News

£500 fine a small price to pay for the truth, says Editor

Published

9 years ago

October 6, 2016

Thomas Sinclair: Outside Llanelli Magistrates’ Court (pic. Alan Evans)

THE EDITOR of The Pembrokeshire Herald has been fined for naming a youth in a court report.

At Llanelli Magistrates’ Court today (Oct 6), Thomas Sinclair, age 37, was fined £500 and ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs for an article which published the name of a fishing boat captain who crashed his vessel in 2015.

The article breached the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.

The case had been adjourned from September, when the CPS were asked to re-consider if the case should continue in light of representations from Sinclair’s lawyer that Milford Haven Port Authority, who had prosecuted the captain had made a similar breach of the law.

They had named the youth’s place of work, also a breach of the same Act of Parliament.

The judge told Sinclair that his approach had been cavalier and that this was a serious matter.

Speaking after the case, Sinclair of Hamilton Terrace, Milford Haven said: “I have been fined £500 today for naming the captain of a fishing vessel who crashed it after falling asleep at the wheel.

“Although the publication of the defendants’s name was made in error, it remains my view that it was in the public interest that he should have been named.

“Further, the youth who was named, had no objection to being named.

“That captain was just under the age of eighteen, and therefore legally should not have been named in the report in The Pembrokeshire Herald. However, no harm was done. As highlighted in today’s case the captain was already known to all.

“I fully respect that reporting restrictions are in place to protect the vulnerable; but this is not one of those cases.

“The decision the CPS made to bring the case to court genuinely baffled me.

“I was happy that my barrister was able to highlight that before the Pembrokeshire Herald was launched, that court reporting in west Wales was on the wane.

“The Herald has forced our competitors to employ more journalists, to report on more cases, and to show the public that justice is being done.

Mr Sinclair concluded: “We have to, as a newspaper push the boundaries on what can be reported, a free and fair press is the cornerstone of democracy.”

“£500 is a small price to pay for the truth.”

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30 Comments

Name Supplied

October 6, 2016 at 8:10 pm

This really is quite horrendous – media law is media law and, in relation to youths in court, it is there for a reason. The reasons listed for breaching reporting restrictions are non reasons and are no defence. It is an appalling example to set to younger journalists.
Pembrokeshire Knight

October 6, 2016 at 8:14 pm

The law is the law, its not acceptable to break it because you think its stupid or irrelevant. Herald has lost some respect IMO.
Charlie Mapp

October 6, 2016 at 10:32 pm

Typical self righteous “journalist”
Ben

October 6, 2016 at 10:46 pm

Um. Confused. Thought he originally quivered in his defence he didn’t realise he was reporting the name in contravention of law. And now after the event it turns out our heroic “journalist” was wilfully forcing back the boundaries of law to bring his people the truth.

Plonker.
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News

BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story

Published

1 minute ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

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.

Business

First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead

Published

3 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE FIRST ship carrying major components for Dragon LNG’s new onshore wind turbines docked at Pembroke Port yesterday afternoon, marking the start of physical deliveries for the multi-million-pound renewable energy project.

The Maltese-registered general cargo vessel Peak Bergen berthed at Pembroke Dock shortly after 4pm on Wednesday, bringing tower sections and other heavy components for the three Enercon turbines that will eventually stand on land adjacent to the existing gas terminal at Waterston.

A second vessel, the Irish-flagged Wilson Flex IV, is due to arrive in the early hours of this morning (Thursday) carrying the giant rotor blades.

The deliveries follow a successful trial convoy on 25 November, when police-escorted low-loader trailers carried dummy loads along the planned route from the port through Pembroke, past Waterloo roundabout and up the A477 to the Dragon LNG site.

Dragon LNG’s Community and Social Performance Officer, Lynette Round, confirmed the latest movements in emails to the Herald.

“The Peak Bergen arrived yesterday with the first components,” she said. “We are expecting another delivery tomorrow (Thursday) onboard the Wilson Flex IV. This will be blades and is currently showing an ETA of approximately 03:30.”

The £14.3 million project, approved by Welsh Ministers last year, will see three turbines with a combined capacity of up to 13.5 MW erected on company-owned land next to the LNG terminal. Once operational – expected in late 2026 – they will generate enough electricity to power the entire site, significantly reducing its carbon footprint.

Port of Milford Haven shipping movements showed the Peak Bergen approaching the Haven throughout Wednesday morning before finally tying up at the cargo berth in Pembroke Dock. Cranes began unloading operations yesterday evening.

Weather conditions are currently favourable for this morning’s arrival of the Wilson Flex IV, which was tracking south of the Smalls at midnight.

The abnormal-load convoys carrying the components from the port to Waterston are expected to begin next week, subject to final police and highway approvals.

A community benefit fund linked to the project will provide training opportunities and energy-bill support for residents in nearby Waterston, Llanstadwell and Neyland.

Further updates will be issued by Dragon LNG as the Port of Milford Haven as the delivery programme continues.

Photo: Martin Cavaney

Crime

Banned for 40 months after driving with cocaine breakdown product in blood

Published

3 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Sarah-Jane Absalom

A MILFORD HAVEN woman has been handed a lengthy driving ban after admitting driving with a controlled drug in her system more than ten times over the legal limit.

SENTENCED AT HAVERFORDWEST

Sally Allen, 43, of Wentworth Close, Hubberston, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (Dec 4) for sentencing, having pleaded guilty on November 25 to driving with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the prescribed limit.

The court heard that Allen was stopped on August 25 on the Old Hakin Road at Tiers Cross while driving an Audi A3. Blood analysis showed 509µg/l of Benzoylecgonine, a breakdown product of cocaine. The legal limit is 50µg/l.

COMMUNITY ORDER AND REHABILITATION

Magistrates imposed a 40-month driving ban, backdated to her interim disqualification which began on November 25.

Allen was also handed a 12-month community order, requiring her to complete 10 days of rehabilitation activities as directed by the Probation Service.

She was fined £120, ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £114 surcharge. Her financial penalties will be paid in £25 monthly instalments from January 1, 2026.

The bench—Mrs H Roberts, Mr M Shankland and Mrs J Morris—said her guilty plea had been taken into account when passing sentence.