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Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns (pictured left) defended Boris Johnson (inset, holding a cake on a visit to a primary school on the same day as the birthday bash) after it was revealed he attended a gathering, complete with a Union Jack cake and singing, that was organised by his wife Carrie in the Cabinet Room on June 19, 2020. He said the Prime Minister was working in the room before people came in and presented him with the cake, adding: 'He was there for about 10 minutes.' The comments led to a flurry of memes on social media (top and bottom right), with one person writing: 'Next up, Lockdown Parties with their latest single Ambushed By A Cake.' Meanwhile, senior Cabinet ministers including Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries also downplayed the seriousness of the PM attending the bash. They insisted that the gathering of around 30 people specifically to mark the PM's 56th birthday in June 2020 could be seen as a extension of the workplace.

Mariana Zhaglo is far from a typical Ukrainian soldier, but the 52-year-old marketing researcher has said she is willing to do whatever it takes to defend her country. 'As a mother I do not want my children to inherit Ukraine's problems, or have these threats passed on to them. It is better that I deal with this now,' Zhaglo said, showing off her new rifle (left). The marketing research is just one of thousands of Ukrainians who recently joined the nation's Territorial Defence Forces (TDF) (training pictured right) - a voluntary section of the army which has seen its numbers swell amid rising tensions on the Russian border. It comes as French President Emmanuel Macron today became the latest Western leader to promise a 'retaliation' should Russia proceed with an invasion of its neighbour (Russian President Vladimir Putin inset)

IAN BIRRELL: As Lieutenant-Colonel Yuriy Trubachiov crunched thr-ough the thick snow, he pointed out to me the camera tower, the anti-tank moat, the mounds of shovelled earth and the razor-wire fences separating Ukraine from Russia. 'We're our country's first line of defence,' he told me. 'We're getting ready for all sorts of scenarios to ensure that we protect our borders.' This might seem a daunting task with huge numbers of Russian troops massing beyond the fields and forests in the distance and amid rapidly escalating talk of invasion - but the veteran border officer said his men are ready to repel Vladimir Putin's forces. Pictured: Ian Birrell (inset), a Russian paratrooper attending a military exercise in the Yaroslavl region (left), combat helicopter drills in the Leningrad region (top right) and the Baltic Sea's battleship leaving towards the Atlantic (bottom right).

ALISON BOSHOFF: Made from liquid sugar stabilised by gelatin, it's a joyfully insubstantial confection. But, sadly, Boomf, the company which charged £19.99 for sending a box of nine personalised marshmallows through the post, has proved equally fragile. The firm, founded by James Middleton (left with wife Alizée Thevenet and right), the Duchess of Cambridge's younger brother, fell into administration last month with heavy losses after eight years. Last week its creditors - many of them also small businesses - were told that they face getting just 25p in the £1 of their money back. From Boomf to bust, you might say.

The 'monster' knifeman who brutally stabbed his ex-wife to death had 'harassed and intimidated' her for three years after their divorce and was reported to the Met Police for stalking, MailOnline can today reveal. Yasmine Wafah Chkaifi's family members have alleged that Leon Mccaskie, 41, abused the mother-of-two, 43, during their two-year marriage. After their divorce three years ago, Ms Chkaifi, a mature student of Moroccan descent, secured a restraining order against Mccaskie and installed a panic alarm in her flat because she was so frightened of her ex-husband, one of her sons has claimed. The son, who asked not to be named, also accused Scotland Yard of 'doing nothing' to help Ms Chkaifi in the years before yesterday's horrific murder on Chippenham Road in north-west London despite repeated warnings about Mccaskie. Bystanders tried to stop Mccaskie after he pounced on Ms Chkaifi at around 9am yesterday, stabbing her more than ten times. But the savage attack was only halted when a passing motorist ran over the knifeman on the pavement, also hitting Ms Chkaifi. Police last night said a 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder.

STEPHEN ROBINSON: We are invited to share in the public outrage over news that in June 2020, 30 or so Downing Street staff attended a low-key gathering with a cake presented to the Prime Minister on his birthday by his future wife Carrie. If it were not so serious, it would be hilarious that former Downing Street aide Dominic Cummings was the self-appointed moral enforcer behind the plot to destroy Boris Johnson.

The editor of Private Eye magazine told the Commons Committee on Standards on Tuesday that MPs 'need to redefine the term lobbying' and that current proposals for change need to be 'harder'. Speaking about some MPs' second jobs, Ian Hislop said: 'What do you think these companies are paying the money for? Do you think they are chucking it away? When politicians declare their interests, why do they think businesses are paying them this money?' His comments came as MPs have been embroiled in sleaze allegations over money earned outside Parliament. The scandal erupted after Tory MP Owen Paterson resigned over findings that he lobbied on behalf of two companies paying him more than £100,000 per year.

