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FASHION DILEMMA

Was Alexander McQueen's posthumous show a fitting farewell?

Jess Cartner-Morley witnessed an exclusive unveiling of 16 looks completed by Alexander McQueen's team after his death:

"For fifteen minutes today, in a grand Paris drawing room with soaring white ceilings gloriously flounced with gilt, Alexander McQueen came back to life.

When the first model walked into the room, there was an audible intake of breath. Four weeks after the designer's death, the collection he had been working on was finally unveiled. And his spirit was right there - in the skullcap of bandages dissected by a mohican of lacquered feathers, in the fierce black boots with gold angels sculpted into the heels, in the muscular power of the tight crimson bodice and the way the pleated and ruffled skirt appeared to have come not from the past or the future but from some other dimension where the two meet. Every piece was cut on the stand by McQueen, the audience was told beforehand; once the clothes appeared, there could have been no doubt.

Of the outfits, 16 were 80% finished - they were completed by his team and seen for the first time today. The collection was truly spectacular; the mood, in the face of the evidence of what fashion has lost, was bleak."

Read Jess's full report here and view more pictures of the collection here.

FASHION HIGHS

The soundtrack at Balmain Held in a fancy Parisian ballroom with a chandelier the size of a black cab dangling over the catwalk, the Balmain show was a two-fingered salute to the pared-back, strict aesthetic that pervaded Paris. The show was as OTT as it gets - lots of trashy gold, big shoulders (still), and brocade tailoring. Sort of disco-highwaymen-meets-glam-rockers. But the soundtrack had the most impact. Even the more uptight members of the front row were bopping along to Prince's "Let's Go Crazy". The audience left and duly downloaded.

Celine Celine Celine The fashion world has the biggest ever crush on Phoebe Philo at the moment, and don't expect us to be all difficult and contrary, because we're totally besotted too. Throughout the week the fashion press corps was in and out of the Celine boutique, ferreting around for strict camel coats, the perfect Breton tee and beautifully boring handbags. By the time of the show, held at the Tennis Club de Paris, the excitement was feverish - or as feverish as minimalist Celine-ites get. And we weren't disappointed: from the gold-heeled riding boots to the stand-up collar navy wool coats, the show was perfection. Even the pale lime carpet on the catwalk filled our hearts with joy. Merci, Phoebe!

Loewe's café catwalk We quite enjoyed the lightbox grid-come-catwalk assembled in the Hotel de Crillon for the Balenciaga show, but on balance our favourite catwalk was the runway arrangement at Loewe. Round cafe-style tables lined the room, combining our two favourite Parisian things - sipping champagne in cafes and catwalk-watching. Did we like the 40s-inspired show? Yes. Did one British glassy magazine editor threaten to steal the beautiful champagne glasses afterwards? Yes, she did.

FASHION LOWS

The Rick Owens soundtrack First up, why did almost every member of the audience look like they were related to the long-haired designer? But more to the point, why on earth did he have a soundtrack that was so unbelievably loud and aggressive that we felt ill? Now, we like the idea of a second skin leather Rick Owens jacket with a flap of a lapel as much as the next girl, but the 4am Berlin trance music was distracting to say the least. We're not too keen on the fur helmet hoods, either.

No French Vogue at Balenciaga A bit like having a croissant without the jam - somehow not quite the same. We loved the presence of Charlotte "she inspired the perfume" Gainsbourg, but we missed the presence of La Roitfeld. The reason for the blacklisting is rumoured to be a misdemeanour with a sample which somehow found its way to the Maxmara design studio - where Carine is a consultant - and was copied. But nothing has been confirmed by either side. "Ask them", was Carine's enigmatic response to trade sheet WWD.

Absent friends Two British-based designers paid tribute to Alexander McQueen in their show notes. Stella McCartney wrote: "This one is also for Lee - you're missed", and Roland Mouret simply typed "Goodbye Lee" at the corner of his.

