We have put together a round-up of all the latest news, weather, and travel information for Saturday, April 23, to prepare you for the start of the weekend. The news includes the latest figures on Covid-19 infections which have fallen in Wales for the first time in seven weeks.
All four UK nations have seen a drop in infections for the first time since the middle of January, figures show. Across the UK 3.8m people in private households are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week to April 16, down from 4.4m the previous week. Total infections in the UK hit a weekly record of 4.9m in late March.
In other news new pictures of a beaming Prince Louis, taken my his mum the Duchess of Cambridge, have been released to mark his fourth birthday and there is a warning for Boris Johnson the partygate affair could hurt the Tories at the local elections.
Wales news headlines
The five missed opportunities to save Logan Mwangi
Social workers missed at least five chances to save little Logan Mwangi from his horrific life of abuse, it can be revealed. The five-year-old was found dead in the River Ogmore in Sarn, Bridgend, in July last year with injuries similar to those from a high-speed car crash.
The youngster had suffered more than 56 external injuries as well as horrific internal wounds including a large tear to his liver and one to his bowel. Experts said the injuries could have only been caused by a “brutal and sustained assault” inflicted on Logan in the hours, or days, prior to his death. They also said the injuries were “consistent with child abuse”.
Tiny Logan had been dumped in the river in the early hours by his 6ft 4in stepdad John Cole, 40, who had made his life a living hell with beatings and bullying. Sadly his death was the culmination of a lifetime of abuse at the hands of both former National Front member Cole and Logan’s mum Angharad Williamson, 31. You can read the full tragic story by clicking here. You can sign up to our newsletters by clicking here.
On Thursday the scheming pair were convicted of killing Logan and trying to cover it up alongside a teenage boy, who cannot be identified due to his age. Williamson screamed “no, no, no” as the verdicts were returned and howled in anguish while vicious Cole glowered at Logan’s real dad Ben Mwangi from the dock. Read more here.
RAF jet declares emergency above Wales
An RAF jet flying over Wales has transmitted an emergency code. The force's British Aerospace Hawk T2 model sent the code 7700, which typically indicates a general emergency.
A 7700 code usually means an engineering issue with the aircraft, which was tracked flying above the Caernarfon area. Flight maps indicate that its route is not known but at the time the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 22,300 feet and travelling at around 346mph.
The RAF has two types of the Hawk in service, the T1/T1A and the T2. We reported how an American Air Force bomber plane had been spotted flying over parts of Wales last week. You can read more about that by clicking here.
Aircraft and satellite tracking group SkyScanWorld tweeted at around 1.10pm that the aircraft had broadcast the code. There is no indication of any serious incident and the code is routinely used in aviation for a wide variety of reasons. Read more here.
Today's forecast
Bright spells and some showers but with a brisk wind. Here is the full forecast for Wales: "Low cloud will lift to leave a mostly dry morning with bright spells. Scattered, locally-heavy showers are likely to break out during the afternoon although these should die out later to leave a sunnier end to the day. Breezy. Maximum temperature 16°C. It will be dry across the country with evening sunshine giving way to clear periods overnight. However, patches of low cloud are likely to form by the morning. Remaining breezy. Minimum temperature 5°C."
Here is how the roads and rail are affected at 8am
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A4139 London Road, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, partially blocked westbound due to accident around McDonalds. Traffic is coping well.
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Buses run instead of trains on Transport for Wales between Aberdare and Pontypridd due to engineering works.
National news headlines
Johnson warned Tories will be punished at the polls for Covid-breach parties
Boris Johnson has been warned the Conservatives will "reap the whirlwind" of the No 10 lockdown parties saga at the ballot box as the threat of more police fines hangs over him.
Former Conservative minister Steve Baker told The Daily Telegraph the partygate affair could hurt the Tories at the local elections on May 5, with his constituents expressing "fury" at reports of lockdown breaches in Downing Street. Follow all the latest news from the Wales local elections here.
It comes after the influential backbencher turned on the Prime Minister in the Commons this week, telling MPs the Conservative Party leader should have realised the "gig's up" after the Metropolitan Police concluded he had breached his own coronavirus rules.
"People lived under barbaric rules. They were told that if they deviated one iota from the law they would kill people. And they suffered for it," Mr Baker, who hinted that he had submitted a letter of no confidence in the Prime Minister, told the newspaper.
