29/04/2013 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to Wales Today our top story, the police operation to

investigate child abuse in north Wales uncovers new claims involving

children in care going back half a century.

76 people come forward for the first time. 18 homers were involved

and 140 allegations in all. To feel that we are being believe this time,

Our other headlines tonight, all change for our ambulances. The far

reaching review into the way the service is run.

The man accused of murdering April Jones. The trial of Mark Bridger

could last seven weeks. They've constructed some of our

most iconic buildings, but the administrators tell us 430 jobs

will go at Rowecord Engineering in Newport.

And in tonight's sport - it's an all Welsh Wembley final. Wrexham

and Newport County will face each other. It's hugs all round and a

party in the changing room. The winner will be back in the football

Good evening. The police operation to investigate historic allegations

of child abuse in north Wales has uncovered claims of systemic and

serious sexual and physical abuse of children in care, going back

half a century. Operation Pallial, which was set up by the Home

Secretary last year, has received allegations from 76 men and women

who have never come forward before. Between them there are 140

allegations of abuse naming 84 individuals. 16 of those have been

named by more than one person. 10 of them are now believed to have

died. Roger Pinney has the story. There will be those that have never

spoken about what happened to them. Others will have confided in family

and friends. For up to half a century, all have carried the

corrosive burden of abuse. Then there is the abusers. Some of whom

will have thought they have got away with it. Opening old wounds is

a painful process but sometimes won't have to be opened to be

healed. Keith Gregory now a Wrexham councillor says he was abused when

he was in care. He now campaigns on behalf of other alleged victims.

is a lot better this time round. Last time, it was terrible. This

time, it still hurts. It is not easy to do. It is very hard.

despite the difficulties, new people have come forward with

allegations. There is intense media interest in what is emerging as a

fresh scandal in North Wales children's homes. 18 care homes

across North Wales have been implicated. There is a large volume

of material to assess and analyse. We will deal with on an individual

basis. The big question has always been, was very paedophile ring?

do not know if there was a paedophile ring. But I am looking

at individual allegations. As far as victims are concerned, we do not

forget, any new information and allegations that are made will be

investigated thoroughly at we will pursue them. If there is any sense

among them that they need look -- not look over their shoulder, they

are wrong because they certainly need to. We now know the

allegations date back to 1963. Earlier police investigations came

in a series of waves, starting in the 1970s. By 1985, men were

convicted of sex offences against children. Through the 1980s,

another inquiry brought six men and a woman to justice. 1991 brought

the start of another police investigation and seven men were

convicted of either physical or sexual abuse of children. In 1994,

Clwyd Commission des report, a document that has never been

published. It was against this background in 1996 that William

Hague set up the Waterhouse Tribunal. It's report was published

in 2000. 16 men and one woman were convicted but despite that, the

allegations did not go away. There were claims that he full truth that

it not come out. Last year, a victim of abuse in North Wales made

new claims on a BBC Newsnight programme. The allegations were

made against a former senior Conservative, claims that were

false and wholly withdrawn by the programme. But his assertion that

the abuse was not confined to the children's homes still stands.

After he met the Secretary of State for Wales, the Home Secretary

announced two inquiries, one into the Waterhouse report, one in two

historic abuse and all those previous police inquiries. This man

now feel strong enough to come forward. These people need to be

brought to justice. Why I feel lucky, I feel lucky because I am

still here. Some of those victims are no longer with us. I am not

trying to be a martyr. I am not trying to be a saint, I am only

giving my vision of what happened to me. Justice needs to be served.

