Ms Mordaunt, who lasted only 85 days in her 'dream job' as Defence Secretary before being fired by Mr Johnson on his first day as Prime Minister, was said by friends to be 'very chipper' after the dinner.

Receipts from residential purchases fell 10 per cent in 2018/19 to £8.4billion compared with the previous year. This is the biggest fall since house prices collapsed during credit crunch in 2008.

If the Royals were still being paid by the long-established Civil List, they would not benefit from the energy auction. But in 2012 this changed and the Queen now gets 25 per cent of the estate's profit.

Judge Louis Walsh was filming scenes with his act, Love Actually star Olivia Olson, on a London street when George, who proclaimed himself a huge fan of the IITV show, turned up.  

Clare Ambrosino will try to win the Easington seat in County Durham on December 12 - a mining community that has always returned a Labour MP since the constituency was formed in 1950.

The former Chancellor was pictured with colleague Laura Weir, editor-in-chief of the Evening Standard's weekly magazine at a charity dinner for Rod Stewart at the Rosewood Hotel.

George Osborne has urged Boris Johnson not to scrap HS2 after the Prime Minister launched a major review of all government projects with plans to axe those which are deemed a waste of money.

The former Remain Tory chancellor, who was accused of being the architect of 'Project Fear' during the referendum, acknowledged the City could thrive when free from Brussels.

The Association of British Insurers suggests many savers are withdrawing money at an 'unsustainable rate', with almost £33billion cashed in.

Conservative heavyweights were out in force today for Lord Bell's memorial service at St Paul's in Knightsbridge.

The 3 per cent stamp duty surcharge on additional properties was introduced by the former Chancellor in 2016 and it was hoped it would raise £2.9billion in tax by the end of the 2019/2020 tax year.

The former politician, who oversaw austerity in the years following the 2008 financial crisis, raised the spectre of banks refusing to lend money if businesses start going to the wall.

Antonio Conte is thought to be desperate to reunite with the midfielder after failing to sign him last summer and in the January window earlier this season.

Bayern Munich were in hot pursuit of the City winger - who has been out since the start of the season after sustaining anterior knee ligament damage - last summer but a move failed to come to fruition.

The unit is part of a project led by the Department of Health and Social Care and is one of many to have been deployed across the country in response to local demands.

Fabio Cannavaro is currently in his second spell at Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande. However the retired defender has ambitions to one day manage in England.

Paris Saint-Germain are preparing to ask Inter Milan to either extend Mauro Icardi's season-long loan for another campaign or reduce the sum of the option-to-buy clause in his contract.

James Maddison put his untamed lockdown hairstyle on display as he thanked Leicester fans on Instagram after winning the ePremier League invitational on Saturday. 

The 29-year-old moved to the Wanda Metropolitano last summer having fallen out of favour in north London, with the La Liga side splashing £20million on the England international.

Discussions are taking place to restart the 2019-20 season behind closed doors amid the coronavirus pandemic. Brady has revealed the measures the government are asking clubs to take.

The Bundesliga is restarting on May 16 and players will be isolated in hotels before matches. Among the rules for the Bundesligas return are detailed instructions for coaches.

Losing Frank Lampard to bring in Phillip Cocu and Wayne Rooney - all in the space of a month - is usually the kind of dealing that takes place only in football management simulations.

The vote was held on Ligue 1's official Twitter account, with Drogba receiving 51 per cent of the 40,094 votes that were cast.

The stylish 22-year-old is out of contract this summer and has had interest from a number of clubs. He joined Liverpool's academy from Valencia in a deal worth up to £2million.

United dithered over whether to pursue a deal for the Canadian youngster, who was playing for Vancouver Whitecaps at the time, with the youngster eventually signing for the Germans.

Gabriel Martinelli arrived at Arsenal last summer from Ituano for just £6m. The 18-year-old Brazilian has hit the ground running quickly scoring 10 goals in his first 26 appearances for the Gunners.

Chiellini's comments have infuriated Palmeiras midfielder Melo, who hit back at the long-standing Juventus stalwart and prolonged the unsavoury feud by claiming he 'never will have' respect for him.

With a joint announcement alongside CR7 Crunch Fitness, Ronaldo virtually guided fitness fanatics through seven workouts to help them stay in shape during the coronavirus lockdown.

Barcelona's vice-president Jordi Cardoner confirmed that many teams will partake in swap deals this summer with several having big squads and high earners they need to get off the books.

The iconic stadium was the spiritual home of the North London club between 1913 and 2006 before it was demolished when the 60,000-capacity Emirates had been completed.

PETE JENSON IN SPAIN: Diario AS counted 41 players in Europe's top divisions who have come from the Valdebebas academy and there are 42 ex-Madrid youth system players playing in Spain.

The game will take place behind closed doors in Turin, as it was scheduled to do so before the coronavirus pandemic forced the suspension of football in Europe.

As part of the division's grand plan to bring back top-flight action, clubs continue to debate over the specifics of this summer's transfer window - which has unsurprisingly been thrown into chaos.

DANNY MURPHY: As a footballer, my instinct was always to play. I played in the Champions League for Liverpool v Boavista on the night of 9-11. There weren't any dissenting voices among the players.

Leyton Orient captain Jobi McAnuff fears black footballers are at an increased risk of dying if the season is resumed amid the coronavirus crisis.

Video referees could make their decisions from Premier League grounds if clubs decide to stick with VAR when football returns after the coronavirus crisis.

The night ended with some of the team playing Connect 4 in a remote hotel and others heading for the bright lights in a clapped-out Spanish saloon car.

Fresh evidence that Russian footballers were helped to cheat during their nation's state-sponsored doping scandal will arrive at FIFA within weeks.

EXCLUSIVE BY OLIVER HOLT AND ROB DRAPER: The dissident Premier League clubs arguing against a quick return to football will urge a delay to Project Restart.

The Football League will announce next week that there will be no further games in Leagues One and Two - but that the play-offs could still take place to determine who wins promotion.

Both Barcelona and Real Madrid are planning to slash their first-team wages by 30 per cent ahead of the 2020-21 La Liga season, according to Spanish newspaper Diario AS. 

Jurgen Klopp sat in the dugout at several big showdowns between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke. He will be a lot farther away for Saturday's fixture but his interest will be keener than ever.

The Bundesliga's restart plans were thrown into fresh doubt on Saturday night when the second tier team Dynamo Dresden were placed into two weeks of quarantine.

The Premier League will consider relegating the bottom three clubs based on current league position if there is no resumption to the 2019/20 season.

The centre-back has produced some impressive performances for the Championship side and was recommended to United by club legend Ryan Giggs, who has coached Rodon for Wales.

Jurgen Klopp's side are 25 points clear of their closest challengers Manchester City but there has been much debate regarding how the season should be decided.

EXCLUSIVE BY OLIVER HOLT: The Premier League clubs that have taken a stand against playing out the season in neutral venues have been labelled by some as cynical and pragmatic.

The 24-year-old has been one of the standout players in the Premier League this season despite playing in a struggling Villa side who sit 19th, leading to interest from Manchester United.

The French international only joined Juventus on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain last summer but has failed to nail down a regular starting place in Maurizio Sarri's side this season.

Inter Milan new boy Christian Eriksen has revealed that the coronavirus pandemic has caused him a personal nightmare since his move from Tottenham in January.