07/07/2014 BBC Wales Today

Pensioner Arthur Jones, missing in Crete.

Police search for other Welsh tourists who signed this visitors'

Latest from Crete where North Wales police are searching for Denbigh

An Iraqi militant apologises for kidnapping

Alec MacLachlan's mother says the Foreign Office could have done more.

A bumper crop down the allotment, but what kind of country do you

Spot the cyclist - Geraint Thomas says he fears for spectators

at the Tour de France getting too close to the riders to take photos.

And the most popular cartoonist of the First World War -

now a new generation gets to enjoy Cardiff artist JM Staniforth.

Officers from North Wales Police who have travelled to Greece to help

with the search for missing Denbigh pensioner Arthur Jones say they're

trying to track down two Welsh holidaymakers who may have met the

Mr Jones hasn't been seen since June 19th, two days after he arrived

Police have found his name in a visitors' book

What happened to Arthur Jones and where could he have gone on the

island of Crete? That is the only thing on his son's mind for the past

few weeks. I have been through so many times feeling the worst but you

have got to stay positive. The people back at home in Wales and the

community that it gives you a boost and raises morale. Every other hour

you are thinking different scenarios in your head but with possible

sightings and knowing that he has got the experience to survive, we

think he has got quite a lot of money on him. You have just got to

have hope. Arthur Jones was staying out of this hotel when he was last

seen. That is the only concrete bit of information the family house. He

mentioned he might be going for a walk. The mountainside that way, the

coast the other way. Officers from North Wales police have arrived to

lend a hand. Already, we have made a breakthrough. His signature on a

guestbook at a war memorial and other needs around him could be

vital. This morning we went straight to the cemetery where we know Arthur

had visited and in the visitors book, were names underneath his, two

couples from England and somebody from Wales whose signature is

illegible. We are appealing for those people to come forward if they

are back at home to help us with our enquiries. That possible sighting

gives the family hope amidst all the trouble in paradise. We think that

he might have just got lost. It is so hot and the heat can affect your

brain. Especially if he has gone for an hour 's walk around the hotel,

taken enough water for an hour, got lost, started getting dehydrated. He

could easily have gone off track. At the moment there are more questions

than answers for one family in the heat of Crete that they are

determined to find out what happened to Arthur Jones.

Back home police searching for a man missing in Llanelli have

Richard Chandler from Northamptonshire was working

in the area when he disappeared after a night out last Thursday.

A man's body has been found in the Delta Lakes area of the town.

The 25-year-olds family have been informed but the body hasn't

A jury will continue to consider its verdict tomorrow in the trial

of a man accused of shooting his wife dead in Newport

Caroline Parry was shot in the back near her home last August.

Christopher Parry was found critically wounded nearby.

Newport Crown Court has heard he shot her because he couldn't

But he claims he was only meant to shoot himself.

Mr Parry, from Cwmbran, denies murder

The mother of a man who was kidnapped in 2007 and then killed

by Iraqi militants has told Wales Today the Foreign Office treated him

Alec MacLachlan from Llanelli was one of five men captured in Baghdad.

Today, the leader of the group who took them has apologised for their

deaths, and blamed the UK government for not doing enough to intervene.

This video of Peter Moore was released by his captors. In 2007,

the IT expert was training government officials in Baghdad and

he was kidnapped. For men who were looking for a private security firm

is his bodyguards-Jason Swindlehurst, Jason Treadwell, Alec

MacLachlan were also captured. There was a media blackout from reporting

on the story but they did appeal to the BBC for their safe return. I

plead for people who have got I sent to send Alec home. The five men were

taking? Taken by militants dressed as Iraqi policeman. Two years after

they were taken, the bodies of two bodyguards were handed over, they

had been shot. Data that year, the body of Alec MacLachlan was also

return. We now know the fourth bodyguard was also killed. Three

months later, the man they were protecting, Peter Moore, is freed.

