:00:00. > :00:00.Our headlines tonight: The organisation which promotes
:00:07. > :00:08.sport in Wales sees its chair and vice-chair suspended.
:00:09. > :00:12.And they were in the business of tin cans.
:00:13. > :00:17.Serious questions tonight about millions in public money
:00:18. > :00:34.for this Swansea company which went bust.
:00:35. > :00:37.The crisis at the top of the organisation which develops
:00:38. > :00:39.grassroots and elite sport here has intensified tonight.
:00:40. > :00:45.The chair and vice chair of Sport Wales have been suspended
:00:46. > :00:47.while separate complaints and concerns are looked into.
:00:48. > :00:51.A review by the Welsh Government also found there has been
:00:52. > :00:53.a significant breakdown of relations at a senior level.
:00:54. > :01:01.Here's our political editor, Nick Servini.
:01:02. > :01:06.It is the main body promoting sport in Wales but the lid has been lifted
:01:07. > :01:10.on a board brought to a standstill by in-fighting.
:01:11. > :01:12.Sport Wales' aim was to get every child hooked on sport
:01:13. > :01:15.is an ambitious target backed by more than ?22 million
:01:16. > :01:24.But in November last year the activities of the entire board
:01:25. > :01:30.were suspended after a vote of no-confidence this man,
:01:31. > :01:32.the current chair and former business troubleshooter Paul Thomas,
:01:33. > :01:37.In a statement the Public Health Minister Rebecca Evans confirmed
:01:38. > :01:40.that while the board would be reinstated, Paul Thomas would be
:01:41. > :01:44.suspended while formal complaint into him are looked into.
:01:45. > :01:48.The vice chair Adele Baumgardt is also suspended because of separate
:01:49. > :01:52.concerns around the cohesive functioning of the board
:01:53. > :01:56.and its relationship with Welsh ministers.
:01:57. > :01:59.The minister gave few details of what her officials discovered
:02:00. > :02:01.in their two-month review, other than to indicate major
:02:02. > :02:09.Because of issues relating to data protection and confidentiality
:02:10. > :02:12.and on the basis of legal advice it would be inappropriate for me
:02:13. > :02:16.to comment in any detail on the findings of the assurance review.
:02:17. > :02:22.I do want to make clear for the avoidance of doubt
:02:23. > :02:24.that the conclusions are principally related to a significant breakdown
:02:25. > :02:30.at a senior level within Sport Wales.
:02:31. > :02:33.Sport Wales will now be able to plan, distributor friends
:02:34. > :02:39.to grassroots sports by setting next year's budget
:02:40. > :02:42.as the rest of the board has been reinstated under an interim chair.
:02:43. > :02:44.Paul Thomas is no stranger to controversy.
:02:45. > :02:47.A business academic and a troubleshooter in a BBC
:02:48. > :02:49.programme, he was sent in to try to make bin collecting
:02:50. > :02:54.Before the board was suspended in November he conducted
:02:55. > :03:01.Based on independent research, it claimed organisation lacks
:03:02. > :03:03.transparency, was in danger of stagnation, and had been
:03:04. > :03:08.Jazz Carlin from Swansea takes Wales to gold!
:03:09. > :03:11.One of the main aims of Sport Wales is to help stars like the
:03:12. > :03:16.swimmer Jazz Carlin win medals in major competitions.
:03:17. > :03:19.An Olympic and Commonwealth Games coach was among those to speak
:03:20. > :03:28.The coach said elite sports would function without Sport Wales.
:03:29. > :03:30.Another source, speaking anonymously, said he had been
:03:31. > :03:33.repeatedly surprised how insular Sport Wales had become.
:03:34. > :03:36.The minister has now asked for this review to be completed
:03:37. > :03:46.A teenager whose classmate died after being hit by a school minibus
:03:47. > :03:48.has told an inquest she had seen five other near-misses involving
:03:49. > :03:54.15-year-old Ashley Talbot was running for his bus home
:03:55. > :03:57.and didn't use a pedestrian crossing when a vehicle driven
:03:58. > :04:01.by his teacher, Christopher Brooks, hit him at Maesteg Comprehensive
:04:02. > :04:12.A 14-year-old boy who suffered a serious brain injury
:04:13. > :04:15.when he was born at Wrexham Maelor hospital is to receive more
:04:16. > :04:21.The boy, who needs 24-hour care and now has a life expectancy of 34,
:04:22. > :04:27.was starved of oxygen during his birth in 2002.
:04:28. > :04:30.The First Minister says his former economy minister was guided
:04:31. > :04:32.by experts when she gave more than ?3 million to a Swansea
:04:33. > :04:35.steel-coating company that later went bust.
:04:36. > :04:40.Edwina Hart has been criticised for sanctioning grants
:04:41. > :04:43.and loans for Kancoat, despite being told by a government
:04:44. > :04:50.official that its business plan was weak and inconsistent.
:04:51. > :04:53.Cans have been coated in Waunarlwydd for years by American firm Alcoa.
:04:54. > :04:56.After it left, Kancoat was an attempt to restart
:04:57. > :05:03.It couldn't attract private finance but the Welsh Government put in
:05:04. > :05:12.Six months after the final government loan Kancoat went bust.
