RESIDENTS in Pembroke Dock Market ward are being advised that a Notice of Election will be published on Thursday (Jun 4).

Anyone wishing to stand for election must submit nomination papers to the Returning Officer between Thursday (Jun 4) and Friday (Jun 12), between 10:00am and 4:00pm.

Further details about the nomination process will be included in the Notice of Election when it is published.

Nomination papers can be obtained by emailing [email protected] or by calling the Elections Helpline on 01437 775844.

The Statement of Persons Nominated will be published after nominations close. If the election is contested, polling will take place on Thursday, July 9.

Anyone interested in becoming a councillor can find more information on the Democratic Services section of Pembrokeshire County Council’s website.

Applications to register to vote must reach the Electoral Registration Officer by midnight on Tuesday, June 23. Applications can be made online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

Returning Officer Will Bramble said: “I would urge ward residents to register to vote and vote in the upcoming election.”

Poll cards will be sent to electors before polling day and will show which polling station they should attend.

Welsh Conservatives say victims deserve answers, but ministers point to UK probe covering England and Wales

PLAID CYMRU has been accused of turning its back on victims after the Welsh Government declined to commit to a separate Wales-wide inquiry into grooming gangs.

The row follows a written question from Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar MS, who asked whether the Welsh Government would bring forward an independent Wales-wide inquiry during this Senedd term.

In response, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Equality Sioned Williams said that, following Baroness Casey’s audit into grooming gangs in June 2025, the UK Government had already established a national inquiry covering England and Wales.

She also pointed to Operation Beaconport, the national policing response reviewing historic group-based child sexual exploitation cases.

Ms Williams said the Welsh Government would “continue to monitor the work and progress” of both the UK inquiry and Operation Beaconport, and would consider any further action needed in light of their findings.

The Welsh Conservatives said the response was not good enough, arguing that Wales needs its own inquiry to examine whether victims here were failed by public bodies, police, councils, schools, social services or health agencies.

Darren Millar MS said: “Victims and their families deserve answers, instead, Plaid Cymru have chosen to sit on their hands.

“A number of women and girls from Wales suffered unimaginable abuse. They have been failed and they deserve answers. We need to know what lessons have been learned and what is being done to prevent these crimes from happening again.

“By refusing to back a Wales-wide inquiry, Plaid Cymru is showing the same lack of urgency that has characterised Welsh Labour’s approach for years.

“The Welsh Conservatives have repeatedly called for a Wales-specific inquiry to establish the full scale of grooming gang activity in Wales, and will continue to fight for a full Wales-wide inquiry to ensure that the voices of victims are not ignored.”

The call for a Wales-specific inquiry has been linked to cases including that of Emily Vaughn, a survivor and campaigner who has spoken publicly about being exploited, trafficked and abused after being groomed as a child.

Supporters of a Welsh inquiry argue that a national England-and-Wales investigation may not examine Welsh institutions in sufficient detail, particularly where safeguarding, social services and local authority responses are delivered in Wales.

However, the Welsh Government’s position is that the UK inquiry already covers Wales, and that Operation Beaconport provides a national policing route for reviewing past cases and identifying lessons.

The issue is politically sensitive. Grooming gang scandals in towns including Rotherham, Rochdale, Telford and Oxford exposed serious failures by authorities to protect vulnerable girls, while also prompting wider debate over ethnicity, institutional fear, poor data collection and the risk of the issue being exploited by extremists.

Baroness Casey’s audit found serious failures in how authorities recorded and understood group-based child sexual exploitation, including poor data on perpetrators and victims. It also warned that difficult questions had too often been avoided.

Campaigners say the central issue must remain the protection of children and justice for survivors, rather than party politics.

The Welsh Conservatives insist that only a dedicated Wales-wide inquiry can establish the true scale of abuse in Wales and whether agencies here missed warning signs.

The Welsh Government has not ruled out future action, but says it will wait for the UK inquiry and Operation Beaconport before deciding whether anything further is required.

TATA STEEL has confirmed that a major fire broke out at its Port Talbot steelworks on Wednesday night, with emergency crews remaining at the scene into Thursday morning.

The company said Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service attended the site at around 8:00pm after a fire broke out at one of the site’s processing lines.

All personnel were accounted for and evacuated safely, Tata Steel said.

The blaze sent thick black smoke across parts of Port Talbot, with residents reporting alarms, sirens and a strong smell of smoke across the area.

Some people said they could smell and taste the smoke as far away as Maesteg.

South Wales Police urged residents living nearby to keep doors and windows closed as a precaution while emergency services dealt with the incident.

Images and video shared online showed flames and a large plume of black smoke rising from the steelworks, with emergency crews working through the night.

Tata Steel said at 8:00am on Thursday (Jun 4) that emergency services remained on site and were working with local teams to fully extinguish the fire.

The company said: “Mid and West Wales Fire Service attended the Port Talbot site last night at around 8pm to deal with a fire at one of the site’s processing lines.

“All personnel were accounted for and evacuated from the area safely.

“At this time, the emergency services remain on site and are working with local teams to completely extinguish the fire.

“The incident is not related to the safe and successful demolition of the empty, redundant Gas Holder earlier yesterday evening.

“We would like to thank local site teams and the emergency services for their prompt and professional action.

“Further updates will be shared as information becomes available.”

Earlier on Wednesday evening, Tata Steel had carried out the planned demolition of the empty redundant Coke Ovens Gas Holder at the Port Talbot site.

The company said the gas holder had ceased operation following the closure of the site’s heavy-end in September 2024.

That demolition was required to make space for future raw materials handling areas for the new electric arc furnace, which forms part of Tata Steel’s major redevelopment of the Port Talbot works.

Tata Steel has stressed that Wednesday night’s fire was a separate incident and was not connected to the controlled demolition.

The cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed.