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A ROW erupted over the Tories’ record in power at a lavish event for allies of Donald Trump.

Ex-PM Boris Johnson “robustly defended” his time at No 10 during a debate on right-wing politics.

Words were exchanged after champagne and canapes at Tuesday night’s do, also attended by former PM Liz Truss and ex-ministers.

Mr Johnson came out fighting after a forceful intervention from broadcaster Andrew Neil, who questioned why the Tories did not do more to curb migration and boost defence spending.

A witness at the Peninsula Hotel in Mayfair, central London, said: “At that point Boris robustly defended his government’s record.

“Boris argued that Brexit gives us powers to reduce immigration if we wish and said he did reduce it.

“He also said we shouldn’t bash the contribution migrants make to Britain.”

Last month Boris was seen sporting a new bearded look in photos shared on Instagram by wife Carrie.

The couple were seen holidaying on the Greek island of Euboea with children Wilfred, 5, Romy, 3, Frank, 2, and baby Poppy.

The heartwarming images of the family holiday were captioned: “Our favourite place GR.”

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Los Angeles lawyer Michael Avenatti was indicted Wednesday on charges of stealing from his former client Stormy Daniels by skimming money from her deal to write a memoir detailing her alleged sexual affair with Donald Trump.

It was the third time in two months that federal prosecutors have charged the celebrity attorney with criminal wrongdoing. Daniels is the sixth Avenatti client whose money he is accused of embezzling.

A federal grand jury in New York accused Avenatti of forging Daniels’ signature on a document instructing her literary agent to wire nearly $300,000 of her money to him.

Avenatti “blatantly lied to and stole from his client to maintain his extravagant lifestyle,” said Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

“Far from zealously representing his client, Avenatti, as alleged, instead engaged in outright deception and theft, victimizing rather than advocating for his client,” Berman said.

Avenatti spent roughly half the money on personal expenses, including the lease of a Ferrari, according to prosecutors.

On Twitter, Avenatti denied the charges. “No monies relating to Ms. Daniels were ever misappropriated or mishandled,” he said.

The indictment charges Avenatti with wire fraud and aggravated identify theft. If convicted on both counts, he faces up to 22 years in prison. Combined with previous criminal charges brought against Avenatti over the last two months, he now faces a maximum penalty of 404 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Daniels’ new attorney, Clark Brewster of Tulsa, Okla., said he brought the case to the FBI and federal prosecutors earlier this year after she showed him the documentation cited Wednesday in the indictment.

“What I witnessed here was just the most base of criminality,” Brewster said. “It really does take a calculated criminal mind to have done what he did over such a long period of time with such dishonesty — and all the while posing as her champion.”

Stormy Daniels’ attorney, Clark Brewster.

(Brandi Simons / Associated Press)

Under an April 2018 contract that Avenatti helped negotiate with Daniels’ publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and literary agent, Janklow & Nesbit Associates, Daniels was to receive an $800,000 advance in four installments for her memoir, “Full Disclosure.”

The book featured graphic details of her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump at a Lake Tahoe resort. It was published in October.

The publisher sent the first two installments — a total of $425,000 — to Daniels’ agent, which forwarded the money to her after taking a fee, according to the indictment.

But Avenatti embezzled the third and fourth installments, the grand jury alleged. They say he did it by emailing a letter to Janklow & Nesbit on Aug. 1, 2018, instructing the agent to wire the remaining money to a bank account that Avenatti controlled. The letter purported to be from Daniels, with her signature.

But Daniels neither authorized nor signed the “false wire instructions,” the indictment says.

When Avenatti received the two remaining installments, he spent the money on hotels, airline tickets, car services, restaurants, dry cleaning, a $3,900 lease payment on the Ferrari and various business expenses, according to the indictment.

Avenatti repeatedly lied to Daniels to cover up the theft, the grand jury alleged.

“When is the publisher going to cough up my money?” she asked him in December, according to the indictment.

Avenatti did not tell her he’d already received and spent the money, saying instead that he was threatening to sue the publisher for failing to pay her.

“They need to pay you the money as you did your part and then some,” he allegedly told her.

In January, the indictment says, Avenatti told her falsely that St. Martin’s Press was resisting making the payment due to purportedly poor sales.

Avenatti accused of embezzling nearly $2 million that NBA player paid ex-girlfriend »

Daniels made Avenatti famous last year by hiring him to sue President Trump to void a nondisclosure agreement she signed before the 2016 election. In exchange for her silence, the adult-film star was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump.

Michael Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and fixer, pleaded guilty last year to a campaign finance felony for orchestrating the deal. Prosecutors say Trump directed Cohen to pay the hush money to Daniels, a stripper who has performed in more than 150 pornographic movies over the last two decades.

When the scandal broke in early 2018, Avenatti fueled the media frenzy in scores of interviews with Anderson Cooper, Megyn Kelly, George Stephanopoulos and other television news personalities.

Avenatti, who relished bashing Trump on television, explored a run for president, but his career in politics effectively died last fall when Los Angeles police arrested him on suspicion of domestic violence. Prosecutors declined to charge him.

Tensions between Avenatti and Daniels spilled into public view in November.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, told the Daily Beast that Avenatti treated her with disrespect, ignored requests for an accounting of her crowdfunding money and, against her wishes, filed a second suit against Trump for defamation. Avenatti denied her allegations.

Geoffrey Berman, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announces Michael Avenatti’s arrest on extortion charges in March.

