The Heirs of Owain Glyndwr (23 page)

45

Wednesday 6 May 1970

‘Caradog is here at
court,' Barratt said. He was breathless after a run up several flights of stairs to join Ben, Gareth and Donald outside court one. It was only 9.30, but already the press and public, including the ever-present Welsh contingent, were preparing to take their places in anticipation of another morning of drama, and court one was already bustling.

‘I spoke to the clerk of the court. The judge thinks he should give him a chance to cross-examine Grainger about his statement under caution and what happened to him at the police station, so he asked for him to be brought this morning.'

‘That makes sense,' Ben said. ‘After what Gareth did to the witnesses yesterday, the judge is going to be very wary of any evidence of what happened at the police station.'

‘And,' Barratt continued, ‘I understand that Caradog is indeed gracing us with his presence.'

‘Then we should try to see him now,' Ben said, ‘before court begins.'

‘I wasn't expecting to see him quite so quickly,' Barratt admitted. ‘I haven't got another solicitor lined up. But I did see Jack Ellis when I was coming into court. He's a good man. If I can find him, I could ask him whether he would help us out.'

‘Why don't you do that now?' Ben suggested. ‘If necessary, I will ask the judge to start a few minutes late.'

‘Tell him I need to see my client too,' Gareth said, ‘to advise him about his case in the light of what happened yesterday. Donald and I will go down to the cells and see him now. I will run it by Dai Bach in principle, and see what he says. Let me know how far you get with Caradog as soon as you can.'

‘It's good of you to help with this, Jack,' Barratt said, as they walked together along the corridor to the cell in which Caradog Prys-Jones was being held before being taken up to court. ‘I am sorry to snatch you away from your conference.'

‘Don't mention it,' Jack Ellis replied. ‘My clerk can deal with it just as well as I can. This all sounds far more exciting than three counts of supplying cocaine.'

‘There are days when a routine drugs case seems very appealing,' Barratt grinned.

‘Swap you?'

‘If I wasn't in so deep, I would think about it seriously.'

A prison officer met them outside the cell.

‘Good morning, sir,' he said brightly. ‘I am given to understand that you gentlemen are not actually representing Mr Prys-Jones, is that right?'

‘Good morning, Officer,' Barratt replied. ‘You are quite right. We can't speak to Mr Prys-Jones without his permission, but we are here to ask him to see us. Here is my card. He knows who I am. Would you mind asking him, please?'

The officer grinned. ‘You don't happen to know how to say all that in Welsh, do you sir? It might make it a bit easier.'

Barratt returned the grin. ‘Afraid not. Sorry.'

‘I'll do my best, sir.'

The officer unlocked the cell and returned within a short time. He looked surprised.

‘Mr Prys-Jones's compliments, sir. He would be very pleased to see you. I'll have to lock you in, obviously. Bang on the door when you're ready to leave.'

They entered the small, sparse cell. As always, the stale, claustrophobic atmosphere of the cells was oppressive and, as always, it hit Barratt in the stomach the moment he walked in. As often as Barratt had experienced the motionless air, with its pervasive smells of tobacco, human sweat and the hint of urine, he had never become entirely accustomed to it. He tried to steady himself, leaning back against the door of the cell. Caradog Prys-Jones was standing by the wall to the left, holding Barratt's card. He was conventionally dressed in an open-necked shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes, and there was no sign of the bandana he had worn on the first day of trial, no sign of
y Ddraig Goch
. In fact, Barratt could see no hint of nationalist defiance in his dress at all.

‘Mr Prys-Jones,' Barratt began. ‘Thank you for seeing us. First of all, I must ask if we may speak in English. I know…'

Caradog smiled. ‘That's perfectly all right, Mr Davis. I speak English jolly well, as it happens. I am sorry I can't offer you coffee.'

He laughed, and Barratt joined in, weakly, still trying to steady himself.

‘This is Jack Ellis. He's also a solicitor. He's not involved in the case. I'll explain why he is here in a moment.'

‘Mr Ellis.'

They shook hands.

‘We may not have much time,' Barratt said, ‘so I will come straight to the point. I represent both your sister and Dai Bach, as you know. Dai Bach will not be giving evidence in his defence, for reasons I needn't go into. But Arianwen will, and she is going to say that she knew nothing about the conspiracy to cause explosions, that she was kept in the dark all along.'

‘That is quite true,' Caradog replied. ‘That's what I said in my statement to the police.'

‘Yes,' Barratt said. ‘But strictly, what you say in your statement is not evidence in her case. The judge may give us some leeway on that; many judges do, because it's a silly rule. But… well, it would be much more persuasive if the jury were to hear that from you, rather than just from a statement read to them by the prosecution.'

Caradog was silent for some time.

‘I see,' he said.

‘I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't important. It may make a real difference to her case.'

