THE row about an illegal open-cast coalmine in Merthyr Tydfil intensified today as the Senedd’s climate change committee demanded urgent answers from the Welsh government.

Scrutiny committee chair Llyr Gruffydd wrote to Climate Change Minister Julie James demanding answers about the Ffos-y-Fran open-cast mine.

The company, Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd, has continued to mine without a licence which expired in September 2022.