Theresa May has apologised to Tory MPs for the party's election performance, telling them "I got us into this mess I'll get us out of it."

Addressing a meeting of backbenchers, the PM reportedly said she would serve as "long as you want me to do".
One senior backbencher told the BBC that she had appeared "contrite and genuine but not on her knees".
It comes amid confusion over whether the Queen's Speech will be delayed as talks continue to form a government.
A senior minister has said he was "optimistic" that the Conservatives and Democratic Unionists will reach an agreement in the coming days to allow a proposed Tory minority government get its plans for the year ahead through the Commons, possibly as early as next Monday.
But First Secretary of State Damian Green said he could not confirm the Queen's Speech will proceed as planned on 19 June.
Labour said the government was "in chaos" and continued to be "in denial" about the message voters had sent about their opposition to an "extreme Brexit".
Mrs May addressed a packed meeting of the 1922 Committee for 90 minutes after her failure to win the election outright prompted days of speculation about her future.
According to reports of the meeting, she accepted personal responsibility for calling the snap election and for the result, which saw her party lose its overall majority and have to rely on the support of others.
Mrs May, who earlier chaired a two-hour cabinet meeting, reportedly told the committee, a group of backbench MPs, that the DUP would not have a "veto" on the government's agenda, and there would be no watering down of equalities laws over which the two parties disagree.
The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the PM's "colleagues were demanding contrition and sounds like they got it".
While calls for Mrs May to go had "faded", she said her authority was "extremely fractured" and had acknowledged she was not "calling the shots" any more.
Reacting to the meeting, Tory MP Julian Knight said that the prime minister had been "humble and steadfast and certain that we have to get on with the job of government and negotiating Brexit".
His colleague Sarah Wollaston tweeted: "Conservative MPs all said they were standing with TM. As far as I'm concerned that hasn't changed."
One Conservative ex-minister told the BBC that Theresa May "did brilliantly", suggesting that "the "Maybot" disappeared and we got a real leader back".
In the wake of Friday's setback, Conservative figures have said the party needs to learn the lessons of its failure to win an overall majority and change direction in some key areas.
Gavin Barwell, who lost his seat but has since been appointed Mrs May's chief of staff, said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had "tapped into" public anger over Brexit and austerity, saying some voters were dismayed about the prospect of years of future public sector pay freezes.
He told the BBC's Panorama his party had to listen to Remain voters about their concerns. Meanwhile his colleague George Freeman said it was time for the government to "drop a hard Brexit" message and return to a "message of hope" he said Mrs May articulated when she first became prime minister.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has said the priority of Brexit talks should be the economy and free trade and that other parties should be involved in negotiations.
After attending Monday's meeting of senior ministers and Tory officials, she said: "We do have to make sure that we invite other people in now. This isn't just going to be a Tory Brexit, this is going to have to involve the whole country."
Passing the Queen's Speech - which is written by ministers and presents an outline of its planned legislation for the next Parliamentary session - will be the first major test of Theresa May's proposed minority government.
If the government was defeated, it would be tantamount to a vote of no confidence.
Mr Green cited the ongoing negotiations with the DUP when he was asked if next Monday's speech had been delayed.
"I can't confirm anything yet until we know the final details of the agreement," he said. "We know those talks are going well and also we know that, at this very important time, we want to produce a substantial Queen's Speech."
One of the reasons for the delay is also believed to be because the speech has to be written on goat's skin parchment, which takes a few days to dry - and the Tory negotiations with the DUP mean it cannot be ready in time.
BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said there was an "ambiguity" about both what would go in it - with several manifesto pledges expected to be watered down or dropped - but also the need for the Tories to "nail down" DUP support.
The first formal meeting of UK and EU officials since the election has concluded without a date being officially set for the start of Brexit talks. The negotiations were due to start on 19 June but Brexit Secretary David Davis has indicated this timetable could slip by a few days amid events in Westminster.
The prime minister is continuing to reshuffle her government at middle-ranking level after Sunday saw only modest changes in the cabinet. Nick Hurd has become policing minister while Dominic Raab joins the Ministry for Justice and Mel Stride becomes financial secretary to the Treasury.
Mike Penning, Robert Halfon, Oliver Heald and David Jones have all left the government.


Just as Islamic State (IS) has swept across Iraq, so too has it swarmed over social media - using the platform with a sophistication never before witnessed in this way.

By sharing shocking images and video showing the killing of US journalist James Foley, IS has brought to the fore an issue many have warned about: that social networks are locked in a continual battle against extremists and the spread of shocking propaganda online.
Some experts say the networks are losing this battle, as more and more messages - many purporting to be from news agencies - flood services.
Others argue that social networks are doing what they can to protect users, and that measures in place to flag and remove content are effective.
Meanwhile, some have criticised social networks for putting more effort into detecting copyright infringement than they have into removing harmful material.
Here are the key issues.
After video of Foley appeared online, users on social networks urged others not to watch or share the clip.
But the effectiveness of IS's approach is staggering - mimicking the kind of efforts corporations would invest millions in for marketing purposes.
As the graphic video was circulated, some Twitter users started two hashtags - #ISISmediablackout and #DontShare - which sought to drown out messages showing the disturbing content, replacing it with images of Foley taken while he was working.
But the reality is that extremists are finding new ways to circumvent the efforts of social networks trying to shut down accounts, a constant cat-and-mouse game that one source close to a major network described to the BBC as being a never-ending "game of whack-a-mole".
JM Berger is an analyst specialising in monitoring extremism on social media. He says that the online actions of IS - formerly Isis - rival the efforts of the finest social media marketing experts in the world. Indeed, the swift "brand name" change from Isis to IS has shown the effectiveness of the group's online message.
In spreading propaganda, one tactic utilised by the group stood out - a specially created app that, when willingly exposed on a person's phone, would tweet co-ordinated propaganda messages worded by IS, carefully timed not to fall foul of Twitter's spam filter.
In one example, 40,000 tweets were sent in this way in just one day. Given the vast number of tweets, and more importantly, the vast number of usernames being used to spread such messages, it was extremely difficult for Twitter to remove the material.
There is some progress. In the past week, Twitter has been acting to disable dozens of prominent accounts believed to belong to prominent IS members. It is making it harder for IS to spread its message, JM Berger told the BBC.
"IS has been struggling with how to respond to suspended accounts on Twitter.
"In reality, Twitter is one of the most permissive social media environments for them."
But he added: "While several dozen accounts have been suspended over the last few weeks, many more have remained online and many of those who have been suspended come back with new accounts."
One further tactic seemingly employed by IS supporters has been to temporarily deactivate their own accounts in an attempt to avoid a ban, although the BBC understands this has no impact on Twitter's ability to suspend inappropriate accounts.
Furthermore, noted Mr Berger, Twitter's ability to share links easily meant that while some IS members may be banned from Twitter itself, they were now beginning to appear on smaller social networks posting material that could then be passed on.
One network, Diaspora, appears to have emerged as the new network of choice for IS - it provides greater protections because of its decentralised nature.
The question of why extremist material cannot simply be blocked by websites is a question that is frequently asked - but has a complex answer.
When dealing with images of child sexual abuse, many services use sophisticated technology to automatically check content that is being uploaded against a database of known abusive content.
It means that images are, in theory, blocked before they are uploaded to the website in question.
PhotoDNA, a Microsoft product, is a market-leading piece of software for carrying out this work. The BBC understands that the same technology could be applied to images known to be spreading extremist propaganda, but that there are currently no plans to do so.
For video on YouTube, Google has created ContentID, a system set up to detect when users upload copyrighted material. It checks uploaded content against a known database of footage and audio - most often music videos - and allows the copyright owners to either remove or place advertising on the video.
ContentID could be adapted to spot content known to be harmful - but Google is reluctant to put it to use in this way.
This is for a variety of reasons, but most significantly it is because while child abuse imagery is easy to categorise - there's no grey area; it's all illegal - violent or shocking material relating to terrorism is harder to define.
Often it is social networks that provide the only means of communication for those wanting to spread news of atrocities in hard-to-reach areas.
Facebook and Google have both in the past said that shocking images are permitted in cases where they are shown in a "news context", rather than for glorification.
Furthermore, the social networks are keen to argue that they should not be the guardians of what should be censored online.
But Mr Berger said: "As far as who should decide, Twitter and YouTube and all the rest are businesses, they are not public services or inalienable rights.
"Just as a movie theatre or restaurant can eject patrons who are harassing or threatening other patrons or engaging in criminal activity, online services have both the right and an obligation to take care of their customers and do the best they can to provide a safe environment."
This is difficult.
The very nature of social networks is that it is easy to share content, and the strength of Twitter and others is that information travels extremely quickly.
This presents a problem - a teenager browsing Facebook could stumble across the video of Foley's death in their news feed if a friend posted it. More worryingly, many videos posted to Facebook now auto-play, meaning a user does not have to click to start seeing the footage.
It's hard to avoid the possibility of seeing something upsetting, suggested security expert Graham Cluley.
"If your children are on the internet, it's an impossible task to completely shield them from some of the ghastly things going on in the world," he told the BBC.
"You can put your home computer in a shared room rather than a private bedroom, and have some oversight over what they're accessing online. But the proliferation of mobile devices makes it more difficult to oversee what your children are watching.
"Consider enabling parental controls that restrict which websites your kids can visit, but realise that it's an imperfect solution - it's perfectly possible that legitimate sites like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook might contain footage that many - young and old - would find harrowing."
Mr Cluley added that the best course of action for parents would be to spend time explaining what may have been seen.
"Talk to your children about the unpleasant and inappropriate things which can be watched on the net, and help them understand why it isn't cool to seek it out or to share it with their friends."
Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC


A Tottenham Hotspur youth player has agreed to damages, believed to be £7m, after he was left brain damaged from a cardiac arrest on his debut.

