13/02/2013 BBC Wales Today

Good evening. Welcome to Wales Today live from Llandre near

Aberystwyth. Tonight, this small village in Ceredigion is at the

centre of the horsemeat scandal. This is the man whose meat cutting

plant is under investigation. He denies passing-off horsemeat as

beef and says he has done nothing wrong. By I do not do kebabs,

mincemeat or beefburgers. This is purely meat cutting. But the

repercussions are already being felt. Local butchers say they are

concerned about the impact this could have on their business.

was a topic of conversation bid -- before the news broke out last

night. The eyes of the world are on Aberystwyth now so it is a little

bit frightening. And what noises from the mart today

in Carmarthen? Farmers fear for the industry.

Good evening. Also tonight. The regrading of exam results

caused confusion last summer, now new a warning, it could happen

again. We go back to the battlefields of

Belgium to hear about the Welsh poet who wrote in the trenches

Good evening from Llandre near Aberystwyth. This is a village that

tonight is at the centre of another twist in the horsemeat scandal. 24

hours ago we learned that police and the Food Standards Agency had

raided a meat plant here, suspicious that horsemeat was being

passed off as beef. It has become a European story. The plant up in the

darkness beyond is at the centre of this. It was raided yesterday. The

owner of the plant has strongly denied any wrong doing and today

let our cameras into his factory to give his side of the story. Tonight,

we hear from him, those making the accusations and the wider community.

Just how have butchers, farmers, and you the consumer reacted to

this news. Despite yesterday's a ride by the Food Standards Agency

and the claim operations had been suspended, there was plenty of

activity here this morning. The company's owner letter saying. He

says the company only cuts source meat and insists he has not done

anything wrong. I do not to processing. I do not do mincemeat

or beefburgers. This is not a processing plant. It is purely

production. Operations have now been suspended at the plant. The

Food Standards Agency also traded this meat supply and in Yorkshire

yesterday. The FSA says it suspect horsemeat leaving this site was

later sold as beef. What we have been told and advised is that the

meat in question had come from an identifiable course, it had come

from the Republic of Ireland and shipped out eventually to an

address and a cellar in Belgium. are acting on credible intelligence.

Quite often, it is quite difficult to marry up records. We want to

identify any meat that may be of concern. The allegations have

shocked politicians of all sides. The time Mr was asked what action

had been taken against any company found to be trying to mislead the

public? Yesterday, the Food Standards Agency had raided a

couple of premises. There should be full intervention of the law if any

wrongdoing is found. Integrity is key to the supply trade. Consumers

trust in the produce they are buying. We have to make sure

consumers can have that trust. Inspectors have been in Llandre

throughout the day. There is some activity at the meat cutting plant

behind be tonight. Earlier today, - Earlier today, Sian Lloyd went to

the meat cutting plant. The owner of Farmbox Meats, Dafydd Raw-Rees

agreed to be interviewed on the damning allegations against him. He

denied he has done anything wrong. I am contracted to bone horsemeat

for an Irish producer. The horsemeat is deliver it and cut up

and is taken from here to Belgium. I get paid for doing the cutting up.

There is no further processing. I do not do kebabs, mincemeat or

beefburgers. This is not a processing plant. This is purely

production, meet Captain. The Food Standards Agency has said

operations have been suspended here today. You can see for yourself the

activity that is going on. I invited you in to see and to report

what you saw. I cannot say more than that. The FSA have been and

truthful. There is a complete paper trail. When the container comes

from Ireland, they get the paperwork so they have known about

it. To pick on me now does not make sense in any way, shape or form.

What sort of impact is is having on you? What impact would it have on

anyone? You start up a business and you get dealt a low blow. If I

protest I protest too much. The owner of the meat cuttting

plant Dafydd Raw-Rees there vehemently denying any wrong doing.

