05/02/2016 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to Wales Today. Tonight's headlines.

Daniel O'Connell waited three years to clear his name.

Now the warning that budget cuts at the Crown Prosecution Service

could lead to miscarriages of justice.

I just think the whole thing is shambolic and as someone who has

never had any dealings with the police and the CPS

or anything, you trust the system to look after you.

It's back to basics for the Lib Dems.

Their vision for the Assembly election - good schools,

Preserving the wildlife around our coast -

proposals to give greater protection to breeding and feeding areas.

This weekend's opponents name their side but Ireland

Destination Dublin - the exodus has begun.

Hundreds of fans leave make the journey for the opening game.

Spending cuts to the agency in charge of prosecuting criminal

cases could lead to more miscarriages of justice.

That's the message tonight from a group of leading barristers.

It's been claimed the Crown Prosecution Service is operating

It comes as the CPS has been blamed for the collapse of a number

This special report from Paul Heaney.

It was a charity event with lots of famous faces,

raising money to give young people free tuition,

But allegations were later made about money going missing

from the Life Music Foundation in Newport.

The charity director said it was a misunderstanding

about paperwork but, charged with conspiracy to defraud,

he found himself in court and there started the delays.

It was always that the prosecution and the CPS were not ready and legal

people kept saying to us from the start the minute we can

show our evidence, this will be dropped for sure.

It was three years before Mr O'Connell was told to leave court

The judge said it was not the Crown Prosecution Service's

finest hour, citing delays and the wrong charges

It had an enormous impact on all of us and people maround me.

I was clearly shunned by a number of people in the business community.

There is now concern from the body representing barristers here that

mistakes like this could happen more often.

Colleagues in the Crown Prosecution Service and in the police

are struggling with a lack of resources so that,

in effect, they are operating almost with one hand tied behind their back

Plenty of people have been leaving the CPS in recent years.

In Wales they used to have around 400 staff, now more like 300.

If you don't resource the system properly, you are increasing a risk

that things will go wrong and if things do go wrong,

that does lead, in the worst case scenario, in people who are innocent

going to prison and people who have been properly wronged,

people who are the victims of criminal offences,

not seeing justice take place in front of them.

There are lots of complicated reasons as to why someone might be

charged with a crime but not face a jury in court.

It could be because they themselves have pleaded guilty.

But it can sometimes be to do with what the prosecution

Perhaps their witness is no longer willing to give evidence in court

or the prosecution themselves have not disclosed all the evidence

The proportion of cases that don't make a full trial for prosecution

It used to be around one in six cases, more recently it is more

That is cases that don't reach a full trial for decisions that

were made by the Crown Prosecution Service.

The service itself instead points to an increase in conviction rates.

It has more complex, sexual and domestic abuse cases,

where witnesses can sometimes be more unreliable.

Our cases really scrutinised as well as they were given you have

got a quarter fewer people working for you?

I am very confident that I have highly skilled professional people

who are extremely dedicated to the work they do

But there have been other high profile cases in Wales where judges

Two hospital nurses nurses accused of wilfully neglecting

This case hinged on highly technical evidence.

The judge criticised the CPS in taking so long

Relying on that evidence, he said, was faintly desperate.

It is not time to say enough is enough with cuts?

Cut any more and we are really going to be struggling?

Mr O'Connell now runs a fashion business, waiting to hear about some

The Treasury has rejected the accusations that cuts have

affected the performance of the CPS, maintaining it has the resources it

The family of a Denbighshire man whose death is at the centre

of a murder investigation have described it as a nightmare

The body of 44-year-old Liam Hill was found at his flat in Rhyl

on the 8th of January, two days after he was last seen.

Today, his sister said she wants justice for her brother.

For Liam to be taken away from us at such a young age and in such

It is a nightmare that we can't wake up from.

Someone somewhere must have seen or knows something.

On behalf of my mum and our family, I am pleading with you to come

A jury at the Old Bailey has been sent home for the weekend

in the trial of a Cardiff man accused of helping his friend travel

to Syria to fight with so-called Islamic State.

Kristen Brekke from the Grangetown area is charged with assisting

Aseel Muthana in the preparation of an act of terrorism.

The jury will continue considering its verdict on Monday.

A visually-impaired schoolboy was let down by the education

department at Wrexham Council, according to an official report.

The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales says he didn't receive

appropriate education in a mainstream class

because his needs weren't properly identified.

