EXCLUSIVE The tell-tale clue that led cops to the three Aussies now facing the death penalty for the suspected gangland hit at a luxury Bali villa

Bali detectives have revealed they tracked down the three Australians accused of a gangland hit on two Melbourne men through the tattoos on one of those arrested.
Zivan 'Stipe' Radmanovic, 35, and Sanar Ghanim, 34, were shot just after midnight on Saturday at a villa in Munggu, in Badung Regency in Bali's south, in an attack believed to be linked to Melbourne's feuding Middle Eastern crime syndicates.
Midolmore Pasa Tupou, 37, Darcy Jenson, 27, and Mevlut Coskun, 23, were arrested and brought back to Bali on Wednesday after an intense five-day police manhunt.
Jenson was arrested at Jakarta Airport as he tried to get through an e-passport reader to board a flight to Singapore and then on to Cambodia.
Tupou and Coskun managed to make it out of the country to Cambodia but were identified by Interpol who swooped to arrest them in Phnom Penh and returned them to Indonesia.
Bali Police revealed on Wednesday how the gang allegedly fled across Indonesia after the shooting, escaping the scene on motorbikes before switching cars twice on an 18-hour, 1200km getaway to Jakarta.
Now detectives have revealed they were first traced through Tupou's distinctive tattoos which were first picked up on CCTV as he bought cigarettes near the villa where the attack unfolded.
Tupou has a combination of traditional Tongan artwork inked onto his skin as well as the 676-international telephone dialling code for Tonga tattooed in huge numbers down his shin.
The tattoos were clearly visible in pictures of Tupou as he was being pushed in a wheelchair through Jakarta Airport after he was deported back to Indonesia.
'Luckily Tupou had time to buy cigarettes not far from the crime scene a few moments before the shooting,' one detective told local Bali media.
He was later spotted on CCTV at another shop buying groceries in Jembrana in the holiday island's west, close to a short sea crossing to the Javanese mainland.
The alleged hit squad swapped their motorbikes for a Toyota Fortuner in Tabanan, 30km from the villa where the attack unfolded.
Tupou was spotted on CCTV getting out of the car in Jembrana before police allege they then crossed the sea to Java and switched to a Suzuki XL-7 SUV.
There police said they lost track of them as they made the long-distance trek to Jakarta Airport and allegedly tried to flee the country.
But the delay in reaching the airport allowed Indonesian authorities to identify them from the CCTV footage and put out the Interpol alert, stopping Jenson as he tried to leave and identifying Tupou and Coskun in Singapore.
On Thursday, Bali police revealed more details about how they allege the hit squad struck at the luxury villa.
They claim Coskun supplied the hardware required, including a fluorescent orange sledgehammer which was used to smash down the villa's door.
He is also accused of lining up the transport for the alleged gunmen and allegedly stole the Suzuki used in the getaway, assisted by the other pair.
The three were all arrested as soon as they touched down back at Bali's Denpasar Airport.
Detectives are now working with forensic experts as they pore over evidence from the crime scene, including blood samples, the sledgehammer, bullet casings and projectiles, and face coverings.
The crime squad is also looking at more CCTV footage, a vehicle and travel history, said a police spokesman.
The three can be held without charge for months while police investigate the killing.
Once they present their dossier of evidence, the three will be handed over to a prosecutor who will then send them to Bali's notorious Kerobokan Prison.
They will then face a court hearing to be formally charged, and kept at Kerobokan throughout their trial until a verdict and possible sentence.
They are being investigated for premeditated murder which under Indonesian law can carry the death sentence.
Radmanovic, who had 175 court appearances to his name, died in front of his wife in the villa toilet, while Ghanim was rushed to Kuta's BIMC Hospital with multiple injuries.
He was discharged from hospital on Sunday in a wheelchair, nursing a bandaged leg, and police say he has so far refused to co-operate with local authorities.
Ghanim is the former partner of Danielle Stephens, daughter of notorious Australian drug trafficker Carl Williams, who was murdered in Victoria's Barwon jail in 2010.
Radmanovic's wife Jazmyn Gourdeas, 29, was reportedly asleep at the villa when she awoke to the sound of her husband screaming at around 12.15am.
From behind a blanket, the mother-of-six said she witnessed the man in the orange jacket and another man open fire on her husband while he was in the bathroom.
Shortly afterwards, she heard further gunshots and Ghanim screaming from a separate room after he was gunned down in his bedroom.
With her husband already dead, Ms Gourdeas tried to stem Ghanim's bleeding until emergency services arrived.
A fourth person in the villa - believed to be a family member - managed to flee the property while gunshots rang out.
Police found 17 bullet casings and 55 bullet fragments at the scene.
Ghanim and Radmanovic's family are currently being kept on the island 'under close police watch', authorities said.
Radmanovic and Ms Gourdeas are understood to have arrived last Thursday to celebrate her 30th birthday in Bali, where Ghanim and his partner had reportedly been living for years.
Ghanim's long-standing association with Melbourne's criminal underworld goes deeper than just family ties.
In 2014, he was jailed following the shooting of fellow associate Serkan Kala after a dispute at a gym escalated. He and a co-accused pleaded guilty.

