:00:07. > :00:10.Good evening. Welcome to Wales Today live from Llandre near
:00:10. > :00:16.Aberystwyth. Tonight, this small village in Ceredigion is at the
:00:16. > :00:19.centre of the horsemeat scandal. This is the man whose meat cutting
:00:19. > :00:29.plant is under investigation. He denies passing-off horsemeat as
:00:29. > :00:32.
:00:32. > :00:38.beef and says he has done nothing wrong. By I do not do kebabs,
:00:38. > :00:41.mincemeat or beefburgers. This is purely meat cutting. But the
:00:41. > :00:48.repercussions are already being felt. Local butchers say they are
:00:48. > :00:51.concerned about the impact this could have on their business.
:00:51. > :00:57.was a topic of conversation bid -- before the news broke out last
:00:57. > :01:02.night. The eyes of the world are on Aberystwyth now so it is a little
:01:02. > :01:05.bit frightening. And what noises from the mart today
:01:05. > :01:08.in Carmarthen? Farmers fear for the industry.
:01:08. > :01:11.Good evening. Also tonight. The regrading of exam results
:01:11. > :01:16.caused confusion last summer, now new a warning, it could happen
:01:16. > :01:19.again. We go back to the battlefields of
:01:19. > :01:29.Belgium to hear about the Welsh poet who wrote in the trenches
:01:29. > :01:42.
:01:42. > :01:48.Good evening from Llandre near Aberystwyth. This is a village that
:01:48. > :01:51.tonight is at the centre of another twist in the horsemeat scandal. 24
:01:51. > :01:53.hours ago we learned that police and the Food Standards Agency had
:01:53. > :02:03.raided a meat plant here, suspicious that horsemeat was being
:02:03. > :02:25.
:02:25. > :02:35.passed off as beef. It has become a European story. The plant up in the
:02:35. > :02:36.
:02:36. > :02:39.darkness beyond is at the centre of this. It was raided yesterday. The
:02:39. > :02:46.owner of the plant has strongly denied any wrong doing and today
:02:46. > :02:52.let our cameras into his factory to give his side of the story. Tonight,
:02:52. > :02:55.we hear from him, those making the accusations and the wider community.
:02:55. > :03:05.Just how have butchers, farmers, and you the consumer reacted to
:03:05. > :03:08.
:03:08. > :03:11.this news. Despite yesterday's a ride by the Food Standards Agency
:03:11. > :03:17.and the claim operations had been suspended, there was plenty of
:03:17. > :03:22.activity here this morning. The company's owner letter saying. He
:03:22. > :03:30.says the company only cuts source meat and insists he has not done
:03:30. > :03:35.anything wrong. I do not to processing. I do not do mincemeat
:03:35. > :03:44.or beefburgers. This is not a processing plant. It is purely
:03:44. > :03:49.production. Operations have now been suspended at the plant. The
:03:50. > :03:59.Food Standards Agency also traded this meat supply and in Yorkshire
:04:00. > :04:00.
:04:00. > :04:10.yesterday. The FSA says it suspect horsemeat leaving this site was
:04:10. > :04:17.
:04:17. > :04:24.later sold as beef. What we have been told and advised is that the
:04:24. > :04:31.meat in question had come from an identifiable course, it had come
:04:32. > :04:39.from the Republic of Ireland and shipped out eventually to an
:04:39. > :04:48.address and a cellar in Belgium. are acting on credible intelligence.
:04:48. > :04:54.Quite often, it is quite difficult to marry up records. We want to
:04:54. > :04:57.identify any meat that may be of concern. The allegations have
:04:57. > :05:02.shocked politicians of all sides. The time Mr was asked what action
:05:03. > :05:11.had been taken against any company found to be trying to mislead the
:05:11. > :05:16.public? Yesterday, the Food Standards Agency had raided a
:05:16. > :05:26.couple of premises. There should be full intervention of the law if any
:05:26. > :05:28.
