A ROUTINE training night for volunteers quickly took a turn which saw them participate in two service launches before going home.

On Wednesday 23 April volunteer crew from Fishguard RNLI launched for a routine training exercise being co-ordinated by HM Coastguard in Milford Haven.

The exercise saw the charity’s Fishguard based Trent class all-weather lifeboat (ALB) Blue Peter VII launch and travel up to Cemais Head near Cardigan where it would meet with lifeboats from New Quay and Cardigan.

When conducting a search for a casualty, multiple assets may be sent to the location to cover a larger area quicker than one vessel. Colleagues in HM Coastguard must demonstrate that they are able to coordinate such a search, managing the assets which are on scene which was the purpose of this exercise, but also provided excellent experience for all crews involved.

Having completed all actions requested by HM Coastguard the ALB returned to the station to end the exercise. Whilst crew were placing the lifeboat on to the moorings a query was received from HM Coastguard as to whether crew had observed anything in the direction of Newport following a report to them of a red parachute flare being seen in the area.

Crew were asked to standby as HM Coastguard made further enquiries. At 10.35pm the volunteer crew were paged with a request to launch both Fishguard’s ALB, and the D class inshore lifeboat (ILB) Edward Arthur Richardson. The request was to conduct a search of the area around Newport with the ILB conducting a search close to shore and the ALB further out conducting a search using the lifeboats radar.

With no further reports and no sign of anyone in distress the lifeboats were stood down and returned to station.

The volunteer crew of the ILB had just begun to refuel and wash down the lifeboat when at 12.15am a second request to launch was received. This time the request was to assist in a multi-agency search involving HM Coastguard and Dyfed-Powys Police for a missing person in the area of Fishguard Bay. The lifeboat launched and made its way toward Lower Town. Once on scene the lifeboat conducted a shoreline search using spotlight and night vision scope covering the whole stretch of coast from the North side of Fishguard Fort, in towards Goodwick and around both breakwaters whilst other agencies searched onshore.

With nothing located the ILB was stood down and was able to return to station where it was refuelled and made ready again for service at 2.00am.

For two volunteers these launches were important. Nick who joined the crew in 2024 and dedicated hours of training to pass his first assessment saw his first service launch crewing the ALB. Jayne, who recently passed out as a Launch Authority was on duty at the time and saw her first launches as the Coastguards point of contact at the station.

Volunteer Launch Authority Jayne Griffiths, said:

‘The training gives you the information you need and prepares you for that moment the pager goes, but it’s still a rush when it does for the first time, and to get your first and second back-to-back really is something.

The volunteer crew really showed their dedication to helping those in need having been out once, and ready to go again straight away. One crew member spent 7 hours at sea that night having been crew for the ALB on training, and then crew on the ILB for both shouts. Others remained at the station to help recover, refuel and wash the ILB when it returned the second time demonstrating great teamwork and the ethos that we are all one crew.

Whilst nothing was located on the first launch, and the individual in the second was located safe by police, if you see anything which indicates distress, or see anyone you believe to be in distress at sea please call 999 or 112 and ask for Coastguard.’

WALES has become the first nation in the UK to trial automatic voter registration, as four local authorities launch a new pilot scheme aimed at increasing democratic participation.

The groundbreaking project, unveiled this week, seeks to make voting more accessible and inclusive by reducing the barriers to registration.

Carmarthenshire and Powys will create a replica of the local government register using existing council-held data. This approach will help determine which data sources are most effective at identifying eligible voters without altering the official electoral roll.

Gwynedd, Newport, and Powys will go further by identifying and verifying potential electors directly from council data before adding them to the actual register. In Gwynedd, the pilot also includes targeted outreach to engage communities traditionally underrepresented in elections.

First Minister Eluned Morgan said the pilot reflected the Welsh Government’s commitment to democratic inclusion.

“Whilst we see other countries try to discourage electoral participation for political gain, we in Wales want to see as many people engaged in our democracy as possible,” she said.

“When I first became First Minister last year, I said accountability and delivery would be the watchwords of my government. We’re getting on with delivering on the areas that matter most to the people of Wales, and with these pilots, more people can hold elected officials accountable for what we’re doing.”

Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant MS, added:

“Other parties talk the talk on democratic participation, but it is Welsh Labour that is leading the way on strengthening our democracy – bringing in votes for 16- and 17-year-olds, and now automatic voter registration pilots.

“Would any other party be happy to stand up to scrutiny like this?”

Roch postmaster among those still seeking compensation

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public money continuing to use the discredited Horizon IT system—despite accepting more than a decade ago that it needed replacing.

New documents reveal that then Prime Minister Tony Blair and senior Labour ministers were warned as far back as 1999 about serious flaws in the original £548 million deal with Fujitsu. A Treasury memo at the time flagged that the Post Office would not own the core computer code, leaving them locked into the supplier and vulnerable to spiralling costs. Officials warned Fujitsu could use the situation to “drive a costly settlement.”

Since then, the total spent on Horizon contracts has reached £2.5 billion, including £600 million spent since 2012 when the Post Office first admitted it needed to move on from the system. Replacement efforts have repeatedly failed, with a £40 million IBM project abandoned in 2016 and another attempt scrapped in 2022.

The latest replacement project—an internal system called New Branch IT (NBIT)—has run into delays and ballooning costs, with estimates now topping £1 billion. Despite past failings, the Post Office and Fujitsu are expected to remain in partnership until at least 2030.

The scandal surrounding Horizon continues to grow, following the wrongful prosecution of over 900 sub-postmasters. Although private prosecutions based on Horizon data were halted in 2015, campaigners say the damage done is still being felt by victims across the UK—including here in Pembrokeshire.

One of them is Tim Brentnall, who was just 22 when he and his parents bought the Roch Post Office. In 2010, he was prosecuted after a £22,500 shortfall appeared in the accounts—despite doing nothing wrong. Advised to plead guilty, he received an 18-month suspended sentence and 200 hours of community service. His conviction was quashed in 2021.

Earlier this year, Brentnall told the BBC he was “in disbelief” after being offered less than 17% of the compensation he had claimed. The offer came with a 50-page letter rejecting much of his legal and forensic case, and over 15,000 documents to sift through. He is now re-submitting the claim.

“There are people far older than me who should be enjoying their lives now,” he said. “Instead, they’re still fighting. People are dying without seeing justice. It’s not right.”

The Post Office says it is “fundamentally changing” as an organisation and has paid out more than £768 million to over 5,100 people affected by the Horizon scandal. However, many victims and campaigners say the compensation process remains slow, unfair, and deeply distressing.

Postal minister Gareth Thomas recently confirmed a further £276.9 million in government funding for the Post Office, including £136 million for future IT projects. He said the continued use of Horizon reflected “past underinvestment” and that postmasters needed better tools going forward.

A spokesperson for Tony Blair said the former PM took concerns over the Horizon contract seriously at the time and acted on independent advice. “It is now clear the Horizon product was seriously flawed. Mr Blair has deep sympathy for those affected.”

A separate 1999 memo was also sent to then-Chancellor Gordon Brown, but a spokesperson for Mr Brown said he would not have seen it and had no involvement in awarding the contract.

Despite public statements about reform, doubts remain over whether NBIT will ever be delivered—and whether true justice will ever be achieved for those whose lives were torn apart by the Horizon scandal.