Welsh first minister hopeful accepted £200k from waste offender’s firm - The Guardian

Vaughan Gething’s campaign to become the new Welsh first minister has suffered a setback after it emerged he has accepted a £200,000 donation from a company run by a man convicted of environmental offences.

David John Neal was given a three-month suspended prison sentence in 2013 for illegally dumping waste on the environmentally-sensitive Gwent Levels in south Wales.

Gething, who will become the first black leader of a European country if he wins the race to replace Mark Drakeford, has received two donations of £100,000 each from Cardiff company Dauson Environmental Group, of which Neal is a director.

Another of Neal’s companies, Resources Management UK, recently faced action by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) after complaints about the smell at a landfill site called Withyhedge in Pembrokeshire. Residents dubbed it “a stink bomb on steroids”.

Asked about the donations at a BBC leadership debate, Gething said: “All donations are checked and filed properly with the Electoral Commission and declared to the Senedd. The issue in Pembrokeshire is one, I understand, is being resolved in accordance with NRW guidance and requirements and that work should be completed in the coming weeks.”

Gething’s sole rival in the leadership race, Jeremy Miles, refused to be drawn into the row, saying only: “Donations to Vaughan’s campaign are a matter for him. My manifesto makes it clear I will have the most stringent environmental regulations.”

Lee Waters, a Labour Senedd member and a supporter of Miles, said on X: “I’m sorry but £200k on an internal election in a cost of living crisis is completely unjustifiable. I don’t want this to become a negative campaign but I am genuinely shocked and angry by this. It’s wrong.”

Other Labour party members and politicians have privately expressed concerns about the size of the donation and its origin.

A former Welsh Labour minister, who did not want to be named, said: “At a time when Keir Starmer is calling out Tory sleaze, this looks like appalling judgment by Vaughan Gething.”

A spokesperson for Gething’s campaign said: “Dauson Environmental Group Limited has donated to Vaughan Gething’s leadership campaign. All donations are declared to both the Senedd and the Electoral Commission in line with the rules and Vaughan’s commitment to transparency.

“We are aware of the current issues relating to Withyhedge Landfill and, as with any such cases, would encourage that the issues be fully investigated and resolved as soon as possible. We have been in touch with the firm and been assured it is addressing the issues and is on course to meet NRW’s timetable.

“Vaughan Gething’s leadership manifesto pledges to strengthen enforcement action to protect the environment and pledges stricter penalties for those who break environmental rules.”

The Electoral Commission records show that Miles has received £32,300 from three individuals and two businesses, a construction company and a translation and subtitling firm.

The new Welsh Labour leader – and thus the new first minister – will be announced on Saturday 16 March.

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Southampton placenta mystery: Mum and baby identified - BBC

A mother and baby whose placenta was found on a path have been identified following an eight-month police investigation.

The placenta was found off Dale Road in Southampton, on 21 June.

There had been concerns about the wellbeing of the mother and baby, with police and health authorities making repeated appeals for information.

Police have now confirmed they are both safe and well and no criminal investigation will take place.

The placenta was discovered in woodland near the Spire and General hospitals by two members of the public, with tests later confirming it was human.

Hundreds of hours of CCTV footage were reviewed and house-to-house enquiries were carried out.

With police appeals, as well as midwives at Princess Anne Hospital, failing to identify the woman who gave birth, the case was described as a "significant mystery".

Two women were previously arrested and subsequently released facing no further action.

In September, police said officers were considering the possibility a criminal offence had been committed and believed they were investigating the unlawful concealment of the birth of a child.

At the end of last year, officers said they believed the mother to have had a west African background and began talks with the city's African community.

Ch Insp Marcus Kennedy said the force had a duty to investigate the unusual occurrence and he was "delighted" at the outcome of the investigation.

He said: "We have established that the family involved have done nothing wrong, and there is to be no criminal investigation now that they have been located.

"We had to consider the very real possibility that the mother and baby involved had potentially come to harm, and we needed to do everything we could to ensure that this wasn't the case."

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2240.

