The Heirs of Owain Glyndwr (39 page)

88

Ben paused again.

‘Officer, I am sure this will not be an easy question for you to answer, but there is no way of avoiding it. Getting married while working undercover, to a woman who was a potential subject of your surveillance, is not something your superiors would have approved of, is it?'

‘It was against the rules,' Finch replied immediately, ‘completely against the rules, and I knew that at the time.'

‘Did you tell your superiors what you were doing at the time?'

‘No, sir.'

‘When, if ever, did you tell them?'

‘Not until after the police had interrupted Caradog's plot to plant the bomb at the Castle on the day of the Investiture, and Caradog, Dai Bach and Arianwen had been arrested. I returned to London that day, and over the course of the next few days I was debriefed about the events leading up to the Investiture.'

Ben looked up at the judges.

‘My Lords, subject to your Lordships' approval, my learned friends and I have all agreed that no names of DC Finch's superiors shall be mentioned in open court. There may in due course be other proceedings, including disciplinary proceedings, and we are agreed at the Bar that there should be no risk of prejudice to the officers concerned because of any premature publication of their names. The names are given in DC Finch's affidavit.'

Lord Parker looked to both sides, and saw both Lord Justice Carver and Mr Justice Melrose nod.

‘Yes, very well, Mr Schroeder.'

‘I am much obliged. Your Lordships should have before you a schedule of officers who may be referred to, each of whom is assigned a letter of the alphabet. Your Lordships will see references in particular to four senior police officers, referred to as officers A, B, C and D. There are also references to two other persons, who are not police officers, but who work for another governmental body concerned with the prosecution process, who are assigned the letters E and F.'

Lord Parker nodded. ‘Yes.'

‘Officer,' Ben continued, ‘you will also find a copy of that schedule in front of you. Using the letters provided in the schedule, would you tell their Lordships which officers conducted your debriefing?'

‘Officers A and B,' Finch replied, without hesitation.

‘Did you tell Officers A and B about your marriage to Arianwen?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Did you tell anyone else?'

‘No, sir.'

‘Do you have any reason to believe that anyone else knew about your marriage at that time?'

Finch thought for some time.

‘I really can't say. There was nothing stopping anyone from finding out. There was no secret about it. Arianwen and I were living together openly in Caernarfon. We had a child. We were well known in the community. If anyone had come to check up on me, they would have found out immediately. I assume that nobody ever did because, if anyone had checked up, I would have heard about it, but I really don't know.'

‘But as a result of the debriefing? Based on what you know of the command structure, would it be likely that other officers would have known?'

Evan Roberts stood.

‘I must object to that, my Lords. The witness cannot be asked to speculate about what other officers may have known.'

‘I will re-phrase the question,' Ben volunteered, seeing the Lord Chief Justice nodding. ‘I ask because in your affidavit, you referred to the possibility of Officers C and D being made aware of your marriage. What did you base that on?'

‘Officers C and D were in the chain of command with respect to my assignment, because I directed my reports to them, and they passed them up to Officers A and B. So it would be strange if they were not made aware of the results of my debriefing. But I can't say any more than that. Obviously, I haven't seen any of the paperwork.'

‘Have you ever spoken to the individuals referred to in the schedule as E and F?'

‘No, sir.'

‘Do you know either of them, or anything about them?'

‘No, sir. But I know that Officers A and B reported to them or they were supposed to, anyway.'

‘How do you know that?'

‘They told me.'

Ben paused.

‘What was the reaction of Officers A and B to your revelation about your marriage?'

Finch laughed. ‘I think it's fair to say that they were not very impressed.'

‘What did they say, exactly?'

‘They made it clear that my conduct was unacceptable, and that my career as a police officer was over, certainly as far as the Met was concerned, once the trial came to an end. It was a fair enough comment. It was no more than I deserved.'

89

‘Did Officers A and
B give you any instructions at the time of your debriefing?' Ben asked.

‘Yes, sir. When the debriefing ended, I was told that, until further notice, my undercover assignment was to continue. I was to remain available if needed, but apart from that I was to find a place to live in London and keep my head down until otherwise ordered. I would continue to receive my salary until my assignment was terminated.'

‘What do you mean by keeping your head down?'

‘I was to go to a part of London where I was not known, avoid contact with other police officers and, most importantly, have no contact with anyone in Wales.'

‘Did you do that?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘How did you conduct yourself?'

Finch smiled. ‘I found a quiet place to live; changed my appearance in terms of hair colour, facial hair and so on; dressed in ways no police officer would. I spent a lot of time sleeping. I read quite a bit, improved my snooker game a fair bit, and generally tried to pass the time. That's about it, really.'

‘Were you ever ordered to come out of hiding, or told that you could?'

‘No, sir.'