‘As you know, Mr Davis, I don't recognise the court. I didn't recognise it when the trial started, and I don't intend to recognise it today. My demand is to be taken to Wales, to be tried in a Welsh court, in the Welsh language…'

‘Yes, I know. But we're not in the courtroom now, Mr Prys-Jones. We are down here in the cells and, down here in the cells, I am hoping that we can be honest with one another. So, being honest with each other, it's not going to happen. They are not going to take you back to Wales. You are stuck here, in this court. So, the only question is: is it more important to you to play to the gallery, and repeat a point you have already made very clearly, or to give your sister a fighting chance of being acquitted on a charge of which you and I both know she is not guilty?'

Again, Caradog was silent.

‘If she is convicted,' Barratt continued, ‘she will go to prison for a very long time, and Harri will grow up in a series of foster homes. The evidence against her is pretty damning. She was driving the car with the bomb in it, and she was arrested with you and Dai Bach. If her husband were here I would feel more optimistic about it but, right now, I don't have any evidence to put before the jury except her own word, and I am not sure that's going to be enough.'

He paused.

‘I'm not here because I want you to surrender any of your principles. I'm here to ask for your help on behalf of your sister. I am here to ask you to give evidence for her.'

‘I understand,' Caradog replied.

‘I have brought Jack with me because, before you decide, you should take independent legal advice. You must be aware…'

‘I can be cross-examined,' Caradog interrupted. He smiled – as the two solicitors seemed taken aback. ‘I understand that. I've been filling the long hours at Brixton by doing some reading in the prison library. They haven't got a great selection of books, to be honest – there's not much there for anyone with a mental age of more than ten. I have offered to give them a list of possible acquisitions, but they don't seem very interested. Still, I've been doing my best, and I've been delving into that
Archbold
book you gentlemen use. Quite interesting in some ways – well, if you have nothing better to do on a fine spring evening.'

‘You are entitled to consult privately with me,' Jack said. ‘Barratt will withdraw, and I will explain the risks to you and advise you independently. I have no interest in this case. My only concern is for you, if you want my help.'

Caradog shook his head.

‘I'm grateful, Mr Ellis, but it's not necessary,' he replied. ‘I will give evidence. They are not going to get anything out of me that I haven't said already in the statement I made to the police. I'm not going to say anything against Dai Bach. You can put his mind at rest about that.'

‘They can ask you questions about him,' Jack pointed out. ‘I have a duty to warn you that if you don't answer, it may affect the credibility of your evidence, and you may be held in contempt of court.'

‘What's the penalty for contempt of court?' Caradog asked.

It shouldn't have been a humorous moment, but all three suddenly laughed out loud.

‘Nothing you need be worried about,' Jack replied.

‘Even so, we can't advise you to commit an offence,' Barratt said.

‘You haven't,' Caradog answered firmly.

‘All right,' Barratt said. ‘Thank you. Can I just confirm one or two points?'

‘Fire away.'

‘In your statement to the police, you said that Arianwen knew nothing about the conspiracy, and was kept in the dark from first to last. Are you sure about that?'

‘Yes. Absolutely. Trevor insisted on it. He made it a condition of his getting involved with us, and he was very serious about it, believe me. If Dai Bach and I hadn't promised to leave her out of it, he would have had nothing to do with us. I can assure you that we were very careful to keep her well away from what we were doing – well, until Dai Bach panicked at the last moment.'

‘All right,' Barratt said, scribbling a note. ‘In particular, she has always insisted that she had no idea what was in the suitcase.'

‘She didn't. She didn't even know about the garage.'

‘What was the original arrangement for delivering the device?'

‘Trevor was supposed to meet Dai Bach with the car outside the Castle Hotel and do the driving, out to Bangor, pick up the case, and back to the
Maes
. I found a reason to leave work. I told them I was joining a patrol of the Castle perimeter. I was to meet them at 1.15, which I did. My part of it worked like clockwork.'

‘It must have been quite a shock when you saw that she was driving.'

Caradog did not reply for some time. He looked down at the floor of the cell, his hands folded tightly across his chest.

‘I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it. I thought I was seeing things. I've never been so angry. I was beside myself. I gave Dai Bach a real mouthful, believe me. I don't know what he was thinking. There were still plenty of taxis in the
Maes
. There was no need to involve Arianwen.'

‘Mr Prys-Jones, do you have any idea what happened to Trevor Hughes?'

Caradog shook his head.

‘No. I don't know to this day what happened to him. I thought for some time that he must have got cold feet at the last moment. But I no longer believe that.'

‘Why not?'

‘Trevor wasn't the type to bail out just like that. In all the time I knew the man, he always struck me as the steady type, someone who could be relied on, no matter what. He had serious reservations about getting involved at first. He asked a lot of questions. He didn't involve himself lightly. But once he agreed to join us, once he committed himself, he seemed whole-hearted.'

‘So, now what do you think?'

Caradog did not answer immediately.

‘Truthfully? I'm afraid he has come to some harm. Otherwise, someone would have found him by now.'

‘Who would have harmed him,' Barratt asked, ‘the Security Services?'

‘The police, the Security Services, whoever. They may not have planned it that way, but those were dangerous times to be in Caernarfon. There was a lot of paranoia. It may be that Trevor was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

He held up a hand.