Wrexham Council says it's apologised to his mother and accepts

The Welsh Liberal Democrats say they'll focus relentlessly on public

services in the Assembly election campaign as they try to halt

They're holding their spring conference in Cardiff this weekend

against their most difficult backdrop since the

The party suffered big losses in the UK general election.

More from our political editor Nick Servini.

there will be drama, there will be foul play and there will be intense

pressure on the star performers. But I am not talking about the six

Nations, I am talking about the other big event that kicks off this

weekend, the Welsh party conference season. And it begins in the shadow

of the Principality Stadium tonight with a rally by the Lib Dems. It has

been a case of going back to the classroom for the Lib Dems and going

back to the basics of devolved politics. Don't expect anything

because edition or possible coalitions this weekend, the

emphasis will be on policies to bring down class sizes and to build

up the number of nurses on our hospital wards. We want to focus

relentlessly on putting our public services back together. We have an

education system which is under pressure, we have a health service

which is missing target after target after target. And we have an economy

which is continuously underperforming. It is time we

started to put those things right. Stop tinkering and focus on the

basics. What a difference a year makes for the Liberal Democrats. At

their last spring conference, Nick Clegg was the Deputy Prime Minister

announcing new powers for Wales alongside David Cameron. And they

had 57 MPs across the UK. This time they meet having nearly been wiped

out that the Parliamentary level in a disastrous general election which

left them with eight MPs and just one in Wales. Never before has a

group of five Assembly Members been so important but with the rise of

Ukip as a serious challenge, can they hold on to them? Ukip are

likely to pick up several seats on the regional lists. That was

traditionally the route Liberal Democrat Assembly Members got their

seats. Those were quite often narrow margins for the Liberal Democrats so

a strong performance from Ukip is likely to significantly dent the

chances of the Liberal Democrats on the regional list. The party says

the focus on the basics will be relentless but will be enough?

Nick is in Cardiff where the Liberal Democrats are holding

What's your assessment of their strategy?

They have done a lot of soul-searching, they say they have

listened to their members and they have come up with this strategy of

stripping away anything they believe will get in the way of a core

function and purpose in the Assembly campaign of getting a message across

quickly on the doorstep that they are in the business of reducing

class sizes and improving hospitals. As a result, in marked contrast to

many conferences in recent years, things like the constitution will be

deemed surplus to requirements as we get into the business end of an

Assembly campaign. Like all the opposition parties, they are not

going to hold back in their criticism of the Labour government.

The line of criticism will be that the government has lost sight of its

core function. I understand Kirsty Williams will accuse Labour of being

more interested in things like banning the use of each cigarette in

public places rather than driving down hospital waiting lists. It is

pretty stark and brutal stuff but it is a pretty stark and brutal time if

you are a Lib Dem at the moment. How much of a challenge is the party

facing? They are all facing having rallying calls in the room behind

me. No doubt they are calling on and remembering the resilient times they

have had in the past. People who have been covering politics longer

than I have will tell you they have served -- survive crises but I'm not

sure they have faced a combination of threats like this. We all know

what a Lib Dem disaster looks and feels like after that general

election disaster last year. By hook or by crook, the people behind me

have got to stop history repeating itself.

