11/04/2016 BBC Wales Today


11/04/2016

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voters. Join me now on BBC Two. 11pm in Scotland.

:00:00.:00:00.

Our top stories - the UK Government will consider co-investing

:00:00.:00:09.

with a buyer to save the Port Talbot steel plant and thousands

:00:10.:00:13.

of jobs and Howard Marks - once one of the most

:00:14.:00:16.

wanted men in the world - drug smuggler and author has died.

:00:17.:00:36.

The UK government has for the first time said it would be willing

:00:37.:00:41.

to co-finance a deal with a buyer for the Tata

:00:42.:00:43.

There's still great uncertainty over the future of the plant -

:00:44.:00:48.

which employs more than 4,000 people.

:00:49.:00:52.

TATA has officially put its UK steel operations up for sale today,

:00:53.:00:56.

saying it has contacted "tens" of potential buyers.

:00:57.:00:58.

There have been many rumours as to who might be interested

:00:59.:01:07.

In the Commons, Sajid Javid this afternoon said the UK

:01:08.:01:13.

Government will consider co-investing with a buyer on

:01:14.:01:22.

commercial terms to save the steelworks in Port Talbot.

:01:23.:01:24.

The formal sales process begins today.

:01:25.:01:26.

I have been in contact with potential

:01:27.:01:27.

buyers making clear that the government stands ready to help.

:01:28.:01:30.

This includes looking at the possibility

:01:31.:01:31.

of co-investing with a buyer on commercial terms.

:01:32.:01:33.

Describing the situation as the steel industry's biggest

:01:34.:01:35.

operation up for sale today and says it has been

:01:36.:01:43.

We will be open to all credible investment offers that we can see

:01:44.:01:54.

So far only one company has expressed an interest in taking over

:01:55.:02:01.

The owner of Liberty Steel, Sanjeev Gupta has suggested

:02:02.:02:10.

that he wants to replace one of the blast furnaces with an electric

:02:11.:02:13.

powered arc furnace to recycle scrap metal.

:02:14.:02:15.

The overall costs of running a blast furnace, electricity counts for

:02:16.:02:18.

An arc furnace would use a higher percentage of electricity.

:02:19.:02:24.

An industrial-sized arc furnace can consumers

:02:25.:02:30.

as much power as a town of 100,000 people.

:02:31.:02:32.

If a buyer is found, it is possible operations at

:02:33.:02:35.

Industry experts say above all this is down to the fact that

:02:36.:02:39.

international steel prices have plummeted.

:02:40.:02:43.

Today however there has been some positive news for the

:02:44.:02:45.

steel industry as Tata confirmed it had a buyer

:02:46.:02:47.

This has given some hope for the future

:02:48.:02:52.

of its other sites across the

:02:53.:02:53.

The ladies and gentleman working at that steelworks are

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amongst the most highly skilled in the country and we have every

:02:59.:03:02.

confidence that the steel industry will keep on going and we will get

:03:03.:03:11.

stronger and stronger, provided Tata act in a responsible way and give us

:03:12.:03:14.

Back in the House of Commons, the Business Secretary said he would

:03:15.:03:18.

love to declare that the steel crisis was over, but he said it is

:03:19.:03:22.

The leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies has

:03:23.:03:29.

defended his party's plans to scrap university tuition fee subsidies

:03:30.:03:31.

after admitting that students would receive less in future.

:03:32.:03:36.

He told BBC Wales' Ask the Leader debate tonight that he wanted

:03:37.:03:41.

to remove the upfront cost for students instead.

:03:42.:03:43.

Our political editor Nick Servini watched the debate.

:03:44.:03:47.

How to fund university education is one of

:03:48.:03:49.

the big dividing lines in the

:03:50.:03:54.

Under the current system, students from Wales pay

:03:55.:03:58.

around ?3800 towards their fees whenever they study in the UK.

:03:59.:04:02.

The Welsh Government can top up more than ?5,000.

:04:03.:04:06.

Many in Higher Education believe the current system is

:04:07.:04:09.

unaffordable, as do all of the opposition parties

:04:10.:04:11.

who want to scrap it, among them the Conservatives.

