News

Calls for Bryn to resign over council paedophile scandal

Published

10 years ago

July 15, 2014

backed bryn THERE are fresh calls today (Tuesday, July 15) for Wales’ highest paid council chief, Bryn Parry Jones, to resign. This time there is mounting pressure on him over the way Pembrokeshire County Council dealt with allegations about a former senior council youth worker who went on to be jailed for six years for sexually abusing a child.

And as a result of a BBC Wales Week In Week Out investigation into the case, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales says he wants to re-open the case files at the Council to discover whether children were left at risk. Children’s Commissioner Keith Towler told the BBC:

‘I’ll take look at it because I think what you’re raising there are very serious allegations. That probably needs an independent look. In terms of my responsibility as Children’s Commissioner, if I take the view that things happened to children in the past could help to improve the lives of children today then I certainly have got the powers of remit to take look at it.’

In 2005 a whistle-blower warned bosses that Mik Smith was behaving inappropriately with children and could pose as a risk – but Smith, from Haverfordwest, was given a verbal warning.

mike This month paedophile Smith was jailed for six years for sexually abusing an eight-year-old boy.

The offences happened after he’d been sacked. Whistle-blower Sue Thomas – who originally warned bosses about Smith’s inappropriate behaviour – thinks that the Council made a serious mistake when they gave Mik Smith a verbal warning in 2005:

‘I still can’t get my head round it because there were so many good hard-working professional people that came forward with complaints – I cannot understand why we were not listened to.

I can’t comprehend what type of person in management wouldn’t listen to it and wouldn’t be concerned and wouldn’t want to deal with it – I’m lost for words.’

Further complaints were made about Smith in 2009 and 2011, and he was eventually sacked in 2012 after a re-investigation was ordered by the Welsh Government.

Mik Smith’s recent court case has prompted questions about whether the Council should have sacked Smith sooner and whether it did enough to protect children who he came into contact with.

The Council’s Chief Executive Bryn Parry-Jones said that there were significant failings in the disciplinary standards used to handle the case. The Council says that its investigation at the time revealed no evidence of criminal activity, but it regretted that there were significant failings in the disciplinary standards in its education directorate in 2005 when allegations were made about Smith.

joyce Joyce Watson AM says this is the latest in a series of failures by the Council to properly protect vulnerable children. She wants Bryn Parry Jones – who earns more than the £228,000 a year – to step down. She told The Heralds:

‘I think it’s time for him to go and I’m not shy of saying that – he has been the permanency in all of the negative reports that have been there and there have been a number of them. You cannot be the highest paid Chief Executive in Wales because you are worth that money, and reside over failure. Repeated failure.’

The programme has spoken to an independent social worker who investigated the allegations against Mik Smith on behalf of the Council in 2005. The social worker told the BBC that she was “surprised” that Smith had been dealt with by way of a verbal warning at the time.

Bryn Parry Jones said that the council’s investigation at the time revealed no evidence of criminal activity and that since that time the Council has completely changed its procedures and management of the Education department and is confident that past failings would not be repeated now. The Council also said that no manager from the former Education directorate involved in the decision-making in 2005 is currently employed by the Authority.”

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10 Comments

Helen mills

July 15, 2014 at 8:23 am

Mr Parry be true to the wonderful people of pembrokeshire & more so to yourself & step down. No one in the sector you work in should be awarded the salary you take from these wonderful people who pay your salary be honest tell me what you do in a day to get this amount as you have minions that work for you so you sit back feet up as you can all see in this article.
A young lad scared for the rest of his life but Smiths gratification in minutes & forgotten about until the next time, terror runs through that young lads body how dare you & Smith get away with us h behaviour?
People of pembrokeshire need to shout louder.
Tomos

July 15, 2014 at 8:30 am

Does any one think he’ll do the DECENT thing?

There’s been no sign of that “weakness” in his personality, just sharp elbows getting to that tax funded trough and s** the weak,the disabled and the poor – who I always thought the state was there to help and support.

Now we find out our children were not safe, we’ve had enough from the IPG about paying the most to get the best ** HOLLOW LAUGH** , PCC are just going from one calamity to the next –

surely the memebers of this “party” must be SO ashamed of what has been done (or not done) in their names to get their special responsibility allowances – now they’ve found this sort of information they MUST get a back bone and think about the ppl of Pembrokeshire
Peter Warrender

July 15, 2014 at 12:39 pm

I know is salary and pension pot plus car allowance are an abuse to the council tax payers of Pembrokeshire. The councillors who allowed this abuse should be sacked. On the paedophile front the buck should stop with him, he is the CEO so must take full responsibility for what happens within the PCC. What else is he being paid a massive salary for?
Roy Mcgurn

July 15, 2014 at 1:09 pm

The Chief Executive is several layers removed from this case. His culpability, if any, stems from his cost cutting of council spending, particularly Social Services. Scandals such as this can hit even high spending authorities, so it is difficult to prove cost cutting is a direct cause of this case. However, in cutting costs, a culture of denial has permeated the authority, as some of their antics do not stand up to detailed scrutiny. (The recent irregularities in grants awarded in Pembroke Dock being an example.)If an investigation did indeed determine that this culture of denial was a primary cause of children being put at risk, then his position should be untenable.
Paul Hill

July 15, 2014 at 7:00 pm

The man has a brass neck, he is’nt going to walk away from his gravy train, he’s surrounded himself with allies and they are all in the trough, they will just ignore this as usual…
Lofty

July 15, 2014 at 9:27 pm

I was part of that investigation back in 2005 and witnessed first hand the inappropriate behaviour that monster carried out on our vulnerable young boys in his care. He lied, deceived and manipulated many to serve his own disgusting crime. I am pleased that all those who managed him have been removed from their posts and quite rightly so. We went through hell and lost a good colleague in the process – sacked due to his lies! I just hope and pray that justice will finally be done and BPJ is finally removed from his office too.
Tomos

