Ryan Reynolds may have sprinkled Hollywood dust on Wrexham, but Wales’s hospitality sector is struggling

Published

1 year ago

April 1, 2024

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“The Welsh government need to realise that what they’re doing is damaging the industry.”

That’s according to Sam Regan, owner and managing director of the Lemon Tree – a hotel and restaurant in Wrexham.

The city has gained international attention in recent years as the home of the football club with the Hollywood star owners.

But despite the high-profile investment of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the hospitality industry here, and across Wales, is struggling amid a series of challenges.

“We’ve been in a little bit of a bubble because of the media attention brought by Wrexham football club. But it’s not the whole answer,” Mr Regan told Sky News.

‘Major implications’

Mr Regan, who is also chair of the regional tourism partnership, says international visitors are bringing “much higher spends” to Wrexham than a domestic market, but this may not be the case in the long-term.

The challenges facing the hospitality industry are not exclusive to Wales – they include rising food costs and higher utility bills.

But at an already difficult time for the sector, business rates relief for Welsh retail, hospitality and leisure businesses are being slashed.

In the last financial year, businesses were eligible for 75% off their liability, but this year that’s been reduced to 40%.

“The average business in Wrexham is going to be affected to the tune of about £8,000 by the decision not to give the 75% and keep the 35% back for other purposes in Wales,” Mr Regan added.

In England, the relief rate remains at 75%.

There is a concern from some that businesses will look to base themselves in England due to the difference in support.

“Anecdotally, I’ve heard evidence that a gym chain has been looking at Wrexham as an option and also Shrewsbury, which isn’t a million miles away, and they’ve opted for Shrewsbury ultimately because business rates relief is significantly different,” Mr Regan said.

“We’ve got businesses in Wrexham, where you could cross the road, literally cross the road from one café to another…one’s got 40% rate relief from 1 April, and the other’s got 75%.

“That’s got major implications on small businesses.”

‘Pips squeezed out’

The total amount the Welsh government is spending on business rates support for hospitality, retail and leisure businesses will go down this year.

In 2023-24, £140m was invested but this year it will invest only £78m.

Rhys and Charlotte Williams own the 66-bed Dunoon Hotel and two restaurants in Llandudno, Conwy county.

Mr Williams told Sky News the cut in business rates relief means he will have to pay over £20,000 more this year – an increase of around 66%

“£20,000 is a big number when you’re also still dealing with rising costs after the energy hikes last year, and the big uplift in costs across the board,” he said.

Mr Williams said it felt like the hospitality sector in Wales was “having the pips squeezed out” of it.

“If I was in England, as a business I’m going to be paying just over £13,500 next year,” he added.

“So suddenly hospitality in Wales is being put on the back foot against its immediate competitor, and life is tough enough already without having that thrown on you.”

He said the business saw a 350% increase in its energy bills last year and it would be a “long old slog” to gradually exit those contracts over the next six to 18 months.

“You get a very real sense, particularly up in the North, that the South is just another country that has its own set of priorities, political and economic or otherwise, from the North. And the North is just stranded,” he added.

‘Hard to continue’

Yan White is director of The Queer Emporium in central Cardiff.

He told Sky News he had recently been looking at the possibility of setting up a branch in Bristol.

“We know that if we go to Bristol and do a pop-up, we’re likely to make more money and even though we’re a non-profit, that is still something we have to think about,” he said.

“We’ve looked at opening a second store somewhere like Bristol potentially. But a big part of that reason is because we kind of would need it to keep us buoyant.”

He said the Welsh government was “cranking up the handles” by cutting support and was making it “incredibly hard to continue operating”.

“It’s going to cost us a few extra thousand a year, which on our turnover as a non-profit, that is quite significant. That’s not a small amount,” he added.

“I do worry that what we’re basically seeing is a huge bubble that’s about to burst.”

‘Doing all we can’

A Welsh government spokesperson said they were aware of “the ongoing cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business crises”.

“We are doing all we can, with the resources and powers available to us, to provide support in these difficult times..

“We provide a range of permanent non-domestic rates reliefs, worth £250m annually and fully funded by the Welsh government.

“This includes small business rates relief, which supports ratepayers for around 70,000 properties across Wales, of which over 50,000 receive full relief.

“We are also providing a fifth successive year of support for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses with their rates bills, at a cost of £78m.

“This builds on the almost £1bn of support provided in rates relief schemes to these sectors since 2020-21.”

The Welsh Conservatives say pubs and restaurants in the country are facing “real hardship” and have committed to maintaining business rates relief “so businesses can be properly supported”.

