:00:00. > :00:00.Welcome to the programme. Tonight's headlines:
:00:00. > :00:07.Daniel O'Connell waited three years to clear his name,
:00:08. > :00:10.now the warning that budget cuts at the Crown Prosecution Service
:00:11. > :00:14.could lead to miscarriages of justice.
:00:15. > :00:16.And as hundreds of fans make the journey to Dublin
:00:17. > :00:18.for Wales' Six Nations opening match,
:00:19. > :00:36.Ireland name their side, missing key players.
:00:37. > :00:40.Cuts to the body responsible for putting people on trial
:00:41. > :00:42.could lead to more miscarriages of justice.
:00:43. > :00:45.The Criminal Bar Association says the Crown Prosecution Service
:00:46. > :00:49.is "operating with one hand tied behind its back".
:00:50. > :00:56.It was a charity event with famous faces,
:00:57. > :00:58.raising money to give young people free instruments,
:00:59. > :01:05.But allegations were later made about money going missing.
:01:06. > :01:07.The charity director said it was a misunderstanding
:01:08. > :01:10.about paperwork, but he and others were charged
:01:11. > :01:15.Court appearances and delays followed.
:01:16. > :01:18.It was always that the prosecution and the CPS were not ready and
:01:19. > :01:20.legal people kept saying to us from the start,
:01:21. > :01:26.the minute we can show our evidence, this will be dropped for sure.
:01:27. > :01:28.After nearly three years, Mr O'Connell left court
:01:29. > :01:33.The case collapsed, the judge criticising
:01:34. > :01:36.the Crown Prosecution Service for delays and filing
:01:37. > :01:41.It had an enormous impact on all of us and people around me,
:01:42. > :01:45.I was clearly shunned by a number of people in the business community.
:01:46. > :01:48.There is concern mistakes like this could happen more often.
:01:49. > :01:51.The Crown Prosecution Service used to have 400 people working for it
:01:52. > :01:58.with one hand tied behind their back at the moment,
:01:59. > :02:00.and if things do go wrong, that does lead,
:02:01. > :02:05.in people who are innocent going to prison and people who have
:02:06. > :02:08.been properly wronged, people who are the victims
:02:09. > :02:10.of criminal offences, not seeing justice take place
:02:11. > :02:16.There are lots of complicated reasons as to why someone might be
:02:17. > :02:20.charged with a crime but not face a jury in court.
:02:21. > :02:23.It could be because they themselves have pleaded guilty,
:02:24. > :02:28.But it can sometimes be to do with what the prosecution
:02:29. > :02:33.Perhaps their witness is no longer willing to give evidence in court
:02:34. > :02:38.or the prosecution themselves have not disclosed all the evidence
:02:39. > :02:42.The proportion of cases where the CPS
:02:43. > :02:44.has been at fault has been creeping up.
:02:45. > :02:46.But the service itself instead points to an increase
:02:47. > :02:50.and more complex domestic abuse cases,
:02:51. > :02:54.where witnesses can be more unreliable.
:02:55. > :02:56.I am very confident that I have highly skilled,
:02:57. > :02:58.professional people who are extremely dedicated
:02:59. > :03:04.Back in Newport, Mr O'Connell has continued his fashion business,
:03:05. > :03:09.The Treasury rejects the accusation that cuts have affected
:03:10. > :03:13.the performance of the CPS and says it does have the resources it needs
:03:14. > :03:20.Parents in Newport have been told they will have to wait until 2018
:03:21. > :03:23.for the county's first Welsh secondary school to be built.
:03:24. > :03:25.In a meeting this evening, the council said a new school
:03:26. > :03:28.will open on a temporary site, as planned in September.
:03:29. > :03:31.A planning application to build at Duffryn High School was rejected
:03:32. > :03:35.on Wednesday, because of flooding concerns.
:03:36. > :03:38.The family of a Denbighshire man, whose death is at the centre
:03:39. > :03:40.of a murder investigation, have described it as a nightmare
:03:41. > :03:47.The body of 44-year-old Liam Hill was found at his flat in Rhyl
:03:48. > :03:52.on the 8th of January, two days after he was last seen.
:03:53. > :03:56.For Liam to be taken away from us at such a young age and in such
:03:57. > :04:02.It is a nightmare that we can't wake up from.
:04:03. > :04:08.Someone somewhere must have seen or knows something.
:04:09. > :04:14.I am pleading with you to come forward.
:04:15. > :04:16.The Welsh Liberal Democrats say they'll focus relentlessly on public
:04:17. > :04:19.services in the Assembly election campaign, as they try to halt
:04:20. > :04:27.They're holding their spring conference in Cardiff this weekend.
:04:28. > :04:33.on putting our public services back together.
:04:34. > :04:36.We have an education system which is under pressure.
:04:37. > :04:39.We have a Health Service that is missing target
:04:40. > :04:45.And we have an economy which is continuously underperforming.
:04:46. > :04:49.It is time we started to put those things right.
