News
Judgement reserved on Herald editor


Barrister Matthew Paul: Pictured with Herald editor Thomas Sinclair
THE EDITOR of The Ceredigion Herald appeared in court today (Apr 20) charged with breaching a statutory reporting restriction.
Thomas Hutton Sinclair, the 37-year-old editor of the Herald titles, was on trial for allegedly identifying the complainant in a sexual offence case.
Appearing in Llanelli Magistrates’ Court, Mr Sinclair maintained his not guilty plea.
Prosecuting, Emma Myles told the court that the allegation related to an article published in the Ceredigion Herald in 2016.
“The court will be aware that under the provision of the 1992 sexual offences act the complainant has a right to anonymity,” Ms Myles said.
“It is the Crown’s submission that this falls foul of the wording of this act.”
All written statements were accepted by the defence, and the case hinged on whether the article in question breached the Act in question or not.
The court heard from the record of a police interview with Herald deputy editor Jon Coles, in which he stated that he had received the court report in question from a Herald court reporter, and changed the tense from present to past, as well as fixing some errors.
Describing Mr Sinclair as ‘a hands-on editor’, he added that Mr Sinclair had the final word over what was published. Mr Coles stated that in this instance he had not been instructed to check whether the content complied with the law, though on some occasions he carried out this task when asked.
In an informal interview last year, Mr Sinclair told police that he had held the role of editor since 2013, although his training was in law not journalism.
He added that as a total of around 1,200 articles were published over the four titles each week, it was ‘impossible’ to edit all of them, and some of this work was referred to the deputy editor. In this case he had not seen the article until it was brought to his attention by the police.
When asked his opinion on whether the article breached reporting restrictions, Mr Sinclair replied that it ‘sailed close to the wind’ but would not allow members of the public in general to identify the complainant.
He pointed out that the defendant in the original case had ‘a common surname’ and that The Herald had not reproduced his address.
When asked if he would have changed anything had he edited the article himself, Mr Sinclair suggested that he may have taken out details of the defendant’s occupation.
However, he maintained that ‘any member of the general public would not be able to piece together who the complainant is’.
He also noted that the reporter who wrote the article had just been coming to the end of a probationary period at the time, and that his staff had already been booked onto a media law course.
Summing up, Ms Myles said that it was the Crown’s submission that by publishing this article, Mr Sinclair had breached legislation specifically aimed at that type of case.
“I respectfully submit that the legislation must be stringently applied,” she added, stating that details of the relationship between the complainant and the defendant in the original case which were published breached the legislation.
Representing Mr Sinclair, Matthew Paul set out the information revealed in the article – the name, age and former occupation of the convicted party, along with the date of conviction and a familial relationship which had existed at some point between him and the complainant. However, he noted that the date of the offence and the defendant’s address had not been included, and no indication had been given as to the age of the complainant.
His argument was that in this case there was nothing in the article which would allow any member of the public not closely connected with the convicted party or the complainant to make any identification.
Mr Paul stressed that for a conviction, it had to be demonstrated that there was a real, rather than a hypothetical risk of identification.
Referring to the case of the Attorney General vs Greater Manchester Newspaper Group he noted that it had been found that the risk of identification was not based on relative statistical probability but ‘a real risk’.
“The Crown has to establish more than a hypothetical, but a material risk,” he added.
Mr Paul noted that the Crown appeared to be of the position that placing the complainant in a ‘pool of potential victims’ was the same as identifying them.
“Identifying, in my submission, must mean only one thing; it must lead to one person.”
Mr Paul added that the familial relationship mentioned could apply to more than one person, and that there was nothing in the report which suggested whether it was an historical or recent offence.
He suggested that the most the article could lead to, if read by someone familiar with the convicted party and/ or complainant, would be to place them in a ‘small pool’ of potential people.
He also noted that this small risk of identification was made even smaller by the Ceredigion Herald’s circulation figures at this time, which amounted to a relatively small percentage of the county buying a copy, and the fact that the story was not placed online.
“Right from the start you are dealing with a low-level risk, made even smaller by the fact that the date of the offence was not mentioned,” he added.
“Overall, you are looking at whether this report would lead members of the public to identify the complainant – it is my submission that it would not.”
District Judge David Parsons reserved judgement until May 12 at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court.
Business
Beggars Reach Hotel sold to local business family for £950,000