On the eve of the Six Nations, we're in Ireland ahead

We have been to the island camp as Wales head to Dublin for their six

Nations opener. And if you're heading over

to Dublin, some ferries have been cancelled today and tomorrow

because of the weather. And there's more rain

and strong winds on the way. Marine conservationists are calling

for new areas of protection in Wales to be managed properly

if proposals become a reality. Natural Resources Wales has

launched a consultation on the new Marine Protected Areas

for sea birds and harbour porpoises. The aim of the network of sites

is to offer greater protection for a range of habitats including

breeding and feeding areas. Our breathtaking coastline,

an attraction for tourists These areas of protection

which are being proposed will be used to safeguard some

internationally important species, including the harbour porpoise -

one of the most graceful of mammals One potential site

is West Wales Marine, which stretches from the Lleyn

Peninsula to Pembrokeshire. Sarah Perry from Cardigan Bay Marine

Wildlife Centre believes these proposed areas would have to be

properly managed to be successful. Some of the SSAs in existence

at the moment are not in favourable conservation status

so the management of these sites, should they go through to be

designated, is properly done The proposed new sites would also

protect sea birds including puffins, turns and the Manx shearwater

as well as the harbour porpoise. Unlike dolphins, harbour porpoises

are in Cardigan Bay all year round. A couple were spotted

here in Newquay just a few days ago. This new network of zones will be

vital for their survival as it will protect their feeding

and breeding grounds, which is especially important

during the winter months when it The biggest threat to these species

is entanglement in fishing nets but also pollution and noise

and because porpoises and sea birds cover a great stretch of our waters,

these potential areas They are large areas and in some

cases they reflect the highly mobile nature of the species such

as harbour porpoises but it is worth reflecting that we have very good

populations of species such as the sea birds and harbour

porpoise and this is in recognition of how important these sites

are in a European context. This consultations will

run until April. With the Assembly election coming up

in May, BBC Wales is looking at what makes us different

to other nations in the UK. It's part of an ongoing series

called How Wales Works. With exactly three months to go,

one of the first steps on the way Today, young people in particular

have been urged to sign up to make In exactly three months' time will

be electing the people who represented here. The message today

was to a vote, you have to be on the register. There is a warning that

students and those who have moved home recently could slip through the

net. A change to the system of registering voters could mean more

people are excluded this time around. At the start of this month,

Cardiff Council said that almost 14% fewer people were registered to vote

in Cardiff Central with its high student population than ahead of the

2011 Assembly election. Previously, when one member of the household

could register everybody in the house and the mother and father

registered everybody, but now it is up to every single person to

register, and people tend to think, it is not easy, I don't know how to

do it, I won't bother. We are trying to show how it is. This girl is 19

and a student in Swansea. She is registering online so that she gets

a vote at her new student address in May. It is super simple, really

quick, only 11 questions. It is really important to vote and make

sure that you voice your opinion and make sure that you are included in

the decisions that are made. You must register to vote by Monday,

April 18. The Assembly is taking the message beyond top -- Cardiff Bay

and in Newport, these volunteers are being urged to get involved in the

political process and to make the link between putting a cross in the

box and the issues such as health and education that affect their

daily lives. I have just moved back from Canada so I actually have not

registered just yet. I need to, but I know it is a priority now. A lot

of people I know, I don't vote, it will make any impression. You do, if

you vote. Today's event is all about making sure people are registered to

vote but this is the last Assembly election, only 42% of those who were

eligible actually voted in the end. For those campaigning to get people

to vote, making sure they are registered is just the first step.

Getting them to use their balance is the next. -- use their ballot.

Tomos is here to look forward to the opening weekend.

Wales face the reigning champions Ireland on Sunday.

Warren Gatland's team is up against a side aiming

for an unprecedented third consecutive title, but they're

In a moment we'll be talking to former Grand Slam winner Martyn

Ireland may be the defending champions and will have home

advantage on Sunday but the men in green have been hit hard by injury.

Rob Kearney and Sean O'Brien are not in the team announced today. Two

names added to a long list of an available players. We are in a very

good mind space, we know exactly what we have to do. We know the

threats that are posed by Wales, with the experience they have

peppered throughout this squad. We are fully aware of that. The last

time Wales played in Dublin, it was a win for Warren Gatland's men.

Wales have survived right at the death. That was a World Cup warm up

game back in August. The last Six Nations match was a painful watch

for Welsh fans. But this year, Ireland will be missing retired Loch

Paul O'Connell and they are entering a Six Nations without the

inspirational leader for only the second time in 14 years. For a

balanced view on Sunday's battle, I went to visit the boss at Lansdowne

rugby club. He may have coached Wales to the 2005 Grand Slam, but

now has a son, Rhys Ruddock, in the Irish squad to face Wales. I think

Wales will win this one. They seem far more settle with this election.

I know there are one or two new combinations but overall it is the

majority of the World Cup squad coming together. Ireland have lost

quite a number of leaders and quite a lot of their forward pack who have

been quite formidable in the last two years. Your son, Rhys Ruddock,

in the squad to play on Sunday. What are the feelings of a proud father?

It feels you full of pride. He was capped against Argentina and South

Africa, but one side he would love to be involved against is Wales. I

hope it goes well for him. We have wonderful memories of 2005. Any tips

for Warren Gatland? Just win all your games. Easy! But with Rob Evans

at prop, Tom James and Gareth Anscombe making up a new look back

three, Wales do have a few new combinations. We are not looking

past our first game, the momentum it could give us would be huge. It is

something we are looking forward to and we have got a vastly experienced

side. Early this morning, the plans were in place for the Dublin trip. I

get my homework last night. As hundreds left Wales, I met two

friends who will be fierce rivals in two days' time. Cautious optimism.

