The Heirs of Owain Glyndwr (24 page)

47

I, Caradog Prys-Jones wish
to make a statement. I want someone to write down what I say. I have been told that I need not say anything unless I wish to do so, but that whatever I say may be given in evidence.

My name is Caradog Prys-Jones. I make this statement to clarify the events on 1 July 1969 which have led to my arrest. I am a Welsh man. My language is Welsh, and I take great pride in the history and culture of the Welsh people. For centuries, Wales has been subjugated by the English. Since the days of Edward I, if not before, they chose to make war on a peace-loving Celtic people. They destroyed the power of the great Princely Houses of Gwynedd and Powys, and imposed the rule of a foreign monarchy. I am not one to dwell on history. I am a man of my own time. But in my own time I have seen the continuing subjugation of Wales, the attempts to destroy her ancient language, the endless assimilation of everything distinctly Welsh into the culture of England.

Finally, I saw with my own eyes the forcible destruction of my family's homeland in the Tryweryn Valley. The Valley, containing the village of Capel Celyn, was flooded, over the objections of the Welsh people, to build a reservoir to supply water to the people of Liverpool, an English city. I have no hatred for the English people, or the city of Liverpool, but this act of rape against Wales in the interests of English expansion filled me with such desperation, such hopelessness, that I did not know where to turn. When your English Queen mocked us by proposing that her son should be the latest of his line to usurp the title of Prince of Wales, to which he has no right, I decided that action must be taken.

In the fifteenth century, Owain Glyndŵr took up arms against the English, not because he wished to do so, but because he was driven to it. He too had been a man prepared to live on good terms with England, but ultimately found it to be impossible. He was unsuccessful in his quest to throw off the English yoke. But in the end, it is not immediate success that matters, but to set in motion a train of events which, in the context of history, at the right time, when there is the necessary convergence of political intent, will bring about justice. I therefore determined to declare myself to be an heir of Owain Glyndŵr. I determined to stand against the oppressor as he did, even though I knew that I myself could not bring about justice, and that whatever I did was likely to fail to achieve the ultimate goal. Others worked with me as the Heirs of Owain Glyndŵr, but I shall say nothing of them. I shall speak only about myself.

I wish to make clear specifically that from first to last my sister Arianwen knew nothing of what we did, and had no knowledge of what was found when she was arrested.

I determined to place an explosive device within Caernarfon Castle, which I hoped would detonate either during the usurper's shameful ceremony, or before it, in such a way as to cause the ceremony to be abandoned. I did not make the explosive device myself, having no knowledge of, or aptitude for, such things. I planned to carry it into the Castle in the duffle bag I had with me when I was arrested. I was working at the Castle as a night watchman on the night of 30
June into the morning of 1 July. I had identified a location in which to place it, quite close to the green on which the ceremony was to take place. My intention was to demonstrate to the English Government and the Monarchy that it was possible to resist their abuse of Wales, and that there were those of us prepared to do so. I did not specifically intend to kill or injure anyone, but I knew that this would almost certainly be the result of what I did.

The people of England must understand that the people of Wales are not helpless victims. If they do not change their ways and recognise our nation, it is inevitable that violence and bloodshed will continue. On the other hand, if they will recognise us, there is no reason why we should not live in harmony together. The first step is for the people of England to tell their Saxon Monarch that she must keep her predatory hands off Wales, and renounce the pretensions of her family to the title of Prince of Wales, a title which only the people of Wales can bestow.

I have no regrets about what I did. I will account for myself further only to a Welsh court. Long live Wales!

I have nothing more to say.

I have read the above statement and I have been told that I can correct, alter or add anything I wish. This statement is true. I have made it of my own free will.

48

‘Is the statement signed
appropriately by Mr Prys-Jones, and is his signature witnessed by DS Scripps?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Chief Inspector,' Jamie continued, ‘at about 4.45 on the morning of 1 July, did you go with DS Scripps to interview Arianwen Hughes?'

‘I did, sir.'

‘Did you have an officer with you to interpret?'

‘We had a female officer with us, sir, WPC Marsh. But she was not called on to interpret. Mrs Hughes engaged with us in English throughout the interview.'

‘How did Mrs Hughes appear when you saw her?'

‘She was bitterly distressed, sir. She was crying, and appeared to be inconsolable. She kept asking about her son. WPC Marsh tried to reassure her that he was being well looked after and promised to keep her informed of his whereabouts, but this seemed to have little effect. She also asked several times about her husband, Trevor Hughes. I told her that we were looking for him, but that we had not yet found him. This also distressed her greatly.'

‘Yes. Were you able to conduct the interview in those circumstances?'

‘WPC Marsh did suggest that it should be postponed until Mrs Hughes had recovered her composure, and I was prepared to agree. But on hearing this, Mrs Hughes herself asked that we continue with the interview. She said she wished to make a statement, and she added that, once we heard what she had to say, we would realise there had been a mistake.'