His position clearly contrasting that of the Food Standards Agency

who say they have suspended operations at the plant, alleging

that horse meat has been sold on as beef for kebabs and burgers. Well

the horse meat scandal is having an impact on everyone from farmers to

consumers, all trying to get to grips with every new twist and turn.

But what effect is it having on the Carmarthen Matt showcasing the best

the Welsh meat industry has to offer. Every animal here can be

traced back to their birth and some may even be known by their first

name. But farmers here have been rocked by the scandal. It has been

a disaster. They have now been found in this country as well. I

hope standards would be better in this country but this has let us

all down. You do not know where it will lead to. But with many of us

not knowing horsemeat was handled in Wales, what are the fact. 62

places have licences to cut up horsemeat. That is different to a

licensed to slaughter horses. Six places have those, men in Wales.

There is no market in Britain for the meat but it is legal to sell

here. Horsemeat is cheaper than beef so there is potential for

profit. The body that promotes Welsh meat is concerned about what

this is doing to the repetition of meat here. Any bad news for any

industry taints that industry was a bit tense does people who work

within the legal framework of that industry. We are fortunate in Wales

because we have protected geographic information. The big

thing about the horse scandal is people do not know what they are

eating. I do not tend to buy meat from a supermarket. But I

definitely would not at this time. But there have horse in there, what

else is in there? Local butchers have reported an increase in

customers. It is good for us because people will not go to

supermarkets, they will come to a local butcher because they want to

know where the meat is from. the industry can do now is wait,

watch and to its best to reassure people that Welsh meat is safe.

Former Rural Affairs Minster and local AM Elin Jones join me now.

How do you think this is affecting the meat industry in Wales, it is

not good is it? There has been a cloud cast over the industry in

Wales. Farmers, processors and retailers are going about their

activity and producing excellent quality meat in Wales. A shadow has

been cast over that today. The sooner we can clarify this and the

investigation concludes, then we will have greater clarity what has

been happening here and we can again have confidence in the Welsh

meat industry. What about the role of the Food Standards Agency. We

know about this because of Ireland's Food Standards Agency.

went to see the FSA and the Government's learning a lesson from

all of this. There is now DNA sampling that can be done of the

product and they should be more spot checks sampling of meat done

by the FSA in order to ensure retailers are putting on the

shelves what is on the turn. We are both old enough to remember the BSE

scandal and the trauma. How can this sort of thing happen again?

The meat supply chain has become increasingly convoluted. We need

more simplicity in the chain. It should only be simple. But it has

become far too convoluted. There is responsibility on the retailers to

make it more simple and get back to basics so that we have less travel

of meat before it reaches the shelves and people can have more

confidence in it. More from Aberystwyth later in the

programme. First, here's Claire with the rest of the day's news.

Good evening. Who could forget the weeks of uncertainty faced by GCSE

students in Wales last year during the confusion over regrading exam

papers? Well today the examinations body, the WJEC, has raised concerns

the situation, which led to the regrading of more than 2,000

English language GCSE papers in Wales, could happen again this year.

The Welsh Government has dismissed the fears, saying the WJEC comments

are silly. Our education correspondent Arwyn Jones is with

Studying for your GCSEs can be a very stressful time for pupils, as

can getting your result. Last summer, before students sat their

GCSEs, all exam boards were told to toughen up the threshold for

getting a C grade. That meant thousands of youngsters didn't get

the grade they were expecting The Education Minister here said that

was unfair. As a result, thousands of papers were regraded in Wales

and better results were given to some pupils here albeit after a

tense few weeks. Today, the WJEC have raised concerns the same

issues could happen again his year. They have written to the government

saying they're awaiting clarification from them on several

issues relating to GCSE English Language as a matter of urgency.

But the Welsh Government hit back saying the comments were silly.

They added they were taking steps to ensure there will not be a

repetition of the events of last summer. That's not a view shared by

some teaching unions in Wales. think there is a possibility we

could have a repeat of the last situation. It is legitimately

concerns. We went to see how the Welsh government will answer those

concerns. It is not helpful for the government to dismiss them as silly.

