A mural in the Welsh Valleys town of Blaina depicts a young girl clutching a daffodil beneath the words: “A small town with a big Welsh heart”.

The former mining community in Gwent has long been known for its tight-knit spirit. With fewer than 5,000 residents, Blaina is the sort of place where people know one another — and local news spreads quickly.

That close community rallied when 14-year-old Lilly Jones failed to come home on a Saturday evening in June. Neighbours joined the search almost immediately.

Two days later, Lilly’s body was discovered in woodland at Duffryn Park, a nine-acre area featuring sports pitches and nature trails beside the Ebbw Fach river.

Relatives described Lilly as a “beautiful, kind and caring” girl who had an “eclectic taste in music”. She had suffered multiple stab wounds. Days later, a 14-year-old boy was charged with her murder.

The killing has devastated Blaina. As residents mourned one of their own, detectives were also dealing with a much broader crisis across the region.

Police chiefs say the number of killings in Gwent has risen by an “unprecedented” 270 per cent over the past year.

The rural county north-east of Cardiff typically records two or three murders annually. Yet 11 killings were reported during the first 10 months of 2026.

Gwent Police Chief Constable Mark Hobrough said he was concerned that his 1,535 officers could suffer burnout. He also warned that record overtime bills were putting severe pressure on the force’s finances.

Mr Hobrough warned that, if the rise in killings continues into next year, he may have to consider cheaper options — including bringing in specialist investigators on temporary “zero-hours type” contracts.

The young age of many of the victims has been among the most disturbing features of the killings.

They included 17-year-old rugby player Tristan Kerr, who was fatally stabbed with a zombie knife in the village of Abertridwr, near Caerphilly, in February.

In Newport, only a short drive away, 19-year-old Jaydon Bowyer died in May alongside his best friend, 16-year-old Ta-Shay Canoville. The pair were thrown from a motorbike in what police suspect was a hit-and-run.

The oldest victim was 74-year-old Brian Parfitt, who died a month earlier after being attacked inside his home in Pontypool, a town of around 30,000 people north of Newport.

Several other deaths occurred in public places.

Tony Jones, a 56-year-old father of two, was killed during a violent brawl in nearby Pontnewynydd on August 7.

Police believe the violence involved two rival motorcycle clubs, the Hells Angels and the Vikings. Witnesses reportedly saw people wielding knives and hammers.

As part of the murder investigation, officers have made 45 arrests and preserved 55 scenes.

Mr Hobrough said the spike in homicides has been accompanied by other horrifying incidents, including the death of a nine-month-old baby in a dog attack. 

He said there was no link between the 11 killings and that many stemmed from domestic violence and substance misuse.

Others appear to have been sparked by trivial disputes.

On February 20, Kyle O’Callaghan, 30, punched 37-year-old Marcus Carpenter in the head outside a Wetherspoons because he felt ‘disrespected’.

Both men were in the pub with separate groups of friends when O’Callaghan asked Mr Carpenter to come outside after hearing he ‘had been saying things about him’.

After throwing a first punch, O’Callaghan continued trying to argue with Mr Carpenter before landing a second ‘fatal, sickening blow’ while his victim had his arms down by his side, Newport Crown Court heard.

The cowardly killer admitted manslaughter and was jailed for ten-and-a-half years.

While everyone acknowledges the police are under pressure, locals in Blaina criticised the idea of employing investigators on a ‘zero-hours’ basis.

Since Mr Hobrough’s comments to Monmouthshire councillors, Gwent Police has clarified that it does not employ anyone on zero-hours contracts.

The force said any new staff it recruits in would be on short-term temporary contracts, a similar arrangement to agency staff. It said these individuals could assist detectives during ‘future periods of high demand’.

Nonetheless, many in Blaina fear the force is already struggling to cope.

Brian Jones, a 62-year-old retired scaffolder, pointed out that Lilly’s body was found by two boys shortly after officers called off their search at dusk. 

Gwent Police were alerted but it was another 12 minutes before officers returned to the scene. 

‘We all know the resources aren’t there. We saw that when the young girl went missing and was found dead,’ he said.

On Blaina’s high street, many of the shops are closed and shuttered, while those that have survived tend to be takeaways and Turkish barbers.

A recurring complaint was the shortage of officers on the beat and a dearth of community police stations.

Retired dementia carer Jonathan Williams, 60, said: ‘It’s all falling apart. Growing up there was a police station and courtroom in every town in the Valleys, but not anymore.

‘This is one of the most poverty-hit areas in the UK.’

