Crime

DJ Longshanks trial delayed until next year due to barristers’ strike

Published

3 years ago

July 2, 2022

THE TRIAL of a Pembrokeshire man accused of making racist podcasts has been delayed by almost 10 months by the barristers’ strike.

James Allchurch, 50, of Gelli, denies 15 charges of distributing a recording to stir up racial hatred.
The hearing commenced on Wednesday but on the third day of the trial, Judge Huw Rees announced that due to ongoing industrial action, which increases to three days next week, the case would have had to have been split up.

This would have resulted in two days being set aside on July 7 and 8 and then, following a two-week break, the hearing would have resumed on July 25, 26, 27 and 28.
However, a note was passed to the court informing them that five jury members would be unavailable due to pre-booked holidays.

Allchurch, who used the name Sven Longshank on his podcast, denies 15 counts of distributing audio material to stir up racial hatred over a two-year period.

Until then, Allchurch of Gelli, Narberth, was granted unconditional bail.

The 50-year-old denies all counts. Earlier this week, the court heard how Allchurch presented the shows under the name Sven Longshanks – something that Mr Wright told the jury had historic connotations. He said: “The prosecution suggests the recordings were plainly insulting and abusive and intended to stir up racial hatred or at the very least likely to stir up racial hatred. As the name suggests the content was racist and white supremacist in nature. This defendant was the proprietor and responsible for the content on those webpages.
“He presented the podcasts using the name Sven Longshanks – a reference to King Edward I who was known for an edict of expulsion in 1290 by which all Jews were expelled from England. It is no coincidence this defendant chose to adopt the name while he posted racist podcasts. His co-host was Alex Davies, a white nationalist and one of the founding members of National Action, a racist neo-Nazi group which has carried out a number of provocative street demonstrations in the UK.”
The jury was read extracts from the podcasts by Mr Wright. In one episode he quoted Allchurch referring to black people and saying: “They are not equal to us” before later adding: “You cannot change the way people are. You cannot change the way things are created. The negro was created to be a negro. He was not created to be a white man. He wasn’t created to function as a normal white man. In white society he would fail.”

In another podcast the court heard Allchurch said: “How can anyone think a person migrating from a third-world country is coming to give us something? They are coming here to take whatever they can. That’s what they’re doing. It’s madness. ‘I want to go to Great Britain because they have high benefits – all I have got here is a s made out of cow dung. I go there I’ll be given a house made out of bricks and mortar.'”

A music extract described as “one of Mr Allchurch’s favourite tracks” was played to the court from another podcast which included lyrics such as: “Aryan pride” and “Life was better 50 years ago when Adolf Hitler dropped the Jews a new robe”. In another podcast, discussing providing aid to developing countries, he stated: “We do need to reduce the amount of negros that Africa is producing. They have got a billion over there at the moment and they believe there will be two billion within 30 years. And you can just imagine in another 30 years it will be four billion. Then they are just going to swamp the entire planet with a creature that is unable to find its own food and water and requires constant looking after.” He added that foreign aid needed to be dependent on a programme of sterilisation, stating: “If we left them to their own devices we could let nature take care of them. Epidemics such as ebola or monkeypox would effectively cull large swathes of their population.”

The court heard that following his arrest by police a laptop was recovered from Allchurch’s home which upon examination found the podcasts on the laptop. Notebooks containing usernames and passwords were also seized. During police interviews Allchurch admitted he was ‘Sven Longshanks’ and that he had adopted the name to protect his identity. He told officers he set up Radio Aryan as a project but also a hobby. He denied it was to stir up hatred and said he discouraged extremism and violence. He told officers he did not believe Jewish people had been subjected to execution in gas chambers. The trial continues and is expected to last for two weeks.

Crime

Swansea man jailed for online child sex offence dies in prison

Published

4 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A SWANSEA man who was jailed earlier this year for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child has died while in custody.

Gareth Davies, aged 59, of the Maritime Quarter, was serving an 18-month prison sentence after being convicted in May of sending sexually explicit messages to what he believed was a 14-year-old girl. The account was in fact a decoy used as part of an online safeguarding operation.

