06/06/2016 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to Wales Today - our top stories: The Welsh NHS

Tonight a war of words breaks out among Leave and Remain campaigners.

Can we afford to build both the South Wales Metro

Tonight the call to abandon the motorway upgrade around Newport.

Ahead of their opening game in Euro 2016, the Wales football team

The countdown well under way - just five days before the opening

Also tonight: the mountain on fire - smoke making roads

What caused this blaze near Penmaenmawr?

And Swansea drivers would be the first in the UK -

the pollution monitors which would redirect traffic

The referendum campaign stepped up a gear today after Vote Leave

campaigners claimed standards of care in the Welsh NHS would be

put under huge strain by rising immigration if we remain in the EU.

They say health services would need to find up to a quarter of a billion

pounds extra every year to cope by 2030.

The campaign group Wales Stronger in Europe has described the claims

Here's our political editor Nick Servini.

They are arguably the most sensitive and emotive subjects in the EU

referendum debate, aggression and the knock-on effect it has on public

services like the NHS. So unsurprisingly the claim and

counterclaim about the impact of a Domain or Leave food today turned

into a full-blown war of words. But leave has put together a range of

forecasts for the result of net migration, the difference between

the number of people arriving and leaving from the EU. It says if it

continues at its present rate until 2030, overall EU net migration will

be 60 5000. But the resource on upper end to the projections if a

number of new countries like Turkey become part of the club. Then the

estimate is that net migration will go to 130 1000. That is greater than

the population of Vale of Glamorgan. On the basis of current spending, it

is forecast that by 2030 the NHS will need ?246 million more every

year to cope with the extra people. Project fear is the government

coming up with scare stories that are unfounded about people losing

their jobs, the pound collapsing and world War three. That is project

fear. We're based these figures are reasonable estimate based on what

happened when Eastern European countries came in. There will be a

large movement of people coming from poorer countries to wealthier

countries. The main campaigners have pointed to various recruitment

drives across the EU by a number of Welsh health boards. They claim that

migrants strengthen the NHS rather than put a strain on it, and have

accused the Leave side of misleading people over 30's admission to the

EU. We know that the pressure on the NHS comes from ill-health, it does

not come from immigration. The NHS benefits from 10% of its doctors

coming from other EU countries, one fifth of care workers coming from

outside the EU. Let's look at the facts as they stand and not

outlandish statistics designed to scare ahead of this referendum. The

ability of the NHS to cope with immigration levels was always going

to be hotly contested, and with two and a half weeks to go it has done

just that at a crucial time in the campaign.

Today was the day it got nasty, Nick?

That's right. This debate has been poisonous in other parts of the UK,

and there was a sense that the gloves came off today. I base that

on the rhetoric and the kind of language you have there. David Davis

said that if Turkey joins the UN in Wales net migration would sort of

astronomical levels and pretty bluntly said that health services

would struggle to cope. That prompted a strong response from Wail

Stronger In Europe who said it was shameful for him to come out with

language like that and saying it contributed nothing other than

prejudice to the debate. This is strong stuff. This was a big day for

Mike Ford Leave. Typically we have had the worrying on the economy and

it is up to Vote Leave to trash it. For what it is worth, For Leave the

it is going in their direction and they have the other side rattled.

Whether it has traction a lot we will find out.

But what are the facts - what's the truth behind

There are strengths and weaknesses. On the Leave side they know that

their projections are way above the official estimate. They also know

that those official estimates have been consistently wrong in recent

years and it means they can tap into this disillusionment and lack of

confidence people have with official figures. On the Remain side they can

tap into the economy, fears of an economic downturn if there is Brexit

will affect tax revenues which means the NHS has less money to spend. So

both sides are appealing to the arguments that they feel the

strongest on. Nick, thanks. A man from Rhondda Cynon Taf has

been jailed for four and half years for causing the deaths of three work

colleagues through Stephen Parry Jenkins

from Abercwmboi was driving a work van home on the M4 in June 2014,

when he fell asleep at the wheel. Another person was

seriously injured. Pembrokeshire-based Silcox Coach

Company, which operates school transport as well as local bus

services, has gone into administration with the loss

of more than 40 jobs. Around 50 staff have been

re-employed by Edwards Coaches, which have taken over

the transport contracts. Silcox had been

trading for 134 years. How do we transport people quickly

across south Wales to grow One Labour AM has called

for the ?500 million of borrowing allocated for the M4 relief road

to be spent on public Jenny Rathbone says the so-called

Metro project would be a far better use of public money,

than extra miles of The Welsh Government says it

will deliver both schemes, and they've been backed

by business-group the CBI. It's a bold scheme ringing an

integrated public transport system of trains, buses and light rail to

tens of thousands of people across South Wales, enabling them to get

quickly and efficiently to the capital for work and for leisure.