‘What did you do?'

‘I then cautioned Mrs Hughes again, and asked her whether she would like WPC Marsh to write a statement under caution for her. She said that she would. She then made and signed a statement under caution, sir.'

‘And do you now produce that statement, which will be Exhibit 10?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘And again, just before we read it, on the morning of 2 July, at about the same time as the other defendants, was Mrs Hughes charged with conspiracy to cause explosions and cautioned, and in reply to the caution, did she say: “No. You're making a terrible mistake”?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Once again, there are copies for the jury… Chief Inspector, again, I will read it. Please correct me if I do so in any way incorrectly.'

‘Very good, sir.'

I, Arianwen Hughes, wish to make a statement. I want someone to write down what I say. I have been told that I need not say anything unless I wish to do so, but that whatever I say may be given in evidence.

Yesterday evening at just before midnight I received a phone call from Dafydd Prosser, who is known to me as Dai Bach. Mr Prosser explained that my husband, Trevor Hughes, had offered to drive him in our car to Bangor to collect some personal effects, because he was going to stay with a friend. Trevor had not appeared, and Mr Prosser did not know where he was. I also did not know where Trevor was. I had expected him to be home by then. Because I felt badly that Trevor had let Mr Prosser down, I decided to drive him myself. I took our son Harri with me, because I could not leave him unattended in the house, and I drove to the Castle Hotel, where Mr Prosser had asked me to meet him. I picked him up and drove him to Bangor. Our car is a grey Austin 1100 saloon car.

As we entered Bangor, Mr Prosser directed me, not to his house, but to a garage. I do not know that part of Bangor well, and I cannot say where the garage is. I was surprised at this request, but I did as I was asked, and I saw that Mr Prosser retrieved a case of some kind from the garage and placed it in the boot of the car. I did not pay much attention to this as I was leaning over to the back seat to make sure that Harri was comfortable. We then returned to Caernarfon. Mr Prosser asked me to stop at the corner of New Street and Chapel Street, where he had arranged to meet his friend. By now it was just after 1 o'clock.

Mr Prosser got out of the car, and walked away down New Street towards Chapel Street. He did not tell me why he was doing this. After one or two minutes, I saw Mr Prosser walking back towards the car, and I saw that my brother, Caradog Prys-Jones, was with him, carrying his duffle bag. I was very surprised by this, because I had not expected to see him, and I believed that he was working at the Castle. On seeing me, Caradog appeared to become extremely agitated and I heard him shouting at Mr Prosser, though I could not hear what was said. The two of them walked past me to the rear of the car, and opened the boot.

I then got out of the car myself to see what was going on. When I walked to the rear of the car, I saw that Mr Prosser had opened the case he had brought from the garage, and I saw what appeared to be a number of sticks of dynamite and some kind of clock. There were a number of electrical wires of various colours. I remember thinking that it looked like one of those bombs you see in films, but then I thought: ‘Don't be stupid. It can't be. Dai Bach wouldn't have a bomb.' I was completely confused. I tried to speak, but I found that I couldn't say a word. I was feeling faint. Then suddenly, a number of men arrived, and from then it is all a blur. One of them threw me hard against the driver's side of the car. I felt him place handcuffs on my wrist. I know now that these men were police officers, but I did not know this at the time. I remember one of the men talking about sending for the bomb squad and evacuating the area.

[Question for clarification from DCI Grainger: ‘Was that me?' Answer: ‘It might have been. Everything was so confused. I can't remember.']

Then I saw Harri through the car window and I found my voice for long enough to scream at the men to tell them that my son was in the car. One of the men took Harri out of the car, and took us both to a police car. I don't remember anything else.

I did not know that Mr Prosser had placed explosives in my car. I did not know that he, or my brother, or my husband, was involved in any plan to plant a bomb anywhere. I have no knowledge of anything like that. I am horrified by the idea. If I had known, I would have refused to have any involvement in it. In particular, I would never have put Harri in the car, or driven it myself, if I thought there was anything dangerous in it.

This is ridiculous. I don't even know why I'm saying all this. This is all nonsense. It's not true. It can't be true. I don't believe it. I refuse to believe it. I am sure there has been a mistake of some kind, and that it will be clarified. That is all I have to say.

I have read the above statement and I have been told that I can correct, alter or add anything I wish. This statement is true. I have made it of my own free will.

‘Is the statement signed appropriately by Mrs Hughes, and is her signature witnessed by yourself?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Yes. Thank you, Chief Inspector. Wait there please in case there are any further questions.'

49

‘Mr Prys-Jones,' the judge
said, ‘do you have any questions for the Chief Inspector? If you do, you may put them in Welsh, and PC Watkins will interpret for you.'

Caradog seemed to hesitate. Gareth stood.

