02/03/2016 BBC Wales Today


02/03/2016

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Welcome to Wales Today.

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Our top stories tonight: Three soldiers died as a result of neglect

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on an SAS training exercise in the Brecon Beacons.

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Now the Ministry of Defence is to face the highest possible

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reprimand over its failings.

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And the cost of tackling serious crime - the debate if policing

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was devolved to Wales.

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Good evening.

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The Ministry of Defence is to be given the strongest reprimand

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possible, over the deaths of three soldiers in the Brecon Beacons.

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Reservists Edward Maher, James Dunsby and Craig Roberts

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collapsed on one of the hottest days of 2013, on an SAS

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selection exercise.

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The Health and Safety Executive says it will pass its strongest sanction

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- a crown censure.

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The law does not allow the MOD to be prosecuted.

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It is the toughest of testing grounds, the Brecon Beacons in any

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weather can be unforgiving but on the hottest day of summer

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in 2013, three young men on selection for the SAS

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lost their lives.

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The inquest into the deaths of reservists

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Craig Roberts, James Dunsby and Edward Maher found neglect

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played a part in their deaths.

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Today the Health and Safety Executive has

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published its findings, saying the MoD would have faced

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prosecution for the failings if it did not have

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Crown immunity.

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At the end of the inquest, the families were clear

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they believe the Ministry of Defence last sight of its own values.

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they believe the Ministry of Defence lost sight of its own values.

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They displayed no responsibility, no accountability and no humility

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for their role in creating the culture

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which led to the events of 13th July 2013.

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Even an ounce of this would have gone such a long way

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in acknowledging the vast catalogue of errors

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which were so clearly made.

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So, what went wrong?

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The men set off on the 16-mile march just before

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seven, all carrying GPS trackers so the commanders

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could track their movements.

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By the time Craig Roberts reached checkpoint five,

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two soldiers had already been withdrawn

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with heat illness.

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He collapsed just a few hundred metres from the finish line.

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Edward Maher took a different route.

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His GPS tracker stop moving for almost two hours

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before anyone else noticed.

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James Dunsby was also on the final leg of his March.

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He had been down for more than an hour

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before the medics arrived.

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The investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found

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that a failure to plan to assess and to manage the risks

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during the training which took place up here resulted in their deaths.

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These failures, they also found, caused ten more soldiers

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on the march that day to suffer heat illness.

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In a statement they say:

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The Ministry of Defence has acknowledged the censure

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and apologised for the failings.

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In a statement they say that they have

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made improvements to reduce risks and an enquiry is underway

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to identify further lessons to be learned.

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They say their thoughts remain with the families.

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A former lifeguard from Gwynedd - jailed for 50 years

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in the United States for raping a ten-year-old girl -

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must decide within a month whether to appeal against the length

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of his sentence.

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22-year-old Gareth Vincent Hall from Talysarn met the girl online,

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and flew to America, where he committed a number

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of offences against her.

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The bullet which killed a young Welsh soldier could have been fired

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by her - or someone else - an inquest into her death has heard.

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Cheryl James from Llangollen died from a bullet to the head

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at Deepcut Barracks in 1995.

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A German ballistics expert told the inquest that the bullet

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was fired at close range.

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The former footballer Ched Evans will have his rape conviction appeal

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heard in three weeks' time.

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The former Wales International was jailed for five years in 2012,

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after being found guilty of raping a 19-year-old woman

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at a hotel near Rhyl.

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The ability to tackle serious crime would require huge investment

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if power over policing was devolved.

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That is according to the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent.

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Ian Johnston believes Welsh officers would have to go cap in hand

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to England to access expertise like the National Crime Agency.

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But not every PCC here agrees.

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Wales versus France in Cardiff on a Friday night.

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Policed by around 100 officers and a few horses.

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And while events like this aren't unique to Wales,

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the Welsh Government believes policing here could be improved

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if Cardiff Bay controlled it.