:05:28. > :05:33.wrongdoing is found. Integrity is key to the supply trade. Consumers
:05:33. > :05:42.trust in the produce they are buying. We have to make sure
:05:42. > :05:52.consumers can have that trust. Inspectors have been in Llandre
:05:52. > :05:54.
:05:54. > :06:01.throughout the day. There is some activity at the meat cutting plant
:06:01. > :06:04.behind be tonight. Earlier today, - Earlier today, Sian Lloyd went to
:06:04. > :06:07.the meat cutting plant. The owner of Farmbox Meats, Dafydd Raw-Rees
:06:07. > :06:17.agreed to be interviewed on the damning allegations against him. He
:06:17. > :06:17.
:06:17. > :06:23.denied he has done anything wrong. I am contracted to bone horsemeat
:06:23. > :06:29.for an Irish producer. The horsemeat is deliver it and cut up
:06:29. > :06:35.and is taken from here to Belgium. I get paid for doing the cutting up.
:06:35. > :06:39.There is no further processing. I do not do kebabs, mincemeat or
:06:39. > :06:46.beefburgers. This is not a processing plant. This is purely
:06:46. > :06:52.production, meet Captain. The Food Standards Agency has said
:06:52. > :06:57.operations have been suspended here today. You can see for yourself the
:06:57. > :07:05.activity that is going on. I invited you in to see and to report
:07:05. > :07:11.what you saw. I cannot say more than that. The FSA have been and
:07:11. > :07:15.truthful. There is a complete paper trail. When the container comes
:07:15. > :07:22.from Ireland, they get the paperwork so they have known about
:07:22. > :07:29.it. To pick on me now does not make sense in any way, shape or form.
:07:29. > :07:39.What sort of impact is is having on you? What impact would it have on
:07:39. > :07:45.anyone? You start up a business and you get dealt a low blow. If I
:07:45. > :07:48.protest I protest too much. The owner of the meat cuttting
:07:48. > :07:51.plant Dafydd Raw-Rees there vehemently denying any wrong doing.
:07:51. > :07:53.His position clearly contrasting that of the Food Standards Agency
:07:53. > :08:02.who say they have suspended operations at the plant, alleging
:08:02. > :08:05.that horse meat has been sold on as beef for kebabs and burgers. Well
:08:05. > :08:13.the horse meat scandal is having an impact on everyone from farmers to
:08:13. > :08:23.consumers, all trying to get to grips with every new twist and turn.
:08:23. > :08:29.
:08:29. > :08:33.But what effect is it having on the Carmarthen Matt showcasing the best
:08:33. > :08:37.the Welsh meat industry has to offer. Every animal here can be
:08:37. > :08:43.traced back to their birth and some may even be known by their first
:08:43. > :08:47.name. But farmers here have been rocked by the scandal. It has been
:08:47. > :08:51.a disaster. They have now been found in this country as well. I
:08:51. > :08:59.hope standards would be better in this country but this has let us
:08:59. > :09:04.all down. You do not know where it will lead to. But with many of us
:09:04. > :09:11.not knowing horsemeat was handled in Wales, what are the fact. 62
:09:11. > :09:21.places have licences to cut up horsemeat. That is different to a
:09:21. > :09:26.licensed to slaughter horses. Six places have those, men in Wales.
:09:26. > :09:31.There is no market in Britain for the meat but it is legal to sell
:09:31. > :09:35.here. Horsemeat is cheaper than beef so there is potential for
:09:35. > :09:42.profit. The body that promotes Welsh meat is concerned about what
:09:43. > :09:47.this is doing to the repetition of meat here. Any bad news for any
:09:48. > :09:52.industry taints that industry was a bit tense does people who work
:09:52. > :10:02.within the legal framework of that industry. We are fortunate in Wales
:10:02. > :10:03.
:10:03. > :10:09.because we have protected geographic information. The big
:10:09. > :10:19.thing about the horse scandal is people do not know what they are
:10:19. > :10:26.eating. I do not tend to buy meat from a supermarket. But I
:10:26. > :10:35.definitely would not at this time. But there have horse in there, what
:10:35. > :10:43.else is in there? Local butchers have reported an increase in
:10:43. > :10:46.customers. It is good for us because people will not go to
:10:46. > :10:54.supermarkets, they will come to a local butcher because they want to
:10:54. > :10:59.know where the meat is from. the industry can do now is wait,
:10:59. > :11:02.watch and to its best to reassure people that Welsh meat is safe.