Other residents complained of masked gangs of youths riding quad bikes, motorbikes and electric scooters through Blaina and the neighbouring towns of Abertillery, Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr. 

Grandmother Angela Thomas, 69, who was walking her dog Tilly along Blaina’s high street, called for a return to traditional policing. 

She said: ‘Police officers should start as constables and work their way up.

‘If we need more police officers the Government should put up the money and they should be recruited and trained in the normal way.’

While Gwent has not seen any further murders since the Pontypool brawl in August, residents fear the violence is far from over. 

Businesswoman Cara Davies, 43, who runs a street food business in Blaina called Smash’d, said: ‘It’s a frightening place to live and work at the moment.

‘I’ve been close to two murders in the area, Lilly here in Blaina and the biker gang murder in Pontypool where I live.

‘There’s been a big increase in murders and serious crime in Gwent but you don’t see police on the streets.

‘There were plenty here when Lilly died, but after that it went back to normal.’

Harry and Meghan were accompanied during their walkabout in Nottingham by a former Kensington Palace aide who once appeared as a stripper in a soap-opera spin-off, the Daily Mail can reveal.

As the couple greeted members of the public, Beth Herlihy followed discreetly a few steps behind, helping to carry the flowers and balloons presented by supporters.

Ms Herlihy, who earns $155,000 a year as a programme coordinator for the Sussexes, co-founded the public relations boutique Herlihy Loughran. She previously worked for the Royal Family before becoming one of Harry and Meghan’s most trusted aides.

She travelled to Nottingham with the couple yesterday after helping organise their engagements in the city, walking behind them as they greeted a crowd of around 100 people.

Video footage also showed her directing schoolchildren into position shortly before Harry and Meghan arrived to cheers.

Before moving into royal circles, however, Ms Herlihy pursued a different career as a soap actress. Her roles included playing a stripper in a racy Hollyoaks spin-off.

Using the stage name Bethan Coundley, she played Honey in two episodes of Channel 4’s Hollyoaks Later in 2011.

In the storyline, her character slept with a man before drugging him and making him hallucinate that he had killed her with an axe.

The deception was exposed when a supposed burial site was found to contain a pig’s body rather than a human corpse.

Ms Herlihy also appeared in several racy photoshoots, including one in 2012 in which she wore a PVC bodysuit.

Away from acting, she built a career in public relations and joined Kensington Palace within a few years. She now works with Harry and Meghan after establishing an advisory firm serving prominent figures and organisations in the philanthropic sector.

Ms Herlihy founded the firm with Clara Loughran, another former royal aide who served as Harry’s programme manager. Ms Loughran is married to Nick Loughran, Harry’s former assistant communications secretary.

She was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order by the Queen on Harry’s recommendation. The honour is awarded to people who have served the monarchy with dedication in a personal capacity.

The organisation describes itself as “a small, high-trust advisory working with high-profile individuals, founders and organisations to build and deliver meaningful philanthropic work.”

Its “bespoke” services include “advice, positioning and delivery”, with the stated aim of helping “good people do meaningful things, exceptionally well”. Retaining the firm, however, comes at a considerable cost.

A tax return filed by Harry and Meghan’s charity, Archewell Philanthropies, shows that the couple paid Herlihy Loughran $155,000 for strategic advisory services. The firm received $127,807 in 2022.

The six-figure payment may reflect the time Ms Herlihy and Ms Loughran spend working for the Sussexes. As the Daily Mail’s Royal Editor Rebecca English has written: “Both have been trained in the ‘royal way’.”

‘Even the walkabout undertaken by the couple – just hours after their own team pointedly insisted they wouldn’t do one because they didn’t have the security to manage it, despite the exact timings of their visit being publicly released, presumably in an effort to drum up interest – was royal in all but name.’ 

Ms Herlihy was hired as an events manager at the Royal Foundation, the joint charitable vehicle for the now-Prince and Princess of Wales and the Sussexes, in 2016. 

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After the Sussexes split from the foundation in 2018, she remained with Harry and Meghan but was laid off by Kensington Palace after the Sussexes stepped down as senior royals and relocated to the US. 

She set up Herlihy Loughran in 2020 and has followed the Sussexes across the pond. 

In September 2023, she was seen talking with the Prince at the Invictus Games in Germany. The pair chatted in the stands as they watched a wheelchair basketball match between Team UK and Ukraine in Düsseldorf. 

And it would seem that Ms Herlihy has remained loyal to the Sussexes after they decided to return to the UK after six years living in Montecito, California. 