The government needs to give serious consideration, if it is

serious about getting to do all it can to stop abuse going on, I think

they need to set up a Royal Commission and look at all the

issues around it. For alleged victims of abuse and those who

campaigned on their behalf, the quest for justice has been long and

at times rocky. It is a road they are still travelling. Roger joins

me now from North Wales Police headquarters. Roger, you've

reported on this story for more than two decades. How do you judge

the significance of what has happened today? It is the scale of

it. We have had all those previous police investigations. We have had

trials and prosecutions, a judicial inquiry which lasted more than 200

days. Report after report. Despite all of that, 76 people have come

forward who have never spoken out before. And it -- in itself is

astonishing. Over the years, I have sat the wife in six or seven trials

and the Waterhouse Tribunal and what sticks with me is the long

lasting effect of abuse on those who suffered it. These were small

children when they were abused. They are now middle-aged and they

have had to live with what has happened to them every single day

of their adult lives. We have had the details of the scale of what

went on and also the details of theseAllegations. Where does 10

macro go from here? -- Operation Pallial. This was looking at the

background and taking new evidence and now they are moving on to face

two that is looking if they can pursue them and there has already

been one arrest. A man was brought to North Wales for rest --

questioning. I am struck by what is not industry support us what -- in

this report as what is in it. I have asked about several things. We

do not know, there is no mention in this report, whether a paedophile

ring was operating in North Wales. There have been certain allegations

of that. This is a work-in-progress for the Operation Pallial team. I

am also struck that we know that Operation Pallial is offering help

and support and counselling to those who have come forward. We can

only hope that those who need help will accept it. Big changes are

needed to the way the ambulance service in is run. That's one of

the key recommendations of a wide ranging review commissioned by the

Welsh Government. The review also says paramedics to be given more

training to make decisions about patient care and calls for a revamp

performance targets amid concerns about staff morale. Our health

correspondent Owain Clarke joins us now. So the review calls for big

changes. What are they? This is the report. It talks about fundamental

flaws in the way that the services currently run. It proposes three

models for example for the Welsh government to consider for the

future but more specifically, it says the service should released --

concentrate on images he paced it - - patients. -- emergency patients.

It also talks about training paramedics are so that they can

make more decisions on the ground. If somebody dares really need to go

to accident and emergency and it talks about a move away from the

stringent response to a time target and quiet -- concentrating more on

the quality of care that patients have. The review notes some

concerns and complaints from staff at have been congratulated when

they have hit a target but the patients have died but they have

been criticised when they have not reached a target but saved

someone's life. How likely is it that the Welsh government will

accept these recommendations? will not really know that until

next week. The Welsh government have declined to comment until this

matter has been debated by the Assembly next week. The service has

not won two, before then either. That has not stopped the opposition

parties from having their say. cannot get patients into the busy

departments unless there are beds in the department. And

fundamentally, if we are going to see any improvement in the

emergency care in the response times, we will have to see more in-

patient beds in hospitals in the short term. Other opposition

parties are also saying now is the time for action. This has been the

13th audit or a view of the service since 2006. -- review. The jury in

the trial of a woman accused of killing five members of the same

family has been sent home again. Lee-Anna Shiers and her partner

Liam Timbrell died along with three young children in a fire at their

home in Prestatyn. Melanie Smith denies starting the blaze last

October. The jury will continue its deliberations in the morning. A

copyright tribunal has been held in London, over the level of royalties

paid by the BBC to Welsh language musicians. The BBC told the

tribunal it was currently paying musicians group AOS an interim

licence of �120,000 per year to broadcast songs controlled by the

collection agency. EOS wants interim payments to almost triple

and a final settlement of �1.5 million.

The National Library has released pictures of the damage caused by

the fire, which destroyed part of the roof on Friday. A small part of

the collection will be dried by a salvage company in Oxford, after

suffering water damage. An investigation is under way into the

cause of the fire. The library will reopen tomorrow.

The process of selecting a jury for the trial of the man accused of

murdering April Jones has begun at Mold Crown Court. Mark Bridger also

faces counts of child abduction and attempting to pervert the course of

justice. He denies the accusations. Five-year-old April went missing

from near her home in Machynlleth last October. Our reporter Cemlyn

Davies is outside the court. What happened in court today? Well, as

you say, the process has begun of selecting a jury for this trial. We

started with a pool of around 50 potential jurors. That was then

eventually whittled down to a panel of 26 and the final 12 will be

chosen in the morning. April Jones' parents, Paul and Coral, were in

court today. They sat in the public gallery as events unfolded. Below

them, the man accused of murdering their daughter stood in the dock.