:11:02. > :11:06.Former Rural Affairs Minster and local AM Elin Jones join me now.
:11:06. > :11:16.How do you think this is affecting the meat industry in Wales, it is
:11:16. > :11:16.
:11:16. > :11:23.not good is it? There has been a cloud cast over the industry in
:11:23. > :11:26.Wales. Farmers, processors and retailers are going about their
:11:26. > :11:33.activity and producing excellent quality meat in Wales. A shadow has
:11:33. > :11:36.been cast over that today. The sooner we can clarify this and the
:11:36. > :11:40.investigation concludes, then we will have greater clarity what has
:11:40. > :11:46.been happening here and we can again have confidence in the Welsh
:11:46. > :11:54.meat industry. What about the role of the Food Standards Agency. We
:11:54. > :11:58.know about this because of Ireland's Food Standards Agency.
:11:58. > :12:04.went to see the FSA and the Government's learning a lesson from
:12:04. > :12:10.all of this. There is now DNA sampling that can be done of the
:12:10. > :12:15.product and they should be more spot checks sampling of meat done
:12:15. > :12:24.by the FSA in order to ensure retailers are putting on the
:12:24. > :12:30.shelves what is on the turn. We are both old enough to remember the BSE
:12:30. > :12:34.scandal and the trauma. How can this sort of thing happen again?
:12:34. > :12:44.The meat supply chain has become increasingly convoluted. We need
:12:44. > :12:51.more simplicity in the chain. It should only be simple. But it has
:12:51. > :12:56.become far too convoluted. There is responsibility on the retailers to
:12:56. > :13:01.make it more simple and get back to basics so that we have less travel
:13:01. > :13:04.of meat before it reaches the shelves and people can have more
:13:04. > :13:09.confidence in it. More from Aberystwyth later in the
:13:09. > :13:12.programme. First, here's Claire with the rest of the day's news.
:13:13. > :13:15.Good evening. Who could forget the weeks of uncertainty faced by GCSE
:13:15. > :13:21.students in Wales last year during the confusion over regrading exam
:13:21. > :13:23.papers? Well today the examinations body, the WJEC, has raised concerns
:13:23. > :13:31.the situation, which led to the regrading of more than 2,000
:13:31. > :13:34.English language GCSE papers in Wales, could happen again this year.
:13:34. > :13:39.The Welsh Government has dismissed the fears, saying the WJEC comments
:13:39. > :13:44.are silly. Our education correspondent Arwyn Jones is with
:13:44. > :13:48.Studying for your GCSEs can be a very stressful time for pupils, as
:13:48. > :13:51.can getting your result. Last summer, before students sat their
:13:51. > :13:55.GCSEs, all exam boards were told to toughen up the threshold for
:13:55. > :13:58.getting a C grade. That meant thousands of youngsters didn't get
:13:58. > :14:06.the grade they were expecting The Education Minister here said that
:14:06. > :14:09.was unfair. As a result, thousands of papers were regraded in Wales
:14:09. > :14:15.and better results were given to some pupils here albeit after a
:14:15. > :14:19.tense few weeks. Today, the WJEC have raised concerns the same
:14:19. > :14:21.issues could happen again his year. They have written to the government
:14:21. > :14:26.saying they're awaiting clarification from them on several
:14:26. > :14:30.issues relating to GCSE English Language as a matter of urgency.
:14:30. > :14:33.But the Welsh Government hit back saying the comments were silly.
:14:33. > :14:39.They added they were taking steps to ensure there will not be a
:14:39. > :14:46.repetition of the events of last summer. That's not a view shared by
:14:46. > :14:53.some teaching unions in Wales. think there is a possibility we
:14:53. > :14:57.could have a repeat of the last situation. It is legitimately
:14:57. > :15:02.concerns. We went to see how the Welsh government will answer those
:15:02. > :15:06.concerns. It is not helpful for the government to dismiss them as silly.
