Voice of protest for some, populist demagogue for others, comedian Beppe Grillo has become a serious political player after taking a quarter of the vote in Italy's election, with his anti-establishment Five Star Movement.

Once effectively banished from TV after sending up politicians, he has created a brand of politics all of his own, one that has propelled Five Star to third place in both houses of parliament.
Dissatisfaction with the traditional political class, both right and left, drives a party which has made the internet its medium of choice, and has sought out relative unknowns for its candidates.
At 64, the bushy-haired comic leading this new third force can still work a crowd in a piazza and inspires a wide following on social media, tickling the Italian funny bone with his jokes. He called former Prime Minister Mario Monti, for example, "Rigor Montis" for his deadly serious manner.
However, his ability to engage ultimately in the business of government in one of the eurozone's biggest economies is less clear.
For one thing, Italian TV anchors have been famously unable to grill Mr Grillo on his programme, as he shuns the television studios beloved of politicians like centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi.
Born 21 July 1948 in the coastal city of Genoa, he trained as an accountant before taking up comedy. The divorcee and his current wife care for six children from their current and previous marriages between them.
By the late 1970s, he was a regular on public TV, appearing in variety shows.
Despite a road accident in 1980, when he was convicted of manslaughter over the deaths of three people, he was soon fronting his own shows.
He became known for daring jokes about politicians such as Bettino Craxi, the Socialist prime minister eventually convicted of corruption.
His raw humour appears to have earned him enemies. According to a biography on his blog, he "fled" TV for the theatre in 1990.
As a touring act, he turned his attention to big issues like consumerism and the environment and in 2005 started his blog, one of the most popular in Italy.
Time magazine chose him as a "European Hero" that year, saying he used "over-the-top humour to probe the serious social issues that leaders don't want to touch".
In 2007 he organised "V-Day" - the V stands for a well-known Italian obscenity -  when a petition demanding clean politics in Italy gathered 300,000 signatures in the space of a few hours.
Two years later, the wealthy performer set up Five Star, which was soon polling well in local elections.
The party's logo promotes Mr Grillo's blog, making clear that it is very much the vehicle of the ageing comedian, who cannot stand for parliament himself because of his manslaughter conviction.
Mr Grillo, the BBC's Alan Johnston reported in December 2012, does not seem to have a great deal of patience for dissenting voices within the movement.
The Five Star leader is often accused of being a populist, constantly criticising the status quo but having little in the way of detailed, viable proposals for a better way forward, our Rome correspondent noted.
This lack of clarity about the party's policies has alarmed leaders in the wider eurozone, wrote the BBC's Europe editor, Gavin Hewitt.
If anything, Five Star's leader sounded even more radical at news of his party's spectacular gains.
"We've started a war of generations," he said in an audio statement on his website, which taunted the leaders of the mainstream parties.
Beppe Grillo's Five Star Movement is now the largest faction in the lower house, and he may have a kingmaker role in the Senate. Many of his policies are vague, but some of his aims include:
"They are all losers, they've been there for 25 to 30 years and they've led this country to catastrophe."
Mr Grillo's followers are known as grillini or "little crickets" - his name means "cricket" in Italian - and their collective chirp can no longer be safely ignored by Italy's established parties.
"Grillo will play a decisive role," Roberto D'Alimonte, a politics professor at Rome's LUISS university, told AFP news agency.
"He has to decide whether to strike a limited agreement with the left or whether to go for fresh elections. All the cards are in his hands."
Electoral reform - he would like to halve the number of MPs and strip parties of public funding - is likely to top the list of his demands, but much is still vague.
Speaking before the election, the comedian described his party as a "lifestyle choice". "You have to participate actively in politics, change your habits: eat, travel, shop in a certain way," he was quoted as saying by AFP.
Many must now be wondering what that "certain way" represents.


Sebastian Vettel lost third place in the Mexican Grand Prix after becoming the first driver to be punished under a new dangerous driving rule.

The Ferrari driver was penalised 10 seconds for moving while in the braking zone while defending from Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo late in the race.
The 29-year-old also had two penalty points added to his racing licence.
Vettel had been promoted to third after Ricciardo's team-mate Max Verstappen was penalised for cutting a corner.
Four-time champion Vettel had indicated after the race that he realised there may be a problem with his defence against Ricciardo.
"I want to look at it again; he [Ricciardo] told me to. I am fighting hard and am supposed to give him just enough room," Vettel said.
"I know Daniel is sometimes optimistic going for a gap. I knew he would go for it whatever the cost. I tried to defend; we made contact. That is not ideal. That's why I want to look at it again.
"If there was something, I will talk to him. Before that, Max was brake-testing me into the first two corners. I was very upset with the fact Max held me up and didn't move and made me run into Daniel."
Ricciardo said before learning of the penalty: "He doesn't deserve to be up there. I thought I had every right to be there but he kept closing the door under braking. I was frustrated with that."
The rule Vettel broke was only introduced specifically at last week's US Grand Prix.
Media playback is not supported on this device
It was a rule clarification issued by race director Charlie Whiting on a specific issue that has caused controversy this year because many drivers felt Verstappen had transgressed their gentleman's agreement not to move under braking.
Ironically, Vettel was one of the prime critics of Verstappen's driving.
The new clarification states: "Any change of direction under braking which results in another driver having to take evasive action will be considered abnormal and hence potentially dangerous to other drivers. Any such move will be reported to the stewards."
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.


A window has been smashed at the constituency office of Labour leadership challenger Angela Eagle.

The building in Manor Road, Wallasey, was targeted between 17:00 BST on Monday and 09:00 BST.
No-one was thought to be at the property at the time. Merseyside Police is investigating.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was "extremely concerning that Angela Eagle has been the victim of a threatening act."
Ms Eagle announced her intention to challenge Mr Corbyn after resigning from the shadow cabinet.
Mr Corbyn said other MPs "are receiving abuse and threats".
He said: "As someone who has also received death threats this week and previously, I am calling on all Labour Party members and supporters to act with calm and treat each other with respect and dignity, even where there is disagreement.
"I utterly condemn any violence or threats, which undermine the democracy within our party and have no place in our politics."
Liscard Councillor Bernie Mooney said staff came into the office on Tuesday morning and "found a brick had been put through the window".
She said the manager found glass "up and down the stairs".
It was the first physical attack on the building, but she said Ms Eagle had been subjected to "hundreds of vile, horrid emails and messages on the phone".
She described her as "a very popular MP in Wallasey" and people in the area are "absolutely mortified" by the incident.
Another member of staff who had spoken to Ms Eagle was told by the MP she was "disgusted" by what had happened and "worried for her staff", she added.
Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Kennedy has visited the constituency office to speak to staff following the brick attack, describing those who did it as "cowards".
She said: "It is an absolutely disgraceful situation that you cannot take part in a democracy without having this kind of threat.
"The violence of it, the vile nature of the abuse that is being given to Angela Eagle and to the other members of her staff and to those who support her is completely unacceptable."


The makers of a tumble dryer present in a flat where two people died in a fire have been ordered to supply information about any known problems with that model.

Bernard Hender, 19, and Doug McTavish, 39, died in a flat fire in the centre of Llanrwst in the Conwy Valley in the early hours of 1 October 2014.
An investigation found the fire started in a Whirlpool tumble dryer.
A pre-inquest review hearing was held in Ruthin on Monday.
It was attended by the only survivor of the fire, funeral director Garry Lloyd Jones, the partner of Mr Hender and business partner to Mr McTavish.
Also at the hearing were representatives of Whirlpool UK Appliances Ltd.
David Lewis, Assistant Coroner for North East Wales and Central, has ordered Whirlpool to supply information on how many TVM tumble dryer models have been produced and sold in the UK and abroad, how many times instances have arisen with a door switch mechanism on that model and how many such instances have involved a Trading Standards body.
A further hearing will be held on 19 May.


Munster second-row Dave Foley is leaving to join French side Pau at the end of the season.

The 28-year-old made his Munster debut against Connacht in 2010 and has chalked up 84 appearances.
Foley, who has won two Ireland caps, follows former Munster players James Coughlan, Paddy Butler and Sean Dougall in moving to the Top 14 club.
The lock, from Tipperary, will miss the rest of the season as he recovers from a wrist injury.
Foley made his Ireland debut against Georgia in 2014, and has also represented Emerging Ireland on two tours.


Motorists should always have to give way to cyclists when turning at a junction, says British Cycling.

The governing body for the sport is calling for a change in the Highway Code to make drivers turning left give way to cyclists going straight ahead on the passenger side of their vehicle.
Former cycling champion and policy adviser Chris Boardman said the change "reinforces good behaviour".
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) warned it would lead to more accidents.
Mr Boardman has been leading the campaign after his mother Carol was killed in a collision with a pick-up vehicle while cycling in Connah's Quay, north Wales, in July.
The Olympic gold medallist said Britain should follow the European standard where anyone turning at junctions gives way.
"It just creates a duty of care for everybody and it makes it really simple. No-one's quite sure what the rules are," he told the BBC's Breakfast programme.
"It compels people to treat others as human beings and not obstacles."
The proposed amendment would need to be agreed by the Department for Transport (DfT) as part of an expected update of the Highway Code before being presented to Parliament.
Do cycle cameras make the roads any safer?
London Cycling Campaign says the vast majority of collisions between all road users including pedestrians happen at junctions.
A spokesman for the group, Simon Munk, told BBC News several factors contributed to this:
He said while "drivers have a responsibility when pedestrians are crossing to be cautious" it is not this way for cyclists.
Duncan Buchanan, RHA's deputy policy director, said the rule change would introduce confusion and sets an "incredibly dangerous precedent".
"It is doing exactly the opposite of what we hope which is to ensure the safety of road users," he told BBC Radio 4's Today.
He added: "This rule while superficially appearing simple in fact makes it much more complicated - it means that you become responsible as the motorist for someone overtaking you on the inside when they have full visibility of what you're doing."
Mr Buchanan said there was a conflict in what was being proposed and what was already written in the Highway Code.
The DfT said it had launched a THINK! campaign warning drivers and cyclists of the dangers when turning left and is "determined to keep all road users safe".