Mark Bridger wore a blue short sleeved shirt and a tie. There's

been a strong media presence here throughout the day of course. The

press bench was full as it will be no doubt for the seven weeks the

judge said this trial could last. Remind us of the background. April

went missing on the 1st of October. She'd been playing with friends

near her home on the Bryn y Gog estate in Machynlleth. A few days

later Mark Bridger was charged with April's murder and abduction. He's

also accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice by

hiding her body. Mark Bridger has pleaded not guilty to all three

counts. The prosecution is expected to open its case here tomorrow.

Administrators at Wales' largest steel contractor have confirmed

around 430 jobs will be lost. Rowecord Engineering in Newport was

behind some high profile projects around the UK such as the roof of

the aquatic centre at the Olympic Park. The general economic climate

and losses on some recent contracts have been blamed for its collapse.

Here's our business correspondent Nick Servini.

An uncertain future. This group of welders and fabricators left the

Rowecord Engineering headquarters in Newport this morning not knowing

whether they will have a job to come back to. Never really saw it

coming. We knew they were in trouble weeks ago, maybe a couple

of months back, but we always thought they would get out of it.

It has just got worse and worse. Could anything have been done?

without somebody injecting a lot of capital, probably. I have been here

17 years with the company. It will affect all the families. I asked

one of the workers what his chances are not getting another job. Slim,

at the moment. Saying that, a lot of work we used to do in the steel

works now will be shared out amongst the existing companies

within the steelworks. Maybe there is a chance of some employment with

them. The administrators are now exploring which part of the

business can be salvaged and whether any jobs can be saved. You

have probably never heard of Rowecord Engineering, you're more

likely to have seen the things it has built. This striking footbridge

in the centre of new board is a typical example of the kind of big

ticket Engineering project it has built its reputation on -- Newport.

On that list includes some of the UK's biggest sporting venues. It

also covers industry with a new blast furnace at the Port Talbot

steelworks and more recently, the British Museum. What went wrong

with such a successful company? The administrators say new orders had

dried up and also that a number of recent contracts had cost the

company millions. The most costly was building the new blast furnace

which had overrun by more than three months and led to a dispute

with the steel company. They insist it met all its commercial

obligations and it offered Rowecord Engineering future work. Beef --

the problem is there will not be much of a future left for this 43-

year-old family run firm. Still to come before seven. Two clubs with

the same dream. They're both in the Wembley final but will it be

Newport County or Wrexham that get back into football league? Join me

in a few minutes. Figures obtained by BBC Wales show

that more than two-thirds of disabled employees who were made

redundant from Remploy factories here are not in work. The UK

Government is standing by its decision to stop subsidising non-

viable Remploy factories, seven of which have closed in Wales. More

from our political reporter, James Williams. It is the daily rituals

which occupy most of this man's time these days. The partially

sighted 51-year-old work for Remploy his whole working life

until being made redundant last autumn. He has not found works is.

You were slightly get disheartened. I am stuck in every day. I have

gone to work every day for years. I did a day's work. To me, it is a

reality that I cannot get used to. It will be hard for disabled people

to get a job when they are fit people still looking for work.

