07/07/2011 BBC Wales Today

Good evening and welcome to Wales Today. Guilty of misconduct. The

social worker who failed to warn of a family about a boy in their care

went on to sexually abused their Also tonight: Back to work after

his disqualification - but fresh claims are made about the election

guidance followed by Lib Dem Aled Roberts.

She's one of Wales' most high- profile businesswomen and wanted to

buy Wrexham Football Club - but tonight Stephanie Booth is forced

to close part of her hotel chain. It is a new European and world

record for Ellie Simmonds. Golden girl Ellie Simmonds shatters

more records in the pool at the European Championships.

And welcome to the west wing, the new home for contemporary art at

the National Museum. It opens to the public at the weekend. You can

see it first here. Good evening. He's one of the most

outspoken critics of News International, the parent company

of the News of the World. After today's announcement that the paper

is to close, the Rhondda MP Chris Bryant says the latest development

It is further evidence of the shambles surrounding the Liberal

Democrats' procedures during the Assembly election campaign. One of

the candidates ineligible was standing a seat they had no hope of

winning. So that it might not have mattered too much. But another one

was standing in Montgomerie Shire. It is a seat they held until the

last Assembly election. He would have been disqualified by virtue of

the fact he was a member of a promotion agency. If he had been

elected and then disbarred, he would have been sent home and there

would have been a by-election being held the right now. That is a close

it came to having three out of five of their Assembly Members barred

from this place. And this isn't the only development

today, is it? And no, it is not. Last night, on another BBC

political programme, a spokesman for the electoral commission cast

doubt on the report by the standards officer, claiming I'd

Robinson had received wrong advice from Electoral Commission. He said

the place that Aled Roberts said he had visited had not been visited.

The Standards Commissioner looked at it. He was what Aled Roberts had

to say. The situation was one that had been dealt with in the

investigations as far as I was concerned and the questions were

put to me by the police. It was covered at length in my questioning.

I didn't know what there was and why those comments had been made.

Everybody thought the story was done and dusted after the boat to

reinstate him yesterday. But it seems to keep running and running

the stock that is right. Letters have been sent to the Presiding

Officer today asking for a forensic examination both of the electoral

commission was but computers and of Mr Roberts. He was one of the

people calling for that, Ceredig JUN AM Elin Jones. For two parties

whose credibility are at stake with this information, Aled Roberts and

Electra Commission, I would hope that somehow both parties would

want to establish the truth out of this matter, because currently

there doesn't seem to be a truth. This afternoon, the Presiding

Officer has written to all AMs indicating that she does not want

to reopen the investigation. You can see more on this at 7:00pm on

BBC Two Wales. A social worker from the Vale of Glamorgan has been

found guilty of four charges of misconduct. Julian Swan placed a

teenager with a history of sexually inappropriate behaviour with a

family with two young children in 2008. The teenager went on to

sexually abuse those children. I deeply regret the events that are

read to me being here today. I have never sought to deny or diminish my

responsibility for these events. There are two families involved,

the family of the children and has sent my deepest apologies and

sincerest regrets and the family that has been the perpetrator. His

family are victims. I get on and move on with my life. It has been

hanging over me for two and a half years and now I can move on.

Foster family have already received an apology from the Vale of

Glamorgan council after their two young children were subject to

serious sexual assaults by the teenager, who ate agreed to Foster.

They were not told he had a history of inappropriate behaviour towards

children, it is claimed, because Julian Swan, the social worker for

the teenager, didn't know him self. The hearing was told her Julian

Swan had failed to read all of the teenager's files. He had they are

to carry out an investigation forming one incident involving a

girl at a hostel. Have we had failed to carry out a proper risk

assessment on the teenager and so had failed to inform the Foster

family of the risks they faced. At the teenager's court case, the

family claimed they were not told that in 2004 allegations were made

about the teenager being sexually inappropriate with a boy while on

holiday with care staff. In 2005, he had admitted touching another

young boys sexually while they were both living in a hostel. And in

2008, he was caught sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl at a

hostel. In the end, it was the teenager's father who alerted

social services to the fact that there have been previous incidents

which showed he posed a risk. When social workers looked, it took them

just 45 minutes to find the relevant report from 2002. The

hearing was told that since losing his job, Mr Swan has been in --

been unable to find employment as a social worker will stop he has been

working as a clean and a pizza delivery man to make ends meet. He

had given up hope of ever working as a social worker again. A court

has heard how a retired senior police officer "bullied and

browbeat" witnesses into giving fictitious evidence that was used

to jail three innocent men for the murder of Lynette White, who was

working as a prostitute in Cardiff, in 1988. The former Chief Inspector,

Graham Mouncher, and seven other former officers are accused by the

prosecution of fixing evidence. All eight retired policemen, along with

two witnesses, deny conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

More than 150 jobs are at risk at the Sogefi filtration factory in

Rhondda Cynon Taf. The company, which makes oil and fuel filters

for cars, employs more than 400 people at its Llantrisant site. It

says it's restructuring its operation because of difficult

market conditions. An investigation is continuing into

the death of a teenager in a river near Carmarthen. 14-year-old Kieran

Bennett-Leefe was swept away by strong currents in the River Towy,

near the village of Trevaughan, on Monday.

