06/04/2017 BBC Wales Today

Mark Reckless, once a high-profile defection

Now he ditches them to become a Conservative AM.

Next generation communications for the military.

More than 100 jobs created near Blackwood.

And a call for the Welsh Government to try to improve public perceptions

It's been described by his former party as a "betrayal".

Assembly member Mark Reckless has confirmed

he's left Ukip to become a Conservative AM.

It means the Tories are now the second largest

They say it makes them the official opposition in the Senedd.

However, it's not been welcomed by everyone in the party,

as our political editor Nick Servini reports.

He left the Conservatives for Ukip in dramatic

and, for the Tories at least, painful circumstances

Now Mark Reckless is back in a very different manner.

This snatched photo in a corridor of the Assembly with the leader in

Wales tells its own story about how both sides

He will now vote with the Conservative group at the Senedd.

In the Assembly he will even be called a

But he's not looking to try and rejoin his old party.

Even Mark Reckless knows the scars still run too deep within the

ranks of Tories because of the defection.

It is not for me to waltz back into the party with any sense

Many people in the Tories are still upset that I stood

I think there is still bad blood and some of

the wounds are a bit sore and I want to focus my efforts here with some

humility in the Welsh Assembly and knuckling down.

He'll have plenty of work to do to persuade

It speaks volumes for him and his lack of integrity that he's done

I don't think it is a good idea that we've,

certainly not myself or

my colleagues at Westminster, but the group led by Davis has accepted

Mark Reckless is leaving Ukip because he wants to support the UK

Government taking us out of the EU, and he believes he can have more

impact working with the Conservatives in Wales.

The leader of the group at the Assembly, another

former Tory MP, Neil Hamilton, has called on him to resign.

He has betrayed the trust of all those who

selected him in the first place as a candidate,

and those who worked for him to be elected to the Assembly.

He has got no mandate in the Assembl as a member of the Conservatives.

I regret his departure, because he is not without

ability, but I think he has shown a weakness of character.

Mark Reckless has never been far from headlines,

being elected for the Conservatives in the 2010 election.

Fiercely Eurosceptic, his reputation grew as one of the more

I would like you please to give a warm welcome to somebody

On the eve of the Conservative conference in 2014,

And two months later, he won the Rochester by-election.

APPLAUSE He lost the seat in the 2015 general election.

But a year later, he was back in front line politics, one of

the seven new Ukip AM's elected to the National Assembly.

Crossing the floor to defect to another party is

For Reckless, it is difficult because he is going back as well.

Away from the personalities, the move has implications for the way

politics is done in Cardiff, with the Conservatives overtaking

Plaid Cymru to become the main opposition to Labour.

125 skilled jobs will be created in Oakdale near Blackwood

after a defence company was awarded a ?330 million contract

General Dynamics will design and develop the next generation

of communications systems for the Armed Forces.

Our Business Correspondent Brian Meechan has the details.

Arriving in a military helicopter, the Defence Secretary came to

General Dynamics in Oakdale to get a taste of what the

?330 million contract will buy and to meet the team behind the

He also met troops who will be using the equipment.

Last year we spent over ?800 million in Wales, that

Defence expenditure is important for Wales,

and I'm determined to make sure that Wales gets its fair share.

The Ajax tank is the next generation of

armoured vehicle for the British military,

it's being assembled and

tested at General Dynamics site in Wales.

We know how it will be sending visual information back to

This is the Bowman system which is currently

used for communications between the Armed Forces.

It was designed and developed here at General

The ?330 million contract with the Ministry

of Defence will see this replaced with the Next Generation

It is to ensure that the right information is

conveyed to the right people in a timely manner securely,

in order for the mission to be a success.

General Dynamics says this is the next chapter

for the company who has been operating in South Wales since 2001.

It sustains over 125 jobs, highly skilled

creates another 125 jobs right here, and it

the wider region, largely in South Wales.

The new contract means those working on Bowman like this

apprentice, who is from the local area, will be able to develop their

They give me support and responsibility.

You get to go to college one day a week

and then you come here to learn on the job,

so you get paid to work and

This deal is the first of its kind, a new way of

operating for the Ministry of Defence and businesses.

It means companies both cooperating and

competing, as they bid for further communications contracts.