Royal Assent has been given to the Scotland Bill, making it the Scotland Act 2012.

The fresh piece of legislation will allow MSPs to set income tax rates in Scotland and enable Holyrood to borrow more money.
The coalition government at Westminster said it represented the biggest transfer of fiscal power to Scotland in more than 300 years.
But the Scottish government believed the bill was a missed opportunity.
As well as bringing in a new Scottish rate of income tax and borrowing powers worth Â£5bn, the Scotland Act (2012) will hand powers over air guns, drink-driving and speeding limits to Holyrood.
It will also devolve stamp duty, land tax and landfill tax, and give the Scottish Parliament a role in appointments in broadcasting and the Crown Estate.
In addition, there will be new procedures for Scottish criminal cases that go to the UK Supreme Court.
The bill officially became law after receiving Royal Assent, but Holyrood will not be able to use the new powers until 2016.
The SNP administration at Holyrood, which intends to hold a referendum on Scottish independence in the autumn of 2014, backed the Scotland Bill, but said it had been "bypassed by events".
However, Scottish Secretary Michael Moore told BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "I'm confident when we get on to debating independence that in Scotland we are going to judge we are far better to continue to be part of the most successful partnership of nations in history, rather than going our own separate way.
"But in the meantime, I am confident that we can do that and we will do that. It is important that we pay attention to the detail of what will soon be the Scotland Act and get on with the change."
However, the Scottish government's minister for strategy, Bruce Crawford, said the legislation could have gone further.
He told the BBC: "The bill does give us some useful additional powers on air weapons, on drink driving, with speeding, although on taxation powers and income tax, on stamp duty, on landfill taxes, it's more limited. It's not quite as big a deal as I heard Michael Moore making out."


Four people have been injured when police opened fire on a man holding a knife at a busy shopping centre in Sydney, Australia.

Three women aged between 60 and 82 were hit by bullets and bullet fragments after two officers fired at the man.
The 23-year-old man, who allegedly approached officers with the knife, was also injured.
An independent team will now investigate the circumstances surrounding Thursday's incident.
Police were called to an organic food market outside Westfield Shopping Centre at Hornsby, in Sydney's north, just before midday after shoppers noticed the man acting strangely.
New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Dennis Clifford said the man was holding a large carving knife and confronted officers when they approached him.
He said two officers fired shots at the man, who was wounded several times.
"Unfortunately some bystanders were also injured, with either bullet or fragment wounds," Mr Clifford said.
"The man is known to us. I understand he was reported missing from a psychiatric centre near here yesterday and police were making efforts to try and locate him."
Mr Clifford said it was understood that Tasers, batons and sprays were available to the officers.
"In a life-and-death situation the police had to make a very critical decision on the action that they took," he said.
All the injured bystanders are in hospital in a stable condition.
Witnesses told Australian media of a chaotic scene after police shot the "zombie-like" young man, who was "babbling incoherently" before the incident.
He also remains in hospital, under police guard.


Josie Cunningham says she doesn't care people call her Britain's most hated woman - because it earns her money.

She claims to have "the UK's most controversial boobs" and receives continuous online abuse.
In 2013 she appeared in The Sun boasting about her boob job courtesy of the tax payer - on the NHS.
She's also sold tickets to the birth of her daughter and said she'd have an abortion if it meant she could go in Big Brother.
Her agent, Rob Cooper, claims they usually charge "no less than a four figure sum" for access to her because they have a lot of overheads - including security.
Newsbeat filmed an unpaid interview with Josie as she prepared for a photo shoot.
We were asked not to film her new boyfriend because "there's money in exclusivity" for an interview with Andy - Josie's boyfriend.
Speaking to Newsbeat, Josie says: "Everybody just thinks I'm this fame hungry bitch but actually I'm a hard-working parent.
"I think people are slowly realising there is a game there to be played. It's a whole case of don't hate the player - hate the game."
"My career is a lot of things at the moment, I've got a couple of endorsements. I'm also constantly filming and doing TV interviews, press releases, radio interviews - so it's really exciting, who knows what tomorrow may bring."
When the subject of how much money Josie makes comes up, she quickly says "No comment" but admits to being "definitely" well paid.
Josie's team explained to Newsbeat discussions had taken place for her to enter the Celebrity Big Brother house but an agreement was never made.
"I'd make for fantastic viewing," Josie explains. "I'd well entertain the public if I was in. I think it would be Â£150,000 well spent."
Reality TV offers regularly come in for the mother-of-three but she says she won't consider leaving her children unless a guaranteed fee was agreed that could change their life.
Her agent smirked when asked if Josie had earned hundreds of thousands of pounds over the past two years but wouldn't deny it.
Josie says: "I don't really discuss finances and things because I find it a bit tacky but it is paying well and I am providing for the kids. They're spoilt rotten but that's beside the point."
Nearly 80,000 accounts follow Josie Cunningham on Twitter - something she regularly uses to criticise other people in the public eye.
She's also on the receiving end of abuse but says it doesn't bother her because she was regularly bullied in school.
"I never expected all this backlash and the reaction I did get," Josie admits.
"I thought to take this on the chin and use it to my advantage and we're still around so we must be doing something right.
"Up until the past couple months I'd say I definitely got more of a hard time. Now, there's a couple of people online I've noticed that have started to turn their opinion around. Things are looking up."
Josie says doctors had told her she had no natural breast tissue.
She had her boob job when she was 22, increasing her breast size from a 32A to a 36DD.
Doing Page 3 for The Sun was "a dream" and being a hate figure wasn't something Josie had in mind. She was hoping for the opposite.
She tells Newsbeat: "I wanted to be a role model to younger people, to anybody that didn't have a chest and was feeling like giving up on life and couldn't go on with this - maybe have difficulties going out or suffering with anxiety because of this."
Being so public about her views isn't something Josie regrets.
"All this hatred that comes with my name I'd say is worth it because I've got my name out there so much more from being hated.
"All of a sudden everybody knew my name so thanks for that - it's been great.
"It does feel amazing to be where I'm at now. I've had two years of hard work to get to this point and I'm just really excited to see what the future holds."
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube


Leaders Queen of the South remain unbeaten in the Championship after a frustrating day in Dumbarton.

The visitors struggled to find a cutting edge without top goalscorer Derek Lyle, who picked up a thigh injury in the warm up.
Dumbarton's Robert Thomson's clipped the post with a header and Darren Barr missed a close-range chance.
The hosts threaten again after the interval when Sam Stanton drove a shot into the side-netting.
The Doonhamers will lose top spot if nearest challengers Hibernian beat Dundee United at Easter Road on Sunday.
The Dumfries side had been averaging two goals a game in the league but found openings hard to come by.
Josh Todd had the first sight of goal for Dumbarton in the eighth minute when he won the ball in midfield and drove forward but dragged his effort wide.
Stephen Dobbie teed up Kyle Jacobs but his shot was narrowly wide before the former saw his shot blocked and Steven Rigg pulled the rebound wide.
After Thomson grazed the woodwork Barr should have put the hosts ahead but put the ball over the crossbar after a long throw from Daniel Harvie caused havoc in the Queens box.
Dobbie curled an early shot wide in the second half before Alan Martin had to be sharp to stop Rigg's header.
Lyndon Dykes then sent another header wide for Queens as both sides had to settle for a point.
Match ends, Dumbarton 0, Queen of the South 0.
Second Half ends, Dumbarton 0, Queen of the South 0.
Hand ball by Josh Todd (Dumbarton).
Substitution, Dumbarton. Garry Fleming replaces Joseph Thomson.
Attempt missed. Lyndon Dykes (Queen of the South) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
Substitution, Queen of the South. Jake Pickard replaces Steven Rigg.
Lyndon Dykes (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Andy Stirling (Dumbarton).
Attempt missed. Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
Foul by Robert Thomson (Dumbarton).
Darren Brownlie (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Steven Rigg (Queen of the South) header from very close range is close, but misses to the right.
Substitution, Dumbarton. Andy Stirling replaces Samuel Stanton.
Attempt missed. Robert Thomson (Dumbarton) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
Substitution, Queen of the South. Dean Brotherston replaces Grant Anderson.
Attempt missed. Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
Mark Docherty (Dumbarton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Mark Docherty (Dumbarton).
Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Joseph Thomson (Dumbarton) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Craig Pettigrew (Dumbarton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Steven Rigg (Queen of the South).
Attempt blocked. Grant Anderson (Queen of the South) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Corner,  Queen of the South. Conceded by Daniel Harvie.
Corner,  Queen of the South. Conceded by Samuel Stanton.
Attempt missed. Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt missed. Steven Rigg (Queen of the South) header from very close range is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt missed. Andy Dowie (Queen of the South) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Attempt saved. Kyle Jacobs (Queen of the South) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Foul by David Smith (Dumbarton).
Steven Rigg (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Steven Rigg (Queen of the South) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Corner,  Dumbarton. Conceded by Andy Dowie.
David Smith (Dumbarton) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South).
Attempt missed. Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Attempt missed. Ryan Stevenson (Dumbarton) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Second Half begins Dumbarton 0, Queen of the South 0.
First Half ends, Dumbarton 0, Queen of the South 0.
Attempt blocked. Mark Millar (Queen of the South) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.


A design competition to create an image which will be emblazoned onto the "tails" side of the new £1 coin has been launched.

