The Heirs of Owain Glyndwr (18 page)

‘Thank you, Detective Sergeant. With the usher's assistance… please look at the object the usher is going to hand you. Can you tell my Lord and the jury what that is?'

‘Yes, sir. This is the duffle bag Caradog Prys-Jones had with him at the time of his arrest.'

‘Exhibit 4, my Lord, please.'

‘Yes.'

Evan turned round and whispered with Jamie Broderick for some time. Mr Justice Overton coughed loudly enough to get his attention.

‘Yes, thank you, Sergeant,' he said. ‘Wait there, please.'

33

‘Sergeant,' Gareth Morgan-Davies began,
‘Mr Prosser was fully cooperative with the police, was he not?'

‘At all times when I saw him, sir, he was.'

‘He made no attempt to escape, did he?'

‘No, sir.'

‘He was carrying no weapon when he was arrested, was he?'

‘That is correct, sir.'

‘And when DC Swanson and DC Owen discovered the bomb, did he not immediately shout out that the bomb was safe and was not armed?'

‘I did not hear that myself, sir. I was busy with Mrs Hughes. But I can say that DC Owen later confirmed that Mr Prosser had told him that the bomb was not armed. When exactly he said that, I do not know.'

‘Thank you, Sergeant. Of course, I understand that in any case, you could not take his word for it…'

‘No, sir, we could not…'

‘No, of course. But he said everything he could, before Bomb Disposal arrived, to indicate that he would cooperate with them?'

‘I would accept that, sir, yes.'

‘And he did in fact assist them when they arrived, didn't he?'

‘I believe so, sir, yes.'

‘Yes, thank you, Sergeant.'

‘Sergeant, as you have told us, you were the officer who dealt with Arianwen Hughes at the scene.' Ben said.

‘I was, sir.'

‘When DC Owen and DCI Grainger started shouting that there was a bomb, what was her reaction?'

DS Parker looked down at his notebook.

‘I have not recorded this in my notes, sir, but I do recall that she looked extremely shocked.'

‘What did you notice about her that led you to think that she was extremely shocked?'

‘Her whole body was shaking, sir. I saw her turn to look at Mr Prys-Jones and Mr Prosser, and she seemed to have difficulty speaking at first. It was only when I had her handcuffed to the car and was preparing to arrest her that she spoke.'

‘And that was when she refused to leave the scene without her son, Harri?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Mrs Hughes was not carrying a weapon of any kind, was she?'

‘No, sir, she was not.'

‘How did she behave while you were taking her to the police station?'

‘She was quiet most of the time, but she did ask me questions once or twice about what would happen to Harri, and of course I had to explain that he would be taken into the care of the local authority until matters were sorted out.'

‘And how did she react when you told her that?'

‘She was bitterly distressed, sir,' the Sergeant replied, ‘bitterly distressed.'

‘Well,' Evan Roberts said, jumping to his feet before Jamie Broderick could reach out a restraining hand, ‘you say that she was extremely shocked at the discovery of the bomb. But isn't it just as likely that what you saw as shock was simply distress, because she knew she had been caught?'

Ben was half way up to object when he saw the look that DS Parker gave Evan Roberts, and on seeing it he sat down quietly. Jamie Broderick glanced in Ben's direction and shook his head.

‘I have given my evidence, sir,' the Sergeant replied, ‘and I have nothing to add.'

DC Swanson and DC Owen were called next to describe the arrest of the suspects, and their evidence followed the same path as that of DS Parker. Neither Gareth nor Ben had anything to add to what they had already established through their cross-examination of DS Parker, and they let the witnesses pass. As if fatigued by the exertions of the day, Evan Roberts handed over abruptly to Jamie Broderick to deal with the few remaining items of business for the afternoon. It came as a relief to all present. Jamie was not only a great deal more confident in the courtroom, but was also far more pleasant in his manner. He was by no means tall, but he had handsome dark features and his open face always seemed ready to break into a smile. Once he was underway, some of the tension in court disappeared, and everyone, including the judge, relaxed for the first time that day.

‘My Lord,' he began, ‘the next three witnesses will deal with events at the Castle. They are all coming from Wales, and we had not expected to reach them today. So I am not in a position to call them now, but they will be available first thing tomorrow morning. May I invite your Lordship to release the jury for the day now?'

Mr Justice Overton agreed readily, and the jury left for the day. When they had gone, Gareth stood.

‘My Lord, once those three witnesses have given evidence, matters of law arise, and I will have to ask your Lordship to hear evidence in the absence of the jury. I'm afraid it is likely to take some time; indeed, I think we may not get any further with the jury tomorrow.'