Kayley Mahood, 30 (pictured left and inset), fatally stabbed her partner Oliver O'Toole (right) at their home in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, on July 25 last year. Mahood told a trial at Stafford Crown Court she acted in self defence by inflicting the single 1.5in stab wound to 31-year-old Mr O'Toole, puncturing his heart and causing him to bleed to death as paramedics battled to save him. But today, jurors rejected her explanation and convicted her of manslaughter after clearing her of murder.

BOB SEELY MP: Today I speak not to bury science but actually to praise it. I think during the Covid pandemic there has been some remarkable, wonderful science. I just question to what extent that includes the modelling and forecasts that have come from it from scientists such as Neil Ferguson, left.

Covid restrictions in Northern Ireland imposed to combat the Omicron variant are being axed from midday today. Ministers in Stormont agreed to a large-scale easing of curbs, including Covid passes for entry to bars, restaurants and cinemas. Nightclubs, which were forced to close on Boxing Day, will also reopen later, along with the return of indoor standing events. But so-called 'vaccine passports' will still be required for entry to access nightclubs and large events, while guidance on Covid certification in hospitality settings will be 'strongly encouraged'. Social distancing restrictions in offices are being removed, though the Stormont Executive has refused to scrap official WFH guidance, telling people to continue remote working where they can.

NEW A 'vaccine hesitant' NHS worker has died with Covid just days after she decided to get the jab. Fila Lutu, 37, had expressed concerns about the vaccine after reportedly suffering bad reactions to jabs for other diseases. However, the NHS Covid-19 support administrator from Chadwell Heath, east London changed her mind after the Government unveiled plans to force NHS workers to get vaccinated before April 2022 or get sacked. Sadly, Miss Lutu tested positive for the virus in December and died several days later, following complications from the virus. Her devastated family were prevented from travelling with her in the ambulance on the way to the hospital due to strict Covid rules - meaning the NHS worker passed away before they could say goodbye.

Alicia Witt, 46, has broken her silence after the shocking death of her parents who were found dead inside their home in Massachusetts a month ago. 'It still doesn't feel real,' the redheaded actress began her Facebook note. She then said that a detective' had told her over the phone that her parents were found dead after she had placed a welfare call. In her long note Witt noted that her parents were not 'penniless' and she had tried several times to help them out but they would not let her. And the Hollywood favorite shared that she had not been allowed in their house for 'well over 10 years.' The elderly couple were suspected to have died from hypothermia as one of them had a coat on. But their health had been in decline for a while as her father Robert Witt, 87, was fighting cancer and her mother Diane Witt, 75, had Parkinson's Disease.

Father-of-two Dr Gary Jenkins, 54, suffered horrific injuries when he was brutally attacked in Bute Park, in the shadow of Cardiff Castle. A court heard Dr Jenkins was into Bute Park in the Welsh capital in the early hours of the morning when three attackers including a girl aged just 16 targeted him to steal his bag. The jury heard he went to 'explore his bisexuality' after the break-up of his marriage. The court heard a horrified witness described the teenage girl attacker as 'f***ing evil. Sadistic'. Prosecutor Dafydd Enoch said: 'They were hurting Dr Jenkins for the best part of 15 minutes as he lay on the ground. It was torture pure and simple.' Police found Dr Jenkins unconscious with his trousers pulled down at the scene. Doctors tried to save Mr Jenkins but he died of an 'unsurvivable' brain injury 16 days later.

They're four of the most famous musicians in history, regarded as one of the most influential bands of all time. But outside of their careers as rockstars, all four of The Beatles were fathers - with the fab four sharing 11 children between them.  Yesterday, photos went viral showing James McCartney - who is also a musician - looking just like his rocker father Paul. But what happened to the rest of the Beatles' children? From household name Stella McCartney - who has designed royal wedding dresses and Olympic outfits  - to the lesser known Jason Starkey who has followed in his father Ringo's drummer footsteps, all the the band's offspring have paved their way in creative fields. Here, FEMAIL reveals how the Beatles' kids have become potters, activists and composers...

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: The creator of Downton Abbey has returned with an even more lavish costume drama in The Gilded Age (Sky Atlantic) - and it's all about New Money. Spiteful widow Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and her fluffy-headed younger sister Ada (Cynthia Nixon), both pictured left, are surrounded by footmen and butlers - and the servants are even bigger snobs than the ladies. The sisters have taken in their penniless niece Marian (Louisa Jacobson), pictured right with Peggy, whose no-good papa (their brother) has wasted their inheritance.