Chancellor George Osborne said in this year's Budget that the Royal Mint would manufacture a new coin in the hope of reducing counterfeiting.
The competition is open to those of any age, no matter where they are from, the Treasury said.
The new currency is expected to be in circulation in 2017.
The current proposed design is a 12-sided coin similar in shape to the pre-decimalisation threepence piece, more commonly known as the "threepenny bit".
The winning design should display an image which symbolises Britain or "Britishness", the Treasury said.
Mr Osborne said: "Think about your favourite landmark, or a great British achievement or a symbol from our Islands' story. The winning design will be in millions of people's pockets and purses. It'll be heads you win; tails, it's your design."
The winner will also receive a fee of £10,000 in exchange for the right to use their design, and be invited to visit the Royal Mint in south Wales.
Entries will only be accepted on an official submission form, and all designs must be submitted by Thursday 30 October.
Alongside the competition the Treasury is holding a public consultation on the design and specification of the new coin which closes on 21 November.


Three senior Olympic Council of Ireland officials, including one from Northern Ireland, have had their passports, phones and laptops seized in Brazil.

It is part of the investigation into alleged illegal ticket sales.
RTÃ‰ and the Irish Times say the officials include OCI chief executive Stephen Martin - an Olympic gold medal winner -  from Bangor, County Down.
The OCI  has appointed a crisis management committee to lead its response to Brazil.
Mr Martin, a former hockey player, was previously a director of coaching at Ulster Hockey.
The two other executives are reported to be OCI Secretary General Dermot Henihan and Kevin Kilty, Ireland's Olympic chef de mission.
No arrests were made during the search on Sunday.
Brazilian police are also reported to be seeking the passports of Football Association of Ireland chief executive and OCI vice-president John Delaney; acting OCI president Willie O'Brien and OCI official Linda O'Reilly.
RTÃ‰ says there is nothing to suggest impropriety on the part of any of those officials.
In a statement released overnight, the OCI said it was appointing a crisis management committee to lead the council's response to events in Brazil.
The three people in the committee are Sarah Keane, Swim Ireland, Prof Ciaran O'Cathain, Athletics Ireland, and Robert Norwood, Snowsports Association of Ireland.
The statement said an international accountancy firm would be asked to conduct an independent review of ticketing arrangements in Rio.
The firm will be selected this week and its work will begin immediately and its terms of reference will be published.
Its report will be presented to a judge who will chair the state inquiry into the OCI's handling of ticketing at the Rio Olympics, the statement said.
On Sunday, the OCI said its officials had agreed to go to a police station in Rio on Tuesday for questioning.
"The OCI had an allocation of unused official tickets in their offices which had been made available for athletes' families and friends. The police also took possession of these tickets," the OCI said.
Former Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) president Patrick Hickey was arrested in connection with the alleged illegal sales on Wednesday.
He is being held alongside THG director Kevin Mallon at Rio's Bangu 10 prison.


An Orange Hall in County Londonderry has been damaged in an arson attack.

The alarm was raised at about 04:00 BST on Monday when someone living close to Salterstown Orange Hall, Ballyronan, saw the blaze.
The inside of the building was extensively damaged.
A lodge banner, collarettes and musical instruments were destroyed. The lodge's deputy master said he could not understand why the lodge was targeted.
"All through the Troubles, when they were really bad, we never had any problems," said John Bryson.
"It's out of the road, down here, you'd have to come down here looking for it.
"I don't know what's to be gained by doing the likes of this to be quite honest with you."
He said he came down to the hall in the early hours of the morning after neighbours reported the fire.
"At that stage, smoke was pouring out of the room and the windows and you could hear the crackling of the burning timbers.
"So, I reckoned at that stage it was pretty major.
"I haven't been into the hall myself but from the talk by the fire brigade and police, the damage is pretty bad.
"There were instruments, drums, banners, flutes, lots of things pertaining to the lodge. Who knows what shape they're in."
Fr Peter Donnelly, the parish priest of St Mary's Catholic Church in Ballinderry, said his congregation was very concerned about the attack.
"We express our sympathy with those who use the hall and I condemn it absolutely.
"I will be personally contacting the members of the Institution in Ballyronan in the coming days," he said.
A spokesman for the Orange Order said members of the lodge were "absolutely devastated".
"The hall has been a part of community life for over 100 years, serving as a meeting place for local groups, and its unavailability for a period will be keenly felt," he said.
"Despite this major setback, the lodge and the wider Orange fraternity will rally around and ensure our hall is once again fully restored."


Russell Slade has replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Cardiff City.

The 53-year-old has finally been appointed Bluebirds manager after leaving League One side Leyton Orient.
But who is Russell Slade? Here BBC Wales Sport has the lowdown on the new Cardiff City manager.
Wokingham-born but brought up in Nottingham, Slade is a former physical education teacher who played for Notts County reserves before a coaching career at the club which saw him progressing from assistant youth coach to assistant manager and briefly manager.
His spell in charge of County during the 1994-95 season followed the dismissal of Mick Walker and he stayed on as assistant manager when former Everton boss Howard Kendall was appointed in January 1995.
Slade was given the honour of leading out the County side, including Welsh defender Andy Legg, at Wembley for the 1995 Anglo-Italian Cup final which they won by beating Ascoli 2-1.
After managerial spells with non-league sides Armitage and Leicester United, Slade took caretaker charge of Sheffield United on two separate occasions before he was appointed Scarborough manager in 2001.
He guided the then Conference side to the FA Cup fourth round during the 2003-04 season, narrowly beaten 1-0 by Chelsea.
Grimsby Town appointed Slade manager in the summer of 2004, and during his time at the club the Mariners reached the League Two play-off final in 2006 only to lose 1-0 to Cheltenham Town at the Millennium Stadium.
After two years at Grimsby, Slade joined Yeovil Town but suffered more play-off heartache, losing in the League One final to Blackpool in 2007, although he was named League One manager of the year.
He departed Huish Park in February 2009 and became Brighton manager, saving the club from relegation from League One, although he was dismissed in November 2009 after only eight months in charge.
Slade was appointed Leyton Orient manager in April 2010 and in the final six matches of the League One season guided the club to safety. He was named League One manager of the year at the end of the 2013-14 season in which they lost on penalties to Rotherham United in the play-off final.
Former Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn described Slade as "an inspirational" manager and hailed his man-management skills.


Rotherham's oldest secular building, a former pub, has been removed from a list of Yorkshire buildings "at risk".

But, a water tower, the site of a World War Two anti-aircraft gun and the home of a shrunken head collector are three which have been added.
Historic England (HE), formerly English Heritage, compiles the annual UK-wide list and award funding for repairs.
Its figures show that 43% of Yorkshire sites have been removed from the register, up from a target of 25%.
Tammy Whitaker, of HE, said that was an "amazing achievement" for the county.
Across England, 604 sites were removed and 324 were added. Ms Whitaker said in Yorkshire 36 sites were removed and 19 added.
Sheffield's non-conformist chapel at the General Cemetery was classed as no longer at risk.
"The very things that make our region special are the things most at risk," she said. "If they're lost, then a sense of that region is lost too."
Bramham Biggin, an 18th-century manor house in Leeds, Wressle Castle in East Yorkshire which was once owned by Henry VIII, the 14th-century Ayton Castle near Scarborough in North Yorkshire, and Pontefract Castle in West Yorkshire have all been removed from Historic England's list.
The body awards and organises tens of thousands of pounds in grants.
Walkington anti-aircraft gun site, added to the register this year, was built in 1941 in a chain of East Coast defences to protect Hull and Yorkshire from air raids.
Places in West Yorkshire also off the at-risk list, include Blacker Hall in Wakefield, Dalton Mills in Keighley and Illingworth Gaol.
In East Yorkshire, Flamborough Castle with its prominent chalk ruins has been offered an HE grant.
In North Yorkshire, a management scheme is planned for the Howardian Hills while a six-year scheme to repair sites on the North York Moors National Park has just ended. Proposals to restore Whorlton Castle's gatehouse have collapsed.


The 2017 Tour de France will take in all five of the country's mountain ranges for the first time in 25 years.

Climbs in the Vosges, Jura, Pyrenees, Massif Central and Alps will form part of the three-week, 2,183-mile trek that starts in the German city of Dusseldorf on 1 July and finishes in Paris.
Two individual time trials bookend the race which will see defending champion Chris Froome try to win a fourth title.
"We want to favour long-range attacks," said Tour director Christian Prudhomme.
The route, which takes in Belgium and Luxembourg, is concentrated in the south and east of France.
The Col d'Izoard, which has featured in the race more than 30 times, will be a summit finish for the first time - one of just four in the race, with two coming in the first week. This year, the first mountain-top finish was not until the second week.
Stage five finishes atop La Planche des Belles Filles, where Froome won his first Tour stage in 2012 on his way to finishing second overall as his then Team Sky team-mate Bradley Wiggins became the first British winner of the race.
Despite the mountainous nature of the route, the 2017 edition will actually have fewer climbs rated category two or harder than in recent years.
There will be 23 such climbs next year, compared to 28 in 2016 and 25 in 2015 and 2014. However, the climbs will be spread over a longer period of time, placing the onus on the riders to maintain their climbing form.
The Grand Depart in Dusseldorf opens with an individual time trial, with the second coming in the penultimate stage in Marseille.
Organisers also announced that around 10km of mountain terrain will be off-limits to roadside fans.
The move follows a crash on last year's 12th stage on Mont Ventoux where Froome - who memorably ran part way up the mountain - Richie Porte and Bauke Mollema collided with a motorbike after crowds encroached on to the road.
Stage 1: 1 July - Dusseldorf - Dusseldorf (time trial), 13km
Stage 2: 2 July - Dusseldorf - Liege (Belgium), 202km
Stage 3: 3 July - Verviers (Belgium) - Longwy, 202km
Stage 4: 4 July - Mondorf-Les-Bains (Luxembourg) - Vittel, 203km
Stage 5: 5 July - Vittel - La Planche des Belles Filles, 160km
Stage 6: 6 July - Vesoul - Troyes, 216km
Stage 7: 7 July 7 - Troyes - Nuits-Saint-Georges, 214km
Stage 8: 8 July 8 - Dole - Station des Rousses, 187km
Stage 9: 9 July - Nantua - Chambery, 181km
First rest day: 10 July
Stage 10: 11 July - Perigueux - Bergerac, 178km
Stage 11: 12 July - Eymet - Pau, 202km
Stage 12: 13 July - Pau - Peyragudes, 214km
Stage 13: 14 July - Saint-Girons - Foix, 100km
Stage 14: 15 July - Blagnac - Rodez, 181km
Stage 15: 16 July - Laissac-Severac L'Eglise - Le-Puy-en-Velay, 189km
Second rest day: 17 July
Stage 16: 18 July - Le-Puy-en-Velay - Romans-sur-Isere, 165km
Stage 17: 19 July - La Mure - Serre-Chevalier, 183km
Stage 18: 20 July - Briancon - Izoard, 178km
Stage 19: 21 July - Embrun - Salon-de-Provence, 220km
Stage 20: 22 July - Marseille - Marseille (time trial), 23km
Stage 21: 23 July - Montgeron - Paris Champs-Elysees, 105km


Cambridge United have been fined £7,000 for fielding on-loan midfielder Ryan Ledson in their League Two defeat by Crawley Town on 9 January.