Radwan Hamed collapsed during a game in Belgium in 2006. Last year a judge ruled Spurs breached its duties to him.
In a screening prior to signing for the club, an electrocardiogram test showed his heart was "unequivocally abnormal" but he was not stopped from playing.
The club regretted a former employee had been remiss in their duties.
In a statement, the family of Mr Hamed, who is now 27, said they were "relieved" a settlement had been reached, following a decade-long legal battle .
"Just as Radwan had no choice but to start his difficult journey towards recovery, we had no choice but to start the difficult journey to obtain justice," they said.
"We risked losing our home and faced personal financial ruin in order to pursue justice for our son.
"The club did not tell us or Radwan about his potentially fatal condition. Had they done so, Radwan would not have continued to play football."
The teenager collapsed during the game against Cercle Bruges on 4 August 2006 and was rushed to an intensive care unit but suffered oxygen starvation to his brain.
In the 2015 hearing, Mr Justice Hickinbottom ruled the club was 70% liable or Mr Hamed's injuries and Dr Peter Mills, the Football Association's regional cardiologist for South East England, was 30% liable.
The Premier League club will not be hit with a fee directly as their 70% portion was incurred by physicians they previously employed, who have agreed to indemnify the club.
Football Association rules require all football academy recruits to be referred to a cardiologist to help identify those prone to potentially fatal heart conditions.
Mr Hamed's MRI scan showed no obvious signs of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, but Dr Mills wrote to Spurs saying the condition could not be excluded on these findings alone.
Eleven months later, the teenager, who was unaware his tests had revealed an "abnormal" heart condition, signed a contract with Spurs.
A spokesman for Spurs said: "The club wholeheartedly regrets that a former employee, as adjudged, was remiss in their duties to Radwan.
"This judgment will hopefully now secure the best possible treatment and care for him."


The French government is "definitely" going to close the UK border post in Calais after Brexit, a close ally of presidential election frontrunner Alain Juppe has told the BBC.

Arnaud Danjean said France no longer wanted the "negative burden" of migrants aiming to cross the Channel being detained on its soil.
The change would be an "uncomfortable consequence" of Brexit, he said.
The UK government wants the post in Calais to remain in use.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Analysis programme, Mr Danjean, a member of the European Parliament for the Republicans, France's main centre-right party, said most French voters felt "disappointed" by the Brexit referendum.
Analysis is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Monday from 20:30 GMT and will be available on BBC iPlayer and the programme's own website.
He acts as a spokesman for the campaign of Mr Juppe, regarded as the frontrunner for next year's presidential election, and reiterated Mr Juppe's call to close the UK border post in Calais, established by the 2003 Le Touquet treaty between the UK and France.
He said: "It's a consequence [of Brexit]. It's not a punishment. It's an uncomfortable consequence for Britain."
Mr Danjean told Analysis: "When it comes to border management, we will have to find a new agreement, definitely, because you can't make as if nothing has happened.
"And we all know that the vote for Brexit was mainly expressed because of migration and immigration issues. So, it has an impact and we cannot continue like this.
"I cannot imagine a French politician and a French president telling people, 'Well, you know, the Brits have decided to leave but we have to enforce the border at our border'. This would be very hard to explain."
"On this very important issue of border management, an effort should be made also on the British side."
Despite Mr Juppe's statements about moving border checks, Downing Street has said it expects the Le Touquet agreement to continue.
Asked to respond to the comments from No 10, Mr Danjean said: "I can understand the position, but I'm not sure it's a sustainable one."
The Le Touquet treaty allowed the UK and France to set up immigration controls in each other's Channel ports.
It was worked out between the two countries, rather than being a European Union arrangement.
Without the agreement, UK officials would have to wait until people and vehicles arrived in the country.
But several senior French politicians say the build-up of thousands of refugees and migrants on the French side of the Channel has caused the country damage.
Mr Juppe described it as "disastrous " for France's image, while having "extremely serious economic and security consequences for the people of Calais".
But the UK government has said it is "committed to working together to protect our shared border in Calais" and to maintaining the current controls.
Florian Philippot, head of strategy and communication for the anti-immigration National Front (FN) party, said the Le Touquet agreement had been "poorly negotiated", but criticised the idea of moving the UK's Channel borders.
"The problem with that is that there will be many dead in the Channel," he said. "That seems obvious because migrants will want to cross, will be able to cross, since the border will be moved to Dover."


A man has been charged with hacking the Apple iCloud and Gmail accounts of celebrities and stealing nude photos and videos from them.

The US authorities say Ryan Collins has agreed to plead guilty to the offence.
Prosecutors have recommended that he face a jail term of 18 months, although a judge could extend that to five years.
The 36-year-old is alleged to have stolen usernames and passwords via a phishing scam.
The Department of Justice said that Pennsylvania-based Collins had admitted to breaking into more than 100 accounts between November 2012 and September 2014.
He is said to have achieved this by sending emails to the victims that pretended to be from Google or Apple requesting their login details.
"[The] defendant used numerous fraudulent email addresses designed to look like legitimate security accounts from various internet service providers, including, for example, email.protection318@icloud.com, noreply_helpdesk0118@outlook.com and secure.helpdesk0119@gmail.com," said court filings.
Collins is accused of accessing at least 50 iCloud accounts and 72 Gmail accounts.
Once he had fooled their owners into handing over their details, prosecutors say, he searched through the victims' online data.
"Through his phishing scheme [the] defendant was also able to access full Apple iCloud back-ups belonging to numerous victims, including at least 18 celebrities, many of whom reside in the Los Angeles area," the court papers state.
"Many of these back-ups contained nude photographs and videos."
The celebrities are not named, but the attacks coincide with stolen photos of the actresses Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and others being posted to the internet in 2014, which was blamed on an iCloud breach at the time.
Collins has not been accused of uploading the images for others to see.
"By illegally accessing intimate details of his victims' personal lives, Mr Collins violated their privacy and left many to contend with lasting emotional distress, embarrassment and feelings of insecurity," said David Bowdich, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office.
"We continue to see both celebrities and victims from all walks of life suffer the consequences of this crime and strongly encourage users of internet-connected devices to strengthen passwords and to be sceptical when replying to emails asking for personal information."
The FBI added that the case against Collins was part of an "ongoing investigation", indicating that there may be further arrests.


Police in Germany have closed the file on a nurse from Kent who went missing in the country 10 years ago.

Louise Kerton, 24, from Broadstairs, was last seen on 30 July 2001 when she went to Aachen station to catch a train to Belgium, on her way back to the UK.
Despite extensive investigations in both the UK and Germany, she has not been seen or heard from since.
Her father Philip Kerton, from New Ash Green, said the family had now accepted that she must be dead.
"As far as the German Police are concerned, from about six or eight months ago, the case is definitively closed.
"As far as Kent Police are concerned, it's still open.
"They'll still keep it under review and will investigate any leads that come up, and review the case as they do from time to time.
"Hopefully they find, one day, new forensic techniques that will enable them to look again at some of the evidence they've accumulated."
Mr Kerton said it was "an extra agony" to know that the case in Germany was closed.
However, he said the family had decided some years ago that his daughter must be dead.
"It was so unlike her not to be in touch with anybody at all... every now and again you begin to think 'what if' and you go through all the emotions of anger and questioning.
"In many ways [it's] more comforting to think of her as dead and not undergoing some sort of tortured strange life somewhere.
"There's always hope we'll discover what's happened," he said.


A 76-year-old woman has been rescued from rubble after an explosion at a house in Wolverhampton.

The property in Penn Road completely collapsed in the blast, suspected to have been caused by a gas leak.
The woman, who was trapped for about two hours, suffered cuts, bruises and a broken ankle and was taken to hospital.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said the woman was "extraordinarily lucky" not to have been seriously hurt.
One man who lives nearby said: "Our house just shook - we woke up immediately and my partner was screaming and we thought there was something a lot closer. We heard sirens going off for about 30 minutes.
"It took me a second to work out what had happened, I walked down to have a look, and I could see the two other houses - but the house wasn't there. It was just rubble."
Two neighbours and a taxi driver who witnessed the explosion as he was driving past, were treated for shock.
There is debris on the street, which has been shut between Lonsdale Road and Claremont Road.
Emergency services advised the public to avoid the area.


Wales boss Chris Coleman says "all thoughts" are with Republic of Ireland defender Seamus Coleman after he broke his leg during Friday's 0-0 draw.

The World Cup qualifying stalemate will be remembered for the foul on Everton defender Coleman that led to Neil Taylor receiving a straight red card.
"First and foremost, the most important thing is Seamus Coleman. We are told that it is not so good which we are sorry for," the Wales boss said.
"Seamus is the most important thing."
Coleman defended Aston Villa defender Taylor on a costly night for Wales where a booking for Gareth Bale ruled him out of Wales' next qualifier, in Serbia on 11 June.
"Neil Taylor is not really that type of player but it's a tough one for Seamus," Coleman said.
"Neil is in the dressing room, he's despondent. If he's got it wrong, he is not that type of player, he's had a serious injury himself."
Coleman felt his side were in the ascendency before being reduced to 10 men. The point leaves Wales four points behind the Republic of Ireland and Serbia as Group D reaches the halfway stage, having drawn four of their five matches.
"With 11 v 11 I thought we controlled the game really and looked like we were going to create something and score," Coleman told Sky Sports.
"The red card changes everything, of course. We were up against it for 25 minutes and I am proud of the players that they battled and rolled their sleeves up.
"We dug in, we had to show a different side of our game. We went to a defensive block, we had to close the game out and we did that.
"The Republic are very strong here at the Aviva Stadium and we expected what we got."
Coleman says Wales can still qualify for the 2018 tournament in Russia, even without Bale for their next qualifier, after he picked up a booking that means he is suspended.
"There are still five games to play and we are still unbeaten. A couple of draws out of the four and it changes your life, but I can't be too hard on the players," he said.
"They have given all they have got, we just need a bit more luck and a bit more quality in the final third.
"Losing Gareth in Serbia is a blow, but that is international football. We've had players out for all the qualifiers so far, until this one.
"At our best, we know we are a team that can play against anyone and win. Take someone like Gareth Bale out of any team and you will miss that.
"We need to find another way, and we will. We still feel we can go to Serbia and bring something back. It will be a good test for us, it is a game we look forward to."
Real Madrid forward Bale felt Wales were in control before the red card for Taylor.
"They made it very difficult, they are a very physical team and in the first half we didn't really create too much, obviously they made it difficult for us," he explained.
"But in the second half we were a lot better and had a lot of chances, we controlled the game really well, I thought.
"Obviously the sending off then changed the game.
"But the boys fought very hard, I suppose if you play the last 20 with 10 men a point is not too bad.
"We were disappointed not to get a goal and we are disappointed not to get the win."


