The Heirs of Owain Glyndwr (31 page)

65

‘How are you feeling
now?' Ben asked, once Arianwen had returned to the witness box. ‘Are you all right to continue?'

‘Yes, thank you,' she replied. ‘I am ready.'

‘Before lunch, you told us you stopped in New Street near the corner with Chapel Street. What happened then?'

‘Dai Bach had said that was where he was meeting his friend. Then, quite suddenly, he got out of the car, closed the door, and started walking down New Street towards Chapel Street. He walked across Chapel Street and then a short distance further down New Street. And then…'

She had closed her eyes and taken a deep breath.

‘Take your time.'

‘I'm sorry. I'm afraid my memory of all this is just bits and pieces. It was so horrible for me, and it all happened so quickly, and I can't always remember…'

‘Take your time. Tell us as much as you can remember.'

‘I saw Dai Bach coming back towards me, and I saw that he was with another man. I didn't see where the other man came from. I assumed it must be his friend, and I remember thinking: “Thank God for that”, because I was anxious to take Harri home and go home myself. And then…'

This time Ben waited, and she recovered her composure.

‘And then, I looked again and I saw that the other man was Caradog. They began walking back across Chapel Street towards me.'

‘What did you think about that?'

‘I was totally confused. I didn't know why Caradog would be there. He was supposed to be working. I still didn't know where Trevor was. I switched the ignition off, and I was going to get out of the car. But then I saw that Caradog was in a real state. He was shouting at Dai Bach, and Dai Bach was trying to get a word in edgeways and couldn't. You could tell from the way they were behaving, walking very quickly, flinging their arms all over the place.'

‘Were you able to hear what either of them said?'

‘No. By the time they were close enough for me to hear they had stopped talking. They made straight for the rear of the car. I got out and walked around the car to join them.'

‘What did you see?'

‘Dai Bach had opened the boot. There was something covered with an old blanket I kept in there. He took the blanket away and I saw a metal case of some kind. He opened it, and I saw…'

‘Take your time.'

‘I saw inside the case, and there was what looked like an alarm clock and strands of electrical wire, and what looked like sticks of dynamite. That was as much as I saw.'

‘Did you say anything?'

‘I tried, but I was speechless. Literally. I was staring at Caradog and Dai Bach, open-mouthed, and I couldn't find any words.'

‘Why do you think that was?'

‘I was in shock. And I've been in shock ever since that moment. I haven't been able to get over it.'

‘What happened next?'

She shook her head. ‘As best as I can remember a man appeared from nowhere, and put Caradog up against the back of the car, and another man came and did the same to Dai Bach. I still couldn't speak. Then from nowhere a man came and dragged me around to the rear door on the passenger side, and slammed me up against the side of the car. It winded me, took my breath away. Then I felt him pull my hands behind my back and I felt him putting handcuffs on me. I was aware of a lot of shouting going on.'

‘You know, of course, that the men were police officers?'

‘I know that now. At the time I had no idea what was happening.'

‘Do you remember anything in particular that was being shouted?'

‘Just fragments. I am sure I heard someone shout about a bomb, and someone else was shouting that they had to evacuate the area. I can't remember any more. I was totally confused.'

‘Were you aware that you were being arrested?'

‘On some level, I suppose I was, but as I say, nothing was making sense.'

‘Then what happened?'

‘The man who had put me up against the car was trying to drag me away, and it was then that I remembered I had Harri in the car. That's what brought me back to my senses, I think. I screamed at him, but he didn't seem to understand at first. After two or three attempts, he reacted. He shouted at the other men that there was a child in the car. He took my handcuffs off and told me to stay where I was. He went around and took Harri from the car, and told me to follow him, which I did.'

Ben paused.

‘Mrs Hughes, before you went round to the back of the car to see what Caradog and Dai Bach were doing, did you have any idea of what was in the boot of your car?'

She sobbed.

‘No. Of course not.'

‘If you had known what Dai Bach was putting into the boot while you were at the garage in Bangor, would you have agreed to carry it?'

She suddenly looked up and stared Ben full in the face.

