News

Grants paid out ‘without any proper checks’

Published

11 years ago

November 4, 2014

“WHAT a difference a year makes”, Cllr Mike Stoddart told the Herald after reading a report on the Commercial Property Grant Scheme (CPGS) in Pembroke Dock that is due to go before PCC’s audit committee next Monday.

The Hakin councillor has been making allegations about this grant scheme for almost 18 months and in September 2013, after the matter was referred to the audit committee by Cllr Michael Williams (Plaid Cymru), and an investigation carried out by the council’s internal audit service, members were told: “Internal Audit has shared its findings with the Council’s Monitoring Officer who is satisfied that there is no evidence of maladministration or non-compliance with the governance arrangements relevant to the specific schemes or of any lack of competence in officers concerned with the administration of the schemes.”

Now, a year later, the council is singing a different tune and the report before next week’s meeting says that a further internal audit investigation into 29 Dimond Street (Paul Sartori) has found there is “No evidence of regular site visits being undertaken to ensure details agree with the specification and standards” and that “There was insufficient evidence of physical or financial completion of the project to support the authorisation of the grant payment.” Cllr Stoddart told our reporter: “If you cut through the jargon, what this means is that grant money was paid out without anyone carrying out proper checks that the work had actually been done” “So much for last year’s attempt to gloss over the problem with talk of ‘no evidence of maladministration’ or ‘any lack of competence’ by council officers.” “The only conclusion is that the report that went before the audit committee last September was either not properly researched or, more likely, one of the council’s trademark cover-ups.”

The latest report also concludes that: “Management and/or disciplinary action should be considered in respect of non-compliance with the process and procedures contained in the CPGS procedural manual, and the additional issues identified in this review.” But Cllr Stoddart says it’s a bit late for that. “A report was sent to the police in April this year containing allegations of massive overpayments at Paul Sartori for work that was either ineligible for grant aid, or, in many cases, simply not done at all.” “That was when disciplinary action should have been considered “, he told the Herald, “it’s probably too late now because, I understand, the officer who signed off these ‘irregular payments’ went on long-term sick leave just a couple of weeks ago”. Cllr Stoddart says that one of his main concerns was that the tender process was wide open to fraud.

He wrote to the council last September pointing out that not only was the tender opening process entirely in the hands of the developer’s architect, but, as eligible and ineligible works were intermingled in the Bills of Quantities accompanying the tender, it was possible for the rates for the eligible work to be inflated to attract a higher grant, while those for the ineligible work could be reduced to keep the tender competitive. As Cllr Stoddart said: “This is especially so if there is a collusive agreement between the applicant and the builder that the ineligible works will not be required to be done. That being the case the builder can submit whatever rates he likes for the private work without ever having to deliver.

The council’s internal auditors dismissed his concerns by claiming that as the developer didn’t know which items were eligible and which were not and “Consequently they have no ability to carry out the fraud suggested, whether they collude or not.” Mike Stoddart says it is simply not true that applicants don’t know which parts of the work are eligible for grants and which not and this latest audit report recommends that: “Grant funding should be based on the lowest tender for eligible works to ensure that the process cannot be manipulated and that best value for public funds is obtained.” The report also suggests that, in order to ensure the integrity of the process, in future, a council officer should be present when tenders are opened. Cllr Stoddart told the Herald: “This report bears out everything I have said about the flaws in this process.”

“People should wonder what sort of regime we are living under when a member is subject to a barrage of personal attacks by leading members of the ruling IPPG for simply telling the truth.” This is a reference to last December’s meeting of full council, when Cllr David Pugh, cabinet member with responsibility for grants, accused Cllr Stoddart of conducting “a campaign of innuendo and smear tactics” and making “spurious allegations” about the way the council had administered the CPGS; concluding his ten minute tirade: “But, then, getting at the truth is not on his agenda.”

At the same meeting, Pugh’s IPPG colleague Cllr John Allen-Mirehouse accused the Hakin councillor of being “someone who wouldn’t let the facts get in the way of a good story”. But Mike Stoddart is defiant in the face of these attacks. “Sadly for them, they have backed the wrong horse”, he told the Herald, “the truth is all on my side”. As for the attempted character assassination, he was contemptuously dismissive. “I regard being attacked by buffoons like Pugh and Allen- Mirehouse as an honour. If they liked me, I would begin to worry that I had taken a wrong turn. “But what people will find hard to understand,” Mike Stoddart concluded, “is that nine months after launching this personal attack on me, based, as it was, on untruths and outright lies, Cllr Pugh is still trousering his £15,000 a year cabinet SRA.”

Crime

Swansea man dies weeks after release from troubled HMP Parc: Investigation launched

Published

11 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A SWANSEA man has died just weeks after being released from HMP Parc, the Bridgend prison now at the centre of a national crisis over inmate deaths and post-release failures.