The court heard that Davies began communicating with the decoy between November and December 2024 and persistently pursued the individual, later attempting to arrange a face-to-face meeting. He was arrested after being confronted by the decoy operators.

Davies had pleaded not guilty but was convicted following a trial. At the time of sentencing, police described the messages as extremely concerning and said his imprisonment was necessary to protect children.

It has now been confirmed that Davies died at HMP Parc on Wednesday (Nov 27) while serving his sentence.

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has launched an independent investigation into the death, which is standard procedure in all cases where someone dies in custody. No cause of death has been released at this stage.

A coroner will determine the circumstances in due course.

Crime

Pembrokeshire man sent to Crown Court over death by careless driving charge

Published

6 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Court Reporter

A PEMBROKESHIRE man has been sent to the Crown Court to stand trial accused of causing a death by careless or inconsiderate driving.

Alexander MacCallum, aged 28, of Beach Road, Llanreath, Pembroke Dock, appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (Dec 18).

The court heard that MacCallum is charged with causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving following an incident on Thursday (June 13, 2024).

No plea was entered at this stage of the proceedings.

Magistrates were told the case was too serious to be dealt with at magistrates’ level and ordered that it be sent to the Crown Court for trial.

MacCallum was sent to the Crown Court on unconditional bail, with further proceedings to take place at a later date.

The prosecution was brought by Dyfed-Powys Police. No defence solicitor was formally recorded at the hearing.

Crime

Breakthrough in 1993 Tooze murders: 86-year-old man arrested after cold case review

Published

8 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Tom Sinclair

POLICE investigating one of Wales’ most disturbing unsolved double murders have arrested an 86-year-old man on suspicion of killing elderly couple Harry and Megan Tooze more than three decades ago.

South Wales Police confirmed the arrest on Tuesday (Dec 17), following a forensic cold case review into the 1993 killings, which shocked the rural community of Llanharry and cast a long shadow over the South Wales justice system.

Harry Tooze, aged 64, and his wife Megan, 67, were found shot dead with a shotgun at their isolated Ty Ar y Waun farmhouse on July 26, 1993. Their bodies were discovered inside a cowshed on the property, concealed beneath carpet and hay bales, having been shot in the head at close range.

The brutality of the killings and the remoteness of the scene prompted one of the most high-profile murder investigations in Wales at the time.

Conviction later quashed

In 1995, Cheryl Tooze’s then-boyfriend, Jonathan Jones, was convicted of the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment. The prosecution case rested heavily on a partial fingerprint found on a teacup at the farmhouse.

However, the conviction unravelled just a year later. In 1996, the Court of Appeal quashed the verdict, ruling it unsafe and highlighting serious concerns about the reliability of the fingerprint evidence. The decision was widely regarded as a significant miscarriage of justice.

Jones, who consistently maintained his innocence, was supported throughout the ordeal by Cheryl Tooze, whom he later married. The couple have since spoken publicly about the devastating impact of the case on their lives.

Despite renewed appeals and periodic reviews, no one else was charged and the murders remained unresolved for nearly 30 years.

Operation Vega and forensic advances

In 2023, marking the 30th anniversary of the killings, South Wales Police launched a full cold case review under Operation Vega. The review was led by forensic scientist Professor Angela Gallop, one of the UK’s most respected figures in forensic investigation.

Detectives re-examined preserved exhibits from the original crime scene using modern forensic and DNA techniques that were not available in the early 1990s. Police have not disclosed which items were re-analysed or what evidence led to the latest arrest.

On December 17, officers arrested an 86-year-old man on suspicion of murdering Harry and Megan Tooze. He remains in police custody while enquiries continue. No further details about the suspect have been released at this stage.

Police appeal for information

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Mark Lewis described the arrest as a significant moment, but stressed that the investigation is ongoing.

He said: “While this arrest is clearly a significant development in the investigation, our enquiries are very much ongoing. This case has affected many people over the years and our aim is to find answers to the unanswered questions which remain about their deaths over 30 years on.

“Even with the passage of time, I would urge anyone who has information about the murders, no matter how small it may seem, to come forward and speak to police.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact South Wales Police, quoting occurrence number 2300016841.