His captors say the British government is responsible. I think

the British government are responsible because they were in

serious with the side that helped them. The British government

concentrated only on Peter Moore. The bodyguards were second-class

citizens. That was a surprise for us. Peter Moore is now working in

the Caribbean. He spoke to us via Skype. I think, from my perspective,

we were all treated equally. I didn't feel that I had a priority or

anything like that. Maybe in 2009, once they knew the others were dead,

maybe the keys more of a priority to me because they knew I was alive. I

don't believe any greater priority was given to me over the guards,

certainly at the start of the hostage situation. It is now a

military and political force in Iraq. In this footage, the group

claims their members were involved in the fight against the recent

threat from ISIS. We spoke to the family of Alec MacLachlan today. His

mother was too upset to talk but said she did agree with those

comments. She felt the British government had prioritised Peter

Moore over her son and the other bodyguards. Five years after their

deaths, nobody has yet been brought to justice. The mother of ten Mac

didn't want to give an interview on camera but said she would continue

to fight for justice for her son. The foreign office today said they

take the kidnapping of foreign nationals very seriously and the

responsibility for their deaths lies entirely with those who kidnapped

and murdered them. Let's speak to the BBC's Middle

Eastern Editor Jeremy Bowen. Jeremy, you spoke to the Sheik -

why is he apologising now? I went to see them a day or two ago

in bad card -- in Baghdad. I think you have got to look into his

motivations for what he said. The British and the Americans are his

old enemies. His men fought against them. He was captured by the British

SAS and put into jail and kept there by the Americans for a number of

years. Then he was released about the time Peter Moore was released.

That was denied as part of a prisoner exchange. Does he have an

interest in trying to make the British government look bad? Yes, he

does. Does he have an interest in trying to improve his image with the

British? Not at all. So I was quite surprised by the comments he made,

that the two lots of men were treated in different ways. The

bodyguard and Peter Moore himself. Perhaps if it happened it was

because they regarded one group 's military, the other as civilian. I

think what is so distressing for families is that people never really

know. As for the head of this organisation, he said he was upset

about it and he apologised but he wasn't unduly upset about it. At the

moment he is fighting a war here and is very involved in Iraqi politics

so for him, I think it is just a small matter. For the families,

understandably, it continues to be something which is terribly

important and on which the details are not fully clear.

The prime minister has been accused of tarnishing the reputation

Labour's shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith has written to David Cameron

to ask him to meet Welsh business leaders who, according to Mr Smith,

are concerned by Mr Cameron's criticism of the Welsh Government's

Our parliamentary correspondent, David Cornock, is at Westminster.

What does this letter say? As if we needed a reminder, there is

a general election ten months to today. The political parties are

cranking up the rhetoric and here is an example. This letter from Owen

Smith, the shadow was free, the main man for Welsh Labour here. He has

been some critical of the Prime Minister 's criticism of the Welsh

performance. In this letter to David Cameron he says it is tarnishing the

reputation of Wales across the UK and internationally. Interestingly,

he says through a meeting with Welsh business leaders he has been worried

to hear their stark warnings that what the Prime Minister is saying is

actually damaging Wales in their eyes. We asked, as you might expect,

to speak to these business leaders or find out who they were. The

office of Owen Smith said their names are confidential and these

were private meetings. He said he hoped the Prime Minister would take

up his offer of a meeting with him and business leaders from Wales.

Has there been a reply to the letter?

He is still waiting to hear from the Downing Street postman but I think I

can give you a flavour of what Number ten will say. That is that

the view of ministers here is that the Welsh government has proved

itself incapable of running public service as well and it has no qualms

about bringing those feelings to the attention of the electorate.

