Michael David Barrow, 48, of Priory Road, Milford Haven, will be sentenced at Swansea Crown Court after admitting supplying modified Fire Sticks and apps used to access subscription content illegally

A MILFORD HAVEN man has admitted a series of piracy offences said to have caused an estimated £6m loss to digital content providers including Amazon Prime, BT Sport and Sky.

Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard this week that Michael David Barrow, 48, operated over a five-year period, supplying adapted Amazon Fire TV sticks and apps that allowed customers to access paid television services without paying the usual subscription fees.

Prosecuting on behalf of the FA Premier League, Ari Alibhai KC told District Judge Mark Layton that the offending took place between October 2019 and February 2024.

“The offences concern the operation and supply of what is collectively termed a streaming service,” he said.

“This involved hardware such as Fire Sticks, but also app-based services to enable customers to access paid television services such as Sky, BT Sport and online videos which would normally attract a subscription fee, thus enabling customers to bypass the cost.”

The court heard that Barrow’s customer base was not limited to Pembrokeshire, but extended across the UK.

“According to Snap, he had around 1,800 users and was paid in cash as well as through PayPal,” said Mr Alibhai.

“It’s estimated that the defendant received approximately £213,000 while the scale of potential loss to the broadcasters is around £6m. This is not an exact sum, but it is indicative of the effects that this kind of piracy has.”

The prosecution said an aggravating feature of the case was that Barrow had previously been warned about his activities.

In 2021, he was sent a cease and desist notice telling him to stop supplying the illegal services.

“The notice indicated, in black and white, the potential consequences,” Mr Alibhai said. “He failed to respond.”

Barrow pleaded guilty to making and supplying applications, apps and other electronic data enabling access to paid television content without appropriate payment being made; supplying apps and other electronic data enabling access to pay television content without appropriate payment being made; and supplying Amazon Fire TV sticks which, when adapted, enabled access to pay television content without appropriate payment being made.

Given the seriousness of the offences, Judge Layton declined jurisdiction.

Barrow will now be sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Tuesday (May 12). He was released on unconditional bail.

Fresh evidence over Peter Mandelson’s appointment has piled more pressure on the Prime Minister as Welsh Labour faces a grim polling picture just weeks before voters go to the polls

FRESH pressure was mounting on Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday (Apr 21) after former senior civil servant Sir Olly Robbins told MPs he faced “constant pressure” from Downing Street to speed Peter Mandelson into post as ambassador to Washington.

The evidence has deepened a row that has already sparked calls for Starmer to quit and threatens to overshadow Labour campaigns heading into the Senedd election on Thursday, May 7.

Robbins, who was sacked last week, told a parliamentary committee there had been an “atmosphere of constant chasing” and “frequent phone calls” from Starmer’s private office as ministers pushed to get Mandelson into the role quickly.

Starmer has admitted the appointment was wrong, but has blamed officials for not telling him that vetting advisers were leaning against clearance.

The timing could hardly be worse for Welsh Labour.

A new ITV Cymru Wales poll published on Tuesday evening put Plaid Cymru and Reform UK level on 29% each, with Labour back on 13 per cent, a result projected to leave the party with only about 12 seats.

The same poll suggested First Minister Eluned Morgan could even lose her own seat, underlining the scale of the threat facing Labour in Wales after decades of dominance.

That bleak picture was reinforced by separate modelling published on Monday (Apr 20), which suggested Labour could be pushed into third place altogether, behind both Plaid Cymru and Reform.

The wider UK backdrop is hardly helping. The latest Westminster voting intention figures put Labour on just 16 per cent, behind Reform UK on 27 per cent and also trailing both the Conservatives and the Greens on 17 per cent.

That suggests Starmer is now leading a government with a serious authority problem well beyond Westminster gossip or internal party grumbling.

Even inside Labour, the language has become more ominous. Ed Miliband said he feared Mandelson’s appointment could “blow up”, a remark that will do little to calm nerves among Labour candidates already facing angry voters on the doorstep.

Although Labour MPs are not believed to expect an immediate move to remove Starmer before the May elections, Robbins’ evidence is likely to heap even more pressure on the Prime Minister at the worst possible time.

For Welsh Labour, the danger is obvious.

Instead of fighting the Senedd election on devolved issues alone, the party now finds itself dragged back into a Westminster scandal centred on judgment, transparency and competence.

In a campaign where voters already appear to be looking for change, that is an ugly place to be.

Whether the Mandelson affair proves fatal to Starmer’s premiership remains to be seen. But with just over a fortnight until Wales goes to the polls, it is becoming harder for Labour to argue that events in London are not poisoning the brand in Cardiff Bay too.

PAUL DAVIES and Samuel Kurtz have reaffirmed that the Welsh Conservatives are the only political party to make an explicit manifesto commitment to protecting services at both Withybush Hospital and Bronglais Hospital.

At a time when health services across Mid and West Wales are under growing pressure, the lead Conservative candidates for Ceredigion Penfro say local people must continue to have access to safe, high-quality care close to home. They argue that means safeguarding and strengthening vital district general hospitals such as Withybush and Bronglais.

Both candidates say they have led sustained efforts to oppose further downgrades at Withybush Hospital, working closely with residents, campaigners and healthcare professionals. They have also backed community campaigns and stood alongside local people in defence of essential services.

In the Senedd, Paul Davies and Samuel Kurtz say they have repeatedly raised concerns about proposed service changes, challenged Welsh Government ministers and pressed for clear assurances over the future of local healthcare. They have also written directly to Hywel Dda University Health Board and the Health Minister calling for action to protect key services.

They say that, if re-elected, they will continue to stand up for local healthcare services regardless of which party forms the next Welsh Government.

Paul Davies said: “We have long been clear that any further downgrading of services at Withybush Hospital is unacceptable. We have stood with our communities, supported local campaigns and used every opportunity in the Senedd to fight for the services people rely on.

“The Welsh Conservatives are the only party to make an explicit commitment in our manifesto to protecting services at both Withybush and Bronglais hospitals. That shows a clear and unwavering commitment to safeguarding local healthcare in West Wales.”

Samuel Kurtz added: “People should not have to travel hours for treatment that could and should be delivered locally. We will continue to hold the Welsh Government to account, whoever forms it after May, to secure proper investment and ensure these hospitals remain at the heart of our communities.

“Let us be absolutely clear: we will be relentless in opposing any attempt to strip services from our rural hospitals, and we will not hesitate to challenge anyone who threatens their future.”