Animal protection groups say they have successfully suspended the recording of a TV series called "Dolphins with the Stars" in Portugal.

According to the Born Free Foundation, the show involves celebrities training captive dolphins to perform routines and tricks for live audiences.
Campaigners argued that the show was exploitative, and also contravened zoo regulations.
The broadcaster and the zoo said it had educational and scientific value.
A slick trailer for the series states that ten celebrities each "team up" with a dolphin and the teams "live together" for a month. Trainers and choreographers work with each pair to create a show that is eventually judged by a live audience.
"Dolphins with the Stars" has already been broadcast in Lithuania and it is thought that the rights have been bought in Spain and Italy and optioned across Europe.
The Portuguese version was being filmed at Zoomarine in Guia, in the Algarve, and was due to be broadcast on 20th June by SIC, a national television network.
Daniel Turner, spokesperson for the Born Free Foundation (BFF) said: "We are delighted to hear the news. We weren't able to stop it in Lithuania, but the Portuguese were much more receptive. They have very good legislation for zoos that prevents the over-exploitation of animals."
The BFF and the Dolphinaria-Free Europe Coalition, which is made up of 19 NGOs from 11 countries, sent letters to the Portuguese government claiming: "The exploitative practices of the TV show contradicted the zoo's legal requirements that dictate a commitment to species conservation, meaningful public education and species-specific animal welfare.  It was clear that the use of Zoomarine's bottlenose dolphins would be in breach of those requirements."
The filming of the show was underway, although it is thought that the celebrities had not yet been introduced to the dolphins.
Announcing the official suspension of the programme, SIC and Zoomarine said they had done so on the advice of government regulatory bodies - the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) and the National Authority for Animal Health (DGAV).
Expressing disappointment with the decision, a press release stated that they had gone to great lengths to strengthen the educational and scientific elements of the show. The aim had been to "increase understanding of this magnificent marine species" and thus promote marine conservation. Ensuring the health of the dolphins had been of paramount importance.
According to campaigners, more than 300 whales and dolphins are kept in zoos and theme parks in 15 European countries.
For a long time there has been a debate about the ethics and effect of confinement on cetaceans - the family of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises - especially as more is discovered about their intellectual and cognitive abilities. They are seen as among the more intelligent species on earth. They have complex social networks, recognise themselves in mirrors and have been shown to keep track of more than 100 words.
Mr Turner said: "Whales and dolphins are hugely intelligent and social species, which when deprived of space and environmental complexity, develop abnormal behaviours such as stereotypic behaviour (repetitive behaviour without any reason), heightened aggression and in some cases, early mortality."
The 2013 documentary Blackfish explored the impact on orcas of living in tanks at SeaWorld. The resort saw a steep decline in visitor numbers after it was broadcast.
However, SeaWorld and similar theme parks strongly refute any claims that their conditions inflict harm on their captive aquatic animals. They maintain that such positions are not scientific, but are the views of animal rights activists - and that tanks are specially designed to mimic the animals' watery world as accurately as possible.
The majority of dolphins are captive born. European law prevents the capture of wild cetaceans from EU waters for commercial purposes - for example, their use in dolphinaria. But according to the Born Free Foundation there are "few restrictions to importing wild-caught animals from outside the EU".


The Nasdaq Composite ended at a record high on Thursday, boosted by results-related gains in Comcast, PayPal and Intuit.

Amazon and Alphabet jumped more than 4% each after the bell, following stellar earnings.
The S&P 500 and the Dow were little changed.
Comcast rose 2.1% to $39.59 after touching a record high of $40.62 as strong subscriber growth brought a forecast-beating profit.
The Nasdaq climbed 23.71 points to 6,048.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 6.24 points to 20,981.33, while the wider S&P 500 index edged up 1.32 points to 2,388.77.
Much of the stock movement came in response to the quarterly earnings that a slew of companies are sharing with investors this week.
American Airlines shares plummeted 5.2% after its release on Thursday, which included a 2% revenue increase - and the news it would provide raises to pilots and flight attendants.
Rival carriers also came under pressure, with Delta down 1.4% and United Continental down about 1%.
United is trying to move past bad publicity over its removal of a passenger from a flight, a case the company said it settled on Thursday.
Under Armour shares soared 9.3%, despite the sportswear maker reporting its first quarterly net loss since the company listed on the market in 2005.
It reported a net loss of $2.3m for the three months to March after a sharp fall in profit at its North American operations. However, the shares jumped as the loss was not as bad as feared.


A memorial service for former Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley will be held in Belfast next month.