:05:13. > :05:15.The then economy Minister took the decisions to back the firm.
:05:16. > :05:18.Most of the money was put in after a civil service review
:05:19. > :05:25.described Kancoat's business plan as weak and inconsistent.
:05:26. > :05:33.The First Minister told the Assembly today she had been acting on advice.
:05:34. > :05:36.What has to be remembered is the investment panel recommended
:05:37. > :05:42.The minister no doubt was guided by that.
:05:43. > :05:44.It seems Edwina Hart was effectively weighing up competing
:05:45. > :05:50.On the one hand, the sceptical due diligence review and on the other
:05:51. > :05:55.the investment panel recommending she support the firm.
:05:56. > :05:58.She went with the panel's recommendation.
:05:59. > :06:00.The government now acknowledges the panel got it wrong.
:06:01. > :06:06.So back in the chamber, the Conservative leader
:06:07. > :06:10.Will you apologise for the loss of this money, which is taxpayers
:06:11. > :06:14.money, when in this particular instance so many warnings
:06:15. > :06:17.were made as so many of those warnings were ignored by your then
:06:18. > :06:20.Minister, and ultimately it is the taxpayers loss?
:06:21. > :06:22.I accept what the Welsh Conservatives have said,
:06:23. > :06:25.that he understood the situation in terms
:06:26. > :06:32.This was a start-up business, start-up businesses are inherently
:06:33. > :06:34.risky but there must be an acceptance of risk
:06:35. > :06:36.by government otherwise we wouldn't support anything.
:06:37. > :06:39.Today's critical report by the cross-party Public Accounts
:06:40. > :06:42.Committee calls for a much more considered approach
:06:43. > :06:46.to risk identification and mitigation in the future.
:06:47. > :06:49.It says investment decisions that go against official advice should
:06:50. > :06:55.This afternoon, the economy secretary suggested
:06:56. > :06:58.the recommendations would be accepted.
:06:59. > :07:01.And said number of changes have already been made.
:07:02. > :07:04.The debate over risk versus reward rolls on.
:07:05. > :07:07.The Wales Audit Office will begin a broader report on government
:07:08. > :07:16.Part of Colwyn Bay's Grade II listed pier will be dismantled after it
:07:17. > :07:18.partially collapsed into the sea earlier this month.
:07:19. > :07:22.Conwy Council has agreed to remove the damaged part of Victoria Pier
:07:23. > :07:26.so it can be saved and stored for future restoration.
:07:27. > :07:30.It has set aside ?650,000 for the work, but says there is no
:07:31. > :07:35.way of knowing how much it will cost.
:07:36. > :07:38.Tonight's football results, and Cardiff City came back from 2-0
:07:39. > :07:41.down to claim an impressive win at promotion chasing Derby County
:07:42. > :07:46.A late Joe Ralls penalty secured a 4-3 win.
:07:47. > :07:48.Newport County meanwhile remain bottom of League Two after
:07:49. > :07:53.Let's see what the weather has in store.
:07:54. > :08:05.If you don't like the chilly cold weather I have got some good news.
:08:06. > :08:10.It will feel milder over the next few days. A bit of rain over the
:08:11. > :08:16.forecast as well together with some sunshine. Tonight watch out for mist
:08:17. > :08:21.and fog patches and spots of drizzle and otherwise dry night and not too
:08:22. > :08:26.cold for the time of year. Parts of Snowdonia could drop down to three.
:08:27. > :08:31.Tomorrow misty and murky for some of us. A dry start but it won't last.
:08:32. > :08:36.Rain spreads into South and mid Wales and some could be heavy,
:08:37. > :08:40.perhaps with the rumble of thunder. Sunshine for a time in Llandudno.
:08:41. > :08:45.Across the rest of the UK mist and fog patches will slowly lift. Then
:08:46. > :08:49.we have showery rain which will spread northwards during the day and
:08:50. > :08:55.be heavy in places. North-east Scotland dry with sunshine and
:08:56. > :09:00.temperatures higher than today. Closer to home the weather will
:09:01. > :09:05.improve in the afternoon and become dry and brighten up with sunshine. A
:09:06. > :09:09.band of showers over the Irish Sea will spread eastwards later in the
:09:10. > :09:12.afternoon and into the evening and temperatures higher than today with
:09:13. > :09:17.a south to south-westerly breeze. This band of showers clears through
:09:18. > :09:21.tomorrow night, leaving most places dry and just the odd shower perhaps
:09:22. > :09:26.empowers. Temperatures don't drop too low, four to seven. A ridge of
:09:27. > :09:29.high pressure extends from the Mediterranean across southern
:09:30. > :09:33.Britain on Thursday and low pressure over Scotland brings showers and
:09:34. > :09:38.gusty winds there. In Wales it doesn't look too bad. Any fog in
:09:39. > :09:42.Monmouthshire will lift and then misplaces pride and we see sunshine
:09:43. > :09:52.and maybe showers in the north and then once again on the mild side.
:09:53. > :09:55.Dry and mild weather to come on Friday.
:09:56. > :09:58.A bit of sunshine in Wrexham and up to 12 in Aberystwyth. Staying miles
:09:59. > :10:00.into the weekend with rain on Saturday. Thank you very much. Good
:10:01. > :10:02.night.