‘Would I have helped him to take a bomb to Caernarfon Castle? No. No. I can't believe I have to answer the question.'

‘I'm sorry. I have to ask…'

‘No. And even if I had the inclination, would I do it with my child in the car? Do I seriously have to answer this? What kind of person do you think I am?'

She was almost shouting now.

‘I have to ask.'

‘No. I can't believe this is happening to me. It can't be real. I want my son back.'

She began to sob violently. Ben waited for some time before turning to the judge.

‘My Lord, I wonder whether your Lordship would allow me to continue tomorrow morning? Mrs Hughes is obviously very distressed.'

‘We are proceeding at a rather slow pace, Mr Schroeder.'

‘Yes, my Lord, but I don't have very much left, and I would prefer to allow Mrs Hughes some time to recover rather than rush her when she is distressed. We have made good progress in the trial as a whole.'

‘Yes, very well,' the judge replied reluctantly.

‘I am most obliged to your Lordship.'

‘I thought she did rather well,' Gareth commented, as they gathered up their papers for the day.

‘I can never tell when I'm on my feet,' Ben replied. ‘She didn't do Dai Bach any harm, did she?'

Gareth shook his head.

‘No, not at all. Incidentally, I thought I would open the bowling myself tomorrow morning once you've finished with her.'

Ben looked at him blankly.

‘I didn't know you had anything to ask her.'

‘I don't really,' Gareth replied. ‘But I thought I might start her off with an underarm delivery. Might help a bit.'

66

Tuesday 12 May 1970

Court had assembled and
Arianwen had returned to the witness box. She looked composed, and had put on a smart new pale orange cotton dress. Ben eyed her anxiously for any tell-tale signs of distress.

‘Mrs Hughes, yesterday afternoon I was asking you about your arrest. I must now come to the time when you were at the police station. I know this will be difficult for you, and I will take it as shortly as I can.'

‘Thank you,' she replied.

‘Were you taken by car to the police station?'

‘Yes.'

‘It's not very far, of course. Was Harri with you?'

‘Yes. Once we were in the car, the officer allowed me to travel with Harri sitting in my lap.'

‘Please tell my Lord and the jury what happened when you arrived at the police station.'

She held her head in her hands silently for some time.

‘I got out of the car with Harri, and I remember walking with him into the police station, holding hands. And then suddenly, this woman police officer, a uniformed officer, just came and yanked Harri's hand out of mine. She started to take him away. Just like that, without a word. I couldn't even say goodbye, or say something to tell him that it would be all right. She just grabbed him and took him off. Harri was screaming and calling for me…'

She started to cry.

‘Take your time,' Ben said.

‘That made me start to scream,' she continued. ‘I was screaming at them to bring Harri back, and I was trying to go after them, but there were two male officers holding me back. They more or less dragged me, still screaming, to a cell, threw me inside, and slammed the door. I fell on the floor quite heavily. I noticed the following day that I had some bruising on my thigh, though I didn't feel any pain at the time. I was too upset.'

‘What happened next?'

‘Some time later – I don't really know how long – two plain clothes officers came into my cell with a female officer in uniform.'

‘Did you know who they were at the time?'

‘I am sure they introduced themselves, but I could hardly concentrate on anything for thinking about Harri.'

‘Was the female officer WPC Marsh, who gave evidence to the jury?'

‘Yes.'

‘Was she the officer who took Harri away?'

‘No. That was someone else. WPC Marsh was very polite to me, very proper.'

‘Do you now know that the male officers were DCI Grainger and DS Scripps?'

‘Yes.'

‘And how did they behave towards you?'

She began to cry again.

‘They were shouting and carrying on, demanding to know where Trevor was. I didn't know, so I couldn't answer their questions, but they wouldn't believe me. They went on and on.'

‘Did they say anything in particular that distressed you?'

‘Yes. They told me that I would never see Harri again unless I told them where Trevor was. They said that they had the power to keep him from me, that he would be put in a foster home until he grew up. On the other hand, if I cooperated, they would put in a good word with the court, and I might be able to see him and have him back one day.'