The judge raised his eyebrows.

‘I take it this is to do with the written statement under caution made by Mr Prosser to the police?'

‘Yes, my Lord. There is one other short matter also, but I will come to that in a moment. Mr Prosser made a number of oral statements to the police while being interviewed, and made a written statement under caution, which the jury, if they see it, might well think to be highly incriminating. I am sure your Lordship has read it?'

‘I have, Mr Morgan-Davies, and I agree with you – the jury may well find it extremely incriminating. I take it you are going to ask me to keep it out?'

‘Yes, my Lord. We say that it was obtained by the use of force, and I will be inviting your Lordship to keep it from the jury. The proper time for that to be done is tomorrow morning, before DCI Grainger gives evidence in front of the jury, and I have invited my learned friend to call him, and another officer, to give evidence then. I have also asked him to make available the custody sergeant on duty at the relevant time, and the medical officer who examined Mr Prosser while he was in custody.'

‘All those witnesses will be available,' Jamie said.

Mr Justice Overton nodded.

‘Very well. You said there was one other matter, Mr Morgan-Davies.'

‘There is. My Lord, as Queen's Counsel I feel some responsibility to raise matters which might be raised by counsel on Mr Prys-Jones's behalf, if he were represented. I won't try to deal with every such matter, of course. Mr Prys-Jones is unrepresented by his own choice, and he must live with the consequences of that choice. But if there is a matter which might affect the interests of justice or the fairness of the trial, would your Lordship hear me?'

‘That is in the best tradition of the Bar, Mr Morgan-Davies, and I would be very pleased to hear you if it is an important matter.'

‘My Lord, I am much obliged. There is one matter which arises now. The prosecution is going to give the jury a translation of the statement under caution made by Mr Prys-Jones. The original, of course, is in Welsh. I invite the prosecution to look at it again, to make sure that the English translation is accurate. I am in some difficulty, because I am a native Welsh-speaker and there are some passages which strike me as questionable. But as counsel I can't give evidence, and that is all I can say about it. I wonder whether PC Watkins might be asked to look at the original and the translation this evening, to see whether he would suggest any changes?'

‘Mr Broderick?' the judge asked.

‘My Lord, I see no possible objection to that,' Jamie replied, without even glancing in the direction of Evan Roberts. ‘My learned friend is quite right to raise it. It is important that, if there are any errors, they are corrected before it is placed before the jury. I will ask PC Watkins to look at it tonight.'

‘I am much obliged,' Gareth replied.

34

Tuesday 5 May 1970

‘I swear by Almighty
God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.' The voice had a lyrical Welsh accent, very different from that of the Met officers who had given evidence on the first day of the trial. The speaker, who was in uniform, returned the New Testament to the usher. ‘Superintendent Stanley Rees of the Gwynedd Constabulary, based at Caernarfon Police Station, my Lord.'

Ben had wondered whether interest in the trial would be as intense as it had been on the first day. His question had been answered as soon as he and Barratt fought their way into court, pushing past the hordes of reporters and members of the public. The same Welsh observers had returned, queuing up early in the morning outside the Old Bailey and taking their places as soon as the courtroom doors were opened, to make sure that they were not excluded. They were quiet, but flashes of red, in handkerchiefs and scarves were noticeable whenever they turned their heads.

‘Thank you, Superintendent,' Jamie said. ‘First, can I ask you generally, was the Gwynedd Constabulary in overall charge of security in the period leading up to the Investiture?'

‘The Chief Constable was responsible overall, sir, yes, in consultation with the Ministry of Defence.'

‘Thank you. Were you on duty in uniform on the early morning of 1 July last year?'

‘I was, sir.'

‘And at about 1.30 that morning, were you given some information and asked to do something?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Were you informed…?' Jamie glanced across at the defence side.

‘No objection,' Ben and Gareth replied in unison.

‘Much obliged. Were you informed that Special Branch officers had discovered an explosive device, and that the Security Services believed that there might be a continuing threat to Caernarfon Castle?'

‘Yes, sir. I was told that, although three suspects had been arrested, at least one more was still at large, and the Security Services could not exclude the possibility that there might already have been a breach of the Castle's security, or that a breach might be imminent.'

‘What were you asked to do?'

‘I was asked to undertake an immediate and detailed search of the Castle to determine whether there was any evidence of a breach of security, and deal with the breach appropriately.'

‘And how did you do that?'

‘I immediately called for every available uniformed officer assigned to duty in the town to report to the Castle without delay. I made my way to the Castle myself…'

‘And, just so that the jury will understand, if they look at the plan of the town centre, Exhibit 1, is the police station in effect joined to the court building, which they will see bottom left at the corner of Castle Ditch and Shirehall Street?'

