News

Badger and the big lie

Published

11 years ago

March 4, 2015

brynman and jamin HALLO readers. My word, UKIP supporters are a sensitive souls! Who would have thought a few inconvenient truths would have raised so many hackles. Badger particularly liked the correspondent who told me it was wrong to criticise UK IP’s policies because they had not yet produced their manifesto. How proud he must be to follow a party with no policies (apart from the obvious one). Badger is certain we can all rest assured that as soon as Brother Farage is able to type with more than one finger and work out how to stop spelling ‘banana’ w c will be faced with a literary tour-de-force to rival “Hurrah for Little Noddy”.

Back to matters Pembrokeshire, however, readers. Let’s put the Euro elections back in their empty ballot box. Over the last couple of weeks, while he has been slaving away over Latin epigrams, Badger has read the story of Beloved Bryn’s brush with luxury motoring with considerable bemusement. Not, however, amusement. He’s not even driving the Brynmobile. No readers: we are paying the lease and insurance on Beloved Bryn’s Porsche so Parry Jones junior can tootle to Valero every morning! That, readers that takes the biscuit! Badger has a question for you readers. One he has used before. One that he has been ticked off by his editor for using before. It is a short question. Badger is prepared to take the risk of having to stand in the naughty corner for a while to ask it. WTF?
Readers, even IPPG leader Jamie Adams must be aghast at the CEO’s complete lack of political nous. It appears as though, at least when it comes to insensitivity and arrogance, Jamie takes a distant second place to Bryn. When Jamie told the Full Council that he often popped along to the CEO’s office to engage in “challenging” discussions, when Jamie told the Full Council that he and Beloved Bryn didn’t always see eye-to-eye. did Jamie have in mind how the news that Bryn had availed himself of a Porsche Panamera Hybrid S with a list price of C85.000 would look and sound to a Pembrokeshire public told relentlessly that the Council can’t afford to maintain essential services?

Or was Jamie appeased by a trip around the car park in the Brynmobilc and playing Robin to the CEO’s Batman? Jamie is fond of harping on – like the good Toytown Tory Boy that he is – that all these spending cuts people complain about are the fault of the “Welsh Labour Government in Cardiff Bay”. Well, readers, there are two problems with Jamie saying that: Firstly: you can usually tell when Jamie is spouting (expletive deleted) codswallop. It happens when his lips move. Secondly: Cardiff Bay dots not raise its own taxes. it receives a block grant from the Coalition government in Westminster. With that block grant it has to allocate funding for services across Wales. The Welsh Government is funded nearly entirely by a block grant The Dynamic Duo: Bryn and Jamie are “on a budget” provided by the UK Treasury.

The change in this block grant is calculated using the Barnett formula, based upon changes in the budgets of Whitehall departments that deliver services for which the Welsh Government are deemed to have responsibility in Wales. Large increases in spending on the NHS and education in England therefore fed through to substantial increases in the amount of grant paid to the Welsh Government in the first decade following devolution. But cuts to government spending as pan of the fiscal consolidation mean that the Welsh block grant has been cut substantially since 2010-11.

The total block grant allocated by the UK government to Wales in 2013-14 is set to be 9.4% lower in real terms than that in 2010-11 (after adjusting for the transfer of funding for council tax benefit to the Welsh Government). Further cuts have been announced for 2014-15 and 2015-16, which, if implemented, would take the cut to 12.2%. So, when Jamie says it is all Welsh Labour’s fault, he really is ejecting a particularly large quantity of a substance with which, as a farmer, he would be intimately familiar. Readers, if Jamie’s was the only whopping porker we had to contend with that would be enough.

But it isn’t. Badger is not talking about the way the Council claims to overpay its officers because to get the best it has to pay the best. Badger isn’t even talking about the nonsense Jamie told Tenby Town Council about the rationale underpinning his decision (made with others) to give Beloved Bryn a whacking big tax break on his pension and to make unlawful payments to the CEO, to boot. Badger wants you to consider the following: Beloved Bryn became CEO of Pembrokeshire County Council in 1996. He was appointed at the top of his then pay grade and received a salary of around f60,000 a year.