‘Do you remember anything that was said specifically?'

‘Yes. I remember the younger officer…'

‘DS Scripps?'

‘Yes. I remember him saying that they would lock me up and I would be lucky to get out in time for Harri's silver wedding anniversary.'

‘This may be obvious to the jury, but how did that make you feel?'

She sat silently, shaking her head for some time.

‘I lost my mind. I was beside myself. I remember screaming and even jumping at Mr Grainger at one point. Then, when he pushed me away, I just curled up on the floor and wailed and wailed, begging them for pity, asking them why they wouldn't believe me.'

‘How did WPC Marsh behave during this time?'

‘She was very upset by it all. She was trying to get them to stop, but of course, they wouldn't listen to her. She did her best to comfort me.'

Ben paused.

‘You later made a written statement under caution, which the jury have. Is what you said in that statement the truth?'

‘Yes, it is.'

‘Do you stand by it today?'

‘Yes. I do.'

‘Thank you, Mrs Hughes,' Ben said. ‘There will be some further questions for you.

‘Yes, Mr Roberts,' the judge was saying.

Gareth stood.

‘My Lord, if I may…'

‘I'm sorry, Mr Morgan-Davies. I hadn't anticipated that you would have anything for this witness.'

‘One very brief matter, my Lord. Mrs Hughes, Dafydd Prosser accepts that you knew nothing about any plan there might have been to cause explosions. But…'

‘Oh, really,' Evan Roberts said loudly, springing to his feet. ‘That is entirely improper. My learned friend is not asking a question, he is giving evidence. Dafydd Prosser has not given evidence, and it is not for my learned friend to…'

‘Yes, Mr Roberts, I have your point,' the judge replied. ‘Mr Morgan-Davies, if you have a question, please ask it.'

‘Yes, my Lord, of course. My question, Mrs Hughes, is this. It is correct, is it not, that Dafydd Prosser did not direct you to the garage until you were already in Bangor?'

‘That is correct.'

‘No reference was made to a garage over the phone, or during the drive to Bangor?'

‘None at all.'

‘Yes. Thank you very much,' Gareth said, resuming his seat and ignoring stares from the judge and Evan Roberts. He grinned mischievously at Ben. ‘How's that for an underarm delivery?'

‘I can't believe you did that,' Ben whispered.

‘Don't mention it,' Gareth replied. ‘I just thought Dai Bach's evidence might help.'

67

‘Mrs Hughes,' Evan Roberts
began, ‘if I understand you correctly, your position is that you knew nothing, at any time, about any plot to plant a bomb in Caernarfon Castle, is that right?'

‘That is correct.'

‘And you were blissfully unaware that you were driving from Bangor to Caernarfon in the early morning of 1 July with a bomb in the boot of your car?'

‘There was nothing blissful about it, but I had no idea that the bomb was there.'

‘You had known your brother, Caradog Prys-Jones, all your life, of course?'

‘Of course.'

‘You had known Trevor Hughes since 1961, and you had been married to him since 1963?'

‘Yes.'

‘You had known Dafydd Prosser for many years also?'

‘Yes.'

‘Would it be fair to say that you were close to all three, in different ways, naturally?'

‘Yes, that would be fair.'

‘You had dinner with all of them on a regular basis at home?'

‘Yes.'

‘And it would be fair to describe all three as having nationalist views?'

‘That would depend on what you mean by nationalist. If you mean violence, no, that would not be fair.'

‘All right. Let me be more precise. Leave any question of violence aside. All three men believe that Wales should be a nation politically independent of England and the rest of the United Kingdom?'

‘Yes, it is fair to say that.'

‘And you share that belief?'

‘Yes. I do.'

Evan paused to consult his notes.

‘You have been in court and heard the evidence in this case, haven't you?'

‘Yes.'

‘And you now know that your brother, your husband, and Dafydd Prosser were involved in a conspiracy to plant a bomb in Caernarfon Castle on the occasion of the Investiture, don't you?'

