Watchdog head 'gobsmacked' officials didn't prepare for risk of pandemic to economy

Her Majesty the Queen has been likened to a modern-day "ultimate influencer" despite the fact Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton have enjoyed brilliant social media success.Andrea Leadsom, the former Leader of the House of Commons, made the claim during a debate on whether the UK should be a republic or monarchy at Cambridge Union on Thursday evening (February 10).She talked about the geopolitical and economical benefits the monarchy brought to the country and discussed the political stability during the Queen's 70-year reign, Express reports.Ms Leadsom, who was debating in favour of the Royal Family alongside Jacob Rees-Mogg added: "In this age of social media you could even call the Queen the ultimate influencer; I wouldn’t dream of doing so.“Jacob probably wouldn’t like it. In fact, Jacob probably wouldn’t know what that was.”The Daily Star reported last month that Meghan Markle was officially the 'most influential' Royal, according to Google searches, media mentions, and Instagram hashtags.Queen Elizabeth was the world’s second most influential Royal, pulling in triple the combined searches, media mentions, and hashtags than the average for all Royals on the list.Kate Middleton was the third most influential on the list, and officially the most instagrammable Royal, featuring in the most Instagram hashtags with 13 million.The former House of Commons leader said the influence of the monarchy was the reason the UK ranked third in the world in terms of soft power.Ms Leadsom also claimed companies that sported the Royal warrant enjoyed a 10 percent increase in sales due to the draw of The Firm.

MMA fight in Russia descended into a mass brawl after masked men stormed the cage the insane bout was taking place in.Epic Fighting Championship organised the unusual handicap fight, with the card full of other bizarre match-ups, in addition to the two-on-one.The bout saw lean duo Vladislav Popov and Ramzan Amsadoev go up as a tag-team against slower and pudgier fighter Vitaly Bykov, who took on the pair by himself.As could have been entirely predicted, the tag-team quickly overwhelmed Bykov, who faced a volley of strikes from his opponents, though he was somehow able to survive the furious onslaught.Despite being outnumbered, Bykov was even able to secure a take down on Amsadoev, though that was a rare highlight for the one-man team.The fight was soon grounded, and with Bykov caught in a guillotine, Popov began pounding his helpless opponent on the back of the head.With Bykov unable to escape those punches, one of his team climbed into the cage and began to attack Popov.That sparked chaos as members from both corners followed them and started trading blows with a mass brawl erupting.Who is the best MMA fighter of all time? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section...Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news?Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star football email newsletter!From the latest transfer news to the agenda-setting stories, get it all in your email inbox - don't miss a thing.It only takes a matter of seconds.Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article and hit 'subscribe'.And that's it, job done.

family is about to get even bigger. Millie Radford, who is the seventh eldest child of the 22 kids, has announced she's pregnant.She will be welcoming Sue and Noel's ninth grandchild and her second baby after giving birth to Ophelia in September 2020.

Netflix this month, is all anyone has been able to talk about, with many shocked by the deception of Israeli con artist Simon Leviev.Simon, born Shimon Hayut, has been accused of using dating app Tinder to contact women and then tricking them into loaning him money - sometimes hundreds of thousands of pounds - that he never repaid.However, unfortunately for many daters out there, Simon isn't the only one conning people.Elaine Parker, CEO & Founder at Safer Date told Daily Star that in the UK alone, citizens lost £92million last year to romance fraud.But what can you do to keep yourself safe when using these dating apps?And how can you spot a potential fraudster?In an exclusive chat, Elaine said these dating con artists often use the same kind of formula to attract people.She said: "They are often the first to make contact and have an attractive pictures or pictures on the app."They also ask a lot of questions, which makes people feel special."However, what they're actually doing is trying to gain as much personal info as they can to use against you."She continued: "You will often find that the conversation turns romantic really quickly."You'll often speak for weeks then they'll create a story about why they need money."Elaine said they may say they're in the armed forced and need money to get home.Or she said another story they could use is that their relative is ill and they need to travel back to see them.And although some people are conned by people pretending to be celebrities, Elaine says it's much more likely that they';; pose as a 'normal' person."If they're a regular person, the profile will usually be more believable and draw people in," she said.Elaine created Safer Date after suffering horrific abuse from a

numerous compilations of great goals, even greater misses, and embarrassing gaffes are stored, you would likely find the Nigerian star’s infamous celebration against Sweden in the 2002 World Cup.In a celebration which would have even made Max Whitlock giddy, Aghahowa darted to the corner of the pitch and performed seven back-flips, after heading the Super Eagles into a 1-0 lead against the Swedes.However, the former Wigan Athletic star, who made 14 Premier League appearances for the Latics, is now an assistant librarian in Kempston, Bedfordshire.His new career path is a fascinating contrast to a footballing career as dizzying, exciting, and unpredictable as his formidable celebration.Shortly after bring his football days to a close, perhaps with one final signature celebration, Aghahowa got himself on the sleeper train to Falmouth University.His creative juices were redirected to a degree in Art and Textiles at Falmouth University, which was then known as the University College of Falmouth.While the former striker has almost flipped off the footballing radar, his last known venture was as an assistant librarian in a Bedfordshire-based library.HAVE YOUR SAY! What other iconic celebrations can you think of? Comment belowIt is a fascinating juxtaposition, considering his football career took him all across Europe.Aghahowa’s reputation is firmly rooted in his two spells at Shakhtar Donetsk.The Nigerian contributed a very impressive 45 goals and seven assists in 154 appearances for the Ukrainian giants, including two goals in eleven Champions League appearances.It was there he attracted the attention of Wigan Athletic, who quickly snapped up the opportunity to bring him to Greater Manchester in the 2007 January transfer