Britain's Jordanne Whiley won her first Grand Slam singles title by beating her doubles partner Yui Kamiji in the US Open women's wheelchair final.

Whiley, 23, won 6-4 0-6 6-1 against 31-year-old Kamiji of Japan in her first appearance in a major singles final.
Fellow Briton Gordon Reid, 23, won his second Grand Slam title as he paired with France's Stephane Houdet to clinch the men's wheelchair doubles.
The top seeds beat French pair Michael Jeremiasz and Nicolas Peifer 6-3 6-1.
"It feels like a dream," said Whiley, who was beaten with Kamiji in the doubles at Flushing Meadows. "I said at the beginning of the year that I wanted to win the singles title here and I've actually done it.
"To play Yui, who is my best friend, was pretty hard. I know her game so well so it is an advantage but at the same time it was hard to see her in tears at the end.
"I've always said to people that I'm not just a doubles player, I am a singles player and one day I'll show you. Today is that day and I'll take it further by winning more singles Slams."


The lead spacecraft in Europe's new multi-billion-euro Earth observation (EO) programme is built and ready to go into orbit.

Sentinel-2a will take pictures of the planet's surface in visible and infrared light.
Its data will track everything from the growth of megacities to the variable yields of the world's most important food crops.
The satellite will ship to the Kourou spaceport in the next month.
Its launch on a Vega rocket has been scheduled for 12 June.
The spacecraft will be the mainstay in a fleet of EU Earth observers that are planned to go into operation by the decade's end.
"Sentinel-2 is the workhorse of the system," said Volker Liebig, the European Space Agency's EO director.
"It gives us the optical component. Optical imagery is the backbone for most applications in Earth observation."
Prof Liebig was speaking at the IABG consultancy in Munich where the platform has been undergoing final testing.
Sentinel-2a is essentially Europe's version of the American Landsat mission.
The US satellite series - its current flier is named Landsat-8 - pioneered the science of monitoring the planet from orbit.
It has assembled a continuous record of the world's fluctuating features that stretches back more than 40 years. In satellite terms, it is the gold standard.
Everyone will know Landsat's worth, if only through the use of mapping apps on the web and on smartphones, which all incorporate the data.
Now, the US effort is to be bolstered by the new European observer, which has been calibrated in such a way that its pictures will be an excellent match with the American ones.
But the European endeavour is far from being a "me too" project.
Its imaging instrument will be sensitive across more bands of light (13 multispectral versus eight), allowing it to discern more information about the Earth's surface; and it will "carpet map" a much wider strip of ground (290km versus 185km). Its colour images have a best resolution of 10m, versus Landsat's 30m.
Moreover, the whole Sentinel concept envisages paired operation, meaning a second satellite, Sentinel-2b, will follow its sister into orbit in 2016.
Tracing the same path but separated by 180 degrees - half the planet - the duo will come back over the same patch of land in rapid fashion. It is a powerful capability that will significantly reduce the time taken to acquire a cloud-free look at a particular location.
At the moment, it can take Landsat, on its own, months or even years to get a completely clear view of some places. Important changes at the Earth's surface can be missed as a consequence.
"With two satellites we have a re-visit over the equator every five days, and at mid latitudes - like over France and the UK - it is every three days," said Esa's Sentinel-2 project manager Francois Spoto.
"This is an extremely frequent re-visit time compared with any sensor currently in orbit. And in our spectral bands, we also have one that allows us to remove light clouds like cirrus."
Another good parallel with the American cousin is the data policy. It will be open and free to all users.
When the first spacecraft in the new European series was launched last year - a radar satellite called Sentinel-1a - the demand for its more specialised imagery was immense.
The interest in Sentinel-2 data is expected to be just as keen, if not more so. And it will be available in large volumes. Roughly 600GB per day of raw data will be downlinked, using a high-speed laser link if required.
Once processed into the various useable data products, this translates into about 1.7TB - the equivalent of perhaps a few hundred DVD movies.
Heinz Sontag is a project manager with Airbus Defence and Space, which assembled the new satellite: "What Sentinel-2 offers that other optical imagers up there cannot is the continuous ability to image all the surfaces and provide a continuous flow of data, whereas previous missions were only able to take isolated images here and there and you had to mosaic them back together to get a complete picture."
Four further Sentinel missions - to monitor the oceans and the composition of the atmosphere - should be in orbit by 2020.
European nations have so far committed 7.5bn euros (Â£5.5bn; $8.5bn) to the constellation and its wider operation, with more promised in the future.
The intention is that every Sentinel satellite is replaced at the demise of its mission, ensuring there is continuity of information deep into this century.
"In the past, we've had data for only four or five years in the case of some one-off satellites," explained Markus Probeck, whose GAF company in Munich will be developing applications from Sentinel-2 images.
"This is a programme that is sure to be there for the very long term. This allows users to move to remote sensing-based services because there is the security of knowing that the data will be sustained and available."
The EU's Copernicus programme will launch a range of satellite sensors this decade to monitor the state of Planet Earth


Newport midfielder Mark Byrne was a transfer target for Gillingham before a U-turn from manager Justin Edinburgh.

BBC Wales Sport understands the Gills made an enquiry for Byrne, before Edinburgh changed his mind over a player he brought to Rodney Parade.
Edinburgh opted to end the pursuit out of respect for his old club, who he managed from 2011-2015, so as not to weaken their battle against relegation.
They are currently 20th in League Two, seven points above the relegation zone.
Meanwhile, Newport have confirmed the release of defender Matt Taylor.
The 34-year old joined from Cheltenham in the summer but made just five appearances for the south Wales club.
"Further to recent discussions, we can confirm that Matt Taylor will leave the Club with immediate effect having mutually agreed to terminate his contract," a statement from the club read.
Taylor is understood to be a target for Torquay United.


Leading Republicans in the US have called for an investigation into leaks that led to the resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The heads of the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees are concerned potentially classified information was released.
Mr Flynn is alleged to have discussed US sanctions with Russia's ambassador in calls before his own appointment.
It is illegal for private citizens to conduct US diplomacy.
President Donald Trump, who is also facing questions over his ties with Russia, pledged to punish the intelligence officials who leaked information.
"We're going to find the leakers and they're going to pay a big price," he told reporters during a meeting with Republican lawmakers on Thursday.
Hours earlier, Mr Trump tweeted that "the spotlight has finally been put on the low-life leakers" who "will be caught".
Mr Flynn, a retired army lieutenant-general, initially denied having discussed sanctions with Ambassador Sergei Kislyak, and Vice-President Mike Pence publicly denied the allegations on his behalf.
But he came under mounting pressure on Monday when details of his phone calls emerged in US media, as well as reports the justice department had warned the White House about him misleading senior officials and being vulnerable to Russian blackmail.
In a letter to the Department of Justice inspector general, chairmen of the House committees on oversight and the judiciary said information about the monitoring of Mr Flynn's communications by intelligence agencies was likely to have been top secret.
"We have serious concerns about the potential inadequate protection of classified information here," Reps Jason Chaffetz and Bob Goodlatte wrote.
They said the release of classified information could have "grave effects on national security".
Their letter comes after other members of their party, including the Senate's second-ranking Republican, John Cornyn, called instead for an investigation into Mr Flynn's ties with Russia.
But US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes told reporters on Tuesday he wanted to focus on the leaks, and said the FBI should explain why Mr Flynn's conversation had been recorded.
Both the Senate and House intelligence committees - along with the FBI - are already examining Russian hacking and involvement in the US election.
It is unclear how the allegations against Mr Flynn would be handled by the different investigators.
His conversations with the Russian ambassador took place about the time that then-President Barack Obama was imposing sanctions on Russia following reports it attempted to sway the US election in Mr Trump's favour.
As relations between the new US president and the country's intelligence agencies continue to sour, the New York Times reported on Wednesday that Mr Trump was planning to appoint his friend Stephen Feinberg, the billionaire co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, to lead a review of into their practices. The BBC has not been able to verify these claims.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has said that political turbulence in the United States is delaying the resumption of better relations between Washington and Moscow.
"We hope that sooner or later the process will start to resume a normal business relationship with Washington," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
"We're losing time in terms of solving global problems."
He said possible plans for an investigation into Mr Flynn was an "internal affair" for the US.
Russia has dismissed concern about the former national security adviser's communications, saying "it's nothing to do with us".


Creating malicious software that can attack Apple Mac computers is "trivial", a leading security researcher has claimed.