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Daily Mail​

an hour ago

• Daily Mail​

EXCLUSIVE Dublin's gangsters' molls: The women on the arms of some of the world's most notorious criminals

For a decade, the streets of Dublin have been awash with the blood of its two most notorious gangs - the Kinahans and the Hutches. Peculiarly, these two families were once friendly and many of the top tier criminal members have worked together in the past. Both are known as two of the most feared mobs in Ireland with empires worth millions and reach into the UK, Spain and Dubai. But alongside the gangland murders, contract killings and drug smuggling on a colossal scale, these gangsters still pursue family lives with their wives and girlfriends. They go on holiday, buy fancy clothes and live in imposing mansions - albeit with bulletproof windows and reinforced doors. But while they enjoy the trappings of domestic bliss - their lives are far from ordinary. Kinahan godfather Christy 'The Dapper Don' Kinahan Snr grew up in a middle-class family and law enforcement first became aware of him around the time he started working with Hutch Family Godfather Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch's older brother Eddie, reportedly robbing delivery vans and warehouses. While The Dapper Don built up his empire smuggling heroin into Ireland in the 80s, The Monk is suspected of making millions by teaming up with the Provisional IRA to pull off some of the biggest bank heists in Ireland's history. The Dapper Don's son Daniel 'Chess' Kinahan was famously friends with The Monk's nephew Gary Hutch. But that all changed in 2015 when Gary Hutch was wrongly suspected of being an informant for the Spanish police and was executed. What followed was a fierce gangland feud still raging to this day with 18 people killed in 10 years of bloodshed. Below, MailOnline looks at the women behind the kingpins wreaking havoc, making millions and often evading justice in a deadly fight for control of Ireland's drug trade. Daniel 'Chess' Kinahan, Christy 'The Dapper Don' Kinahan Snr and Christopher 'Mano' Jnr are all wanted, with US rewards totalling $15million Patricia Fowler Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch's wife has never been pictured - until today. Keeping a low profile, Patricia Fowler, who has been married to Hutch Family godfather, 63, for 38 years, has managed to avoid the press and only previously appeared with her face blurred out in gardai arrest footage. There is no suggestion Patricia is involved in crime herself. But she has been close to the heart of the Irish mob for decades through her association with her husband. Patricia grew up around the corner from Hutch and the pair started dating when they were teenagers. They were still teens when they had their first child together and have five children in total. None of their children are involved in criminality. The Monk married Patricia in March 1987, when he was 24 years old. They lived together on Buckingham Street in Dublin's north inner city before moving elsewhere. 'The Monk' earned his nickname because he abstained from booze, drugs and smoking and in part due to his hairstyle when he was younger. While his family are known to have been linked to the Hutch-Kinahan feud, the majority of casualties have been on the Hutch side. While it is commonly referred to as a feud, many see it as the dismantling of the Hutches by way of execution-style mafia hits. The most well known was the machine gun murder of David Byrne in 2016 at he Regency Hotel in Dublin, a hit that sparked the most deadly year of the feud to date. Six attackers, including a man disguised as a woman and two others dressed as police officers armed with AK-47s, stormed the four-star hotel, which has since been renamed as the Bonnington, and shot Kinahan gangster Byrne. It is believed the main target was suspected Kinahan Cartel boss Daniel Kinahan, who had left moments earlier. In August 2021, Patricia was having dinner with Hutch in a restaurant in Fuengirola on the Costa Del Sol - where two Scottish gang members were shot dead last month - when Spanish police arrested him in connection with the murder of David Byrne, for which he was later found not guilty. These days, although the Hutches are still a major crime group facing investigations in Dublin, they have not reached the heights of criminality that the Kinahans have. At the time of the photograph, Patricia's husband was hiding out in Europe as the Kinahans reportedly had a €500k (£420k) hit out on him. Caoimhe Robinson