TRENDWATCH

Hidden knees. A slightly 70s, below-the-knee hemline is the New Length according to Ms Philo, and she is the style lawmaker right now. You might want to think about wearing it with a precise polished leather top to keep things the sharp side of dowdy, mind.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Since 'tis nature's law to change, constancy alone is strange.

That's John Galliano quoting Jon Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester and a 17th-century poet. You see - he's not just the Dior designer with flowing locks, a cavalier moustache and a penchant for taking the longest, most over-dramatic bow in fashion. He's deep.

OFFCUTS

Who wore what to the Oscars 2010? Rachel Dixon assessed all the outfits on the night, while Jess Cartner-Morley and Imogen Fox chose the 20 best-dressed celebs the next day.

Why didn't Lindsay Lohan turn up at the Ungaro show? Looks like the actor/designer has been quietly dropped.

Want perfectly shaped eyebrows? Check out makeup artist Alex Byrne's video guide to brow beauty.

Are you a man? Then grow a beard! Imogen Fox explains what your style of facial hair says about you.

Interested in shoes? Of course you are, so take a look at our video about John Lobb, one of the last remaining bespoke shoemakers in Britain.

For all the latest fashion news, visit guardian.co.uk/fashion

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Investigations will focus on how the MP, who is standing down at the general election, wrongly claimed the second-home allowance for four years

Police have launched an investigation into the expenses claims of the Labour MP Harry Cohen who received more than £70,000 in a second home allowance for a house he rarely visited, it was reported last night.

Cohen, who was severely criticised last month for a "particularly serious breach of the rules" by a Commons committee, is the fifth Labour MP to be subject to a Scotland Yard inquiry.

Officers will focus their investigations on how the MP, who is standing down at the general election, wrongly claimed the second-home allowance for four years.

Cohen received money for a second home when he was renting out the property designated as his main home, the standards and privileges committee said last month.

Over the past few weeks, the Metropolitan police are understood to have approached Commons authorities seeking documents relating to claims made by Cohen, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Today, three MPs, Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine, are due to appear before the courts after being charged last month with multiple offences under the Theft Act.

Another MP, Eric Illsley, is also being investigated over claims he allegedly made "phantom" claims for council tax.

The Commons committee last month called for the Leyton and Wanstead MP to become the first MP to lose a £65,000 retirement payoff to claw back the wrongly claimed money.

Attention has focussed on a Colchester home bought by Cohen in 1998 which he told the Commons authorities was his main residence. He used his second-home allowance to fund a home in his north-east London constituency, which was in accordance with the rules.

In 2003 Cohen's wife fell ill and the couple began to spend more time in the constituency home so that Cohen could look after her while still carrying out his parliamentary duties.

As the Cohens were not using their Colchester house, they began to rent it out. From early 2004 until August 2008 they periodically let the house on six-month leases.

But Cohen continued to tell the Commons authorities that the Colchester house was his main home, thus enabling him to use the second home allowance to claim for the home in the constituency.

The parliamentary commissioner for standards, John Lyon, found that Cohen was in breach of the rule saying that an MP's main home should normally be the one where he or she spends the most nights.

As an outer-London MP, Cohen could have claimed the London supplement, instead of the second-home allowance, if he had designated his constituency home as his main home.

But the committee said Cohen claimed more than £70,000 between April 2004 and August 2008. If he had claimed the London supplement instead, he would only have been able to claim about £9,000.

'I've been offered £8k to do a razor advert'

The most wonderful thing has happened. I have been offered a telly advert! I have been asked to appear as part of an ad campaign stretching across TV, radio and the internet. And the marvellous thing is that this is a beauty product: the new Gillette Venus Embrace, the "first five-blade razor for women . . . hugs every curve and even lets you shave bikini hair for dramatically smooth, begs-to-be-close skin". Short of actually being asked to contribute to Come Dine With Me, or made a Companion of Honour in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, I could not be more proud or excited.

