19/04/2016 BBC Wales Today

Details emerge of a possible management buyout of

Our Business Correspondent Brian Meechan will have the latest.

Accused of forcing vulnerable men to work against their will.

BBC Wales understands that the man who has been running Tata Steel's

operations in Port Talbot and Llanwern is launching a bid

for a management buyout of the company's

Tata asked for expressions of interest in its UK businesses

Over 6,000 jobs are at risk in Wales unless a buyer can be found.

Our Business Correspondent Brian Meechan is here.

We believe that Stuart Wilkie, who is one of the lead directors in the

UK of Tata, he was at the forefront of the announcement and plan earlier

in January for 750 job losses at Tata, mainly Port Talbot, he was the

lead directors speaking to the media when Llanwern was mothballed last

year, he is an incredibly significant figure and believe he is

now in a position to launch a management buyout plan, bringing

other people in the company and organisation together to put forward

a proposal to take over country-mac's operations in the UK.

Country-mac is losing ?1 million per day at Port Talbot. That is still a

problem. Difficulties with the pension pot. This is a serious

contender but it will need significant financial support. What

would this mean for the Welsh sites? Ultimately, someone would come along

with experience of running this industry and of these sites in

particular and they would take that over. I think what is crucial is I

believe the plan would to be remain with a blast furnace and make steel

from scratch. The only other buyer has been bat liberty Steel in

Newport. It wants to change to recycling steel, an arc furnace.

There has been concern about that within the unions about potential

job losses although Liberty say they can retrain people. The union said

they would welcome any prompt discussion with Stuart Wilkie on any

management buyout option, which is significant, they want the UK

Government to look into that seriously.

The trial has begun of four people accused of forcing two vulnerable

men to carry out heavy labour under threat of violence.

Cardiff Crown Court heard the men slept in cold sheds

and on concrete floors and would be threatened

with a beating if they refused to carry out their boss's demands.

The jury heard one of them was expected to work

Patrick Joseph Connors, now 59, ran a tarmacking business.

Today the prosecution said he chose cunstomers who were vulnerable,

charged inflated prices and forced two men to work for him

When he bought Ton Y Pill Farm on the outskirts of Cardiff,

the prosecution say it was derelict and initially the men lived

there with no running water and no heat.

Such were the conditions they endured over a long period,

it was said, one of them tried to escape four times.

When he ran away to Pontypridd, he was spotted, forced

He was threatened with beating and told when he was gone

The other man, it was said today, ran away to Scotland

but was picked up in Aberdeen, put in the boot of a car

The prosecution said that after this he thought he would never be free.

Conditions, say the prosecution, were appalling.

For years, the men worked long hours, living in sheds,

Ill or injured, they were forced to work, treated like objects

which could be abused, it was said.

The court heard, when interviewed by police, Patrick Joseph Connors

denied any wrongdoing and insisted he had looked after the two men well

He has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of assault, four of kidnap

All four defendants deny all the charges against them,

including one count of forced or compulsory labour.

The case is expected to last six weeks.

The mobile phone industry needs to be better regulated to stop

That's according to Citizens Advice Cymru.

The charity also told BBC Wales that action is needed to stop mobile

phone companies using what appear to be 'bullying' tactics

The regulator, Ofcom, says it's working to

Citizens Advice Cymru would like phone companies

to put a cap on bills, as credit card companies do.

The credit card company will look at how much you can afford to pay

and they will set a limit for that credit card.

We think that should happen with mobile phones as well,

they should look at how much you are able to afford

and they should cap that bill then, for example, at ?30 a month.

A businessman has been jailed for life after stabbing his mother

to death with a carving knife and fork.

44-year-old Mark Stephens attacked his mother at their family

home in Pencoed, claiming she criticised the way he ran

Rita Stephens, who was 67, confronted him about mounting

debts after Mr Stephens had been out drinking.

An inquest into the death of a mother of two from

Merthyr Tydfil has heard she died after after taking drugs

Kirsty Hughes, who was 26, collapsed at home after taking

Her family told the inquest she had been upset at being called fat,

and she hoped the drug would help make her slim.

The Welsh Labour leader Carwyn Jones says his party has the ideas

Launching its assembly election manifesto at a college

in Rhondda Cynon Taff, Labour said that after 17 years it

would continue to 'deliver' jobs and investment.

We need to build on what we've done, that's true.

But what we didn't do in this election was say, "Vote

for us because we're a bit better than the rest."

We have six pledges that are ambitious,

We can't promise any number of pie in the sky ideas because people

It's a question of building on what we've done so far and also,

of course, looking forward to the next five years.

Two-time World Triathlon Champion Helen Jenkins says she's excited

about moving on from four years of injuries and setbacks as she now

sets her sights on competing at this Summers Olympics.

The Great Britain Triathlon team will be confirmed in a few weeks,

but after a Gold medal in Australia recently, the 32-year-old from

Before the Gold Coast race I wasn't thinking about Rio.

I didn't really believe it could happen.

I was just focusing on just doing the best I could.

I knew training had gone well and that's all I had focused

on so after the race it has been a bit of a shock

to actually incorporate Rio into my consciousness.

I hadn't really considered it that much and now, yeah,

I've got to start thinking about it a bit more.

And in football tonight, Cardiff lost 2-1 away against

Brentford in the Championship and it was a draw for Newport

against Oxford United at Rodney Parade.

And it's been a lovely day for some today.

How's it looking for tomorrow, Behnaz?

We can all look forward to some sunshine tomorrow. High-pressure is

in charge. A chilly start but plenty of sunshine to compensate through

the day. Starry skies and light winds tonight, a touch of frost and

the potential for some mist and fog forming tomorrow. High-pressure in

charge tomorrow, blocking any weather systems coming in. Make the

most of it as it all changes by the end of the week. First thing

tomorrow, a chilly start but the sunshine will help temperatures to

recover quickly. Breezy long to South coast but feeling warmth in

the sunshine. Lovely sunny weather tomorrow, apart from the wind on the

south coast taking the edge off. Here in Wales, a lovely afternoon

and we will start to see some high-level cloud coming in from the

south and it will make the sunshine hazy. A lovely afternoon and

temperatures getting up to 16, light winds away from the coast. A fairly

quiet nights tomorrow and we will see a bit more cloud from the south

so temperatures will be held up. Clear skies, 2-3dC. Light winds into

the early hours of Thursday morning. Thursday, a little change in the

weather, more cloud but still dry so still an enjoyable day. 12-14dC. On

Friday, thicker cloud, a little bit of rain, the wind picks up, and by

the weekend turning colder with some wintry showers.

We're back with updates in Breakfast from 6.30 tomorrow morning.

From all of us on the programme, thanks for watching.