Pembrokeshire council cabinet not 'anti-Welsh' says deputy leader
A deputy leader in a council has denied the cabinet is "anti-Welsh" after saying some parents "couldn't give a toss" if their children go to a Welsh-language school in a town in south-west Wales.Paul Miller, deputy leader of Pembrokeshire council, and the cabinet voted on 28 April to ask the Director of Education to find out the demand for Welsh-language schools - a move which seven councillors voted to send back for reconsideration. It comes as the Welsh government passed a major new bill to boost the number of pupils studying in Welsh.Huw Murphy, leader of the Independent group, said Mr Miller's comments had left him "frustrated and upset."
Every year council cabinets discusses how it is going to expand Welsh-medium education.At one of these meetings on 28 April, Pembrokeshire council's cabinet backed an amendment by Mr Miller to ask the Department of Education to find out whether parents are sending their children to schools because they teach in Welsh or if they like other aspects of the school such as teaching quality.The amendment was "called in" on Wednesday, after opposition councillors reacted angrily to Mr Miller's comments. During a fiery meeting, Mr Millar accused Mr Murphy of "making something out of nothing" and said he should be "deeply ashamed" of the call in request. "I don't accept for a second that we should do anything to discourage anyone from making the choice that they want to make, be that a Welsh-medium education or an English-medium education," Mr Millar told the BBC subsequently.He said that parity between the two languages was "absolute".Councillors voted to send the decision back to the cabinet, which can decide to either stick with the original amendment or change their decision.At the end of the meeting, Mr Murphy called on Jon Harvey, council leader, to appoint a Welsh speaker to the cabinet as there are currently no fluent Welsh speakers in the cabinet.In a letter to council leader Jon Harvey, seen by BBC Wales, Welsh language commissioner Efa Gruffydd Jones expressed concern.She said any subsequent action would likely go "against Welsh government policy" and potentially harm Pembrokeshire's WESP (Welsh in Education Strategic Plan) targets and "convey negative messages to parents who are considering Welsh-medium education for their children".She also questioned why the amendment focused on choices about Welsh language education and not parents who choose English language education.The commissioner also said there is "duty on local authorities to encourage the demand for Welsh-medium education".She pointed to the establishment of Ysgol Caer Elen in Haverfordwest as a success and said: "It's clear there is a demand for Welsh-medium education in Pembrokeshire".Mr Millar said he considered her letter a "pretty extraordinary political intervention in a democratically elected body by the commissioner".He said the local authority had facilitated growth in the Welsh language "extremely successfully", and was committed to ensuring that parents in Pembrokeshire had the choice they "deserved"."But if you're saying we should be building Welsh-medium schools where there might be absolutely no demand for them what[so]ever, I would say that that's crackers, isn't it?," he said."Surely we should understand where there is demand for Welsh-medium education and where there isn't and we should work hard to invest to make sure we're meeting the demand in the places where it exists," he added.