£5,000 of the fine, issued by the Football Disciplinary Commission (FDC), is suspended until 31 May, 2017.
Ledson, 18, joined from Premier League side Everton in November and has made 16 appearances for the U's.
"This was a result of human error and the situation has been dealt with," chief executive Jez George said.


It is not just the election results that show that Israelis have different views about who should be running the country: a flight to Tel Aviv can provide a glimpse into some of the simmering tensions in the Middle East.

The conflict was awfully familiar.
The Israelis were arguing with the non-Israelis, and indeed with each other - over who was entitled to what territory.
Some were polite, but others more hostile. It was an ugly scene. At one point, I thought people might well come to blows.
And still they could not sort it out. Who was supposed to be in what seat? The plane had not even taken off yet, but already Flight 2085, from Luton to Tel Aviv, had become a microcosm of the Middle East.
Some argued from a point of legal entitlement. They held up their boarding passes, the seat number clearly visible.
"I have a right to be here," they protested. But others simply pointed out that they had got there first. I felt I had heard this before somewhere.
Listen to the programme
Download the programme
Meanwhile, bolder passengers were simply shoving their luggage - and themselves - into the places they wanted. You might call it "establishing facts on the ground".
They ignored the would-be occupants towering above them, now waving boarding cards in their faces, like title-deeds to a house.
"Sit down," yelled the exasperated air stewardess, sounding like a teacher dealing with unruly children on a school bus trip. But no-one was listening to teacher that day.
Eventually, the captain's voice came over the intercom, more imploring than commanding.
"If you do not take your seats soon, we will miss our slot, and take-off could be delayed by a very long time." In other words, if the fighting continued, everyone would lose.
That kind of reasoning has never seemed to work too well in the Middle East, and it certainly did not make an impression on Flight 2085. The stand-off continued.
Tensions rose and so did voices in English, in Hebrew and in Russian. I only speak one of those languages but I am quite sure I was being treated to a crash course in their finest insults and for the first time I found myself awfully glad that metal implements are no longer permitted in carry-on luggage.
And then she appeared. The heroine of the day. I do not know her name, I guess I never will, but she seemed like Florence Nightingale and Mother Teresa all rolled in to one.
A clever, sensitive stewardess came up with a compromise. "Sit down where you are for now," she said, "and we can sort out who goes where, once we are up in the air."
Brilliant. The passengers looked at her, they looked at each other, and they meekly obeyed. Those wanting a window seat accepted an aisle; couples hoping to travel together agreed to be rent asunder.
It reminded me of the Oslo Agreement, back in the day when that seemed like a solution to the Middle East problem. Let us all calm down for a bit, live in our respective places for now, and sort out the final agreement later on in the day.
I thought of telling the stewardess she had missed her metier, that instead of serving gin and tonics to rude passengers, she should be working for the United Nations - she certainly could not have made a worse job than others who have tried.
I drifted off into a reverie, imagining this diplomatic wonder-woman circling the globe, perhaps still wearing her Easyjet uniform - she would shuttle between North and South Korea, between the US and Iran - everywhere bringing her home-spun approach to international crises.
But I soon snapped out of my fantasy, because a while after take-off, a new problem arose.
A group of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews had been given space at the back of the plane to hold a prayer meeting. They bowed, and recited, but in the process they attracted more worshippers and, who knows, perhaps new worshippers converted to the faith by this stirring display of mid-air religiosity.
Eventually there were so many offering their thanks to God that they were blocking the aisle, and the non-observant passengers found they could not reach the toilet.
One unfortunate lady found herself stuck inside the lavatory, pushing on the door but meeting resistance from the mini-congregation now gathered outside.
Soon the secular bladders were causing real problems to their owners, who began to complain that the religious people were getting things all their own way.
Now that is a complaint you will hear in Israel itself where there have been furious quarrels between zealous followers of God and those of a more sceptical inclination.
But here we were nearly a thousand miles from the Holy Land and quite a few thousand feet up in the sky.
I searched in vain for Easyjet's unappreciated ambassador-of-peace - the stewardess who had brought unexpected calm to a conflict-ridden flight.
But she had gone back to serving gin and tonics - and it looked like this time, she just did not want to get involved.
How to listen to From Our Own Correspondent:
BBC Radio 4: Saturdays at 11:30 and some Thursdays at 11:00
Listen online or download the podcast.
BBC World Service: Short editions Monday-Friday - see World Service programme schedule.


(Close): Shares in Entertainment One - the owner of the Peppa Pig children's TV series - have jumped on speculation it could face another takeover bid.

Reports at the weekend said the FTSE 250-listed company could face a bid approach from private equity firm KKR. Shares in Entertainment One rose 6.78% to 255p.
Entertainment One rejected a Â£1bn bid from UK broadcaster ITV last week.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 25.17 points to 6,941.19.
Shares in software group Sage rose despite news of a data breach. The company said it was "investigating unauthorised access to customer information using an internal login".
Reports said the data breach could have compromised personal information for employees at 280 UK businesses.
On the currency markets, the pound was down 0.38% against the dollar at $1.2871. It was also down 0.64% against the euro at â‚¬1.14920.
Currency traders will be eyeing a run of key data due out this week, when inflation, unemployment and retail sales figures for July - the first full month since the Brexit vote - will be released.


David Cameron has shared plans to increase the number of apprenticeship programmes that big businesses offer.

Companies bidding for government contracts worth more than Â£10m must show they have a "reasonable proportion" of apprentices.
"The greatest asset any employer has is their workforce," the Prime Minister said.
"And by investing in them, they are investing in the success and future of their business."
The government also reaffirmed plans for an apprenticeship levy, with large companies investing in a fund that is used to train workers.
The size of the levy has not yet been set, according to a spokesperson from 10 Downing Street.
"Skilled people are the lifeblood of a strong economy, but for too long UK businesses have invested too little in developing their employees' skills to meet the demands of a competitive, global market," said Skills Minister Nick Boles.
A government consultation is seeking views on paying the levy, which is expected to be in place by April, 2017.
The plan for a levy raised questions from EEF, the manufacturers' organisation.
"With little detail of the level of the levy, who will be required to pay it and how much government will give back in return, manufacturers have a right to remain sceptical that the levy will create the three million additional quality apprenticeships that we all wish to see," Terry Scuoler, chief executive at EEF, said.
He added that a number of large manufacturers "will be surprised by the suggestion from government that it is they who are currently failing to invest in apprenticeships".
The government said levy systems already operated in more than 50 countries.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) welcomed the announcement of the apprentice plan.
"Apprenticeship schemes can play a part in meeting important ambitions to boost skills and drive-up productivity," said John Longworth, the business group's director general.
But he added that plans to encourage apprenticeships should focus on small businesses, not just larger corporations.
"Government policy is currently too focused on major employers, but equal effort ought to be put on encouraging and supporting smaller businesses to offer apprenticeships," Mr Longworth said.
The plan is part of the government's commitment to create three million apprenticeships by 2020.


Russia is "not seeking conflict with anyone", President Vladimir Putin has said in his annual Kremlin speech to parliament and the nation.

"Unlike some foreign colleagues who see Russia as the enemy, we do not seek - and never sought - enemies. We need friends," he said.
But "we will not permit harm to our interests", he added.
He said Russia was ready to work with the new US administration to fight terrorism.
Mr Putin has previously said he hopes for better relations with the US once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
He praised the courage of Russian military personnel fighting rebel groups in Syria, in support of President Bashar al-Assad - and drew applause in the ornate Kremlin hall.
"Of course I'm counting on joint efforts with the US in fighting a real - not invented - threat, that is, international terrorism," he said.
He also warned that any attempt to "break the strategic parity" could be globally catastrophic - an apparent reference to the Russian-US nuclear balance.
US and EU politicians have criticised the heavy Russian bombing campaign in Syria, especially in Aleppo. They say Russia should strike harder against so-called Islamic State (IS), instead of backing President Assad's forces, who are accused of grave human rights abuses.
Mr Putin highlighted examples of what he called foreign pressure on Russia, and included the recent Olympic doping scandal involving Russian athletes.
Describing the scandal as a "blessing in disguise", he said Russia was putting in place an outstanding anti-doping system early next year.
In a humiliating blow to the country's sporting pride, a World Anti-Doping Agency inquiry uncovered evidence of state-sponsored doping that led to a ban on a number of Russian athletes from the 2016 Rio Olympics, as well as the entire Paralympics team.
This was a speech short on slogans and snappy soundbites. If there was a theme, then it was one of unity.
It was a call to Russians to pull together as patriots, in what Vladimir Putin admitted were still extraordinary, tough economic times.
He has long tried to achieve that by highlighting Russia's external enemies. But with a potential US ally now on his way to the White House - and perhaps sniffing an end to sanctions - Mr Putin has toned down his rhetoric.
In fact, he pushed international affairs right to the end of his speech and talked of needing friends, not enemies.
Mr Putin also saw scope for better relations with some EU countries, despite the EU sanctions imposed because of Russia's intervention in Ukraine.
He spoke of widening the Russian-led Eurasian partnership, saying: "I'm convinced that this conversation is possible with states of the European Union, where there is growing demand for an independent, subjective, political and economic course. And we see that in the results of elections."
Most of his speech focused on Russia's economic and social challenges. On the problem of corruption he said "it has become an unfortunate practice here to whip up a media frenzy around so-called high-profile cases".
"The fight against corruption is not for show," he stressed.
Last month Russia's Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev was charged with taking a $2m (Â£1.6m) bribe to endorse a state takeover in the oil industry.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge. He is the highest-ranking Russian official held since the 1991 coup attempt in what was then the USSR.