:15:06. > :15:10.What we want to see is a proper dialogue, much more the taught you
:15:10. > :15:15.would see in the staffroom rather than the shouting and name-calling
:15:15. > :15:17.but you see in the school yard. That's a view shared by many in the
:15:17. > :15:21.education sector in Wales. The Welsh Government and the exams
:15:21. > :15:23.regulator in England have to agree that marks and grades for GCSEs are
:15:23. > :15:27.comparable in both countries. Many pupils have been sitting mock GCSE
:15:27. > :15:30.exams over the past couple of weeks. But when the real thing comes along,
:15:30. > :15:36.they as well as parents and teachers, will be hoping that last
:15:36. > :15:39.year's mix-up doesn't happen again this year.
:15:39. > :15:42.A man who admitted abducting and raping a school girl in woodland at
:15:42. > :15:46.Leeswood in Flintshire last August has been found guilty of another
:15:46. > :15:49.rape, an attempted rape and an attempted child abduction. 23-year-
:15:49. > :15:54.old David Edgerton from Connah's Quay was described in his trial as
:15:54. > :15:56.a serial sex offender. The court heard how one of his victims
:15:56. > :16:01.managed to send messages to her sister's Facebook page, which
:16:01. > :16:04.alerted her family to where she was. Edgerton will be sentenced next
:16:04. > :16:07.month. The European operation of Tata
:16:07. > :16:11.Steel, which employs around 7,500 people in Wales has reported a big
:16:11. > :16:15.increase in losses. Figures for the last three months of 2012 show it
:16:15. > :16:18.made losses of �50 million. The company says the restarting of a
:16:18. > :16:24.new blast furnace at Port Talbot this week will improve the
:16:24. > :16:27.company's performance. A man who fell into the River Wye
:16:27. > :16:29.near Chepstow yesterday is believed to have died. Gwent Police say
:16:29. > :16:39.rescue teams have finished searching the river and the
:16:39. > :16:41.
:16:41. > :16:45.surrounding area without finding him. The man is said to have fallen
:16:45. > :16:50.from this bridge which spans the border between Chepstow and England
:16:51. > :16:55.at around 2:45pm yesterday afternoon. Police have not named
:16:55. > :17:05.him or given details about how he fell in. But they believe he may
:17:05. > :17:08.
:17:08. > :17:17.have died. These are our local rivers. We're well first to the
:17:17. > :17:22.dangers of the currents. We carried out an intensive keyhole a surge
:17:22. > :17:31.last night. The story is that the man disappeared under the water
:17:31. > :17:37.very quickly. The Coast Guard, a police helicopter and local rescue
:17:37. > :17:42.boats have been searching. Today, the search the river banks. So far,
:17:42. > :17:48.without any success. As the rescue boats returned tonight, the search
:17:48. > :17:50.was called off. Police say they are giving support to the man's family
:17:51. > :17:53.at this difficult time. Workers at Anglesey Aluminium have
:17:54. > :17:57.been warned that there is a strong likelihood of the plant closing.
:17:57. > :18:00.Around 80 staff are still employed at the site in Holyhead, which saw
:18:00. > :18:04.its smelting operation shut down in 2009. The company says it is facing
:18:04. > :18:07.severe operating losses but insists no final decision has been made.
:18:07. > :18:13.Now the second in our series, looking ahead to the centenary of
:18:13. > :18:16.the start of World War I. Yesterday we heard about the campaign to
:18:16. > :18:20.erect a memorial to all those from Wales who took part in the conflict.
:18:20. > :18:22.It would be built in the Belgian region of Flanders near the spot
:18:22. > :18:25.where Welsh poet Hedd Wyn was killed. Roger Pinney's been there
:18:25. > :18:35.and found a community, keen to establish close links with Wales.
:18:35. > :18:44.
