19/04/2017 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to Wales Today. Tonight's headlines:

On the day it s confirmed a general election will be held,

Labour's Ann Clwyd tells us why she voted against it.

And a man tells an inquest how he tried to save his boyfriend

from a flat fire, believed to have started in the tumble dryer.

Good evening.

In just 50 days, Wales and the rest of the UK will go to the polls

for the general election.

The Prime Minister's decision was overwhelmingly backed by 522 MPs

with just one of the 40 Welsh members, Labour's Ann

Clwyd, voting against.

Eight of her colleagues abstained.

Campaigning's already underway to win our votes on June the 8th.

Here's our Parliamentary Correspondent David Cornock.

Successful prime ministers get their own statues here.

The more celebrated in Parliament Square.

Among them, David Lloyd George.

In his day, ordinary MPs had little say over election timing.

Now, that's all changed. Today, MPs over there in the House

of Commons spent ninety minutes debating whether to allow

Theresa May to call an early general election.

The official campaign won't get started until next month.

Unofficially, it's already begun.

We welcome the opportunity for the people of Wales

to change our course in the long-term, away from Labour's

government in Cardiff, away from this centralised

government in London, cutting our own path

towards economic regeneration, prosperity, social justice

and a confident place for Wales in the world.

Plaid Cymru's three MPs voted for an early poll.

The result was never in doubt.

The ayes to the right, 522.

The nos to the left, 13.

Only one Welsh MP voted against.

I see no reason to have one except the Prime Minister has

decided to cut and run.

It's to cover up her difficulties with the Brexit negotiations

which day by day as they unfold it shows it's not going to be easy.

So with fifty days to go, what happens next?

This parliament will end 25 working days before the election,

for official campaigning to start.

The next day, elections will be held in all 22 councils in Wales

as well as in England and Scotland.

During the rest of May and the first week of June,

campaigning will continue.

Before we elect a new UK government on the 8th of June.

I am delighted to be going to another general election.

I was slightly surprised.

Political parties are now working on their manifestos.

I will be on the doorstep saying what we have done in government,

how we've helped pensioners and all aspects of society

and building on a manifesto which will deliver for everyone

in this country.

The Liberal Democrats, after a few lean years,

hope their fight back starts here.

You've got one seat at the moment.

What would be a good result?

It is not much fun being the only Welsh Liberal Democrat

in the House of Commons.

I won't give you any predictions but you will see candidates

and the manifesto but I want some company here.

In changing her mind about an early election,

Theresa May has taken a political gamble.

If she wins on June the 8th and can make a success of Brexit,

Conservative MPs may one day want to see a statue of their leader

take its place in Parliament Square.

David Cornock reporting.

And as the campaign begins one of the heavyweight

battles of the election here could be in Rhondda.

It's a seat Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood won dramatically at last

year's Assembly election.

But tonight she told BBC Wales she still has not decided if she'll

stand against Labour's Chris Bryant.

The current MP didn't want to comment but confirmed on Twitter

he will be standing again.

Ms Wood says she hasn't ruled anything out.

I think it's vital that Wales has the strongest team of Plaid Cymru

MPs possible for this election so in order to have the strongest

team of MPs we have to put forward our strongest candidates.

I am confident we can win this seat whether I am the candidate or not.

Dyfed Powys Police has launched a murder investigation

following the death of a 19-year-old woman nearly a week after

an incident at her home in Llanelli.

Katrina Evemy died earlier this morning.

A 21-year-old man was charged with attempted murder,

but police are now treating her death as murder.

A psychiatrist accused of 13 charges of sexual assault against five male

patients has been found not guilty on two of the charges.

A jury at Merthyr Crown Court found Dr Brian Harris not guilty

of an indecent assault in 1991 and a rape in 2009.

Jurors are still deliberating the remaining charges.

A man has described trying in vain to save his boyfriend

from a fire at his home, thought to have started

in a tumble dryer.