Related Topics

• Southampton
• Hampshire & Isle of Wight
• Pregnancy
• Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police

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• Home - Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary

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Grandmother died from 'unsurvivable' XL bully bite, inquest told - BBC

Family Handout

By Lewis Adams

BBC News, Essex

A grandmother attacked by XL bully dogs died from a bite wound to her upper right limb, an inquest has heard.

Esther Martin, 68, was visiting her 11-year-old grandson at a house in Jaywick, near Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, when she was injured on 3 February.

An inquest opening in Chelmsford was told police found her with "unsurvivable injuries".

Ashley Warren, 39, was arrested on suspicion of dangerous dog offences and released on police bail until March.

• Dog attack victim's memory will live forever - son
• Community's shock over woman's dog attack death
• Woman killed by dogs 'while trying to calm puppies'

Senior Coroner for Essex Lincoln Brookes told the hearing that Ms Martin suffered an "extraordinary, tragic death".

He suspended the inquest at the request of Essex Police for three months while the force continued its criminal investigation.

Shaun Whitmore/BBC

Coroner's officer Andy Flack told the hearing police were called to a disturbance at an address Ms Martin was staying at in Hillman Avenue at 16:00 GMT.

"She was discovered in the property along with two large dogs. She was unresponsive and her injuries were unsurvivable."

Mr Flack said the grandmother, from Woodford Green in London, was pronounced dead at 16:47.

A post-mortem examination gave her provisional cause of death as a dog bite to her upper right limb.

Richard Knights/BBC

Following the inquest, Ms Martin's family asked people to "hold her memory in their hearts" in a statement provided to the BBC.

"As a family we would like to thank everyone for their support following the tragic loss of our mother, Esther Martin," they said.

"As a family we are finding her loss unbearable."

What are XL bully dogs and what is the law?

An XL bully is the largest kind of American bully dog. Other types include standard, pocket and classic.

The government described them as large dogs "with a muscular body and blocky head, suggesting great strength and power for [their] size".

In England and Wales, the breed has been added to the list of dogs banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. It means breeding, selling or abandoning them is illegal.

• Why are American XL bullies being banned?

Certificate of Exemptions, allowing owners to keep their XL bullies, can no longer be applied for.

American XL bully dogs must be kept on a lead and muzzled in public.

Scotland has also announced a ban, which will come into force later in the year.

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830

Related Topics

• Woodford Green
• Dog attacks
• XL bully
• Dogs

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• HM Courts & Tribunals Service

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Live updates as heavy rain causes two flood warnings and 33 flood alerts across Wales - Wales Online

Wales is being hit by more wind and heavy rain on Thursday morning with another Met Office warning in place. At 11am, Natural Resources Wales had one flood warnings and 37 flood alerts already in place with more heavy rain forecast for during the day.

The warning is on the River Towy between Llandeilo and Abergwili. Earlier flood warnings on the rivers Dulais, Ely, Taff, Erch, Cadoxton, Rhondda and Loughor have been lifted. The 37 flood alerts are in place across Wales and can be found here.

South Wales Police issued a warning as roads became submerged in standing water. The force said: "Due to the weather conditions this morning across South Wales, we are receiving reports of a lot of surface water on a number of main roads including the M4. Please take care when driving and allow extra time for your journey."

A yellow warning for rain is in place parts of Wales until 2pm today. It says: "A band of heavy rain and squally winds will move east across South Wales and southwest England early on Thursday morning, with further heavy rain at times until early afternoon. Some places will see 10-15 mm of rain within two hours and a few places could have 20-30 mm of rain during the period of the warning."

The areas covered by the warning are: Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, Torfaen, Vale of Glamorgan.

The Met Office forecast for the whole of Wales today says: "Bands of showers sweeping eastwards, these often heavy with perhaps the odd thunderstorm and some hill snow possible. Some sunny spells by the afternoon. Turning colder with temperatures much lower than of late. Gusty winds. Maximum temperature 7 °C."

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Tories and SNPs walk out of Commons in protest at speaker in Gaza ceasefire vote - The Independent

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Chaos broke out in the House of Commons on Wednesday night as furious MPs walked out in protest at the speaker’s handling of the Gaza ceasefire debate.

Dozens also signed a vote of no confidence against him.