It will be exciting. Wales to win? Definitely. I would not rule it out

but I think it will be close. Two points to Ireland. Wales may have

won three of their last five visits to Dublin but they will have a

battle on their hands on Sunday as Ireland aim to become the first ever

team in the history of this competition to win three consecutive

titles. A whole host of players missing

for Ireland because of injury. Does that make Wales real favourites

going into the match? I would not say real favourites. I

think they are favourites when we look at the combinations and

experience. The collective quality we have got over Ireland. Not only

do they have to put up with Paul O'Connell being retired, Sean

O'Brien pulled up to date who is a huge player for them. But we saw

what happened in the World Cup when Wales were written off with injuries

and they had a fantastic World Cup. We are slight favourites but it is

always difficult in Dublin. Rob Howley said the game will be

determined by conditions. How will that shape Wales' approach? The

forecast is not good for Sunday but we have got a very good kicking game

with Gareth Davies and Dan Biggar. Gareth Anscombe has come in at 15

who does play most of his rugby at outside half as well so he can take.

But you are against the best two in Europe in Conor Murray and Jonny

Sexton. For many days now we have had endless build-up. Several press

conferences, plenty of chap. Give us an insight into what the players

will be going through right now in their preparation? It depends what

stage of your career you are at. Someone like Jamie Roberts will be

very relaxed. They will have arrived in Dublin, probably go out for a

coffee and a bite to eat. Rob Evans, on the other hand, will not have

slept much this week. But it is an exciting squad so I can't wait for

Sunday. Thank you very much. And Martyn is part of

the Scrum V Live team tonight It starts at 7:25pm over on BBC Two

Wales. On Sunday, live coverage of Wales

against Ireland on BBC Radio Wales, Scrum V Six Nations Special will be

looking back at that He's been a player, an assistant

coach, now Robert Croft has landed He's been appointed the new head

coach on a rolling contract. During 28 years at the club,

he's won a County Championship He's in South Africa at the moment

as part of England's backroom team He will want them to do

better in one-day cricket because that is so important

and so popular these days. He will want to also gain promotion

to the First Division. Glamorgan have been stuck

in the Second Division With his blend of experience

and also young players, young Welsh players coming in,

he has the opportunity. Football, and Swansea,

who are unbeaten in three league matches and have only lost two

of their previous eight, take on Crystal Palace

in the Premier League. New head coach Francesco Guidolin

says Palace striker Emanuel Adebayor, who he worked

with at Monaco, could be Elsewhere, new loan signings

Tom Lawrence and Kenneth Zohore are both in contention for debuts

for Cardiff against MK Dons. Newport County manager Warren Feeney

will be banned from the touchline for the game against Barnet

after admitting he used abusive and, or insulting words towards a match

official after a league And in the National League,

Wrexham face leaders Forest Green. A pleasant crossing for those

heading to Dublin this weekend? It's going to be choppy

over the weekend. Some ferries cancelled today

and tomorrow as well. Last month was the wettest January

in Wales since 1948 and there's more wet and windy weather

to come with sunshine Some heavy rain tomorrow with a risk

of flooding in places. This evening, a cold

front is moving east, The wind easing for a time but more

rain will reach the south The reason for the rain is this

area of low pressure Strong winds too with another cold

front heading our way. Here's the picture for

eight in the morning. The rain heaviest in the south,

especially on the hills Strong in the west with gale force

gusts on the coast. So another dose of wet

and windy weather tomorrow. Double that or more on the hills

with surface water flooding Temperatures above average

but feeling colder Gales for a time on exposed coasts

and hills in the south and west. Tomorrow evening, the rain

will clear but remaining breezy Heavy in places with hail and wintry

on higher ground with snow. Sunday will be blustery and feeling

cold with sunshine and showers. Turning wet later in the afternoon

with stronger winds and gales. For the rugby in Dublin,

a red scarf will come in handy. Should be dry for kick-off but wet

by or soon after the match ends. Now let me take you back to February

1947 which, at the time, This picture taken in Abertillery

shows huge snow drifts. Bitterly cold east winds from Russia

look unlikely this month. Tuesday less windy and colder

with sunshine and showers. No sign yet of any widespread snow

on the horizon. It is going to be wet and windy at times. We could see

some flooding in places. Sunshine and blustery showers on Sunday and

certainly feeling cold in the wind. Try and have a good weekend if you

can and enjoy the rugby. Spending cuts to the agency

in charge of prosecuting criminal cases could lead to more

miscarriages of justice. That's the message tonight

from a group of leading barristers. It's been claimed the Crown

Prosecution Service is operating We'll have a quick update

for you at 8pm, more after the BBC From all of us on the programme,

thanks for watching.