Politics

John Rees-Evans: The donkey in the room

Published

8 years ago

October 28, 2016

John Rees-Evans: Potential UKIP leader

ONE of UKIP’s more colourful characters – in a party which has traditionally set the bar for eccentricity quite high – has thrown his hat into the ring for the party leader job.

Following Diane James’ fleeting spell at the helm, the role of party leader is currently occupied (again) by Nigel Farage, although it has been made clear that he is acting on an interim basis this time.

However, following the exit of bookies’ favourite Stephen Woolfe, who left the party after an alleged brawl with another MEP at the EU Parliament building in Strasbourg, John Rees-Evans announced this week that he was standing, alongside Paul Nuttall, Suzanne Evans, and Breitbart UK founder Raheem Kassam.

Mr Rees-Evans previously hit the headlines in 2014, after he was filmed telling protestors outside the opening of UKIP’s Merthyr branch that a male donkey had tried to ‘rape’ his stallion.

A series of the more outré claims made by elected members of UKIP was read out to Mr Rees-Evans, including a quotation from former UKIP Oxford chair Dr Julia Gasper, who claimed homosexuals prefer sex with animals.

His response, immortalised in full, ran thus: “Actually, I’ve witnessed that. I was personally quite amazed.

“I’ve got a horse, it was in the fields, and a donkey came up – my horse is a stallion.

“A donkey came up which is male, and I’m afraid tried to rape my horse.

“My horse bit the side of the donkey, and I had to give my horse a slap to protect the donkey.”

“So, in this case, [she’s] obviously correct but I don’t think that’s what it meant, it’s just a bizarre coincidence.”

It is worth pointing out that neither this incident, or telling a hustings that he urinated in bottles to reduce his CO2 footprint, prevented Mr Rees- Evans from getting 13% of the vote in Cardiff South and Penarth in the 2015 General Election – an increase of 11% on 2010.

Mr Rees-Evans, who grew up in Africa and was educated in 11 different schools, is a former soldier who trained with the parachute regiment.

After leaving the forces, he attempted to work as an ‘expeditioneer’, taking a wide array of jobs including pizza delivery and labouring on a building site to fund expeditions.

However, after the birth of his first child in 2003, he set up a tour company and, according to his biography, has ‘since developed a handful of other small businesses which span the tourism, business development, legal services and real estate sectors in Africa and Europe’.

Since coming to the attention of the British media, Mr Rees-Evans has had to play down a couple of the more headline-grabbing anecdotes which surround him. Prospective voters will be reassured to know that the ‘fortified compound’ in Bulgaria where Vice magazine interviewed him in 2015 is apparently little more than a garden with a wall around it.

Similarly, Mr Rees-Evans explained that rumours stating he persuaded a shop assistant in a Bulgarian Ikea store to let him carry his gun in case terrorists took over the building were also misconstrued. He admitted he did have the gun on him when he entered the store because ‘it wasn’t safe to hand it over to store security and I had some things I had to get.’.

In a recent appearance on the Daily Politics show, Mr Rees-Evans pointed out that the host, Jo Coburn, was focussing on these stories rather than his vision for the party: “Do you know, Jo, it’s really interesting what you’re doing because I am trying to tell you my serious vision for UKIP and you keep trivialising it,” he remarked.

“It [the donkey story] was a bit of playful banter with a mischievous activist. I would be so appreciative if you could please just understand the concept that I am trying to communicate to your viewers.”

One concept which has yet to be discussed was a policy proposal made by Mr Rees-Evans on his blog in the aftermath of the Paris attacks last year.

Warning that ‘a devastating Mumbai/Paris-style attack on UK soil should be considered inevitable and imminent’, he suggested that a ‘volunteer civilian defence force’, using existing Special Forces troops, followed by civilians ‘irrespective of previous military experience’ should be formed. This force, he recommended, should be ‘required to complete an advanced tactical IPSC-standard training course, with a view to obtaining proficiency in the use of several small arms, with emphasis on the Glock 17, and common variants of Kalashnikov’.

“Once qualified, VCDF marshals should be required to carry a concealed Glock 17, spare magazine, and not fewer than 30 rounds at all times, unless logged as inactive,” he suggested.

Marshals would be only permitted to engage combatants at ranges above 30m if ‘there are no innocents/ friendlies within 300 mils of marshal’s sight picture’. Firing a warning shot should also not be required due to the risk of ricochet in built-up environments.

A marshal would only be permitted to engage a target where ‘either a) a shot has already been fired or b) a combatant has raised his/her weapon to aim’.

Given that support for an armed undercover militia is patchy at best in Britain, Mr Rees-Evans may have a better chance of becoming UKIP leader if media attention continues to focus on his horse. However, it is worth mentioning that a YouGov poll taken in 2015 showed that 44% of those who voted UKIP in 2015 could imagine supporting an army coup against the elected government.

Community

Pembrokeshire town 4G phone mast plans withdrawn

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS for a replacement 20-metre-high 4G phone mast tower in north Pembrokeshire, which the local town council says would have “an unacceptable adverse impact” on the national park’s beauty have been withdrawn.

