The Monster the Council Failed to Stop Week In Week Out

He used to be a council youth worker.

Bosses were warned he posed a risk to children.

I knew there was something funny going on.

We were all concerned there was some type of grooming going on.

Tonight, we ask, why he wasn't he stopped sooner?

Nobody joined all the dots and said to somebody in authority,

there's a problem here, we've got to do something about this.

If people had taken the time and the care, what we've been

There are concerns now for hundreds of other children.

He should never have been allowed to work with children.

Wales' highest-paid council chief is at the centre of this scandal.

Tonight, there are calls for him to go.

You cannot be the highest-paid chief executive in Wales because

you are worth that money and reside over failure, repeated failure.

Pembrokeshire Council is once again embroiled in an ugly scandal.

In the last few years, it has been accused of failing to

A damning report highlighted the fact that

It has been accused of putting its own reputation

And the jailing of paedophile Mik Smith has put it back

Could his crimes have been prevented, and

Smith was jailed for six years this month for a sexually abusing

an eight-year-old boy, a year after leaving the council.

He'd often bring maybe, um, something, some kind

of gift or treat, and he'd often shout his hellos and the children

I never had any cause for concern with the way he physically played

There was never a type of touching whatsoever.

But last year, her son told his dad that Smith had sexually

I asked my child what had been happening, and he repeated it, at

I just felt in a surreal place for months and months,

and my husband struggled in a much more overt way than I did.

Smith admitted filming his abuse of the young boy, and police had

found over 1,000 images of child pornography on his computer.

The judge said of particular concern was the fact that Smith had applied

for jobs which would give him access to children.

He's betrayed us at the highest level of betrayal.

My son is too afraid to go to the shop.

But there had been warnings years earlier

One person who tried to warn officials about the risk Smith

When I first met Mik Smith, he became my line manager in 2003,

I thought he was a nice guy, and I got on well with him, and he

Ten years ago, she, like Smith, was a council youth worker.

She saw a disturbing side to him on a trip.

I took part in a summer camp in Pembrey, we were all expected to

go down for three or four days to camp with youngsters there.

Three or four youngsters gravitated straight to him, and one sat down on

He put his arms round the child, started rocking

the child side to side, and I stared at him, got eye contact with him,

thinking, now he's seen me looking, he's going to do something and push

Might that be excused as rough and tumble?

No, not nowadays, in light of everything, and not with other

She was also concerned about the language Smith used with

Mik started having chat with one of the other boys next to him,

and he asked him to go and do something camp, and the boy didn't

want to, and Mik said to him, if you carry on like that, you're not going

They were all vulnerable boys, that's the nature of our work.

The feeling I got was one of just smugness, pleased with himself.

Hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

She complained to officials at Pembrokeshire Council about what

she'd witnessed, and started a formal whistle-blowing process.

Biddy Rawlence was a UNISON rep at the council.

She believes that Sue and her colleagues were right to

These people, Sue and her colleagues, were doing their duty to

raise issues about a man clearly behaving very inappropriately at

There were witness accounts, witness statements, that he'd been

seen at summer camp, witnessed by people who worked for children's

services in Carmarthenshire, with children on his lap, children

And I recall there were some concerns about him

She wasn't satisfied with the way the council handled such serious

Parents who allow children to go on summer camps

and things assume people looking after them are professionally

responsible, and clearly, flagrant breach of that in this situation.

The council investigated 11 allegations against Mik Smith,

including allowing a child to spend the night at his house, sleeping in

tents with children, letting a child sit on his lap, talk of cuddle time

and being seen alone with children in his car. Smith was

working with some of the county's most vulnerable children.

He worked in special schools, in youth clubs

and often took children away camping or on outdoor pursuits activities.

Before working for the council, he'd had a job at a local youth project.

We employed him from 2001 till some time in 2003, when he left to

take up a job with Pembrokeshire County Council as a youth worker.

Ken Jones is chair of trustees at the Tanyard Youth Project

in Pembroke, a small independent charity that

He was quite professional, he'd been in the field for a long time and had

As far as we were concerned, he was the best candidate for the job.

Sue Thomas and the others thought Smith posed a risk to children.

The council held an internal inquiry into their allegations and brought

Eventually, Sue and her colleagues were called to a meeting with Smith.