All the candidates standing in the general election on 8 June are now listed on the BBC News website.

Some 67 parties and 191 independent candidates contribute to a total of 3,307 people standing for Parliament this year - a decrease of 664 from 2015.
Use the search box below or browse our A-Z listings to find your constituency and the candidates who are standing.
Sorry, your browser cannot display this content.
Enter a postcode or seat name


Day care services for elderly people in Wrexham could be provided by third parties and not the council, under new plans being considered.

A report into the proposal was discussed by its safeguarding, communities and wellbeing scrutiny committee on Thursday.
Officers said there has been a "decline" in demand for places and the move could save Â£188,000.
A consultation into the plans runs until next Wednesday.
The authority has two older people's day care centres - Plas yn Rhos in Rhosllanerchrugog and Caia Park - and three day services which were suspended earlier this year due to a "lack of take up".
A further report into the plan will be presented to the council's executive board, after the consultation closes, on 13 December.


A law student killed a father-of-10 with one punch while on a night out on the Isle of Wight, a court has heard.

Gary Stacey, 49, died from brain injuries after being hit in a street in Newport in February 2016.
Ryan Cooper, 21, has gone on trial at Winchester Crown Court charged with manslaughter. He denies the charge.
Prosecutors said there was "no dispute" that Mr Cooper had thrown the punch, which he insisted was in self defence.
The opening day of the trial was told Mr Cooper of Alma Road, in Southampton had recently split up from his girlfriend when he was on a night out with friends on the island on Valentine's Day 2016.
The prosecution's opening statement told of how he had posted on Facebook about taking "the biggest line of cocaine" as well as "half a litre of vodka".
During the evening Mr Cooper was thrown out of Yates bar for being too drunk.
Shortly before 04:00 GMT in St James Street, Mr Cooper and his friends were approached by Mr Stacey with whom they had had some contact with earlier in the evening
The jury was shown CCTV footage of the moment Mr Cooper threw two punches. The first missed Mr Stacey and the second did not.
Mr Stacey died later from "overwhelming" head injuries in hospital.
The court heard Mr Cooper later told friends that Mr Stacey had threatened him and was swearing and shouting.
Jurors were told, that in police interviews, Mr Cooper said he had hit Mr Stacey in self defence.
"He looked like he was going to hit me... so I just jabbed him to get him away," he said.
The trial is expected to last two weeks.


Wales have sought the advice of former Scotland manager Craig Brown to help their preparations for the Euro 2016 Championship in France.

Brown, 75, led Scotland to Euro 96 and the 1998 World Cup as manager and believes Wales can shine in France.
Next summer's finals will be Wales' first appearance at a major tournament since 1958.
"When you see the Welsh team play, they're excellent. I think they've got a very good chance," said Brown.
"They won't surprise me, but they could surprise a few folk."
Wales will not face the Republic of Ireland, who reached the finals as ex-Wrexham striker Jon Walters scored both their goals in the victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday night.
The Republic are set to join Wales and Northern Ireland in pot four for the Championship draw.
Assistant manager Osian Roberts says Brown's insights and advice have been valuable.
"Craig Brown has been a great help to us and Chris [Wales boss Coleman] knows him very well," Roberts said.
"I was out with him at a conference in Russia last week. We had a couple of hours going through all the details, which I've brought back and shared.
"There's people with a wealth of experience we can tap into, so we're doing that.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"It gives us a great insight into how to go about it because it's a learning curve for us."
The draw for the Euro 2016 pools is scheduled to take place in Paris on 12 December, with Wales among the lowest seeds.
Coleman's men hope to finalise their training base for next summer's finals in France before the end of 2015.
Euro 2016 matches will be played in Paris, Bordeaux, Lens, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Saint-Denis and Toulouse.
An under-strength Wales side lost their first pre-Euro 2016 friendly to the Netherlands 3-2 in Cardiff on Friday.
Wales' next friendly window will be in March and the ramifications of the draw will be considered before a list of suitable opponents is drawn up.


Sports Direct, the retailer under fire for the treatment of its staff, says it will now put a workers' representative on its board.

The move came hours after it said it would abolish zero-hours contracts for its directly employed, casual retail staff.
It will now employ them for at least 12 guaranteed hours a week instead.
However almost all staff at the firm's troubled Shirebrook warehouse are agency workers and are not eligible.
Sports Direct said the workers' rep would "give workers a voice at the highest level and to help ensure that all staff are treated with dignity and respect".
It is not clear how the representative will be chosen, but it is expected that he or she will be elected.
The retailer's founder, Mike Ashley, said the board move will offer a "great benefit" and provide "input [that] is invaluable".
"I think it will be the one no-brainer that Sports Direct should have been doing," he said in a video interview released by Sports Direct on Tuesday night.
"I want to be the pioneer who gets it done... I am going to make it happen."
Investors: Sports Direct needs a new chairman
Sports Direct workers share their experiences
Earlier in the day, in a report commissioned by the firm, Sports Direct apologised for conditions at Shirebrook and admitted "serious shortcomings" in working practices.
The retailer has been under mounting pressure to overhaul its operations.
It commissioned its legal advisers Reynolds Porter Chamberlain to carry out the review after MPs accused the firm of not treating staff like humans, with working practices closer to "that of a Victorian workhouse than that of a modern high street retailer".
The firm's offer of guaranteed hours will apply to the firm's 18,250 casual staff who work in its stores.
The 4,059 warehouse workers supplied by agency staff, will not qualify for the offer. Just 400 of the firm's warehouse employees are on permanent contracts.
In football, like most sports, timing is everything.
Mike Ashley, the billionaire owner of Newcastle United and controlling shareholder of Sports Direct, knows this all too well.
The release this morning of the independent review comes just a day before he faces irate shareholders at the annual general meeting.
They, and trade unions, are baying for blood, and while the report may not mollify them, it changes the nature of the headlines the day before the showdown.
The investigation is surprisingly hard on the company. Many had predicted a whitewash, as the law firm involved, Reynold Porter Chamberlain, does other work for Sports Direct.
In a statement the company also promises a review of its corporate governance, and to engage with shareholders.
That olive branch will probably come too late to change the tally at tomorrow's meeting, where chairman Keith Hellawell will almost certainly face the ignominy of having a majority of independent shareholders vote against his appointment.
More from Dominic: Sports Direct review
Profile of Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley
Sports Direct 'needs a new chairman'
Sports Direct staff 'not treated as humans'
Last year an investigation by the Guardian newspaper revealed that warehouse staff were subject to lengthy security searches which, in some cases, resulted in their pay falling below the legal minimum wage.
And a BBC investigation found ambulances were called out to Sports Direct's complex at Shirebrook, in Derbyshire, 76 times in two years.
In Tuesday's report the firm said its failure to pay some staff at its Shirebrook warehouse the minimum wage was "unacceptable but unintentional", but said it had a new pay policy in place.
It also said it would ask agencies to suspend their "six strike system" for misdemeanours under which staff were given "a strike" for spending too long in the toilet, excessive chatting or taking a day off sick.
Once an employee had six strikes they were automatically dismissed.
The report found the system "contributed at times to a hierarchical and potentially oppressive model."
Additional changes the firm has promised include:
The report said Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley "takes ultimate responsibility for any aspects of the working practices that were unsatisfactory".
Shareholders have called on the firm's billionaire founder, who also owns Newcastle United FC, to improve both corporate governance and working practices at the company.
However the firm warned that "only so much can be achieved" in the three months since it started to reform its business and it admitted it will take "far longer to improve the general culture".
In June, in an appearance in front of the Business, Innovation and Skills select committee investigating working conditions at the firm, Mr Ashley admitted the firm had "probably" outgrown his ability to run it.
He said at the time that much of what he'd found out, after starting an internal investigation into how staff were treated at its Shirebrook distribution centre six months ago, was an "unpleasant surprise".
The firm said it had already commissioned a second review of working practices to monitor progress.


Roger Federer has pulled out of his comeback match against Juan Martin Del Potro at the Miami Open with a stomach bug.

The 34-year-old was due to make his return on Friday after suffering a knee injury in January while running a bath for his twin daughters.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion from Switzerland needed arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus.
His place in the draw is taken by lucky loser Horacio Zeballos of Argentina.
Federer's last match was his Australian Open semi-final defeat to world number one Novak Djokovic.
The Swiss revealed on Thursday that he had spent 12 days on crutches following his first experience of surgery, and had only begun full training "probably a week ago, nine days ago".
"If I feel something, I won't play. It's very simple," he said, but 24 hours later it was a virus rather than the knee that forced him to withdraw.
His original comeback plan had focused on the clay-court season in Europe next month, and that now appears to be the likely schedule.


Barclays chief executive Jes Staley was in a good mood this morning - and why not?