A WELL KNOWN countryside hotel and event venue has been sold to local operators in a deal brokered by specialist business property adviser Christie & Co.
Beggars Reach Hotel, located in the village of Burton and set within seven acres of landscaped gardens, has been acquired by a local business family with a strong track record in hospitality and retail. The family also owns an established fish and chip restaurant in the seaside town of Tenby, as well as other commercial property interests in the region.
The popular hotel features 30 en-suite bedrooms, a restaurant, bistro-style breakfast room, and several function and event spaces – including a light-filled Orangery. With its sweeping views of the surrounding South West Wales countryside, Beggars Reach has become a sought-after venue for weddings, leisure breaks, and corporate events.
The property also holds planning permission for twenty additional guest rooms and a spa facility, offering the new owners scope for further development.
The transaction was supported by Christie Finance, who secured funding for the buyers within weeks of the sale being agreed.
Sam Roberts, Senior Broker at Christie & Co, said: “After the previous owner acquired the business through us early last year, unforeseen personal circumstances led to the need for a resale. We launched a full marketing campaign, which attracted strong interest, and we were able to secure a suitable buyer quickly. It has been a pleasure to assist with the sale of Beggars Reach for a second time, and we wish the new owners every success in taking the hotel forward.”
Tamara Ryan, Finance Consultant at Christie Finance, added: “It was an absolute pleasure to support our client with this acquisition. As an experienced and ambitious local business partnership, they have exciting plans for the hotel. We secured highly competitive funding within a few weeks of the offer being accepted, reflecting the strong appetite in the market for hotel investment.”
The hotel was sold off an asking price of £950,000.
Crime
Man avoids jail despite possessing child abuse images

A PEMBROKE DOCK man has been spared immediate custody after police found almost 70 indecent images of children on his mobile phone — including one image of a child aged around three whose hands and ankles were bound.
Andrew Davies, aged 36, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Tuesday (Apr 1), having earlier pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent photographs of children.
The court heard that officers from Dyfed-Powys Police executed a search warrant at Davies’ home on Brewery Street in November 2022. Davies was present at the property and handed over a mobile phone along with the PIN code to unlock it.
Upon examination of the device, officers discovered 67 illegal images. These included nine category A images — the most serious classification — 14 category B images, and 44 category C images. The images had been downloaded and stored in a password-protected application.
Prosecuting, Sian Cutter said one of the images showed a child estimated to be three years old with their limbs restrained. She told the court that all of the material was accessible on the device and had been intentionally downloaded.
In mitigation, defence barrister Ryan Bowen said Davies was “under no illusion as to the seriousness of his offending”. He said the offences dated back to 2019, and that the matter had been hanging over Davies for several years.
Mr Bowen added: “He has no previous convictions and is of otherwise good character. He accepts responsibility for his actions and has shown insight and a willingness to address his behaviour. There is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”
Sentencing, Her Honour Judge Catherine Richards told Davies: “The possession and viewing of child sexual abuse images causes direct harm to real children. It is a very serious aggravating factor that some of the images involve children as young as three.”
Davies was handed three prison terms of eight, four and two months, to run concurrently, making a total of eight months. The sentence was suspended for two years.
He must complete 200 hours of unpaid work and attend 25 rehabilitation activity days. He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.
Business
Valero refinery escapes Trump’s new tariffs

Fuel imports spared as US tries to avoid price hikes
THE VALERO oil refinery in Pembroke has escaped the impact of Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs on UK and EU goods, following confirmation from the White House that all oil, gas and refined fuel imports will be exempt from the new trade restrictions.