"Meanwhile in No 10, where they should have been obeying both the letter and spirit of the rules, clearly they breached both. It's been a disaster and I fear we will reap the whirlwind on polling day."
It comes after reports by ITV that fine notices have started landing in the email inboxes of officials who attended a "bring your own bottle" drinks do in the Downing Street garden on May 20, 2020, during England's first Covid lockdown when indoor and outdoor gatherings were banned. No 10 said on Friday evening Mr Johnson, who has admitted attending but insisted he "believed implicitly that this was a work event", has not received notice of a fine in relation to the gathering.
But with the Prime Minister having already been fined once for attending his own birthday bash in June 2020 there is the risk he could be fined further times with claims that police are looking into another five possible rule-breaking events he is said to have attended. The Met has said it will make no public update on the number of fines issued until after the local elections but Downing Street has stated it will still declare whether the Prime Minister receives further fines in the lead-up to polling day.
Mr Johnson is facing calls to resign over the partygate affair with prominent backbenchers such as Mr Baker and ex-defence minister Tobias Ellwood among those to call for him to quit. The Guardian said allies of former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt and trade minister Penny Mordaunt had been making "discreet preparations" for a leadership contest should Tory MPs move to topple Mr Johnson.
A widespread Tory revolt was rumoured to be behind the Downing Street decision to abandon a plan on Thursday to delay a Commons investigation into whether he misled Parliament with his repeated assurances that Covid rules were followed in No 10. Chris Bryant, chair of the Privileges Committee, has recused himself from the parliamentary investigation, having made his views on Mr Johnson's conduct plain in the media.
The Rhondda Labour MP, writing in the Daily Mirror, said the Prime Minister "doesn't have it in him to be honest" and accused him of being "not fit to govern". "Johnson was lying when he told the Commons no laws were broken – and he knows it, because he was there when the laws were broken," Mr Bryant said.
Asked for a reply to the comments a No 10 spokeswoman pointed to Mr Johnson's response to the Privileges Committee probe when he told broadcasters on Thursday he had "absolutely nothing, frankly, to hide".
Supermarkets limit cooking oil purchases
Supermarkets across the UK have placed limits on how much cooking oil customers can buy due to supply chain problems caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Tesco is allowing three items per customer while Waitrose and Morrisons have placed limits of just two items each, according to the BBC.
In comments carried by the broadcaster the British Retail Consortium's Tom Holder said the move was a temporary measure "to ensure availability for everyone". Most of the UK's sunflower oil comes from Ukraine with the restrictions applying to that product as well as olive and rapeseed oils at some supermarkets. Mr Holder said retailers were "working with suppliers to ramp up production of alternative cooking oils to minimise the impact on consumers".
Recent data showed cooking oil was one of a range of food staples to have its price shoot up. The price of cooking oils and fats went up 7% and is nearly a quarter more expensive than a year ago, the Office for National Statistics said on April 13. The Russian tanks and missiles besieging Ukraine are also threatening the food supply and livelihoods of people in Europe, Africa and Asia who rely on the vast, fertile farmlands of the Black Sea region known as the "breadbasket of the world".
Sport headlines
Fighters set for all-British heavyweight world-title showdown
Wembley Stadium is set to host one of the biggest all-British heavyweight dust-ups in history. WBC and Ring Magazine champion Tyson Fury will look to strengthen his status as the best fighter in the division. Challenger Dillian Whyte will aim to shock the boxing world. Hype for the clash has only really amped up over the past few days with Whyte, up until fight week, not participating in news conferences or promotional events.
The 34-year-old was aggrieved by his share of the purse but the topic of who is earning what and the politics involved can now be put to bed with the focus firmly on who will come out top. Fury has won 31 bouts, with 22 knockouts, and drawn one as a professional. Whyte has won 28, with 19 stoppages, but has twice tasted defeat.
Clinical French possess too much for resilient Wales
France kept their hopes of a Grand Slam alive with a dominant win over Wales at the Arms Park. Four first-half tries, including a brace from the influential Laure Sansus, put the visitors in control at the break. However Ioan Cunningham's side responded well in the second-half and matched France with one try each after Sioned Harries stretched over with the final play of the match.
The world's third-best side were always favourites for this one despite Wales' improved showings in the early rounds of the Women's Six Nations and that shone through as Sansus raced over after 10 minutes. Read the full match report here.