After three years of losses, Barclays is back in the black, it will have sold off all its non-essential businesses by June, its capital levels are very close to the point where the banking authorities will let it start paying higher dividends, and interest rates could head upward - a good thing for banks' profit margins. Its shares rose 3% on the news - happy days.
However, a huge upheaval of the European banking system is on the horizon as the UK prepares to trigger Article 50, taking the financial heart of Europe out of the EU, and out of the single market.
Today we got a little more detail on Barclays' contingency planning. It seems Dublin may become the headquarters of its European business, requiring hundreds of additional staff there and in its offices in Frankfurt and Milan, which may become branches of the Dublin bank rather than the UK bank.
Despite this structural sleight of hand, Mr Staley is confident London will remain the financial centre of Europe long after Brexit.
But he also issued an important warning. What happens to a 10-year loan, or agreement with a customer in the EU, struck in the next two years before the UK formally leaves? How can the parties be sure that the terms of the contract between them are still valid in the years after Brexit, before the terms of trade have been agreed?
According to Mr Staley, honouring deals like this into the future - or "grandfathering" them - is crucial to maintain confidence in this coming period of uncertainty.
He also had a warning for Donald Trump. Don't mess with US bank regulation.
Promised cuts to tax and banking regulation in the US have seen shares in the likes of Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan rocket. But, according to Mr Staley, dismantling the controls put in place after the financial crisis would undo a lot of good work done to make the financial system safer.
"Higher capital levels and lower risk taking by banks has been a good thing, and I don't think (regulation) should be rolled back," he said.
If the stock market is right, and the big investment banks will be able to generate higher returns by taking more risk, Barclays' sizeable US operations may have a tough choice to make: keep up with your Wall Street neighbours, or look safer (and more boring) to investors.


A CCTV image has been released of a man police want to speak to after a fire at a block of flats in Aberdeen.

The fire happened at the Rosehill Court block of flats in Aberdeen in the early hours of Sunday 22 January.
Firefighers extinguished it quickly and no-one was injured.
Police Scotland said the man was white, between 5ft 8in and 6ft tall, of average build and was wearing a grey hooded top with black down the left-hand side, blue jeans and black shoes.
Det Insp Allen Shaw, who is leading the inquiry, said: "I would urge anyone who has any information relating to the man depicted in the CCTV image to make contact with police."


Thirty-eight US billionaires have pledged at least 50% of their wealth to charity through a campaign started by investor Warren Buffett and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

They include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, CNN founder Ted Turner and entertainment executive Barry Diller.
"The Giving Pledge" lists all the families and individuals who have committed to the project.
The site says the pledge is a "moral commitment" not a "legal contract".
The campaign was started in June to convince US billionaires to give away at least half of their fortunes either during their lifetimes or after their deaths.
"We've really just started but already we've had a terrific response," Mr Buffett said in a statement.
He added: "The Giving Pledge is about asking wealthy families to have important conversations about their wealth and how it will be used."
Those who pledge their money to "philanthropic causes and charitable organisations" must publicly state their intention through a letter of explanation.
Other billionaires who have pledged large sums of their money include film producer George Lucas, philanthropist David Rockefeller and oil investor T Boone Pickens.
"I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race," Mr Lucas wrote in his Giving Pledge letter.
The organisation says many of the donors have committed to donating sums far greater than the 50% minimum level.
"While the Giving Pledge is specifically focused on billionaires, the idea takes its inspiration from efforts in the past and at present that encourage and recognize givers of all financial means and backgrounds," says Givingpledge.org.
Mr Buffett along with Mr Gates and his wife, Melinda, held numerous dinners with US billionaires in the past year to promote the campaign and urge America's financial elite to pledge.
"I've long stated that I enjoy making money, and I enjoy giving it away. I like making money more, but giving it away is a close second," Mr Pickens wrote in a letter on Givingpledge.org.
Mr Buffett, the chief executive of the investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, pledged 99% of his money to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and family charities in 2006.
Forbes Magazine estimated Mr Buffett's wealth at $47bn (Â£29bn) in March.
Bill Gates, who Forbes rates as the world's second wealthiest person, has also given away more than $28bn to his foundation.
There are 403 billionaires living in the US, according to Forbes.
Join the debate.


Nico Rosberg took his first victory for more than four months as he beat Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the Mexican Grand Prix.

Media playback is not supported on this device
The German controlled the race from the start, with the new world champion only a couple of seconds behind but unable to get close enough to challenge.
Rosberg's fourth win of the season moved him back into second in the championship ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who crashed out.
Williams' Valtteri Bottas took third.
Media playback is not supported on this device
What was a largely soporific race for more than half the distance was enlivened by a potential intra-team controversy at Mercedes, when Hamilton disagreed with a request for him to make a second pit stop.
The team had planned to run the race on a single stop, fitting the 'medium' tyres for a long final stint after running the first third of the grand prix on the 'softs'.
But with 25 of the 71 laps to go, Mercedes called Rosberg in for a second stop and then a lap later did the same for Hamilton.
The world champion immediately questioned the decision, only to be told it was for "safety reasons" because the first set of tyres were "down to the canvas".
Hamilton clearly did not believe what he was being told, saying: "The tyres feel fine." He was told he must come in: "This is an instruction."
But after returning to the track, he said to his engineer Peter Bonnington: "You've got to check those tyres, Bono." And asked to be told what the result of that was.
Clearly annoyed, Hamilton started setting fastest sector times and began to close on his team-mate - only for the battle to be interrupted when Vettel crashed, bringing out the safety car.
That bunched the field up, but Rosberg maintained his lead at the restart with 22 laps to go and was able to hold Hamilton off to the end.
It was Rosberg's first victory since the Austrian Grand Prix nine races ago and his fourth of the season, compared to Hamilton's 10, and will be exactly what he needed after the disappointment of seeing Hamilton clinch the title with three races to go in the US a week ago, largely thanks to an error by the German.
There were indications Vettel might have been able to give the Mercedes drivers a challenge had he enjoyed a trouble-free race - but his afternoon was anything but.
The Ferrari driver received a puncture when he and Daniel Ricciardo collided at the first corner as the Red Bull driver tried to pass him. Each blamed the other and the stewards declared it a racing incident.
Having fought his way up to 12th place, Vettel spun at Turn Seven, the start of the Esses on lap 17, damaging his tyres. He also ran wide at Turn 12 later on the same lap after rejoining the track.
After a second stop at about half-distance, he rejoined between the two Mercedes drivers, a lap behind, and was able to stick at their pace but had to be told to let Hamilton by.
A few laps later, Vettel ended an uncharacteristically poor race when he again lost control at Turn Seven, this time nosing into the barriers.
He admitted over the radio to his team that he had driven poorly and apologised.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Team-mate Kimi Raikkonen also had a bad race. Starting 19th after a change of engine following qualifying, he was up to sixth when he collided with Bottas at Turn Five.
Bottas went around the outside of Raikkonen at Turn Four and was more than halfway alongside his fellow Finn on the inside as they reached Turn Five, the second part of what is effectively an elongated chicane.
Raikkonen turned in anyway, and the two touched, the Ferrari's right rear wheel riding over the front left of the Williams and breaking the red car's suspension.
Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat finished fourth, but had held third place until the safety car's introduction. He was passed by Bottas down the straight on the restart, the Williams' Mercedes power too much for the Renault engine in the Red Bull.
Kvyat was left to fend off Ricciardo to the end, with the second Williams of Felipe Massa taking sixth.
Local hero Sergio Perez, ecstatically cheered throughout by the sell-out crowd in the twisty stadium section at the end of the lap, came home eighth behind team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, impressively fending off the much-fresher-tyred Toro Rosso of Max Verstappen after the safety car.
Mexican GP results
Mexican GP coverage details


Families from the Republic of Ireland seeking justice for their dead relatives have travelled to London to lobby MPs at Westminster.

The Families for Justice group represents people whose loved ones have died in violent or unsolved circumstances.
They believe Irish police failed to investigate the deaths properly.
They have already lobbied MEPs in Europe and spoken to MLAs in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
On Tuesday, they took their campaign to Westminster with the support of Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Jeffrey Donaldson.
All the families have lost loved ones in violent circumstances.
They believe the Irish police (An Garda SÃochÃ¡na) failed to investigate the deaths properly and that their fundamental right to justice has been breached.
The London delegation included Lucia O'Farrell, mother of Shane, 23, who was killed in 2011 in County Monaghan by a hit-and-run driver who should not have been on the road; Ann Doherty, twin sister of six-year-old Mary Boyle, who was murdered in Donegal in 1977; and Anne-Marie Cullen, mother of four-year-old Clodagh, who was killed in a mysterious car crash in Kilkenny in 2007.
Shane O'Farrell was out cycling near his home in Monaghan when he was knocked down and left to die on the road.
The driver was a Lithuanian national who had more than 40 convictions, including some in Northern Ireland.
He had received an eight-month jail sentence that was suspended on condition that he left the country.
"We live 10 minutes' drive from the border, and this man came and went across with no consequence or deterrent for him - he came into Ireland six years before as a criminal who was known to Interpol," Shane's mother, Lucia, said.
"He continued until he killed - the judicial system failed us hugely and this was avoidable."
She has travelled to Brussels, Belfast and now is heading for Westminster in her battle for justice for her son.
In December, she met Northern Ireland Justice Minister David Ford.
Mrs O'Farrell has accused the Irish government of "putting loyalty over honesty".
"We are hoping to put the spotlight on these cases and to discuss cross-border policing. Our fellow Europeans need to be aware of human rights breaches in Ireland. Families have nowhere else to turn," she said.
"Shane deserves justice and we deserve peace. We cannot have that peace until we get justice for Shane."


Workers at National Museum Wales (NMW) have accepted a deal to resolve a long-running dispute over plans to end extra payments for weekend shifts.