Dressed in black trousers, a beige sweater and suede boots, Ms Beth was close at hand as Harry and Meghan carried out a series of charity visits in Nottingham – nine years after their first royal visit to the city. 

The scenes looked identical to their walkabout almost a decade ago – although the crowds appeared smaller in 2026.

Around 100 royal fans and well-wishers gathered to greet Harry and Meghan. The duchess beamed as she shook hands and took selfies with fans, including one boy who asked if she lived in a mansion and another who wanted to know whether she had a Bentley.

The visit came after the Sussexes were described as ‘private citizens’ by the King, who was in Wales with the Queen for an official engagement at the same time.

One of the Duchess’ friends said Meghan does not see herself as a working royal and is instead more of a ‘full-time mum and entrepreneur’, adding that public events like this with her husband will be ‘rare’ for her.

The Sussexes were supporting a number of charities, including a community food project established in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and a recording studio where Meghan took part in an acting workshop.

In keeping with traditional royal engagements, the scores of photographers and journalists gathered outside were kept behind barriers, as were the crowds of well-wishers, some clutching flowers, with one youngster holding a unicorn balloon, while media access inside the event was pooled.

Harry and Meghan are waiting to hear whether they will be granted taxpayer-funded security, with the duke said to fear a delay after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a review of security measures for the royal family and public figures in the wake of the death of Reform UK’s justice spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe.

The duke and duchess are said to consider themselves ‘public figures’ and were caught off-guard by the letter, authorised by the King, outlining their position.

Meghan is hoping to launch As Ever in the UK by the end of this year.

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On the surface, Dr Alexander Aslani appeared to have everything. The pioneering plastic surgeon drove to his clinic on Spain’s sun-drenched Costa del Sol in a distinctive grey Ferrari and counted reality television stars and members of the Qatari royal family among his high-profile clients.

The world-renowned doctor lived in a spectacular five-bedroom villa in the foothills of Mijas Costa. From the property, he could look out across the Mediterranean coastline and the surrounding Andalusian mountains.

The father of two also spent much of his free time on his 40ft yacht, kept in a £15,000-a-year berth at the marina in Puerto Banus, the luxury resort known as a playground for millionaires.

But Dr Aslani’s glamorous jet-set life came to a horrific end earlier this month. A masked gunman entered his clinic and shot the 57-year-old plastic surgeon in a brutal attack.

Police sources told the Daily Mail that Dr Aslani was struck four times as he crouched in his office, in front of patients, employees and his wife, Jeannine. She often visited him from the beauty salon next door.

Detectives were left shocked by the final shot, which was fired into his face from point-blank range. They suspect it may have been a final act of vengeance by a dissatisfied patient who hired a killer to carry out the attack.

Despite enjoying the rewards that came with his success, Dr Aslani had spoken publicly about the pressures of working at the forefront of a high-profile medical profession. The work could bring immense recognition and financial reward, he said, but one mistake could also trigger a career-ending scandal.

The Daily Mail can now reveal that the German-born surgeon, regarded by clients as a calm and exacting perfectionist, had privately expressed fears for his safety just days before he was killed.

He had previously contacted police about death threats after being targeted by a dissatisfied client.

Behind his composed public image, Dr Aslani had become increasingly anxious and was living with growing fears for the safety of himself and his family.

To the outside world, it had been business as usual when Dr Aslani, known for a pioneering procedure dubbed the ‘super-charged Brazilian butt lift’, travelled to a plastic surgery conference in Brussels and addressed fellow delegates.

However, the surgeon had taken additional security measures at his home in Majadilla del Muerto, a village about a 30-minute drive from his Marbella clinic. Three days before his death, he confided his concerns to a fellow delegate.

The colleague, who asked not to be named, told the Daily Mail: ‘It was such a shock for me when I heard what had happened to Alex.

‘He had been with us in Belgium the weekend before he died and left on the Sunday. As usual, he was informative and knowledgeable, sharing his years of experience with us.

‘In public, he seemed happy and relaxed, but privately he appeared concerned.

‘I have visited him and his wife, Jeannine, many times and stayed with them. They have two lovely daughters, and she is devastated.

‘I have sent her my condolences but, as you can imagine, she is in a state of shock. We all are in the plastic surgery world. Alex was such a respected surgeon with a huge international reputation.

‘I know he was worried about security and had heard that he was facing problems. He had cameras at both the clinic and his home, I know that, but he did not have a bodyguard with him in Brussels. He may have had one in Spain; I don’t know.’