But at a cost of ?2 billion it does not come cheap. And one Cardiff AM

believes the government should divert funds from the proposed M4

relief roads to help pay for it. The issue is whether we can afford both.

I do not see the money on the table that is needed for the full metro

proposal. And so I think the money would be better spent on the Metro,

and then we can re-evaluate the congestion on the M4 in the light of

those developments. The Metro plan is all about making public transport

more attractive. At the moment, 200,000 people work in Cardiff,

78,000 of them come from outside the area. Currently it is % of them

travel by car. But even small changes to the rail infrastructure

can have an impact. Around 24 trains come to and from the valleys into

Queen Street every hour. But there was a bottleneck, that could be

alleviated with investment, leaving a far more efficient rail service

for passengers. And they know all about bottlenecks here on the M4.

Four years ago the Prime Minister described it as a foot on the

windpipe of the Welsh economy. The M4 relief road should help alleviate

that, but can we afford both the Metro and the relief road? The Welsh

government certainly think so. And that is a viewpoint shared by the

CBI in Wales. They say the M4 serves two thirds of the Welsh population

and two thirds of Welsh GDP. The Metro is all about communications

within the region, but correcting the coast to the valleys, but the M4

is about connecting to the outside world, to the UK single murky. And

there is no point having those internal communications unless we

can connect an export goods outside. But one leading transport expert

disagrees and believes the Metro should take precedence. In some

places and new transport system took 40% of the commuters away on the

first day. The Metro will clearly have a much better effect in terms

of the linkable out of their cars onto a really good first-class

European public transport system. The Welsh government has been given

powers to borrow 500 million pounds to fund the M4 relief road. But

there is opposition in some quarters over what route it should follow.

Supporters of the Metro believe that with a strong cross-party consensus

Metro many more achievable and deliverable.

The Wales football squad are in France ahead of their historic

Manager Chris Coleman says his side may have been guilty

of complacency after the 3-0 loss in Sweden yesterday.

But he insists they can still produce something special.

Wales will be based in Dinard throughout the tournament.

Our reporter Iwan Griffiths is there for us tonight.

And on a beautiful evening in Brittany, a warm welcome

to the town that will home the Welsh Football squad

for the next few weeks - and hopefully a little longer.

The performance in Stockholm last night may have been underwhelming,

but the squad now have this week together to prepare before

they depart for Bordeaux on Friday for the opening game

And here in Dinard they have been made to feel very welcome.

There's certainly a Welsh feeling to this town these days.

A little Welsh pocket in the corner of France. Here in Brittany there

may be a cultural and linguistic link with Wales, but the locals in

Dinard have gone the extra mile, warmly reaching out this summer to

their Celtic cousins. I am happy that Wales are in Dinard, we have

many flags to welcome them. The dragon flying in all corners. They

have Gareth Bale and company in residence, and they are getting

behind the team. I have got an eye on the French team, but I hope that

Wales and France... In the final? In the final, that would be fine, and

maybe more for Wales. For those from Wales here on holiday, Dinard has

happened to be the ideal destination. Yes, it is good they

are here after 58 years, and let's hope they take on the cup. It is a

big ask, but we're Welsh, we can do anything. And possibly you will see

the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey taking a walk on the beach

here? We like that. My wife would, she is after a toy boy. With a

population of just over 10,000, Dinard's reputation as the can of

the North has attracted a variety of stars. Lawrence of Arabia lived here

as a child, Picasso painted here, and locals say that a's most famous

film, Psycho, was based on a villa based in this very tiring. And now

the stars of the Wales football team have been attracted to this

picturesque part of France. Landing late last might be received a warm

welcome to stop whisked away by police and security escorts to the

resort that will be home for the next few weeks. A chance to relax

after yesterday's tough friendly against Sweden. Losing 3-0 less than

a week after the start of the tournament was less than courage.