July 16, 2014 at 8:21 pm

I’m not discussing this case, only the principle – It looks as though ppl who did nothing when Cyril Smith or Jimmy saville was guilty of dreadfully corrupt things, may well have their or their families reputations shredded or may even go to jail for doing nothing when they are caught possibly 20/30 years after the guilty are long gone – only warning those who think they afre safe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
woody

July 16, 2014 at 8:52 pm

Watched the documentary last night…Unbelievable! That the chief executive on 220k+ huge benefits per annum can wash his hands of this because he stated he was on holiday!!!!….Also he should be on his knees apologising to the very brave whistle blower after writing such a bombastic chauvinistic condescending letter in reply to her concerns. She lost her job over this and had to move out of the County while Bryn just went on holiday..Bryn Parry Jones needs to be pushed as his arrogance won\’t allow him to resign….No other institution in there right mind would leave this man alone in charge of washing dishes let alone being left in charge of managing millions of pounds of rate payers money …..Bryn Parry Jones and his cronies are a shambolic bunch of opportunistic amateurs riding the red wine jus gravy train.This is not the only scandal to hit Bryn and his lap dancing generals at the PCC…..when will the Welsh Assembly take a REAL interest in the internal incompetence and downright deceit that dogs this Council. I know of no one person who has a good word to say about this bunch of cowboys.Also was it true a memo went around the Council that nobody was allowed to talk to Bryn Parry Jones if they passed him in the council corridors as \”his mind was always on far greater and important things\” ?????..And does he really have a private lift installed to his own office????
Milford Matters

July 17, 2014 at 1:02 pm

Teflon man will escape again – nothing sticks to this guy – he will supported by his Council Cabinet Colleques and survive till the next election.
Keanjo

July 17, 2014 at 6:02 pm

Failure ,failure ,failure crisis, crisis ,crisis .When will it stop? When will someone assert their authority and help us ?

Crime

Pembroke Dock woman in court for failing to remove rubbish from property

Published

5 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Court Reporter

A PEMBROKE DOCK resident is due to appear before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court later today (Nov 25) for multiple alleged breaches of a community protection notice.

Sheena Deacon, of 13 Wavell Crescent, Pembroke Dock, faces charges under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which carries a maximum penalty of a Level 4 fine.

The charges stem from allegations that Deacon failed to remove accumulated household waste from her property on several occasions. According to court documents, the breaches occurred on September 19, September 26, October 2, October 9, and October 17 this year.

The charges indicate that Deacon, despite being issued with a community protection notice, did not comply with the requirements to clear and appropriately dispose of refuse and household waste from her address.

The Herald will bring updates on the case as it progresses.

News

Welsh Conservatives urge Labour to scrap ‘family farm tax’

Published

5 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE WELSH CONSERVATIVES have announced plans to bring forward a Senedd debate next week (Nov 27) calling on the UK Labour Government to abandon its proposed “family farm tax.”

The tax, introduced by the UK Labour Government, is being criticised as a move that will harm Welsh farming, threaten food security, and increase food prices. Alongside the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme and perceived “anti-farming agenda,” critics argue this new tax amounts to a coordinated effort to undermine the future of agriculture in Wales.

Shadow Minister warns of consequences
Ahead of the debate, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs, James Evans MS, condemned the proposal, stating:
“Labour’s family farm tax will put family farms out of business, threaten our food security, and lead to food prices rising. Only the Welsh Conservatives will stand up for our farmers, and that’s why we’re bringing forward a Senedd motion calling on Labour to reverse this decision. No farmers, no food.”

NFU Cymru expresses alarm
NFU Cymru President, Aled Jones, echoed these concerns, highlighting the widespread opposition from the farming community. Speaking about the impact of the tax on Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief, Jones said:
“Earlier this week, hundreds of farmers from across Wales journeyed to London to meet with their MPs and register their deeply held concerns about these misguided and ill-thought-out reforms.

“The proposals unveiled by the Treasury last month to introduce a tax on the passing on of our family farms to the next generation are a massive added burden. They will leave many farmers without the means, confidence, or incentive to invest in the future of their business.

“NFU Cymru reiterates its call for the UK Government to halt these changes.”

The motion to be debated
The motion, set to be debated in the Senedd, reads:
“To propose that the Senedd:
Calls on the UK Labour Government to reverse its decision to impose a family farm tax on agricultural businesses.”

This debate is expected to attract significant attention, with Welsh farmers and rural communities keenly watching for the outcome.

Community

Internet outage for two villages after exchange box destroyed

Published

7 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Tom Sinclair

RESIDENTS of Clunderwen and Llandissilio have been left without internet access following the destruction of an Openreach exchange box just outside Llandissilio village.

The incident occurred yesterday (Nov 23) when the box was reportedly demolished by a vehicle. The damage has resulted in a complete loss of internet services for the two villages, with repairs expected to take at least a couple of days.

Local residents have expressed frustration over the disruption, as the outage affects home businesses, remote workers, and households relying on internet connectivity for day-to-day tasks.

Openreach engineers have cordoned off the site, and work is ongoing to assess the extent of the damage. A spokesperson for Openreach has been contacted for comment but had not responded by the time of publication.

The vehicle involved in the incident has not yet been identified. Anyone with information about the collision is urged to contact the local police.

With repair timelines unclear, affected residents have called for increased communication from service providers to manage expectations during the outage.

“Bringing the community back online is a priority,” a local resident said. “We’re hoping Openreach can resolve the issue quickly and ensure it doesn’t happen again in future.”