The Council’s 2012/13 Accounts show that the Chief Executive received £194.661 in respect of gross salary, fees and other emoluments plus benefits in kind of £11,665. Corresponding figures for 2011/12 were £208,170 and £10,017, plus in that year, employer’s pension contribution to the local government pension scheme of £30,000. Had the lowest paid worker’s wage risen at the same rate as Beloved Bryn’s over the same period, a manual working for the local authority would be on somewhere near £25,000 per year. Care workers would be on around £27,000 per year.

Badger can bet his boots that there are no lowest pay grade workers on that sort of screw. The big lie, readers, is that senior officers have to be paid the same sort of wage as notional equivalents in private industry. However, senior officers in local government have blue-chip, gold-plated pensions funded by tax payers. Senior officers in local government have the type of job security a manager in the private sector can only look at and envy.

The idea that there are companies battering down the council office doors to get at the senior staff and spirit them away to the private sector is a lie of such size and magnitude that it even dwarfs the lie by implication that Bryn would have run away from Pembrokeshire if he hadn’t been given unlawful payments by his employers. Readers, if a senior manager in the private sector had presided over the number of crises and cock-ups that Bryn Parry Jones has, do you think he would still be in a job? If your name is Jamie Adams or Suc Perkins and you answered “yes”. please lie down. The nurse will be with you shortly to show you to your room.

Charity

Salvation Army calls for more volunteers across Wales

Published

9 hours ago

May 30, 2026

Tom Sinclair

THE SALVATION Army is encouraging more people to get involved in their local communities as Volunteers’ Week marks its 42nd anniversary.

Volunteers’ Week runs from Monday, June 1 to Sunday, June 7, recognising the contribution made by volunteers across the UK.

Across Wales, volunteers play a vital role in The Salvation Army’s community services. They help run activities and classes in community centres, prepare and serve food at lunch clubs and community cafés, support charity shops, and provide meals for people who might otherwise spend Christmas Day alone.

Lyddia Kibaara, The Salvation Army’s Volunteering Manager said: “We’re incredibly privileged to have the support of so many dedicated, kind people who keep our community services running.

“Time is the only non-renewable resource we have, and our volunteers give it generously. Their time transforms the communities we serve.

“We have families who have volunteered with us through the generations, students who are looking for their first volunteering experiences, people who can cook for a crowd, help others with debt advice, or share their digital skills to make sure others aren’t left behind.”

A chance to help others

Anne Evans, 74, began volunteering at The Salvation Army shop in Newtown after retiring and looking for something worthwhile to do.

She said the experience had opened her eyes to the problems faced by people in her community, including poverty, loneliness, relationship breakdowns and employment issues.

Anne said: “I enjoy talking to people who pop into the shop as everybody has a different story to tell. It makes you realise that you don’t know how many problems people can face.

“They are glad to have someone who listens to them and takes an interest in their lives.

“Also, with the rising cost-of-living, people appreciate that we sell items at affordable prices. That’s such an important thing for people right now. Life is becoming more expensive.”

‘More than just a shop’

The Salvation Army supports some of the most disadvantaged people in communities across Wales, including those experiencing homelessness, older people, people affected by drug and alcohol addiction, and those looking to develop skills for work.

Gary Chapman, 43, volunteers at The Salvation Army charity shop in Llanelli.

After his marriage broke down, Gary experienced homelessness for a number of years. He said volunteering at the shop had changed his life and helped him support others.

Gary said: “We are more than just a shop. We are a meeting place. A focal point in the community.

“We offer support, love and care in so many ways, whether through a friendly chat, a listening ear over a cup of tea, or practical help in someone’s hour of need.

“There could be one person comes through the door who is really struggling. Hopefully I can be there for that person.

“I enjoy interacting with people and helping them if I can. That’s what we are here for in The Salvation Army. We are here to help people. We are here to listen to their concerns.”

How to volunteer

Volunteers’ Week is an opportunity to thank those who give their time, passion and skills so generously, while also encouraging others to get involved.

Anyone interested in volunteering with The Salvation Army can visit: www.salvationarmy.org.uk/volunteer

News

St Davids lifeboats launched twice in one day after yacht damaged and kayaker rescued

Published

10 hours ago

May 30, 2026

Tom Sinclair

BOTH St Davids RNLI lifeboats were launched on Wednesday (May 27) after separate incidents involving a damaged yacht in St Brides Bay and a kayaker who had become separated from his craft in Ramsey Sound.

