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Pembroke Dock: Prince landlord narrowly escapes jail following benefits fraud
Suspended sentence: Keith
Francis
A “GREEDY and dishonest” Pembroke businessman fiddled more than £40,000 in benefits while banking over £2M pounds, a judge heard on Monday (Mar 30).
Keith Francis, aged 70, kept quiet about operating six bank accounts and owning pubs, a restaurant and apartments.
Francis, of Bush Rise, Bush Hill, admitted defrauding the Department for Work and Pensions out of pension credits worth £41,851.
Swansea Crown Court heard he had repaid just £2,431.
Merion Davies, prosecuting, said Francis applied for credits in 2004 but would not have been entitled to anything had he told the truth about his financial affairs. But he claimed to have no assets or investments, or any income.
Francis began to receive about £157 on top of his state pension.
But DWP officials found four bank accounts used by Francis and that £2.1m of income had passed through them while he continued to receive pension credits.
Francis had told the Department he had once been a publican, but had stopped in June, 2004, and would never return to the trade.
Officials then discovered he had a financial interest in The Moat House, Pembroke, which was being converted into 14 apartments, 11 of which had been sold.
He also bought the Molly Malone restaurant, Pembroke, in 2007, and also took over the Prince of Wales pub, Pembroke, and the Bush Tavern, Pembroke Dock.
“It begged the question,” said Mr Davies, “where all the money was coming from.”
Officials also discovered a mortgage application which stated that Francis made £50,431 a year and his wife Sylvia £50,250.
“That came as a complete surprise,” added Mr Davies.
Francis was interviewed by officials and still maintained he had no assets, income, pensions or savings, even though it was already known at that stage that he had been a director of six companies.
When told it could be proved he had banked £2.1m in four bank accounts alone between 2005 and 2012 “he just laughed.”
Mr Davies said to this day Francis had not provided the DWP with “a single document” and the department still awaited some sort of profit and loss account.
But, he stressed, it was not important whether Francis had been a successful businessman or not. He had been under a clear obligation to disclose income, irrespective of where it came from.
Francis’ barrister, James Hartson, said he was now £1m in debt. Most of the properties he owned were in negative equity and the courts had already issued a restraining order controlling £55,000 in assets.
That order, he said, would easily meet the £39,420 Francis still owed the DWP.
He described Francis as well thought of in the business community.
Judge Paul Thomas told rancis, “The case against you was overwhelming. There were several properties and businesses and it is inconceivable that you should be entitled to state benefits paid for by the rest of us.
“You are greedy and dishonest.”
Francis was jailed for nine months, but the sentence was suspended for 12 months because of his age, the state of his health, his lack of previous offending and his guilty pleas.
He was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work for the community.
Mr Davies said the DWP would ask Francis to pay a minimum of £1,200 in costs at a future hearing.
A SCHEME for a gypsy traveller site near a south Pembrokeshire village will be decided by councillors rather than officers after a call for it to do so was narrowly backed.
In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Ryan Boswell and family seek permission for two traveller family pitches, and associated works, at Greenwells, Cosheston Bridge, near Pembroke Dock.
A supporting statement through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd says: “The applicant and his father’s lifestyle and traditions fall within the statutory definition of Gypsies as defined in Welsh Assembly Government Circular 005/2018 ‘Planning for Gypsy, Traveller and Showpeople Sites’.
“Following the death of the applicant’s mother he, and his family need to return to cultural and traditional accommodation living in caravans. This site has been purchased by the applicant and is available for immediate occupation to enable the family to live in a tranquil and safe environment close to friends and acquaintances.
“There are no public or private pitches available within the county and unlikely to be so in the immediate future. The applicant has therefore identified and demonstrated an urgent need for appropriate alternative accommodation.”
It said it was not considered “this small-scale development for one family pitch for two static units in this location will cause any significant harm considering the more permissive approach provided by [planning circulars]”.