‘Have you ever been ordered or told that you were free to come out of hiding, to this day?'

‘No, sir.'

‘Not even at the conclusion of the trial in this case?'

‘No, sir.'

‘About a month ago, Officer, you visited the office of my instructing solicitor, Mr Davis, who sits behind me, did you not?'

‘I did, sir.'

‘You had a conversation with Mr Davis, and very briefly with me, and you left with Mr Davis your affidavit and a copy of one or two documents from your personnel file to prove your identity?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘And you indicated your willingness to give evidence about the matters dealt with in your affidavit if Arianwen appealed against her conviction?'

‘Yes.'

‘Was that in accordance with the instructions you had been given at the time of your debriefing, or any instructions you were given subsequently?'

‘No, on the contrary. I was deliberately disobeying the instructions I had been given.'

‘Why did you do that? Why did you go to see Mr Davis? Were you not worried about your position as a police officer?'

‘My career as a police officer had ended long before then,' Finch replied. ‘That was the last thing on my mind.'

‘Then, why did you do it?'

‘Because what had happened to Arianwen was wrong, and I had to do something to put it right if I could.'

‘When you say “what had happened to Arianwen”, what are you referring to?'

Finch was silent for some time. Lord Parker was about to order him to answer the question when he eventually replied.

‘Arianwen didn't know she had a bomb in her car,' he said. ‘It is my fault that she was arrested and convicted.'

90

‘Please tell their Lordships
what happened on the evening of 30 June 1969,' Ben said.

‘Caradog and Dai Bach called a meeting at Caradog's house to discuss how to transport the bomb from the garage to a place where Caradog could collect it. It was the only detail they hadn't agreed on.'

‘What time was the meeting?'

‘It was early evening, about 6 o'clock or 6.15, a few hours before Caradog went to work.'

‘He was working as a night watchman at the Castle at that time?'

‘Yes. Dai Bach and I were then going to attend the final demonstration against the Investiture in the town square later in the evening.'

‘Who was present at this meeting?'

‘Caradog, Dai Bach, and myself.'

‘Not Arianwen?'

‘No.'

‘How did you feel about attending that meeting?'

‘It went against every instinct I had as a police officer.'

‘Why was that?'

‘I thought it was an unnecessary risk to allow the bomb to leave the garage.'

‘What alternatives were there?'

‘The alternative was to raid the garage and seize the bomb before it could go anywhere. I recommended this course of action to Officers C and D as soon as I knew Dai Bach had finished work on the bomb. I wanted them to raid all our houses at the same time. I had made sure there was nothing at home to incriminate Arianwen or me. They could have arrested Caradog and Dai Bach and seized the bomb there and then. It would have avoided exposing the public to any danger.'

‘What did Officers C and D say about that?'

‘They said they had passed my suggestion on to Officers A and B, and that A and B weren't sure they had enough evidence for an arrest. They wanted to wait until they were on the move and they could catch them in the act. I kept on asking them to change their minds.'

‘Why?'

‘It was too dangerous. I didn't know whether Dai Bach would try to prime the bomb before transporting it. If he did, they would have to call in the bomb squad to disarm the bomb in public, evacuate the area, and there would be unnecessary risks to officers and the public.'

‘Did it also cause you other problems as an undercover officer?'

Finch tightened his lips and looked down. Again, Lord Parker was on the brink of ordering him to answer.

‘Yes, it certainly did.'

‘Tell their Lordships about that, please.'

‘When I got to the meeting, Caradog and Dai Bach told me the plan was for me to drive the bomb to a rendezvous near the town square, so that Caradog could pick it up during the early morning, at 1.15, before the local police closed the town centre to traffic. Caradog would find a reason to leave his post in the Castle to meet us and collect the bomb. He would then convey it into the Castle in his duffle bag.'

‘What did you do?'

‘I agreed to do what they had asked. But I contacted my superiors – Officer C, to be precise – as a matter of urgency by phone and asked again for the garage to be raided without delay. I couldn't imagine why they would need any further evidence before making the arrests.'

‘How did you anticipate the evening ending?'

‘I hoped that Caradog and Dai Bach would be arrested, and the bomb seized before it could be armed. I always assumed I would probably be arrested to keep up appearances, and that later I would be disclosed as an informant. But apparently, that wasn't how they saw it. That was when I knew that they were going to pull me out.'

‘Were you given any instructions by your superiors?'

‘Yes. I was told that I was to fail to show up for my appointment to drive. I had arranged to meet Dai Bach at the Castle Hotel on the square. I would then drive him to Bangor, pick up the bomb, and return to Caernarfon in time for the rendezvous with Caradog. I was ordered not to meet him, to leave him in the lurch, effectively.'

‘Did you do that?'

