The Heirs of Owain Glyndwr

by Peter Murphy

  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.’

  35

  ‘Superintendent,’ Gareth began, ‘when you first received word that a bomb had been found on the edge of the Maes, a very short distance from the Castle, that must have been very alarming?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Of course. Because, with at least one suspect at large, you must have feared that a device had already been placed in or around the Castle, or that something of that kind was about to happen?’

  ‘Indeed.’

  ‘If a device had somehow been planted in, or anywhere near, the Castle, immediate steps would have to be taken to deal with it?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You would have had to evacuate the area and call in the bomb squad, wouldn’t you?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You would have had no way of knowing how much time you had to make the device safe?’

  ‘That is correct.’

  ‘Or even how great a danger it posed?’

  ‘I would have made the assumption that it was extremely dangerous.’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure you would. Quite rightly. I’m not criticising at all. My point is that in the situation you were in, time was of the essence. You had to act as quickly as you could?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And the more information you had about what you were dealing with, the better, would you agree?’

  The Superintendent paused for some time.

  ‘I’m not sure what information we could have had, except for the device itself, sir. Even then, I would have had to leave it to the bomb squad to deal with. I didn’t have any expertise of that kind available to me. It would have been up to them.’

  ‘Yes, of course. But I’m sure they would have appreciated any assistance the police might have been able to give.’

  ‘I don’t see how we could have helped.’

  ‘Superintendent, you knew, didn’t you, that one of the three suspects arrested by your colleagues in Special Branch was a man called Dafydd Prosser, who was suspected of having designed and built the explosive device found earlier in New Street?’

  Another pause.

  ‘I’m not sure I was told his name at the time.’

  ‘Perhaps not. But you knew that this man was in custody, just a few yards from the Castle, didn’t you?’

  ‘I did, sir.’

  ‘And did it not occur to you how useful it would be if Dafydd Prosser could be persuaded to tell the police whether any more explosive devices had been planted, where they had been planted, and what would have to be done to disarm them?’

  ‘I can’t say I gave any thought to that.’

  ‘Did you not, Superintendent?’

  ‘My concern was to get on with searching the Castle.’

  ‘But if the search turned up a bomb, you gave no thought to how to deal with it, other than to leave the bomb squad to do their best with whatever information they could get from the device itself?’

  The witness did not reply.

  ‘Superintendent,’ Gareth said slowly. ‘You may find it difficult to believe what I am about to say, given your long experience as a police officer, but I ask you to accept that what I am about to put to you is not intended as a criticism of you at all.’

  The Superintendent smiled. ‘One does get used to being criticised, sir.’

  Gareth returned the smile. ‘Yes, of course. But in this instance, you had every reason to believe that an explosive device might have been planted in or around the Castle, which had the potential to cause loss of life or serious injury. Is that not correct?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘And I venture to suggest that no one in England, and very few in Wales, I suspect, would criticise you if, in those extraordinary circumstances, you had sanctioned methods of obtaining information which you would not for one moment contemplate in any other circumstances?’

  Jamie Broderick was on his feet instantly. So was Evan Roberts. Jamie put a hand on Evan’s shoulder and pushed him down. He was going to deal with this one himself.

  ‘My Lord, I don’t know what my learned friend is suggesting?’

  ‘That is because my learned friend interrupted before I could suggest it,’ Gareth replied.

  ‘Well, what are you going to suggest?’ Mr Justice Overton asked.

  ‘I am going to suggest that this witness sanctioned the use of force against Dafydd Prosser in an effort to discover information of the kind we have just been discussing,’ Gareth replied.

  ‘That is outrageous,’ Jamie protested.

  ‘It is not outrageous at all. I have even made it clear that I don’t criticise the witness for what he did in the circumstances. But what he did may have certain legal consequences, which I will not refer to with the jury present, and I am entitled to ask about it.’