there are a few rays of hope. Henry is one of 75 former Remploy workers

to benefit from a support scheme. Despite finding work almost

immediately, leaving Remploy was a worrying prospect after 12 years of

service. The main fear for everybody that worked in Remploy

was that it was supposed to be a job for life. And obviously, with

different disabilities that people have got, you have the uncertainty

of, or will you ever work again? I was fortunate. This factory near

Blackwood shut last autumn. One of seven across Wales to close,

leaving 280 disabled people without work. Figures obtained by a BBC

Wales show that 88 of those have found employment, 31 %. 192 people

I yet to find work. Remploy says those figures do not reflect those

people that have found employment but are yet to be given work but

even so, for the majority of former employees, it has been difficult

moving on from what was the end of any rough. They opened their doors

in 1946 to help disabled servicemen and miners into work. That was then

but last year the UK government decided it was time to stop

subsidising loss-making factories. It is a decision ministers are

sticking by. What we are doing actually is looking at how we

support all disabled people so that in factories in Wales, however

there are 400,000 people in Wales with disabilities and we have to

support all of those. But the Welsh government disagrees, having

opposed the factory closures from the outset. This recession and

these austerity measures of the UK government have meant many things,

but I have never seen a multi- millionaire banker reduced to tears

about the prospect for the future but I have seen disabled workers

having to go through that experience. A working for Remploy

is a thing of the past 40 and and Henry. But the future for 140

employees remained uncertain. Commercial bids to run the Baglan

and Porth sites are currently being reviewed. A decision is expected

imminently. Unused churches across Wales could be knocked down or

converted into houses and flats for homeless people. Church leaders

have begun the process of identifying land and buildings

which could be used to provide affordable homes. Caroline Evans

has been to visit one church that's leading the way. It is modern,

light and this church in Cardiff could now become a Template for

similar projects across Wales. is a picture of the original church

of St Michael's which was built in 1922 and it was only supposed to be

a temporary construction. It lasted 80 years. In the end, they got

their new church by selling part of the grounds. Today, 21 people live

here. People like John Morgan, the first tenant to move in and

obviously a big fan of the idea. You turn round and say, we can

afford to build a new church, we can have more up-to-date church to

go to, not that I go there mind. There is no obligation to go. But

the idea that the Church could step in to solve what many regard as a

crisis in housing is now firmly on the agenda. We estimate there are

20,000 homeless people in Wales at the moment and 73,000 people

waiting on waiting lists with housing associations. This people

are helping people to make a difference in their society. Just

as here in Cardiff, in some cases, the proposals could mean knocking

down so much treasured churches. But church leaders still believe it

is the right thing to do. If people begin to understand that the Church

is there actually to try and improve people's way of life, man

of life, standard of life, then people perhaps start to see the

potential of the building in a different way. It is estimated that

Wales need to around 4,000 new affordable homes each year just to

meet current demand. Congregations will now be asked to come forward

with any spare space or surplus buildings they might have that

could make a home for someone. All roads lead to Wembley for two of

our Welsh sides. Here's Claire with tonight's sport.

Good evening. It's been a familiar trip for Welsh fans of late but for

the first time ever on Sunday, two Welsh teams will battle it out at

Wembley Stadium. Newport County and Wrexham will go head to head for a

place in the football league. There were amazing scenes yesterday as

both sets of fans celebrated getting to the final but

unfortunately only one side will have a fairy-tale end to their

season. The pictures and my eyes and said

it all. Pitch invasions, kisses all round and utter jubilation. Newport

and Wrexham celebrated winning their respective semi-finals and

securing a place at Wembley. Both clubs are aware that there is still

a job to do. Newport's changing room was bouncing as the party got

into full swing. The Welsh connection is not the only common

denominator. These are two clubs who have known hard times over the

years and now with the return to the Football League at stake for

one of them, they are both set for the big as 90 minutes of their

lives. We have to have the belief. It will be a fantastic encounter, a

tough game. Nothing different to any game this season. But we have

to go their positive. And hopefully a positive outcome. One step closer

to promotion but we are not there. It is great to see the fans coming

out in their droves. They have been fantastic war season. Hopefully

they will have another good day. There is no point going there and

losing. We have another big game to go. Wrexham's place in the final

had been booked with a win over Kidderminster. Three goals on the

day put the FA Trophy winners on the road to Wembley again. A second

trip to Wembley for them in five weeks. Grimsby started brightly

against Newport but a first-half goal was enough to complete the win

and book their place. Whatever the outcome on Sunday, it promises to

be a very proud day. Wembley will be all Welsh, north versus south.

