Crime

Fishguard man cleared after five years in prison refused compensation again

Published

1 minute ago

July 5, 2026

Brian Buckle’s case raises fresh questions over justice system that says a man can be cleared by a jury but still not qualify for a payout

A FISHGUARD man who spent more than five years in prison before being cleared by a jury has been refused miscarriage of justice compensation for a second time.

Brian Buckle was convicted of historical child sexual offences in 2017 and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

He always maintained his innocence.

After a long legal battle by his family and defence team, his conviction was ruled unsafe by the Court of Appeal in 2022. He was released from prison and later faced a retrial at Swansea Crown Court.

In May 2023, after fresh forensic evidence was put before the court, a jury unanimously found him not guilty.

But according to BBC Wales, the Ministry of Justice has now rejected his compensation claim again following a further review.

The decision has caused anger in Pembrokeshire and at Westminster because Mr Buckle’s case exposes a brutal gap in the justice system.

He has cleared his name in court.

He has been found not guilty by a jury.

But the compensation scheme still says he has not met the legal test for a payout.

The Herald reported from the retrial in 2023, when Swansea Crown Court heard that the prosecution case had relied in part on forensic evidence said to link Mr Buckle to a childhood diary.

Mr Buckle denied the allegations throughout. His barrister argued that he had never seen the diary before the original 2017 trial. The defence also called forensic evidence about traces of condom lubricant, which helped cast doubt on the earlier case against him.

The jury returned not guilty verdicts and Mr Buckle walked free.

For him and his family, however, the damage was already done.

The legal fight to clear his name is said to have cost around £500,000. In earlier Herald coverage, Mr Buckle said his father-in-law had sold his house to fund the legal battle, his wife’s inheritance had gone, and he had lost a well-paid job he had held for 16 years.

He also missed his daughter’s 18th and 21st birthdays while he was in prison.

Mr Buckle has spoken publicly about living with PTSD following his imprisonment.

He previously said: “I don’t want millions. I just want recognition of the injustice I suffered and the chance to rebuild my life.”

His case has become one of the clearest examples of what campaigners call the “innocence tax”: the huge cost paid by people who are forced to spend years and vast sums of money proving they should never have been jailed in the first place.

The reason Mr Buckle has been refused compensation lies in a controversial change to the law made in 2014.

Before that change, compensation could be paid where a conviction was overturned and the evidence showed that no reasonable jury could have convicted.

Since 2014, the test has been much harder. Applicants must show, beyond reasonable doubt, that they did not commit the offence.

Campaigners say that creates an almost impossible hurdle in many cases.

A person can have their conviction quashed. They can be cleared at retrial. But unless they can produce the sort of conclusive evidence that proves innocence beyond doubt, such as DNA or CCTV, they can still be refused compensation.

That is what has happened to Brian Buckle.

His MP, Ben Lake, has repeatedly raised the case in Parliament.

In March 2025, Mr Lake led a Westminster Hall debate on miscarriage of justice compensation. He told MPs that many people assume those wrongly convicted are compensated when their convictions are overturned, but in England and Wales compensation is often the exception rather than the rule.

He said the system was forcing people who had already been cleared to prove their innocence all over again.

Mr Lake has described Mr Buckle’s case as one of the clearest injustices he has encountered during his time as an MP.

The issue was also raised directly with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions in July 2025.

Mr Lake told the Commons that Mr Buckle had been wrongfully imprisoned for more than five years, had been unanimously cleared by a jury, and yet had still been refused compensation because of the 2014 legal test.

The Prime Minister described the case as a “grave miscarriage of justice” and said he had undertaken to look at the statutory test for compensation.

A year on, Mr Buckle has again been told that he does not qualify.

The Ministry of Justice has previously said that refusal of compensation does not affect the fact that Mr Buckle’s conviction was quashed, nor does it cast doubt on the outcome of the appeal.

For his supporters, that is exactly the problem.

The state accepts that his conviction was quashed. A jury has cleared him. But the compensation scheme still says he is not entitled to be paid.

The Government announced last year that compensation caps would be increased for victims of miscarriages of justice. But that does not help people like Mr Buckle if they are ruled ineligible before the amount of any payment is even considered.

The Law Commission is now reviewing the criminal appeals system in England and Wales, including compensation and support for the wrongly convicted.

Its provisional proposals include replacing the current requirement to prove innocence beyond reasonable doubt with a lower test based on the balance of probabilities.

A standalone report on compensation and support for the wrongly convicted is expected by the end of 2026.

Mr Buckle hopes any change will apply retrospectively, so people already caught by the current rules are not left behind.

For Pembrokeshire, this is not simply a legal technicality.

It is the story of a local man who lost years of his life, a family that spent everything trying to clear his name, and a justice system that still appears unable to say the one thing he has been waiting to hear from the state: we got it wrong.

Cover image: Stephen Fildes / BBC

Crime

Prison campaigner admits assaulting woman and police officers

Published

51 minutes ago

July 5, 2026

Sarah Jane Absalom

Zachery Lee Griffiths denied intentional strangulation but admitted or indicated guilty pleas to six other charges

A WEST WALES prison campaigner has admitted assaulting a woman and indicated guilty pleas to assaulting two police officers.

Zachery Lee Griffiths, 34, of Golygfor, Llanelli, appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Monday, June 30, following incidents in Whitland at the end of June.

Griffiths pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman by beating on June 28.

