News

Questions continue over chairman’s appointment

Published

11 years ago

November 13, 2014

AS REPORTED in last week’s Herald, the appointment of the new lay member of the Audit Committee, Peter Jones, has caused controversy over the way in which his job application was processed. There are also concerns that councillors sitting on the Urgency Committee were not allowed to scrutinise the appointment. They were prevented from doing so by the Council’s Monitoring Officer, Laurence Harding. Information provided to The Herald ahead of last Monday’s (Sept 22) extraordinary meeting of the Audit Committee reveals that Morgan Cole, the Cardiff law firm of which Mr Jones is a former senior partner, represented Hundleton councillor John Allen Mirehouse. Mr Jones represented Cllr Mirehouse when he was before a standards panel – investigating an alleged failure by him to declare an ‘interest’ in a planning matter involving land he owned on the Angle peninsula. Cllr Mirehouse sits on the Council’s Audit Committee – the committee which is now chaired by his former lawyer, Peter Jones. Mr Jones formerly represented Milford Haven Port Authority at the time Cllr Allen Mirehouse sat on the Authority. Cllr Guy Woodham proposed Mr Jones as Chair of the Audit Committee. The Pembrokeshire Herald asked him whether he was aware of the past professional relationship between Cllr Mirehouse and Mr Jones. Cllr Woodham told us: “No, I was most definitely not aware! I nominated Mr Jones as Chair believing that, as the Lay Member, he was the most appropriate member of the Committee to hold this position, rather than an Elected Member. I was not involved in the selection process of the Lay Member and therefore have not been made aware of any background information on Mr Jones, other than he told us about at Monday’s Audit Committee.” The Herald also spoke to Cllr Paul Miller about the appointment of Mr Jones: “This situation further underlines the issue that I raised about the conduct of the meeting that ‘rubberstamped’ Mr Jones’ appointment. We were not allowed to have any meaningful information before voting on his appointment. It seems as though this is a further example of elected councillors being denied the chance to make properly judged democratic decisions. It seemed to me that most everyone present agreed with me when I expressed that view at the Urgency Committee, but four voted in favour of the appointment anyway.” The Herald notes that Mr Jones told members of the Audit Committee that he had dealings with the Council in the past. It is not clear whether those dealings or their extent were made known to the Urgency Committee when they were presented with the appointment panel’s recommendation, or even if the appointment panel were made aware of them. The Herald asked the Council’s Monitoring Officer, Laurence Harding, on whose advice the Urgency Panel rubber-stamped Mr Jones’ appointment, for a comment on Mr Jones’ appointment. Mr Harding failed to reply.

Mr Mirehouse’s interest

PETER JONES was intimately concerned in Cllr Allen Mirehouse’s defence of a claim he had failed to declare an interest in land when he decided policy that might affect it when sitting on the National Park Authority. Mr Jones billed the former IPPG Chair over £5,360 from a total bill including QC’s fees of around £40,000. The bill included meeting with Viscount Saint Davids, Mr Allen Mirehouse, and his land agent Anthony Owen of Owen & Owen. Following the conclusion of the case, in which the Adjudication Panel for Wales found in his favour, Cllr Allen-Mirehouse sought to have the National Park Authority repay him the whole of Morgan Cole’s bill and claimed the Authority was obliged to indemnify him wholly for the same. Cllr Allen Mirehouse’s claim for his costs rather ignored the belated admission made by his QC, Robin Tolson, that his client did own land which “was capable of being developed when he participated in the relevant meetings of the National Park Authority”. Cllr Allen Mirehouse had previously maintained the opposite position and significant costs had been spent examining that denial. However, Cllr Allen Mirehouse’s submissions largely fell on deaf ears with the National Park Authority’s Monitoring Officers, Dewi Davies and John Parsons, who disputed liability to pay any of the legal costs on the basis that the Councillor had incurred excessive costs (including an eye-watering 24 hours of billable time at £200 an hour for travelling to a meeting at Angle Hall when Cllr Allen Mirehouse could have travelled to Cardiff); that he had not sought permission from the Authority to incur the costs before he did; and that he had engaged a QC at significant cost when such a level of representation was not required. In response to that last point, Cllr Allen-Mirehouse opined in correspondence that he was entitled to brief a QC because of his prominent position in public life. That plea fell on deaf years, and the Councillor received £8,000 plus VAT towards his professional fees following a vote.