Netflix, whose stock tumbled more than 20 per cent on Friday after warning subscriber growth would slow substantially in early 2022, placed the advert for a production designer on Instagram. The streaming giant is looking for a production designer for their debut, Pearl (inset left). The animated show, created by the Duchess of Sussex, is about a young girl who is inspired by influential women in history and counts Sir Elton John's husband David Furnish and star documentary maker Liz Garbus among its executive producers. It came as audio giant Spotify reportedly took production of their podcast into its own hands (bottom right) after the Sussexes' £18million deal a year ago with a pledge to promote 'shared values' produced limited content. Meghan and Harry have only made 35 minutes of content for their Archewell Audio channel, which was put together with Spotify's Gimlet Studios, since December 15 2020. They had promised a series in 2021 but it has never happened. Rebecca Sananes (left) was appointed head of audio for Archewell in July last year - but ever since then there has been no update at all about the New York based producer, who has won the prestigious National Murrow Award for Best Audio News Documentary for her podcast episode: 'Why Is Vermont So Overwhelmingly White?'

Michella Meier-Morsi, from Copenhagen, Denmark, stunned the internet after she shared images of her growing stomach to Instagram. The Danish mom left her 260,000 followers speechless while sharing her pregnancy journey - due to the immense size of her belly. Michella, who already had two daughters with her husband, Mark, got a lot of attention online after her bump grew 'straight out' rather than 'up and down.' She welcomed her three sons - named Charles, Theodore and Gabriel - on January 15 via cesarean section when she was just over 35 weeks pregnant. She got real about the 'extreme pain' she was in leading up to the birth and afterwards, and many people were amazed by her strength - branding her a 'superhero.'

Peter Robbins, the original voice of Charlie Brown, has died aged 65. The voice actor died by suicide last week, his family confirmed late on Tuesday. Robbins began his career as a child actor at nine years old and has voiced the beloved Peanuts character in holiday classics including the 1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas and It's A Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown in 1966. The actor was a big fan of his character and even got a tattoo of Charlie Brown and his trusty sidekick Snoopy.

Chanel's Paris Fashion Week shows are legendary for their elaborate set pieces, which in the past have included the Grand Palais transformed into a train station, a shopping mall and a winter wonderland. And usually the grandiose runway presentation is the hot ticket of Fashion Week with the industry's biggest names both on and off the catwalk. But For Tuesdays Haute Couture runway, the muses of the late Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld were MIA, despite the brand keeping up their reputation for spectacle by sending a horse down the runway.

Anabelle Grace Stephens, 21, from Idaho, captured Kerry Judd, 71, on her doorbell camera last week. He walked slowly up and down her front stairs while dropping off her food delivery. Commenters were heartbroken by the clip and said the US needs to take better care of its elderly so they don't have to work. Annabelle launched a GoFundMe that has raise thousands of dollars so far. After speaking to DoorDash, she connected with her driver who said he works to 'make ends meet.'

Hugh Hefner's widow, Crystal, on Tuesday confirmed that he had kept 'all kinds of naked pictures' of women as 'a mountain of revenge porn' - and said that she had destroyed the images. The 'revenge porn' claim was made by Holly Madison, Hefner's main girlfriend from 2001-8, in a new 10-part documentary series, Secrets of Playboy. Madison said that the revenge porn was one of the factors that prevented her leaving Hefner, who died in 2017, aged 91.

The accolade has been bestowed upon the Suffolk inn by the prestigious Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs Awards, with the ranking's top five completed by Parkers Arms, Lancashire (second); The Star Inn, Harome, Yorkshire (third); The Angel At Hetton, Yorkshire (fourth) and Freemasons At Wiswell, Lancashire (fifth). The Top 50 Gastropubs Awards, now in its 13th year, actually produces a top 100 list, and some may be surprised to learn that Scotland's highest entry comes 56th - Edinburgh's The Scran and Scallie.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT: Positive birth companion and author Justine Zampogna, 31, from Perth, shared her loss on Instagram in 2018, showing followers a picture of her kissing terminated baby Gigi, 16 weeks, who was diagnosed with anencephaly, a major neural tube defect, at 14 weeks (left). She's now revealed how she welcomed a rainbow baby boy named Jagger, now two, a year after losing Gigi, who was born on what should have been his sister's due date if she'd survived (right, on the day he was born, and inset with his parents and older brother, Chase).

Davina Foster, 39, and Todd Read Bloss told Ben Fogle for Channel 5's New Life in the Wild tonight how moving their family from London to the cliffs of Cornwall has taken a toll on their finances and their health. Davina, pictured with her family, left, recalled waking up to snow on her bed during the Beast from the East in 2018 and admitted she had to be sectioned under the mental health act due to a bad reaction to anti-depressant. Meanwhile, Todd, right, told Ben he was left crying on the floor after suffering from ten slipping discs in his back. All while the family faced a 'tragic' financial situation.