:04:12.:04:20.

In the Ask the Leader debate in Swansea RT Davies outlined why

:04:21.:04:23.

I am not someone who had free higher education.

:04:24.:04:27.

I left school at 16 so

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ultimately what I want to see is parity with vocational education

:04:32.:04:33.

It is a fact if you have a degree, you will earn more in

:04:34.:04:38.

The Welsh Conservatives are planning to replace the subsidiy

:04:39.:04:41.

with a system that would pay half of Welsh students' rent wherever

:04:42.:04:44.

But he admitted that overall the students would lose out.

:04:45.:04:50.

They would get less than they get now?

:04:51.:04:53.

Our package is ?400 million over the five years

:04:54.:04:58.

of the Assembly and the current package of support is heading

:04:59.:05:02.

A review into tuition fees subsidies has to be

:05:03.:05:07.

carried out but Labour has pledged to keep it and ruled out means

:05:08.:05:10.

Plaid Cymru said they would wipe off ?6,000 a year of debt for

:05:11.:05:19.

students who return to Wales to work after graduation.

:05:20.:05:22.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will bring in extra

:05:23.:05:24.

support for living coasts while Ukip says it will help those

:05:25.:05:27.

whose study science, medicine, technology,

:05:28.:05:29.

The leader of Ukip in Wales, Nathan Gill has said -

:05:30.:05:36.

he won't be releasing details of his tax returns.

:05:37.:05:42.

Leaders of the other Welsh parties have said

:05:43.:05:44.

they will reveal their details following David Cameron's

:05:45.:05:46.

Mr Gill has described it as political grand-standing.

:05:47.:05:57.

Wales like the rest of the UK - has some of the worst

:05:58.:06:00.

cancer survival rates in the developed world.

:06:01.:06:02.

But a leading international expert suggests we could catch-up -

:06:03.:06:04.

if big changes are made to the way patients are diagnosed here.

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Professor Frede Oleson suggests Wales could copy Denmark -

:06:08.:06:10.

which has made big changes to its cancer services.

:06:11.:06:16.

The wife of the singer Sir Tom Jones has died

:06:17.:06:19.

Lady Melinda Rose Woodward - known as Linda - was married

:06:20.:06:24.

The childhood sweethearts met when they were 12 in Trefforest,

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Pontypridd and married when they were sixteen.

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Sir Tom recently cancelled tour dates because of family illness.

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She died yesterday morning in a Los Angeles hospital - she was 75.

:06:36.:06:44.

He was once one of the world's most wanted men - responsible for some

:06:45.:06:51.

of the biggest cannabis deals of the 1970s and '80s.

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The death was announced today of the drugs smuggler Howard Marks -

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In later life he became known for his writing and campaigning

:06:57.:07:00.

Howard Marks was the Oxford graduate who became one of the world's

:07:01.:07:08.

A charming rogue and campaigner to some, to others he was the criminal

:07:09.:07:15.

from Kenfig Hill who had spread drugs around the world.

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In the 1980s, he was one of the world's most wanted men.

:07:19.:07:23.

Changing identities and exploiting a network of influential contacts

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to arrange international shipments of marijuana.

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But eventually, the law caught up with Dennis Howard Marks.

:07:30.:07:33.

What is being called one of the world's best drugs rings.

:07:34.:07:39.

A ring allegedly masterminded by a Briton, Dennis Marks,

:07:40.:07:41.

A raid on his home in Spain in 1988 saw him extradited to America,

:07:42.:07:47.

where he was eventually sentenced to 25 years in jail.

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I still believe in the values that began to be instilled in me then,

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which essentially is that marijuana is harmless.

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He was a model prisoner, prompting his early release in 1995,

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I did not set out to be a dope dealer.

:08:10.:08:20.

He wrote a bestselling book, Mr Nice, which was turned

:08:21.:08:22.

into a film starring his long-time friend Rhys Ifans.

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I always knew Howard as the fun guy and the brave man who left prison

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with humility and not a lot of apparent anger.

:08:31.:08:37.

Howard, you must have been in a few identity parades in your time.

:08:38.:08:44.

His own celebrity profile grew with appearances on chat shows.