When challenged over the use of the phrase "couldn't give a toss" in the cabinet meeting, Mr Millar said he was "repeating the language that was used to me"."Uncomfortable or not, there was a group of mums in my constituency who said that to me," he said.He said he had been accused by the group of not being interested in Ysgol Caer Elen being a Welsh-medium school, but only in the fact that it was a good school with good facilities and free transport."There is a need to understand who is choosing to access those schools for the medium - so because it's a Welsh-medium school - and who is choosing those schools because it is the only available alternative perhaps to the catchment school that is not performing in the way that it should be, or does not have the facilities that the parents feel it should," he said."I think this has been blown up out of all proportion," he said, adding that suggestions he was anti-Welsh "could not be further from the truth".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
White Brits will be a minority in the UK within the next 40 years, report claims
White Brits will become a minority race in the UK population within the next 40 years, a new report has claimed. A study into birth rates and migration levels has predicted that white British people will make up only 33.7 per cent of the population by the end of the century. The research conducted by Professor Matt Goodwin of Buckingham University says the projected change will come in phases: first falling from the current level of 73 per cent to 57 per cent by 2050, then into the minority levels by 2063. Professor Goodwin's report also suggests significant changes for foreign-born citizens and second-generation immigrants, who currently make up less than 20 per cent of the population. These groups, the report says, will comprise 33.5 per cent of the UK's population in the next 25 years. It also predicts a near three-times increase in the number of Muslims living in the UK, suggesting that almost one in five people living in Britain will be followers of Islam by the end of the century. By the year 2100, the report expects 60 per cent of people living in the UK to have at least have one immigrant parent. Professor Goodwin said his research, which was based on Office for National Statistics and census data, will 'spark anxiety, concern and political opposition' among voters who wish to 'maintain the culture of the traditional majority'. He added: 'By the end of the current century, most of the people on these islands will not be able to trace their roots in this country back more than one or two generations. 'This raises enormous questions about the capacity of our country and leaders to unify people around a shared sense of identity, values, ways of life, and culture, and avoid the very real risk of us becoming what Sir Keir Starmer referred to in May as "an island of strangers".' In the report titled 'Demographic Change and the Future of the United Kingdom', Professor Goodwin also warned of the UK's ability to 'absorb and manage this scale of demographic change'. He said: 'What these projections show is that the UK is currently on course to experience enormous and historically unprecedented changes in the composition of its population.' Professor Goodwin's projections were based on non-white ethnic groups having a higher fertility rate until the end of the century. The UK- born fertility rate used was 1.39 for those born in the UK , 1.97 for foreign-born people, for Muslims it was 2.35, and for non-Muslims 1.54. The report comes just days after 1,200 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK in what was labelled 'a day of shame '. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer even faced criticism from one of his own ministers who said control of Britain's borders had been lost as a surge in dinghy crossings overwhelmed French and UK border patrol vessels. The latest Home Office figures show that 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats, bringing the provisional annual total so far to 14,811. This is 42 per cent higher than the 10,448 at the same point last year and 95 per cent up from the same point in 2023, 7,610. It is still lower than the highest daily total of 1,305 arrivals since data began in 2018, which was recorded on September 3, 2022. But the total of arrivals for the year, 14,811, is the highest ever recorded for the first five months of a year since data was first recorded on Channel crossings in 2018. It has also surpassed the highest total recorded for the first six months of the year, which was previously 13,489 on June 30 last year - and n 2024 the number of arrivals did not reach more than 14,000 until July 9, reaching 14,058. At Gravelines in northern France, more than half a dozen French police officers stood by and watched as migrants waded into the sea and scrambled on to an inflatable boat. French authorities said they rescued 184 people. One of Sir Keir's senior cabinet ministers admitted the scenes were 'pretty shocking' as he said the UK had 'lost control of its borders over the last five years'. Defence Secretary John Healey told Sky News that the latest crossings revealed a 'really big problem' - but insisted there was pressure being put on France for better co-operation and crackdowns ahead. Britain had agreed a deal in 2023 to pay France £480million over three years to stop the crossings, including £175million in the current financial year – more than £480,000 per day. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp branded the latest Channel scenes 'a disgrace but sadly entirely expected' and 'a day of shame for the Labour Government'. He added: 'It's a shameful failure by the French to discharge their duties to stop illegal migration. The French are failing to stop these crossings by illegal immigrants. 'Over a thousand illegal immigrants in a single day, boats flooding the Channel, Border Force stretched beyond breaking point, and even fishing vessels drafted in because our maritime rescue services are overwhelmed.' And Richard Tice MP, deputy leader of Reform UK, said: 'It looks like we pay hundreds of millions to give French police officers photography lessons because they are certainly not providing any security. Frankly, the Government should be suing the French for our money back.' At least 18 migrant boats were seen leaving the French coast on Sunday, June 1, carrying more than 1,000 people - exceeding the previous daily record for 2025 of 825, set earlier last month. Mr Healey added: 'Pretty shocking, those scenes [on Sunday]. The truth is, Britain's lost control of its borders over the last five years. 