A month after she failed in a takeover bid for Wrexham Football

Club, part of Stepney brew's business empire is in trouble. A

winding-up petition has forced the closure of the Wynnstay Hotel in

Wrexham town centre. Around 100 guests, some of whom only check in

last night, were asked to leave, and staff say they have not been

paid, some of them for weeks. You have to go out with a red-hot

plate for breakfast. Stephanie had become just about Wrexham's best-

known business figure. Stephanie book boasted of transforming the

Wynnstay Hotel and Wrexham town centre. She chaired the Chamber of

Trade. But then there was the aborted bid to link up with fans

and by Wrexham Football Club, now part of the business empire she

built up is in tatters. This morning, staff at the Wynnstay

Hotel were told it was closing. Guests were instructed to leave.

They didn't even get breakfast. Tim a good children's soft play centres

have also closed. But Stephanie Booth's other hotels are still

trading. These doors were locked at 9am. The staff when they left were

given a copy of this letter. It talks about the business

experiencing financial difficulties. This afternoon, a statement was

issued on Stephanie blue's behalf. It said a winding up order petition

had been instituted and the Wynnstay Hotel would be close

immediately. Some people who made and paid for future bookings have

been left to ponder their next step. I have paid over two grand for my

wedding on 19th August. I can't find anything. They don't know

anything. Performing at the Eisteddfod to day, and 85 strong

choir from Pennsylvania in the USA. They were staying at the Wynnstay

Hotel and were asked to leave this morning. We were informed by a two

glance that we needed to they Kate the hotel, that it was in

bankruptcy and they were shutting it down immediately and we needed

to pack up and leave. Staff held an impromptu meeting at to Wrexham PUP.

They are all owed money, and some were at the hotel last night when

fixtures and fittings were being moved out. We didn't know anything

was happening until about 11 o'clock last night when they tried

to assure me and two other people out of the building and then in

came a load of big, heavy, burly men with Kabul boxes. All questions

about the future of the hotel on a been directed to a firm of

accountants. So far, few answers have been forthcoming. Tonight,

Stephanie book is understood to be on holiday in Spain.

Still to come, Ellie Simmonds is all smiles as she breaks are ruled

record at the European Championships. -- breaks her own

Throughout this week we've been focusing on manufacturing with our

series Made in Wales. Yesterday we were at one of the largest chemical

plants of its kind in the world in Barry. Today we're heading to the

Gwent Valleys where the small remnant of a once-large industry is

still surviving. This is New Tredegar. There was a

time when thousands of women in this area used to work in a number

of factories making underwear. The big ones have all gone now but as

part of our Made in Wales series we've tracked down what we think is

the last one. It's tucked away among these streets in a converted

chapel over there. This is AJM Sewing. From here, the 41 staff

make some of the most expensive lingerie on the British high street.

James Mellor started the company 10 years ago with his redundancy

cheque from the underwear giants Gossard when their Blackwood

factory closed. I am quite saddened that we are the

last of a breed, making underwear. Then again, it is a privilege to be

working at the level of manufacture in that we do because we have the

big design brands in the UK. Our products get shipped all over the

world. Some of the products may be extravagant but the profit margins

aren't. AJM say it will typically sell a bra for around �10, but

it'll cost them around �8 to make. The big money is being made by the

brands, with the bras made here retailing for upwards of �50.

One bonus of being based here is responding quickly to orders.

We have to be in the UK for speed because we are at the forefront of

fashion trends and so on. They have to ship it in two as quickly and we

have to get it back on to on the market quickly.

The other big advantage is the skill of the workforce. They have

you -- they have worked in this driving industry in the Gwent

valleys for years. I am hoping to spend the rest of my

working days here. I have been in the industry since I was 16,

straight from school. My family has been in the industry. Sadly, we are

the last ones standing. AJM sounds like a fairytale story,

but they'll tell you it's a daily battle for the firm keeping on top

of costs. Tomorrow night, we will come from a

ceramic mosaic company in Denbigh. He is one of the most outspoken

critics of News International. After today's announcement that the

paper is to close, Chris Bryant joins me now to say the latest

development is a move to protect those at the top of News

International. He believes his firm has been hacked and instigated

yesterday's emergency debate in the Commons. He has just come from

Westminster and joins us now. Your reaction to the news?