He also admitted two charges of criminal damage, after damaging a phone and glasses belonging to the same woman. The offences were said to have happened in Whitland on June 26.

Griffiths further indicated a guilty plea to threatening to destroy or damage a Mercedes A180 on June 28.

He also indicated guilty pleas to two charges of assault by beating of an emergency worker, relating to PC 535 Tatum and PC 526 Westron, who were both acting in the exercise of their duties as police officers.

However, Griffiths denied a further charge of intentional strangulation, which is alleged to have taken place in Whitland on June 28.

A full bail argument was heard by the court and Griffiths was remanded on conditional bail.

His bail conditions include a 7pm to 7am curfew, a requirement to live and sleep each night at his address in Llanelli, not to enter Whitland, and not to contact the complainant directly or indirectly.

The court also made a direction under section 36 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, meaning Griffiths will not be permitted to personally cross-examine named witnesses.

Griffiths is due to return to Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, August 12, at 2pm. The next hearing is listed for sentence and has been given a two-hour estimate.

Crime

Duty manager injured in alleged attack at Haverfordwest Iceland

Published

2 hours ago

July 5, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Shop worker says she has been left anxious and struggling to feel safe after glass jar was allegedly thrown at her head

A DUTY manager at Iceland in Haverfordwest says she has been left shaken, anxious and struggling to feel safe at work after an alleged assault inside the store.

The worker, who has asked not to be named, said a man entered the shop late in the evening on Wednesday, July 1, became abusive, threw items from shelves and allegedly threw a glass jar at her head.

She told The Herald: “A male entered the shop late evening being abusive. He then proceeded to throw items off the shelves and threw a jar at my head.

“I didn’t know what to do. I was thinking of the customers still in and around the store.”

The duty manager said she later required medical treatment for a head injury.

She said: “I’ve had my head glued, had headaches and trouble sleeping. I’m still going to work but very anxious doing so.”

The incident is understood to have led to the store closing early. The Herald has been told police attended the scene and that a person was arrested and later bailed while further enquiries continue.

Dyfed-Powys Police has been asked to confirm the details of the incident, including the nature of any arrest, whether anyone has been bailed, and whether officers are appealing for witnesses or CCTV. The force told The Herald it was progressing the enquiry, but no formal statement had been received at the time of publication.

The worker said returning to the store had been extremely difficult.

“It was very frightening going back to work not feeling safe,” she said. “The memories are raw. The smells and visions are going to hang around for a while yet.”

She said customers and colleagues had rallied around her since the alleged attack.

“I can’t really speak for others that were involved,” she said. “However, all customers who are aware of what happened have shown great care towards me since the incident, and so have the staff.”

The duty manager said the incident highlighted wider concerns about abuse and violence faced by shop workers.

She said: “There’s not much a retail worker can do. Our options are limited. We can’t approach any customers. Our store has very little security options.

“We can only call emergency services and ask the person to leave. By the time emergency help has arrived, it’s usually too late, whether it’s your usual theft or incidents like this.”

She said more needed to be done to protect retail workers and the public in Haverfordwest town centre.

“There needs to be more security presence,” she said. “I’m not just speaking of Iceland, but I’m sure most shops in Haverfordwest are very open to thefts and abuse, from children up to impatient customers of all ages.

“Whether that’s police or stores employing their own security, something needs to happen.”

Despite the trauma, the worker said she wanted to thank those who had supported her.

She said: “I’d like to thank all the customers, the local shops in town and all my colleagues and family.

“Everybody who has heard of the situation has looked after me, and I’m definitely learning of the community spirit here in Haverfordwest.”

She added: “I know the locals know who I am but I don’t want the attention. I just need to heal and power through this.

“I’m just grateful for everyone’s help and only want everyone to feel safe at work.”

The Herald will update this story when Dyfed-Powys Police provides a formal response.

Crime

Wales’ police commissioners to face MPs over future of policing

Published

6 hours ago

July 5, 2026

Tom Sinclair

WALES’ four Police and Crime Commissioners are to be questioned by MPs next week as major changes to the way policing is governed move closer.

The Welsh Affairs Committee will take evidence on Wednesday, July 8, as part of its inquiry into the future of policing in Wales.

The session will examine the UK Government’s proposed reforms, including plans to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners at the end of their current electoral term in 2028.

In England, PCC responsibilities are expected to pass to elected regional mayors or council leaders. However, there is still uncertainty over who would take on those functions in Wales, where policing remains reserved to Westminster but local government and many related public services are devolved.

MPs are also expected to question the commissioners on the wider implications of the UK Government’s Police Reform Bill, including proposals that could lead to the merger of some of the 43 territorial police forces across England and Wales.

The committee is likely to explore how any changes would affect accountability, local policing priorities, rural crime, funding, and the relationship between Welsh police forces, the Home Office and the Welsh Government.

Topical policing issues are also expected to be raised, including violence against women and girls, the use of live facial recognition technology, and the continuing debate over whether policing should be devolved to Wales.

The witnesses will be Dafydd Llywelyn, Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed-Powys Police; Jane Mudd, Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent Police; Andy Dunbobbin, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales Police; and Emma Wools, Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales Police.

The public session is due to begin at 2.30pm in Committee Room 16 at the Palace of Westminster and can be watched live on Parliamentlive.tv.

Ruth Jones MP chairs the Welsh Affairs Committee, which scrutinises the work of the Wales Office and UK Government policy affecting Wales.