Council Chief Forced to Resign Over £3,000 Fraud Attempt Involving House of the Dragon Filming
A disgraced council chief in Wales has been compelled to quit his position after attempting to pocket £3,000 from filming crews using a historic pier for the popular fantasy drama House of the Dragon. Iwan Huws, the former chief executive of the Eryri National Park Authority in Snowdonia and an ex-National Trust director, admitted to fraud after requesting that a film company pay the fee for hiring Beaumaris Pier directly into his personal bank account.
Details of the Fraudulent Scheme
HBO's House of the Dragon Season 3 was filming dramatic scenes at Beaumaris Pier in the coastal town of Beaumaris, north Wales, with a major sequence marking the end of a key chapter in the show's on-location shoot. Huws, who was referred to the production company on June 30, 2023, to arrange the pier hire for two days, agreed on a total fee covering all costs and parking. He then attached a mooring receipt with a handwritten document outlining the pier hire details and his personal bank account information for payment.
On July 13, 2023, the company sent a purchase order to Huws' email address at Anglesey County Council, and on July 24, 2024, Huws sent an email demanding payment of the fee. The fraud came to light when he accepted a police caution for 'fraud through abuse of position' after attempting 'to defraud his employer through the misuse of funds.'
Investigation and Consequences
The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales referred the matter to the independent Adjudication Panel for Wales (APW), which conducted a tribunal. The tribunal found that Huws had breached Gwynedd council's Code of Conduct, concluding that his actions brought his office and the county council into disrepute. The APW report stated that the offence demonstrated a lack of respect towards the public on several levels, as he attempted to steal money due to Beaumaris Town Council and the Isle of Anglesey County Council.
Key findings from the report include:
- The attempt to defraud took place over several days and included an element of premeditation in its preparation.
- Huws, a Welsh nationalist Plaid Cymru member, was banned from standing as a councillor in any council in Wales for three years.
- During police interviews, Huws confessed to sending the handwritten invoice and agreed that he had attempted to defraud through the abuse of his position.
Huws' Response and Aftermath
In interviews with the Ombudsman, Huws alleged that he did not realise accepting a caution for fraud through misuse of position was an admission of guilt. However, he ultimately accepted his guilt, stating that he had made a major mistake and wanted to move on from the incident. He believed that resigning was the honourable thing to do at the time, citing embarrassment and guilt as reasons for his cooperation with the police.
The report added that Huws' actions not only violated legal and ethical standards but also undermined public trust in local government. This case highlights the importance of transparency and accountability in public office, especially when dealing with high-profile projects like film productions that bring economic benefits to communities.
