Anti-radar group says First Minister’s call for a pause falls far short of what angry Pembrokeshire residents are demanding

A LABOUR split over the proposed DARC radar project at Brawdy burst into the open this week after campaigners accused Eluned Morgan of offering a panicked half-measure instead of the outright opposition many in Pembrokeshire now want.

The First Minister’s call for the UK Government to pause the controversial Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability scheme has been seized on by opponents as proof that political pressure is mounting fast ahead of the Senedd election.

But PARC Against DARC, the campaign group leading resistance to the project, said Morgan’s intervention does not go nearly far enough and warned that a pause is not a rejection.

The group says local people have spent months raising the alarm over the scale, purpose and consequences of the proposed development at Cawdor Barracks, only to be met with silence, spin and shifting positions from Labour politicians.

A spokesperson for PARC said: “We welcome any movement away from support for DARC, but this does not go far enough. Calling only for a pause leaves the door open for another U-turn in future. The people of Pembrokeshire deserve clarity and a firm commitment that this project will not go ahead.”

The campaign said Morgan’s remarks appeared to be a direct response to rising public anger and growing electoral danger for Labour in west Wales.

After months in which campaigners said their warnings were brushed aside, the First Minister’s sudden intervention has been interpreted by opponents as evidence that DARC is now becoming a serious political liability.

PARC said the row had also exposed a deep divide inside Labour, with Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell continuing to defend the scheme by pointing to jobs and economic benefit.

Campaigners rounded on those claims, saying supporters of the project have repeatedly tried to sell DARC to the public on promises that do not withstand scrutiny.

A spokesperson said: “It is unbelievable how out of touch Henry Tufnell is on this issue. The suggestion that DARC would deliver major benefits for local jobs simply does not stand up to scrutiny.”

The campaign argues that what is being presented as opportunity could in reality leave Pembrokeshire carrying the burden of a deeply controversial military installation while seeing little genuine local gain in return.

It also says the way the scheme has been handled has further poisoned trust, with many residents feeling they were never properly informed, properly listened to, or treated with the respect they deserved.

The spokesperson added: “Local people feel they have been treated with contempt. Concerns have been raised again and again, yet campaigners say the consultation process was poorly communicated and deeply flawed. That has only hardened opposition.”

For opponents, DARC is no longer just a planning dispute. It has become a symbol of something much bigger — a project they say has been driven from above, wrapped in vague promises, and pushed forward without honest regard for the people expected to live in its shadow.

PARC says the case against the radar scheme now reaches far beyond politics, taking in the threat to Pembrokeshire’s landscape, damage to the area’s image, fears over wider military escalation and growing anger at the conduct of the consultation process.

The group also pointed to long-standing opposition from Plaid Cymru and the Wales Green Party, arguing that support for stopping DARC altogether is now far stronger and more politically significant than Labour had anticipated.

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “This is nothing but a last-ditch attempt by Eluned Morgan to cling on to her seat.

“Plaid Cymru has consistently opposed DARC alongside local communities and has repeatedly called on the UK Government to change course.”

Campaigners say the issue has now reached a decisive moment.

They insist Pembrokeshire is being asked to shoulder the risks of a project many residents neither want nor trust, and argue that anything short of a firm commitment to kill it off completely will be seen as betrayal.

A spokesperson said: “DARC must be stopped. It is as simple as that. We urge voters who oppose the scheme to back parties committed to blocking it.”

For Labour, the danger is clear. What was once treated as a defence project is fast becoming a political grenade — and in Pembrokeshire, it may yet explode at the ballot box.