Caoimhe Robinson married suspected Kinahan mobster Daniel 'Chess' Kinahan, 47, in a glitzy ceremony at the £1,000-a-night Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai in 2017. It is thought members of the feared Lyons mob who are part of a four-way gang war in Scotland attended the wedding. There is no suggestion Caoimhe is involved in crime herself. Caoimhe, from Coolock in the north of Dublin, is also the ex-girlfriend of gangster Micka 'The Panda' Kelly, who was linked to six murders and was shot dead by the Real IRA in Clongriffin, north Dublin, in 2011. The Panda was gunned down as he left an apartment in north Dublin. His dead body was shot again before a car was driven over him. Three years earlier, The Panda is thought to have organised a gruesome double murder in 2008 that saw drug dealers David 'Babyface' Lindsay and Alan Napper supposedly horrifically tortured and shot dead before their bodies were cut up and thrown in the Irish Sea. Caoimhe has sold and let millions of pounds worth of property in Dubai despite international sanctions freezing her husband's assets Although traces of their blood were found in a house in County Down a year later, their bodies have never been found. Vinnie Ryan from the Real IRA was charged with possession of an AK-47 believed to be connected with The Panda's murder and he was later shot dead — supposedly on orders from the Kinahans. Caoimhe has sold and let millions of pounds worth of property in Dubai despite international sanctions freezing her husband's assets. This allegedly includes a mansion that was rented out for £20,000-a-year before being sold for £4.3million, and a luxury villa with a swimming pool and a terrace overlooking a golf course that was sold last May for nearly £10million. Months before she started selling her properties, the US unveiled sanctions against seven senior figures in the Kinahan cartel and a $5million (£4million) bounty for the arrest of Daniel, his father 'The Dapper Don', and brother Christopher Jr. Caoimhe is not the target of any sanctions or arrest warrants and - unlike other members of the Kinahan family - is not a fugitive. The Dapper Don remains the godfather but is thought to have handed the reins over to his two sons, Caoimhe's husband Daniel and Christopher 'Mano' Kinahan Jr. They have their fingers in many pies, from drug smuggling to extortion, money laundering, arms smuggling and property development. They have allegedly sold products to Iran and Hezbollah's intelligence services and the Mexican cartels. The Kinahans are thought to have €1.5billion (£1.2billion) hidden in offshore accounts around the world. Joanne Byrne Joanne Byrne, 51, is married to Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh, the jailed boss of the Kinahans' UK operation. She is also the daughter of infamous Irish mob boss James 'Jaws' Byrne, who was friends with Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch until the murder of his son David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2016. Little is known about Joanne and she is rarely pictured. She was born in November 1973 to parents James 'Jaws' Byrne and Sadie Byrne, and has five siblings. Jaws, who passed away aged 76 last year, was an armed robber with links to crime boss Martin 'The General' Cahill. Cahill was killed in 1994 when a gunman, allegedly from the Provisional IRA, shot him multiple times in the face and upper torso. She faces a battle over £500,000 worth of luxury goods seized from her and Kavanagh's home by the National Crime Agency Jaws lived in Dublin's Raleigh Square, a cul de sac that became the Byrne Organised Crime Group's stronghold, with Joanne's gangster brothers Liam and David both living down the road as well as senior member Sean 'Lugs' McGovern. In 2018, the Irish High Court found that jaws, his wife Sadie, daughter Maria and three others 'while not members of the Byrne organised crime group, are closely related to its members and involved in money laundering'... and 'have access to the proceeds of criminal activity carried out by the Byrne organised crime group.' Joanne's brother David, 33, was a Kinahan gangster before he was murdered while her other brother is jailed Kinahan criminal Liam Byrne, 44. She is also the cousin of convicted Kinahan murderer 'Fat Freddie' Thompson, 44. Joanne is thought to be still living in her and 'Bomber's' £1million Staffordshire 'luxury fortified mansion' set with bulletproof glass and reinforced doors that police raided in 2019. During that bust, they seized £500,000 of luxury gear