'Fantasist' promised music stars for festival that never happened

In summer last year, Mr Kenny went to Bauer Media to sell the festival, claiming he had learned how to pitch from the television show The Apprentice.

Mr Kenny fits a certain type in the industry, reflected a former client who dealt with him on another failed event business.

“James Kenny is probably the world’s worst conman because he always gets caught out, but he’s also the world’s best conman because he will carry on doing it until he’s locked up,” they said.

In a statement, Welsh government said it was “very concerned” to hear of events proposed by Monmouth Rising that had caused “significant issues” for a number of stakeholders.

The Welsh government said it had referred the matter to the appropriate regulatory bodies and was offering support to any supplier impacted.

Mr Kenny also worked with Monmouthshire County Council, which has said it has “no intention of working with him again nor associating with any future events which he may propose”.

The Labour administration has also banned Mr Kenny from working with it after watchdogs found he had breached the local authority’s code of conduct, without providing any further detail.

Mr Kenny has failed to respond to requests for comment.