by Peter Murphy
‘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, wher
e 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.’
68
Thursday 14 May 1970
Mr Justice Overton gave the jury a firm direction that they could not convict any defendant unless the evidence satisfied them of guilt beyond reasonable doubt. He defined a conspiracy as an unlawful agreement to commit a criminal offence. He warned them that Dafydd Prosser’s decision not to give evidence was a decision every defendant in a criminal court was entitled to make, and that it must not be held against him in any way. It was certainly no evidence of his guilt. There were only a few other matters of law to deal with, and he dealt with them succinctly and clearly. He then spent a good deal of the day reminding the jury of the evidence they had heard, and putting it in context. It was a long, but necessary, task. Towards the end of the afternoon, he was ready for his concluding remarks.
‘Members of the jury, what does it all come down to? The Crown say that Caradog Prys-Jones and Dafydd Prosser, with the absent Trevor Hughes, made an agreement to plant a bomb in Caernarfon Castle, set to detonate during the Investiture, with an obvious risk of loss of life and serious injury to many people, including the Queen and Prince Charles. The Crown say that they recruited Arianwen Hughes to carry the bomb in her car from the garage factory in Bangor to the square in Caernarfon, for Caradog Prys-Jones to collect, using her young son to give the impression of a normal family activity. Caradog Prys-Jones had ready and unquestioned access to the Castle because of his job as a night watchman, and had already selected a site for the bomb to be placed, close to the Royal dais and to several seating stands for guests.
‘Members of the jury, this is a case in which it is impossible not to have strong feelings about the evidence you have heard. Any act of planting a bomb, especially where there is a strong probability that lives will be lost or terrible injuries caused, must cause revulsion in any right-thinking person. When those lives might have been lost and those injuries caused during a joyful national celebration, when the victims might have included the Queen, or Prince Charles, or another member of the Royal Family, the act becomes one which strikes at the very heart of British life, the very fabric of our government. No one in this court expects you not to have strong feelings about that. That would be impossible, wouldn’t it?
‘That makes what I am about to say all the more difficult. But I must say it. I must and do direct you now, not to disregard your feelings, not to deny them, but to put them to one side for a time while you deliberate about this case. I say that, because the law requires you to do what you have taken an oath to do, that is to say, to return a true verdict in accordance with the evidence. You cannot return a true verdict according to the evidence if you start with any prejudice against these defendants. Every defendant who comes before our courts is innocent until proven guilty, and that applies whether the charge is one of a minor theft, or a crime of the utmost gravity, as in this case. That principle applies to this case just as much as it would to a case of shop-lifting. It applies to every case which comes before the criminal courts of this country. You must, therefore, put whatever feelings you have about the case on one side and decide on the basis of the evidence.
‘I also want to make this clear: that none of these defendants is on trial for believing that Wales should be an independent nation, or for engaging in lawful political activities to further that cause. None of the defendants is on trial for believing that England has in the past acted with aggression against Wales, or for believing that England has been indifferent, if not actively hostile, to the preservation of the ancient Welsh language as a living language. Indeed, having heard the historical evidence presented to you, you may think that in some ways they have a legitimate grievance. I make that clear because both Caradog Prys-Jones and Arianwen Hughes have told you frankly that they are nationalists. They are perfectly entitled to hold those views and to promote them in every lawful way. They are not to be convicted because of their beliefs, and you are not to be prejudiced against them because of their beliefs, even if you may personally disagree with them.
‘Nor are you to be prejudiced against Caradog Prys-Jones because of his behaviour earlier in the trial, which led me to have him taken down to the cells. Indeed, you may well regard his refusal to recognise the court as no more than another protest against all things English – an ill-advised and ill-timed protest, you may think, but perhaps no more than that. He returned to court subsequently. He has made no further protest and, indeed, he has given evidence, although more on behalf of his sister than on his own account.
‘The Crown say, of course, that this was not simply a matter of holding beliefs or promoting them by lawful means. The Crown says that this was a serious crime, which would have been a serious crime even if it was not committed in a political cause. It is illegal to cause explosions in these circumstances, regardless of the motive of the person who causes the explosion.
‘Let me deal first with the case of Caradog Prys-Jones. I have reminded you
of the prosecution’s evidence. It is said that he was the leader of the Heirs of Owain Glyndŵr; that he commissioned Dafydd Prosser to build a device capable of being detonated during the Investiture ceremony; that he found a place to plant it, making use of the access he had to the Castle as a night watchman; and that he was prevented from carrying the plan out only because of his arrest. When interviewed by the police, he gave them a written statement under caution. It is not disputed that this was a voluntary statement. You may think – of course, it is a matter for you to say – but you may think you would be perfectly entitled to regard that statement, not only as an admission of guilt, but as a defiant statement of self-justification. Indeed, you may think that, on its own, it is more than enough to convict him, and certainly when it is taken together with the other evidence you have heard. But that is a matter for you.
‘Turning to Dafydd Prosser, he has not given evidence, but for the reasons I have explained, you will not hold that against him. The Crown say that he is linked to the bomb by a good deal of circumstantial evidence found in the garage in Bangor, fingerprints and fragments of dynamite and electrical wire, and by the fact that he collected the bomb in the car driven by Arianwen Hughes and delivered it to Caradog Prys-Jones in the square in Caernarfon. When the bomb disposal officers arrived, he continually assured them that the device was not armed, which the disposal officers soon confirmed for themselves.
‘The Crown say that there can only be one reason why Dafydd Prosser would know whether or not the device was armed, and that is because he built the device and was familiar with its condition when it arrived in Caernarfon. Obviously, it would be a sensible step not to arm it until the last possible moment, which was just before Caradog Prys-Jones put it in his duffle bag to take it into the Castle; and you will bear in mind Mr Morgan-Davies’s observation that it was obvious to the bomb disposal officers almost immediately that it was not armed. But that, of course, does not begin to explain the fact, if you accept it as such, that he brought the device from the garage in Bangor to Caernarfon.
‘Turning lastly to Arianwen Hughes, she has given evidence, supported by her brother, that she knew nothing about the plot to plant a bomb in the Castle, and that she had no idea that the item she carried back from Bangor was a bomb. As I said earlier, members of the jury, if that account is true, or if it may be true, then you cannot be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that she had knowledge of the plan, and without proof of that knowledge she cannot be convicted of conspiracy.