(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

A federal judge dismissed both of Daniels’ lawsuits against Trump. He ordered Daniels in December to pay Trump $292,000 to cover the president’s legal fees. Two months later, Daniels and Avenatti parted ways for reasons neither disclosed.

“He knew that I was unhappy and looking for new counsel,” Daniels told a crowd at a book promotion event in Washington.

The FBI arrested Avenatti in New York on March 25 after secretly recording what prosecutors allege was an attempt to extort sportswear giant Nike in conversations with the company’s lawyers. He was formally indicted in that case, too, on Wednesday.

Prosecutors say Avenatti threatened to hold a news conference that would take billions of dollars off Nike’s market value unless it paid a client $1.5 million and hired Avenatti and L.A. lawyer Mark Geragos for as much as $25 million to conduct an internal investigation.

Geragos, identified by prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator, was not charged with any crimes.

Avenatti’s life of luxury hangs by a thread as IRS comes calling »

Still, the most serious legal threat to Avenatti is in California, where he faces a separate 36-count federal indictment.

In August, he is scheduled to be tried in Santa Ana on charges of embezzling millions of dollars from clients, dodging taxes, defrauding a bank by submitting fake financial papers to get loans and concealing assets from creditors and the federal court that oversaw his law firm’s bankruptcy.

Avenatti denies wrongdoing.

Makeup artist Michelle Phan.

(Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

The clients whose money prosecutors say he stole include Geoffrey Ernest Johnson, a mentally ill paraplegic man on disability, and Michelle Phan, a makeup artist popular on YouTube.

He is also charged with embezzling most of a $2.75-million payment that Miami Heat basketball center Hassan Whiteside intended for an ex-girlfriend, Alexis Gardner, who was an Avenatti client.

Real Housewives of Cheshire star Tanya Bardsley and her family were sleeping at her lavish home when two masked men allegedly attempted to gain entry to the property

Tanya Bardsley has been left shocked after masked men attempted to break into her home. The Real Housewives of Cheshire star has told how her home in the leafy region was targeted by the masked men on Friday night.

The former model has taken to social media, sharing video footage of one son, Rocco, 16, standing on the driveway of the family home alongside two police officers and a member of a private security firm. Tanya, 44, and her family, including husband, Macclesfield assistant manager Phil, 39, were at home with their children when the incident occurred.

It’s believed that police were alerted about the attempted break-in after it was flagged on Tanya and Phil’s home security system, which is monitored by an external company. Taking to Instagram, Tanya shared a video showing a police car parked outside the gates of her home as the police spoke on their radios.

“Two masked men in Wilmslow lock your doors put your cameras on and call police if you see them,” she said. Tanya added: “Thank God for @tarussecuritygroup.” Now, a source has claimed that while the family were at home, they were fortunate enough that the break-in failed and nobody was injured.

“The family was home at the time, but luckily nobody was harmed,” a source told The Sun. The source went on to add: “Security and police turned up as fast they could, but the two masked men got away.”

The Mirror has approached Tanya and Cheshire Police for comment. Tanya and Phil are not the only stars of the Real Housewives franchise to be targeted by brazen thieves. Her former co-star, Nicole Sealey, was left shaken in 2022 when armed robbers gained access to her Cheshire home with crowbars.

It’s believed that the armed thieves who entered Nicole’s home, which she shares with her husband, former footballer Joe, went straight for their valuables, which included Nicole’s engagement and wedding rings as well as several Rolex watches. The scary incident comes after Tanya and Phil opened up to the Mirror about their decision to open their doors for the cameras once again, but on their own reality show.

Previously, former Manchester United FC legend Phil had ruled out appearing on their own programme but reluctantly gave in to pressures from his family. “We had to wear him down,” said Tanya when asked on how she persuaded Phil to take part. She went on to add: “Complete peer pressure from the whole family but we got there.” Although both have had glittering careers, Tanya admits that having their own show was “a lot harder” than shows, including Housewives.

“Even when I’m not filming, I’ve got to be there for the kids filming. It was a lot, but I’ve loved it,” she said. But having both been in the business since 2003, Tanya admits that the biggest thing she’s learnt about herself – she “can’t keep her mouth shut,” as Phil joked: “That’s nothing new, is it?” This is seen in one episode, with Tanya oversharing with some of her friends about Phil’s manscaping.

“Phil’s got a d**k-fringe,” she laughed. Explaining the bombshell, Tanya revealed: “He was in the shower for a long time, obviously he had a razor and he got a bit experimental. He walked out and he’s got a d**k-fringe. I told Jenny Powell this. As soon as it came out, I was like ‘S**t, he’s going to kill me!’ because I’d said it on camera, I had to tell him on camera that I said it.

“He took it well.” Although he’s been married to Tanya since 2014, Phil admitted: “Nothing surprises us with Tanya, with what comes out of her mouth.” She joked that she often told her Housewives co-stars about Phil’s manhood and joked he should be proud, as she would also tell them if it wasn’t up to scratch.

“I appreciate the compliment,” Phil joked. When asked about their relationship, Phil joked that he was there to “put fires out” after Tanya’s hilarious outbursts. This show will be different to how Tanya has been seen on TV as she won’t be getting “dolled up” all the time, only when she’s heading on a night out.

“We’re slouching around, the crew have become sort of part of the family, we don’t do scenes – we’re just being us,” she said. Phil added: “It’s more off the cuff stuff is what people want to see.”

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