:18:44. > :18:50.The piece contains some flash The haunting melody, a lament
:18:50. > :18:55.played in Flanders at a Welsh act of remembrance. One some and they
:18:55. > :19:02.gather here, often in the tense and sometimes in their hundreds to
:19:02. > :19:07.commemorate the death of Welsh poet Hedd Wyn and all his comrades who
:19:07. > :19:16.died in the battle of passion Dale. The local people here have no real
:19:16. > :19:26.connection to Wales but they have been moved by the story of Hedd Wyn.
:19:26. > :19:27.
:19:27. > :19:34.What happened to Hedd Wyn seems to sum at the tragedy. A poet, he
:19:34. > :19:44.wrote in the trenches to compete in the National Eisteddfod. He was
:19:44. > :19:50.
:19:50. > :20:00.killed before he learnt he had won He was killed here at a crossroads
:20:00. > :20:03.
:20:03. > :20:11.not far from a town. It is here they want to build the memorial.
:20:11. > :20:21.the going down of the cent, early morning, we will remember them.
:20:21. > :20:33.
:20:33. > :20:36.the end of our ceremony, we will be on our way. They want to remember.
:20:36. > :20:45.They remembered that in their dark days the British turned out to
:20:45. > :20:51.defend them. At this ceremony more people turned up than usual.
:20:51. > :20:58.Afterwards, it is across the road to the local bar. This committee
:20:58. > :21:02.wants to bind closer ties with Wales. It has made its a commitment
:21:02. > :21:10.to the Welsh memorial ft at the Welsh government has so far not
:21:11. > :21:20.promised any cash towards it. The bar keeps a corner devoted to the
:21:21. > :21:25.
:21:25. > :21:31.Hedd Wyn story. I know of the story. We talked about doing something
:21:31. > :21:40.more. We want to do something more. We do it every first Monday of the
:21:40. > :21:48.month. We try to do everything that is possible to make this connection
:21:48. > :21:52.with Wales. It is very important. We'd go not want to be a tourist
:21:52. > :21:59.attraction, we want something to commemorate things that happened
:21:59. > :22:03.100 years ago. That is very important. The people of this part
:22:03. > :22:08.of Flanders remind with constant reminders of the horrors of war.
:22:09. > :22:11.The people of Wales played their part in the sacrifice.
:22:11. > :22:15.Football. Wrexham are closing-in on Conference leaders Grimsby after a
:22:15. > :22:17.1-0 win at Hereford last night. Here's the table. They are now just
:22:17. > :22:20.behind Grimsby only on goal difference. Five points below
:22:20. > :22:24.Wrexham are Newport County, who move back to fourth after a 2-0
:22:24. > :22:28.home win over Mansfield. Snooker. Wales' Dominic Dale came
:22:28. > :22:31.close to pulling off a major shock at the Welsh Open in Newport this
:22:31. > :22:35.afternoon. The Penarth potter, led World number two Judd Trump 3-1,
:22:35. > :22:38.but then lost the last three frames to lose the first round match 4-3.
:22:38. > :22:48.Tonight, Mark Williams plays Robert Milkins for a place in the second
:22:48. > :22:49.
:22:49. > :22:52.round. You can see that much from 7:00pm on BBC Two for us.
:22:52. > :22:55.Winter was back with a vengeance today as snow fell in many parts of
:22:55. > :22:58.the country. North Wales was hardest hit, from Gwynedd to
:22:58. > :23:01.Flintshire, where several inches fell on higher ground. On the roads
:23:01. > :23:04.it made for difficult driving conditions for motorists. But the
:23:04. > :23:13.white stuff didn't linger for too long. Warmer temperatures meant it
:23:13. > :23:20.turned to rain and sleet as the day went on. Is that the end of the
:23:20. > :23:24.I think we have seen the last of the snow for a while. The next few
:23:24. > :23:28.days are looking drier and milder as well. But today most of us had
:23:28. > :23:31.some snow. Most of it in the north. Graham Evans took this photo on the
:23:31. > :23:35.Llangollen Canal near Froncysyllte. Less snow in Chepstow but just
:23:35. > :23:39.enough for Caroline to build a miniature snowman. I hope Caroline
:23:39. > :23:42.has put him in the freezer. Otherwise he's probably a puddle of
:23:42. > :23:46.water now because temperatures are rising. Recently 9 Celsius in
:23:46. > :23:51.Milford Haven. As the milder air comes over the cold ground its
:23:51. > :23:56.producing a lot of low cloud, mist and fog. So some poor visibility
:23:56. > :24:01.tonight with heavy rain on the way. So this evening damp with rain and
:24:01. > :24:04.drizzle. Fog on high ground. Overnight heavy rain 20mm to 40mm.
