News

Badger and the legend of Leighton’s gold

Published

11 years ago

February 26, 2015

THIS Friday is an important one for Pembrokeshire, readers. It may seem like any other Friday at this time of year, marking time to the inevitable twinkling of sleigh bells and relentless smuggery of Christmas, but this Friday is different. For this Friday, local authorities across Wales are due to answer to the call of Welsh Labour’s Local Government Minister Leighton Andrews and tell him exactly how they intend to throw themselves on the bonfi re of democracy that he wants to take place sooner rather than later. Now, after all that has happened over the last few years, readers might expect Badger to face the potential dissolution of Pembrokeshire County Council with equanimity. You would be wrong readers. Badger believes, fi rmly believes, in the ability of Pembrokeshire’s people to govern themselves. You can say what you like about the incompetence and fatuity of members of our current council. Badger has. Often. But we can at least say that, whatever their manifest shortcomings, those governing us from County Hall were elected by and are accountable to us. That is the nature of representative democracy.

Now, however, without a democratic mandate of any sort, Welsh Labour in Cardiff Bay has decided that it needs to sweep away local democracy and replace it with – well – readers, there is the question. For all Leighton’s big words and posturing, he is very thin on detail. In short, he is asking council’s to mortgage their futures not on a false prospectus but on moonshine and moon beams. Let’s look at some basic arithmetic, readers. Welsh councils face carving out £900m from their budgets in cuts over the coming years. Those are cuts that follow on from the Welsh Government’s decision to slash the grants it gives to councils so they can pay for essential services. Like education, bin collections, and elderly social care. We have already seen the effects of those cuts in the last couple of years, and there is a long way to travel down that path of pain yet. More and deeper cuts are the order of the day. But Labour will do nothing to ease the burden of cuts: Instead – and in a moment of blind panic – Ed Milliband signed up to a cross-party promise to keep in place a funding formula that costs Wales (very conservatively) £400m A YEAR in grants from the UK Treasury.

Into that toxic mix, Leighton has decided to throw in a fundamental shake-up of Welsh councils for no better reason than it suits Welsh Labour in Cardiff Bay to emasculate a tier of government and raise the Senedd above the level of a glorifi ed County Council. Think about it readers: Do you seriously see Mark Drakeford and his ilk as people with the nous and ability to outwit a stunned herring, let alone get to Westminster and occupy senior stations on the Labour benches? But to return to our fun with sums. On top of £900m in cuts, Leighton wants to burden councils with a shakeup that could cost as much as £268m.So: While services are slashed and burned, Leighton thinks it a jolly good idea to get councils to fund their own dissolution by fi nding another quarter of a billion pounds to go with the near billion they are expected to find already.

Leighton has given heavy hints that he expects councils to fund all of this from their reserves. Readers, there is fi scal illiteracy and blind stupidity. Badger would not seek to burden Leighton and Carwyn et al with an accusation of crass stupidity. Let’s just settle for fi scal illiteracy. If county councils dump capital onto the market – for example, commercial properties and assets – in a fi re sale to realise Leighton’s levy, what do you think will happen to property and fi nancial markets, readers? And what about the duty of councils to realise the best commercial price for their assets? Leighton doesn’t care. In his prison of fi scal illiteracy he does not think of consequences just of grand schemes. Like Del Boy in Peckham Market he will knock it off on the cheap to get it off his hands. So, with Welsh local government, in the hole to – say – £1.1bn, how much does Leighton think will be saved? £80m a year.

Maybe. He has not got a clue. Nobody does. In ten years, possibly, 12, the cuts and the costs will be made up for by alleged savings in local government. Maybe. He has not got a clue. Nobody does. Leighton’s gold is without substance because it has no basis in reality. He has not got a clue. Badger has a word for the idea that changing local government a la Leighton will deliver meaningful service improvements at a lower cost. Bulls***. Shedding a few Chief Offi cers will save bugger all in the grand scheme of things. Their scalps are just a convenient peg upon which Leighton can hang his hat. Emperor Leighton has no clothes. He is trying to bully councils with unspecifi ed penalties and even more nebulous (and probably) unlawful intervention if they do not bend to his will.

‘No change is not an option’, is Leighton’s call. Badger has heard that before, from Mark Drakeford, Carwyn’s Health Minister. Remember that one, readers? Consult on proposals and then press ahead anyway with a policy already determined by a panel appointed by the Welsh Labour Government. The Welsh Government carved up the Welsh NHS in such a way as it could force through its programme of cuts and closures in the teeth of public disapproval. That is what the Welsh Government wants to do to Welsh local government. Having centralised health policy in the Bay, the Welsh Labour Government wants to do the same with local democracy. There are those who might think it couldn’t be worse than what we have at the moment. Badger invites them to consider whether turning the Welsh NHS into an unresponsive, centrally run, bureaucratic mess operated by placemen and hacks is a template for success or failure. Put another way, do you trust Leighton enough to leap into the dark holding his hand in yours? Badger doesn’t. After all, Leighton was too gutless to be interviewed by The Herald.

What faith could you have in a man who will not subject himself to even the gentlest of quizzing? If you are still nodding along with Leighton at this point, readers, please bear this in mind: Leighton was in Carwyn’s Cabinet before. He resigned from his role as Education Minister after campaigning in his own constituency against a policy he was enforcing on the rest of Wales. This is the man Carwyn has charged with ramming through local government change. This is the man who tells us he is doing this not for party advantage but to deliver the best local government for Wales. ‘Hypocrisy’ is a terrible word, readers. But if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks… And don’t forget to ask your Labour candidate their views. After all ‘hypocrisy’ is a terrible word, readers.

Education

Pembrokeshire school named second in Sunday Times guide

Published

57 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

Luke Sinclair

A Pembrokeshire secondary school has been recognised among the very best in Wales, securing a leading position in a major national education guide.