The PCS Union had balloted its members over an improved offer to stop the continuous strikes that have affected its sites since April.
NMW has been attempting to end "premium payments" paid to many frontline staff for working weekend shifts.
Other ad-hoc strikes had taken place over the past two years over the issue.
It will see some of NMW's lowest paid staff having their take-home pay reduced.
Earlier this month, workers were offered a buy-out equivalent to five years' worth of weekend payments, and a 4% pay rise. The lump sum was double the museum's previous best offer.
Depending on how many Saturdays and Sundays they work, the payments for affected staff will range from Â£163 to Â£20,000.
The Welsh Government is providing all of the extra money being offered as part of the new deal.
Ministers' support is significant as NMW has previously blamed government cuts to its budget for forcing it to cut the wages of some of its lowest paid staff.
David Anderson, director general, said he hoped all would now move forward together.
"I am very pleased that we have reached an agreement with PCS, and therefore all our recognised trade unions, on the cessation of Premium Payments, and the dispute has come to an end," he said.
"I would personally like to thank visitors for their patience during this time and look forward to offering them - the people of Wales and beyond - a high-quality museum experience."


Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has been charged by the Football Association for claiming it would be "difficult" for referee Anthony Taylor to officiate their game with Liverpool.

Mourinho added appointing Taylor for the 17 October match had put "pressure" on the Manchester-based official.
Managers are not supposed to speak about referees prior to matches.
Mourinho has until 31 October to respond to a charge of improper conduct and bringing the game into disrepute.
Taylor issued four yellow cards - all to Manchester United - in the 0-0 draw.
Former referees' chief Keith Hackett was among those to question the Professional Game Match Officials Limited's (PGMOL) decision to assign the match to Altrincham season-ticket holder Taylor, claiming it would be "intolerable" if he got a big decision wrong.
PGMOL stood down Leicester fan Kevin Friend in April when he was due to take charge of the Foxes' title rivals Tottenham in their game against Stoke.
Mourinho foresaw the potential for the FA to take action against him when he spoke before the game, claiming that he "did not really want to say too much more on the matter. I have learned a lesson... by being punished so many times for my words about referees".
Managers were banned from talking about officials in the run-up to matches in 2009 in an attempt to prevent their comment from influencing decisions.
The Portuguese was given a one-match stadium ban and fined £40,000 in November after the FA backed referee Jon Moss' claims that the then-Chelsea manager refused to leave the officials' changing room and verbally abused him and his colleagues at half-time of a defeat at West Ham.
Mourinho was also fined £50,000 for claiming that referees were afraid to award penalties against his side last season after the Blues were beaten 3-1 by Southampton in October.


A judge in New Zealand has said internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom will be allowed to stream his appeal against extradition live online.

The founder of the seized Megaupload websites is wanted in the US on charges of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering.
The US had opposed his proposal to broadcast the hearing on YouTube.
Dotcom said on Twitter that the decision was "breaking new ground" and streaming would start on Wednesday.
He told the BBC there was a definite public interest in his case.
Dotcom's lawyer said the move was "democracy at its finest".
"It provides everybody in the world with a seat in the gallery of the New Zealand courtroom," Ira Rothken told the Associated Press, saying there would be a 20 minute delay on the live feed.
Kim Dotcom has won a major victory here. By getting the hearing livestreamed, he'll hope to expose what he says are some of the incompetencies of this entire case. By bringing the world's technology community into the court room, instead of relying on media reports, he hopes to build support.
Mr Dotcom praised the judge for being "brave" enough to allow the streaming to happen. But it does come with an odd stipulation which many might find a tad naive on the part of the court.
As well as a 20 minute delay, in which some details can be beeped out from what goes out on the internet, the judge has also ruled that once the six-week hearing is over it cannot be kept online forever.
But to think, given all the people likely to watch it online, nobody is going to record it independently and publish shows a poor grasp of how the online community operates. The video of Kim Dotcom's hearing will be all over the internet, in perpetuity, whether the judge wants it to be or not.
German-born Dotcom ran file-sharing site Megaupload.com, which once had millions of users storing files and downloading movies and songs.
The FBI took control of the site and other domain names belonging to the business in January 2012. Federal prosecutors said it had cost movie studios, music labels and other copyright-holders more than $500m (Â£382m) in lost revenue.
Last December, a New Zealand court ruled that the German-born entrepreneur could be extradited to face charges of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering.
But Dotcom's lawyers launched an appeal, arguing that he should not be held responsible for the actions of the site's users, and did not get a fair hearing.
The request for livestreaming came on the first day of the appeal hearing in Auckland, which is expected to last up to eight weeks.
Another defence lawyer, Ron Mansfield, said there were "unprecedented issues of public and international interest" raised by the case and added that coverage should not be limited to traditional media.
Lawyers for the US had said streaming could influence a potential future jury.
The High Court judge, Justice Murray Gilbert, criticised the fact the request had not been made in advance but said he wanted to hear the views of local media outlets before making a decision.
Debate still rages as to whether televising trials is a necessary part of transparent justice or something that turns legal procedure into a circus. But some very high profile cases have been put on camera:


Young people between the ages of 18 and 35 make up about 31% of the eligible voting population in the US, and they will soon be the largest group in the electorate.

Although they frequently talk about politics online, these so-called 'millennials' are traditionally less likely to vote than older people.
Developers have created a host of new apps targeting this age group.
But are they enough to encourage the smartphone generation to become more politically engaged?
Apps like Voter build on existing formats to introduce users to political candidates who align with their own beliefs.
Created by 26-year-old web developer Hunter Scarborough, Voter allows users to swipe left and right through a number of political candidates until they find the ideal match.
You could describe it as a political form of Tinder.
Scarborough says he created the app after becoming frustrated by the lack of political news sources he felt he could trust.
"I didn't want to vote on a sound bite from a news anchor, or a sound bite from a family member," he says.
"I looked at the wealth of raw political data becoming available, and realized there could be a much faster and more accurate way to become informed."
Scarborough is convinced apps like his can have a positive impact on turnout.
"If someone has a horse in the race, they're much more likely to participate," he says.
"So if you use the app and you have a strong degree of confidence in who you match for, you are much more likely to be at the polls when election day comes, " he adds.
Unlike Voter, the Brigade app - which builds on a Facebook-style model to encourage public political discussion online - does not allow users to choose whether to share their political information with others.
The social networking app works by asking a series of questions about political issues, allowing users to mark 'agree', 'disagree' or 'unsure'.
They can then see how they compare to their friends, followers and the wider population of users.
Brigade stresses the "huge potential" of apps to help younger voters get involved in politics, but recognises the difficulty in ensuring they remain interested.
"The hard part is getting to a scale that ensures people's voices and votes have real influence," says its spokesman Andrew Noyes.
"Those of us operating at the intersection of tech and politics must lead with issues millennials care about and find ways to keep them engaged by taking action with friends and neighbours."
Other apps target specific social groups who are less likely to vote - such as Hispanic millennials.
According to the Pew Research Centre, roughly 11.9 million will be eligible to vote in 2016.
People in this age bracket make up a larger share of Hispanic eligible voters than they do among white eligible voters - 44% versus 27%.
The Unidos app aims to mobilise young Latino voters.
It was launched by Feet in 2 Worlds (Fi2W), a media project at The New School, New York City.
It provides users with a newsfeed with links to relevant articles, voting guides, emojis and links to other social media platforms.
"People who are less politically engaged need encouragement to register and vote," says John Rudolph, Executive Producer of Fi2W.
"We all understand that by working together and using a variety of approaches we have a better chance of breaking the historic trend of Latino under-voting."
But experts say although apps have the potential to encourage an interest in politics, they can only go so far in motivating 18-35 year olds.
One expert warns that political apps mainly appeal to young people "already highly engaged", looking for ways to connect with others online.
"They leave behind young people who are just not interested in politics, let alone doing something concrete in relation to the candidates and/or campaigns," explained Dr Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, director of the Centre for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tisch College.
She points to the the "stalemate" in US Congress as a demotivating factor for young people and also to a lack of confidence amongst this group in political figures in general.
But she is keen to stress that millennials' lack of engagement in traditional politics should not be interpreted as an unwillingness to participate.
Hunter Scarborough agrees. "Millennials actually have the highest volunteering and community service rates than any other generation that came before them," he says.
"What that says to me is that there's a strong desire to have impact, but they haven't really seen the value in doing so through traditional methods."
Hunter Scarborough spoke to Deirdre Finnerty on World Update on the BBC World Service - listen to the interview here
But apps alone won't make the difference.
For Dr Kawashima-Ginsberg, a number of strategies are needed to increase engagement, boost registration and turnout.
She says there is still no real replacement for face-to-face contact.
"Candidates need to engage with them in person, and listen to what they have to say, instead of relying on the convenience of the apps to let young people find out about them," she says.


A man and a woman have been jailed for behaving aggressively in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital.

Gerard Magee, 34, and Ashley Fleming, 23, received prison terms of five months and four months respectively for separate assaults.
A district judge hit out at those who subject medical staff to abuse and  violent threats.
Judge Fiona Bagnall said hospital staff had to endure this type of behaviour "as a matter of course".
Fleming, of Brown Street, Belfast, struck a nurse in the ribs and spat on a curtain partition in a ward after she arrived at casualty on 3 June. She also threw resuscitation equipment and a defibrillator to the floor, although neither device was damaged.
At Belfast Magistrates Court on Monday, she admitted charges of assault, criminal damage and attempted criminal damage.
Her defence lawyer said her life had "spiralled out of control" since losing custody of her child. He said his client was "completely off her head" and could not remember what happened.
Magee, of North Queen Street in the city, attended the RVH for treatment to his ear on 19 May.
Prosecutors said he appeared drunk and started shouting abuse at staff. Security staff were called and one nurse was said to be afraid of Magee.
He also claimed he was "going to sue the hospital and everyone in it", the court was told. He was convicted of common assault and disorderly behaviour.
Magee's defence lawyer said he was dealing with bereavement following the deaths of "two key people in his life". However, the judge said hospital workers faced unfair and inappropriate disrespect "far too often".
She also ordered that Magee serve an extra month behind bars for a separate breach of a probation order.