I think it is a despicable way to protect those at the top, to let

hundreds of those people who work at the newspaper know they are

getting sacked on television. Of course it is right that they are

taking serious action at the News of the World but they are beginning

to confess what happened there because the Royal British Legion

came on telly to say it is despicable what they have been

doing because the families of those murdered six years ago today said

it is despicable, what they have been up to. The truth is, this is

all being done to protect Rebekah Brooks at the top. She is the

person in charge of the organisation when Milly Dowler's

telephone was packed. I still find it difficult to even say that but

she is hanging on. I honestly believe she had a single shred of

decency in her, she already would have resigned. Rupert Murdoch has

not sector and has no judgement either.

What would satisfy you? There still has to be a police

investigation. Those who have committed criminal acts should be

investigated by the police. �100,000, is what I am hearing, has

been paid by the News of the World to the police officers. That is

bribery and corruption. Do you have confidence in the

police investigation? I do at the moment, but not in the

original investigation. Everything we heard this week, police had in

their files since two girls and six. They did nothing about it and it is

because people batted at the door of the News of the World, finally,

Rupert Murdoch has to sit up and beg.

The News of the World political editor said that hard-working

journalists are carrying the can for a previous regime. Do you

agree? He is right. David is a decent guy.

I know several journalists there now and this is the Plimsoll line

strategy. Remember the Plimsoll line on a ship? As soon as the

water touched it, you had to throw something out? First of all they

checked out some journalists and then some senior executives like

Andy Coulson. It still goes to the issue was at the helm of the

newspaper. Briefly, is this the beginning?

I think there is a long way to go yet.

Thank you for joining us. The National Museum of Wales

unveils its new showcase for contemporary art this weekend.

Former gallery space have been given a �6.5 million makeover the

create the new West Wing. Sian Lloyd has been getting a sneak

preview. Sian. I have managed to get into the West

Wing, the new home for contemporary art at the National Museum for

Wales, before the 500 also invited guests at a special reception at

the museum this evening. The space opens to the public at the weekend.

It contains exceptional pieces from Wales and the world from the 1950s

to the present day. And you don't get much more

contemporary than this, the Blaenau Ffestiniog Circle by former Turner

Prize winner Richard Long was installed just last week. He

collected the slate from a working quarry in Blaenau on the Wednesday,

bringing part of the landscape of North Wales into one of the six new

galleries at the National Museum in Cardiff. The space was once home to

the archaeology collection which is being rehoused downstairs. It gives

the museum 30% more space to show its contemporary art collection

from Wales and the world. Manon Awst and Benjamin Walther have

loaned their sculpture for the opening show. They spend their time

working between their bases in Caernarfon and Berlin.

The influence comes from being within the setting of Wales,

experiencing the life, the landscape, the people, the Culture,

strongly. And also having also the possibility of going where I come

from, which is Germany, and having a comparison between Wales and

Germany. The piece is called proposal for a

social centre, which implies a building. This is, in a way, an

architect -- architectural model. You think, who is it made for? You

start analysing the material, like the gelatine, which is an organic

material, a pure protein found in our bones and skin.

We have people like David Hockney and Richard Long. We are showing

those alongside artists born in Wales who have come to Wales to

produce work, to show there is an inter-relationship between artists

and Wales. Contemporary pieces have also been placed in some of the

other galleries. Unlliw by Carwyn Evans is an installation of 6,500

bird boxes handmade from cardboard. It was also meant to express the

housing policy. Their plan was to build 6,500 homes in Ceredigion. I

couldn't make any sense of this. I have installed it here in front of

a painting of Caernarfon Castle. It is interesting being in the

landscape of Wales Gallery in the museum because it does show how

important the landscape of Wales has been to artists across the

centuries. Although many pieces have been brought out from the

vaults, the museum still doesn't have enough space to show all its

collection, but the exhibitions will be changed every 18 months,

allowing more the nations treasures And we can talk now to David

Anderson, the director general of the National Museum. It certainly

has the wow factor. What were you trying to achieve here?

We wanted to have a better platform for Welsh art for the people of

Wales but also for international audiences. We have deliberately put

the contemporary and modern work alongside the historical work and

hope that people who come to see the new work will be inspired to

see the old and new. Above all, we want to have this as a platform to

reach out to audiences across Wales and inspire new generations to be

creative themselves. You have been in post for eight

months and have come from the Victoria and Albert Museum in

London. How important is this space and the exhibition you are doing

here, not only in Wales but how the museum is seen on a wider stage?

I think Wales can now say it has art collections but also a museum

space as well, which stands in comparison with any in the world.