Now, of course, I assumed at first that I had been asked to appear because of my own delicate, epicene, almost feminine beauty which has, however, become more rugged in my 40s. But sadly no. The idea is that, in my capacity as the Guardian's balding, unattractive film reviewer, I would sound off about the eternal feminine loveliness of great romcom movie heroines like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. Then a genuinely young, sexy person would appear, explaining how the product will make the user resemble these goddesses.

Even after this explanation of my role emerged, the offer still caused incredulity. At the pub, my dissimiliarity to an oil painting has been loudly discussed. Some have hurtfully suggested that my physical unattractiveness is such that, on appearing in the commercial, I should speak from behind a screen, like an SAS man giving evidence in court.

However, there is the money: £8,000 – for a few hours' work. Eight grand! A superbly calculated offer: just high enough to let you know you're selling your soul, not high enough for it to be worth it. Was this how Faustus felt, tempted by Mephistopheles? I mean, it's just embarrassing. Demeaning. I couldn't compromise my position as film critic like that. How could I discuss Iranian cinema after gushing on in the service of the Gillette Venus Embrace?

Still. Eight grand. Should I do it, do you think?

Sequencing the genomes of every family member gives researchers a powerful new tool for tracking down the defective genes that cause inherited diseases

An American family has become the first to have the entire genome of each member mapped to identify the causes of rare diseases that affect the children.

The family of four is unusual because the parents are healthy but both son and daughter have two rare inherited medical conditions that cause facial and limb malformations and lung problems.

Mutations in "recessive" genes are responsible for these conditions, meaning that in each case the children must have inherited a defective copy from both their mother and their father to get the disease.

One of the conditions, Miller's syndrome, causes facial and limb abnormalities and affects only around one in a million people. Only a few families in the world have been formally diagnosed with the condition.

The second disease, called primary ciliary dyskinesia, makes the hair-like structures that sweep mucus from the lungs and airways stop working, and affects around one in 10,000 people globally. The chances of one person having both conditions are less than one in a billion.

Scientists at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle sequenced the entire genomes of all four family members and used the information to pinpoint four genes that might be responsible for the diseases. Mutations in two of the genes were later confirmed to be the cause of the diseases.

The breakthrough, reported in the journal Science, gives researchers a powerful new tool to track down quickly the defective genes behind almost any disease that is caused to a significant extent by genetic glitches.

"It remains to be seen how far we can push it, but I really don't see any limitation to this. If we look at more and larger families we should be able to home in on the key genes linked to far more complex conditions, such as neurodegenerative diseases and autoimmune diseases," said David Galas, professor of genetics and a senior author on the study.

With many diseases, identifying the defective gene can help doctors make a diagnosis and arrange for appropriate counselling for the patient and other family members.

"The big impact is going to be helping us understand diseases at the molecular level, but that is a longer play," Galas added.

The researchers also report the first measurement of how many new, spontaneous mutations parents pass on to their children. They identified 30 from each parent, meaning that each child inherited 60 new mutations in total. Estimates based on comparisons between human and chimp genomes have previous led scientists to think the figure was higher, at around 75.

Writing in the journal, the scientists explain that in future, everyone is likely to have a full genome sequence in their medical records, making such familial genetic comparisons easier.

Many patients who are referred to a clinical geneticist by their doctor are not diagnosed because scientists only know the genes involved in a fraction of the medical conditions they see.

"What this group has shown is that with one family, you can get almost directly to the important mutation itself. It's a big deal, because if we can collect families affected by a condition, we might be able to get much more rapidly towards understanding their genetic causes," said Matthew Hurles, a geneticist at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK.

In a separate study, a researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, helped discover genetic mutations that cause his own rare medical condition. James Lupski inherited Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome, a rare disorder that leads to a loss of sensitivity and muscle in the hands and feet. Neither of his parents have the disease, but three of his siblings do.

Writing in The New England Journal of Medicine, Lupski and his colleagues describe how they compared his genome with those of his other family members and identified two mutant genes that cause the syndrome.

"This is the first time we have tried to identify a disease gene in this way," said Lupski. "We can [now] start to use this technology to interpret the clinical information in the context of the sequence, of the hand of cards you have been dealt."

