News
Pembroke Dock: Emergency services in port terror drill

Exercise: Police at Pembroke Port on Jan 7 (Pic: M Hillen/Herald)
A major emergency services exercise is taking place in the Pembroke Port area today (Jan 7).
The drill follows two front page stories in The Herald which exposed that there were weaknesses in security at local ports.
A police spokesman told The Herald: “The emergency services are testing key elements of policing and partner response plans to a major security threat.
“There will be a visible increase in the number of emergency services personnel in the Pembroke Dock Port area.
“The exercise will include representatives from all the emergency services and from commercial and maritime services.
“This is the last of three pre-planned exercises to be held in the area. There is no cause for alarm and members of the public can continue with their everyday business in the normal manner.
“The exercise will have no impact on day to day policing.”
The Herald revealed towards the end of last year that even serving police officers were concerned about the level of security at Pembrokeshire’s ports.
In a 30-minute phone call with one Dyfed-Powys officer, whose name and rank we did not disclose, this newspaper was told that he and many of his colleagues are extremely worried about cutbacks in the policing of ports.
The phone call came following the first front page story, in November, about the Paris terror attacks leading to concerns over port security.
In a move, which seems extraordinary in the wake of the increased threat of terrorism to the United Kingdom from ISIL (Islamic State), Dyfed-Powys Police will be pressing ahead, the officer said, with axing the post of ten special branch officers from within the Wales Extremism and Counter-Terrorism Unit (WECTU) covering Pembroke and Fishguard ports.
“We are worried that a terrorist will be able to get on a ferry in Cherbourg in France, change in Rosslare and then enter the United Kingdom without any proper checks.”
“Cuts are already starting and will be fully implemented within the next three years.
“Even senior managers are worried. I think the public need to know how crazy this situation is.
“How would we stop person getting on a ferry with a Kalashnikov causing an incident out at sea? Proper checks need to be made.”
Our police source told us: “The simple fact is that with the reductions planned we will no longer be able to be at every sailing, and people coming into the UK will no longer be checked.”
Speaking in November, a spokesperson for South Wales Police which leads the WECTU team told The Herald: “Counter terrorism policing has well established and extremely effective mechanisms for protecting the public. However, we recognise that as terrorists create a wider range of global, local and virtual threats, CT policing must also adapt and have the flexibility to meet these new challenges.
“A comprehensive national programme to help improve how we use counter terrorism policing resources to protect the public has been underway for two years. We are identifying how we can use resources more effectively, enhance working practices, and continuously improve our infrastructure across the country.
“These measures will ensure that CT policing has the flexibility to prioritise its resources in the places where there is the greatest threat and risk, while maintaining our capacity to tackle terrorism across all parts of the UK.
“Addressing the financial challenges is an ongoing process for policing across Wales. The national UK terrorism threat level is continuously reviewed and this will form part of our response to demand management.
“In addition, WECTU does not discuss operational matters due to national security.”

On land and on sea: Ribs were part of the exercise
Crime
Woman stabbed partner in Haverfordwest before handing herself in
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.
News
BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story
THE BBC has issued a formal apology and amended a six-year-old article written by BBC Wales Business Correspondent Huw Thomas after its Executive Complaints Unit ruled that the original headline and wording gave an “incorrect impression” that Herald editor Tom Sinclair was personally liable for tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

The 2019 report, originally headlined “Herald newspaper editor Tom Sinclair has £70,000 debts”, has now been changed.
The ECU found: “The wording of the article and its headline could have led readers to form the incorrect impression that the debt was Mr Sinclair’s personal responsibility… In that respect the article failed to meet the BBC’s standards of due accuracy.”
Mr Sinclair said: “I’m grateful to the ECU for the apology and for correcting the personal-liability impression that caused real harm for six years. However, the article still links the debts to ‘the group which publishes The Herald’ when in fact they related to printing companies that were dissolved two years before the Herald was founded in 2013. I have asked the BBC to add that final clarification so the record is completely accurate.”
A formal apology and correction of this kind from the BBC is extremely rare, especially for a story more than six years old.
Business
First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead
THE FIRST ship carrying major components for Dragon LNG’s new onshore wind turbines
docked at Pembroke Port yesterday afternoon last week, marking the start of physical
deliveries for the multi-million-pound renewable energy project.
The Maltese-registered general cargo vessel Peak Bergen berthed at Pembroke Dock on
shortly after 4pm on Wednesday 26th November, bringing tower sections and other heavy
components for the three Enercon turbines that will eventually stand on land adjacent to the
existing gas terminal at Waterston.
A second vessel, the Irish-flagged Wilson Flex IV, has arrived in Pembroke Port today is
due to arrive in the early hours of this morning (Thursday) carrying the giant rotor blades.
The deliveries follow a successful trial convoy on 25 November, when police-escorted low-
loader trailers carried dummy loads along the planned route from the port through
Pembroke, past Waterloo roundabout and up the A477 to the Dragon LNG site.
Dragon LNG’s Community and Social Performance Officer, Lynette Round, confirmed the
latest movements in emails to the Herald.
“The Peak Bergen arrived last week yesterday with the first components,” she said. “We are
expecting another delivery tomorrow (Thursday) onboard the Wilson Flex IV. This will be
blades and is currently showing an ETA of approximately 03:30.”
The £14.3 million project, approved by Welsh Ministers last year, will see three turbines with
a combined capacity of up to 13.5 MW erected on company-owned land next to the LNG
terminal. Once operational – expected in late 2026 – they will generate enough electricity to
power the entire site, significantly reducing its carbon footprint.
Port of Milford Haven shipping movements showed the Peak Bergen approaching the Haven
throughout Wednesday morning before finally tying up at the cargo berth in Pembroke Dock.
Cranes began unloading operations yesterday evening.
The Weather conditions are currently were favourable for this morning’s the arrival of
the Wilson Flex IV, which was tracking south of the Smalls at midnight.
The abnormal-load convoys carrying the components from the port to Waterston are
expected to begin early next year, subject to final police and highway approvals.
A community benefit fund linked to the project will provide training opportunities and energy-
bill support for residents in nearby Waterston, Llanstadwell and Neyland.
Further updates will be issued by Dragon LNG as the Port of Milford Haven as the delivery
programme continues.
Photo: Martin Cavaney
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