HENRY DEEDES: There is a fairground spookiness to Parliament (pictured) at the moment. Most areas are boarded up or deserted.

Rarely do tributes between political opponents extend beyond leaden platitudes. Before yesterday, the most sincere words of support I've heard between party leaders came after David Cameron's son Ivan died.

Back at last in their favorite Downing Street rehearsal room, the Prime Minister (pictured), gave the government's daily coronavirus briefing with his scientific and medical advisers.

Bond aficionados will know that early in each story comes an inaugural meeting between hero and foe. A chance encounter over highballs, perhaps, or a high-stakes hand of chemin de fer.

Darts legend Raymond van Barneveld has crashed out of the 2020 Darts World Championship in the first round at the hands of Darin Young.

JORDAN SEWARD AT ALEXANDRA PALACE: The Ally Pally has become synonymous with the festive period and is a Christmas ritual for many from all walks of life. It's a night out like no other.

Mother-of-one Fallon Sherrock, 25, was left speechless after she beat 22-year-old Ted Evetts 3-2 at the PDC World Championships at Alexandra Palace on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old from Milton Keynes created history on Tuesday night by becoming the first woman to beat a man at the PDC World Darts Championship when she overcame Ted Evetts.

GREAT SPORTING MOMENTS OF 2019: In the fourth in our series of the greatest moments of the sporting year, we recall those two nights when two Brits claimed World Championship gold...

Fallon Sherrock said it was 'incredible' to have her latest PDC World Darts Championship win tweeted about by Billie Jean King.

Michael Van Gerwen secured a rapid victory over Ricky Evans to progress into the last 16 of the PDC World Championship.

From hairdresser to history-maker, Fallon Sherrock is through to the third round of the PDC World Darts Championship - and has her heart set on lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy.

The World Darts Championship was briefly halted on Monday night after a power cut interrupted the action at the Alexandra Palace.

Fallon Sherrock will look to continue her pulsating World Darts Championship run at Alexandra Palace, having spent four hours of her Christmas Day practising.

Defending champion Michael Van Gerwen cruised into the quarter-finals of the PDC World Championship, as two-time winner Gary Anderson tumbled out.

The former rugby player did not find the scintillating form which saw him whitewash John Henderson in the previous round with an average of 105 and afterwards hit out at Whitlock's pace of play.

The 25-year-old's fairytale run came to an end in a 4-2 defeat to Chris Dobey in front of a raucous crowd, with Dobey forced to use earplugs in an attempt to drown out the support for Sherrock.

Labanauskas, who had taken the opener to threaten a surprise, drew blood after accidentally stabbing himself with a dart, but showed no ill effects after the brief interruption.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Climing is one of the new sports for Tokyo 2020, along with skateboarding, karate, surfing and baseball/softball - a five-pronged move by the IOC.

The PDC have announced that the 2020 Premier League will feature nine 'challengers' in a move which potentially opens the door for Fallon Sherrock to feature.

Fallon Sherrock became the first woman to win a World Championship match when she beat Ted Evetts last month, and Barry And Hearn believes it has put darts back on the global map.

PETE CARLINE: Peter Wright played the match of his life to claim a first PDC World Darts title, beating nemesis Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in a major final at the eighth time of asking.

Fallon Sherrock has been confirmed as one of the nine 'challengers' who will feature in the 2020 Premier League. She shot to fame at the World Darts Championship.

JORDAN SEWARD: Peter Wright has been a long, hard road to the top. He finally accomplished his dream by beating van Gerwen 7-3 to win the World Darts Championship

Mark Cavendish is doing all he can to keep his Olympic dream alive as he bids to secure a spot in the final UCI track cycling World Cup event in Canada this month.

Olympic gold medallist Alex Danson has said she will make an extraordinary return to training with the Great Britain hockey team on Monday after her career was derailed by a freak concussion.

MIKE KEEGAN - SPORTS AGENDA: Given their obsession with young audiences, It should come as no surprise that the BBC's press office have apparently begun to act like Pinocchio.

An offender involved in a brutal fight during an NHL match has defended his actions after punching his opponent and throwing him to the ground during Edmonton Oilers clash with Calgary Flames.

The former F1 driver, alongside Marc Coma, was driving a Toyota Hilux over a sand dune when he lost control of the car. It flipped twice, landing back on its wheels, but the pair did complete the 10th stage.

JEFF POWELL: My long-range admiration for Courtney Lawes as a man has been cemented by his principled stand against the fake allegations that criticism of Meghan Markle is racist.

Fallon Sherrock will face Glen Durrant on her Premier League debut in Nottingham next month. The 25-year-old was named as a challenger for the second night of the tournament

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe watched on as reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo helped Milwaukee Bucks beat Charlotte Hornets in the first-ever NBA game to held in Paris.

The controversial hybrid Nike shoes used to break world records are set to be banned pending further research. Some variations of the Vaporfly are likely to be forbidden by World Athletics.

From April 2020, any shoe must have been available for purchase by any athlete on the open retail market for a period of four months before it can be used in competition.

An Olympic selection row has broken out in British Triathlon after Vicky Holland was nominated for Tokyo ahead of her best friend and old house-mate Non Stanford.

This is the hilarious moment San Antonio Spurs star Jakob Poeltl forgot to put his jersey on as he walked out on to the court for their match with La Clippers.

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: British women have been tipped to make history in Tokyo, with the head of Team GB boldly predicting that 2020 will be 'the year of the female Olympian'.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: I'll tell you one that surprised me - it was a message from my language tutor,' says Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

Great Britain took their first steps towards the next Winter Olympics when they emerged from the opening game of their qualifying tournament in Nottingham with a hard-fought 4-3 victory.

Athletes have accused World Athletics of favouring Nike in the wake of their new regulations to tackle the growing controversy around racing shoes.

Great Britain set up a winner takes all encounter against old rivals Hungary in Nottingham on Sunday when they took another step on the road to the Beijing Winter Olympics by beating Estonia 7-1.

Jemma Reekie's astonishing early-season form has continued with a third national record in the space of two races. The 21-year-old set new bests in the 1500m and mile in New York.

British Cycling was subjected to a UK Sport review into the culture of its elite programme in 2016, but the sheer scope and breadth of this look into UK Athletics is thought to be unprecedented.

The upheaval and chaos at UK Athletics intensified on Thursday night with the surprise resignation of chairman Chris Clark.

Fallon Sherrock narrowly failed to create more history as she drew 6-6 with Glen Durrant at the Premier League in Nottingham after her PDC World Championship success in December.

The elephant in the room remains, running laps at improbable speed. It has been two weeks since Jemma Reekie came to wider attention with an astonishing performance - now she must talk.

Jemma Reekie's coach Andy Young believes the breakthrough star of British athletics packs enough of a kick to be an Olympic contender this summer after her victory in Glasgow on Saturday.

The world's fastest sailboat is set to complete its record-breaking journey around the world this week, making its arrival through the Thames. The IDEC Sport's crew are led by Francis Joyon.

Former Great Britain captain Alex Danson-Bennett has retired from hockey after failing to fully recover from a 'life-changing' head injury.

It is four years since Jason Kenny won three gold medals at the Rio Games, thus matching Sir Chris Hoy as Great Britain's most successful Olympian by bringing his tally to six.