Patrick Wardle, from security firm Synack, demonstrated several new types of malicious software that bypassed Apple's security measures.
In one example, Apple's own iCloud service could control an attack.
The threats are known to Apple, Mr Wardle said, but the company has not yet commented on the research.
Mr Wardle was speaking at Black Hat 2015, an annual gathering of hackers and security professionals held in Las Vegas.
He commended the company's efforts in working with him to make the platform more secure, saying that the Cupertino-based firm "got security".
But he argued that Apple's increased popularity means it is attracting extra attention from cybercriminals who would commonly focus on attacking computers running Microsoft's Windows.
While Windows is still overwhelmingly attackers' platform of choice, antivirus firm Kaspersky Labs recorded a surge in Apple malware in the past couple of years.
The past year has seen several high-profile malware - malicious software - attacks on the Mac operating system, OS X.
Among them, iWorm and WireLurker - the latter gaining a lot of media attention. However, Mr Wardle described such threats as "grade C+" due to a simple flaw: users could see if the malware was running, and disable it.
The attacks he detailed were far more hidden than anything that had been discovered so far.
"I'm convinced that OS X security is lacking," he told delegates.
"It's trivial to write new OS X malware that can bypass everything."
Addressing why he was making the vulnerabilities public, he said: "If I can do it, nation states and adversaries can and probably are doing it."
Some elements of the vulnerabilities he and other researchers have discovered have been found "in the wild", he said, the term given to threats being exploited on real users.
Mr Wardle's research focused considerably on one piece of Apple software known as Gatekeeper. This is a program which warns the user when they are opening a file that is not from a "trusted" source.
Its default setting is to only allow programs downloaded from Apple's App Store and trusted third-party developers.
This means, according to Apple's website: "If an app was developed by an unknown developer â€” one with no Developer ID â€” Gatekeeper can keep your Mac safe by blocking the app from being installed."
But his methods demonstrated a method of circumventing this protection, using "dynamic libraries" to inject malicious code into trusted programs.
Mr Wardle had strong criticisms of Apple's built in antivirus program, XProtect. The software, which detects and blocks known malware, warning the user in the process, could be tricked by essentially renaming the malware.
The researcher also tested various different paid antivirus products on the market, and concluded that they suffer similar problems as XProtect.
In one case, he noted that some antivirus programs consider Apple's iCloud system - the online storage service it offers all users of its products - to be a "trusted" source.
This means Mr Wardle was able to use iCloud to host an attack's Command and Control server, the part of an attack that controls the malware's operation. Implicit trust of iCloud servers is a problem.
"Normally malware (on a user's computer) would have its outgoing network connections blocked since they are untrusted," explained Mr Wardle to the BBC.
"But if they go to iCloud, the security products let them out."
Mr Wardle noted that Apple has been receptive to his research in the past, but that the methods he described were still vulnerable.
He has created free software - called Objective-See - to address the issues he outlined.
A request from the BBC to Apple has gone unanswered at the time of publication.
Mr Wardle said: "I've shared this with Apple, and they have patched or fixed some of the bugs.
"The problem is, in some cases their patches are insufficient, so I can bypass the patch.
"I always (first) share my research with Apple and only disclose details once they have released a patch."
Concluding his talk, Mr Wardle said his work was motivated by a love for Apple and its products.
"I don't think they love me," he added. "But I can handle that."
Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC


An influential imam has lost a libel action against the BBC after a judge ruled he had promoted violence.

London-based Shakeel Begg sued after being accused on the Sunday Politics show of espousing extreme beliefs.
The judge said Lewisham Islamic Centre's chief imam had hidden his true views behind a cloak of respectability.
Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said he "clearly promotes and encourages violence in support of Islam and espouses a series of extremist Islamic positions".
"On occasions when it has suited himâ€¦he has shed the cloak of respectability and revealed the horns of extremism."
A spokesman for the BBC welcomed the ruling against the imam who now faces an enormous legal bill.
Imam Begg is extremely influential among followers of hardline conservative Islam in the UK.
He has been involved in inter-faith work with Jewish and Christian leaders but has also faced accusations of extremism, including supporting organisations that have campaigned on behalf of suspected terrorists.
He personally appealed to the self-styled Islamic State group to spare the British hostage Alan Henning - a sign of his theological credibility within their branch of Islam.
In November 2013, BBC presenter Andrew Neil alleged on the Sunday Politics that the imam had said that jihad was the greatest of deeds.
Jihad typically refers to a personal struggle to do good - but violent extremists use it to refer to fighting holy war.
Despite the imam's protestations during the libel trial, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said four of his speeches showed he had promoted such violence and two that he had espoused extremist positions.
"Shakeel Begg, is something of a Jekyll and Hyde character," he said.
"He appears to present one face to the general, local and inter-faith community and another to particular Muslim and other receptive audiences. The former face is benign, tolerant and ecumenical.
"The latter face is ideologically extreme and intolerant."
In one speech in 2006, Imam Begg encouraged a student audience to fight in the Palestinian territories. Two years later he praised Muslims who had travelled abroad to fight enemies of Islam.
A third speech outside the maximum security Belmarsh Prison in south-east London, which holds some of the most dangerous terrorism convicts in the country, was described by the judge as "particularly sinister".
He said: "The various core extremist messages which emerge from the claimant's speeches and utterances would, in my view, have been quite clear to the audiences.
"The claimant's ostensible cloak of respectability is likely to have made his [extremist] message in these speeches all the more compelling and seductive.  For this reason, therefore, his messages would have been all the more effective and dangerous.
"It is all too easy for someone in the claimant's position of power and influence as an Imam to plant the seed of Islamic extremism in a young mind, which is then liable to be propagated on the internet."
A spokesman for the BBC said: "We were right to stand by the journalism of the Sunday Politics. The judge has concluded, based on the evidence, that Imam Begg has preached religious violence and an extremist worldview in his remarks."


A jealous and possessive man who murdered his ex-girlfriend in a rage over her seeing someone else has been jailed for 17 years.

Luke Jones, of Milford Haven, attacked Natasha Bradbury at her Haverfordwest flat, in Pembrokeshire, in February.
Swansea Crown Court heard she died from blunt force injuries, including cracked ribs, neck, brain and heart injuries.
Jones, 33, had denied murder, claiming she was injured in a fall as they argued.
In the days before the killing, the pair's relationship deteriorated when Miss Bradbury asked Jones if she could stay at a friend's house instead of seeing him.
The prosecution said he then beat her to death after finding out she had been with another man after they split up.
On the night she died, neighbour Timothy Down said he became concerned about noises coming from her flat.
He told the court he was woken by the sound of "serious, heavy banging" coming from her home and he hung his phone out of the window to try to record the noise.
He did not report the matter to police because he called his father who advised him not to get involved.
After his arrest, Jones claimed Miss Bradbury's injuries were caused by a fall after she attacked him.
Giving evidence in his defence, Jones said: "She jumped at me, she lunged at me going for my face. I grabbed her head. She went to headbutt me. I grabbed her by the throat and pushed her back.
"I kicked her in the body. She went over the coffee table and landed on two wooden cabinets."
He said "there was blood everywhere" and, after he returned from the bathroom, "Natasha never moved".
Sentencing him to life, with a minimum 17-year term, Judge Keith Thomas said Jones had carried out a "brutal, sustained and severe attack".
Speaking after the hearing, Miss Bradbury's family said they were heartbroken by her death and her nine-year-old son had had his childhood ruined.
Det Ch Insp Stephen Hughes, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said the conviction will be "of little comfort" to Miss Bradbury's family.
"But I hope the conviction will in some way help them to come to terms with the horrifying events with the knowledge that the offender has been brought to justice," he added.


Fernando Alonso said he has no intention of leaving McLaren or Formula 1 before his contract ends in 2017.

His future has been the subject of speculation after McLaren boss Ron Dennis said last November that they had discussed the idea of a sabbatical.
After his first test in the new McLaren, Alonso said he would "of course" see the season out, adding: "And the next one.
"I have a contract for three years. I'm not thinking about anything else."
He added: "This is a very important year for us."
The 34-year-old two-time champion, who is still regarded by many as the best driver in F1, indicated on Tuesday his wish for McLaren - and Honda - to turn their performance  around after a difficult 2015 in which they finished ninth out of 10 teams.
"The ambition is very high," he said. "I am not here just to travel around the world and to jump in the car and have some fun on Sunday. I am here to win."
At the end of 2014 Alonso quit Ferrari because he believed McLaren offered him a better chance of winning a third world title. Ferrari's lead driver Sebastian Vettel was fastest for the second day running on Tuesday during pre-season testing in Barcelona.
Alonso ended his first day in the 2016 car eighth fastest, 3.2 seconds off the pace, but 0.7secs quicker than team-mate Jenson Button had been on Monday.
The McLaren ran reliably - Alonso did the equivalent of a race distance in the morning session and managed well over 100 laps for the day.
Honda, which announced a new head of its F1 programme on Tuesday, has, according to Button, fixed one of the biggest issues with its engine - its weakness in deploying recovered electrical energy.
However, the engine is still believed to be a significant margin - perhaps as much as 100bhp - down on the standard-setting Mercedes in terms of absolute performance.
Honda has a new engine for next week's second and final test.
Alonso said McLaren-Honda needed to "improve all areas of  the car" but said he believed the team could have the best chassis by the start of the European races in May.
However, he said he believed Mercedes' domination of F1 "had not finished".
Vettel set the pace 0.715 seconds quicker than Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, as both drivers became the first to use the new ultra-soft tyre introduced for slow tracks this year.
Force India's Sergio Perez was third fastest on the super-soft tyre and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg fourth on the medium tyre.
Rosberg was two seconds off Vettel but Mercedes had an impressive day.
Rosberg completed more laps than anyone else - as did team-mate Lewis Hamilton on the first day of the test on Monday - and taking into account the differences between the tyres, world champions Mercedes still appear to have a very strong car.
The ultra-soft tyre is designed for low-grip slow tracks, not Barcelona, where the long corners and abrasive surfaces are hard on tyres. But it is much softer and would provide better grip and therefore greater speed over a short distance.
Tyre supplier Pirelli estimates the lap-time difference between the ultra-soft and the medium at 1.8-2.3secs, based on initial data.
Pirelli also said it believed the difference between the medium and super-soft was about 1.4-1.5secs - and Rosberg was only 1.2secs slower on medium tyres than Vettel's best time on the super-softs.
On the face of it, that might suggest Mercedes still had a small advantage over Ferrari.
However, the times are not necessarily directly comparable - even taking the tyres into account - because the teams do not reveal the fuel loads the cars are carrying - and 10kg of fuel is equivalent to nearly 0.4secs a lap at Barcelona.
What can be said is that the Mercedes ran reliably and produced consistently impressive lap times over all its runs. Rosberg ran a remarkable 172 laps to add to the 156 done by Hamilton on Monday.
Vettel said he was "fairly happy" with the performance of the Ferrari - which is a much more radical design departure from last year's car than the Mercedes.
However, Ferrari are the ones with all the work to do - Mercedes had an average advantage of 0.6secs a lap in qualifying last year.
Vettel brought the session to a slightly premature end when his car stopped out on track with five minutes to go, causing a red flag.
Among the rest of the field, the new Haas team impressed, with Mexican Esteban Gutierrez setting the sixth fastest time after a delayed start because the car needed its front wing strengthened after a failure on Monday.