What we want to see is a proper dialogue, much more the taught you

would see in the staffroom rather than the shouting and name-calling

but you see in the school yard. That's a view shared by many in the

education sector in Wales. The Welsh Government and the exams

regulator in England have to agree that marks and grades for GCSEs are

comparable in both countries. Many pupils have been sitting mock GCSE

exams over the past couple of weeks. But when the real thing comes along,

they as well as parents and teachers, will be hoping that last

year's mix-up doesn't happen again this year.

A man who admitted abducting and raping a school girl in woodland at

Leeswood in Flintshire last August has been found guilty of another

rape, an attempted rape and an attempted child abduction. 23-year-

old David Edgerton from Connah's Quay was described in his trial as

a serial sex offender. The court heard how one of his victims

managed to send messages to her sister's Facebook page, which

alerted her family to where she was. Edgerton will be sentenced next

month. The European operation of Tata

Steel, which employs around 7,500 people in Wales has reported a big

increase in losses. Figures for the last three months of 2012 show it

made losses of �50 million. The company says the restarting of a

new blast furnace at Port Talbot this week will improve the

company's performance. A man who fell into the River Wye

near Chepstow yesterday is believed to have died. Gwent Police say

rescue teams have finished searching the river and the

surrounding area without finding him. The man is said to have fallen

from this bridge which spans the border between Chepstow and England

at around 2:45pm yesterday afternoon. Police have not named

him or given details about how he fell in. But they believe he may

have died. These are our local rivers. We're well first to the

dangers of the currents. We carried out an intensive keyhole a surge

last night. The story is that the man disappeared under the water

very quickly. The Coast Guard, a police helicopter and local rescue

boats have been searching. Today, the search the river banks. So far,

without any success. As the rescue boats returned tonight, the search

was called off. Police say they are giving support to the man's family

at this difficult time. Workers at Anglesey Aluminium have

been warned that there is a strong likelihood of the plant closing.

Around 80 staff are still employed at the site in Holyhead, which saw

its smelting operation shut down in 2009. The company says it is facing

severe operating losses but insists no final decision has been made.

Now the second in our series, looking ahead to the centenary of

the start of World War I. Yesterday we heard about the campaign to

erect a memorial to all those from Wales who took part in the conflict.

It would be built in the Belgian region of Flanders near the spot

where Welsh poet Hedd Wyn was killed. Roger Pinney's been there

and found a community, keen to establish close links with Wales.

The piece contains some flash The haunting melody, a lament

played in Flanders at a Welsh act of remembrance. One some and they

gather here, often in the tense and sometimes in their hundreds to

commemorate the death of Welsh poet Hedd Wyn and all his comrades who

died in the battle of passion Dale. The local people here have no real

connection to Wales but they have been moved by the story of Hedd Wyn.

What happened to Hedd Wyn seems to sum at the tragedy. A poet, he

wrote in the trenches to compete in the National Eisteddfod. He was

killed before he learnt he had won He was killed here at a crossroads

not far from a town. It is here they want to build the memorial.

the going down of the cent, early morning, we will remember them.

the end of our ceremony, we will be on our way. They want to remember.

They remembered that in their dark days the British turned out to

defend them. At this ceremony more people turned up than usual.

Afterwards, it is across the road to the local bar. This committee

wants to bind closer ties with Wales. It has made its a commitment

to the Welsh memorial ft at the Welsh government has so far not

promised any cash towards it. The bar keeps a corner devoted to the

Hedd Wyn story. I know of the story. We talked about doing something

more. We want to do something more. We do it every first Monday of the

month. We try to do everything that is possible to make this connection

with Wales. It is very important. We'd go not want to be a tourist

attraction, we want something to commemorate things that happened

100 years ago. That is very important. The people of this part

of Flanders remind with constant reminders of the horrors of war.

The people of Wales played their part in the sacrifice.