'The last government last year left an asylum system in chaos and record levels of immigration. 'But I think that [Sunday] tells us a really big problem which is that you've got French police unable to intervene to intervene and intercept the boats when they are in shallow water. 'We saw the smugglers launching elsewhere and coming round like a taxi to pick them up.' Mr Healey insisted there was 'new co-operation' with the French suggesting their officials would intervene in the water. When asked whether he was 'hacked off' with France for not doing so now, Mr Healey said: 'They are not doing it, but we've got the agreement that they will change the way they work. 'Our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Police told of racist attack weeks before Bhim Kohli killed
An elderly man who was racially abused before being fatally attacked had told police he witnessed an assault on another Asian man yards from his home two weeks earlier, the BBC has Kohli had been walking his dog in a park in Leicestershire in September when he was punched and kicked by a 14-year-old boy while a girl, 12, filmed the BBC has learnt that Mr Kohli spoke to officers in August after he saw two white boys aged 12 and 13 racially abuse a man and throw a large rock at him near the same park where the 80-year-old encountered his own attackers. Leicestershire Police said "organisational learning" to improve logging anti-social behaviour had been identified. Mr Kohli died the day after the "intense attack" against him in Franklin Park, Braunstone Town near Leicester, for which the boy and girl, now aged 15 and 13 respectively, were both convicted of manslaughter. They are due to be sentenced on eyewitness to the attack in August, Linda Haigh, said she warned police about racially motivated problems in the area before Mr Kohli died, and believes he would still be alive had they taken her more seriously. The victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, was walking to Franklin Park on 17 August when he was targeted by the two boys, who were not involved in Mr Kohli's told the BBC: "One of the boys started picking up stones and throwing them at me... and then the same boy picked up a quite a large rock from the front garden of one of the houses there, and tried to throw it at me."The man, aged in his 40s, said they shouted at him to "go back to your village"."It was a throwback to back to the 80s, when it was quite commonplace to be racially abused," he said. "I was shocked that this kind of behaviour was still around society."I've not been in that situation for a long time, maybe 40 years." It was when one of the boys picked up a wooden fence post and tried to hit the man with it that others - including Mr Kohli and his daughter Susan, and their neighbour Ms Haigh - intervened, according to the said he was shocked by the "kind of behaviour from such a young age group"."The racist language, the violence used as well... they were trying to physically hurt me," he added."The anger, but more just the vitriol of the whole thing."Police were called but the pair were not arrested until three days after the death of Mr Kohli, according to the believes a greater police presence in the area following the assault could have prevented the attack on Mr Kohli two weeks later."They should have really looked at putting more presence there, more officers, maybe mobile police cars driving around," he said."They could have deterred them. It's obviously very tragic." During the trial of Mr Kohli's killers, the court was told about an occasion "a week or two" before his death when the girl convicted of his manslaughter was present while other children threw apples at jury was also shown a video she had filmed on her phone of another Asian man having a water balloon thrown at him and being racially BBC has also been told it was reported to police that in July Mr Kohli had stones thrown at him, was spat at and had been racially abused by a group of children after he told them to get off his neighbour's garage Supt Jonathan Starbuck, of Leicestershire Police, said: "Prior to Mr Kohli's death, police were aware of two reports of anti-social behaviour involving youths in the Franklin Park area which were being investigated. "Partnership work in the area following Mr Kohli's death did identify further incidents which had not been reported."He added an investigation conducted by the force, reviewed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, did not identify any "misconduct or missed opportunities which could have prevented Mr Kohli's death". The attacks have left the victim of the August assault fearful for his safety and that of his elderly parents, who also live in the area. His father, like Mr Kohli, likes to go for a walk, but since being targeted, he tells him not to, especially in the dark, he told the BBC."Even my nephews... you worry about them as well because you just don't know. It's just become more violent," he two boys involved in the August assault appeared in youth court in Leicester in December charged with racially or religiously aggravated common admitted the offences but were later dealt with out of court by way of a deferred youth caution following a referral to the youth justice panel for an out-of-court process aims to divert young people away from the criminal justice system where possible, the Crown Prosecution Service said. Ms Haigh, who was friends with Mr Kohli for more than 20 years, told the BBC she called police when she saw the two boys involved in the August assault pick up the boulder from outside her neighbour's house and throw it at the said she was aware of similar attacks by young people happening last summer in Braunstone Town and told police it needed to be "nipped in the bud"."I don't think it was taken serious enough," she said."I think they should have acted on it. I feel that we've been totally let down."Ch Supt Starbuck said: "We continue to monitor the area of Franklin Park and have engaged with the community through a local survey, drop-in centres, engagement with local schools, youth work and proactive policing patrols."