Plaid Cymru say the reduction in business rates relief was a “perfect storm” when coupled with other pressures and that the existing business rates system “simply does not work”.

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Peter Sullivan who has spent 38 years in jail for murder has conviction quashed

Published

13 hours ago

May 13, 2025

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Peter Sullivan who has spent 38 years in jail for murder has conviction quashed

A man who has spent 38 years in prison for murder has had his conviction quashed – but insisted he is “not angry” or “bitter”.

The Court of Appeal ruling in the case of Peter Sullivan ends what’s thought to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history.

He was found guilty of the 1986 murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall, who had been beaten, raped and left in an alleyway in Bebington, Merseyside.

Mr Sullivan – who was jailed in 1987 – had always maintained his innocence and first tried to challenge his conviction in 2016, but the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) declined to refer the case, and he lost his own appeal bid in 2019.

Two years later, he again asked the CCRC to refer his case and new tests, ordered by the commission, revealed Mr Sullivan’s DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.

At a hearing on Tuesday, lawyers for Mr Sullivan told the Court of Appeal in London that the new evidence showed that Ms Sindall’s killer “was not the defendant”.

Mr Sullivan attended the hearing via video link from HMP Wakefield, listening to his conviction being quashed with his head down and arms folded before appearing to weep and putting his hand to his mouth.

A relative in court also wept as the judgment was read out.

‘The truth shall set you free’

In a statement following the ruling, Mr Sullivan – now 68 – said: “I lost my liberty four decades ago over a crime I did not commit.

“What happened to me was very wrong, but does not detract that what happened… was a heinous and most terrible loss of life.”

He added: “It is said the truth shall set you free. It is unfortunate that it does not give a timescale as we advance towards resolving the wrongs done to me.

“I am not angry, I am not bitter.

“I am simply anxious to return to my loved ones and family as I’ve got to make the most of what is left of the existence I am granted in this world.”

Outside court, Mr Sullivan’s sister Kim Smith said she was “ecstatic” at seeing her brother’s conviction quashed.

She told reporters: “We lost Peter for 39 years and at the end of the day, it’s not just us; Peter hasn’t won, and neither has the Sindall family. They’ve lost their daughter, they are not going to get her back.

“We’ve got Peter back and now we’ve got to try and build a life around him again. We feel sorry for the Sindalls and it’s such a shame this has had to happen in the first place.”

Barristers for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the DNA evidence was “sufficient fundamentally to cast doubt on the safety of the conviction” and that there was “no credible basis on which the appeal can be opposed”.

Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Bryan, said in light of the new DNA evidence “it is impossible to regard the appellant’s conviction as safe” as he quashed the conviction.

Hunt for DNA match

Merseyside Police has confirmed detectives are now “carrying out an extensive investigation in a bid to identify who the new DNA profile belongs to, as to date there is no match on the national DNA database”.

Detectives are also contacting individuals identified in the original investigation to request voluntary DNA samples.

That initial investigation was the largest in the force’s history and, for many officers, the “frenzied” nature of the attack made it the worst case they had ever encountered.

Ms Sindall, who was engaged to be married, had just left her shift as a part-time barmaid at a pub in Bebington when her small blue van ran out of petrol.

She was walking to an all-night garage when she was attacked.

Mr Sullivan, who was 29 at the time and described as a loner, initially denied the attack but later signed a confession.

Questions have since been raised about whether he had proper legal representation during police interviews. Evidence related to bite marks on Ms Sindall’s body, considered crucial at the trial, has also since been called into question.

At the time of Mr Sullivan’s trial in 1987, DNA technology was not available and subsequent requests for new tests had been refused.

‘Nobody felt safe’

On the grass verge close to where Ms Sindall’s body was found, a memorial stone has been placed in memory of her and “and all of our sisters who have been raped and murdered”.

Her murder sent a chill through the community and led to the creation of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre on Merseyside. “Nobody felt safe, it was a very scary time,” said the centre’s Jo Wood.

She says the uncertainty has resurfaced. “There’s someone out who killed Diane Sindall,” said solicitor Ms Myatt.

“The biggest fear we’ve got is of the unknown and now we’ve got an unknown. We don’t know who it might be. Who knows who this person is? Are we going to encounter him?

“We might have encountered him, we don’t know, we just know that he’s out there.”

Ms Sindall’s family told Sky News they did not want to comment on the case.

Mel John, landlord of the pub where Ms Sindall worked on the night of her death, said: “I’m glad he’s being released if he’s innocent. It has been a long time.”

Mr Sullivan is also aware, his solicitor says, of the impact on Ms Sindall’s family.