What is special is that you get a distinctive Welsh voice to the

interpretation of the collections, which means there is something

special for people who come from abroad to see these collections, in

to see it -- in coming here. We will tour overseas as well so it

will bring a new identity, I think, to Wales.

It has been some years in the making and a �6.5 million price tag.

Over those five years, the economic price climate has changed.

As usual, it is a mixture of funding. We are grateful to the

Welsh government for giving as part of that funding. We are grateful to

trust foundations and private individuals as well.

Thank you. You can come along to the museum, to the exhibition, from

the weekend. Admission is free. Paralympian Ellie Simmonds is

celebrating another gold medal and another world record at the

European Disability Swimming Championships in Berlin. The 16-

year-old from Swansea is expected to be one of the stars of London

2012 and on current form, she'll be looking to win another clutch of

medals, as Ashleigh Crowter reports. It has been an event to remember

for Ellie Simmonds in Berlin. She won the 400 metres freestyle

earlier in the bleak and matched that achievement last night,

producing a blistering last 50 metres to miss -- to win the

individual medley, setting another global best. Newport's Liz Johnson

was left in her wake. I was coming back with fighting

spirit. It was quite hard but I am really happy. A new world record. I

couldn't ask for more. The first 150, my weakest stroke. My front

crawl is what I have been improving. I do like to have a little bit of

excitement. As a 14-year-old, Ellie Simmonds

shot to fame with two world records at the Beijing Paralympics. She is

part of a successful group who are trained in Swansea. Winning major

medals has become part of a habit and she has already got her sight

set on a third gold this week in the final of the 100 metres

freestyle on Saturday. Cycling, and Geraint Thomas has

played a crucial role in setting up a first ever stage win for his team

at the Tour de France. He rode a perfect tactical race in Normandy,

leading out his team-mate Edvald Boasson Hagen so he could win the

final sprint. Thomas, who you can see punching the air a few metres

back, retained the white jersey for best young rider for the sixth

successive stage. He's still in seventh place overall. Now let me

tell you about an exclusive report that's on tomorrow night's

programme. We 've been looking at the care system in Wales. With

fresh warnings of a crisis in the care system this week, we'll have a

special report on tomorrow's programme on the future of homes in

Wales. Figures we've obtained show the gap in how much councils are

prepared to pay for care is growing, leading to fears that some homes

could close. Hard market economics mean that it

is not sustainable. Places will go to the wall and that is not a

desirable situation. Those rates have got to be reflective of actual

costs. We can't do that without more money going into the system.

That's on Wales Today tomorrow, and what will the weather be like then

The weather is looking more and settled tomorrow. Some sunshine. A

few showers too but there's more rain, heavy showers and gusty winds

on the way. In fact the Met Office has issued a yellow warning for

north Wales tomorrow which means be aware of heavy rain. 30 to 40mm

possible tomorrow with a risk of flooding. The satellite picture

shows a mixture of sunshine and showers over Wales today but this

lump of cloud over Ireland is heading our way. So this evening

some sunshine and a few showers but rain will spread from the southwest

after midnight. Some heavy rain. Lowest temperatures around 11

Celsius. The wind picking-up as well. Becoming strong in the west

and the southwest with gusts over 40mph. Tomorrow's chart is not a

nice one. Low pressure over us which means unsettled weather. Rain,

showers and gusty winds. So here's the picture for 8 in the morning.

Cloudy with showers or longer spells of rain. Some heavy

downpours in places. Feeling cool as well. Temperatures in Llandudno

13 Celsius and breezy. Strong winds on Gower. During the day, it will

brighten-up in parts of the south and east with scattered sharp

showers. Prolonged showers in the north-west. A risk of thunder.

Temperatures 17 or 18 Celsius and breezy. The south-westerly wind

fresh to strong on southern and western coasts. In Gwynedd tomorrow.

Cloudy and wet at times. Better for the weekend. Still a few showers

around but lighter and more scattered. Some sunshine and a

little warmer. By the way, Welsh Girls U18 Hockey team are off to

Prague tomorrow to compete in the Euro Hockey U18 Championship. Good

luck to them and it's going to be It will be tough for them. Thank

you. Tonight's news is dominated by the announcement that Britain's

best selling newspaper, the News of the World, is to close. News

International made the decision following public anger over the

phone hacking scandal. Chris Bryant gave his reaction on this programme

a short while ago. This has all been done to protect

Rebekah Brooks at the top. She is the person in charge of the

Organisation when Milly Dowler's telephone was packed. I still find

it hard to even say that. If she had a single shred of decency in

her, she already would have resigned. The fact that Rupert

Murdoch has not sector already shows that he has no judgement

either. And that's Wales Today. We'll have