‘Poor, poor Jeannine, she has two lovely girls, and this is such a waste of a life, it’s really very sad and there is no justification at all for such a violent act.’

Dr Fahad Mirza, a Pakistan-based plastic surgeon, also paid tribute to Dr Aslani and revealed he had spoken to him just hours before he died.

The pair were planning for a conference Dr Aslani was due to address in Karachi in three weeks.

‘I’m so, so shocked. I spoke with him a few hours before he died,’ Dr Mirza told us.

‘He was coming to Karachi with his wife and one of his daughters, we called him ‘The Master’ because he was so good at his job. No one can believe what has happened, he was a fantastic colleague and a friend.

‘When we spoke, he didn’t seem to have any concerns, but these are not always noticeable on a phone call, and I’ve read the reports it was an unhappy patient.

‘That is something we have to deal with. Occasionally people can become obsessed with their image, it’s body dysmorphia and they are convinced they have flaws; despite any surgery they have had being successful and proper procedures followed.’

After returning to Spain, Dr Aslani – who had performed more than 7,000 of the operations in a career spanning more than 30 years – was back hard at work at his Circumed Clinic.

Specialising in body contouring and facial surgery he had attracted patients from more than 40 countries with clients including Chloe Sims from The Only Way Is Essex and Love Island star Hannah Elizabeth.

It was at 6pm on Wednesday, October 7 that the hitman struck. Dressed all in black, with a hoodie pulled over his crash helmet, the killer walked into the clinic, swiftly located Aslani and shot him repeatedly before fleeing on a motorbike.

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Neighbours told how in the aftermath of the shooting Dr Aslani’s wife ran from the building screaming hysterically: ‘They’ve killed my husband.’

Making his getaway on a Yamaha Maxi Scooter along the slip road by the A7, the alleged killer turned right towards the Bello Horizonte area of Marbella where he was seen getting into an Audi which sped away.

He was caught on CCTV and automatic number plate recognition technology enabled police to track the car.

The man was traced to an Airbnb in Benalmadena 25 miles away where he had checked in under a false name. Police broke down the door to arrest him.

The suspect – an 18-year-old Swedish national – denies involvement and has been remanded in custody without bail while the investigation continues.

The man has allegedly refused to reveal who hired him and who his accomplices were with police still looking for the driver of the Audi.

Detectives from Marbella’s UDEV murder squad revealed Dr Aslani had reported threats to police from an unidentified patient back in April who was unhappy with a procedure he had carried out.

Earlier this week local media reported how officers were investigating a wealthy Arab client who had demanded the return of a £17,000 deposit from Dr Aslani.

He had allegedly refused insisting they were the ‘standard charges’ for preliminary procedures involving a Brazilian Butt Lift.

According to respected newspaper Diario Sur the woman and her husband had been ‘threatening’ Dr Aslani for several months.

They are said to have visited the clinic to ‘issue warnings’ to staff before leaving Spain for an unidentified country in the Middle East.

What is also intriguing is just how well the assassin knew the layout of the clinic, he was able to walk in, march past the reception desk and the waiting area with its leather sofa and coffee machine straight into Dr Aslani’s office.

The clinic has remained closed since the killing but neighbours told how they heard ‘screaming and shouting’ before police and paramedics arrived at the scene within minutes.

One said: ‘I hadn’t seen his wife since the night of the shooting but a couple of days ago she turned up and then I saw his grey Ferrari had gone from the underground car park, so she must have taken it home.

‘Their children are at the same school as mine, but nothing has been said and they haven’t come back to class yet.’

While high-profile clients have posted glowing tributes of the surgeon he has also previously been at the centre of controversy.

In 2012, Dr Aslani was disciplined by the UK’s General Medical Council when the watchdog ordered him to tackle ‘deficiencies’ in six areas of his practice, including patient consent and post-operative care.

The ruling meant he wasn’t allowed to operate in the UK at the time without written permission, and had to work under a medical supervisor.

Then, four years later, he gave up his medical licence in Britain, meaning he could not legally work in the country.

In 2020 influencer Paulina Sobierajska, who had undergone three procedures by Dr Aslani, claimed the last one was ‘botched’, saying her implants had been wrongly positioned and she needed further reconstructive surgery.

Having initially promoted Dr Aslani to followers, she then urged women not to book any procedures with the surgeon.

Dr Aslani took Ms Sobierajska to the High Court for libel, with the court ruling in his favour and ordering Ms Sobierajska to pay £40,000 in damages.

In a separate 2018 court case, records show one client sued Dr Aslani for medical malpractice after an operation by him and inadequate follow-up care.