“We are very sensitive and respectful to the fact that there is a victim, Diane Sindall and her family, that will be affected by this process,” the solicitor said.

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Tory MP Patrick Spencer charged with sexual assaults at Groucho Club

Published

13 hours ago

May 13, 2025

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Tory MP Patrick Spencer charged with sexual assaults at Groucho Club

Tory MP Patrick Spencer has been charged with two counts of sexual assault at London’s Groucho Club.

The charges follow two alleged incidents involving two different women at the private members’ club, in Soho, in August 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

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Mr Spencer – who is the Conservative MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich – will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday 16 June.

A Conservative Party spokesman said Mr Spencer, 37, has been suspended by the Tories and had the whip withdrawn.

The Metropolitan Police said he was charged after attending a voluntary interview at a London police station on 13 March this year.

Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS special crime and counter terrorism division, said: “Following a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service, we have authorised two counts of sexual assault against Patrick Spencer MP.

“The charges follow two alleged incidents involving two separate women at the Groucho Club in central London in August 2023.

“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are now active and that he has the right to a fair trial.

“It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”

Mr Spencer was first elected to Parliament last year with a majority of 4,290.

It is understood he was asked not to attend the parliamentary estate by the Tory chief whip while police enquiries were ongoing.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “The Conservative Party believes in integrity and high standards. We have taken immediate action.

“Patrick Spencer MP has been suspended from the Conservative Party, and the whip withdrawn, with immediate effect.

“The Conservative Party cannot comment further on an ongoing legal case.”

The Groucho Club, in Dean Street, opened in 1985 and became a renowned meeting place for A-list celebrities and others, including actors, comedians and media executives.

The club was named after the comedian and actor Groucho Marx, who reportedly once said he would refuse to join any club that would have him as a member.

It was originally set up as a more relaxed alternative to traditional gentlemen’s clubs, according to the venue’s website, which adds that members should be in the creative industry “and share the club’s maverick spirit”.

Before becoming an MP, Mr Spencer worked in finance for private equity firm IPGL, a company chaired by his father, former Conservative Party treasurer Lord Michael Spencer.

He later took a job at the Centre for Social Justice think thank before becoming a senior adviser at the Department for Education.

He made his maiden speech in the Commons in July last year during a debate on the MPs’ code of conduct relating to second jobs, during which he said the “most important thing to the people across my constituency” was “restoring a sense of moral probity and public spiritedness to our political system”.

Sky News has contacted Mr Spencer for comment.

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Man arrested over arson attacks after fire at Sir Keir Starmer’s house

Published

19 hours ago

May 13, 2025

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Man arrested over arson attacks after fire at Sir Keir Starmer's house

A 21-year-old man has been arrested over a series of arson attacks, police have said, after a fire at a house owned by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

The suspect was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, according to the Metropolitan Police.

He remains in custody.

Emergency services were called to fires at the doors of two homes in north London within 24 hours of each other – one just after 1.35am on Monday in Kentish Town and the other on Sunday in Islington. Both properties are linked to Sir Keir.

Detectives were also checking a vehicle fire last Thursday on the same street as the Kentish Town property to see whether it is connected.

Part of the area was cordoned off as police and London Fire Brigade (LFB) investigators examined the scene.

Neighbours described hearing a loud bang and said police officers were looking for a projectile.

The prime minister is understood to still own the home, which was damaged by fire on Monday, but nobody was hurt. Pictures showed scorching at the entrance to the property.

Sir Keir used to live there before he and his family moved into 10 Downing Street after Labour won last year’s general election. It is believed the property is being rented out.

In the early hours of Sunday, firefighters dealt with a small fire at the front door of a house converted into flats in nearby Islington, which is also linked to the prime minister.

In a statement, police said: “As a precaution and due to the property having previous connections with a high-profile public figure, officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are leading the investigation into this fire.

“Enquiries are ongoing to establish what caused it. All three fires are being treated as suspicious at this time, and enquiries remain ongoing.”

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “I can only say that the prime minister thanks the emergency services for their work and it is subject to a live investigation. So I can’t comment any further.”

Kemi Badenoch has condemned the suspected arson attacks.

Writing on X, the Conservative leader said: “This is a shocking incident. My thoughts are with the prime minister and his family. No one should face these sorts of threats, let alone people in public service.

“It’s an attack on our democracy and must never be tolerated.”

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News on Tuesday: “It’s important that the prime minister and anyone in public life has their family, their homes, protected.

“It is absolutely wrong, disgraceful, for any individual to take the kind of action that we saw against the prime minister’s home.”