  ‘I think that must be right, Mr Broderick,’ Mr Justice Overton replied, recalling cross-examinations of his own during his career at the Bar, when he had made equally serious allegations against police officers with far more venom than Gareth was likely to use. ‘If there are allegations of violence against a suspect, surely counsel is entitled to ask about it.’

  ‘If there is a proper basis for it,’ Jamie replied.

  ‘I will demonstrate a basis,’ Gareth said, ‘if I am allowed to continue.’

  ‘We shall see, Mr Broderick,’ the judge said, ‘shall we not?’

  ‘As your Lordship pleases,’ Jamie said, resuming his seat with a flourish.

  ‘Do you need me to repeat the question, Superintendent, or are you…’

  ‘No, I don’t need you to repeat the question. No, I did not sanction the use of force against Prosser or anyone else. I would not have considered it.’

  ‘Really? Not at all? Not even if the life of the Queen were to be threatened?’

  ‘If we thought that Her Majesty’s life, or the life of Prince Charles, or anyone’s life, for that matter, was under threat, I would have advised the Earl Marshal to delay the ceremony of Investiture until such time as we were sure it was safe, and I am sure he would have accepted my advice.’

  ‘Oh, really?’ Gareth asked. ‘After all the years of planning, all the money that had been spent? You would let one criminal Welsh nationalist stand in the way of a British state occasion?’

  The Superintendent did not reply.

  ‘Well, let me ask you this. If you didn’t sanction the use of force against Dafydd Prosser, do you know who did?’

  Jamie was on his feet again. ‘Isn’t that like asking him when he stopped beating his wife?’

  ‘Or in this case, when they stopped beating Dafydd Prosser.’

  ‘Oh, really, my Lord…’

  The judge was smiling. ‘Rephrase the question, Mr Morgan-Davies.’

  ‘Yes, my Lord. Let me ask this. You do know, do you not, Superintendent, that while in custody at your police station, Dafydd Prosser suffered two broken ribs and multiple lacerations to the back of his head, his nose, and around his mouth?’

  ‘I was told of that later by Sergeant Griffiths.’

  ‘Sergeant Griffiths being the custody sergeant on duty at the time of the arrests, who was responsible for the welfare of any person arrested and kept
in custody at your police station?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And do you also know that, on the recommendation of Dr Markey, the police surgeon, Mr Prosser was taken to hospital to receive treatment, and was later returned to custody after being discharged?’

  ‘So I was told.’

  ‘So you were told? Did you not investigate for yourself? Was it of no concern to you that a man in custody at your police station had suffered serious injuries while in custody?’

  ‘You keep saying “my police station”…’

  ‘Were you the senior officer on duty at that time?’

  ‘Yes, I was.’

  ‘I am going to ask you once more, Superintendent, and I say again that I do so without criticism. Is it not true, that with your sanction, or at least with your knowledge, police officers beat Dafydd Prosser in his cell, while he was in custody in your police station, in an effort to gain information from him?’

  The Superintendent stood silent for some time.

  ‘I am not aware of that,’ he replied.

  ‘Do you know how he received his injuries?’

  ‘I was told that he was injured while being restrained after he had assaulted two officers who were interrogating him.’

  ‘Were you indeed?’ Gareth said, looking around towards the dock and inviting the jury to follow his eyes to Dafydd Prosser. ‘He assaulted two officers, did he? And who told you that?’

  ‘It would have been Sergeant Griffiths.’

  ‘And who were the unfortunate officers who were assaulted?’

  ‘DCI Grainger was one,’ the Inspector replied. ‘And I believe DS Scripps was the other.’

  ‘Did you authorise the presence of any person who was not a police officer in Mr Prosser’s cell while he was being interrogated?’

  ‘Such as who?’

  ‘Such as an officer of the Security Services.’

  Jamie was on his feet again.

  ‘The witness cannot be allowed to answer that question, my Lord. It is not a proper question. The Crown has a privilege not to disclose matters of that kind. If my learned friend persists with it, I shall have to ask that the jury retire so that I can address your Lordship on the law.’