Dr Aslani, the hospital and its insurers were ordered to pay nearly £20,000.

Before setting up his Cirumed Clinic in Marbella in 2018, Dr Aslani trained in Austria and South Africa, and he also worked as a consultant plastic surgeon in Birmingham’s Dolan Park Hospital from 2006-2007 and London’s Highgate Hospital at the same time.

His LinkedIn profile says he became head of plastic surgery at the Quiron hospitals in Marbella and Malaga in 2008 and he was rated as one of Spain’s leading surgeons.

Along with reports of a disgruntled Arab client it has also been claimed the family of a Colombian woman who reportedly died following surgery had sought revenge.

What is increasingly clear is the growing level of organised crime on the Costa del Sol and the ready availability of guns for hire – with killers recruited from overseas and some barely out of school.

In an interview on local radio earlier this week Fernando Bentabol, of the anti-drugs department in Malaga, was asked about Dr Aslani’s murder and said the area had a ‘serious problem with paid assassins’.

He added: ‘There are now veritable organisations dedicated to having people travel from certain places, especially many from northern Europe, who are simply hired for this type of operation.

‘They come, carry out the assassination, and then leave. And this is very easy to arrange through the dark web.’

Greens senator Jordon Steele-John has launched a fierce public criticism of his party’s leadership, alleging that newly elected Greens leader David Shoebridge pressured him to take leave and mishandled allegations made against him.

In a detailed open letter published on Sunday, Steele-John rejected the claims about his conduct and accused a “political clique” within the Western Australian Greens of mounting a campaign against him.

The 32-year-old senator said he had been caught up in “nasty political games”, claiming efforts to undermine him were linked to upcoming preselections and intended to damage his reputation.

Steele-John’s statement sought to respond to a number of claims and rumours that had circulated in Canberra and among Greens members.

One issue centred on the insulting nickname “feels on wheels”, a phrase Shoebridge faced repeated questions about at a press conference on Thursday.

Steele-John said the term first emerged after he became emotional while speaking about disability rights and the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of Disabled People.

“‘Feels on wheels’ is a name that members of other parties started using to refer to me after I became emotional early in my career while giving speeches about the Royal Commission,” he wrote.

According to the senator, the phrase later acquired a more troubling interpretation.

“Eventually, I was informed that this phrase, which mocked my disability and my emotions, had taken on a new, more sinister meaning: that I had treated women inappropriately.”  

Steele-John also disputed the suggestion that he had been placed on leave, saying no such arrangement had ever been agreed.

“I am not on leave and did not agree to the inclusion of that line within David’s statement,” Steele-John wrote.

He argued that the Greens leader did not have the authority to remove a Greens MP from Parliament, the party or the formal party room.

Steele-John further alleged that Shoebridge had repeatedly urged him to step aside as media coverage of the allegations was about to emerge.

“I very much understand the tremendous scrutiny David was under in his first week in Parliament as leader, and I have compassion for that. I also feel that he let me and my team down,” he wrote.

Steele-John said the pair held several meetings on the morning the story was due to break to discuss the party’s response.

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“I feel that he used those meetings to repeatedly pressure me to say that I would take leave.”

The extraordinary public dispute follows a letter from seven Greens members to Shoebridge calling for an investigation into what they described as multiple allegations involving Steele-John between 2017 and 2025.

The signatories said concerns about the senator’s conduct had circulated both within the Greens and outside the party.

The allegations prompted Shoebridge to announce Steele-John would step away from the federal party room while an independent investigation was established.

The senator repeatedly suggested the complaints process had been weaponised as part of an internal factional battle linked to future preselection contests.

‘It is my opinion that this is an attempt to influence forthcoming party preselections by deliberately leaking out of context or misleading information to smear potential candidates and myself,’ he wrote.

‘That is not accountability. It is factionalism, and it has no place in the Greens.’

Steele-John also addressed allegations relating to a 2024 Greens campaign event, saying he had not been provided with any details and therefore could not properly respond.

‘I’m really concerned to read this,’ Steele-John wrote.

‘No details were provided in the letter, so unfortunately, at this point, I don’t know how I could respond.’

Steele-John also commented on a 2025 complaint alleging serious sexual misconduct.

Steele-John said the complaint stemmed from a relationship with a woman whom he alleges later became abusive after learning about his current partner in what he described as a ‘polyamorous’ relationship.

‘When I ended things, she refused to accept that there wasn’t ‘someone else’,’ he wrote.

‘My new relationship, which is polyamorous, was not the reason for the breakup.’