THE HERALD asked
the County Council a series
of questions about Mr Jones’
appointment as lay member of the
Audit Committee and received the
following answers.

Q: How many had applied before
the original deadline and how
many additional applicants were
received before the extended
deadline? Please confirm at
which point in the selection
process Mr Jones applied.
A: Four applications were received
before the deadline of July 8
but one withdrew. One further
application (from Mr Jones)
was received before the end of
the extended deadline of July 18
(note the deadline was actually
extended by ten days not one
week).

Q: Please let me know who made the
decision to extend the deadline
and why a week was felt to be an
adequate period.
A: Deadline extended by ten days by
Chief Finance Officer because
he desired at least three suitable
candidates for the Appointments
Panel to consider.

Q: Please let me know where the
advertisement for the revised
deadline for applications
was placed. As the original
advertisement was by public
notice, was this also done by
public notice? If so, in which
publication or via which medium
or media was it disseminated?
A: Extended ten day deadline was
advertised on Council website.

Q: Please let me know the identity of
the persons who sat on the panel
that considered applications.
A: The Appointment Panel
comprised: Mrs Lynette George
(independent Chair); Cllr Tom
Richards; Cllr Stan Hudson (all
County Council appointed).

Q: Please let me know whether
the panel were made aware of
Mr Jones’ past professional
relationship with Cllr John
Allen-Mirehouse.
A: We are not aware of any
professional relationship
between the two parties

News

Huw Edwards accuser says he spent night with disgraced presenter in Cardiff hotel

Published

24 minutes ago

March 14, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Man believed to be from Carmarthenshire claims meeting followed years of online contact and payments for sexual images

A MAN believed to be from Carmarthenshire who was paid tens of thousands of pounds for sexual images by former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards has claimed the pair did meet in person and spent a night together at a Cardiff hotel.

The man, now aged 22, said he stayed overnight with the disgraced broadcaster at the Marriott Hotel in Cardiff after Edwards allegedly threatened to stop sending him money.

The claims were made in an interview published by The Sun.

According to the report, Edwards had already paid the then-teenager at least £35,000 in exchange for sexual images before the meeting took place.

The man said the pair had been communicating online for around two years before they finally met.

He told the newspaper that he had been relying on the payments and felt pressured to meet Edwards.

“He said if I didn’t come he wouldn’t help me any more,” the man said.

Recalling the meeting, he said Edwards was waiting outside the hotel when he arrived.

The man said he felt extremely nervous when the pair went up to the room and struggled to speak.

He claimed Edwards tried to place a hand on his shoulder but he froze and said he eventually lay on the bed and pretended to sleep.

According to the account, Edwards left the following morning.

Both Edwards and the man involved are reported to have links to Carmarthenshire, although the individual has never been publicly identified.

The allegations come amid wider revelations about Edwards’ criminal case.

In September 2024, the former BBC presenter admitted three offences relating to indecent images of children and was handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for seven years.

Court proceedings previously heard that Edwards had been sent dozens of illegal images by a 41-year-old man named Alex Williams.

The images included some of the most serious category of abuse material involving young children.

It has since been reported that Williams helped connect Edwards with the teenager through a dating app.

According to the interview, the man was first contacted by Williams in 2020 when he was 17.

He later began communicating directly with Edwards, who allegedly sent him £500 within minutes of their first conversation before moving the discussion to WhatsApp.

Over the following three years Edwards is said to have paid him tens of thousands of pounds while requesting explicit material during video calls.

The claims add further detail to the scandal that brought down one of Britain’s most recognisable television news presenters, who for many years fronted the BBC’s flagship news bulletins before leaving the corporation following the investigation and subsequent criminal case.

Charity

Car dealership smash cycling spin challenge target

Published

8 hours ago

March 14, 2026

Tom Sinclair

STAFF at OC Davies used pedal power to cycle an incredible 453 miles as part of a fundraising event marking two major anniversaries.