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Rolex thief, 18, who threatened to behead Aled Jones with a machete went on to attack Bridgerton star
A Rolex thug, who threatened to behead Welsh chorister Aled Jones with a machete and later went on to attack a Bridgerton star, was released from youth detention early. Zacariah Boulares served only 14 months out of his original 24-month detention after carrying out a terrifying attack against the Welsh chorister in Chiswick, west London in July 2023. The Algerian national threatened the 54-year-old with a 20-inch blade, demanding the 'f***king Rolex' on the singer's arm, while threatening to cut his limb off. Boulares could not be named at the time due to his age. After the terrified baritone gave the menacing youth his £17,000 Dayton, Boulares later said he would 'cut [Jones's] head off' if the Songs of Praise star continued to follow him. The now 18-year-old appeared late to magistrates court late several times before he eventually pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of an offensive weapon at Wimbledon Youth Court. It was also heard the youngster had also stolen a £20,000 gold Rolex from a pensioner. His record was dubbed 'appalling' by Chairman of the bench Rex Da Roach. A Detention and Training Order (DTO) can be handed to teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17, where they serve half of their time in custody and are later supervised, by a Youth Offending Team. However after only 14 months the Algerian national was freed, and later went on to commit a spate of crimes, including robbing Bridgerton actress, Genievieve Chenneour of her phone last February. The 18-year-old pleaded guilty to stealing the phone when he appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court in May. Ms Chennour was left 'concussed and traumatised' by the ordeal. He also pleaded guilty to common assault against Carlo Kurcishi, another customer in the same cafe, as well as a separate charge of theft after taking a black leather handbag at a pizza restaurant. Magistrates were told he had 12 previous convictions for 28 offences, all relating to theft. The defendant has now been remanded into custody with sentencing scheduled for June 17 at Isleworth Crown Court in west London. The actress, who appeared in season three of the Netflix hit show as rumour-monger Clara Livingston, told the Mail on Sunday this month: 'They didn't expect me to stand up for myself – but I did.' Chenneour has previously spoken of the terrifying moment she fought off the teenage thug who set upon her while she was walking her dog. The actress, who appeared in season three of the Netflix hit show as rumour-monger Clara Livingston, told the Mail on Sunday this month: 'They didn't expect me to stand up for myself – but I did.' The robbery happened when Yorkshire-born Genevieve had stopped at a branch of Joe & The Juice in west London last February. She said: 'I was left with a concussion just before the Screen Actors Guild Awards and since then, I've felt constantly on edge. 'Even my dog was traumatised - now, if anyone touches me, he panics and tries to protect me. 'Getting a coffee shouldn't be something you need your wits about you for. 'I'm so grateful to the staff at Joe & The Juice – they were incredible during the incident and when I went back to see them after.' More than 70,000 phones were snatched in London in 2024, out of an estimated 100,000 thefts across the UK. A A source was previously quoted as saying: 'Genevieve showed real bravery throughout. It was a very shocking incident. 'It shows what is happening on London's streets on a daily basis. 'This was just another young woman going about her daily business. She's handled it brilliantly.' Chenneour is a former athlete who joined Team GB's artistic swimming team at the age of 15. She was awarded an Olympic scholarship before the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, but her sporting career was cut short by injury and she retrained as an actress. After appearing as a stunt double in the underwater sequences of period feature Gateway To The West, she landed her breakthrough role in the Regency drama.