Mr Paisley, founder of the Democratic Unionist Party, died on 12 September.
His funeral was strictly private, limited to immediate family members. However, the Paisleys let it be known they planned a bigger memorial service.
They have now confirmed it will take place at the Ulster Hall on Sunday 19 October.  The ceremony will be broadcast live by BBC Northern Ireland.
Due to the number of people wishing to attend, the service will be by invitation only.
In a brief statement, Baroness Eileen Paisley thanked the press for respecting the family's desire for privacy during what she described as the "very sacred days" after  her husband's death.
Mr Paisley was one of the best-known and longest-serving figures in British politics.
He was a preacher who founded his own church and later his own political party.
The hardline unionist leader was famous for his opposition to Irish republicanism and any involvement of the Republic of Ireland in Northern Ireland's affairs.
Mr Paisley was both loved and loathed for his outspoken views on politics and religion.
In 2007, after decades of opposing power-sharing agreements, he entered government with his former enemies, Sinn FÃ©in.
Mr Paisley stepped down from politics the following year and delivered his last church sermon in 2011.
He died a fortnight ago at the age of 88 after a long illness.
He was buried in County Down, following the private funeral service at his family home in east Belfast.
Ian Paisley's memorial service will be broadcast live on BBC Northern Ireland on Sunday 19 October from 15:00 BST.


Former managers at a peanut company have been charged in the US state of Georgia over a salmonella outbreak that caused nine deaths in 2008 and 2009.

Prosecutors say managers at Peanut Corporation of America shipped peanuts and products they knew were tainted.
More than 575 people in more than 40 states were sickened in the outbreak, including hundreds of children.
A lawyer for former owner Stewart Parnell said inspectors had been aware of the company's testing practices.
The charges carry maximum penalties of 20 years in prison, prosecutors say.
Mr Parnell, his brother, former Vice-President Michael Parnell, as well as former plant managers Samuel Lightsey and Daniel Kilgore, have been charged with fraud, selling "adulterated and misbranded food", and conspiracy.
In addition, former plant worker Mary Wilkerson was charged with obstruction of justice.
Kilgore has already pleaded guilty in the case.
Prosecutors say the Parnells, Mr Lightsey and Kilgore conspired to manufacture and sell peanuts and peanut products that lab tests had shown were tainted with salmonella.
They created fake certificates saying the foods were safe, when in fact they had either not been tested or had been found to have been contaminated, prosecutors said. Stewart Parnell, Mr Lightsey and Ms Wilkerson lied to visiting government inspectors, they said.
"When those responsible for producing or supplying our food lie and cut corners, as alleged in the indictment, they put all of us at risk," said Stuart Delery, head of the justice department's civil division.
"The Department of Justice will not hesitate to pursue any person whose criminal conduct risks the safety of Americans who have done nothing more than eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
After federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment on Thursday, lawyers representing Stewart Parnell promised "a vigorous defence".
"As the facts in this case are revealed, it will become apparent that the FDA was in regular contact with [Peanut Corporation of America] about its food handling policy and was well aware of its salmonella testing protocols," the law firm said in a statement.
After the outbreak, the US Food and Drug Administration found widespread contamination at the company's plant in Blakely, Georgia, after identifying it as a possible source of the tainted peanuts and peanut products.
The plant roasted raw peanuts to make granulated peanuts, peanut butter and peanut paste. The products were sold across the US.
The company went bankrupt after a recall of its products.
In 2010, a judge approved a $12m (??7.7m) settlement to compensate more than 100 salmonella victims.


The police and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are investigating after the death of a man who was injured at a plastics engineering factory.

The 52-year-old was injured at Nylacast Engineering Plastic Solutions in Leicester, on Friday.
He was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham where he died on Saturday morning.
The company said it was "deeply saddened" and "devastated" by the "tragedy".
A spokesperson for the firm said: "Our most heartfelt sorrow, thoughts and wishes are with the family and friends of our colleague involved.
"We are working closely with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to investigate and understand the incident along with co-operating fully with the necessary authorities.
"As a company, Nylacast are devastated, we pride ourselves on our excellent safety record and this is the first time anything like this has happened in our 49-year history."


A footballer who survived a heart attack during a game is urging more clubs to get defibrillators after a young player collapsed and died.