Adele has addressed her recently cancelled Las Vegas residency, weeks after saying it was due to difficulties surrounding coronavirus.

Olympic Games, but gave up her sporting stardom in a wild career change.After becoming a three-time Olympian, Favor moved away from the track, hung up her running trainers and instead became the number two-ranked escort in Las Vegas. In an interview with the BBC, the American opened up on her story, gave an insight into the struggles she faced and the remarkable career transition she went through to go from the Olympic arena to the sex business of Vegas.

Bigfoot' have been reignited online after photos emerged on Reddit.One man is convinced his family saw the mysterious creature peering through the trees while they were out on a walk.The images, which were taken in coastal Georgia, appear to show a dark figure between trees in a forest.Unfortunately, it appears the eerie 'beast' didn't stay for long, as he says 'it walked off' after a few moments.However, while some commenters on the thread were analysing the neck length and shoulder size of the figure, others were taking a more tongue-in-cheek approach.The thread, posted to the Reddit community Highstrangeness, read: "Pic of a Bigfoot one of my inlaws took in coastal Georgia Tuesday. They were only able to snap this, and a crappy video, before it walked off."One commenter suggested that the figure looked more like Darth Vader, while another proposed it could be Chewbacca.Others were quick to dismiss the pictures, with one user commenting: "That's a lazy Photoshop job.

Masked Singer star Aled Jones has shared who he thinks will be crowned the winner of the third series.The Welsh singing sensation, 51, appeared on the wacky ITV guessing game show dressed as Traffic Cone but he was told to take off his mask last weekend.After just missing out on a place in the final, Aled has shared who he believes will win the show.Panda, Mushroom and Robobunny are all in the running to be champion.Speaking to Daily Star and other press, the Welsh singer said: "I think Panda will win.

EXCLUSIVE: Copenhagen-based REinvent International Sales has closed two significant deals on Omerta 6/12, a Finnish action thriller.

A man has been charged after a four-car smash on a Scots road that left a motorcyclist seriously injured in hospital.

A fundraising drive has been launched to install a life-saving defibrillator at an East Kilbride community centre.

James Penrice’s most vivid Scottish Cup memory was sitting in the stands at Hampden as a Hibs youngster watching Hearts smash five past the Easter Road side and stroll their way to a memorable cup final triumph.

Adele has opened up about her decision to cancel her Las Vegas residency performances at the last minute.The Make You Feel My Love star, 33, admitted she has regrets over pulling the plug on the performances, which were due to take place at Caesars Palace, at the eleventh hour. Brit Award winning star Adele, who recently surprised fans as she pole danced at a nightclub, said she "wasn't ready" as she opened up on the Graham Norton Show.

Olivia Bowen has revealed that she is already planning a second pregnancy as she and husband Alex would like to have two children close together in age. On New Year’s Day, Olivia, 28, and Alex, 30, shared the exciting news that they’re expecting the first child and have since been documenting their pregnancy journey on social media. The Love Island duo met on the hit ITV2 show and went on to say their ‘I dos’ in September 2018.

Manchester City will be looking to extend their winning run in all competitions to three matches when they face relegation-threatened Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday teatime.

A boy aged 16 has been charged with sexual assault after a woman was attacked in Fallowfield, police said today (February 12).

Manchester United players arrived at The Lowry Hotel before their Premier League game vs Southampton on Friday night.

Manchester United are back in Premier League action on Saturday when they host Southampton in the Premier League.

Mary J. Blige has shared her thoughts on not being paid to perform at this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show.The Queen of hip-hop soul is set to perform alongside Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar during this Sunday’s (February 13) NFL showdown between the Cincinnati Bengals and L.A.

drill videos from social media, likening the music to Donald Trump tweets.In a press conference yesterday (February 11), Adams said he was sent a number of drill videos by his son, which he called “alarming,” adding: “We pulled Trump off Twitter because of what he was spewing. Yet we are allowing music, displaying of guns, violence, we’re allowing it to stay on these sites.”Adams said: “We are going to pull together the social media companies, and state that you have a civic and corporate responsibility.”The Mayor then specifically attached blame to drill music for a rise in violent crime in New York, saying: “We are alarmed by the use of social media to really overproliferate the use of violence in our communities… this is contributing to the violence we are seeing all over this country.