On Wednesday (Apr 2), Trump announced a 10% baseline tariff on all imports into the United States, with higher duties targeting key trading partners including Britain and the European Union. The move has sparked fears of a deepening global trade war, with UK manufacturers, farmers, and exporters among those facing fresh barriers to the American market.
However, a White House official told Reuters that energy imports would be excluded entirely from the tariff measures. The exemption, which applies to crude oil, natural gas, petrol, diesel and jet fuel, is designed to prevent supply disruptions and price spikes in the United States, particularly on the East Coast, where fuel imports from Europe play a vital role.
Relief for Pembrokeshire
The announcement is a major relief for Pembrokeshire, where the Valero refinery at Rhoscrowther remains one of the area’s largest employers. Hundreds of local jobs depend directly on the refinery, with many more supported through contractors, hauliers, suppliers and businesses tied to the energy sector.
A local business owner in Pembroke Dock said: “This is brilliant news for the area. Valero keeps a lot of people in work around here, and the last thing we needed was more uncertainty from across the Atlantic.”
While other Welsh exports—including lamb, steel and whisky—face an uphill battle under the new tariffs, Pembroke’s key fuel production facility has been spared thanks to a combination of its strategic importance and ownership.
American-owned, Atlantic-focused
Valero Energy Corporation, which owns the Pembroke site, is a US-based multinational headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The company is one of the largest independent refiners in the world, and acquired the Pembroke refinery in 2011 from Chevron for $730 million.
The deal also included a vast logistics and retail network across the UK and Ireland, including four product pipelines, 11 fuel terminals, a 14,000-barrel-per-day aviation fuels business, and more than 1,000 Texaco-branded forecourts—making it the largest branded dealer network in the UK.
At the time of the acquisition, Valero’s Chairman and CEO Bill Klesse said the move would allow the company to supply the US East Coast market more competitively, particularly after exiting US East Coast refining operations in 2010. “The Pembroke refinery remained profitable even during the depths of the economic downturn,” Klesse said. “We expect that it will be immediately accretive to earnings per share.”
Fuel to flow when economics align
The Pembroke refinery has a processing capacity of 270,000 barrels per day, making it one of the most complex and flexible in Europe. It produces around 3.6 million gallons of petrol and 2.2 million gallons of diesel daily and can process more than 60 different types of crude oil.
While exact export volumes to the United States are not publicly disclosed, the site is considered a key part of Valero’s Atlantic Basin margin optimisation strategy—designed to move fuel between Europe and the US when market conditions are favourable. Europe remains a major supplier of refined fuel to the US East Coast, where refining capacity has declined.
An energy analyst told The Herald: “Even if Pembroke isn’t exporting to the US every day, it’s a crucial part of Valero’s strategy. When the economics make sense, diesel or jet fuel from Wales can and does flow to the US. That’s why the White House exemption matters—it keeps those channels open.”
Wider Welsh economy still exposed
While Valero and the Pembroke refinery are protected under the exemption, other Welsh sectors are now facing harsh realities. Exports such as Welsh lamb, whisky, steel and car components are now subject to tariffs that could reduce competitiveness in one of Wales’ most important markets.
Welsh Liberal Democrat MP David Chadwick said: “Donald Trump has launched a destructive trade war that threatens the jobs and living standards of people right across Wales. This needs to be brought to an end quickly, and the Prime Minister should be forming a coalition of allies—Canada, Australia, the EU—to stand against this. If the Government gives in to Trump’s threats, it will only encourage more bullying tactics in future.”
Looking ahead: volatile politics, stable demand
Although energy has been exempted for now, industry insiders warn that volatility remains high.
“The US exemption is about fuel supply and domestic prices,” the analyst added. “If demand or political calculations shift, exemptions could change too. Wales can’t afford to be complacent.”
One refinery worker put it more bluntly: “We’ve dodged this bullet, but with Trump, the safety’s always off.”

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