News

Drakeford: ‘doesn’t listen, doesn’t read’

Published

12 years ago

June 27, 2014

WHILE protestors outside the Senedd called for him to address them face-to-face, Welsh Health Minister Mark Drakeford hid behind a statement consisting of bland and complacent reassurance. The crowd called his name and cried “shame” as the former social policy academic remained inside the building. Accused of not listening to protestors and ignoring their concerns, further evidence of the Minister’s tangential grip on his brief emerged following the publication of a letter to Rebecca Evans AM for Mid and West Wales dated June 15. Rebecca Evans had drawn the Minister’s attention to Dr Martin Simmonds’ open letter to the Health Board, which slammed the Board’s plans for scrapping paediatric care at Withybush Hospital and replacing it with a lick and promise. The closing part of Professor Drakeford’s letter has caused some surprise among Withybush staff at the sharp end of the Board’s decision to slash services in Pembrokeshire. Staff have been told to relocate or else leave, with no prospect of redundancy pay if they refuse to uproot themselves and their family to work at Carmarthen. Putting it in terms that Mark Drakeford will perhaps understand, the Health Board will centralize key services at a location as remote from Pembrokeshire’s western Coast as Brecon is from his home in Pontcanna. In relation to Paediatric care, Dr Simmonds’ letter read in part [emphases added]: “I do not know of ANY paediatricians in Hywel Dda who have given their support to this service model. “Work undertaken by two senior nurses at Withybush has produced research indicating that the risk assessment for a PAU here indicates that it is neither SAFE nor resilient enough to serve the needs of the local population this remote from the hub Paediatric inpatient base.” Apparently, Mark Drakeford read Dr Simmonds’ words differently. He notes that “the Health Board will CONSIDER DELAYING implementation of the paediatric component of change to ensure the maintenance of safe services.” The response appears to indicate that, contrary to the Health Board’s repeated claims, the proposed changes are far from being “clinician-led” Note, please, the conditional expression. It is the same as that which accompanied the original conditional pledge to maintain paediatric services at Withybush in January 2013. Events have shown the true value of those words. The CHC were duped by the Board’s reassurance. If they had not been, events would have been very different. Stripped of the pretence of their changes being clinician-led, the Board’s plan to downgrade Withybush would have been laid bare for all to see. That observation rather gives the lie to another bland statement made by Mark Drakeford in his letter to Rebecca Evans: “I am advised that paediatricians support [the changes to neonatal or maternity services].” Quite how Mark Drakeford squares his assertion on the change to neonatal and maternity care with the outrage felt by clinicians at Withybush that their concerns were swept under the carpet by the Board; or worse, as Dr Simmonds suggests, the Board kept asking clinical staff questions and harassing them until it got the answers it wanted. “Please be assured that Dr Simmonds’ comments have been noted by myself and the Health Board. There is no intention to implement a service which is not supported by clinical advice or presents a material risk to patients’ health.” Quite how Mark Drakeford squares the content of his last sentence with the categorical content of Dr Simmonds’ letter is not made clear. Whether Mark Drakeford read Dr Simmonds letter or merely “noted” it, his reply to Rebecca Evans demonstrates that he has not understood it. If Mark Drakeford is unaware of the catastrophic effect on Pembrokeshire of what the Health Board is up to, it is because he and the Welsh Government are wilfully turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the obvious.

Crime

Haverfordwest sex offender jailed over child abuse material

Published

4 hours ago

May 30, 2026

Court Reporter

Registered offender used library computers to hide social media accounts

A HAVERFORDWEST sex offender who used public library computers to exchange child abuse material and discuss the sexual abuse of minors has been jailed for 20 months.

Euwyn Draper, aged 22, of Hill Street, Haverfordwest, appeared at Swansea Crown Court after admitting four breaches of a sexual harm prevention order.

Recorder Greg Bull KC told him the courts had “bent over backwards” to assist him in the past, but said those efforts had failed.

He told Draper: “I’m not going to lecture you because I would be wasting my breath. You knew you had to comply with the order.”

Secret accounts

The court heard that Draper had been made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order in 2024 after earlier convictions for possessing and distributing indecent images of children.

The order banned him from holding social media accounts in any name other than his own and required him to disclose relationships or friendships to police when asked.

Despite this, Draper secretly maintained accounts on a number of platforms, including X, formerly Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and BlueSky. The BlueSky account had been registered under a false name.

His use of Snapchat was specifically prohibited because of the platform’s auto-delete function.

Library computers

Prosecutor Megan Williams said Draper’s latest offending came to light on May 5 this year during a routine meeting with his offender manager at Haverfordwest police station.

When asked about his internet use, Draper claimed he only went to the library to watch YouTube and listen to Spotify. He denied having any social media accounts or communicating with anyone online.