The all-weather lifeboat Norah Wortley was first tasked at 3:12pm to assist a yacht in St Brides Bay after its mast snapped and its sails were lost during gusts in a thunderstorm.

The lifeboat launched at 3:27pm and made its way to the scene, encountering patches of fog and thundery showers en route. Conditions were otherwise described as smooth to slight, with good visibility and winds of between three and five knots.

The volunteer crew arrived at 4:00pm and found the yacht had also lost engine propulsion. A tow was established and the vessel was taken safely to a mooring in Dale.

The yacht was secured to a buoy before the lifeboat departed at 7:00pm. The crew returned to station at 8:00pm and the boat was back on service by 8:15pm.

While the all-weather lifeboat was still at sea, St Davids’ inshore lifeboat was tasked at 5:18pm to a kayaker who had become separated from his kayak.

The crew launched at 5:35pm and headed to the south end of Ramsey Sound, off Treginnis Head. The casualty was located on Shoe Rock, where crew members helped him aboard and carried out a medical assessment.

The kayaker had been wearing a buoyancy aid and had a means of calling for help, allowing him to dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard after becoming separated from his kayak.

He and his craft were safely returned to Porthclais Harbour, and the inshore lifeboat returned to station, where it was back on service at 8:00pm.

RNLI inshore lifeboat helm Chris Limbert said: “This rescue was a brilliant example of why it’s so important to always wear a buoyancy aid and carry a means of contact.

“If the kayaker had been without a buoyancy aid, he may have struggled to stay afloat and get himself safely onto the rock.

“He was also carrying a mobile phone which allowed him to call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

“Our crew of volunteers are on call 24/7 to go to people’s aid. Never be afraid to call for help.”

Pic: RNLI/Rosie Rees

Crime

Haverfordwest sex offender jailed over child abuse material

Published

14 hours ago

May 30, 2026

Court Reporter

Registered offender used library computers to hide social media accounts

A HAVERFORDWEST sex offender who used public library computers to exchange child abuse material and discuss the sexual abuse of minors has been jailed for 20 months.

Euwyn Draper, aged 22, of Hill Street, Haverfordwest, appeared at Swansea Crown Court after admitting four breaches of a sexual harm prevention order.

Recorder Greg Bull KC told him the courts had “bent over backwards” to assist him in the past, but said those efforts had failed.

He told Draper: “I’m not going to lecture you because I would be wasting my breath. You knew you had to comply with the order.”

Secret accounts

The court heard that Draper had been made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order in 2024 after earlier convictions for possessing and distributing indecent images of children.

The order banned him from holding social media accounts in any name other than his own and required him to disclose relationships or friendships to police when asked.

Despite this, Draper secretly maintained accounts on a number of platforms, including X, formerly Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and BlueSky. The BlueSky account had been registered under a false name.

His use of Snapchat was specifically prohibited because of the platform’s auto-delete function.

Library computers

Prosecutor Megan Williams said Draper’s latest offending came to light on May 5 this year during a routine meeting with his offender manager at Haverfordwest police station.

When asked about his internet use, Draper claimed he only went to the library to watch YouTube and listen to Spotify. He denied having any social media accounts or communicating with anyone online.

But as questioning continued, he became “flustered” and admitted he had been chatting to a male online and had an X account which had not been disclosed to police.

Officers attended the library with Draper the following day to examine his digital activity.

After he logged in using his library ID and opened his Google account, police reviewed his X profile and found sexually explicit conversations between Draper and another male in which the pair discussed sexual activity involving children aged five and above.

The court heard that explicit photographs had also been exchanged.

Police also discovered that Draper had reinstalled Instagram after previously deleting the account in front of officers.

Previous offending

Draper has three previous convictions for 14 offences.

In April 2024 he was given a suspended prison sentence and made subject to the sexual harm prevention order for possessing and distributing child sex abuse images.

Within months, he breached the order by maintaining an undisclosed social media account. In September 2024 he was jailed for 16 months for possession of further indecent images.

When interviewed about the latest breaches, Draper answered “no comment” to all questions.

‘Immature young man’

Alex Scott, defending, described Draper as an “immature young man” who lived an isolated life in rented accommodation and acted “impulsively” in relation to social media.

He said Draper had co-operated with police by accompanying officers to the library and recognised the need to address the underlying causes of his behaviour.