This could give ministers more control to

ensure work is delivered on time and in budget,

avoiding previous criticisms of major

Aston Martin 'supply contracts' worth over ?60 million

have gone on offer to businesses across Wales.

They're detailed on the Welsh Government's

It comes as the luxury car company gained official access to three

Ministry of Defence super hangars in St Athan, in the Vale

They'll be used to manufacture their new DBX model from 2020.

A 26-year-old man has been remanded in custody

accused of murdering a father of two who was found unconscious outside

27-year-old Esinkumo Ayabowei, also known as Henry,

Kieren Roberts appeared at Caernarfon Crown Court,

and will enter a plea at the end of June.

Pembrokeshire Council has approved plans to re-organise

English language secondary schools in Haverfordwest.

Sir Thomas Picton School and Tasker Millward School will merge

with sixth form provision from the 1st of September next year.

Previous plans to move the sixth forms to Pembrokeshire College

were rejected after protests by pupils and parents.

The Welsh Government should try to improve people's views

That's according to a group of Assembly Members

who are calling for a publicity campaign

which encourages people to get to know refugees.

The total number of refugees of all nationalities settled

in Wales is estimated to be between 6,000 and 10,000.

Our political reporter Bethan Lewis has more.

At this centre in Cardiff, refugees and asylum seekers are

offered advice, support and a place to socialise.

The Assembly report being launched here today highlights

challenges they face in accessing good housing and mental

But during its enquiry, AMs also heard one of the biggest

problems is the way they are perceived.

This 22-year-old says he's had a positive experience since fleeing

war in Sudan to come to Cardiff two years ago.

When I arrived here, maybe my life was meaningless until

I arrived here in Britain, in Cardiff.

I feel so different, and there is so much I wouldn't have.

They talk to you as their friend or their family or their people.

But this woman from Iran, now a British citizen, says housing can

sometimes be a problem for those arriving.

Sometimes when they arrive here, unfortunately, like when you

are staying in a hostel, the hostel is not good, so you know,

a lot of people and the small rooms and things like that.

An attack by a gang on an asylum seeker in south

London last week brought attention to the question of how asylum

That sort of crime is rare, but the committee says that negative

perceptions do exist and better integration can help address it.

In Scotland, this campaign focuses on

getting people from different backgrounds together over a cuppa.

The committee suggests something similar could work in Wales.

People are fleeing extreme circumstances and taking great risks

because they have to flee those circumstances, and once people

understand that, then they do want to provide a warm welcome.

The report also calls for the Government

to look at giving greater help to refugees and asylum seekers with

transport and better access to English lessons.

But one committee member, Ukip AM Gareth Bennett,

He produced his own document and says the

committee didn't recognise the difficulties of establishing

He says he is reflecting the views of a

The Welsh Government will be publishing its new plan for refugees

At the centre of that it says will be a commitment to help people

rebuild their lives and make a full contribution to society.

Many of us have been enjoying this sunshine, Derek.

That's right, mid and South Wales sunny today, a little bit tardy any

zero. We should all see some sunshine over the weekend, warming

up for of us. Tonight it is dry, cloudy and parts of midtown North

Wales. Elsewhere the sky is clear, turning Chile again, some ground

frost in the countryside. Try tomorrow morning, cool first thing.

Some cloud possible in the north, the best of the sunshine in the

south and west. Across the rest of the UK, high-pressure work in many

places dry, plenty of sunshine in the south and east. Cardia any north

west, big enough for a fuse box of rain and drizzle. Any far north and

west of Scotland, breezy, elsewhere was the light went under the high

pressure. A high of 14 Celsius in London. Much of Wales sunny and

glorious tomorrow afternoon, other angles they may be troubled by

cloud. Temperatures around 11 Celsius, light wind and a high of 16

in Cardiff. Gloria start to the Spring Festival. Flower festival.

Tomorrow night it will be dry and clear, it will turn Chile again.

Ground frost in rural spots, and it is the weekend we started pulling a

southerly wind, so it was not to warm up. Sunday and Saturday, nice

day fine with lots of sunshine, warmer with temperatures rising into

the mid to high teens. Sunday fine and warm although later on a cloud

over with the odd spot of rain. Up to 18 Celsius in Monmouth, cooler on

the coast and south and west. Lovely weather to come this weekend. Hazard

We'll be back in Breakfast with updates from around

From all of us here, thanks for watching.

You are the cream of the French aristocracy.