England and Scotland have been drawn in the same group for qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

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The two sides will also face Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta and Lithuania in Group F after the draw in St Petersburg.
Wales - aiming to reach their first finals since 1958 - are top seeds in Group D and will also play Republic of Ireland.
Northern Ireland will play World Cup holders Germany in Group C, while Spain and Italy meet in Group G.
In another tough group, the Netherlands were drawn with France and Sweden.
The winner of each of the nine European groups qualify automatically alongside hosts Russia, with the best eight runners-up entering the play-offs in November 2017.
In total, 141 teams were drawn in Saturday's ceremony. Read the full draw from across the world here.
England will face Scotland at Wembley on Friday, 11 November 2016, with the return game in Scotland to be played on Saturday, 10 June 2017.
England and Scotland last met in two friendlies in the 2013-14 season, with Roy Hodgson's side winning 3-2 at Wembley and 3-1 at Celtic Park.
Their last competitive meeting was a two-legged play-off for Euro 2000, which England won 2-1 on aggregate.
Scotland boss Gordon Strachan said: "Just as the sun came out in Glasgow, we heard we will play England.
"I can see why the fans are celebrating, it's a fantastic fixture.
"The last time the two sides met England stepped it up a gear and it was a fantastic lesson - they pressurise you and you make mistakes and that's something that sticks with us - and I hope will stick with us to fire us on.
"The good thing from the supporters' point of view is there are no ridiculous journeys."
England manager Roy Hodgson, whose current contract runs until the end of Euro 2016, also believes that the tie will intrigue supporters on both sides of the border.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: "The Scotland fixture really excite people, the recent friendly matches showed that, and we have got recent experience of what the atmosphere will be like. The games will excite the public, get people in the mass media excited too, it is a good draw all round - I think Scotland will be happy with it and we are happy with it.
"It is a great honour to be England manager - I shall be delighted to retain that position all the time people want me too, but it won't occupy my thoughts at this point in time.
"I'm pleased to come away with a good group and if England want me to lead the team I will be delighted to do so."
Wales and the Republic of Ireland were in the same qualifying group for the Euro 2008 finals, with Stephen Ireland giving Ireland a 1-0 win in Dublin before a 2-2 draw in Cardiff.
Wales manager Chris Coleman told BBC Radio 5 live: "We've really improved in the last three years. We fancy ourselves against anyone. You look at other groups - it could have been easier or tougher. There's a lot of football to go in the Euro 2016 qualifiers before this.
"This has been the biggest honour of my career. My sole focus is on leading my country to France. After that I'll look at what's next.
"We've had a bit of fun being in pot one. It's new for us. We've really enjoyed it."
In the afternoon's earlier global draws 20 preliminary ties in Africa were organised, the order of matches in South America decided and groups in both the Concacaf and Oceania federations resolved.
Read the full draw from across the world here.


Theresa May has congratulated Donald Trump on taking office as US president - and says she looks forward to meeting him in Washington.

The prime minister stressed her belief he was committed to advancing the "special relationship" with the UK.
But Mrs May told the Financial Times she expects "very frank" talks on areas where their opinions seem to differ such as the EU and Nato.
The PM said she hoped for early progress on a US-UK trade agreement.
Mrs May said she believed Mr Trump "recognises the importance and  significance of Nato", despite him being quoted earlier in the week as describing the military alliance as "obsolete".
"I'm also confident the USA will recognise the importance of the co-operation we have in Europe to ensure our collective defence and collective security," she told the FT.
Mr Trump also said recently he did not really care if the EU separated.
Mrs May, who this week outlined for the first time her plan for Brexit, said: "The decision taken by the UK was not a decision about breaking up the EU.
"I want the EU to continue to be strong and I want to continue to have a close and strategic partnership with the EU. It is important for security issues. With the threats we face it's not the time for less co-operation."
Mr Trump was sworn-in as the 45th US president on Friday.
In a statement issued after the inauguration, Mrs May said: "From our conversations to date, I know we are both committed to advancing the special relationship between our two countries and working together for the prosperity and security of people on both sides of the Atlantic.
"I look forward to discussing these issues and more when we meet in Washington."
In her FT interview, Mrs May said she was "confident we can look at areas even in advance of being able to sign a formal trade deal".
But despite Mr Trump's indication he backed a quick post-Brexit trade deal, there was a heavily protectionist tone in the inauguration speech.
Some Labour MPs questioned how the prime minister's aim of a free trade deal with the US would be possible given the "America first" strategy outlined by Mr Trump.
David Lammy tweeted: "Every decision on trade will be made to benefit Americans. Hmm - looking forward to this trade deal, then."
Chris Bryant said: "I'm not sure a UK trade deal with Trump will be very mutually beneficial."
However, speaking to the BBC in Myanmar, also known as Burma, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said there was every reason to "be positive and optimistic" about a trade deal.
"I think the new president has made it very clear that he wants to put Britain at the front of the line... and obviously that's extremely exciting and important".
Earlier Mr Johnson offered his own "warmest congratulations" to Mr Trump.
He said the UK would "work hand in glove for the stability, the prosperity and the security of the world".
Meanwhile, Thousands of women are expected to join a march in London later as part of an international protest campaign on the first full day of Mr Trump's presidency.
Mr Trump has appeared to make good on a pledge to return a bust of Sir Winston Churchill to the White House's Oval Office.
The sculpture of the World War Two prime minister's face is said to be a replica of one given to President Lyndon B Johnson in the 1960s and first appeared in the Oval Office during George W Bush's administration in 2001.
It was replaced by a bust of civil rights champion Martin Luther King Jr during Barack Obama's presidency.
The presence of the Churchill bust was noticed as Mr Trump signed his first orders as president.
A report that the bust of Dr King no longer remained in the Oval Office was later found to be discredited.


A Disney holiday cruise ship has arrived at Invergordon in the Cromarty Firth as part of the vessel's first round-Britain voyage.

Disney Magic is among more than 644 cruise ships visiting Scotland this year.
The visits are expected to bring a record 525,000 cruise passengers to the country, according to Cruise Scotland.
Last year, Scottish ports welcomed 460,546 visitors and 501 cruise ships.
Passengers on Disney Magic are expected to make visits to Inverness and Loch Ness before later continuing their cruise.


Gordon Strachan retains faith in his Scotland players despite a blow to their Euro 2016 qualification hopes with defeat by Georgia.

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Valeri Qazaishvili's first-half goal was enough to give the hosts victory in Tbilisi as the Scots failed to register an effort on target.
"We didn't do enough to win it," Strachan said following the loss.
"I've just got to think that we've got three games left [in Group D]. I want to get as many points as possible."
Scotland, in third place before Republic of Ireland took on Gibraltar, tackle Germany on Monday at Hampden (19:45 BST kick off).
Strachan's side then meet Poland and Gibraltar with their chances of securing a place in the finals damaged by the reverse in Georgia.
The Scotland manager praised Georgia for their defensive display and said his players did not have the physical presence to threaten the hosts.
"Of course I'm concerned after a defeat, no matter what the target is," he said. "So I'm not as happy a bunny as I was this morning but I've been there before.
"I've not changed my thought processes since it started and sometimes it's a bumpy ride to get where you want to go - we had a bump tonight and we have to deal with that and I have every confidence in the players.
"To the group, they'll get themselves organised, refreshed and looking forward to the challenge. There are players in the dressing room who I'm sure will be wanting to put on a great performance on Monday night. It'll have to be a great performance to collect points.
"We didn't do enough to win it and we were a couple of yards or passes away."


Large volumes of methane - a potent greenhouse gas - could be locked beneath the ice-covered regions of Antarctica, according to a new study.

It says this methane could be released into the atmosphere as ice retreats, contributing to climate warming.
The findings indicate that ancient deposits of organic matter may have been converted to methane by microbes under the ice.
An international team reported the results in Nature journal.
Study leader Jemima Wadham, from Bristol University, said: "This is an immense amount of organic carbon, more than ten times the size of carbon stocks in northern permafrost regions.
"Our laboratory experiments tell us that these sub-ice environments are also biologically active, meaning that this organic carbon is probably being metabolised to carbon dioxide and methane gas by microbes."
They estimate that there could be hundreds of billions of tonnes of carbon stored in methane reservoirs under the ice sheet.
The authors say that the predicted shallow depth of these methane reserves means that they could be destabilised by climate change, and might act as a positive feedback on global warming.
Co-author Dr Sandra Arndt, also from the University of Bristol, said: "It's not surprising that you might expect to find significant amounts of methane hydrate trapped beneath the ice sheet.
"Just like in sub-seafloor sediments, it is cold and pressures are high which are important conditions for methane hydrate formation."
In their Nature paper, the authors comment that their "findings suggest that the Antarctic Ice Sheet may be a neglected but important component of the global methane budget".


Forward Helder Costa remains sidelined with an ankle problem for the fifth consecutive game as Wolves face struggling Blackburn Rovers.

Andy Lonergan is likely to stay in goal in place of Carl Ikeme (hamstring).
Blackburn's battle against the drop is bolstered by having five players back.
Keeper Jason Steele and defenders Darragh Lenihan and Gordon Greer are back in training along with two former Wolves players, the versatile Charlie Mulgrew and striker Danny Graham.
Wolves secured their Championship status with their Easter Monday win at Leeds but 22nd-placed Blackburn are in trouble, a point behind Nottingham Forest, who entertain Reading, and three behind Birmingham City, who do not play until Sunday.
Following Walter Zenga's sacking three days earlier, Wolves were still under the caretaker management of Rob Edwards when they drew 1-1 at Ewood Park in late October, with Paul Lambert appointed as head coach a week later.
Andy Bayes, BBC Radio Lancashire
Four points out of six over Easter have given Rovers more cause for optimism than perhaps they had before.
A defeat this weekend, might not be the end for Rovers' survival hopes, but it's accepted by Tony Mowbray that they are reliant on other clubs to slip up.
The potential returns of Charlie Mulgrew, Darragh Lenihan and Danny Graham are enormous boosts, when it had looked like, particularly the defenders wouldn't play again this season.
With Birmingham not playing until Sunday, Rovers know a win will see them climb out of the bottom three, maybe for less than twenty-four hours.  But, psychologically it could be huge for a squad who've spent so much of the season below the dotted line.
Match facts


Hundreds of people have turned out in Rugby, Warwickshire, to welcome the Rugby World Cup trophy to the sport's spiritual home.