Lee Orton, who runs charity Goals 4 Hearts, spoke out after defender Daniel Wilkinson's death, on Monday.
Wilkinson, 24, who played for Shaw Lane AFC, collapsed during a cup game at Brighouse Town FC's stadium.
Mr Orton, 33, said many smaller clubs are still without defibrillators because they can cost up to Â£1,000.
The former Brighouse player, who survived a heart attack while playing with Aimbry in the Huddersfield District League in 2013, supplied the defibrillator in use at the club.
Media reports indicated staff at the St Giles Road ground used the equipment on Wilkinson, but he was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.
Mr Orton said despite the tragic outcome, defibrillators are very important.
"Without one, a person's chances of survival decreases by 15% each minute," he said.
"It can make all the difference."
The charity raises awareness of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and ensures the correct equipment is available in all public places.
Earlier, players and supporters from both clubs laid flowers on the pitch in tribute to Wilkinson, who had a suspected heart attack.
As a mark of respect, Brighouse has announced Saturday's home fixture against Colne FC has been postponed.
Wilkinson started his career at Hull City, before loan moves to Harrogate Town and North Ferriby United.
He later played for Loughborough University, Scarborough Athletic and Goole, joining Shaw Lane from Rushall Olympic in the summer.
"The club would like to thank everyone for their heartfelt messages," said Shaw Lane chairman Craig Wood in a statement.
The Evo-Stik Northern Premier League has asked fans, players and officials to observe a minute's silence at fixtures this week to mark Wilkinson's death.


A British passenger has died and nine others have been injured in a bus crash on a P&O Cruises holiday.

They were on a shore excursion on the Caribbean island of Dominica on Wednesday when their tour bus was involved in a collision.
The P&O ship Azura sailed from Southampton on 28 October with more than 3,000 passengers on board.
P&O has confirmed that all those injured are British, and have been treated at a local hospital.
In a statement, the firm said: "P&O Cruises regrets to confirm that a bus operated by a shore excursion provider was involved in a collision in Dominica on Wednesday lunchtime.
"The bus was carrying 12 passengers, including 10 guests from Azura. The cause of the accident is not yet known."
The company said the majority of those injured had been discharged from hospital.
Senior vice-president Paul Ludlow said: "Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone touched by this tragic event.
"Our employees and crew are working to do everything we can to extend support and assistance to those affected and their loved ones."
The Foreign Office confirmed the deceased person and nine injured bus passengers were all British nationals.
It said: "Our staff are providing support and we will remain in close contact with P&O Cruises and the local authorities."


Whatever happened to all the talk of international co-operation to tackle climate change that we heard during the climate conference in Paris just a few months ago?

That is what many environmentalists are asking after the United States delivered a damaging blow to India's ambitious solar power programme this week.
In response to a US complaint, a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has ruled that India's National Solar Mission breaches trade rules.
It judged that India's policies on buying locally made solar power equipment discriminates against imports.
"The ink is barely dry on the UN Paris Climate Agreement, but clearly trade still trumps real action on climate change," Sam Cossar-Gilbert of Friends of the Earth International said in a statement.
But is the decision really as damaging as many commentators seem to think?
Let's start at the beginning.
One of the biggest achievements at the Paris climate change conference was drawing India into the architecture of international climate agreements.
It refused to commit to a ceiling on carbon dioxide emissions but did promise big increases in the carbon efficiency of the economy - the amount of carbon emitted per unit of GDP.
A key part of that commitment was the promise of huge investment in renewable technologies, including a vast increase in solar power.
India said it would add 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022.
That's more than the current solar capacity of the world's top five solar-producing countries combined.
And - you guessed it - the National Solar Mission was the centrepiece of the whole shebang.
But while the US was carefully reeling India into the climate talks it had simultaneously lodged a complaint with the WTO, arguing that India's solar programme created unfair barriers to the import of US-made solar panels.
It is certainly true that India's plans include a "buy local" policy.
The Solar Mission is explicitly designed to make India one of the biggest players in the rapidly growing international solar industry.
Indeed, developing solar is a key thrust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's signature "Make in India" policy.
And here's where the interesting economic arguments come in.
Because the presumption in most of the commentaries I've read on this is that buying local content is necessarily a good thing.
Take a look at this article in the online environmental magazine Grist, or this piece in the Huffington Post, which maintains: "The ruling shows that decades-old, over-reaching trade rules are out of sync with the global challenge to 100% clean energy."
Lots of economists would say that that is muddle-headed.
Think about what the "buy local" rules are really about.
They are there to shield local capitalists - Indian-based solar panel companies - from competition from abroad.
That means one of two things.
Secure behind the protective barrier, they get to pocket extra profits.
Alternatively they are able to run less efficient businesses.
Either way the people who buy the panels lose out because they end up paying more.
The case is made very well in this Forbes article, which argues that the WTO rules are there to right an inherent imbalance between producers and consumers.
The problem is that local businesses tend to feel very strongly indeed about creating that comfortable competition-free space, so they lobby government hard for it.
Their customers aren't so motivated to make a fuss so the manufacturers tend to win out.
That's where the WTO agreements come in, tilting the trade disputes like this in favour of consumers.
That is why - runs the argument - the WTO ruling against India will actually have huge environmental benefits.
The WTO is ensuring that India's solar ambitions are achieved in the most efficient way possible because the Indian businesses that want to generate solar power get to buy the cheapest solar panels.
That is certainly what the American solar industry says.
"This decision helps us bring clean energy to the people of India, as that nation's demand for electricity rapidly grows," Dan Whitten of the Solar Energy Industries Association told PV-Tech magazine.
India, of course, disagrees.
It argues that developing an indigenous solar industry will in time boost international competition and therefore reduce the price of solar panels for everyone.
And no doubt India will be tempted to point to the hypocrisy in US trade policy.
While the US argues for unfettered free markets in international forums like the WTO, it doesn't practice what it preaches at home.
Half of all US states have subsidies for renewables.
Perhaps India should file a counter-complaint with the WTO against the US.