Wales may have been guilty of complacency, according to Chris

Coleman, but he insists it will not undermine preparations. The only

thing that will get as a result is us and us only. Concentrating on

ourselves, in positive. We are faced with a huge challenge next weekend

when all eyes will be on us. This week the manager will hope for good

news on the three players' fitness who were absent last night. Now he

ponders the starting 11 just five days before Wales embarked on their

historic campaign in France. It's been a rest day

for the team today - a chance to familiarise

with the new surroundings. We'll hear more from

the Wales Camp tomorrow night That's it for now, but join me later

in the programme when I'll be chatting to Wales' former captain

Kevin Ratcliffe. An investigation is underway

into what caused a major fire on a mountainside near Penmaenmawr

at the weekend. At one stage it was burning

around a hundred yards There were concerns local people may

have to leave their homes. North Wales Fire and Rescue Service

say extra care should be You get some idea of the scale of

this fire. Fire crews were first sent in on Saturday night. I last

night it had spread over one Hill and was advancing down into the next

valley. The smoke was so thick it caused problems for drivers. Today

you could see just how much of the mountain was scorched, and how close

the fire got to homes. There is still a faint smell of burning in

the air here and every now and again you see it off of smoke coming off

the hillside wearing hotspot has burst into flames again. Local

people tell me this is the third major mountain fire in this area in

the last eight years. The Fire Service say the blaze was under

control, but people living here were understandably concerned. I was

quite worried that the fire was going to get into the gardens and

force evacuation. But fortunately that didn't happen, the fire people

did a good job of stopping it. There is a very clear line with have to

stop it. I think they did very well. The flames seemed to be on the

skyline, and probably about five o'clock it had come down. It wasn't

moving quickly, fortunately. But I was getting quite nervous, and it is

only when I spoke to the neighbour who said the Fire Service have a

plan, they will wait until it comes into reach, and when it did they

just tackled. Whilst the cause of the fire is not yet known, the

recent dry weather probably did not help. The ground is drying out

quickly. It means that the grass and the course becomes tender dry, and

the smallest spark can start a fire. And with winds we have been

experiencing it can quickly get out of control. There is a warning that

anyone deliberately setting will face prosecution. An investigation

is underway into how and why the blaze at the weekend started.

Forget Wales manager Chris Coleman - a century ago it was George Latham

who blazed a trail as one of our greatest football coaches.

And temperatures reached 26 Celsius in parts of Wales today -

A delayed project to cut air pollution along some

of Swansea's busiest roads will, according to the council,

At a cost of more than ?100,000, the electronic Nowcaster system

will suggest alternative roads to drivers when pollution reaches

Swansea would be the first place in the UK to use this

For many years, residents along this road in Swansea have experienced

high volumes of traffic, particularly during rush hour. This

has a big impact on air pollution levels. In the past, attempts have

been made to address this, including those in the growth to heavy goods

vehicles and removing speed bumps to ease congestion. But now a more

sophisticated electronic system known as the Nowcaster will be

introduced after a delay of around two and a half years. In Swansea we

are looking to gather as much information on an hourly basis on

what the weather is doing, what the traffic is doing, and the air

quality. And some of this is minute by minute, so that we can understand

exactly where the problems are our current and how the problems are

occurring. This piece of equipment which projects a laser beam through

the air is just one part of the information gathering to assess.

Once various pieces of information collected, a decision can then be

made how to resolve issues of poor air quality. If pollution levels

appear to high on certain roads than a message will display on traffic

information boards like the one behind me. It will give drivers the

option to choose an alternative route, and it only around 10% the

people decide to follow those instructions, it is believed it

could significantly improve the air quality in certain areas. Throughout

Wales, air quality monitoring systems are used by far the highest

level of pollution in the country is here along the A742 in Caerphilly.

Nitrogen dioxin levels are believed to be the highest in the UK outside

central London, something which causes a great deal of concern for

the locals. Caerphilly council says it is looking at ways to improve the

situation. In Swansea it is believed the Nowcaster system is not the

final solution to tackling vehicle related pollution. I think it will

be William Porterfield for the next five years and maybe ten years at

the longest. We all really hope that certainly after ten years from now

there has to be a major change in the actual fleet. Following

technical issues its early development, it is the new project

will be fully operational by the autumn.

Final preparations have been taking place in Cardiff Bay ahead

of the official opening of the 5th National Assembly of Wales tomorrow.

Hundreds of Welsh service men and women will form a guard

of honour to welcome The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh,

along with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

And you can watch live coverage of The Royal Opening of the Assembly

here on BBC One Wales - join me from 11.30 tomorrow morning.

Back to tonight - let s return to Iwan in France.

Now, with the tournament kicking off in 4 days let's talk football.