including 120 designer handbags, 120 sets of designer heels, 36 pairs of Armani jeans and £40,000 of cash that was stuffed down the back of a sofa - as well as a slew of weapons. There were drawers full of expensive watches and jewellery and an astonishing weapons haul that included a stun gun, zombie knives, an axe and samurai style sword was also found. The police seized all the items and prosecutors are also fighting to seize the house itself. While there is no suggestion she was involved in or knew about her husband's criminal activities, Joanne faces losing her collection of designer clothes and accessories as well as her and Bomber's plush gated pad in an assets battle with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). In 2022 Bomber was sentenced to 21 years in HMP Belmarsh for conspiring to import £36million of drugs into the UK. Last year he was sentenced to a further six years for trying to dupe law enforcement authorities by leading them to a cache of guns in a bid for a reduced sentence. Simoan McEnroe Simoan McEnroe, 43, is married to Kinahan Cartel mob boss Liam Byrne, 44, who is understood to be one of the most trusted members outside of the immediate family. Social media posts show her luxury lifestyle from partying in Ibiza to splurging on a lavish party for her youngest son's confirmation. Along with her close mates Anita Freeman and Kelly Quinn, the partner of her murdered brother-in-law David Byrne, Simoan McEnroe has been named by CAB in proceedings against the Byrne Organised Crime Group, an offshoot of the Kinahan Cartel. The CAB has seized multiple properties linked to Byrne, including his €1million (£854,000) Dublin mansion beset with chandeliers, hot tubs, games rooms, bars and a high-end security system. When that home was raided in 2016, cops had to use specialist equipment to cut through the reinforced doors. The CAB has seized almost 50 assets totalling close to €2million (£1.7million) from the Byrne Organised Crime Group. Simoan has been married to Liam Byrne for 27 years and have three children aged nine, 14 and 24. There is no suggestion she or her children are involved in crime themselves. Their eldest, Lee Byrne, is engaged to and having a baby with ex-England and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard's daughter Lilly. Neither he nor Lilly are thought to involved in crime themselves. Along with his brother-in-law Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh, Liam Byrne helped run the Kinahans' UK operation and was jailed for five years in 2024 for his part in a submachine gun haul plot cracked open using decrypted EncroChat messages. During the trial, he claimed to be a car salesman and a 'spray painter by trade'. Despite this, his and Simoan's home is in a gated community in a luxury part of Merseyside. Simoan speaks on the phone while holding a gold clutch purse with a handbag over her shoulder In January this year, Byrne was let out of prison with an electronic tag as part of the Prime Minister's controversial Early Release Scheme to ease overcrowding in prisons, sources said. It came three months after he was sentenced to five years in jail for his part in a submachine gun haul plot - although he had already served 192 days in a Spanish jail, which were taken off his final sentence. At the time of his release, sources told MailOnline his neighbours were 'terrified' his release could lead to violence on their street, pointing out that in 2023, criminals targeted an address on the estate where the Byrne family live, setting fire to the front of the property. Anita Freeman Anita Freeman is the longterm girlfriend of Sean 'Lugs' McGovern, a close friend of the Byrnes and a suspected top tier Kinahan Cartel associate. They met as teenagers and now have two children together. For years, she has lived out in Dubai, brushing shoulders with some of the most wanted men on the planet. But although her pals include suspected Kinahan Cartel kingpin Daniel 'Chess' Kinahan's moll Caoimhe Robinson, her own boyfriend is in a spot of bother, to put it lightly. For years he and other senior members of the Cartel, also known as the Kinahan Organised Crime Group (KOCG) have enjoyed a life of luxury in their Dubai boltholes, seemingly safe from extradition. But after almost a decade trying, Irish police were finally able extradite him from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on May 29, 2025, and charged him with five offences including the 2016 murder of Gerry Hutch's friend, 62-year-old grandfather Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan. There