News

Rapist councillor to appeal child sex conviction

Published

6 years ago

July 25, 2018

THE FORMER Mayor of Pembroke and convicted child rapist Dai Boswell is to appeal his conviction of historic child sex offences.

The Herald has been told by Pembrokeshire County Council that Boswell lodged an appeal against conviction and sentence last week.

The St Mary North representative’s conviction had led to calls on social media for him to be somehow ‘sacked’ as a councillor.

However, due to a 46-year-old piece of legislation, Boswell is still able to receive his allowance as a member of the County Council and there is nothing the Council can do to stop it.

The fact that the former Mayor of Pembroke, who has been convicted of a string of historical sex offences is able to continue to receive his allowance has caused understandable outrage. However, PCC are powerless to remove him as a councillor due to the terms of the Local Government Act 1972.

The power to amend the legislation and change the criteria for when a councillor may and may not remain in post is under the control of the Welsh Government, and amending the law would require specific legislation to the Welsh Assembly, which is now in recess.

The law currently means that steps to disqualify a councillor can only be taken if they fail to appeal to the conviction within 28 days of sentence being passed upon them – in Boswell’s case that no longer applies.

As he is appealing his conviction, Boswell cannot now be disqualified under the provisions of the relevant part of the Act covering disqualification until the conclusion of the appeal process and only then if his conviction is upheld.

To heap further misery upon the Council – which is copping an extraordinary amount of criticism – there is nothing it can do to either short-circuit that process or to take steps that would amount to going behind it by suspending the paedophile councillor until the end of his appeal.

When we asked the County Council to explain the position for our readers, a spokesperson told us: ”Pembrokeshire County Council is aware that there is some speculation around the position of Councillor David (Dai) Boswell following sentencing on 13 July for extremely serious sexual offences against two children.

“Unless the Councillor resigns from his position, the Council can only disqualify a Member if, since election, he has been convicted of an offence and has been sentenced to imprisonment for a period of not less than three months.

“Conviction is deemed to occur on expiry of the period allowed for making an appeal or application with respect to the conviction (the defence has 28 days in which to serve an appeal notice following conviction), or the date on which such appeal/application is finally disposed of. Councillor Boswell submitted a notice of appeal against all convictions and sentence on 16 July.

”Councillor Boswell retains his seat and is currently entitled to receive a salary. The Council cannot declare a vacancy until the appeal process is completed or, if the date is sooner, the date six months from which he has failed to attend a meeting of the Council, that date being 23 October 2018.”

In short, due to the way the Local Government Act was drafted almost half a century ago, a ‘conviction’ does not become what might be deemed ‘a final conviction’ until after a failed appeal and Boswell remains a councillor until that point and entitled to his remuneration as such.

However, a possibility remains open for the Council to pursue in order to rid itself of Boswell in a few months’ time.Under the law, if a councillor fails to attend a meeting for a period of six months, they can be removed and a by-election called.

Child-rapist Boswell last attended a meeting of the Council on April 23.The period of six months for disqualification runs forward from that date and continues to run at the same time as any period following conviction, sentence, and/or appeal. It is highly unlikely that any Judge would even consider an application to set aside any decision by the Council to remove Boswell from his Pembroke St Mary’s seat after the six month period had elapsed, unless further assurances had been given to Boswell by Council officers in relation to the rule’s operation upon him before St George’s Day or afterwards.

We asked the NSPCC whether they were actively lobbying for a change in the law to prevent such a scandal occurring again.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: “Boswell was convicted of appalling sex offences against children and it is right that he now faces many years behind bars where he cannot harm others.

“It is wrong that someone convicted of sexual crimes against children can continue to serve as an elected official for any period of time and we support a change to the law to ensure situations like this are not repeated.”

The key point is that it is a change in the law which is required, not unilateral and unlawful action by the Council, however well-intentioned.Moreover, the WLGA developed the same point in its press statement on the Boswell case.

After pointing out the extreme rarity of cases such as Boswell’s, a WLGA spokesperson said: “The issue in question is a legal anomaly in the current framework that needs to be urgently addressed. A guilty verdict does mean an automatic disqualification, following a 28-day window for a possible appeal.

“This is where the problem is located and needs urgent review, especially as this deplorable offence is a fundamental breach of the statutory duty that councillors have to ensure that all children within local authority areas are safeguarded and protected.”

Meanwhile, councillors will be ruing the advice tendered to Boswell by Monitoring Officer Claire Jones last year – namely, that he did not have to attend council meetings as seminars would do – that issue now is more to do with the confidence they can have in the Monitoring Officer.The Herald has spoken to a number of councillors, all of whom are less than impressed by the position into which the Monitoring Officer’s advice to Boswell has placed them, with one suggesting it would be hard for Ms Jones to regain members’ trust in the validity of her judgements in light of the mess.

Those feelings are intensified by the fact that had Boswell applied for a leave of absence under the rules, as a person innocent until proven guilty it would have been bound to have been granted. It is possible that in seeking to avoid one unpopular decision, a ‘solution’ was reached which has now come back to bite those officers involved in the original decision. A decision upon which no councillors were consulted.

That confidence will have been further eroded by the extraordinary debacle that saw members of the Council’s staff scuttling around County Hall to find records and a dramatic reinterpretation of the status of a sandwich lunch attended by Boswell in November 2017 before James Goudie QC was able to support the Monitoring Officer’s peculiar interpretation of the rules and regulations.

Community

Officials announced for 2026 Eisteddfod in Pembrokeshire

Published

4 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD returns to Pembrokeshire in 2026, and organisers have named the officials who will steer this major cultural event over the next year and a half.

