle and blood in his nappy. Alarmed, she confided in her sister and parents. Her mother (the baby’s grandmother) immediately suspected deliberate harm, referring to “some paedo” and urging her daughter to seek urgent medical help.

The following day the mother contacted her health visitor and GP. When she told Phillips about the appointments, he became angry.

“He wasn’t shouting, but his tone was different,” she said. “He was worried it would get out in the community and that he would be seen as a suspect. He told me to ‘nip it in the bud’. He said that once it had blown over he would put his offer back on the table – the offer to look after the baby. But I still wasn’t going to accept it.”

On another occasion she walked in while Phillips was changing the baby’s nappy and noticed Sudocrem around his finger “as if it had come from a pot”. She told the jury she did not own a pot of Sudocrem.

On 19 January 2021, following further concerns, Baby C was examined at West Wales General Hospital. Doctors examined his testicle and anus. The mother said she felt “horrible” taking him in but “relieved and reassured” when they were allowed home with advice.

Back at the flat, however, Phillips complained that her refusal to let him have alone time with the baby was “annoying” him and accused her of “micro-managing”. “I was just looking after my baby,” she said.

The mother then described the events of 24 January 2021, the night she dialled 999.

Baby C began screaming in a way she had never heard before. “It wasn’t a cry of pain exactly, but I knew something was terribly wrong,” she said.

At the time the screaming started, Phillips was in the baby’s room, supposedly changing his nappy. When she tried to go in, Phillips told her to stay in the living room. Ignoring him, she entered and saw Phillips fastening the nappy. He then left the room without putting the baby’s babygro back on – something she said immediately struck her as wrong.

Baby C was taken to hospital in a critical condition with catastrophic injuries. He survived but suffered life-changing harm.

The mother denies two charges of causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm and two charges of child cruelty by neglect.

Christopher Phillips (37), of Warrior Reach, Burton, Pembrokeshire, denies eleven counts of sexual penetration of a child under 13, four counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, all between 20 December 2020 and 25 January 2021.

Cross-examination of the mother by the prosecution is due to begin tomorrow (Thursday, Dec 4). Closing speeches and the judge’s summing-up are expected next week, with the jury likely to retire to consider verdicts on Tuesday.

A CONSERVATIVE MS has pressed the Welsh Government for answers after the sudden departure of the Velindre University NHS Trust’s chief executive, amid media reports that he raised concerns about alleged governance failures within NHS Wales Shared Services.

During Health Questions in the Senedd today, James Evans MS asked Health Secretary Jeremy Miles to explain why former CEO David Donegan left his post after just a year. Reports circulating in recent weeks suggest Mr Donegan had raised issues relating to governance, and in some accounts, possible criminality. These claims have not been substantiated publicly.

Velindre’s own 2024/25 annual report notes that the Trust “escalated concerns to Audit Wales and Welsh Government about the current governance of Shared Services, which hadn’t been reviewed since 2012.” No details of the concerns have been published.

Welsh Government response

Jeremy Miles MS confirmed in the chamber that correspondence relating to the issues does exist, but said it would not be appropriate to release sensitive material while internal processes are ongoing. He did not comment on the circumstances of Mr Donegan’s departure, citing employment confidentiality rules which are standard across the NHS and public sector.

A Welsh Government spokesperson has previously said that they expect all NHS bodies to follow “proper governance and HR procedures,” and that they “do not comment on individual employment matters.”

Velindre NHS Trust position

Velindre has not publicly stated that Mr Donegan was removed because of whistleblowing activity. The Trust has described his departure simply as a “change in leadership” and says it continues to engage with Audit Wales and the Welsh Government on governance matters.

Opposition criticism

After the exchange, James Evans MS — the Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health — criticised the Health Secretary’s “lack of transparency”.

He said:

“I am extremely disappointed with the Health Secretary’s refusal to provide clarity on the circumstances surrounding Mr Donegan’s departure, or to release the correspondence relating to governance concerns within Shared Services. The public must be able to trust that millions of pounds of NHS funds are being managed properly.”

Mr Evans said he will write to the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary formally requesting the publication of correspondence “in the interests of full accountability.”

Context: What is NHS Shared Services?

The NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP) manages national procurement, payroll, recruitment, estates services and other core functions for health boards and trusts. It sits within Velindre University NHS Trust but operates independently of its operational healthcare work. Governance arrangements for NWSSP were originally set a decade ago and are subject to periodic review by Audit Wales.

There is no evidence at present of wrongdoing by the Welsh Government or NWSSP, beyond the concerns referenced in Velindre’s annual report.