A call for a decision on the scheme to be made by councillors at a future planning committee rather than being delegated for officers was made at the December 16 meeting of the council’s planning delegation panel by local member Cllr Tessa Hodgson.
In her submission, Cllr Hodgson said: “This application has implications for the whole of Pembrokeshire, and this is reflected in recent decisions to refer earlier similar applications to committee.”
Her submission included references to a similar scheme at Pincheston, south Pembrokeshire, which had been referred to committee.
Cllr Hodson’s submission added: “This application for two gypsy traveller pitches will have an impact on the local community and is finely balanced between the competing interest of providing gypsy traveller sites against development in open countryside on a site which is not within the identified development boundaries in either the currant local development plan or LDP 2.”
It was recommended a decision on the scheme remain delegated to officers; a report for members outlining a list of criteria where it could be decided by committee, which it said were not met.
Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Hodgson said there was little difference between this scheme and some other applications in the Cosheston area which had gone to committee, suggesting it warrants committee consideration on the grounds the proposed scheme, which has attracted a petition of concern of some 178 signatures, was outside the settlement boundary, in the open countryside.
Councillor Phil Kidney moved Cllr Hodgson’s call be approved, against officer recommendation, so both sides could have their say.
“There’s community concern regarding this; I think if it goes to committee it gets a fair hearing all sides can make their representations. Sometimes these applicants are demonised, it gives an opportunity to make their case at committee. I’m quite happy to support it going to committee so everyone can get a fair hearing.”
Cllr Kidney’s call, against the recommendation of officer delegation was supported by three votes to two, with one abstention, Cllr Hodgson, on the grounds she had made the call.
The application will be heard at a future planning committee.
A PLEA for councillors to not act as “judge, jury and executioner” when the potential closure of fire-ravaged Manorbier is decided upon next year was heard at full council.
At the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, members received a petition opposing the potential closure of Manorbier School.
Manorbier Church in Wales VC School and its adjoining schoolhouse was severely damaged by a fire on October 11, 2022, which broke out in the school roof space.
After that, a ‘school from school’ was set up in Jameston Village Hall.
It had been hoped the school would be rebuilt, but earlier this year members of Pembrokeshire County Council backed a report of the School Modernisation Working Group which, amongst other recommendations, included a statutory consultation on proposals to discontinue Manorbier Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School.
The decision attracted strong local opposition, with more than 1,500 people signing a petition on the council’s own website calling for the school to be rebuilt, meaning it passed the threshold for a formal hearing by members of the council.
The formal consultation for the discontinuation of Manorbier closes in just a few days on December 19.
However, many of the council’s figures, especially on the level of surplus places at the school, have been strongly disputed.
Speaking at the December meeting, Richard Hughes, of Manorbier Community Council, said the council consultation was “deeply flawed and unlawful,” the quoted capacity figures after the fire damaged the original building “null and void,” with a true surplus of some 21 per cent.
“The school is clearly thriving under less-than-ideal conditions, your report claims 59 per cent [surplus], it’s misleading and artificial.”
He said the council was acting as “judge, jury and executioner” in its “deeply flawed” consultation.
Local member Cllr Phil Kidney said the staff, parents and pupils had been “living this process for three years,” adding: “At worst light we were misled for three years, living under this shadow, it’s not fair.
“We’ve been promised all along ‘we will rebuild this school; no matter what we do we will have to spend on this school, we have to hand it back in [a useable] condition.
“How members of staff have worked under these conditions for three years is amazing, the service they are providing in that school is fantastic.”
He criticised the consultation wording, feeling it painted Manorbier in an unfair light, saying it was stacked heavily in favour of St Florence school in a submitted question heard later at the meeting.
“We do feel there’s a hidden agenda, nothing more than a boost for St Florence school; we were led to believe was all about the positives and the negatives for the school; we have lost the trust in the director of education, we still feel we’re not been listened to.”
He said it was important councillors, when a final vote on Manorbier’s future, expected in March, keep an open mind “not just going along with the narrative: ‘We can’t afford it, and the figures are going down’.”