:08:45.:08:47.

He stood before Parliament on a single issue ticket

:08:48.:08:49.

He also toured a one-man show, recalling life on the

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In 2015, he revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer

:08:53.:08:59.

while writing a new book about his exploits but he did not

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I have certainly suffered from regrets in the past.

:09:02.:09:07.

I do not regret now because I am happy now and it is impossible

:09:08.:09:10.

About anything that got you to a stage of happiness.

:09:11.:09:14.

Howard Marks leaves four children and a reputation as both a notorious

:09:15.:09:26.

was criminal and a charismatic author and campaigner.

:09:27.:09:34.

Football and talks are continuing between Swansea City and two

:09:35.:09:39.

American businessmen about taking a controlling interest in the club.

:09:40.:09:41.

The Swans hope an agreement, reported to be worth up to ?100m,

:09:42.:09:44.

But with the majority of Premier League Clubs bankrolled

:09:45.:09:50.

by foreign owners, is it good news for the Swans and their fans?

:09:51.:09:53.

2001 and the Swansea City fans are out in protest.

:09:54.:10:00.

In debt of over 800,000, the club was bought

:10:01.:10:02.

It was during these turbulent times that the supporters

:10:03.:10:09.

15 years later and playing in the top flight, Swansea

:10:10.:10:14.

City have more or less secured a sixth season

:10:15.:10:17.

Set to prosper from the new ?5 billion TV deals for next season.

:10:18.:10:25.

Having grown under the ownership of local

:10:26.:10:26.

business people, there is the

:10:27.:10:29.

sense the club needs fresh business investment to develop further.

:10:30.:10:33.

A new chapter in their history seems to be

:10:34.:10:35.

coming in the form of the Americans Steve Kaplan

:10:36.:10:39.

and Jason Levien who have background in American baseball and soccer.

:10:40.:10:46.

With room for the supporters around the table.

:10:47.:10:51.

The indications are that the prospective

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buyers are not looking to purchase any of the trust's 21%.

:10:54.:10:57.

We would be looking for assurances that that 21%

:10:58.:11:01.

will remain and we will continue to have a presence on the club board.

:11:02.:11:06.

Overseas investors are obviously looking for a return

:11:07.:11:08.

Will they be able to deliver the big returns

:11:09.:11:17.

For fans high on the agenda will be plans to strengthen

:11:18.:11:24.

the playing squad and the expansion of the relatively small 21,000

:11:25.:11:28.

But how the Americans plan to spend their

:11:29.:11:33.

Let's see what the weather has in store - Sue's

:11:34.:11:38.

thank you. After some heavy rain, the better picture tomorrow. Drier

:11:39.:11:53.

and brighter with a few showers. This front clears northwards, moving

:11:54.:12:01.

north force across the UK. The rain will clear northwards, turning drier

:12:02.:12:06.

and clearer. Some mist and fog patches forming and it will be

:12:07.:12:12.

cooler. Patchy rain further north tomorrow morning. Mist and fog

:12:13.:12:15.

generally cleaving to leave dry morning with spells of sunshine.

:12:16.:12:23.

This front across Northern Ireland, Northern England and Scotland will

:12:24.:12:28.

bring rain and cloud. Colder hear as well. Further south in the sunshine,

:12:29.:12:36.

warming up nicely, 17 in London. Similar across Wales tomorrow

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afternoon, generally drier afternoon with thunderstorms developing. Many

:12:42.:12:46.

places will avoid them. Elsewhere sunny spells, 14 in Monmouthshire

:12:47.:12:54.

with light winds. The show was slowly die away tonight, turning

:12:55.:12:58.

clearer, mist and fog patches developing. There could even be

:12:59.:13:04.

ground frost in places. For Wednesday a similar story, dry with

:13:05.:13:09.

bright spells, dry with the odd shower. April showers as we head

:13:10.:13:13.

into Thursday. By the end of the week you looks more unsettled, heavy

:13:14.:13:19.

showers at times on Friday, looking unsettled for the weekends.

:13:20.:13:21.

More on all of tonight's stories on our website.

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Thank you for watching from all of us on the programme, good evening.

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