They were told six of the allegations had been upheld, but

Smith received a verbal warning and was allowed to carry on working

A number of complaints were made about Mik Smith by

The council investigated 11 allegations of Mik Smith's

inappropriate behaviour in 2005, including that he had a child to

stay at his home overnight, but he was given a verbal warning

I still can't get my head round it, because there were so many good,

hardworking, professional people that came forward with complaints.

I cannot understand why we were not listened to.

Sue Thomas was deeply unhappy with the outcome

of the council's investigation, so she went a step further.

I emailed right through the Education Department, up to

Bryn Parry Jones, giving the team's concerns, putting the points across.

Writing to the chief executive, as you did, and to senior members

of the council was possibly taking the nuclear option?

I felt that I had no option other than to do that, and again, naively,

I thought that if I went higher up at some stage, some level, someone

In the letter she was sent from the chief executive, he tells her, your

perceived problem seems to relate to your personal circumstances

And he tells her there were established procedures for her to

follow and it would be inappropriate for him to intervene personally.

He suggested she ask other colleagues for help.

Couldn't he take five minutes out of his day to sit back

They got it very wrong, and they put priorities of image

and ego before even considering safeguarding children.

Bryn Parry Jones said he'd been assured that

the allegations were dealt with under child-protection procedures.

Assembly Member Joyce Watson was a Pembrokeshire Councillor

She says she was never told about Sue Thomas' whistle-blowing

In her opinion, the council got it badly wrong.

There were certainly warnings, there were certainly red flags going

up there, so if it was felt that a verbal warning for that

inappropriate behaviour in 2005, and there was inappropriate behaviour,

what should have happened was close monitoring after that, very close

monitoring after that, and for all the time when he was near children.

Somebody somewhere should have been overseeing his actions all

Smith had worked at a number of schools and children's charities.

He also volunteered with Cubs and Scouts.

By 2005, he had become a trustee at the Tanyard Youth Project.

Did Ken Jones know about the allegations made

If that was the case, we would have expected to have been

And I know it's only hypothetical, but would have recommended to

my fellow board members that we terminate his membership

of the trustee board, and they would have concurred.

But could the council argue that it was simply a confidential

They might argue that, but I don't think it's a valid argument,

The director of Education and Children's Services says he

But he's confident that if these allegations were raised

now, they would involve clear and effective information sharing.

Mik Smith's case has raised serious questions

about the council's judgement and whether it could and should

It leaves me wondering what on earth those officers were

thinking at the time, how on earth they felt their obligations to

children, young people and families were being taken properly forward.

You are in a position of absolute trust as an officer of council.

People talk about how damaging an abuse of trust can be.

If that can happen for an individual, that's one thing, but

if everyone around you, including your manager, abuses that trust by

placing that employee in a situation where they'll have access to

children and there's any doubt in one's own mind that's a safe thing

to do, then that's abuse of trust as well as being grossly incompetent.

We've discovered that a report was written on Smith's case.

Until now, it has remained confidential.

It was written by an independent social worker

bought in by Pembrokeshire Council to assess the allegations.

We've spoken to her and she told us that, based

on the evidence, she was surprised that Smith had remained in his job.

Sue Thomas was dismissed in early 2006 due to long-term illness.

I packed my bag and got out of Pembrokeshire as quickly as I could.

We've discovered that in 2009 further allegations about

Smith were made to the council, this time by a worried parent.

We have disguised the man's appearance to protect

Mik Smith wanted to take my son camping to Pembrey to build

by a worried parent. We have disguised the man?s

appearance to protect his son?s identity.

Mik Smith wanted to take my son camping to Pembrey

to build morale and something didn?t seem right

The father was suspicious, and refused to co-operate.

He put him in a vehicle, he thought it funny to shake the vehicle

The council investigated and agreed Smith had been at fault.

But he says another incident made him even more concerned.

My son had been swimming, and he said to me,

Mik Smith was taking pictures of the children in changing rooms.

I went round the back of the school and found Mik Smith's

He was in the driver's seat, and I opened the passenger door

He tried to get the camera back, I took the camera and left.

He says as he drove away, he looked at the screen

There were images of children in the changing room,

It's hard for me to say, but I'm guessing anyone taking

pictures of children in a changing room would be inappropriate.