‘Yes.'

‘What further instructions were you given?'

‘I was ordered to meet another officer at a different rendezvous. This officer made a car available to me. I was ordered to drive straight to London and report to Officers A and B as soon as possible.'

‘Did you do so?'

‘Yes. I left at about 10.30 that night.'

‘Without seeing your wife or son?'

Finch bowed his head.

‘Yes,' he replied quietly.

‘And you were gone, never to return to Caernarfon?'

There was a ripple of whispering around the courtroom. Arianwen had been looking down, but suddenly raised her eyes sharply. Finch felt her gaze.

‘Yes. I was ordered to remain in London, as I said before.'

Ben paused.

‘Officer, did you give any thought to what Dai Bach would do when you failed to appear at the Castle Hotel?'

‘Yes, sir. It was possible that he would try to call the whole thing off, of course, but he would have known that Caradog would not want to give up that easily. So I thought Dai Bach would probably hire a taxi and transport the bomb to the rendezvous that way. It would be more risky, of course, but that was what I would have expected.'

‘Did you have any idea that he would ask Arianwen to drive?'

‘No, not at all.'

‘Is there any reason why you assumed he would not ask her?'

‘I made it clear when they first approached me that Arianwen must be left out of it. I insisted that she not be involved in any way. They both agreed to that.'

‘Why should that stop them from involving her if it became necessary at a critical moment in your absence?'

‘I can be quite forceful when I want to be,' Finch replied, ‘and I gave both Caradog and Dai Bach every reason to think that they might come to harm if they did not respect my wishes.'

‘But in fact, Dafydd Prosser did not respect your wishes, did he?'

‘He panicked,' Finch replied. ‘That's the problem with making people change their plans at the last moment. That was the wild card my superiors introduced into the situation. If I had driven myself, or if they had raided the garage, there would have been no problem.'

‘Did Arianwen ever know about the bomb?'

‘No. She did not.'

At the back of the court, Arianwen barely stifled a sob and held her head in her hands.

‘Did Arianwen ever know about the Heirs of Owain Glyndŵr, or about the plan to plant a bomb in Caernarfon Castle?'

‘No. She did not.'

‘Is Arianwen the kind of woman who would have set out in the car with her son in the back seat, knowing that there was a bomb in the boot?'

Evan stood.

‘Really, My Lords, is my learned friend inviting the witness to speculate about Mrs Finch's character?'

Ben was about to reply when Lord Parker cut Evan off.

‘I would hardly call it speculation, Mr Roberts,' he said, ‘and I can't think of anyone better qualified to give us an opinion on that subject. Answer the question, Officer.'

‘She would never have done that, my Lord,' Finch replied. ‘Not in a million years.'

‘Did Arianwen play any part at all in the conspiracy to cause explosions at the Investiture?' Ben asked.

‘No. She did not.'

‘Is Arianwen a nationalist?'

‘Yes,' Finch replied, ‘in many ways she is. She is passionate about the Welsh language, and she campaigned constantly to have the language properly recognised. She supported Plaid Cymru at election time, and she campaigned for other Welsh causes. But violence? No. She had no truck with violence, ever.'

Ben allowed some time to pass.

‘Looking back now on what happened, with the advantage of hindsight, how do you feel about the conclusion of your assignment in Wales?'

Finch smiled a bitter smile. It took him some time to reply, and this time, Lord Parker did not seem anxious to press him.

‘I have a certain professional pride in the work I did – keeping my legend intact for such a long time. I am glad that I played a part in preventing what could have been a very serious act of violence directed against the Royal Family at the Investiture; and, frankly, I am glad that we were able to get Caradog Prys-Jones and Dafydd Prosser off the streets. But…'

He paused and bowed his head again.

‘But I am ashamed of what I have done to Arianwen. I feel sick every time I think of her being convicted when I wasn't there to defend her. I wish I could rewind the clock and do things differently. I mean, everything, from the day I met her.'

‘What would you do differently if you could rewind the clock?' Ben asked. ‘Would you avoid any entanglement with her to protect your work?'

‘No,' Finch replied immediately. ‘I would marry her, and we would have Harri, but I would tell her who I am before we married, and I would find another job.'

He glanced to his left and saw Arianwen raise her head slightly. She looked at him, and he returned her look.

‘I am sorry, Arianwen,' he said to her. ‘Truly sorry.'

‘Is any part of your evidence today connected to trying to keep your job as a police officer, or to justify your actions?'

‘No,' Finch replied. ‘There is no justification for what I did to Arianwen. I shall be resigning from the Met as soon as these proceedings are over, assuming they haven't fired me first.'

Ben nodded.

‘Thank you, Officer. Wait there, please. There may be further questions.'

Trevor glanced in her direction again, and their eyes met.