This evening needed every square inch of football heritage to conceal the drabness of the match. Manchester United overwhelmed inept and ageing visitors. David Beckham eventually took the field as a substitute against his old club and was a tactful guest. The veteran won cheers for a volley that did no harm as the attempt was tipped over the bar by Edwin van der Sar.

The drubbing administered at Old Trafford fell just short of the 5-0 margin by which Arsenal had swamped Porto the night before. Perhaps the recent Premier League ascendancy in this tournament is not destined to end shortly after all. It will be a relief to Sir Alex Ferguson and others that Real Madrid, following the 1-1 draw with Lyon, have yet again been eliminated in the last 16 of the Champions League.

United were never confronted by that sort of risk and the sheer energy in their ranks prevented Milan from disguising the elderliness of some and the mediocrity of others in their line-up. The contrast between the teams was all the more pronounced because Wayne Rooney, who began his professional life as a phenomenon, seems now to be getting better still.

There were to be two strikes from him, but he had confirmed United's passage to the Champions League quarter-finals as soon as he notched the opener. The entertainment continued to the 88th minute when Darren Fletcher headed in a cross from the substitute Rafael da Silva. This emphatic beating will not have taken Milan wholly by surprise.

The fuss over Beckham's return to Old Trafford overlooked the fact that the coach, Leonardo, would have been a sentimental fool to include him in the starting line-up. His mediocre outing in the first leg indicated that the inevitable decline of a veteran is getting steeper. At least Beckham showed nice touches and a fellow substitute Filippo Inzaghi might have forced home one of the deliveries in stoppage time.

The 34-year-old Beckham was introduced with the score was 3-0 and there had been nothing to distract the crowd from lauding him. "Fergie, Fergie sign him up," chanted the fans. The intention was kind, but it must have hurt a veteran who knew he was being patronised. At least he was not alone. This had been a chastening night for Milan.

Nothing could have stopped them from being outclassed but the aggregate score might not have reached 7-2 if Alexandre Pato and, more relevantly, the centre-half Alessandro Nesta had been fit to play. Any suggestion that the tie was in balance at kick-off was pure fiction, even if Ferguson had been in charge of the story-telling.

On the eve of the game he had regretted the late goal by Clarence Seedorf at San Siro. That had done no more that trim the margin of United's win to 3-2. At the very least, Milan would have had to score twice at Old Trafford and the task of keeping a clean sheet had always looked an impossibility.

There could have been some tension when a free-kick from the right glanced off Nani and went straight to Ronaldinho after eight minutes but the Brazilian's header ran wide with the goalkeeper Van der Sar almost motionless. Rooney is more practised at that art and his opener was the seventh consecutive goal he had nodded home.

The attacker got in front of the centre-half Daniele Bonera to glance the ball past a helpless Christian Abbiati. The visitors had come with attacking intent, but they also brought to Manchester the same basic vulnerability that had afflicted them in Milan.

Even if they had been rigorous, Rooney might still have been their undoing. The string of goals highlights the movement essential to a striker who is not all that tall. Often there is no marker to outjump him because Rooney has left him trailing. The opener dismayed Milan, but there was also collateral damage to the fixture itself.No one could pretend that a grand drama was unfolding.

Leonardo's side did not get much encouragement although they had bouts of possession. Before half-time excitement was restricted in their efforts to counter Rooney's goal. Milan had to seek a lot more than that. They sent on Seedorf for the second half, but the removal of Bonera proved more relevant because the middle of their defence was disturbed.

Massimo Ambrosini, a midfielder, had been reassigned to that post, but the back four were left helpless when possession was surrendered cheaply. Nani, from the left, crossed precisely with his right foot in the 46th minute and Rooney shot past Abbiati. A finish with boot rather than brow was the sole element of surprise. Uncertainty involved nothing more than the ultimate margin of victory in the tie.