Stepping up of the rhetoric on both sides. There is an election to come

slightly more than 300 days away but that won't stop the political

parties. The morale boosting cartoonist

of the First World War - now a new generation gets to enjoy

Cardiff artist JM Staniforth. And the most successful bowler

in Commonwealth Games history - Wales' Robert Weale aiming

for more medal success in Glasgow. What kind

of Wales do you want to live in? Your council, local police

and health board are all chewing over the long term picture based

on what you say matters to you. The Welsh Government asked people

across the country for their views and the results suggests

the biggest areas of concern are Our Economics correspondent

Sarah Dickins reports. Exercises and teamwork in the forest

outside Treherbert. Part of a project to use would land to help

improve people 's mental health and physical well-being. It is this kind

of collaboration and the Welsh government wants to encourage in its

new Bill. It wants us to use the most out of nature, which helps

people get back into the jobs market. 80 new friends, doing

activities and stealing animals and things like that. What do people

across Wales want? If you optimise your energy costs, what could you do

with the savings? Here they are telling the government about what

they want to see in the future. They are discussing what would make their

lives better. Because people haven't thought about it it is not that it

isn't possible in the future. These children are our future. These

people are the ones coming up with the ideas and we need to listen to

them and encourage them. Ideas have been fed back to Welsh ministers

were unlikely to help them shape the bill. The man in charge has listened

to the views of a wide range of groups from young farmers, business

groups, charities and the WRI. Health is a hot topic environmental

issues on their doorstep is significant. When you dig down and

ask them about their children and grandchildren, to look ahead,

climate change comes up. It was once the home ground of

Swansea city but now this is blossoming with fruit and

vegetables. It has been built by locals, reusing anything they can

find. The kind of thing we could see more of if the bill becomes law. It

would place a duty on law on all bodies to look at the wider impact

of their actions. It is claimed this project has improved derelict land,

families eating habits, that all health and community integration.

Here there are 12 Chinese, Japanese, Thailand, Bangladesh, India.

-- there are lots of Chinese. Every public body has to consider

its actions on so many aspects of Welsh life. The other question is

how do we know if it has been a success or a failure? How will it be

measured? And how will life change in Wales? The Welsh government hopes

the bill will become law by next spring.

The day's sports news now - here's Claire.

Top Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas has been back on his bike today

as the 2014 Tour de France travelled to London.

The race began in Yorkshire over the weekend where more than two

The 28-year-old says it was an incredible experience but he's

also raised concerns over the safety of some spectators who put the

cyclists at risk by standing in the road to take photos of themselves.

The noise at the moment must be incredibly stimulating...

It was a feeling compared to spending four hours in a disco-

sorting through noisy crowds in the first two stages of the Tour de

France. Struggling to get close to the Palatine is one of the reasons

that people flocked to watch the race. Thomas, seen here on the left,

said at times they got too close, leaving just a narrow corridor for

the riders to squeeze through, with some people taking excessive risks

to capture a photo of themselves. The worst thing is when people have

got their backs to the Palatine, taking photos. They are stored in

the road and it is dodgy. If you want to do that, stand on a wall

away from us. Other top riders have backed his

call for a bit of common sense to minimise the risk to spectators and

cyclists. It has been an incredible start of the two and everyone,

including Sir Dave Brailsford is keen for the party to continue.

I think we are a lot of thanks to people who have made the effort to

come out, every single person. It means a lot and it is just

tremendous to see the British fans get out there and put us on the map.

There were less twisty turns on the third stage from Cambridge to London

but there was at least one incident that a spectator was blamed for, for

stepping into the road in front of a cyclist. Thomas made it to the

finish line safety and is 22nd. His main role is to help his team-mates

try to defend his title. The Commonwealth Games starts

in just 16 days and one Welshman is preparing to

represent Wales for the 8th time! Robert Weale is

the most successful bowler In Glasgow, he'll be hoping to add

to his impressive medal tally No one has won more commonwealth

Bowls medals. Six so far and this summer, Robert Weale returns to the

country where he picked up his first. The first gold medal ever in

bowls at Commonwealth Games level for Wales is now in the bag.

Edinburgh 1986 and the man from Wales is somewhere on the shirts.