is no suggestion Anita is is involved in crime herself. For Freeman, who hails from the south Dublin neighbourhood of Crumlin, it could mean her friends in Dubai move to another jurisdiction they feel is safer from extradition. She has already seen her shared home with Lugs in Crumlin seized by the CAB in 2019 after the Irish High Court deemed it was bought and renovated using the proceeds of crime. It was later sold to Dublin City Council. Anita has been Lugs's girlfriend since the pair were teenagers growing up in South Dublin — McGovern lived in Drimnagh, the nextdoor neighbourhood to Anita Freeman's Crumlin. Lugs was shot once during the 2016 Regency Hotel attack that killed Kinahan Cartel enforcer David Byrne. In 2017, he and Anita moved to Dubai under the threat of growing Gardaí power. Left to right: Liam Byrne with wife Simon McEnroe and Anita Freeman with her partner Sean 'Lugs' McGovern Lugs is thought to be on a 23-hour lockdown in Ireland's only maximum-security jail, Portlaoise Prison Although she has intermittently returned to Ireland, Lugs had avoided doing so for fear of arrest, meaning even that he missed his father's funeral in 2022. It is understood that despite her partner's arrest, Anita has remained in Dubai with the rest of the Kinahan Cartel. Lugs is thought to be on a 23-hour lockdown in Ireland's only maximum-security jail, Portlaoise Prison. As well the murder charge, he was charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation in relation to Mr Kirwan's murder from October 20 and December 22, 2016 and enhancing the abilities of a crime gang to carry out the same murder. He was also charged with directing a crime gang to carry out surveillance on Hutch associate James 'Mago' Gately and facilitating a criminal organisation in connection with a conspiracy to murder Gately between October 17 2015, and April 6, 2017. McGovern has not yet issued a plea in relation to the charges. Kelly Quinn Tragically, Kelly Quinn will always be remembered as the girlfriend of slain gangster David Byrne, 36, who was machine-gunned to death during the Regency Hotel attack in 2016 as part of the Hutch-Kinahan feud. Kelly has two children with David Byrne, who she claimed was in the 'wrong place at the wrong time' and had 'nothing to do with any of that feud,' adding that he was 'never involved'. In reality, David Byrne was a known and feared Kinahan Cartel enforcer tasked with intimidating people who owed the gang money for drugs. He was never convicted of a serious crime but since he was a teenager, he was investigated by every specialist garda unit battling organised crime. Tragically, Kelly Quinn will always be remembered as the girlfriend of slain gangster David Byrne Kelly has two children with David Byrne (pictured, Byrne and his children), who she claimed was in the 'wrong place at the wrong time' and had 'nothing to do with any of that feud,' adding that he was 'never involved' He was also questioned but not charged over the murder of mercenary hitman Gary Bryan, who was shot six times in the head in front of his girlfriend while he was fixing a car in 2006. When he was dead, the killer shot several more rounds into his limp body. No one has ever been found guilty of his murder. His death, alleged to have been carried out by the Hutch Family, sparked a series of revenge killings. After David Byrne's death, a further nine people were killed in 2016: Eddie Hutch Snr; Vinnie Ryan; Noel 'Kingsize' Duggan; Martin O'Rourke; Michael Barr; Gareth Hutch; David Douglas; Trevor O'Neill; and Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan. Of the men killed as part of the feud that year, only David Byrne was from the Kinahan side. Photos of Kelly taken after David's death also showed her dressed in a leopard print top, black leggings and white Adidas trainers while smoking a cigarette and getting into a cream coloured Mini Cooper with black stripes on the bonnet Kelly Quinn flicked the cigarette to the ground before getting inside the Mini Cooper What's next for the Kinahans? The big question on everyone including the molls' lips now is will this all fall apart? Ireland's High Court has been declaring many of their assets as the proceeds of crime and the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has been seizing them on those grounds. And this year after almost a decade of negotiations, Irish police, An Garda Síochána (also referred to as the Gardaí) extradited top Kinahan gangster Sean 'Lugs' McGovern from Dubai this year in what they view will be a test case for extraditing and arresting other senior members of the Cartel. Dr Philip Berry is a former counter-narcotics official at the Home Office who worked for the Afghanistan Serious and Organised Crime team. He is now a consultant focusing on the international drug trade and a visiting senior lecturer at KCL. He told MailOnline: 'Given the profits generated by the cocaine business, it seems likely that the Kinahan organised crime group will remain in the industry as long as they continue to evade the authorities.' 