We are with Kevin Ratcliffe. Kevin, it is good to be here at last. You

were in Sweden last night. Any concerns? A 3-0 loss is not great

preparation. There is some concern because we have conceded a lot of

goals. It was quite the reverse your two ago. But I think it is ever

since we have qualified, or more or less qualified that we may took our

foot off the gas and have been complacent and one or two ways. As

Chris Coleman said. What needs to be done this week just four days before

the first game? A bit strange, I would not have taken the game on

Sunday, I would have given the lads a bit more of a rest period, but I

have never been in that situation, nor has Chris. Only time will tell

if he has made the right choice. I might have given them a couple of

days off after the game, but it being so close, on Saturday they

have to be right. It is maybe about nursing a few injuries, a few

knocks, and getting the lads ready and preparing them for that game on

Saturday. You were in Sweden last night. Do you feel that some players

need to step up? Definitely. We need to be acid a little bit more and I'm

sure we will be come Saturday. Some guys out there need to take the game

by the scruff of the neck and show them what the game is about and what

they are about, because they have not been doing that in the last two

games. You have been taking a stroll around Dinard. An ideal preparation?

The hour away from the hustle and bustle. During the night before to

Bordeaux and Toulouse, and then this is just away from everything, the

razzmatazz of everything. They have a good sendoff from Cardiff airport.

But yes, this is a fantastic place. Kevin, good to see you. We'll chat

littering the week. Chris Coleman will be making history

when he leads Wales out Generations earlier,

another Welshman made his mark - and is among the nation's

greatest football coaches. George Latham led Cardiff City

to FA cup glory in 1927, trained the British Olympic squad,

and was also a decorated war hero. Carwyn Jones looks back at the life

of one of our forgotten greats. Peering out from the pages

of history, George Latham was often in the background,

orchestrating victory An unassuming man in his trade mark

bow tie, Latham joined Cardiff City as a player in 1911

and eventually became their coach. Under his auspices,

the Bluebirds achieved greatness. In the second half they scored. The

goalkeeper let it slip through his fingers.

April 23rd 1927, Cardiff City triumph over Arsenal -

the only time in the history of the FA Cup that the trophy had

Latham's place in the sporting Pantheon was assured.

But by then he was already a respected and successful coach.

Three years earlier he'd trained the British squad at

That was the Olympics of chariots of Fire, where Eric Liddell became

famous. He is extremely well-known because of the film, but

unfortunately my uncle George is not as well known.

As a player George Latham was capped 12 times for Wales, but like so many

players of his generation, his sporting career

In 1917 Latham was part of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, fighting in Gaza.

His courage under fire earned him the Military Cross for

capturing enemy positions on the Turkish front.

Towards the end of his life Latham returned to the Newtown in Powys.

It's where he was born and where he was eventually

But his name lives on, notably at the home

of Newtown AFC who play, to this very day,

The ground opened 12 years after his death, but his spirit was in the

air. In the first game, Newtown won 4-0. We're not rich with population

here, are tones are small, so we don't get many people who succeed in

life and sport as he did. So it is nice to tag onto somebody with that

history, that level of achievement, and to take it forward with the type

of achievement that we want to take forward as a club.

War hero, Olympic Coach, FA Cup legend - George Latham

A man how achieved so much but who remains in the shadows

The Wales rugby team are New Zealand aiming to make history as they

prepare to play the all Blacks in a series of three tests starting on

Saturday. Assistant coach Rob Howley is clear that ending Wales' losing

streak, which goes back 63 years, won't be easy. New Zealand set the

standard in world rugby, and the one word that comes to mind is

relentless. That is what the all Blacks are, with or without the

ball, they are relentless. That is our challenge, and the goal, and we

look forward to that and embrace it on Saturday.

Sue Charles has tonight's weather forecast.

Yesterday was the warmest day of the year, temperatures reaching 28

Celsius. Porthmadog nearly matched that today, the warmest at 27.

Another fine and warm day for most immoral, but some isolated heavy

showers. This evening there is a thunder shower risk further west,

but very isolated and clearing for most of Wales, remaining dry and

mild overnight. Debra Justine in the mid-teens, a muggy night. " Sunny

spells in hazier times tomorrow, as the heat builds the humidity could

trigger the odds under shower. More likely in the East tomorrow. If you

catch one it could be torrential. There is the potential for surface

water flooding, but most of Wales will stay dry and very warm for

June. Tomorrow night, showers will clear. Low-level cloud and Mr

developing. Some coastal fog, light winds, staying human temperatures

remaining" is overnight. High-pressure largely dominant

midweek. Low-pressure starting to develop out in the Atlantic, we keep

humid conditions for Wednesday, remaining largely fine and warm.

Scattered showers possible. Quite a lot of missed along the coastlines,

the air temperature higher than the sea temperature. Later in the week

the front moves in from the Atlantic which could bring more widespread

outbreaks of rain. A couple more financially mid-days with the heavy

shower, and then signs of something fresher, more I'm settled -- and

more unsettled by Friday. The warmest place in the UK yesterday,

and today. I'll have an update for you here

at 8 o'clock and again From all of us on the programme,

good evening.