I went through quite a few on the screen, it was very difficult

to see, as I was trying to drive away from the scene.

He was so shocked that he told the council and complained. I explained

my concerns. I was not graphic about what I saw on the camera as I do not

believe that I saw anything which was graphic, without being sure. But

I certainly said, inappropriate images, and I know that, because I

saw them on screen. This is a copy of the letter he says he handed to

the council. The chief executive confirmed they do have letters of

complaint on file from this man, but they do not refer in any this

particular incident. In the same year, the council was embroiled in a

child sex abuse scandal involving one of its headteachers. 56-year-old

David Thornely was convicted of nine counts... The case revealed serious

doubts about the way Pembrokeshire council handled allegations against

its staff who worked with children. Following the case, outside agencies

began taking an interest in how Pembrokeshire Council had dealt with

allegations of "professional" abuse. An investigation began. The

care services watchdog says shortcomings are long-standing and

systemic. The report investigated the handling of 25 allegations of

"professional" abuse against children I council staff, between

2007 and 2011. But Smith's case was not one of them. When Sue Thomas

read the headlines about the child protection scandal at Pembrokeshire

Council she contacted the Welsh government run but I immediately got

hold of Gwenda Thomas, I got hold of the lead investigator at CCIW, as

well as Estyn, to ask if the 2005 case could be re-examined. The Welsh

government was seriously worried about what was going on in

Pembrokeshire. The inspectorate has asked Pembrokeshire County Council

and Dyfed-Powys Police to review all 25 cases of alleged official abuse

in education services which were made between 2007 and 2011, plus one

additional case which has subsequently been reported.

Until now, the details of those cases had not been made public, but

tonight, we can reveal that the additional case involved more

allegations against Mik Smith, as well as concerns raised in 2005.

There were also fresh allegations, and plaints about his inappropriate

and reckless behaviour. Inspectors discovered that Mik Smith had

applied to become a foster carer. Despite the allegations, he was

given a reference by a manager at the council. Another complaint was

made in 2009 referring to his reckless diving of children who were

in his care, in his Land Rover. He apologises but he is allowed again

to continue in his post. And it is another two years before he is

eventually sacked, and only after a review of the case has been ordered.

What it tells me is that nobody within the local authority has taken

an overall look at everything that has emerged around one of their

officers, and has not joined up all the dots and said to somebody in

authority, there is a problem here, and we have got to do something

about this. The council says it has changed its

procedures, and the management of the education department. But none

of those involved in making decisions in 2005 still work for the

council, and it says it is confident the failings of nine years ago would

not be repeated now. Following the safeguarding scandal, the council

was accused of doing too much of its business in the shadows, that it

operated a closed culture, and lacked transparency, and that

officers failed to sharing formation with elected members. One councillor

has told us that there are still some staff who are afraid to voice

their concerns. The Labour opposition group in Pembrokeshire is

led by Paul Miller. I would say that there is very much a culture of fear

in Pembrokeshire County Council. We live in a very remote part of Wales,

on the west coast. These people are on good salaries, with good

pensions, and with almost zero prospect of finding a similarly paid

job out in the private sector in Pembrokeshire. So, it would be fair

to say that they are extremely nervous about coming forward with

concerns. The council does have clear whistle-blowing policies, but

he says that some remain reluctant to use them. So, do they feel able

to raise concerns with me, for example, as their elected member, or

as the leader of the opposition? Absolutely not. I mean, some do, but

they are very keen to stress to me how nervous they feel about doing

so, and how they feel that their job is very much on the line should they

be caught doing so. And it is a dangerous place to be. And I am in a

dangerous place, having stuck my head above the parapet. A dangerous

place, what do you mean by that, you mean potentially career wrecking?