:04:50. > :04:52.Wales face the reigning champions, Ireland,
:04:53. > :04:54.in their Six Nations opener on Sunday.
:04:55. > :04:57.Warren Gatland's team is up against a side aiming
:04:58. > :05:00.for an unprecedented third consecutive title, but they're
:05:01. > :05:10.Ireland may be the defending champions and will have
:05:11. > :05:13.home advantage on Sunday, but the men in green have been
:05:14. > :05:20.Rob Kearney and Sean O'Brien are not in the team announced today.
:05:21. > :05:24.Two names added to a long list of unavailable players.
:05:25. > :05:30.We are in a very good mind space, we know exactly what we have to do.
:05:31. > :05:34.We know the threats that are posed by Wales, with the experience
:05:35. > :05:37.they have peppered throughout this squad.
:05:38. > :05:43.For a balanced view of Sunday's battle, I went to visit the boss
:05:44. > :05:48.Looking forward to it, looking forward to it.
:05:49. > :05:52.He may have coached Wales to the 2005 Grand Slam,
:05:53. > :05:54.but now has a son, Rhys Ruddock, who is
:05:55. > :05:57.in the Irish squad to face Wales this Sunday.
:05:58. > :06:01.They seem far more settled with this selection.
:06:02. > :06:04.I know there are one or two new combinations but overall
:06:05. > :06:09.it is the majority of the World Cup squad coming together.
:06:10. > :06:13.Ireland have lost quite a number of leaders and
:06:14. > :06:16.quite a few of their forward pack who have been quite formidable
:06:17. > :06:20.in the last two years of the Championship winning team.
:06:21. > :06:22.Your son, Rhys Ruddock, in the squad to play on Sunday.
:06:23. > :06:26.What are the feelings of a proud father?
:06:27. > :06:32.He was capped against Argentina and South Africa, but one side
:06:33. > :06:35.he would love to be involved against is Wales.
:06:36. > :06:53.But with Rob Evans at prop, Tom James and Gareth Anscombe making
:06:54. > :06:58.up a new look back three, Wales do have a few new combinations.
:06:59. > :07:00.We are not looking past our first game,
:07:01. > :07:03.the momentum it could give us would be huge.
:07:04. > :07:08.It is something we are looking forward to and we have got
:07:09. > :07:15.Early this morning, the plans were in place for the Dublin trip.
:07:16. > :07:22.Wales may have won three of their last five visits to Dublin
:07:23. > :07:25.but they will have a battle on their hands on Sunday as Ireland
:07:26. > :07:30.aim to become the first ever team in the history of this competition
:07:31. > :07:39.Iwan Griffiths, BBC Wales Today, from the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
:07:40. > :07:42.their Six Nations campaign with a win.
:07:43. > :07:47.After Ireland's early lead, Wales fought back with four tries.
:07:48. > :07:51.The final score, Ireland 24, Wales 35.
:07:52. > :07:53.Let's get the weather forecast for the weekend.
:07:54. > :07:58.It's looking pretty wet, isn't it, Derek?
:07:59. > :08:07.You could say that, yes! It is a familiar story. We are getting used
:08:08. > :08:11.to it now this winter, wet and windy, at times stronger gill force
:08:12. > :08:16.winds. Sunday, brighter, sunshine and showers. This evening, range in
:08:17. > :08:20.the South and East will soon clear. Drier and, for a while then more
:08:21. > :08:26.rain will move in from the West. The wind is picking up again. Tomorrow
:08:27. > :08:32.morning, the rain spreads across the whole country. Gusty winds as well
:08:33. > :08:36.picking up again. Another warning in force for heavy rain for parts of
:08:37. > :08:41.the South. Especially on the hills. Across the rest of the UK, icy
:08:42. > :08:47.patches in the morning. Rain for many places during the day. Heaviest
:08:48. > :08:52.in South West England. Especially on Dartmoor, stronger gill force winds.
:08:53. > :08:57.In Wales tomorrow afternoon, more rain, wet and windy. Who are
:08:58. > :09:02.travelling conditions. Temperatures above average, but feeling chilly in
:09:03. > :09:07.the wind and rain. In the evening, the rain will clear, showers
:09:08. > :09:14.overnight, some of them heavy. Wintry on higher ground. Sunday will
:09:15. > :09:18.be a brighter day with a mixture of sunshine and showers. Blustery and
:09:19. > :09:23.cold, again some of the showers heavy. Looks like turning wet late
:09:24. > :09:29.in the afternoon, stronger winds and gales. For the rugby in Ireland, it
:09:30. > :09:36.will be cold and windy, driver kick-off, but looking wet by about
:09:37. > :09:40.six o'clock into the evening. Into next week, low pressure of the UK
:09:41. > :09:45.sole remaining unsettled. Windy on Monday with gales. Less money on
:09:46. > :09:46.Tuesday the sunshine and showers. Turning a bit colder. Have a nice
:09:47. > :09:48.weekend. We'll be back tomorrow
:09:49. > :09:50.evening at 7:05. But for now, from all of us
:09:51. > :09:57.on the late team, a very good night.