Like 40% of the water supply, he had simply disappeared, but Environment Minister Phil Hogan still dominated the Dáil — for all the wrong reasons. From Big Phil to Feck-It-Up Phil in the space of a couple of months, few ministerial careers have threatened to disappear down the drain so quickly.

Stephen Fry has dropped plans to film in Japan for a new BBC series following a furore caused by his panel show 'QI'.