Garry Lloyd Jones from Llanrwst was giving evidence at the inquest

into the deaths of 19-year-old Bernard Hender and his

business partner Douglas McTavish in October 2014.

Matthew Richards reports.

Receiving support from the friends and relatives of those who died,

Gary Lloyd Jones was the first witness to give evidence

at the inquest which is scheduled to last for three days in Abergele.

He showed BBC Wales the devastation the blaze caused just a week

after his boyfriend and business partner were killed in the fire

in the flat they shared in the centre of Llanrwst.

It's thought the fire was started by a tumble dryer

in the utility room.

Gary Lloyd Jones told the inquest that the night before the fire

he noticed the tumble dryer was switched off, the door

open and towels inside.

He woke up early the next morning with the flat full of smoke

and upon investigating he saw flames coming from the drum of the dryer.

He went back to the bedroom and grabbed Bernard Hender's arm,

telling him to get out.

The teenager broke away from him in shock saying he couldn't

find the doorway due to the thick black smoke.

Gary Lloyd Jones said he then heard the teenager scream

and that was the last time he heard him.

He crawled out of the flat and dialled 999 from a public payphone.

Bernard hender was described as having a zest for life.

Mr Lloyd Jones' business partner, 39-year-old Douglas McTavish,

managed the bistro where Mr Hender worked as a chef.

The inquest also heard from firefighters who were called

to the scene as well as a fire investigator who said officers

concluded the origin of the blaze was in or around the two tumble

dryers in the laundry room.

The inquest is expected to hear expert testimony on behalf

of the manufacturer, whirlpool, tomorrow.

Rugby and Wales' Sam Warburton will captain the Lions tour

to New Zealand this summer.

He's one of 12 Welsh players picked, six forwards and six backs,

by coach Warren Gatland.

He's also gone with 16 England players, 11 from Ireland,

and two from Scotland.

I was in a supermarket car park.

My wife was buying some bread and milk.

I didn't want to go in because the cashier loves rugby

and I didn't want to be asked any questions about the Lions.

I think I hung up on Gats the first time because I thought

it was one of the boys at the Blues messing around.

I've had it every day for the last three weeks,

boys constantly asking me.

But I genuinely didn't know.

One of the things I admire about Sam, not just

as a player but as a person, I think his greatest quality is it's

not about Sam Warburton it's about the team.

Wales' only representative is out of the World Snooker Championship.

Ryan Day was beaten this evening by China's Xiao Guodong

by 10 frames to four.

Time for a look at what the weather has in store.

Here's Sue Charles.

Good evening.

After a largely bright day it will be cloudier

tomorrow but mostly dry.

High pressure kept things settled today but this weak cold front

is moving southwards across the UK overnight into tomorrow

so overnight cloud increasing.

It could be thick enough for the odd spot of drizzle

but mainly on high ground.

Not as cold as the past few nights.

7C to 9C.

Tomorrow, some early drizzle but most places will stay dry

but generally a cloudy day.

Across the UK the south-east holding onto some brightness but that front

will bring thicker cloud and some patchy drizzle, especially

across Scotland and Northern Ireland although it will dry up here later.

Highs of 12C for the Western Isles, 15C in East Anglia.

And later for Wales, often cloudy and drizzly on high

ground but where we get the breaks it will feel pleasant

in the sunshine.

Light westerly winds and highs of 11C in Conwy,

and 14C in Monmouthshire.

High pressure for the south of the UK early on Friday but this

cold front will start to move southwards later in the day

so Friday is largely fine and dry with sunny spells.

The odd isolated shower.

But turning cloudy from the North later.

Light winds.

12C to 15C.

That cold front does eventually move southwards Friday night

into Saturday bringing mainly light rain.

It hangs around on Saturday but it's a weakening feature.

So just bringing thicker cloud, some patchy drizzle and behind it

the winds turn northerly so introducing cold air.

So largely dry and settled over the next few days.

Patchy rain at times and colder into next weekend.

We'll be back in Breakfast with updates from around 6.25am.

From all of us on the programme, good night.