:24:04. > :24:07.60mm, over two inches, in Snowdonia with a risk of minor river and
:24:07. > :24:10.surface water flooding. The wind easing after midnight with
:24:10. > :24:14.temperatures above freezing. The reason for the rain tonight is a
:24:14. > :24:18.cold front and that will be over England by breakfast time tomorrow.
:24:18. > :24:22.So by eight in the morning the rain will have cleared from Wales. The
:24:22. > :24:26.whole country dry but still a lot of water on the ground and in the
:24:26. > :24:29.rivers. Some low cloud and mist. Feeling milder with a westerly
:24:29. > :24:33.breeze. So a better day tomorrow. Drier and brighter. A few scattered
:24:34. > :24:39.showers but some sunshine for Valentine's Day. Temperatures
:24:39. > :24:42.higher than recently. 7 Celsius to 10 Celsius with a westerly breeze.
:24:42. > :24:49.Tomorrow night dry and clear. And turning chilly with a widespread
:24:49. > :24:54.ground frost. Friday looks a nice day. Fine and dry with sunshine.
:24:54. > :24:57.Temperature reaching 7 Celsius to 10 Celsius with light winds. As for
:24:57. > :25:00.the weekend, Saturday will start dull and damp but turning drier
:25:00. > :25:03.through the day. Sunday the best day of the weekend. Breezy but dry
:25:03. > :25:06.and brighter with some sunshine. Next week, there may be some rain
:25:06. > :25:10.in the southwest for a time otherwise the signs are we are in
:25:10. > :25:12.for a dry and more settled spell of weather for a change. Thanks. No
:25:12. > :25:14.more snow tonight. Milder with heavy rain and mist. Drier and
:25:14. > :25:17.brighter tomorrow with a few showers.
:25:17. > :25:20.More now on our top story and the latest on the horse meat scandal.
:25:20. > :25:30.Let's return to Jamie in Llandre near Aberystwyth.
:25:30. > :25:31.
:25:32. > :25:36.Thanks. Just a reminder for you of the latest from here. The owner of
:25:37. > :25:43.the meat plant at the centre of this scandal has vigorously denied
:25:43. > :25:47.any wrongdoing. His premises were raided yesterday by inspectors from
:25:47. > :25:57.the Food Standards Agency. Let us talk to our reporter for has been
:25:57. > :25:57.
:25:57. > :26:03.I have been speaking to a number of people. Many people did not know
:26:03. > :26:07.this plant exists. It seems everybody has been shocked by these
:26:07. > :26:11.allegations and by the revelation that horsemeat is cut here. We must
:26:11. > :26:15.stress that has nothing necessarily wrong or illegal about that. The
:26:15. > :26:20.owner makes it clear that everything that goes on here is
:26:21. > :26:28.above board. But this is a story people have been following closely
:26:28. > :26:33.and for it to land on your doorstep, it leads to a sense of bemusement.
:26:33. > :26:36.The Food Standards Agency is not the only body investigating this.
:26:36. > :26:40.Cardiff council have announced they would carry out their own
:26:40. > :26:50.inspections over the coming weeks. They will be looking at suppliers
:26:50. > :26:50.
:26:50. > :27:00.and providers who are not part of the Food Standards Agency. We are
:27:00. > :27:01.
:27:01. > :27:07.testing all supplies and some of Our secondary suppliers as well.
:27:07. > :27:15.The investigation will continue and we will keep an eye out for the
:27:15. > :27:22.outcome. We will have an update at 8pm and after the BBC News at Ten.