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But could serious crime like this be tackled as effectively?

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These drugs came from an Albanian crime group smuggled to Welsh

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criminals with connections in Spain.

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The gang was brought down by Gwent Police

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and the National Crime Agency.

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But the man responsible for the Gwent force believes

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the ability to fight serious crime and other specialist skills would be

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impeded, if policing was devolved.

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There is a real danger that we will have local policing

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in Wales, which is good, but if we need anything at a higher

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level, whether it be the National Crime Agency,

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some parts of the criminal justice system, we will have to look

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to England and we will be isolated and we could actually

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become the poor relatives.

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And the Welsh Police and Crime Commissioners,

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who are up for re-election in May, are split on the matter.

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Ian Johnston in Gwent doesn't want policing devolved.

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Nor does Christopher-Salmon in Dyfed Powys.

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But Alun Michael in South Wales does want policing devolved.

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Winston Roddick in North Wales is also broadly in favour.

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Unless it can be demonstrated that devolving responsibility

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for the police would result in a deterioration

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in the effectiveness and efficiency of the police service then

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there is no good case against it.

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In Westminster yesterday, Plaid Cymru said devolving policing

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was the only way to address community needs in Wales.

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Keith Vaz, the Chair of the influential

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Home Affairs Committee, said he believes Wales does

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require special attention.

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This is what the fight against crime and terrorism looks

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like in Scotland, which has full power over policing and justice.

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The ?75 million Scottish Crime Campus.

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A big ticket item.

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One expert here believes the Welsh Government wouldn't have

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to spend money like that, but would have to appoint policing

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ministers and civil servants, which could lead to wider mergers.

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The natural step forward if we had policing policy in Cardiff would be

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perhaps the formation of a national police force for

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Wales in the future.

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It is said there is a growing desire among senior officers here to see

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policing controlled in Wales.

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But the UK Government says PCCs already have that power and

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it won't be handing control of the police to Cardiff Bay.

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Football, and Match of the Day is on later, so if you don't

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want to know what happened in Swansea's game against Arsenal,

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you know what to do.

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And it was a huge result for the Swans at the Emirates.

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They beat the home side 2-1, with goals from Wayne Routledge

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and Ashley Williams.

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It means they are now six points clear of the relegation zone.

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After today's wintry showers and strong winds,

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a quieter day in store tomorrow, largely dry and some bright spells.

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Tonight, winds not quite as strong but remaining blustery.

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Wintry showers will eventually ease, turning dry overnight.

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An ice and frost risk again first thing.

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A respite tomorrow.

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A spell of dry weather before this next front

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pushes in from the Atlantic later in the day.

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An early frost and ice risk tomorrow,

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but a quieter and drier day.

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Temperatures easing with brighter spells.

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Similar across the UK.

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Sunny spells, variable cloud but the East

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holding onto the sunshine for longest.

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It starts to cloud over from the West,

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ahead of the next front.

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Some showers pushing in and chilly again.

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Highs of 5 degrees in the North of Scotland,

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9 in the south of England.

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Cloudier end to the day over Wales with rain

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arriving from the West, still on the chilly side

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at 7 or 8 degrees.

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Lighter winds and not feeling quite as cold as today.

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This weather front proves problematic later on Thursday

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and into Friday.

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It pushes through overnight and then swings back

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around, bringing spells of rain, some snow and stronger winds.

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Tomorrow night, a mix of rain, sleet and hill snow over North Wales

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as that front moves through, cold with ice risk.

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On Friday, a cold day.

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More likely to see those blustery wintry showers in the north,

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maybe drier further south,

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but the position of this front could change.

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So, a wintry feel for the end of the first week of spring.

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Looking colder but a bit more settled into the weekend.

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We will be back with updates in Breakfast

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from 6:25am tomorrow morning.

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But from everyone on the late team, thanks for watching.

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Goodnight.

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