Members on both sides left the chamber in anger after Sir Lindsay Hoyle allowed amendments from the government and Labour on the SNP’s motion calling for “an immediate ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war, which has cost more than 29,000 lives according to the Gaza health ministry.

This broke convention in which only the government’s amendment should have been debated and voted on.

In a night of extraordinary drama in Westminster, the speaker’s decision prompted howls of protest from MPs and shouts of “bring back Bercow” – referring to his controversial predecessor, John Bercow.

He was then forced to return to the Commons to issue a grovelling apology for the mayhem, which was thwarted by shouts of “resign” from MPs on both sides of the House.

Conservative Party and SNP MPs leave the chamber on Wednesday evening

(Parliament TV)

The evening descended into chaos after Sir Lindsay ruled that the Commons should vote first on Labour’s call for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” before moving on to the SNP’s original motion, and then finally onto the government’s proposals if either of the first two failed to garner enough support.

Both Tory and SNP MPs walked out, leaving Labour’s amendment to pass unopposed.

Commons Leader and Tory MP Penny Mordaunt accused the speaker of hijacking the debate and undermining the confidence of the House by selecting Labour’s amendment.

She said he had “raised temperatures” and put MPs in a “more difficult position”.

Sir Lindsay had been warned by House of Commons clerk Tom Goldsmith about the unprecedented nature of his decision before his clash with MPs, the senior official saying he felt “compelled to point out that long-established conventions are not being followed in this case”.

The speaker now faces a no-confidence motion, which was gathering support from both Conservative and SNP members across the House.

Proposed by Tory MP William Wragg, it had been signed by 33 Tory and SNP MPs late on Wednesday evening.

Sir Lindsay tried to quell the fury of MPs by telling the Commons: “I thought I was doing the right thing and the best thing, and I regret it, and I apologise for how it’s ended up.

“I do take responsibility for my actions, and that’s why I want to meet with the key players who have been involved.”

Sir Lindsay announces his decision on amendments to the SNP’s Gaza ceasefire motion

But his efforts were jeered, and Mr Wragg claimed ministers had approached him saying they wanted to sign his no confidence motion.

Shadow Commons leader Lucy Powell said the government does not have the numbers for a majority on their motion, as she defended Sir Lindsay.

She told MPs: “Last time I looked, the government benches had a majority in this House, so if they don’t like the amendments that are before them, they could vote this evening to defeat those amendments.

“But they have decided now not to, I understand, vote in those debates. So perhaps we have to ask the question whether or not they do still command a majority in this House this evening, or whether they are trying to hide behind some other reason?”

Suggestions that the speaker had been influenced by threats from senior Labour figures to call their amendment were wrong, insisted deputy speaker Dame Rosie Winterton.

Conservative MP Philip Davies referred to a tweet claiming the speaker had been warned Labour would “bring him down” after the general election unless he called their Gaza amendment.

Amid shouts of “shocking” and jeers from Tory MPs, Mr Davis added: “Can you assure the house that everything will be done to identify who it was that put that intolerable pressure on the House of Commons speaker?”

Dame Rosie replied: “That tweet is wrong and the statement is incorrect.”

As the Commons descended into farce, Conservative former ministers were among those MPs suggesting the votes in the Gaza debate should be run again.

Trying to explain his actions by trying to allow all three amendments, Sir Lindsay said: “Today’s debate was exceptional in its intensity with which all parties wished to secure a vote.”

He said he had taken his decision with the right intentions to allow as many MPs as possible to express their view.

People with Palestinian flags queued to get into parliament for the Gaza vote

(Getty Images)

“I wanted to do the best, and it was my wish to do the best by every member of this House.”

He went on: “I was very concerned, I am still concerned... about the security of members, their families and the people that are involved.

“I am, and I regret with my sadness, that it’s ended up in this position. That was never my intention for it to end like this. I was absolutely convinced that the decision was done with the right intentions.”

Helen McEachern, chief executive of Care International UK, said she was dismayed by the “political theatrics” over parliamentary procedure that did nothing to help the people of Gaza.

“Without an immediate sustained ceasefire, they will not receive the food, water and medical supplies needed to save lives and prevent further injuries,” she said.