Winning gold in the men's fours. It started a pattern of podium finishes

-a bronze and three silvers followed, then another gold full

years ago. I wouldn't call myself a favourite going into the

tournament. I wasn't a favourite in Delhi and I don't think I will be

the favourite in Scotland. I am going in with the aim to win a medal

and if it can be gold, that will be a tremendous achievement. Rob is

included in a 15 strong team. The oldest is 71, the youngest 25. I

think it is the pinnacle of our game. Every guy out there playing

club roles in Wales with any aspirations, they want to go through

the process and play club, Co, internationally. When they get the

International cup, the next thing is getting that Commonwealth Games

call. The sport isn't as lucrative as others and Rob juggles his day

job here at this housing association with training but Bowles is in his

blood. He first played at 11. Within three years, he beat his father in

the final. His three brothers also play. They are championship winners

themselves. And who would bet against them celebrating a seventh

title in Glasgow and adding to a remarkable record but the

Commonwealth Games? One competitor that won't be

in Glasgow is female boxer The 23-year-old

from Ebbw Vale will not be allowed to compete for Team Wales because

she took part in last year's She's fallen foul of specific rules

by the sport's world governing body. Football and Cardiff City play their

first pre-season friendly tonight. The Bluebirds face Welsh Premier

side Carmarthen Town It'll be an opportunity

for fans to see some of Ole Gunnar The Bluebirds start life

in the Championship away to Swansea City, who are in Chicago

training, start their Premier League campaign away to Manchester United

on August the 16th. Manager Garry Monk is hoping Spanish

striker Michu, who's understood not to have travelled with the squad,

stays at the Liberty Stadium. The 28-year-old has been linked

a move to Italian side Napoli. Cricket and it's been

a frustrating day for Glamorgan's bowlers as Surrey built a convincing

lead at Colwyn Bay on day two Surrey passed Glamorgan's first

inning's total of 232 before lunch. Reigning Olympic Champion Jade Jones

had a frustrating weekend at the The 21-year-old from Flint,

seen training here, She tweeted she'd had

a "disappointing day" but still collected valuable

qualification points, He was one of the most popular

cartoonists of the early 20th Century, using pen and ink to

satirise social conditions in Wales. JM Staniforth created thousands

of newspaper illustrations He became a household name

for his morale boosting cartoons Now, those wartime drawings have

been brought together, restored Carwyn Jones has had first

glimpse of the collection. In a career spanning 30 years,

J M Staniforth drew more than 15,000 illustrations for papers

like the Western Mail and the News At the height of his popularity,

you could buy his cartoons for two guineas each

and many were published in pamphlet He is probably best known for his

creation, Dame Wales. A middle-aged woman in traditional Welsh costume

who dispensed home truths to the reader.

During the First World War Staniforth's

cartoons were enjoyed by millions of readers across the UK.

But over the years, the Cardiff illustrator's work and reputation

Historians have rightly? Largely ignored his work. It has been more

difficult than cartoons in Punch to access because the volumes tend to

end up early in libraries and archives.

Researchers at Cardiff University have now put Staniforth's wartime

Many of these illustrations haven't been seen by the public

The team had to trawl through thousands of newspapers - scanning,

digitising and restoring each individual drawing.

This project has taken two years to complete and the end result gives

context to the cartoons and the period in which they were made.

What you get is the little cultural references as well, which would have

been completely obvious to the contemporary population back then

but are lost on lots of us. Staniforth himself once remarked

that his contribution to the war effort had been

"slashing the Hun" with cartoons. It's hoped this website,

which goes live today, will restore his reputation as one of the most

popular and incisive political It has been a mixed day but we can

look forward to some fine weather this week. There will be some

sunshine around but some showers. They will start to fade away. Here

is the radar picture from earlier, when the showers came in from the

south-west. Part of Anglesey got away with the best of the sunny

weather today. Through tonight there's showers will fade away and

we will hang on to some cloud overnight. It is thick enough to

produce light rain or drizzle. A mild night with temperatures between

11 and 14 Celsius. This time for performing as well. A ridge of high

pressure trying to build from the south-west tomorrow, and in a better

day. By Wednesday we can look forward to plenty of dry and sunny

conditions. First thing tomorrow it is a cloudy start with a few showers

but Russia will rise through the day and that will help with those

showers. Prior and brighter by the afternoon with temperatures between

16 and 18 Celsius. Winds remaining light. Tomorrow evening there is

plenty of sunshine and clear conditions overnight. It is a fairly

mild night with temperatures rated eating nine and 14 Celsius. --

ranging between. We can look forward to a fine day on Wednesday. A bit

breezy but dry. Temperatures ranging between 17 and 20 Celsius. As we go

towards the end of the week, we will see some more cloud and it will

start to feel more humid. There is the risk of rain as well but

temperatures will start to rise to about 22 Celsius. Working fine for

Saturday but into Sunday we will start to see it becoming cooler and

fresher. Today's picture is showing a beautiful scene. Thank you for

that picture. We would love to see more pictures so please send them

in. Don't forget you can keep up-to-date with the weather by

visiting our website. Officers from North Wales police who

travelled to Greece to help with the search for the missing Denbigh

pensioner Arthur Jones said search for the missing Denbigh

pensioner Arthur Jones said they are trying to track down Welsh

holiday-makers. It is believed they may have met the 73-year-old on the

island of Crete. He has not been seen since the 19th of June, two

days after he arrived on holiday. The mother of a man who was

kidnapped in 2007 and then killed by Iraqi militants has told Wales

Today the Foreign Office treated him Alec MacLachlan from Llanelli was

one of five men captured in Baghdad. Today, the leader of the group who

took them has apologised for their deaths, and blamed the UK government

for not doing enough to intervene. We'll have an update for you here

at 8 o'clock and again Thank you for watching from all of