With the artistic and local committees already established, meetings to finalise competitions and adjudicators are underway to ensure the List of Competitions is ready by spring. Committee members have also been voting over the past weeks to elect key officials for the Executive Committee.

John Davies, former leader of Pembrokeshire County Council, has been appointed Chair of the Executive Committee. Known for his deep connection to Pembrokeshire and extensive experience with national organisations, Davies aims to make the Eisteddfod a true community event, welcoming involvement from all corners of the region.

Tegryn Jones, Chief Executive of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, takes on the role of Deputy Chair (Strategy). With a strong passion for Welsh culture and language, Jones brings a wealth of experience working with local communities, visitors, and volunteers across three counties.

Deputy Chair (Culture) is Carys Ifan, Director of Canolfan Egin and a seasoned cultural organiser. Based in Llangrannog and originally from Llandudoch, Ifan has led numerous artistic and community projects across the region.

Cris Tomos, a community development veteran with over 30 years of experience, will lead the 2026 Eisteddfod Local Fund. Working with PLANED, a community development charity, Tomos has supported countless community enterprises and co-operatives in Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, and Carmarthenshire.

Non Davies, recently elected as Executive Committee Secretary, brings extensive cultural management expertise as Ceredigion County Council’s Corporate Manager for Culture. Having chaired the Cardigan Local Fund Committee for the 2022 Ceredigion Eisteddfod, Davies is well-versed in managing cultural projects.

National Eisteddfod Chief Executive, Betsan Moses, said: “We’re looking forward to working with John and the team over the next few months as we prepare for the 2026 Eisteddfod.

“There’s almost a quarter of a century since the Eisteddfod was last held in Pembrokeshire, and we’re very much looking forward to returning to the area. 2026 is an important year for us as we celebrate 850 years since the first Eisteddfod was held in Cardigan Castle in 1176.

“We’re looking forward to working in a new way within a catchment area which includes parts of another two counties, which is, of course, a chance to work with local people in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire again.”

Further announcements are expected in the coming weeks, including the sale of competition prizes and opportunities to donate the Crown and the Chair.

The National Eisteddfod will be held in Llantood from August 1–8, 2026.

News

Campaigners urge Welsh Government to adopt proportional representation for Local Elections

Published

5 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Tom Sinclair

CAMPAIGNERS are calling on the Welsh Government to introduce the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system for local elections, following moves by two councils to shift away from the First Past the Post (FPTP) system being blocked on technical grounds.

Yesterday (Nov 14), Ceredigion Council voted narrowly, with an 18 to 17 majority, in favor of adopting STV. This follows Gwynedd Council’s decision last month, where 65% of councillors backed the move. However, both councils have been prevented from implementing STV due to a requirement for a two-thirds majority under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.

In recent consultations, public support for STV has been overwhelming, with over 70% in Gwynedd and 67% in Ceredigion favoring the change. Only Powys Council rejected the proposal, despite 60.5% of its respondents supporting STV. Campaigners argue that the current system deprives voters of representation, citing that over 100,000 people were denied a vote in the 2022 elections due to uncontested seats.

The Electoral Reform Society Cymru (ERS Cymru) highlights the contrast with Scotland, where the introduction of STV for local elections in 2007 has significantly reduced uncontested seats. According to ERS Cymru, Scotland has had fewer uncontested seats in the last four elections combined than Gwynedd Council recorded alone in 2022.

Jess Blair, Director of ERS Cymru, said:

“Decisions made in council chambers affect everyone in those areas, so every vote should count. It’s absurd that councils choosing STV are blocked by a technicality, leaving them stuck with an outdated system that denies representation to thousands. The Welsh Government must act to avoid repeating the undemocratic outcomes of the last elections.”

Campaigners are now calling on the Welsh Government to introduce STV across all councils in Wales, ensuring representation that reflects the electorate’s wishes.

Business

Upgrades completed at Port of Milford Haven’s simulator suite

Published

5 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Tom Sinclair

UPGRADES have been completed to state-of-the-art equipment within the Port of Milford Haven’s navigation simulator suite at Milford Waterfront enabling marine professionals to receive bespoke specialist training. The virtual reality simulation system can safely replicate a range of scenarios that seafarers may experience in real world situations such as extreme weather conditions, emergency situations and escort tug work.

The upgrades provided by Netherlands-based company MARIN contain the latest hardware in terms of processing power and graphics, as well as upgrades to MARIN’s ‘Dolphin’ software, increasing the capability to create scenarios. These are complemented with new 4k visuals on 75” screens which increase the depth and field of vision, adding to the realism.

Recently, a training day was led by Training Pilot Captain Mark Johnson, assisted by ex-Pilot Andy Hillier, involving members of the Svitzer team as well as Pilots Matt Roberts and Ian Coombes. As part of the scenario, they were faced with a loss of engine power and steering along with worsening weather and sea conditions. The Pilots had to communicate with Svitzer in order to successfully instruct them on how to tow and direct a drifting tanker. While scenarios like these are uncommon within port operations, it is important to rehearse procedures that would be implemented if they are required and enhances participants’ skill sets.

Marine Pilot and Simulator Instructor, Captain Ewan McNicoll, said “This simulator suite has future proofed our training capabilities, both internally for Pilots and marine staff, but also externally for clients wishing to use the facility, be it for training purposes or research and development. We can create any type of scenario with any type of ship, ranging from practicing ship handling manoeuvres to emergency situations, it really is game changing! Working with our partners at MARIN has been a complete success and I am very proud of our new facility.”

For more information about training at the navigation simulation suite please contact the Port of Milford Haven at [email protected] or 01646 696100.