'The Kinahans have also been involved in trafficking other drugs, including heroin and cannabis, and have participated in other criminal activities. 'Continued law enforcement operations against the Kinahan organisation, Sean McGovern's extradition, and the cooperative relationship between the Irish and UAE authorities means Dubai may not be as safe a haven as the Kinahan organisation once thought.' But despite the threat of losing their fast cars and fancy homes, many of the gangsters' molls are seemingly still living a life of wealth, bathing in the riches of crime and violence. Six were or had links to the Hutch Family, two were innocent people killed in suspected cases of mistaken identity and one, Vinnie Ryan, was thought to have been killed by the Kinahans although whether he was associated with the Hutches is disputed. Kelly had known other molls connected to the Kinahan Cartel for years and is believed to have kept in touch with them. There is no suggestion Kelly is is involved in crime herself. In an undated photo, she was pictured smiling next to Liam Byrne's moll Simoan McEnroe and Sean 'Lugs' McGovern's moll Anita Freeman. Photos of Kelly taken after David's death also showed her dressed in a leopard print top, black leggings and white Adidas trainers while smoking a cigarette and getting into a cream coloured Mini Cooper with black stripes on the bonnet. MailOnline understands she is also close to her nephew Lee Byrne's fiancée Lilly Gerrard, who are also not criminals themselves. Charlene Lam Beautician Charlene Lam, 37, is the partner of top Hutch Family gangster James 'Mago' Gately, 38, who has survived multiple attempts on his life by the Kinahans and has been shot at least six times. There is no suggestion Charlene is involved in crime herself. Her beauty firm Bombshell Beauty in Dublin's north inner city has advertised treatments for up to €300 (£256). She offers everything from jaw and cheek filler for €250 each to PhiBrows - a semi-permanent cosmetic tattoo for sleeker-looking eyebrows for €300. Her salon on Summerhill Parade is above the Bridge Tavern pub, which was called the Sunset House in 2016 when republican Michael Barr was shot dead there, allegedly by the Kinahans, as part of the Hutch-Kinahan feud. The shop makes a little under €30,000 (£25,600) a year. Although Gately has never been convicted of serious crimes, a CAB officer alleged in a sworn affidavit that he 'is a leading and prominent member of the Hutch Organised Crime Gang involved in armed robberies and the importation of controlled drugs'. Beautician Charlene Lam, 37, (pictured) is the partner of top Hutch Family gangster James 'Mago' Gately, 38, who has survived multiple attempts on his life by the Kinahans and has been shot at least six times There is no suggestion Charlene is involved in crime herself. Her beauty firm Bombshell Beauty in Dublin's north inner city has advertised treatments for up to €300 (£256) Charlene holds her phone as she walks in grey trainers, dark green joggers and a pink sweater James 'Mago' Gately with his girlfriend Charlene Lam leaving Northside Shopping Centre in Coolock, Dublin He has been allegedly linked to three murders by CAB although has never been charged with murder. The CAB said the couple had been on a series of 'eye-watering' holidays to Korea, China, Japan, Barcelona and Lisbon. In June last year, her partner Mago's luxury Coolock home was declared as being 'overwhelmingly' the proceeds of crime and was seized by the CAB. Charlene Lam in a pair of running shoes and designer leggings while holding what appears to be two vats of paint Gately and Charlene are now living on Portland Row at the heart of the Hutch Family's territory in the north inner city A ladies' rolex watch and a VW Golf were also taken. The couple have both denied their assets are the proceeds of crime. Gately and Charlene are now living on Portland Row at the heart of the Hutch Family's territory in the north inner city. Another notable resident of the same road is Gerry Hutch's sister.