But as questioning continued, he became “flustered” and admitted he had been chatting to a male online and had an X account which had not been disclosed to police.

Officers attended the library with Draper the following day to examine his digital activity.

After he logged in using his library ID and opened his Google account, police reviewed his X profile and found sexually explicit conversations between Draper and another male in which the pair discussed sexual activity involving children aged five and above.

The court heard that explicit photographs had also been exchanged.

Police also discovered that Draper had reinstalled Instagram after previously deleting the account in front of officers.

Previous offending

Draper has three previous convictions for 14 offences.

In April 2024 he was given a suspended prison sentence and made subject to the sexual harm prevention order for possessing and distributing child sex abuse images.

Within months, he breached the order by maintaining an undisclosed social media account. In September 2024 he was jailed for 16 months for possession of further indecent images.

When interviewed about the latest breaches, Draper answered “no comment” to all questions.

‘Immature young man’

Alex Scott, defending, described Draper as an “immature young man” who lived an isolated life in rented accommodation and acted “impulsively” in relation to social media.

He said Draper had co-operated with police by accompanying officers to the library and recognised the need to address the underlying causes of his behaviour.

Jailed

Draper had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

After giving him a one-third discount for his early guilty pleas, Recorder Bull sentenced him to 20 months in prison.

Draper will serve up to half of the sentence in custody before being released on licence to complete the remainder in the community.

Local Government

Milford Haven school redevelopment moves a major step closer

Published

4 hours ago

May 30, 2026

Tom Sinclair

£141.6m scheme could transform education in the town

A MAJOR step forward has been taken in the long-awaited Milford Haven Schools Redevelopment project after Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet approved the Outline Business Case for the £141.6 million scheme.

The decision, made on Wednesday (May 27), means the business case can now be submitted to the Welsh Government for consideration.

The ambitious project would see a new combined campus built on the current Milford Haven School site, bringing an English-medium primary school together with the secondary school, with some shared facilities.

The plans also include a 40-place Flying Start centre and a specialist Learning Resource Centre for 24 pupils with additional learning needs.

A new Welsh-medium primary school is also planned for Milford Haven, providing Welsh language education in the area.

Alongside the schools redevelopment programme, a new leisure centre will be created. Thornton Sports Hall is set to be demolished as part of the wider changes.

The next stage will be for the council to submit a Full Business Case to the Welsh Government before final approval can be given and construction can begin. Contractors are expected to be on site next year, with the new school buildings due to open in 2030.

The scheme has been discussed for many years, with local families, pupils, staff and the wider community waiting for meaningful progress towards modern education facilities for the town.

There has also been criticism locally over the slow pace of the process, including concerns about Welsh Government bureaucracy and the requirement for repeated business case approvals before funding decisions are finalised.

However, the Cabinet decision marks a significant milestone for one of the largest education projects ever proposed in Pembrokeshire.

If delivered, the redevelopment has the potential to transform education, childcare, Welsh-medium provision, additional learning needs support and leisure facilities for future generations in Milford Haven.

Business

M&S closure ends 69 years on Swansea’s Oxford Street

Published

4 hours ago

May 30, 2026

Tom Sinclair

SWANSEA city centre loses one of its best-known stores today as Marks & Spencer closes its Oxford Street branch for the final time.

The shop, which opened in 1957, has been part of Swansea’s post-war retail story for 69 years and was regarded by many shoppers as one of the city centre’s anchor stores.

The closure affects around 92 staff and leaves a major gap on one of Swansea’s most prominent shopping streets.

M&S said the decision formed part of its wider plan to reshape its store estate and invest in locations that better meet customer needs. The company has said the Swansea store had suffered a sustained decline in sales and that the ageing building would require significant investment.

End of an era

For generations of Swansea shoppers, M&S was more than a shop. It was a meeting point, a reliable food hall, a place for school uniforms, work clothes, Christmas shopping and weekly routines.

Its closure will be seen as another serious blow to traditional city centre retail, following years of changing shopping habits, online competition, out-of-town retail parks and pressure on large high street stores.

Although M&S says it remains committed to serving Swansea customers through nearby stores and online, the loss of the Oxford Street branch means many city centre shoppers — particularly older residents and those relying on buses — will no longer have easy access to a full-line M&S in the heart of the city.

Impact on Swansea

The decision has caused concern about footfall, empty retail units and confidence in Swansea’s main shopping area.

Council leaders had hoped to keep M&S in the city centre and have described the closure as deeply disappointing. The authority is continuing regeneration work in Swansea, including investment around the arena, the city centre and former department store sites, but the loss of M&S is a symbolic setback.

The question now is what happens next to the large Oxford Street building — and whether Swansea can attract a replacement capable of bringing shoppers back into the city centre.

Pic: M&S on Oxford Street, Swansea, closes today after 69 years.