Yes, absolutely. You are taking a risk if you take on the

establishment in Pembrokeshire. It is a strong claim which Bryn Parry

Jones says is unfair and untrue. But Paul Miller was not the only one to

raise concerns with me in this corner of the world about the fear

about speaking out against Pembrokeshire County Council. Biddy

Rawlence felt the same when she worked there. It is about the

culture of an organisation, where it is so closed, where people are made

to feel that they will end up being pilloried if they raise their head

above the parapet. People feel frightened to speak out about a

potential abuse. That is dangerous. Was Sue Thomas let down? Badly. Bryn

Parry Jones told us he did not realise that Sue Thomas had invoked

the whistle-blowing policy in 2005, because of reasons of

confidentiality. The Children's Commissioner says the case raises

important questions about the way whistle-blowers are treated. I think

we should change this idea that whistle-blowers are the problem, and

actually, we should be recognising and championing the bravery of

people who are prepared to step up, at the risk of their own job, and

say, I think there is something going wrong here. We should be

congratulating them and we should be recognising what she has done in

this case. Complaints were made about Mik Smith in 2005, and also by

this father. He should never have been allowed to work with children.

Rightly or wrongly, I have had to challenge a lot of decisions. I

guess I am seen as somebody who will complain a lot, but I think my

complaints have been quite justified. Bryn Parry Jones told us

that when letters from the father arrived in 2009 and 2011, he was

away from his office, and matters were dealt with by others. But

should he have done more? I am not in a position to judge what he did

and did not do, but on the face of it, the chief executive of any

organisation, or to give really a local authority, that is where the

buck stops, you have to make sure that you are well briefed by your

officers, you understand what is going on and you issue and

instruction about what is going to happen next. I would have expected

the chief executive would have had a briefing, and if I was the chief

executive and I did not know that was going on in my local authority,

and I found out subsequently that it was being kept from me, then I would

want to know why. Smith was eventually suspended in 2011

following new complaints about his driving. His he was sacked in

January 2012. The council said it did not find any evidence of

criminal wrongdoing, and there were no allegations of child abuse. It

says it's deeply regrets that there were significant failings in the

disciplinary standards in its education directorate in 2005. The

process was fundamentally flawed, and lacked effective risk management

Smith sexually abused his victim in 2013 after he was sacked. The

child's mother said he had simply explained away his dismissal. My

husband genuinely believed that Mik had been dismissed. There was

something about a Land Rover, something about having a child on

his lap or not driving safely? It just seemed that he had gone over

the top, -- that they had gone over the top, that Mik was a victim, that

he was a good youth worker. She feels let down by the council. Well,

as far as I can see, if people had taken the time and the care to do

their jobs properly, what we have been through might have been

avoided. And what have you been through? We have been through hell.

We are still going through it. We cannot live here any more. She now

wants an inquiry into the council's handling of the case and is calling

on the chief executive to re-sign. He is in a position of huge

responsibility for the people of Pembrokeshire, who need to live in a

Safeway. We are not safe, do not feel safe. He probably does. But

sure he should not keep his job, no! Bryn Parry Jones has refused to be

interviewed for this programme, but in response to questions we have put

to him, he has admitted that there were some failures in the way Mik

Smith's case was handled. But for some, that is there have been

several calls for him to resign from his ?223,000 a year job, most

recently over a controversial pension scheme. Smith's case has put

him in the headlines again. I think it is time for him to go and I am

not shy of saying that. He has been the permanency in all of the

negative reports that have been there, and there have been a number

of them. And is he, as the man at the top, the Persian who should take

ultimate responsibility? Absolutely, you cannot be the highest-paid chief

executive in Wales, because you are worth that money, and wheeze eyed

over failure, repeated failure. Smith has been jailed for six years.

The council says he is not the subject of any continuing criminal

investigation, and it has written to 150 families, asking them to get in

touch if they are worried. Anybody watching this programme tonight who

has a concern about Pembrokeshire and does not have confidence in

contacting the authority should remember that they can always get in

touch with me as the Children's Commissioner for Wales. He has now

promised to carry out his own investigation into Pembrokeshire's

handling of the Smith case. I think what you are raising our very

serious allegations which probably need a good, independent look. If I

take the view that things which happened to children in the past

could help improve the lives of children today, then I have the

remit to take a look at it. Sue Thomas was proved right about Smith,

but she says that is little comfort to her, or to his victim. It would

be nice to have an apology from them, for what I was put through for

those 8-9 months of my life, yes. The fact that we were correct about

it, and perhaps outside agencies will look at it again, and I am sure

that will bring closure for me, if that happens. There was and is a

dark side to him. He needs to live a different way, so that that horrible

monster Park is not what is defining him. If it is, then he needs to stay

in prison for ever.