‘My Lord, if there is no objection, as Mr Prys-Jones is not represented, may I stand by him and make suggestions?'

Before the judge had any chance to reply, Evan Roberts had leapt to his feet.

‘My Lord, I must object in the strongest terms. Mr Prys-Jones has chosen to represent himself. Not only that, he has persistently refused to recognise the court, and has sought to use the court, not to present a defence, but to make political speeches. It is quite wrong for my learned friend to provide informal representation to him in this way.'

Gareth smiled. ‘My Lord, because of his greater experience in the civil courts, my learned friend may not be familiar with the principle on which we work in these courts, that counsel has a duty, wherever possible, to assist the court in ensuring that unrepresented defendants have a fair trial. There is no conflict of interest between my client and Mr Prys-Jones, and I have the advantage of speaking Welsh. That is why I offered to help. Of course, if your Lordship feels that I should not do so, then I will withdraw, but…'

‘Please, Mr Morgan-Davies, stand by Mr Prys-Jones and assist him to the extent you can.'

‘Yes, my Lord.'

Evan seemed poised to renew his objection, but Jamie pulled his arm and sat him back down before he could get the words out.

Gareth walked unhurriedly to the dock, gestured to Caradog and PC Watkins to come forward, and spoke quietly to them in Welsh.

‘Mr Prys-Jones, ask these questions in Welsh and, Officer, please interpret the questions and answers for the court.'

‘Yes, sir,' PC Watkins said.

‘Chief Inspector, you have produced Exhibit 9, my statement under caution, in Welsh with an English translation.'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘The jury have the English translation. But that is not the first translation made of my statement, is it?'

‘No, sir.'

‘The first translation read rather differently. Do you have a copy of it?'

‘Yes, sir, in my file.'

‘Would you find it for us, please?'

Evan was already poised to get back on his feet, and he broke free of Jamie's now relaxed grip on his arm.

‘My Lord, I fail to see how this can be relevant. An agreed translation has been put before the jury. Any inaccuracy which may have existed in an earlier translation has nothing to do with the case at all.'

Gareth raised his voice, to be heard from the dock.

‘My Lord, that rather depends on the nature of the inaccuracy,' he replied.

‘I agree,' Mr Justice Overton said. ‘Continue, Mr Prys-Jones.'

‘In the second paragraph from the end, the one just before: “I have no regrets…” do you see it?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Does it read as follows:
“The people of England will have no rest until they realise that the people of Wales are not helpless victims. If they do not change their ways and recognise our nation, we promise them a tide of blood in the streets of London which will flow beyond this generation and for many generations to come”
?'

‘It does say that, yes.'

‘Now, let's look at that same paragraph in the translation the jury have.
“The people of England must understand that the people of Wales are not helpless victims. If they do not change their ways and recognise our nation, it is inevitable that violence and bloodshed will continue.”
'

‘That is correct. Yes.'

‘Based on what you have been told by PC Hywel Watkins, our court interpreter, do you accept that it is the translation before the jury which is the more accurate translation of the statement?'

‘Apparently, sir, yes. PC Watkins looked at it again because of a suggestion Mr Morgan-Davies himself made, I believe.'

‘Who made the original translation?'

‘I would have to check…'

‘Let me save you the trouble. It was done by a Mr Forrester of Caernarfon. We have his witness statement.'

‘Ah yes, sir, that is correct. I remember now. The local force recommended him to us as someone they used quite often in the area.'

‘Where is Mr Forrester now?'

‘I couldn't say, sir.'

‘Would you agree that Mr Forrester's translation has the effect of making me seem more fanatical and given to inciting far greater violence than PC Watkins' translation?'

‘Wouldn't that be true, sir?'

Several gasps were heard around the courtroom. Gareth glanced at Mr Justice Overton and stifled his response.

‘Chief Inspector,' the judge said, slowly and deliberately, ‘I am rapidly losing patience with you. If I have cause to lose my patience altogether, you will have cause to regret it. I direct you to answer the questions put to you and to say nothing else. Do I make myself clear?'

‘Yes, my Lord.'

‘Let me try a different question. I have referred to Mr Forrester's document, charitably, as a translation. In fact, he has inserted words into the English text which are simply not there in the Welsh text. That's not making a bad translation, is it? That's a falsification, isn't it?'

‘I don't speak Welsh, sir…'

‘Then, let's forget about translations for a moment. If someone deliberately inserted words into a statement under caution which the maker of the statement did not use, after the maker of the statement had signed it, with a view to misleading the court, would that be an honest thing to do?'

‘No, of course not.'

‘Of course not. But that is what has happened here, isn't it? Did you ask Mr Forrester to do that?'

‘I am shocked that you would even suggest such a thing.'

‘Is the answer to my question “no”?'

‘It is “no”.'

‘I have no further questions, my Lord.'

Gareth returned to his seat.

‘My Lord, I have no questions on behalf of Mr Prosser.'