‘Please don't tell Arianwen I said that,' he added. ‘She has enough to worry about as it is.'

46

The jury were back
in place, and so, to the general astonishment of the court, was Caradog Prys-Jones. The first defendant was sitting quietly in the dock, apparently concentrating on the proceedings. The judge had not yet said anything to note his presence, but there had been an outbreak of excited whispers among the press and public when he was brought up from the cells – with a guard of two burly male prison officers – which had not yet entirely subsided. Caradog seemed oblivious to it. He had no plans to cause any further disturbance, but he was not about to acknowledge the court to the extent of speaking English, and he had PC Hywel Watkins alongside him to interpret in case of need.

Feeling bruised and battered as a result of the defeat he had suffered on the previous afternoon, Evan Roberts had handed over to Jamie Broderick to deal with DCI Grainger. The Chief Inspector seemed subdued as Jamie led him effortlessly through the standard questions about his notebook, and then about his involvement in the evacuation of the area around the
Maes
after the discovery of the explosive device.

‘Chief Inspector, the jury have heard already about the arrest of the three suspects, and I need not ask you to repeat it. But I take it you can answer any questions about that if my learned friends have any?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Thank you. Then let us turn now to events after you returned to the police station. You accompanied Dafydd Prosser to the station with DC Owen, the officer who had arrested Prosser, is that right?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Did you then proceed to interview the suspects in company with DS Scripps, an officer who was a member of your team?'

‘I did, sir.'

‘With the agreement of my learned friends, I'm going to lead you through the next few questions. Did you and DS Scripps decide that you should interview Dafydd Prosser first?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘And was that because it was urgent to obtain as much information as you could, as quickly as you could, to ascertain whether there was any continuing danger to the public?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘For one thing, Trevor Hughes had not been arrested, and his whereabouts were unknown?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘And you were aware that other officers, under the command of Superintendent Rees, were searching the Castle for any possible further devices at that very moment?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Just answer “yes” or “no”: did you and DS Scripps interview Dafydd Prosser?'

‘Yes.'

‘And did it eventually appear that there was no evidence of any continuing danger from the defendants in this case?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘On the following morning, at about 10 o'clock, 2 July, the day following the Investiture, was Mr Prosser charged with conspiracy to cause explosions, and cautioned, and did he make no reply to the caution?'

‘That is correct, sir.'

‘Thank you. Going back to the morning of 1 July again, the morning of the arrests, did you and DS Scripps go to the cell in which Caradog Prys-Jones was being held at about 4 o'clock, with a view to interviewing him?'

‘We did, sir.'

‘Was anyone else with you?'

‘Yes, sir. PC John, a local officer who spoke Welsh, accompanied us.' Grainger paused to look venomously towards Gareth. ‘PC John had been involved in the search of the Castle, and had not been available as an interpreter before this point.'

Gareth smiled back amiably.

‘What did you do on entering Mr Prys-Jones's cell?'

‘I reminded Mr Prys-Jones of the caution, and asked PC John to translate it into Welsh, which he did.'

‘What happened next?'

‘There was then a prolonged exchange between Mr Prys-Jones and PC John in Welsh, at the conclusion of which Mr Prys-Jones handed to the officer what appeared to be a lengthy, hand-written document. PC John told us that the document was a statement Mr Prys-Jones had written about his involvement in the matter. He further said that Mr Prys-Jones had indicated to him that he would not answer any questions, and that the statement was all he had to say. I later ascertained,' the Chief Inspector added disapprovingly, ‘that Sergeant Griffiths, the duty sergeant, had supplied Mr Prys-Jones with writing materials, at his request, without advising me of this.'

‘What did you do on receiving this document?' Jamie asked.

‘The document was in Welsh, sir, so there was nothing I could do before I had it translated. But I did ask Mr Prys-Jones, through PC John, whether he was prepared to sign the statement in the proper form for a written statement under caution, and I once again reminded him of the caution. He indicated through PC John that he would agree to this, and the appropriate language was added to the document in Welsh, after which Mr Prys-Jones signed it, and DS Scripps witnessed his signature.'

‘Did you, in due course, have the statement translated, and do you now produce the original of the statement with an English translation?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Thank you. Exhibit 9, please, my Lord.'

‘Yes,' Mr Justice Overton said.

‘And on the following morning, 2 July, at about the same time as Dafydd Prosser, was Caradog Prys-Jones also charged with conspiracy to cause explosions and cautioned, and in reply to the caution did he say, in Welsh: “I have said all that I have to say”?'

‘That is correct, sir.'

‘Thank you. My Lord, with the usher's assistance, we have copies of Mr Prys-Jones's statement under caution, Exhibit 9, in Welsh and English, for the jury and for Mr Prys-Jones. If the usher would kindly distribute them…'

Jamie waited for this to be done.

‘Chief Inspector, I will read the English translation. Please follow along with me and correct me if I make a mistake.'

‘Very good, sir.'