Telegraph

4 hours ago

• Telegraph

Green grocer and ex-SAS commander hoping to kick Sadiq Khan out of office

After nearly a decade in power, Sir Sadiq Khan's rule as Mayor of London is coming under increasing scrutiny. With YouGov polling showing that crime, housing and health are seen to be getting worse in the capital, inventive politicians are now taking the fight to Sir Sadiq with viral video campaigns. The most high-profile example of this was Robert Jenrick's video of fare-dodging on the Tube, which showed the shadow justice secretary confronting rule-breakers. But while Mr Jenrick's team have ruled him out of any Tory mayoral race, other 'law and order' challengers to Sir Sadiq are also emerging on social media. They include a viral greengrocer, a former Royal Marines commando and a heavyweight boxing champion. Born in Romford, a traditional Tory voting part of outer London, Thomas Skinner began working as a market trader in East London at the age of 16 and later appeared as a candidate on The Apprentice, Sir Alan Sugar's business-based reality TV show. In his early career he was found guilty of handling £40,000 worth of stolen goods while working as a market trader. He has said of the spent conviction: 'I've made mistakes, in fact more than most, who hasn't made one?' Mr Skinner has since gathered a large following on social media for his jolly videos in which he discusses, in his thick Essex accent, the joys of having a 'cheeky pint' following a day of 'hard graft'. Yet in recent months, he has increasingly focussed on political issues, declaring 'I love Trump' and claiming 'London has fallen' under Sir Sadiq's mayoralty. He has also been involved in knife crime campaigning. 'London has fallen' Last week in a post that prompted speculation about his ambitions for public office, Mr Skinner railed against the decline of law and order in the capital and a loss of 'community'. 'London has fallen. But I'm not giving up on it,' he wrote, claiming that 'people are scared', 'it ain't safe out there anymore' and ' London don't feel like London no more '. 'We need leadership that understands the streets, the markets, the working class. People like me,' he wrote, opening the door to a potential mayoral run. It is understood Mr Skinner currently has no firm plans to run for office and is not affiliated with any political party. But Mr Skinner, who maintains 'I'm not a politician', nevertheless says he has been approached by three political parties in recent weeks. The Telegraph also understands that since he made the post, Mr Skinner has been contacted by members of the Prime Minister 's team. The call was intended to discuss the Government's plans for more skilled apprenticeships for those who, like Mr Skinner, left school at 16. But the attempt to reach out to a popular and rising voice of opposition could be taken as another Labour attempt to head off the threat from Reform. Reform sources say the party will likely fight the next London mayoral election with a focus on law and order, taking inspiration from the political battles over spiralling crime in 1980s New York City. Another figure spoken of as a Reform London mayor is Ant Middleton, the former Royal Marines Commando who made his name on military-based reality TV show SAS: Who Dares Wins. Mr Middleton has said 'it's inevitable that I'm going to be the next Mayor of London' and has already set out a raft of possible policies for the capital. These include introducing a 'Military Guard Unit' on the streets of London to 'be a reactive and deterrent force on the ground'. He suggested such a unit would only accept 'British applicants' and its task would be 'to uphold the values, principles and standards of what our great nation represents'. Mr Middleton endorsed Reform at its conference in September following the general election. He has since grown close to the party's leadership and even visited Washington DC with Nigel Farage for the second inauguration of Donald Trump. In March the UK Insolvency Service banned Mr Middleton from being a company director over unpaid taxes. Derek Chisora, the Zimbabwe-born heavyweight boxer, is spoken of as another possible mayoral candidate for the party. It is understood that Mr Chisora, a longstanding supporter of Reform UK and its predecessor the Brexit party, has been inspired by the success of fellow boxer Luke Campbell who won the Hull mayoral election for Reform in May. In January Mr Middleton and Mr Chisora both attended a slick fundraiser for the party at the Mayfair private members' club Oswalds. In previous elections Sir Sadiq benefitted from a ranked-preference voting system in which ballots cast for other Left-wing candidates would eventually end up in his pile. However mayoral elections are now largely fought according to first-past-the-post. It was the first-past-the-post system that nearly crowned Arron Banks, the billionaire Reform supporter, as mayor of the West of England in May. Despite the Left-wing bent of Bristol, the biggest city in the area, votes were scattered between Labour, Greens and Liberal Democrats with Mr Banks achieving an impressive second place and being just 6,000 votes away from taking power. In the capital, Reform is now projected to replace the Tories as the major political force in outer London if current polling numbers are reflected in the next parliamentary and Assembly elections in Greater London.

