ANDREW PIERCE: If Chuka Umunna lost in Streatham, which he represented since 2010, he would have been paid £33,500 redundancy with the first £30k tax-free.

ANDREW PIERCE: How long before Dilyn the dog is standing in for Boris Johnson at Prime Minister's Questions? I ask because the Jack Russell-cross is back in the spotlight.

ANDREW PIERCE: Tears pouring down my cheeks, I posted the letter to Mum and Dad. I had finally owned up to myself that I was gay. My parents were staunch, working-class Catholics.

Four men and two women, will today sit in judgment in an anonymous office in the Whitehall edifice that houses the Treasury on the most contentious set of peerage nominations for a generation.

Despite being repeatedly tipped as a 'prime minister-in-waiting' since entering the House of Commons less than five years ago, Rishi Sunak has always been better known in India than Britain.

ANDREW PIERCE: Jack Straw - Tony Blair's first Home Secretary - revealed what Lord Baker, Home Secretary in Sir John Major's government from 1990-92, had told him when he took up the role.

ANDREW PIERCE: Sunak's bold measures to tackle the economic devastation threatened by the coronavirus has found him allies in unexpected places.

ANDREW PIERCE - Trust rust is key when talking about ambitious ministers who might one day fancy a permanent shot at the top job. He may be wooden, but Dominic Raab has Boris Johnson's backing.

ANDREW PIERCE: As countries across Europe start to ease themselves out of lockdown, there is a growing recognition in Boris Johnson's Cabinet that it, too, will have to make some hard decisions

ANDREW PIERCE: Sir Keir Starmer managed to find a place in his Shadow Cabinet for onetime 'Continuity Corbyn' candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey.

Mark Cavendish has been left out of the Dimension Data team that will compete in this year's Tour de France. It is the first time in 13 years that the British rider will not compete in France.

Some 24 hours before Team INEOS announced that Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal would start the Tour de France as joint leaders, the cycling team offered their defending champion to the media.

In the same month that Milos Raonic and Felix Auger-Aliassime aim to elevate Canadian tennis to new heights, Michael Woods will ride across France in the hope of making history of his own

Geraint Thomas joked he would be happy with an 'uneventful' Tour de France as long as a Team Ineos rider is stood on the top step in Paris at the end of the month.

Chris Froome admitted he is 'relieved' to be back home and will be following the Tour de France from his bed following the horror crash that left him seriously injured.

Team Dimension Data head of performance Rolf Aldag has made clear he will stay with the team for the remainder of the Tour de France as the row over Mark Cavendish's non-selection rumbled on.

CHRIS MURPHY IN BRUSSELS: Geraint Thomas and his Ineos team-mates were beaten in a tense finish to Saturday's second stage of the Tour de France, a 27.6-kilometre time trial.

The startling scene was recorded by an onlooker during the ninth stage of the Tour de France from Saint-Etienne to Brioude in central-eastern France.

The Australian rider pulled out of the race with about 80 kilometers left on Thursday before the two big climbs in Stage 12 following reports of clashes with team officials.

MATT LAWTON IN BAGNERES-DE-BIGORRE: The race for the big prize might have failed to ignite here on the first day in the Pyrenees but there was no shortage of fireworks

Thibaut Pinot led a French one-two ahead of overall leader Julian Alaphilippe to win the 14th stage of the Tour de France, a 117.5-km mountain trek from Tarbes on Saturday.

MATT LAWTON IN GAP: Team Ineos go into three massive days in the Alps that will determine the outcome of the most mesmerising Tour de France in decades, without captain Luke Rowe.

MATT LAWTON IN PARIS: Wiggins and Thomas believe Team Ineos will continue to dominate the Tour de France with a young Colombian cyclist who could turn out to be the greatest in history.

Chris Froome has revealed that he does not remember any part of the horrific crash that almost cost him his life during a training ride in May.

The most successful cyclist in history, Eddy Merckx, is in intensive care after falling during a bike ride with friends. He was admitted to Dendermonde hospital in Belgium on Sunday.

Tour de France organisers put a spring in the step of the climbers after unveiling the 2020 route featuring a mountain stage on the second day and one time trial on the eve of the final Champs Elysees parade.

Froome posted a picture on social media following the operation, restating his goals of getting back to full fitness in time for next summer's Tour de France and the Olympic road race in Japan.

Team Ineos sporting director Nicolas Portal has tragically passed away at the age of 40. A statement from Team Ineos said that the Frenchman died at his home in Andorra on Tuesday afternoon.

The Tour has not been cancelled since 1946 when France was recovering from the War but has now been cancelled is in its 107th year after France's lockdown extension.

French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu looked to clarify the situation around the biggest race in cycling, which has already been rearranged to take place on August 29.

There was a touching farewell at the RAC Club in Pall Mall, London, to a much-loved and well-respected motor industry boss who really has put his own money where his mouth is.

The new British-built 150mph Jaguar XF Sportbrake is set to be one of the stars of next week’s Geneva Motor Show when it is officially unveiled – as well as making shopping trips rather more fun.

Toyota has sent its British-built family car to boot camp. The result is a toned-up, better performing model.

I love the look of the new Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet which makes its world debut at the Los Angeles Motor Show on November 28 and will go on sale in Britain in spring.

James Bond star Daniel Craig performed a top secret mission right under the noses of the world's media at this week's royal global premier of the latest 007 movie, Skyfall, which goes on general release today.

Production of the third generation Octavia started this month at the Mlada Boleslav plant in the Czech Republic, ahead of its March launch in Britain.

Major car makers including Vauxhall, Nissan, Citroen and Volvo will exhibit a range of their latest and yet to launch vehicles as well as providing test drives at the Future Drive Motor Show.

Mailonline has had an exclusive first drive of the astonishing new ‘green’ super-frugal car offering 2p a mile motoring that could swiftly put Osborne and the Treasury out of business.

RAY MASSEY: As controversial table-manners go, it certainly beats resting on your elbows. This remarkable stunt came as the dashing Earl of March hosted a sumptuous sponsors and press dinner.

Ray Massey test out the sexy new Jaguar F-type sports car, which has a top speed of 186mph and will accelerate to 60mph in just 4.2 seconds.

French car-maker Citroen has piled in with a practical five-seater cabriolet that allows the whole family to enjoy wind-in the-hair motoring, writes RAY MASSEY.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a growing family must be in want of a multi-purpose car, writes RAY MASSEY of the £23,895 KIA Carens '3' 1.7 CRDi manual.

Japan's Mazda unveiled its new five-door small family hatchback simultaneously in five locations across the globe this week - including Britain.

It’s no slouch. On Germany’s unrestricted motorways, it’ll cruise happily and legally top-down in the ‘slow’ lane at 100 mph.

Production versions will be built at the British sports car maker Caterham's factory in Dartford, Kent, ready for launch next year — with many being made for export.

Skoda is about to launch the second generation of its popular crossover sports utility vehicle. The first generation has already proved a big hit.

The Sportback is a racy, stylish, 189mph supercar for grown-ups who want power and pace with minimal bling.

Mary Barra, an engineer and mother of two teenagers, became the most powerful woman in the motor industry this week.

Just in time to add to your New Year wish list comes Mercedes-Benz's latest version of its C-Class compact saloons. And what a high-tech feast it is.

Nifty, nimble and willing 1.6-litre 156 bhp petrol engine linked to a smooth six-speed manual gearbox, which helped propel the car from rest to 62 mph in just 8.2 seconds.