The Cardigan-based dealership is celebrating 40 years as a Renault dealer in 2026, while the Wales Air Ambulance marked its 25th anniversary on St David’s Day (Mar 1).

To celebrate the milestones – and the launch of the new vehicle registration plate – the dealership held a community open day at its Cardigan site, raising £2,102 for the lifesaving charity.

As part of the event, staff and supporters took on a spin bike challenge to cycle the equivalent of 104 miles – the distance between OC Davies’ three dealerships in Cardigan, Neyland and Carmarthen.

However, the participants far exceeded expectations.

During the 12-hour challenge, which ran from 8:00am to 8:00pm, a total of 37 people took part and collectively cycled an impressive 453 miles.

Over the years, OC Davies has now raised more than £6,600 for the Wales Air Ambulance Charity.

Nicola Lewis from OC Davies said: “We are incredibly proud to have raised £2,102. This fantastic amount exceeded all our expectations and shows just how supportive our community has been.

“The success of the event has inspired us to keep the momentum going and continue raising money for Wales Air Ambulance throughout the rest of the year.

“We currently have an Easter egg lucky dip running in the dealership and we’re also planning to raise further funds later in the summer at some outdoor events we’ll be taking part in.”

More than 200 visitors attended the open day and around 900 tickets were sold for a grand raffle.

Prizes were donated by local businesses including The Cliff Hotel & Spa, Tom Samways Butchers, U Melt Me, Tonnau, Theatr Mwldan, Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo, and The Queen’s Hall.

Additional prizes were also donated by the Scarlets and Swansea City FC.

Nicola added: “The open day was wonderfully supported by local businesses and members of the community, which helped make the event so special.

“We were overwhelmed by the generosity and support from businesses in Cardigan and beyond who kindly donated prizes for our grand raffle.”

The spin bikes used during the challenge were loaned by Neil Fulstow Fitness Coaching, with additional support from Clive Evans and Clive Davies.

The charity’s mascot Biggles also made an appearance during the day – even taking a turn on the DJ decks.

Emily Bell, Wales Air Ambulance’s Regional Fundraising Co-ordinator, said: “A huge congratulations to the staff at OC Davies, who smashed their original target while raising an incredible amount for our charity.

“It was a lovely open day which I was delighted to attend. OC Davies found a wonderful way to mark both anniversaries.

“Wales Air Ambulance needs to raise £13 million every year to keep our helicopters flying and our rapid response vehicles on the road. Fundraisers like this help ensure we can continue to be there for the people of Wales when they need us most.”

Wales Air Ambulance is a consultant-led service delivering hospital-standard treatment at the scene of an incident.

Through its partnership with the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS), NHS consultants and critical care practitioners can provide advanced treatment including anaesthesia, blood transfusions and minor surgical procedures before transporting patients to the most appropriate hospital.

As a pan-Wales service, its crews travel across the country to deliver lifesaving emergency care wherever it is needed.

For more information visit www.ocdavies.com.

Education

Tenby students compete in UK robotics challenge

Published

8 hours ago

March 14, 2026

Tom Sinclair

STUDENTS from Ysgol Greenhill in Tenby have taken part in the FIRST Tech Challenge UK & Ireland competition, showcasing their engineering and computing skills at a national robotics event.

The Tenby Techno Team travelled to the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s School of Applied Computingwhere teams from across the UK and Ireland gathered to compete in the international robotics programme.

The competition challenges students to design, build and programme robots capable of completing tasks on a specialist arena, testing both technical ability and teamwork.

The Tenby team said they were proud to be competing and were supported during the event by former computing students Issac, Ieuan and Finley, who returned to help the team as volunteers.

Organisers of the programme say the FIRST Tech Challenge aims to inspire young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics while building practical problem-solving skills.

The team also thanked Valero Pembroke Refinery and Tenby Round Table for sponsoring the project, along with Marc Ingram, who provided advice and guidance during the build and preparation stages.

More updates from the competition are expected as the event progresses.