The Sun

5 hours ago

• The Sun

Vile texts sent by ‘mastermind' to his ex are revealed as he's accused of murdering man found naked bound with duct tape

THE alleged mastermind behind the murder of a man who was found naked and bound with duct tape sent vile texts to his ex-girlfriend before the killing, a court heard. Thomas Campbell was ambushed on his doorstep in an attack allegedly orchestrated by his partner's ex-boyfriend. 8 8 8 His body was discovered by his neighbours the morning after three men "pounced" on him as he arrived home late on a Saturday night, a court heard. Manchester Crown Court was told the 38-year-old was killed on July 3, 2022 after "very careful planning by a team of highly organised criminals". The alleged "mastermind" of the plot is John Belfield, 31, who is on trial and denies murder. Thomas was dating Belfield's ex-girlfriend and he was "hostile" about the relationship, the court heard. The victim's glam ex Coleen was previously convicted for manslaughter after his death, and she was jailed for 13 years in 2023. The mum-of-four passed on information about her ex husband's movements - including details she learned from her children. Prosecutors argue Belfield was looking for "items of value" in Thomas', Mossley home, in Greater Manchester. Today Manchester Crown Court heard how Belfield sent messages to his ex-girlfriend Demi-Lee Driver after she started dating Thomas. One text read: "You and that helmet will get domed. "Shut your mouth you dog." In more he wrote: "There's not a thing you or him will do so. I think you should get my draws out your house Monday. "And I'm going to shag his baby mum now for the point of it, you money grabbing little dog." The jury heard Belfield give evidence in his defence today and he admitted to dealing drugs. He told the court he was at his sister's house the night of the killing. 8 8 8 Richard Wright KC, defending, asked Belfield if he understood that the prosecution were arguing he had "personal motivation" to attack Thomas because of his new relationship with Demi-Lee. Mr Wright then asked: "Did you conspire with Coleen Campbell and others to target Mr Campbell as a victim for robbery in his own home?" Belfield denied this and further denied that he was "motivated by jealously or anger" over Demi-Lee's relationship with Thomas. Belfield did admit he had planned to steal Thomas' drugs, as he was also a dealer. He denied knowledge of and planting a tracking device on Thomas' van five days before the killing - but told the court he did surveil the house. Belfield also denied bringing any torture items to the scene, which had been bought from a B&Q four days before the killing. He agreed that he did flee the country after the murder but told the court: "I was scared his friend were going to attack me and kill me because of the rumours they had heard." Prosecutor Dr Philip Lumb told Manchester Crown Court earlier this week that Thomas was discovered in the hallway of his home, lying on his back after the savage attack. "He was naked apart from a pair of socks," he told the court. Dr Lumb told the court Thomas' ankles were "bound together tightly" with duct tape. Injuries to the head and neck suggested a "sustained blunt sharp force physical assault". Dr Lumb argued that burns on Thomas's body had been caused by a "hot liquid such as hot water", MEN reported. His arm was found with a "makeshift tourniquet" after an injury that would have bled a lot. Dr Lumb concluded that Thomas's cause of death included "multiple sharp force injures, blunt force head injuries" and "pressure to the neck". Jurors were told on Thursday of jokey messages sent to Belfield by his alleged "right-hand man" Reece Steven. Steven, 29, was previously found guilty of Thomas's murder with conspiracy to rob and he was sentenced to life in prison. In a conversation about Thomas' horror injuries, Steven wrote: "Tommy crumble. Dripping in tom juice everywhere." Belfield's driver Stephen Cleworth, 38, was also convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob and was jailed for 12 years. The identity of the third attacker remains a mystery. Belfield denies murder and conspiracy to rob. The trial continues. 8 8