Ysgol Bro Preseli in Crymych has been ranked the second-best state secondary school in Wales in the 2026 Sunday Times Parent Power Guide, a long-established benchmark for academic performance across the UK. Only Cowbridge School placed higher.

The annual guide, regarded as one of the country’s most authoritative assessments of school standards, compiles data from more than 2,000 state and independent schools. It also offers a range of practical advice for families, including guidance on scholarships, the 11-plus, and choosing the right school.

Helen Davies, editor of the Parent Power Guide, acknowledged the pressures facing the education sector but praised the commitment shown by schools nationwide. She said: “The educational landscape is testing – budget challenges, rising student mental health issues, special educational needs and an increasingly uncertain future.

“But there is also so much to celebrate from the dedication of teachers who are finding ever more innovative and impactful ways to enrich their students and give them the very best start in life.

“As well as celebrating the academic excellence of the top schools, it is uplifting to see how they are shaping their students to be ready for the 21st century, and instilling a lifelong love of learning.”

In addition to its strong showing within Wales, Ysgol Bro Preseli secured 263rd place in the UK-wide rankings. Elsewhere in the state secondary table, Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig was placed third in Wales, with Ysgol Eirias in Colwyn Bay following closely behind.

Now in its 33rd year, the Parent Power Guide was published online on Friday, 5 December, with the print edition set to appear on Sunday, 7 December. Final positions are determined by year-on-year performance, supported by editorial judgement.

The full rankings and analysis are available via The Sunday Times digital edition, and the guide remains a trusted resource for families seeking a clear picture of school performance across the UK.

Crime

Swansea man dies weeks after release from troubled HMP Parc: Investigation launched

Published

12 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A SWANSEA man has died just weeks after being released from HMP Parc, the Bridgend prison now at the centre of a national crisis over inmate deaths and post-release failures.

Darren Thomas, aged 52, died on 13 November 2025 — less than a month after leaving custody. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has confirmed an independent investigation into his death, which is currently listed as “in progress”.

Born on 9 April 1973, Mr Thomas had been under post-release supervision following a period at HMP/YOI Parc, the G4S-run prison that recorded seventeen deaths in custody in 2024 — the highest in the UK.

His last known legal appearance was at Swansea Crown Court in October 2024, where he stood trial accused of making a threatening phone call and two counts of criminal damage. During the hearing, reported by The Pembrokeshire Herald at the time, the court heard he made threats during a heated call on 5 October 2023.

Mr Thomas denied the allegations but was found guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to a custodial term, which led to his imprisonment at HMP Parc.

Parc: A prison in breakdown

HMP Parc has faced sustained criticism throughout 2024 and 2025. A damning unannounced inspection in January found:

Severe self-harm incidents up 190%
Violence against staff up 109%
Synthetic drugs “easily accessible” across wings
Overcrowding at 108% capacity

In the first three months of 2024 alone, ten men died at Parc — part of a wider cluster of twenty PPO-investigated deaths since 2022. Six occurred within three weeks, all linked to synthetic drug use.

Leaked staff messages in 2025 exposed a culture of indifference, including one officer writing: “Let’s push him to go tomorrow so we can drop him.”

Six G4S employees have been arrested since 2023 in connection with alleged assaults and misconduct.

The danger after release

Deaths shortly after release from custody are a growing national concern. Ministry of Justice data shows 620 people died while under community supervision in 2024–2025, with 62 deaths occurring within 14 days of release.

Short sentences — common at Parc — leave little time for effective rehabilitation or release planning. Homelessness, loss of drug tolerance and untreated mental-health conditions create a high-risk environment for those newly released.

The PPO investigates all such deaths to determine whether prisons or probation failed in their duties. Reports often take 6–12 months and can lead to recommendations.

A system at breaking point

The crisis at Parc reflects wider failures across UK prisons and probation. A July 2025 House of Lords report described the service as “not fit for purpose”. More than 500 people die in custody annually, with campaigners warning that private prisons such as Parc prioritise cost-cutting over care.

The PPO investigation into the death of Darren Thomas continues.

Crime

Woman stabbed partner in Haverfordwest before handing herself in

Published

13 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Court Reporter

A WOMAN who stabbed her partner during a drug-fuelled episode walked straight into Haverfordwest Police Station and told officers what she had done, Swansea Crown Court has heard.

Amy Woolston, 22, of Dartmouth Street in Milford Haven, arrived at the station at around 8:00pm on June 13 and said: “I stabbed my ex-partner earlier… he’s alright and he let me walk off,” prosecutor Tom Scapens told the court.

The pair had taken acid together earlier in the day, and Woolston claimed she believed she could feel “stab marks in her back” before the incident.

Police find victim with four wounds

Officers went to the victim’s home to check on him. He was not there at first, but returned shortly afterwards. He appeared sober and told police: “Just a couple of things,” before pointing to injuries on his back.

He had three stab or puncture wounds to his back and another to his bicep.

The victim said that when he arrived home from the shop, Woolston was acting “a bit shifty”. After asking if she was alright, she grabbed something from the windowsill — described as either a knife or a shard of glass — and stabbed him.

He told officers he had “had worse from her before”, did not support a prosecution, and refused to go to hospital.

Defendant has long history of violence

Woolston pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding. The court heard she had amassed 20 previous convictions from 10 court appearances, including assaults, battery, and offences against emergency workers.

Defending, Dyfed Thomas said Woolston had longstanding mental health problems and had been off medication prescribed for paranoid schizophrenia at the time.
“She’s had a difficult upbringing,” he added, saying she was remorseful and now compliant with treatment.

Woolston was jailed for 12 months, but the court heard she has already served the equivalent time on remand and will be released imminently on a 12-month licence.