In an application before Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Cellnex, through agent Telent, sought permission to replace an existing 10m high mast with a new 20m 4G tower with three Vodafone antennae and nine mast head amplifiers, and associated works, on land at Dwr-y-Felin Farm, Fford Bedd Morris, Newport.

The application for a 4G mobile base station for the mobile network operator(s) (MNOs) Vodafone Ltd in conjunction with Cornerstone. The application site is owned / operated by Cellnex UK, a radio site infrastructure provider.

A supporting statement accompanying the application said: “The proposed antenna height of 20m is essential to provide new 4G coverage and replacement 2G and 3G service provision to the surrounding area. 4G radio signals are more sensitive to physical obstructions than older technologies.

“This is because the higher the frequency band the greater the reduction in signal strength, increasing the likelihood of dropped calls and reduced data rates for internet browsing,” adding: “Generally, the higher the signal frequency the more it will be impacted by clutter. It is for this reason that there is the height of 20m is required.”

It went on to say it “should be noted that a radio base station within this location has already been considered acceptable and has become an established feature within the area and the proposed upgrade albeit different in design to support the latest equipment will not be of substantial or detrimental harm to the national park, conservation area or heritage assets”.

Newport Town Council had objected to the application, saying: “The proposed development (if approved in its current form) will have an unacceptable adverse impact on the qualities and special landscape and seascape character of the National Park and also on the special qualities of natural beauty and tranquillity.”

The application has now been withdrawn.

Charity

Flats for veterans to be built at VC Gallery, Pembroke Dock

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to build flats for armed forces veterans on a former Pembrokeshire school yard/playing field next to veterans’ charity the VC Gallery has been approved by county planners.

In an application before Pembrokeshire County Council, veterans’ charity The VC Gallery sought permission for eight flats in two blocks of two-storey buildings, including wheelchair accessible flats, for Armed Forces veterans on land to the east of the former St Marys Catholic School site, Britannia Road, Pembroke Dock.

The former school, which closed in 2019, is currently used as the VC Gallery, itself an expansion of veterans’ charity the VC Gallery’s home in Haverfordwest, set up by Barry John MBE.

Documentation, through agent Pembroke Design Limited included a supporting statement by Barry John MBE, which it says “explains the issues that veterans face after leaving the services, the need for dedicated housing provision, the support that VC Gallery’s staff and volunteers provide and the gaps in current provision which the proposed development will help address”.

It added: “Although the development will provide and encourage independent living for its tenants, essential physical and mental support will be provided by the staff and volunteers in the VC Gallery as required, in accordance with individual veterans’ needs. Many will need a high level of support and the close proximity of the flats to the facilities and people on hand in the adjacent VC Gallery is therefore critical to the proposal’s purpose.”

Mr John’s statement said: “We want to create a unique offer to Armed Forces veterans in Pembrokeshire by offering up not just quality accommodation in a gated and safe environment but to also have a bespoke peer mentoring service.”

He added: “Working alongside our stakeholders The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and the OVA (Office of Veterans Affairs) we have secured a grant to draw up plans and to look at how the secured land at the VC Gallery Pembroke Dock can be turned into a bespoke housing solution for Armed Forces Veterans.

“We have Service level agreements with the local authority for specifically supporting tenancy in veterans which will also extend to giving vital counselling services. Our work with the health board and provision for peer mentorship also gives us great grounding for effective help on a practical level for the veterans’ village but we will need a more designated package around the housing we provide to include both mental health and also maintenance (something we don’t have at present).”

His statement finished: “We think the need is great, we have the land, we have the skills for care and the ambition to help. It would be a project above all social housing enterprises, and we want to make a go of it.”

Politics

Call to stop councillors being employed by MPs and MSs

Published

3 days ago

December 20, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to stop senior Pembrokeshire county councillors being employed by MPs or Senedd members is to come under greater scrutiny at a special council committee.

In a Notice of Motion submitted to the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, Independent Group leader Cllr Huw Murphy said: “While it is acceptable for Cabinet members to hold other employments, no serving county councillor should hold a Cabinet position within Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) while simultaneously being employed by a sitting Member of Parliament (MP) or Member of the Senedd (MS).

“Cabinet members hold executive responsibilities, and such dual roles risk potential conflicts of interest, particularly if Cabinet decisions conflict with the policies of their employer, often a political party. This concern is heightened in a council where most members are Independents.”

Cllr Murphy’s notice of motion was heard at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council where it was agreed the matter be referred to a future constitutional review committee.

In the registration of interests for the eight members of Leader Cllr Jon Harvey’s Cabinet, only Cllr Joshua Beynon, deputy leader of the Labour Group and Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies, lists a politician as an employer, in his case newly-elected Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell.

Responding to the notice of motion, Cllr Beynon has previously said: “This motion, which appears to target my unique position as a Cabinet Member for Finance and part-time parliamentary employee, raises serious questions about its fairness, legality, and intent.

“At its core, this is a politically motivated motion that seeks to undermine the principles of fairness and freedom. It attempts to dictate lawful employment choices of councillors, disregarding the importance of balancing public service with individual rights. Such an approach risks creating a chilling effect, discouraging capable individuals from serving in public office in the future.”