The roots of the game date back to 1823 and are widely attributed to William Webb Ellis, a pupil at Rugby School.
MP Mark Pawsey said this year's world cup offered a "great opportunity" for the local economy and a chance to celebrate the town's role in the game.
He said hotels, restaurants and bars could all benefit.
A fan zone is being set up in the town, showing world cup matches.
The council is also backing a festival and investing in cultural events taking place alongside the tournament.
Councillor Heather Timms, responsible for economy on Rugby Borough Council, said the authority was investing almost Â£1m in the town.
She said it was part of a Â£5m investment to make sure Rugby was ready to welcome fans of the game.
Mrs Timms said it was also important local children learned about the town's role in developing the sport.
The Webb Ellis trophy visited Rugby as part of a nationwide tour ahead of the tournament's start on 18 September.


Digital radio station Radio X may have to change its name after its trademark application was refused.

Radio X - the new name for Xfm - launched in September with DJs Chris Moyles and Johnny Vaughan.
But the registration of Radio X as a trademark with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has been opposed.
The similarly-named independent station Radio EXE owns the IP of "Radio EXE and similar sounding marks" in the categories Radio X was refused.
But the established Exeter-based operation has refused to comment on speculation it was behind the opposition.
Global, whose other stations include Smooth, Classic FM and Capital, will have to either stop using the name, appeal the decision, or strike a deal with the opposing party.
A spokesman for Global was not available for comment.
The launch of Radio X saw former BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles return to the airwaves,
His breakfast show sees him go head-to-head with his successor on BBC Radio 1's breakfast show, Nick Grimshaw.
Moyles attracted eight million listeners at the peak of his Radio 1 show. Grimshaw currently attracts an audience of about 5.8 million.
Vaughan, Vernon Kay and the Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson also have their own shows on Radio X.
When it was announced that Xfm would be revamped, Radio X promised to play the "best fresh rock and guitar-based music across the UK" and be the "first truly male-focused" station, targeted at 25-44 year olds.


Bradford West MP Naz Shah's suspension from the Labour Party has been lifted.

Ms Shah was stripped of the parliamentary whip in April over comments about Israel she made online, including one suggesting Israel should be moved to the United States.
In a Commons statement she said she "regretted" the posts, which were made in 2014 before she became an MP.
She was reinstated following a meeting of the party's National Executive Committee earlier on Tuesday.
She was given a formal warning, told to apologise for bringing the party into disrepute and warned that if there was another incident she would be expelled.
Ms Shah also quit her role as a Parliamentary assistant to shadow chancellor John McDonnell after the comments came to light.
Apologising in the Commons, she said: "Anti-Semitism is racism, full stop. As an MP I will do everything in my power to build relationships between Muslims, Jews and people of different faiths and none."
The comments triggered a wider row over alleged anti-Semitism within the party and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has faced criticism for his handling of anti-Semitism rows that have engulfed the party in recent months.
Appearing before the Commons Home Affairs Committee on Monday, he condemned Ken Livingstone's controversial claims that Adolf Hitler initially backed Zionism, which the former London mayor made amid the row over Ms Shah's comments.
Mr Livingstone, who was suspended as a result of his comments, has had his case referred to Labour's National Constitutional Committee.


Simon Middleton is to take over as head coach of the World Cup-winning England women's team.

The 48-year-old is currently in charge of the Sevens squad and will now also lead the XVs in a new role which combines both duties.
Middleton will start in May after the Sevens World Series.
"I am coming into this role when women's rugby is in a great place. It is a really exciting time to be involved," said Middleton.
"For me personally, this is a fantastic opportunity and a challenge I am really looking forward to."
His new contract runs until 2017.
England won the World Cup by defeating Canada last August but several of the players in that squad have since retired from international rugby.
The Rugby Football Union parted company with Gary Street, who led the team to the World Cup, just before the start of the Six Nations.
Nicky Ponsford, head of women's performance, took over, along with Street's assistant coach Graham Smith.
England lost to Wales but beat Italy in their two Six Nations games so far.
They travel to Ireland for their next fixture on Friday (19:30 GMT).


Edinburgh Capitals captain Jacob Johnston was delighted as his team ended their losing run of games - but was then left to rue another defeat.

The Caps ended a seven-game winless run with a 3-2 home victory over Dundee Stars on Saturday before going down 6-0 on Tayside in Sunday's rematch.
And it left Johnston bittersweet after a weekend that promised so much on the back of their success in Murrayfield.
"Saturday's win felt really good," Johnston said. "We've had some downs and battled adversity in the last few weeks so it was great to break that losing run.
"We were really looking for those points on Sunday and we didn't get them.  It was a good opportunity to make it a four-point weekend as they're close to us in the standings.
"We looked at it that way, but every game we go in, we have to be expecting a win.  We can't expect to beat certain teams and we have to starting getting victories if we want to start climbing."
The mixed weekend left the Caps still three points adrift of second bottom Dundee after the two games, but they do have two games in hand over Marc LeFebvre's side.
That losing run, which consisted of them conceding an eye-watering 47 goals, came to an end as they beat the Stars 3-2 at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Ian Schultz and Matt Tipoff scored to bookend the first period as Edinburgh started the game in the best possible way, with Mason Wilgosh adding a third early in the second period.
Stars hit back through Matt White and Kevin Bruijsten, but couldn't find an equaliser to extend their poor run of form to 13 losses in their last 14 games.
The game went back to Tayside on Sunday as Dundee hosted, but the Stars snapped their own run of seven straight defeats with a 6-0 shutout win over Michal Dobron's side.
Dundee went four up during the second period when Mikael Lidhammar, Brett Switzer and two from Matt White put them in a comfortable position.
Two more from Justin Faryna in the third supplemented what turned out to be a good night for the Stars in the end.
Fife Flyers picked up two excellent points on the road at Manchester Storm on Saturday to begin their double header, winning 4-2 in a game that was goalless for the first 35 minutes.
Ryan Dingle eventually broke the deadlock before Taylor Dickin levelled as both teams went in after two periods, locked at 1-1.
Dingle restored the lead then Sebastien Thinel extended it before Matt Bissonnette pulled one back for the home team.  Flyers debutant Bryan Cameron added a fourth to take the win.
In Sunday's return game in Kirkcaldy, they made it two wins from two and four points with a 3-1 win on home ice.
Paul Phillips put the visitors in front late on in the first period, but the Flyers turned things around as Brendan Brooks and Dingle each scored, with Justin Fox adding a late empty net goal.
Braehead Clan started their weekend at in-form Nottingham Panthers and although they missed five players, they still took a point in a 4-3 overtime loss.
Lee Baldwin opened the scoring for the Clan, but Panthers turned the game around through Brian McGrattan and Matt Carter before Mike Hammond levelled for the Glasgow men.
Jeff Brown and Alex Leavitt traded goals for either team, taking the game into the extra period where Robert Farmer sealed victory with the overtime goal.
Clan returned to Glasgow to host league leaders Cardiff Devils and despite more heroics from the depleted team, finished with a penalty shots loss after a 2-2 draw.
Daniel Åhsberg's opener was cancelled out by Joey Hadded, before Bari McKenzie put Braehead in front in the second period, which was equalised through Andrew Hotham.
The Devils held out on penalty shots with their goalie Ben Bowns saving Åhsberg's crucial effort to secure the points for the Welsh side.
Saturday
Elite League
Edinburgh Capitals 3-2 Dundee Stars
Manchester Storm 2-4 Fife Flyers
Nottingham Panthers 4-3 (OT) Braehead Clan
Sunday
Elite League
Braehead Clan 2-3 (PS) Cardiff Devils
Dundee Stars 6-0 Edinburgh Capitals
Fife Flyers 3-1 Manchester Storm


Muslim leaders have lifted a boycott of a key holy site in East Jerusalem after Israel removed the last of the security measures which had led to uproar.

They urged Palestinians to re-enter the compound on Thursday for the first time since the crisis erupted two weeks ago.
The last remnants of Israel's recently installed security apparatus were taken away on Thursday morning.
Palestinians had fiercely objected to the measures introduced after the killing of two Israeli policemen.
They had refrained from entering the Old City complex known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount in protest over what they saw as an Israeli attempt to exert control over the contested site.
Last week Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he was freezing all contacts with Israel, including security co-operation, until Israel cancelled the new measures.
There have been intensive diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, involving the US and Jordan, which is custodian of the holy site and has a large Palestinian population.
The Israeli government has not yet commented on its decision to completely dismantle the infrastructure. Observers say it is a climbdown by Prime Minister Netanyahu which will put him at odds with more right-wing members of his cabinet.
In a separate development, Mr Netanyahu accused the Qatar-funded pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV channel of fuelling the crisis.
"The al-Jazeera network continues to stir violence around the Temple Mount," he posted in Hebrew on his Facebook page, vowing to "enact the required legislation to expel al-Jazeera from Israel".
Palestinians sang, danced and let off fireworks as railings and security camera gantries were removed from the Lions' Gate entrance near the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif in the early hours of Thursday morning.
"For 12 days no-one has slept, no-one has done anything except the al-Aqsa mosque," bystander Firas Abasi told AFP news agency.
He said he felt like crying over what he called a "victory".
Mass prayer gatherings had been held in the street outside the Old City walls and near-daily clashes between Israeli security forces and demonstrators have taken place since the metal detectors were introduced in the wake of the killings of the policemen near the site on 14 July.
Four Palestinians were killed and three Israeli civilians stabbed to death by a Palestinian who said he was avenging Israel actions at the site.
Israel said the security measures were necessary because the weapons used to kill the police had been smuggled on to the compound.
Earlier this week, it said it would bolster its police presence around the site and introduce less obtrusive security measures over the next six months, including unspecified "advanced technologies".


Striker Aziz Bouhaddouz has been named in Morocco's final 23-man squad for the Africa Cup of Nations as a late replacement.