Gareth and Ben stood simultaneously. Gareth won the race to intervene by a short head.

‘My Lord, perhaps my learned friend would find it easier to show the witness the indictment and ask her to return the verdicts, to save the jury the trouble. This is the very question the jury has to decide.'

‘Yes,' Mr Justice Overton said. ‘Ask it in a different way, please, Mr Roberts.'

‘As your Lordship pleases. Mrs Hughes, you know that on the occasion you were arrested, there was a bomb in the boot of your car. That's right, isn't it?'

‘Yes.'

‘You didn't put it there, did you?'

‘No.'

‘Because your case is that you didn't know it was there.'

‘That is correct.'

‘Would you agree, then, that there are only two ways in which the bomb could have got into the boot of your car: either your husband Trevor Hughes put it there at some earlier time; or Dafydd Prosser put it there when you stopped at his garage in Bangor?'

‘Yes, I would agree.'

‘Thank you. And of those two possibilities, is it not far more likely that Dafydd Prosser took it from his garage and put it in the boot of your car? Why else would he have asked you to drive him to Bangor and back? There was no other suitcase in the car, was there?'

‘No. I would agree.'

‘Thank you. And when you were arrested, Dafydd Prosser and your brother were present by the boot of your car, and the lid of the carrying case was open, revealing the bomb for you all to see. Is that also right?'

‘Yes.'

‘Your brother was supposed to be at work as a night watchman at the Castle at that time, wasn't he?'

‘As far as I know, yes.'

‘Does it not follow that your brother was there to collect the bomb and carry it into the Castle?'

Gareth rose again.

‘Whether or not that follows is a matter for the jury,' he objected, ‘not for this witness to speculate about.'

‘I'm suggesting there is nothing speculative about it as far as this witness is concerned,' Evan replied. ‘You knew all about that, Mrs Hughes, didn't you?'

‘No. I did not.'

Evan paused.

‘You heard evidence that your brother, your husband and Dafydd Prosser went together to Belfast in April of last year, and met with a member of the IRA and a member of the Baader-Meinhof group. You heard that evidence, did you not?'

‘Yes, I did.'

‘You say your husband told you they were going on a boys' excursion to Dublin, to relax for a few days, sink a few pints of Guinness, that kind of thing?'

‘That is what he told me.'

‘Can we agree that the meeting in Belfast must have been connected to the plan to build an explosive device for use on 1 July?'

‘I wasn't present at the meeting. I can't say what was discussed.'

‘No, of course. Did your husband ever tell you that he had contacts in the IRA?'

‘No.'

‘What about your brother?'

‘No.'

‘Did either of them ever say that they had contacts in the Baader-Meinhof group?'

‘No.'

‘Can you think of any reason why either your husband or your brother would have had contacts of that kind, given what you know about their activities?'

‘No. No reason whatsoever.'

‘So the evidence of that meeting must have come as quite a shock to you?'

‘Everything in this case has come as a shock to me.'

Evan paused again.

‘That isn't true, is it, Mrs Hughes?'

‘It is true.'

‘You were close to all these men. It must have taken months for them to draw up plans for this conspiracy; to get hold of the ingredients for the bomb; take advice from those more experienced in such matters in the IRA and Baader-Meinhof; build the bomb, presumably during evenings and weekends; and decide how and where to plant it…'

Ben stood. ‘My Lord, perhaps my learned friend would clarify which of those various speculations he is asking the witness to comment on.'

‘If my learned friend would allow me to ask the question…'

‘It wasn't a question; it was a series of assumptions. And, once more, he is asking the witness to comment on the very matters the jury has to decide.'

‘What is the question you wish to ask, Mr Roberts?' the judge asked.

‘I am suggesting that it would have been impossible for her to be unaware of what they were up to, my Lord. That is my point.'

‘Then perhaps you could put that to her without the preamble?'

‘As your Lordship pleases. Mrs Hughes, you must have been aware, and you were aware, that your husband, your brother, and Dafydd Prosser were hatching a plan to place a bomb in Caernarfon Castle on the occasion of the Investiture. That is right, isn't it?'

