Welsh territorial police force for Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen
Police have charged eight men in connection with a long-running investigation into group-based child sexual exploitation in south Wales. The defendants, aged 54 to 73, face multiple rape and associated offences dating from 1985 to 1996. They are due before Newport Magistrates’ Court on July 24.
Multiple UK outlets report on Christopher Phillips, 60, who pleaded guilty to preventing a lawful burial and fraud after storing his mother Sylvia Phillips’s body in a chest freezer in Porthcawl, Wales. He benefited from pensions and benefits while disguising her death; he has been sentenced to two years and four months in prison.
A murder investigation has been launched after violent disorder in Pontnewynydd near Pontypool, with a man in custody and multiple arrests as investigators uncover links to rival motorcycle clubs. A Ford Transit van has been traced in connection with the incident.
Reform UK's Welsh leadership has faced fresh upheaval as Dan Thomas has stood down after a police arrest; Helen Jenner is interim leader, with a deputy; Sarah Cooper-Lesadd defects to Plaid Cymru, dramatically reshaping the Senedd opposition balance.