His inclusion comes after injuries to Younes Belhanda and Oussama Tannane.
Belhanda broke his toe last month playing for Nice while Tannane suffered a thigh muscle injury training with the squad in Abu Dhabi last week.
The 29-year-old Bouhaddouz has won two caps and plays for German second division club St Pauli.
Morocco, who won the Nations Cup in 1976, play in Group C at the finals in Gabon, starting against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Oyem on 16 January.
The tournament runs from 14 January to 5 February.
Morocco squad:
Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Girona), Yassine El Kharroubi (Lokomotiv Plovdiv), Munir Mohamedi (Numancia)    Defenders: Amine Attouchi (Wydad Casablanca), Mehdi Benatia (Juventus), Fouad Chafik (Dijon), Manuel da Costa (Olympiakos), Nabil Dirar (Monaco), Hamza Mendyl (Lille), Romain Saiss (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Midfielders: Youssef Ait Bennasser (Nancy), Nordin Amrabat (Watford), Sofiane Boufal (Southampton), Mbark Boussoufa (Al Jazeera), Mehdi Carcela (Grenada), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord Rotterdam), Faycal Fajr (Deportivo Coruna), Mourir Obbadi (Lille)
Forwards: Rachid Alioui (Nimes), Aziz Bouhaddouz (St Pauli), Khalid Boutaib (Racing Strasbourg), Youssef El Arabi (Al Lekhwiya), Youssef Ennesyri (Malaga).


Scotland's seabird populations are in need of "urgent action" to halt significant, long-term declines, according to a report.

A study from RSPB Scotland proposes creating seven sites to be designated as Special Protection Areas (SPA) to protect key feeding areas.
It claims that the Scottish government is in danger of breaking conservation legislation if no action is taken.
The government is set to create a network of marine protected areas.
The SPA sites proposed by the wildlife charity include sandbanks located off the Firth of Forth, an area of the Pentland Firth and the sea north of St Kilda.
The recommended areas were first identified by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and are considered vital feeding areas used by many tens of thousands of seabirds.
The original deadline to create SPAs to try to protect seabird numbers was created in the early 1980s and further strengthened by the Marine (Scotland) Act in 2010.
Although the government is set to designate 33 marine protected areas, the RSPB feel that not enough has been done and that this lack of action means that standards have not been met.
Figures from the Scottish government show that the population of seabird species has fallen since 1996.
Arctic skua have plummeted by 80%, Arctic tern by 72% and kittiwakes by 68%.
Stuart Housden, director of RSPB Scotland, said: "Scotland has a fantastic opportunity to show the world that we value our wildlife and natural environment.
"We are calling on the Scottish government to designate these seven areas as a first step to creating the full network needed to fulfil the requirements of EU and Scottish legislation."
He added: "With numerous proposed wind farm developments 'queuing up' in the areas that overlap key feeding sites for birds, we cannot wait any longer. The best feeding sites for seabirds must be given the protection the government's own scientists say they deserve. The time for action is now."
In addition to the seven proposed SPA sites, the RSPB will propose a second bank of sites later this year for additional protection for seabirds.
The Scottish government responded to the wildlife group's report by saying that it had a strong commitment to the conservation of seabirds.
A government spokesman said: "The Scottish government is committed to ensuring protection for our seabirds including the completion of work to identify marine Special Protection Areas under the EU Birds Directive. We are confident that completion of marine SPA designations will deliver adequate site protection for seabirds.
"We consulted on 33 Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas (MPA) proposals which will provide valuable protection for our marine environment, including seabirds, in 2013."
He concluded: "Six of these would include national protection for black guillemot in the marine environment, while several of the other MPA proposals include protection for habitats or species such as sand eels that support seabirds."


At least 12 soldiers from the Philippines have been killed during heavy fighting with Abu Sayyaf militants, the army have said.

It means Monday was the deadliest day for Philippine troops since President Rodrigo Duterte was elected in May.
Abu Sayyaf is one of the smallest and most violent jihadist groups in the southern Philippines.
Its name means "bearer of the sword" and it is notorious for kidnappings and attacking civilians and the army.
Who are the Abu Sayyaf group?
The Islamic State threat in South East Asia
An army spokesman was quoted by Inquirer.net as saying that the soldiers were killed while fighting about 70 Abu Sayyaf fighters near the southern city of Barangay Maligaya.
At least five soldiers were wounded in Monday's fighting.
President Duterte ordered troops to eradicate Abu Sayyaf militants last week after they beheaded a kidnapped villager whose family was too impoverished to pay a ransom.
Officials said Monday's troop losses came after the army killed about 21 Abu Sayyaf gunmen, including an influential commander, on Friday and Saturday in fighting triggered by the beheading.
On Sunday eight Islamic militants linked to so-called Islamic State (IS) were freed from jail by at least 20 fighters from the Maute group who turned up at the Lanao del Sur jail in the southern city of Marawi to release them.
The Maute group has carried out several bombings and kidnappings in the southern Mindanao region.
The Philippines has faced separatist movements for decades in Mindanao, which is majority Muslim - the rest of the Philippines is mainly Roman Catholic.
The Maute group carries the black flag and insignia of IS, and has attacked troops, beheaded a soldier and beheaded two local workers earlier this year.
Several armed groups in the Philippines have pledged allegiance to IS, although the country's military says there is no evidence of active co-operation with foreign militants.


A driverless car has been tested among members of the public for the first time in the UK, in Milton Keynes.

The two-seater electric vehicle travelled in a 1km (0.6-mile) loop on the pavements around the town's railway station.
The team behind it hopes a fleet of 40 of the pods will be available to the public next year.
It called the test "a landmark step" towards bringing self-driving vehicles to the roads of the UK.
Local dignitaries and members of the press sat alongside a safety driver, who was there to take the car out of autonomous mode in the case of an emergency.
Programme director Neil Fulton said:  "This public demonstration represents a major milestone for autonomous vehicles in the UK and the culmination of an extensive project involving UK companies and experts.
The autonomy software running the vehicle, called Selenium, was developed by Oxford University's Oxford Robotics Institute and integrated by Oxford University spinout company Oxbotica.
Selenium uses data from cameras and LIDAR systems to navigate its way around the environment.
"Oxford University's technology will go on to power automated vehicles around the world, and the project will now feed into a much wider programme of autonomous trials across the UK," said Mr Fulton.
"Driverless vehicles are coming to Britain, and what we have demonstrated today is a huge step on that journey."
The UK government is keen to lead the way on the development of driverless car technology and earlier this year launched a consultation on changes to insurance rules and motoring regulations to allow driverless cars to be used by 2020.
It said it would allow such vehicles to be tested on motorways from next year.
The trial in Milton Keynes is the culmination of 18 months planning, which required a virtual mapping of the town along with extensive work with Milton Keynes Council to ensure the vehicles would be safe, conform to regulations and be accepted by the public.
Mr Fulton said that public response to the vehicles, which will be on show for three days, had been "overwhelmingly positive."
Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said: "Today's first public trials of driverless vehicles in our towns is a ground-breaking moment and further evidence that Britain is at the forefront of innovation.
"The global market for autonomous vehicles present huge opportunities for our automotive and technology firms.
"And the research that underpins the technology and software will have applications way beyond autonomous vehicles."
There are other driverless car trials being carried out, in Bristol and London. Both are likely to conduct public trials in coming months.


Ospreys moved to the top of the Pro 12 table with a thumping victory over Benetton Treviso at Liberty Stadium.

The visitors were on terms at 3-3 after 20 minutes, but tries by Ben John, Sam Parry, Jeff Hassler and Dan Evans secured a bonus point by half time.
Dafydd Howells, Keelan Giles, Ma'afu Fia, Alun Wyn Jones and a penalty try took Ospreys' touchdown total to nine.
Jones and Dan Biggar made their first appearances of the season off the bench in the second half.
Fly-half Sam Davies scored 11 points and impressed with his distribution before making way for Biggar, as Ospreys made it three bonus point wins out of three this season.
They are the first team to secure maximum points from their opening three games in the history of the Pro12.
After losing narrowly to Leinster and Ulster in their opening two matches, the Italian side - who had made 15 changes to their match squad - were cruelly exposed by the Ospreys' high-tempo attacking.
And Dean Budd's last-minute try - impressive though the flanker's finish was - hardly constituted a consolation.
The only negative note for the home side was the injury suffered by Tyler Ardron. The Canada international forward who missed most of last season limped off in the sixth minute.
Ospreys revealed their attacking intent from the kick-off when man-of-the-match Josh Matavesi burst 40 yards up field.
Treviso's stubborn resistance in the face of non-stop pressure held until John juggled a pass from Davies before sidestepping over between the posts in the 23rd minute.
From that point they were not able to hold the home team, who had the luxury of bringing Wales internationals Biggar, Jones, Rhys Webb and Scott Baldwin off the bench to help drive home their superiority.
Scrum-half Webb was particularly effective, and there was an exciting cameo by 18-year-old wing Giles, who was part of the Wales under-20 team that won the 2016 Six Nations Grand Slam.
However, next week's assignment is likely to be much tougher, when Ospreys travel to face Leinster on Friday, 23 September.
Ospreys: Dan Evans; Jeff Hassler, Ben John, Josh Matavesi, Dafydd Howells; Sam Davies, Tom Habberfield (capt); Paul James, Sam Parry, Dmitri Arhip, Lloyd Ashley, Rory Thornton, James King, Justin Tipuric, Tyler Ardron.
Replacements: Scott Baldwin, Gareth Thomas, Ma'afu Fia, Alun Wyn Jones, Olly Cracknell, Rhys Webb, Dan Biggar, Keelan Giles.
Benetton Treviso: Luke McLean; David Odiete, Tommaso Benvenuti, Alberto Sgarbi (capt), Andrea Buondonno; Tommaso Allan, Edoardo Gori; Alberto De Marchi, Roberto Santamaria, Tiziano Pasquali, Filippo Gerosa, Filo Paulo, Dean Budd, Marco Lazzaroni,  Marco Barbini.
Replacements: Luca Bigi, Matteo Zanusso, Cherif Traore, Guglielmo Zanini, Abraham Steyn, Tito Tebaldi, Ian McKinley, Andrea Pratichetti.
Referee: Lloyd Linton (SRU)
Assistant referees: Graeme Wells (SRU), Leighton Hodges (WRU)
Citing commissioner: Jeff Mark (WRU)
TMO: Neil Paterson (SRU)


People from 10 homes have been ordered to leave immediately due to an imminent risk of a landslip which could cause their houses to collapse.