Football. Wrexham are closing-in on Conference leaders Grimsby after a

1-0 win at Hereford last night. Here's the table. They are now just

behind Grimsby only on goal difference. Five points below

Wrexham are Newport County, who move back to fourth after a 2-0

home win over Mansfield. Snooker. Wales' Dominic Dale came

close to pulling off a major shock at the Welsh Open in Newport this

afternoon. The Penarth potter, led World number two Judd Trump 3-1,

but then lost the last three frames to lose the first round match 4-3.

Tonight, Mark Williams plays Robert Milkins for a place in the second

round. You can see that much from 7:00pm on BBC Two for us.

Winter was back with a vengeance today as snow fell in many parts of

the country. North Wales was hardest hit, from Gwynedd to

Flintshire, where several inches fell on higher ground. On the roads

it made for difficult driving conditions for motorists. But the

white stuff didn't linger for too long. Warmer temperatures meant it

turned to rain and sleet as the day went on. Is that the end of the

I think we have seen the last of the snow for a while. The next few

days are looking drier and milder as well. But today most of us had

some snow. Most of it in the north. Graham Evans took this photo on the

Llangollen Canal near Froncysyllte. Less snow in Chepstow but just

enough for Caroline to build a miniature snowman. I hope Caroline

has put him in the freezer. Otherwise he's probably a puddle of

water now because temperatures are rising. Recently 9 Celsius in

Milford Haven. As the milder air comes over the cold ground its

producing a lot of low cloud, mist and fog. So some poor visibility

tonight with heavy rain on the way. So this evening damp with rain and

drizzle. Fog on high ground. Overnight heavy rain 20mm to 40mm.

60mm, over two inches, in Snowdonia with a risk of minor river and

surface water flooding. The wind easing after midnight with

temperatures above freezing. The reason for the rain tonight is a

cold front and that will be over England by breakfast time tomorrow.

So by eight in the morning the rain will have cleared from Wales. The

whole country dry but still a lot of water on the ground and in the

rivers. Some low cloud and mist. Feeling milder with a westerly

breeze. So a better day tomorrow. Drier and brighter. A few scattered

showers but some sunshine for Valentine's Day. Temperatures

higher than recently. 7 Celsius to 10 Celsius with a westerly breeze.

Tomorrow night dry and clear. And turning chilly with a widespread

ground frost. Friday looks a nice day. Fine and dry with sunshine.

Temperature reaching 7 Celsius to 10 Celsius with light winds. As for

the weekend, Saturday will start dull and damp but turning drier

through the day. Sunday the best day of the weekend. Breezy but dry

and brighter with some sunshine. Next week, there may be some rain

in the southwest for a time otherwise the signs are we are in

for a dry and more settled spell of weather for a change. Thanks. No

more snow tonight. Milder with heavy rain and mist. Drier and

brighter tomorrow with a few showers.

More now on our top story and the latest on the horse meat scandal.

Let's return to Jamie in Llandre near Aberystwyth.

Thanks. Just a reminder for you of the latest from here. The owner of

the meat plant at the centre of this scandal has vigorously denied

any wrongdoing. His premises were raided yesterday by inspectors from

the Food Standards Agency. Let us talk to our reporter for has been

I have been speaking to a number of people. Many people did not know

this plant exists. It seems everybody has been shocked by these

allegations and by the revelation that horsemeat is cut here. We must

stress that has nothing necessarily wrong or illegal about that. The

owner makes it clear that everything that goes on here is

above board. But this is a story people have been following closely

and for it to land on your doorstep, it leads to a sense of bemusement.

The Food Standards Agency is not the only body investigating this.

Cardiff council have announced they would carry out their own

inspections over the coming weeks. They will be looking at suppliers

and providers who are not part of the Food Standards Agency. We are

testing all supplies and some of Our secondary suppliers as well.

The investigation will continue and we will keep an eye out for the

outcome. We will have an update at 8pm and after the BBC News at Ten.