The rare blizzard blanketed swathes of Greece and Turkey as more than 31 inches of snow fell in some areas, paralysing traffic for 24 hours and crippling services for a second consecutive day. Parts of the ancient Acropolis in Athens (main) were submerged in a thick layer of snow, while heavy machinery worked through the night to plough a path for aircraft to safely operate at Istanbul Airport on Tuesday. The Greek authorities declared Tuesday a public holiday, shutting public offices and private businesses except supermarkets, pharmacies and petrol stations as parts of Athens remained under icy conditions (inset top right). An elderly woman (pictured inset) wrapped in a blanket was one of thousands of motorists trapped in their frozen vehicles for up to 24 hours on an Athens motorway as all major roads in the city were forced to a standstill after the adverse weather conditions. Meanwhile, drivers were ordered to remove their stranded vehicles from the once-bustling roads of Istanbul (bottom left) after cars ploughed into one another on Monday. Soldiers were drafted in to deliver food, water and blankets to motorists who were left stranded in their cars on Attiki Odos, the Greek capital's main ring-road, for up to 22 hours.

Motorcycle rider Dustin Bates (top right) is suing Officer Jonathan Granado (bottom right) of Lake Worth, Texas after he allegedly ran him over with his squad vehicle in November 2020. Granado's dashcam footage captured him chasing Bates down a Texas highway after he failed to pull over for a traffic stop. Bates was later seen fleeing from Granado on foot off of an exit on the Marine Creek Parkway before he was struck in the back by the officer's squad vehicle. The strike caused Bates to fracture his spine, three ribs and his right leg in three legs which he claims caused permanent scarring, according to his lawsuit. Bates has requested a jury trial and is seeking unspecified punitive damages

The man started hurling abuse after being told by the diver she could not change a £10 note when he got on board in the centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire. In a video filmed by the bus driver, the man is seen punching the plastic security shield while subjecting the late night driver to vile racist slurs. She refused to trade insults with the man, who appears to be in his 20s, before he then begins to violently punch the security screen.

Lorrie Brown from Branson, Missouri shared the footage of a drake attacking her golden retriever Kai as he swam in a duck pond near a hiking trail. Mrs Brown started building trails on her property when the dog park and walking trails closed due to COVID-19. She and her family have since built 10 miles of trails, as well as a cabin, pond and campground. The footage has been viewed more than 202,000 times since Mrs Brown posted it on TikTok in November.

Deborah James, 40, from London, revealed on Instagram she has now been discharged as an in-patient, and said the past few weeks had been 'the scariest period' her life. She wrote: 'Two and a half weeks ago it was touch and go if I made it through the night...I'm not out of the woods yet, and I'll be back in soon, but I've reach a point that seemed insurmountable weeks ago.' (left right and inset).

The brainchild of Atlanta-based Dan Stevenson, 'BAGO' works by hanging out of the glovebox and clipping to the top of the bag resting on the passenger-side floor. An anchor helps keep the strap secured in the glovebox, while an adjuster allows the BAGO's length to be tailored to reach, but not suspend, the bag in question. In this way, the gadget ensures the bag remains upright - acting a bit like the safety anchors people use to stop heavy bookcases from tipping over.

Skipper Dafydd Lewis, 50, from New Quay, Wales, filmed the animals playing with a barrel jellyfish in Cardigan Bay. The dolphin uses its nose to bounce the jellyfish in and out of the water. Large splashes are seen as the dolphins repeatedly resurface and flick the jellyfish with its their snouts and tails. Mr Lewis said that New Quay is one of the best places in the UK to see bottlenose dolphins.

Nicola Cilliers, 43, filmed the swan after she and her partner Steve Fraser spotted it on the tracks at around 5.30pm on Monday from the window of her flat overlooking South Acton station. Transport for London were forced to partially suspend the line while rail staff attempted to get it off the tracks. Ms Cilliers documented the four-hour rescue mission on Twitter, posting regular updates. Her final post showed the swan 'safe and sound' in the care of London Wildlife Protection.

The total space of the garage in Edinburgh comes in at 337 sq ft with the owners asking for offers over £185,000 - higher than the national average for house prices in Scotland which the latest data shows sits at £183,000. Estate agents Savills suggest the garage could be converted into a single garage to create added storage capacity for its new owner. Agents say the garage is in a 'well positioned' and 'well sought after' area of the Scottish capital.

Ohio State Highway Patrol said at least 40 cars were damaged and 12 people injured as a result of the jet of snow and ice from the snow plow on the Ohio Turnpike in Erie County on January 23. Footage shows the plow apparently traveling at the same speed as the rest of the traffic which caused it to throw hardened snow and slush onto cars on the other side of the highway. The incident forced some cars to swerve and one careered off the road and was left with a gaping hole in its front windshield, according to truck driver Michael Lemon, who captured the crash on dashcam.