A series of landslips on a hillside behind the properties in the Swansea Valley has led to the warning.
Neath Port Talbot council said lives could be at risk unless the homes on Cyfyng Road, Ystalafera were evacuated.
But some residents have said they were not prepared to leave.
In 2012, thousands of tonnes of rock, soil and trees slipped down the hillside behind the houses.
There have been two further landslides this year and there are fears that another could cause the houses to collapse.
Council bosses have said there was no immediate solution to the issue.
Deputy leader Anthony Taylor said the council was trying to re-house those affected.
Resident Paul Harris said there had been two landslides from the hillside behind his rented home earlier this year, but a survey had found no damage to his house.
He said: "Two days ago a letter arrived in the post telling me I had to move out immediately because there was an imminent risk of the house actually falling down."
Despite that warning, he said he felt safe and would not leave because he had only been offered alternative bed and breakfast accommodation but could not take his two dogs with him.
He said: "Maybe there is a real risk, I don't know."
"I think the council need to decide on a definite plan of action. They seem to be not really giving residents the information that's being requested," he added.
"If they knew that it was likely that they would have to do this, why wasn't accommodation organised earlier, why now?"
The homes affected are a mix of privately owned and rented accommodation and Mr Taylor told BBC's Good Morning Wales programme there had been problems in the area since the 1940s, due to the geology of the land.
He said further ground movement in February and June had identified new issues and engineers advised further slips were possible in bad weather.
Mr Taylor said it could spark rising ground water which could cause structural or sewerage problems in the 10 homes identified as at risk.
He admitted the situation could "go on for some time" and when asked if it could be indefinite, he replied "yes".
A council advice centre and hotline have been set up to support residents and Mr Taylor said its housing team was working with social landlords and other providers to find accommodation for those who needed it.
He said: "We have great sympathy for those residents involved and it's a very difficult time for them.
"We are working with the individual families, because each of them has their own set of circumstances, and we are working to find accommodation as close as possible to where they are."


The public spending watchdog has a "growing concern" over budget cuts at the City of Edinburgh Council.

The council is looking at how to make cuts of £67m by 2017.
The Accounts Commission said the council needed to develop a comprehensive strategy for managing its staff.
The council insisted it would make the savings and is currently carrying out a consultation exercise to discover ways of doing so.
The Accounts Commission report highlights the growing problems facing the council in balancing its books.
Edinburgh council currently spends about £950m a year.
Its forecast for the amount of extra savings it expects to have found by 2017 grew from £17m last year to £67m this year.
Overall, the council anticipates having to save about £138m by 2017.
One issue at stake is the balance between how much can be saved by internal reforms and efficiency savings - which the public may not notice - and how much will need to come from straightforward cuts in services.
The argument is that internal reforms and efficiencies can help avoid cuts to frontline services.
The Accounts Commission said the council had made some progress in finding savings since it last looked at the local authority last year, and it has noticed improvements in services.
However, the commission said the council had still to develop a comprehensive workforce strategy - something it recommended last year. The commission believes this has a fundamental role to play ensuring the council can meet the challenges it faces.
Like all councils, Edinburgh faces a twin dilemma. Some costs and the demand for certain services is still rising, while budgets are tight. Councils are under a legal obligation to balance their books.
One option from the council's consultation on budget cuts and savings includes a big cut in the amount of money being given to the organisation that runs the capital's sport and leisure centres.
Critics fear this will mean closures, and job losses. Library opening hours are also facing a reduction.
Privately, some at Edinburgh council are believed to feel the timing of the Accounts Commission report is unfortunate as it draws attention to savings they already knew they had to make and comes ahead of the publication of far-reaching proposals for internal change.
The council is expected to unveil proposals later this week to change the way some local services are delivered.
The City of Edinburgh Council's chief executive Sue Bruce said: "The commission's findings acknowledge the progress that the council has made in key areas such as stronger governance throughout the organisation.
"The report rightly highlights the financial challenges the council faces, and acknowledges that the council has already put in place the transformation plan to tackle these issues, to ensure we deliver the best services and maximum value for money for the people of Edinburgh.
"As we move forward into 2015, developing an effective workforce strategy will be a priority for the leadership team and current recommendations on a new delivery model for the council represent an important step forward in this respect.
"This is a challenging time for all local authorities. The City of Edinburgh Council faces tougher financial challenges than many others, due to the city's growing population and its demographics. Our plans recognise the challenges we face, some of which are legacy issues, and we expect to deliver significant progress over the next 12 months."
The public consultation on Edinburgh's budget proposals runs until next month. Councillors will reach a decision in February.


John Breckin has rejoined Rotherham's coaching staff to assist caretaker manager Paul Warne on an interim basis.

Breckin, 63, played for the Millers in the 1970s and 80s and has since served the Millers as assistant boss.
He has been working in the commercial department at Rotherham, but has agreed to help Warne, who was placed in charge after the departure of Kenny Jackett.
Jackett resigned as manager on 28 November after just 39 days at the Championship's bottom club.
Rotherham are 11 points adrift at the foot of the second tier and the 2-1 defeat at Burton on Saturday was their 14th league loss in 19 games this season.
"We first spoke to John last week but I think because it was chaotic I didn't want to bring him in before the game (against Burton)," Warne told the club website.
"Everyone knows him. He is a Miller and he has said he will come in and help me and the club, so I am delighted."


Fermanagh's Dr McKenna Cup opener against St Mary's College on Sunday has been postponed following heavy overnight rain in Enniskillen.

The game has been put back until Wednesday evening at Brewster Park.
All Sunday's other five opening round of fixtures remain on (14:00 GMT) with holders Tyrone facing Queen's at Omagh.
New inter-county managers Damien Barton and Eamonn Burns have their opening games in charge with Derry facing Antrim and Down travelling to Donegal.
Barton's Derry face the Saffrons at Owenbeg with Burns's Down taking on Donegal at Ballybofey.
GAA history was scheduled to be made in Sunday's game at Brewster Park with Cavan woman Maggie Farrelly due to become the first female to take charge of a senior inter-county game.
In Section C, Armagh host Cavan with Monaghan up against Ulster University.
Armagh's clash with Cavan takes place at Crossmaglen with Clones the venue for the other Section C opener.
Tyrone boss Mickey Harte has included Harry Og Conlon, Niall Sludden, Lee Brennan and Padraig McHampsey from last year's All-Ireland-winning Under-21 squad for their opener against Queen's.
However, the Red Hands line-up includes regulars Niall Morgan, Aidan McCrory, Conor Clarke, Peter Harte, Mark Bradley and Ronan O'Neill.
James McCartan's Queen's side may include Marty Clarke as he attempts to get back to inter-county pace ahead of his expected return to the Down squad.
Derry boss Barton has named Slaughtneil brothers Chrissy and Karl McKaigue in a strong Oak Leaf line-up which also includes Dermot McBride, James Kielt, Emmett McGuckin and Ryan Bell for the game against Antrim.
The Saffrons could include Michael McCann following his decision to return to the Antrim fold.
Antrim now have joint managers with last season's boss Frank Fitzsimons now working alongside Gearoid Adams and former world boxing champion Brian Magee operating as fitness coach.
New Down boss Burns is still waiting on Benny Coulter and Dan Gordon to rejoin the county panel while the Mournemen will also be without injured backs Luke Howard and Benny McArdle.
Donegal boss Rory Gallagher has named debutants Mark Anthony McGinley, Jack O'Brien, Eoghan Ban Gallagher, Ciaran Thompson, Stephen McBrearty and Michael Carroll for their opener against Down.
However, the side includes regulars Paddy McGrath, Martin O'Reilly, Frank McGlynn, Leo McLoone and Odhran MacNiallais.
Cavan boss Terry Hyland has handed debutants to Kingscourt player Padraig Faulkner plus Ballymachugh's Liam Buchanan and Ballinagh's Thomas Moore for their game against Armagh.
David Givney and goalkeeper Alan O'Mara also return to the Cavan line-up.
Armagh will be under-strength at Crossmaglen with the local club's contingent unavailable because of the upcoming All-Ireland Club semi-final and several other regulars also missing.
Monaghan boss Malachy O'Rourke is also expected to name a largely inexperienced line-up with Darren Hughes currently on honeymoon and several other regulars also rested.
Farney stars Rory Beggan and Ryan McAnespie are likely to play at Clones but for the university side.
The Jordanstown outfit will be without injured Kieran Hughes and Paddy McBrearty.
Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup fixtures - all 14:00 GMT
Section A
Derry v Antrim, Owenbeg
Tyrone v Queen's, Healy Park
Section B
Donegal v Down, MacCumhaill Park
Fermanagh P-P St Mary's College, Brewster Park
Section C
Armagh v Cavan, Crossmaglen
Monaghan v Ulster University, St Tiernach's Park
TEAMS
Tyrone: N Morgan; A McCrory, P Hampsey, HP McGeary; B Tierney, C Clarke, K McGeary; H Og Conlon, R Donnelly; C McShane, P Harte, N Sludden; M Bradley, R O'Neill, L Brennan.
Derry: E McNicholl; K McKaigue, D McBride, J Morgan; L McGoldrick, C McKaigue, D Heavron; Emmett Bradley, C McAtamney; C McFaul, J Kielt, E Lynn; E McGuckin, R Bell, S Heavron.
Donegal: M McGinley; J O'Brien, E Doherty, P McGrath; M O'Reily, C Ward, E Gallagher; H McFadden, C Thompson; M O'Carroll, F McGlynn, S McBrearty; O MacNiallais, L McLoone, E McHugh.
Cavan: A O'Mara; J Hayes, K Brady, P Faulkner; C Brady, N Murray, D McVeety; B Shankey, L Buchanan; C Conroy, N McDermott, C Mackey; D Givney, T Moore, M Reilly.