Milk from Tasmanian devils could offer up a useful weapon against antibiotic-resistant superbugs, according to Australian researchers.

The marsupial's milk contains important peptides that appear to be able to kill hard-to-treat infections, including MRSA, say the Sydney University team.
Experts believe devils evolved this cocktail to help their young grow stronger.
The scientists are looking to make new treatments that mimic the peptides.
They have scanned the devil's genetic code to find and recreate the infection-fighting compounds, called cathelicidins.
PhD student Emma Peel, who worked on the research which is published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, said they had found six important peptides.
These appear to be similar to peptides in the milk of other marsupials, which means these animals are worth studying too.
"Tammar wallabies have eight of these peptides and opossums have 12," she said, adding that studies into koala's milk had now started.
Experts believe marsupials are good to study because their babies have to thrive in a relatively dirty environment.
Tasmanian devil mothers give birth after only a few weeks of pregnancy. The tiny offspring then spend the next four months maturing in their mother's pouch.
The Sydney team recreated the six devil peptides that they found and tested them on 25 types of bacteria and six types of fungi.
One of the synthetic peptides - Saha-CATH5 - appeared to be particularly effective at killing the superbug methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus  or MRSA.
MRSA
Many people carry MRSA on their skin and inside the nose and throat.
Most of the time, the infection is harmless.
But if it enters the body through an open wound for example, it may cause problems, which is why people staying in hospital are at a higher risk.
MRSA is treatable, but only with a combination of antibiotics that can get round the resistance problem.
It also appeared to kill another resistant bug, called Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus, as well as fungi, called Candida, which are commonly involved in skin infections.
Experts agree that we urgently need new drugs to fight treatment-resistant infections.
A recent review warned that by 2050, superbugs could kill one person every three seconds across the world unless urgent action was taken.
Dr Richard Stabler, Associate Professor in Molecular Bacteriology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: "We need to do this hunting in unusual places for new antibiotics. People are beginning to explore and find new molecules."


Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer will be awarded The Writer's Guild of Great Britain Award at The British Comedy Awards later.

Mortimer said: "I'm really proud that Jim and I have always written our own guff. It's great to have that recognised."
Cuba Gooding Jr, Louis Smith and Joan Collins will be handing out awards.
It will also be revealed who has won the outstanding achievement award, voted for by fans.
Alan Carr, Sarah Millican, Lee Mack, Graham Norton, Jack Whitehall and David Mitchell have all been nominated.
Comedy pair Reeves and Mortimer have written and starred in several programmes together on TV since 1990, including The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer and quiz show Shooting Stars, which aired intermittently between 1993 and 2011.
Reeves said on hearing the news: "I am most cock-a-hoop over being awarded this most prestigious of trophies."
The ceremony will be broadcast on Channel 4 from 21:00 GMT.


Italy produced a passionate and tactically superior display to end Spain's quest for a third consecutive European Championship title and secure a mouth-watering quarter-final tie against world champions Germany.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Using wing-backs Mattia de Sciglio and Alessandro Florenzi to brilliant effect, they were the more potent attacking team until they withdrew in defence of their lead in the final stages.
Giorgio Chiellini scored the game's opening goal, bundling home from close range after David de Gea had parried an Eder free-kick in greasy conditions in the first half.
And Southampton striker Graziano Pelle sealed victory in injury time, volleying home from eight yards after an attempted clearance from substitute Matteo Darmian's cross had looped up invitingly as Italy hit a tiring team on the break.
The scoreline could have been a lot worse for Spain were in not for a series of outstanding saves by Manchester United keeper De Gea. He made three in the first 45 minutes before smothering an effort from Eder in the second half after he had been put clean through by a sublime flick from Pelle.
Italy played with an intensity and fierce determination that hinted at their ambition to avenge their 4-0 defeat in the 2012 final.
It was only in the latter stages that they were subjected to any threatening, sustained pressure - but Sergio Ramos headed wide and Gianluigi Buffon saved long-range efforts from Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique.
And with full-time looming, Buffon made a brilliant dive to his right to save a close-range effort from Pique before Italy broke clear to score their decisive second.
Spanish newspaper Marca ran the headline 'The End' after Spain were eliminated from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after just two matches.
If it was not true then it certainly looks it now after La Roja's run as European champions was ended by a team that swarmed all over them and seemed to have a hunger and desire no longer present in their opponents.
Spain boss Vicente del Bosque is out of contract and the side he has so memorably coached since taking over from Luis Aragones after the 2008 European Championship seems in need of fresh impetus.
The fact that they brought on a 35-year-old striker with just one previous international goal in Aritz Aduriz at the break perhaps hints that they are a team that needs a new direction.
Former Spain international Xavi had said in the build-up that this would be a "troublesome match" - and he was correct.
Spain looked like a boxer with too many rounds in the legs and only the imperious Iniesta offered any sense of attacking drive and craft.
Sergio Busquets failed to exert much influence on the tie and David Silva was another peripheral figure on a night when Italy seldom allowed their opponents any time on the ball.
Indeed, if it were not for the brilliance of De Gea the tie would surely have been over by the break. He made three sensational saves - a Pelle header, a brilliant and acrobatic over-head kick from Emanuele Giaccherini that he tipped on to the post and a one-handed effort at full stretch to thwart the same player after he drifted inside from the left.
Chiellini - part of an all-Juventus back three with Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli - said before the match that it would be settled by the small details and his side played like a team that left nothing to chance.
From the intensity with which they sang the national anthem to the way in which they took the match to Spain as the heavens opened at the start, they played with an incomparable determination.
And all the while coach Antonio Conte prowled his touchline. He must issue more than a thousand positional instructions during a match and Chelsea fans can look forward to an electrifying presence in the dugout next season.
The speed with which Italy - playing 3-5-2 - transitioned from defence to attack and made the most of wide areas was something their opponents could not contend with.
Spain could not pass their way through a superbly organised Italian side and did not have the speed to get around the edges.
When Pelle scored the decisive second goal with seconds remaining Conte leapt on to his team's dugout.
He might have come into this tournament talking down his team's chances - and said before the match on Monday that Spain were "big favourites" - but he exhibits the body language and drive of a man who believes his side can go a long way.
Italy goalscorer Giorgio Chiellini:  "We deserved this win. We could have killed the game off earlier.
"After years of Spain dominating, we have been able to get some revenge. This is just the beginning, we will enjoy this victory but there is still a long way to go until the end. The best is to come."
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said: "They were probably better. They don't play great football but they are strong in the air, very physical and they were dangerous.
"We came out in the second half with a chance and the players tried to do the best they could. We tried everything but we couldn't score."
Spain go home after suffering their first knockout defeat at a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup, when they undone by Zinedine Zidane's France in Hannover.
Italy can look forward to a quarter-final tie against Germany in Bordeaux on Saturday. They have never lost to the Germans at a major finals - but they will have to do without the suspended Thiago Motta.
Match ends, Italy 2, Spain 0.
Second Half ends, Italy 2, Spain 0.
David Silva (Spain) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by David Silva (Spain).
Giorgio Chiellini (Italy) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal!  Italy 2, Spain 0. Graziano Pellè (Italy) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal.
Corner,  Spain. Conceded by Mattia De Sciglio.
Attempt saved. Gerard Piqué (Spain) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Jordi Alba (Spain) is shown the yellow card.
Sergio Busquets (Spain) is shown the yellow card.
Thiago Motta (Italy) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Lucas Vázquez (Spain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Thiago Motta (Italy).
Foul by Cesc Fàbregas (Spain).
Matteo Darmian (Italy) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Cesc Fàbregas (Spain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Emanuele Giaccherini (Italy).
Attempt missed. Pedro (Spain) left footed shot from outside the box is too high following a corner.
Corner,  Spain. Conceded by Andrea Barzagli.
Andrés Iniesta (Spain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Marco Parolo (Italy).
Attempt saved. Lorenzo Insigne (Italy) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Leonardo Bonucci.
Substitution, Italy. Matteo Darmian replaces Alessandro Florenzi.
Substitution, Italy. Lorenzo Insigne replaces Éder.
Substitution, Spain. Pedro replaces Aduriz because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Sergio Ramos (Spain) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez with a cross following a corner.
Corner,  Spain. Conceded by Mattia De Sciglio.
Attempt saved. Gerard Piqué (Spain) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Corner,  Spain. Conceded by Gianluigi Buffon.
Attempt saved. Andrés Iniesta (Spain) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez with a cross.
Offside, Spain. Aduriz tries a through ball, but Lucas Vázquez is caught offside.
Lucas Vázquez (Spain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Alessandro Florenzi (Italy).
Foul by Cesc Fàbregas (Spain).
Graziano Pellè (Italy) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Sergio Ramos (Spain) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Cesc Fàbregas with a cross following a corner.
Corner,  Spain. Conceded by Mattia De Sciglio.
Substitution, Spain. Lucas Vázquez replaces Álvaro Morata.
Attempt missed. Aduriz (Spain) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Cesc Fàbregas.
Gerard Piqué (Spain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.


The father of a toddler who was shot in the head with an airgun says he has been warned by doctors his son could be in hospital for months or even years.

Eighteen-month-old Harry Studley, who was shot on 1 July, is being treated at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.
His father Edward Studley said there were positive signs, however, and that Harry was "recovering really well".
He said: "It's going to be a long road to recovery but he's getting there, back to the little boy he was before."
Mr Studley and Harry's mother Amy Allen said they wanted to thank the hospital and air ambulance teams who helped their son.
Miss Allen said: "It's been a hard and emotional time for the family and everyone that's been supporting us."
Jordan Walters, 24, of Bishport Avenue, has admitted causing grievous bodily harm in connection with the shooting in a high-rise block of flats in Hartcliffe, Bristol.
His 23-year-old partner, Emma Horseman, has been charged with aiding or abetting him to inflict GBH and is next due to appear in court in September.