‘That is correct, sir.'

‘So you were not far away?'

‘I only had to cross the street.'

‘What else did you do?'

‘I asked my duty sergeant to contact the Earl Marshal's office and wake someone up if he had to, to let them know what was going on. I also called for the bomb disposal squad to be deployed at the Castle in case of need, and for military assistance in making the search. Once I arrived at the Castle, I gathered all the night watchmen together, and I ordered all the lights to be turned on. Fortunately, in addition to the usual floodlights which would be on at night, many extra lights had been added for the purposes of the Investiture, and with them all switched on, it was brighter than day. This made the task a great deal easier than it might have been under normal circumstances. There were still some dark areas inside the towers, but far fewer than there would have been otherwise.'

‘Yes, I see. How was the search undertaken?'

‘I first divided all the officers and night watchmen I had – which made about twenty men in all, at that time – into four groups, and I ordered them to commence a systematic search of the towers. When that search ended, the teams carried out a search of the outside perimeter of the Castle. After the search had begun, further officers and a number of soldiers arrived to assist so, in due course, we had at least fifty men involved.'

‘Yes.' Jamie looked up. ‘If the usher would kindly show the witness our Exhibit 2, the plan of the Castle.' He paused to allow Geoffrey time to do this. ‘As the jury have not really looked at this before, can we take a minute or two to orientate ourselves? Looking at the plan, is it fair to say that the Castle is laid down roughly in the shape of a figure eight?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘The narrowest part is by the King's Gate, the main entrance, which is at the bottom of the plan in the middle. Yes?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Then if we were to go left from the King's Gate, we are heading east or north-east at that point, aren't we?'

‘Yes.'

‘And we would come, in order, to the Granary Tower, then the North-East Tower on that corner, then turning the corner the Watch Tower, and then to the Queen's Gate on the east side of the Castle?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘I think it was at the Queen's Gate that the Queen presented Prince Charles to the people standing in the
Maes
, the town square, immediately after the ceremony. Is that right?'

‘It was, sir.'

‘As we were walking the route we have just taken, we were walking alongside the lawn of the upper ward, and that is where the dais was placed and where the ceremony of Investiture took place. Is that right?'

‘Indeed, sir, yes.'

‘And if we continue in the same direction, we come to the Black Tower and then the Chamberlain Tower, and we find ourselves opposite the King's Gate, where we started.'

‘Yes, sir.

‘And continuing on, passing the site of the Great Hall, which no longer exists, we would come to the Queen's Tower, we would turn right slightly, and we would come to the Eagle Tower on the west side of the Castle. And I think the Eagle Tower is of special importance, is that right?'

‘Yes, sir. It is the biggest and most developed of all the Towers. It has a basement antechamber which, traditionally, was the Royal entrance to the Castle, and above the antechamber are three floors with apartments. This tower houses the office of the Constable of the Castle, Lord Snowdon, and during the Investiture preparations, also housed the office of the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk.'

‘And did the searchers walk through each area in turn?'

‘They did, sir, and as new men arrived I assigned them to one of the four teams.'

‘Yes. Now, taking this shortly, is it right to say that, after a thorough search, no explosive device or hazardous material was found anywhere in the Castle or on the perimeter?'

‘That is correct, sir.'

‘Were there any reports of any unauthorised intrusion into any part of the Castle?'

‘No, sir.'

‘But was one matter of potential interest brought to your attention?'

‘Yes, sir. An army officer who was assisting with the search of the area surrounding the Black Tower found that a large stone in place on the ground had been loosened and then put back in place, leaving an empty space under the stone of about a foot in depth, and the dimensions of the stone itself being about three feet by two feet.'

‘And why was that significant?'

‘Because it provided a potential hiding place for an explosive device.'

‘Did you examine the stone and the space underneath it personally?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Can you indicate to us, using the plan of the Castle, where the stone was?'

The witness peered at the plan. ‘Yes, sir. To the right of the Black Tower as you look at it from the main entrance, the King's Gate, you will see a low corridor which leads to the Chamberlain Tower. The stone was in this corridor, roughly a third of the way from the Black Tower to the Chamberlain Tower, and close to the front or inside wall.'

‘The wall by the upper ward lawn, where the ceremony was to take place later in the day?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘What, if anything, did you do about that situation?'

‘I brought it to the attention of the Ministry of Defence security team. I believe they arranged with the engineers to have the stone put back securely in place.'

‘Yes. I will deal with that further with another witness. Thank you, Superintendent. Please wait there. I am sure there will be further questions.'