14/02/2017 BBC Wales Today

Our headlines tonight: The organisation which promotes

sport in Wales sees its chair and vice-chair suspended.

And they were in the business of tin cans.

Serious questions tonight about millions in public money

for this Swansea company which went bust.

The crisis at the top of the organisation which develops

grassroots and elite sport here has intensified tonight.

The chair and vice chair of Sport Wales have been suspended

while separate complaints and concerns are looked into.

A review by the Welsh Government also found there has been

a significant breakdown of relations at a senior level.

Here's our political editor, Nick Servini.

It is the main body promoting sport in Wales but the lid has been lifted

on a board brought to a standstill by in-fighting.

Sport Wales' aim was to get every child hooked on sport

is an ambitious target backed by more than ?22 million

But in November last year the activities of the entire board

were suspended after a vote of no-confidence this man,

the current chair and former business troubleshooter Paul Thomas,

In a statement the Public Health Minister Rebecca Evans confirmed

that while the board would be reinstated, Paul Thomas would be

suspended while formal complaint into him are looked into.

The vice chair Adele Baumgardt is also suspended because of separate

concerns around the cohesive functioning of the board

and its relationship with Welsh ministers.

The minister gave few details of what her officials discovered

in their two-month review, other than to indicate major

Because of issues relating to data protection and confidentiality

and on the basis of legal advice it would be inappropriate for me

to comment in any detail on the findings of the assurance review.

I do want to make clear for the avoidance of doubt

that the conclusions are principally related to a significant breakdown

at a senior level within Sport Wales.

Sport Wales will now be able to plan, distributor friends

to grassroots sports by setting next year's budget

as the rest of the board has been reinstated under an interim chair.

Paul Thomas is no stranger to controversy.

A business academic and a troubleshooter in a BBC

programme, he was sent in to try to make bin collecting

Before the board was suspended in November he conducted

Based on independent research, it claimed organisation lacks

transparency, was in danger of stagnation, and had been

Jazz Carlin from Swansea takes Wales to gold!

One of the main aims of Sport Wales is to help stars like the

swimmer Jazz Carlin win medals in major competitions.

An Olympic and Commonwealth Games coach was among those to speak

The coach said elite sports would function without Sport Wales.

Another source, speaking anonymously, said he had been

repeatedly surprised how insular Sport Wales had become.

The minister has now asked for this review to be completed

A teenager whose classmate died after being hit by a school minibus

has told an inquest she had seen five other near-misses involving

15-year-old Ashley Talbot was running for his bus home

and didn't use a pedestrian crossing when a vehicle driven

by his teacher, Christopher Brooks, hit him at Maesteg Comprehensive

A 14-year-old boy who suffered a serious brain injury

when he was born at Wrexham Maelor hospital is to receive more

The boy, who needs 24-hour care and now has a life expectancy of 34,

was starved of oxygen during his birth in 2002.

The First Minister says his former economy minister was guided

by experts when she gave more than ?3 million to a Swansea

steel-coating company that later went bust.

Edwina Hart has been criticised for sanctioning grants

and loans for Kancoat, despite being told by a government

official that its business plan was weak and inconsistent.

Cans have been coated in Waunarlwydd for years by American firm Alcoa.

After it left, Kancoat was an attempt to restart

It couldn't attract private finance but the Welsh Government put in

Six months after the final government loan Kancoat went bust.

The then economy Minister took the decisions to back the firm.

Most of the money was put in after a civil service review

described Kancoat's business plan as weak and inconsistent.

The First Minister told the Assembly today she had been acting on advice.

What has to be remembered is the investment panel recommended

The minister no doubt was guided by that.

It seems Edwina Hart was effectively weighing up competing

On the one hand, the sceptical due diligence review and on the other

the investment panel recommending she support the firm.

She went with the panel's recommendation.

The government now acknowledges the panel got it wrong.

So back in the chamber, the Conservative leader

Will you apologise for the loss of this money, which is taxpayers

money, when in this particular instance so many warnings

were made as so many of those warnings were ignored by your then

Minister, and ultimately it is the taxpayers loss?

I accept what the Welsh Conservatives have said,

that he understood the situation in terms

This was a start-up business, start-up businesses are inherently

risky but there must be an acceptance of risk

by government otherwise we wouldn't support anything.

Today's critical report by the cross-party Public Accounts

Committee calls for a much more considered approach

to risk identification and mitigation in the future.

It says investment decisions that go against official advice should

This afternoon, the economy secretary suggested

the recommendations would be accepted.

And said number of changes have already been made.

The debate over risk versus reward rolls on.

The Wales Audit Office will begin a broader report on government

Part of Colwyn Bay's Grade II listed pier will be dismantled after it

partially collapsed into the sea earlier this month.

Conwy Council has agreed to remove the damaged part of Victoria Pier

so it can be saved and stored for future restoration.

It has set aside ?650,000 for the work, but says there is no

way of knowing how much it will cost.

Tonight's football results, and Cardiff City came back from 2-0

down to claim an impressive win at promotion chasing Derby County

A late Joe Ralls penalty secured a 4-3 win.

Newport County meanwhile remain bottom of League Two after

Let's see what the weather has in store.

If you don't like the chilly cold weather I have got some good news.

It will feel milder over the next few days. A bit of rain over the

forecast as well together with some sunshine. Tonight watch out for mist

and fog patches and spots of drizzle and otherwise dry night and not too

cold for the time of year. Parts of Snowdonia could drop down to three.

Tomorrow misty and murky for some of us. A dry start but it won't last.

Rain spreads into South and mid Wales and some could be heavy,

perhaps with the rumble of thunder. Sunshine for a time in Llandudno.

Across the rest of the UK mist and fog patches will slowly lift. Then

we have showery rain which will spread northwards during the day and

be heavy in places. North-east Scotland dry with sunshine and

temperatures higher than today. Closer to home the weather will

improve in the afternoon and become dry and brighten up with sunshine. A

band of showers over the Irish Sea will spread eastwards later in the

afternoon and into the evening and temperatures higher than today with

a south to south-westerly breeze. This band of showers clears through

tomorrow night, leaving most places dry and just the odd shower perhaps

empowers. Temperatures don't drop too low, four to seven. A ridge of

high pressure extends from the Mediterranean across southern

Britain on Thursday and low pressure over Scotland brings showers and

gusty winds there. In Wales it doesn't look too bad. Any fog in

Monmouthshire will lift and then misplaces pride and we see sunshine

and maybe showers in the north and then once again on the mild side.

Dry and mild weather to come on Friday.

A bit of sunshine in Wrexham and up to 12 in Aberystwyth. Staying miles

into the weekend with rain on Saturday. Thank you very much. Good

night.