He went on to say: “We want to get the right vote, the moral vote, and get the school rebuilt.”
Cabinet member for education Cllr Guy Woodham praised the work at the school following the fire, saying he intended to “set the facts out” when it came to a final decision.
Leader of the independent group Cllr Huw Murphy said: “It just doesn’t sit right with me to close a school that has burned to the ground. Yes, we will respect the decision in March, however we haven’t handled the decision well. We need to do what’s right, and we haven’t done what’s right for Manorbier.”
Members agreed to note receipt of the petition prior to the final report before council in 2026.
Later in the meeting, Cllr Woodham disputed Cllr Kidney’s submitted question claim, Cllr Kidney telling Cllr Woodham: “We’ve put a lot of trust and faith in you on this consultation to make sure it’s fair and transparent. St Florence was referenced more times than our school, for a consultation I think it’s misleading.”
Cllr Woodham responded: “I will do my utmost to give a balanced report when I bring it back to full council.”
THE BADGER TRUST has published a new Cymru Badger Manifesto calling on candidates standing in the 2026 Senedd elections to commit to a science-led approach to bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and to maintain Wales’ current policy of not culling badgers.
The manifesto, released on Wednesday (Dec 10) as part of the charity’s Badgers Belong Here / Mae Moch Daear yn Perthyn Yma campaign, sets out the organisation’s position on badger protection, wildlife crime and bTB control, and urges politicians to reject calls for the reintroduction of culling in Wales.
Badger Trust argues that political decisions taken during the next Senedd term will be critical to the future of badgers, which it describes as culturally and ecologically significant to Wales. The charity says badgers have been present in Wales for more than 250,000 years and remain part of Welsh folklore, place names and rural identity.
Five key commitments
The manifesto outlines five commitments the charity is asking Senedd candidates to support, including defending what it describes as science-led policy on bTB, challenging misinformation in public debate, strengthening enforcement against wildlife crime, recognising badgers as part of Welsh heritage, and supporting local volunteer badger groups.
According to Badger Trust, 140 incidents of badger-related wildlife crime have been recorded in Wales since 2020, which it says highlights the need for improved reporting and enforcement.
The charity also points to the work of six active badger groups across Wales, which it says assist with rescuing injured animals, monitoring setts, recording road casualties and supporting local authorities.
bTB policy in Wales and England
Wales has not carried out widespread badger culling as part of its bTB control strategy, instead focusing on cattle testing, biosecurity measures and herd management.
Badger Trust claims that new herd incidents of bTB in Wales fell by more than 40% between 2010 and 2024, which it attributes to cattle-based controls rather than wildlife intervention.
The charity contrasts this with England, where it says almost 250,000 badgers have been culled over the past decade as part of bTB control programmes. It argues that bTB rates in England remain higher than in Wales and that the evidence does not show culling alone to be responsible for reductions in disease.
Disputed claims over culling
The manifesto challenges the frequently cited claim that badger culling in England led to a 56% reduction in bTB in cattle. Badger Trust says this figure has been misinterpreted and that studies cited in support of culling also involved additional measures such as enhanced cattle testing and biosecurity.
The charity points to statements from researchers and official correspondence which, it says, indicate that reductions in bTB cannot be attributed solely to culling.
Supporters of culling, including some farming groups, continue to argue that wildlife control should remain an option as part of a wider disease management strategy, particularly in areas with persistent infection. The Welsh Government has previously said it keeps its bTB policy under review in line with emerging evidence.
Call to candidates
Nigel Palmer, CEO of Badger Trust, said Wales demonstrated that bTB could be tackled without killing wildlife.
He said: “Wales is a world-leading example of how to address bovine TB through evidence-based policy. The progress made here shows that culling is not necessary, and we urge Senedd candidates to stand by the science.”
The manifesto is available in both Welsh and English and will be circulated to political parties and candidates ahead of the 2026 election.
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