Darren Thomas, aged 52, died on 13 November 2025 — less than a month after leaving custody. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has confirmed an independent investigation into his death, which is currently listed as “in progress”.

Born on 9 April 1973, Mr Thomas had been under post-release supervision following a period at HMP/YOI Parc, the G4S-run prison that recorded seventeen deaths in custody in 2024 — the highest in the UK.

His last known legal appearance was at Swansea Crown Court in October 2024, where he stood trial accused of making a threatening phone call and two counts of criminal damage. During the hearing, reported by The Pembrokeshire Herald at the time, the court heard he made threats during a heated call on 5 October 2023.

Mr Thomas denied the allegations but was found guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to a custodial term, which led to his imprisonment at HMP Parc.

Parc: A prison in breakdown

HMP Parc has faced sustained criticism throughout 2024 and 2025. A damning unannounced inspection in January found:

Severe self-harm incidents up 190%
Violence against staff up 109%
Synthetic drugs “easily accessible” across wings
Overcrowding at 108% capacity

In the first three months of 2024 alone, ten men died at Parc — part of a wider cluster of twenty PPO-investigated deaths since 2022. Six occurred within three weeks, all linked to synthetic drug use.

Leaked staff messages in 2025 exposed a culture of indifference, including one officer writing: “Let’s push him to go tomorrow so we can drop him.”

Six G4S employees have been arrested since 2023 in connection with alleged assaults and misconduct.

The danger after release

Deaths shortly after release from custody are a growing national concern. Ministry of Justice data shows 620 people died while under community supervision in 2024–2025, with 62 deaths occurring within 14 days of release.

Short sentences — common at Parc — leave little time for effective rehabilitation or release planning. Homelessness, loss of drug tolerance and untreated mental-health conditions create a high-risk environment for those newly released.

The PPO investigates all such deaths to determine whether prisons or probation failed in their duties. Reports often take 6–12 months and can lead to recommendations.

A system at breaking point

The crisis at Parc reflects wider failures across UK prisons and probation. A July 2025 House of Lords report described the service as “not fit for purpose”. More than 500 people die in custody annually, with campaigners warning that private prisons such as Parc prioritise cost-cutting over care.

The PPO investigation into the death of Darren Thomas continues.

Crime

Woman stabbed partner in Haverfordwest before handing herself in

Published

12 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Court Reporter

A WOMAN who stabbed her partner during a drug-fuelled episode walked straight into Haverfordwest Police Station and told officers what she had done, Swansea Crown Court has heard.

Amy Woolston, 22, of Dartmouth Street in Milford Haven, arrived at the station at around 8:00pm on June 13 and said: “I stabbed my ex-partner earlier… he’s alright and he let me walk off,” prosecutor Tom Scapens told the court.

The pair had taken acid together earlier in the day, and Woolston claimed she believed she could feel “stab marks in her back” before the incident.

Police find victim with four wounds

Officers went to the victim’s home to check on him. He was not there at first, but returned shortly afterwards. He appeared sober and told police: “Just a couple of things,” before pointing to injuries on his back.

He had three stab or puncture wounds to his back and another to his bicep.

The victim said that when he arrived home from the shop, Woolston was acting “a bit shifty”. After asking if she was alright, she grabbed something from the windowsill — described as either a knife or a shard of glass — and stabbed him.

He told officers he had “had worse from her before”, did not support a prosecution, and refused to go to hospital.

Defendant has long history of violence

Woolston pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding. The court heard she had amassed 20 previous convictions from 10 court appearances, including assaults, battery, and offences against emergency workers.

Defending, Dyfed Thomas said Woolston had longstanding mental health problems and had been off medication prescribed for paranoid schizophrenia at the time.
“She’s had a difficult upbringing,” he added, saying she was remorseful and now compliant with treatment.

Woolston was jailed for 12 months, but the court heard she has already served the equivalent time on remand and will be released imminently on a 12-month licence.

News

BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story

Published

13 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Staff Writer

THE BBC has issued a formal apology and amended a six-year-old article written by BBC Wales Business Correspondent Huw Thomas after its Executive Complaints Unit ruled that the original headline and wording gave an “incorrect impression” that Herald editor Tom Sinclair was personally liable for tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

The 2019 report, originally headlined “Herald newspaper editor Tom Sinclair has £70,000 debts”, has now been changed.

The ECU found: “The wording of the article and its headline could have led readers to form the incorrect impression that the debt was Mr Sinclair’s personal responsibility… In that respect the article failed to meet the BBC’s standards of due accuracy.”

Mr Sinclair said: “I’m grateful to the ECU for the apology and for correcting the personal-liability impression that caused real harm for six years. However, the article still links the debts to ‘the group which publishes The Herald’ when in fact they related to printing companies that were dissolved two years before the Herald was founded in 2013. I have asked the BBC to add that final clarification so the record is completely accurate.”

A formal apology and correction of this kind from the BBC is extremely rare, especially for a story more than six years old.