‘No. I didn't know.'

‘You were turning a blind eye, perhaps, because you were close to them?'

‘No. I wouldn't have done that. If I had known, or even suspected anything like this, I would have spoken out.'

‘You shared their belief in nationalism, didn't you?'

‘I don't share any belief in violence.'

‘So you say…'

‘My Lord…' Ben began, rising.

‘Enough, Mr Roberts,' the judge said.

‘You drove Dafydd Prosser to Bangor and back because you thought that was a contribution you could make to the conspiracy, didn't you?'

‘No.'

‘Far from being ignorant of the plan, you knew all about it, and you were quite willing to help if you could?'

‘No.'

‘Indeed, you were so devoted to the cause that you placed your son, Harri, at risk, didn't you?'

‘No!'

‘By putting him in a car which had dynamite in it…'

There was suddenly a loud bang as she brought both hands down with full force on the top of the witness box.

‘No!' she shouted. She made a conscious effort to calm herself. ‘If you think I would do that, you don't know me at all. You know nothing about me at all.'

‘But it all went wrong, didn't it?'

‘No.'

‘And when it all went wrong, where was your husband? Where was Trevor Hughes?'

‘I don't know.'

‘He deserted you, didn't he?'

She hesitated.

‘I wouldn't say that.'

‘Really? Well, he disappeared into thin air, leaving you holding the baby or, perhaps I should say, holding the bomb.'

‘I don't accept that.'

‘Well, where is he, Mrs Hughes?'

‘I don't know.'

‘I suggest that you do.'

‘You can suggest whatever you want…'

Ben was on his feet now, trying to intervene, but they spoke over him.

‘I am suggesting you know exactly where he is. Why don't you tell us?' His voice was raised, almost to shouting.

‘Why don't
you
tell everyone where my husband is?' she shouted back.

For a moment, there was total silence in court.

‘Why don't
I
tell you where he is?' Evan asked incredulously.

‘Yes. You've had every police force in this country, in Ireland, and God only knows where else, looking for him ever since I was arrested, and you don't know where he is? He's not Houdini. He's a book seller, for God's sake. He didn't just disappear into thin air.'

‘What are you suggesting, Mrs Hughes?'

‘I'm suggesting that you, or someone, know very well what happened to Trevor. What have you done with him?'

Suddenly, Evan Roberts lost his temper.

‘Don't talk to me like that,' he shouted. ‘I am not some police officer you are yelling at on one of your demonstrations. I am prosecuting counsel in this case.'

‘My Lord…' Ben intervened.

‘That's enough, Mr Roberts,' the judge said.

‘You're not a prosecutor,' Arianwen shouted. ‘You're a school-yard bully. You are no better than the police who threatened to keep my son from me for the rest of my life.'

‘That will do, Mrs Hughes,' Mr Justice Overton said.

She did not even hear him.

‘And you claim to be Welsh,' she shouted finally. ‘You're no more Welsh than Charles Windsor.'

Finally, a silence, this time a shocked silence, descended again on the court. Arianwen sighed and bowed her head. Evan Roberts took his seat with a vindictive smile. Ben sat down slowly, his eyes closed.

‘Don't react,' Gareth whispered.

‘Do I take it that you have finished your cross-examination, Mr Roberts?' the judge asked.

‘I have, my Lord.'

‘Then we will adjourn for half an hour. I am sure the jury have had enough, as have I.'

The vindictive smile returned.

‘I am sure the jury will not hold Mrs Hughes' outburst against her,' Evan said with exaggerated magnanimity.

The judge paused before leaving the bench.

‘I wasn't talking about Mrs Hughes,' he replied venomously.

When the judge returned to court, he found the atmosphere sombre. Arianwen was sitting in the dock with her head in her hands.

‘Will you be calling any witnesses, Mr Schroeder?'

‘No, my Lord, I close the case for Mrs Hughes.'

The judge nodded. ‘Very well. We will have closing speeches tomorrow and I will sum up on Thursday. Members of the jury, please be back to resume at 10.30 tomorrow morning.'