It's also been a big weekend for Cardiff City. The players finally

got their hands on the Championship trophy in front of more than 26,000

fans. They'll be joining Swansea City in the Premier League next

season. Michael Laudrup's team are currently ninth, with four games to

play, after losing 2-0 away at Chelsea. Goals from Oscar and a

Frank Lampard penalty guaranteed all three points for the home side.

Newly-crowned PFA Player of the Year Gareth Bale has dismissed talk

of a summer transfer from Spurs to Real Madrid as speculation. The

Wales and Tottenham midfielder was voted the Player of the Year and

Young Player of the Year by his fellow professionals. The 23-year-

old becomes only the third player to win both of the PFA's main

awards, only Cristiano Ronaldo and Andy Gray have done it before.

Tomorrow we find out who's been picked to be part of the Lions tour

to Australia this summer. Warren Gatland will announce his selection

tomorrow morning. Welsh players are expected to make up a big portion

of the squad with flanker Sam Warburton the bookies' favourite to

be named as captain. News of who's in, tomorrow on Wales Today. It's

an exciting week ahead. We'll have the announcement first in our

lunchtime programme, tomorrow at 1:30. Enjoy your evening. Jamie,

back to you. Earlier this month we told you

about a 1,200-year-old oak tree which was toppled by strong winds.

Today it's emerged it could be cloned. Twig and bud samples from

the Pontfadog Oak, near Chirk, have been sent to organisations,

including the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, which will try to extract

its DNA. If it works, the cloned tree could return to its original

Time now for the weather forecast. There is only one Derek!

Thank goodness! Good news. Plenty more dry weather to come this week

thanks to high pressure. More sunshine too but some chilly nights

so if you're gardener watch out for ground frost. This evening the odd

shower in the north for a time otherwise a dry night. The cloud

disappearing and with a clear sky turning cold. Temperatures falling

close to freezing inland with a widespread ground frost. A slight

frost air in rural spots. Tomorrow's chart shows a ridge of

high pressure extending from the Atlantic across Britain which means

good weather. Here's the picture then for 8:00am. A lovely start to

the day. A bit cool and fresh but clear and sunny. The wind lighter

than today as well. During the day a few cumulus cloud will build up

as temperatures rise. Small chance of a light shower but most places

dry. The north and west coast, Pembrokeshire and most of

Ceredigion clear and sunny in the afternoon. Top temperatures 10 to

14 Celsius. The wind lighter than today so feel a little warmer and

very pleasant in the sunshine. On Anglesey, a lovely day tomorrow.

Dry and fairy sunny. Temperatures not that high. Nine in Amlwch but

the wind light. Dry in Torfaen as well tomorrow. Sunshine and a few

clouds. Temperatures in Cwmbran rising to 13 Celsius. Tomorrow

night dry and fairly clear so turning cold again. Another

widespread ground frost. A touch of air frost in rural mid Wales. On

Wednesday more dry weather and sunshine. Cloudier in the north

with perhaps a little rain by evening. Thursday generally

cloudier. The odd light shower otherwise dry. Bright in places

with a little sunshine and light winds. Beyond that, signs of a

change on Friday. Pressure will fall with some rain on the way. As

for the bank holiday weekend, not a great start but the signs are it

will get better. Tonight's headlines from the BBC, police

leading an inquiry into historic allegations of sexual abuse in

children's homes in North Wales, say they have fresh allegations and

evidence they it was more widespread than previously thought.

We do not forget. Any new information and allegations that

are made will be investigated thoroughly and we will pursue them.

If there is any sense among them that they need not look over their

shoulder, they are wrong. They certainly need to. We'll have an