Welsh tycoon caught on CCTV 'assaulting' lawyer
Lewis, whose company operated Merthyr Tydfil's controversial Ffos y Fran mine, was cautioned for assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH). He was later prosecuted for that offence. But the case was dropped, prompting Mr Davies to share CCTV of the incident with WalesOnline.
It appears to show Mr Davies, 75, exiting the Newport office of his firm, RDP Law, while Lewis is nearby in a parked convertible. Lewis, 68, gets out of the car and moves his face close to Mr Davies before following him to the side of the building, placing both hands on the solicitor and holding him up against a window.
Lewis is the sole director of Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd, which ran Ffos y Fran - the UK's last opencast coal mine - from 2007 until two years ago when it finally closed more than a year after its planning permission had expired. The company, which turned over £75.2m in 2022 and £54.6m the following year, is currently mired in controversy over the land's restoration.
Mr Davies has been a solicitor for more than 50 years and was awarded an MBE in 2007 for his contribution to legal services. He is the founder and chairman of RDP Law.
The background to the alleged assault, according to Mr Davies, has to do with a civil court case. He told WalesOnline: "In April 2024, proceedings between companies controlled by Lewis, and a third party, were heard by the High Court in London. Both parties had wanted me as a witness; I declined, but appeared when summonsed by the court to do so."
After Mr Davies gave evidence in the High Court, he says he was visited by Lewis on the afternoon of May 16 last year while heading out of the RDP Law office. The solicitor claimed in a statement to police: "I noticed there was a black convertible car parked in the bay immediately to the right of the front door of the office as one walks out.
"As I was leaving the front entrance, I turned left towards my car and heard someone call: 'Come here you f***ing little s***.' At that I saw Mr Lewis getting out of his car. He walked up to me saying a stream of invectives, came right up against me pushing himself against me and causing me to move backwards."
Mr Davies claimed he tried to de-escalate the situation but that Lewis followed him around the corner of the office. He alleged Lewis pushed him against the lobby window, with a hand or arm around the solicitor's neck. Lewis allegedly told him: "You dropped me in it, you lying b******."
The solicitor continued: "His face was right up against mine by then and he was forcefully holding me against the wall... I said nothing to him in reply and he eventually released me. I walked back into the office and he remained outside."
Mr Davies said he sustained a permanent scar to the neck which he believes was caused by Lewis' ring or a fingernail.
Following a police investigation, a PC emailed Mr Davies in February: "Mr Lewis will receive a conditional caution for [assault occasioning actual bodily harm] with the condition to attend a victim awareness course."
After being cautioned, Lewis allegedly failed to comply with the condition, which led to a prosecution being brought for ABH. But when Lewis appeared at Newport Magistrates' Court last week, the case was dropped without explanation, leaving Mr Davies appalled.
Prosecutor Adam Warner then wrote to Mr Davies: "I am writing to let you know that I have reviewed the charge of assault occasioning you actual bodily harm on May 16, 2024, and made the decision to stop the prosecution. The reason for my decision is that a six-month time limit to commence a prosecution for the appropriate offence has passed."
However, no such time limit applies to the offence of ABH. Mr Davies suspected the prosecution service decided a more appropriate charge would be common assault - which is subject to a six-month time limit - but then realised it was out of time.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has now confirmed this. Its spokesman told WalesOnline: "Having received the case from the police, and following a review of the evidence, we concluded that the correct charge was assault by beating. However, the statutory time limit for that offence had already expired. Consequently, the case was discontinued as we could not proceed with the original charge."
The explanation has failed to satisfy Mr Davies, who claims no-one from the authorities came back to him to check "the extent, nature or effect" of the injury, which he alleges to be a permanent scar.
He said: "It is beyond dispute that Lewis assaulted me. It was caught on CCTV. He subsequently admitted it [by accepting a caution]. Nothing could be clearer. That he has escaped answerability to the court is wholly unacceptable, and I will be asking Gwent Police and the Crown Prosecution Service to account for their apparent failures in enabling this."
During the magistrates' court hearing, Presiding Justice Richard Morris granted a request from Lewis' solicitor Matthew Demaid that his legal costs be covered by central funds. When the magistrate confirmed this, Lewis laughed and walked out of the courtroom.
Outside court, WalesOnline asked Lewis if he had previously accepted a caution for ABH against Mr Davies. He replied: "I haven't accepted a caution, absolutely not. I've just been found acquitted." When we said we had seen an email from police confirming the caution, his solicitor advised him not to comment further. We have since verified the email.
Ffos y Fran mine shut in November 2023 after Merthyr Tydfil council refused an application to extend the time of operations there. Local residents were angered by delays to the closure, which came more than a year after the deadline on its planning permission.
Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd originally agreed a plan to restore the 285 hectares of land once mining finished, but earlier this year the company applied for a revised scheme involving a different, "more affordable" restoration process. WalesOnline recently reported that the Coal Action Network, a campaign against coal mining, was planning to take the firm to court over its alleged refusal to fund the original restoration deal and "clean up its mess".
In 2003 Lewis, of Sluvad Road in New Inn, Torfaen, was convicted of obtaining £88,000 by deception. Cardiff Crown Court heard the then-46-year-old ran firms with a turnover of £39m a year and became a "pathological gambler", betting on "anything that lived or moved".
He placed more than £250,000 in bets over three months in an account with bookmakers Stan James. But after running up debts of £88,000 he lied to the bank that the account had been used without his authority, and was repaid the money.
The court heard that Lewis - whose civil engineering business had contracts with various local councils - later paid back the refund he should not have had.
Imposing a three-year community rehabilitation course and £33,000 in prosecution costs, Judge Jonathan Durham-Hall KC told Lewis: "You set about a scheme to deprive everybody except yourself, and when the truth was put before you, you wriggled, twisted and whinged."
In its 16 years in operation, some 11 million tonnes of coal was extracted from Ffos y Fran. The mine was responsible for 86% of the UK's coal output before it shut.
Gwent Police and the Crown Prosecution Service have been approached for comment on Mr Davies' criticism over the ABH prosecution. Lewis has been approached for comment through his solicitor.
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