Sir Keir Starmer defended his party’s amendment, saying it was intended to unite parliament and “speak with one voice on the horrendous situation in Gaza and Israel”.

He insisted it was a “serious plan for such an incredibly serious situation” and accused the other parties of playing politics.

“Unfortunately, the Conservatives and the SNP decided to walk out hand in hand, refusing to vote on this serious matter, yet again choosing political games over serious solutions.”

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Keir Starmer 'escapes' major Labour revolt over Gaza ceasefire vote - Evening Standard

Then, 56 Labour MPs rebelled and 10 frontbenchers resigned or were sacked after voting for a previous SNP ceasefire motion. But this week, the language from Washington and other Israeli allies in favour of a truce has dramatically hardened, giving Sir Keir more room for manoeuvre, and the Speaker’s ruling will be a huge relief.

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Trident missile test fails for second time in a row - BBC

UK Ministry of Defence / Crown copyright

By Jonathan Beale

Defence Correspondent

The test firing of a Trident missile from a Royal Navy submarine has failed, for the second time in a row.

The latest test of the UK's nuclear deterrent was from HMS Vanguard and was witnessed by the defence secretary.

The missile's booster rockets failed and it landed in the sea close to the launch site, according to the Sun, which first reported the malfunction.

When on patrol missiles would usually carry nuclear warheads but they are not fitted for test fires.

The Ministry of Defence said the "nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure and effective".

This is highly embarrassing for both the UK and the US manufacturer of the Trident missile.

British tests of Trident missiles are rare, not least because of the costs. The price tag of each missile is around £17m and the last test was in 2016 when it also ended in failure when the missile veered off course.

Both the Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and the head of the Navy were on board HMS Vanguard off the east coast of the US when it fired the unarmed test missile in January.

The submarine had just had a more than seven year refit.

A defence source close to the Mr Shapps insisted the Trident "could absolutely fire in a real world situation" if it needed to.

"The issue that occurred during the test was specific to the event and would not have occurred during a live armed fire," the source said.

A written ministerial statement is expected from Mr Shapps later.

The missile was supposed to have flown several thousand miles before landing harmlessly in the Atlantic between Brazil and West Africa. Instead it dropped into the ocean near to where it was launched.

At the time of the failed 2016 test, the Sunday Times reported that it was launched from HMS Vengeance off the coast of Florida.

The paper said the Trident II D5 missile was intended to be fired 3,700 miles (5,954 km) to a sea target off the west coast of Africa but veered towards the US.

The cause of what went wrong remains top secret, the paper reported, but quoted a senior naval source as saying the missile suffered an in-flight malfunction after launching out of the water.

ROYAL NAVY

The Labour Party has called for assurances over the effectiveness of the nuclear deterrent.

Shadow defence secretary John Healey said: "Reports of a Trident test failure are concerning.

"The defence secretary will want to reassure Parliament that this test has no impact on the effectiveness of the UK's deterrent operations."

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) described it as an expensive failure following a reported £500m refit.

"We need to stop wasting our money on this," the group said who campaign to get rid of nuclear weapons in Britain and worldwide.

In a statement the Ministry of Defence admitted an anomaly had occurred in the most recent launch. But it also said that HMS Vanguard and its crew had been "proven fully capable" in their operations and the test had "reaffirmed the effectiveness of the UK's nuclear deterrent".

The statement added that Trident was the "most reliable weapons system in the world" having completed more than 190 successful tests.

HMS Vanguard is one of four of the Vanguard-class nuclear submarines that have been on patrol in 1994, with one of the vessels continually at sea.

The submarines are based at Faslane Royal Navy base on the Firth of Clyde and carry US-built Trident 2 D5 missiles, while the nuclear warheads are stored at the nearby Coulport armaments depot on Loch Long.

Annual running costs are estimated at 6% of the defence budget - around £3bn for 2023/24, according to the House of Commons Library.

The V-class is due to be replaced by the bigger Dreadnought-class submarines in the 2030s.

Between £31bn and £41bn has been put aside for the wider programme of replacing the Vanguard-class submarines, the House of Commons Library said.

Related Topics

• Royal Navy
• Submarines
• Nuclear submarines
• Nuclear weapons

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