United, with the match won, were too composed to be lenient. After 59 minutes, Paul Scholes slid through a pass that Park Ji-sung converted for the third goal. A crowd that relished the display and remembered to protest lustily against the ownership of the Glazers had an ideal evening.

Authorities apologise over missed warnings of incest as report reveals culture of 'quiet word' rather than action

A series of failures by child protection professionals were detailed today in a withering report that described how a father was allowed to continually rape and abuse two of his daughters over a 35-year period.

The executive summary into the case described how the family had been in contact with 28 different agencies between 1973 and 2008, and that they had been seen by more than 100 professionals including social workers, police and housing officials.

Sixteen case conferences were held and ambulance workers, a headteacher and hospital staff had all expressed concern about non-accidental injuries and the children's poor hygiene. Yet nothing was done.

Seven allegations of sexual abuse were made by family members – but they were not followed up.

Instead of swift intervention, a culture of having "a quiet word" was found to exist among professionals.

Today Sheffield and Lincolnshire safeguarding children boards apologised for their failings. Chris Cook, independent chair of Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Board, said: "We are genuinely sorry. We should have protected you. People's lives were devastated both by a controlling, power-obsessed and deviant father and our failure to act."

Sue Fiennes, independent chair of Sheffield Safeguarding Children Board, admitted they had failed the family and "nothing should shield us from that fact".

The nature of the failures were disclosed today, 18 months after the father was sentenced to 25 life sentences for raping his daughters in one of the worst cases of incest ever put before a British court.

The women had finally come forward in June 2008 when their father was arrested. The judge in the case, Alan Goldack QC, demanded to know what professionals "had been doing for the last 20 years."

Today's report was an attempt to answer the question.

It described how the man abused and intimidated his family, and how he moved them 67 times to avoid being detected by the authorities. During that time, two of his daughters, referred to as M and N, had become pregnant 18 times after being raped by him.

Yet despite increasing suspicion that sexual abuse was taking place, none of the episodes was investigated effectively. On 23 separate occasions the women were specifically asked by the authorities about paternity of their children. They refused genetic counselling and there was concern that the father had become violent and aggressive towards them.

Yet because professionals believed "there was no evidence" to prove incest, they took no action. They were also fearful of potential litigation, the report noted.

The girls and a brother, who suffered physical abuse, were on the child protection register for a decade.

Speaking at a press conference, Professor Pat Cantrill, author of the report, said the abuse could have been stopped. "It only really needed one person with tenacity to keep pushing this and pushing this and we might have had a much earlier recognition and action being taken.

"There were people in the community that came forward and attempted to get the agencies to react in relation to this family and they were not listened to the way that they should."

She said a culture of "having a quiet word" had developed, and some professionals simply did not know how to handle the situation.

She said opportunities were missed individually and collectively. "The inquiries that were identified should have resulted in the children being taken to a place of safety – but that did not occur."

Some professionals got "quite stuck" around the situation of incest. "You are aware, as I am aware, that there are a number of these serious case reviews that happen and we always don't seem to learn from them."

The report found the father intimidated and frightened his wife and children using physical violence and bullying.

His wife left in 1992, leaving the children with him. "Professionals failed to listen and consider the situation from the child's perspective," the summary concluded. "They did not see the children and, where possible, talk to them and find out what they thought and felt about the issues. Too often the professionals took the word of parents at face value without considering the effects on the child."

It found professionals were often on the back foot because some were afraid of the father. "There is also an issue of professionals stereotyping and being judgmental of adults M and N and failing to see the growing pressure on the women of the frequent pregnancies." It found agencies were waiting for M and N to disclose abuse, yet research finds that 40% of victims of serious sexual assault don't tell.

"There was evidence of practitioners working in narrow silos," the report found. "There is an individual and collective community responsibility on us as members of society to protect children. Members of the family and community tried to play their part in safeguarding the children … with a frustrating outcome."

Cantrill said by 1997 there was a substantial picture in place that should have reflected in action being taken. "Even though some professionals were afraid of the father they left the children with him," she added.