A new basketball arena built on a former Leicester gas works has opened to a sold-out crowd.

The Leicester Riders faced the Surrey Scorchers at the Leicester Community Sports Arena in the BBL Trophy quarter-final on Saturday evening.
All 2,400 seats in the Riders' new £4.8m home sold out inside six days.
The Riders won the game 77-60 to advance to the semi-finals of the BBL Trophy, led by a 14-point game from forward Drew Sullivan.
Managing director Russell Levenston called the club's new arena "a game changer".
"We always knew there would be a good response, but we sold 2,400 tickets in six days and we probably could have sold another 1,000 tickets," he said.
"One of the things that British basketball hasn't had for many years is access to facilities - and clubs having their own home.
"Now we have somewhere we can call home and that is going to be the game changer for us."
The arena will also be home to the Leicester Cobras Wheelchair Basketball Team and will be used by Leicester College as part of its teaching and learning sports programme.
Leicester Riders, founded in 1967, is the oldest professional club in British basketball.
It is estimated the 2,400-seat venue will allow the Riders to treble their income.
The team spent 16 years looking to find a new home after Granby Halls in Leicester was demolished.


Hearts have signed Esmael Goncalves from Anorthosis Famagusta for £170,000 as they also added Greeks Alexandros Tziolis and Anastasios Avlonitis.

The 25-year-old Portuguese striker, who had a loan spell with St Mirren in 2013, has signed until 2020.
Greece midfielder Alexandros Tziolis and centre-half Anastasios Avlonitis have contracts until the summer.
Tziolis, 31, had been freed by PAOK Salonica, while Avlonitis, 27, left Olympiakos in September.
Hearts hope to have all three players available to face Rangers on Wednesday should they receive international clearance.
The Scottish Premiership club have now added nine players during the January transfer window as new head coach Ian Cathro reshapes his squad.
Cathro knows Goncalves from his time as assistant manager at Rio Ave, while assistant Austin MacPhee worked with the striker during that loan spell in Paisley from the Portuguese club.
Goncalves, also known as Isma, scored eight goals in 16 appearances for the Buddies and helped them to a League Cup triumph over Hearts at Hampden.
He had further loans to APOEL Nicosia, Veria and Anorthosis before a short spell in Saudi Arabia with Ettifaq.
Goncalves signed a permanent deal with Anorthosis last year and went on to score 10 goals in 21 games this season for the side sitting ninth in the Cypriot First Division.
Tziolis, a deep-lying playmaker, joined PAOK from Monaco in 2013 and made 111 appearances for the Thessaloniki-based club.
He helped them finish second in their domestic league last season but has not played since coming on as a substitute in a Champions League qualifier - his only appearance this season for the side sitting fifth in the table.
Tziolis started his career with Panionios before moving on to Panathinaikos.
He moved to Siena in Italy and Racing Santander in Spain and during his career has had loan spells with Werder Bremen, APOEL and Kayserispor.
Hearts' deal for Avlonitis was completed the day after 20-year-old defender John Souttar picked up a serious injury against Celtic.
Avlonitis, a former Greece Under-21 international, made 25 appearances for Greek Superleague leaders and reigning champions Olympiakos after joining from Panionios in 2014.
He spent part of last season on loan to Sturm Graz in Austria but failed to make an appearance for his parent club this season before his contract was terminated.


New census figures in Japan show the population has shrunk by nearly one million in the past five years, in the first decline registered since 1920.

As of October last year the country has 127.1 million people, 0.7% fewer than in the last census.
Demographers have long predicted a drop, citing Japan's falling birth rate and a lack of immigration.
The rapidly ageing population has contributed to a stagnating economy and worries of increasing health costs.
Japan now has 947,000 fewer people than when the last census was conducted in 2010, figures released by the internal affairs ministry show.
Only eight prefectures, including the capital Tokyo, saw a population increase, national broadcaster NHK. reported.
The remaining 39 all saw declines, including Fukushima which saw the largest drop of 115,000 people.
Fukushima, site of the doomed nuclear power station, was hit especially badly by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Japan has seen population growth for much of the past century, but this has been slowing rapidly in recent decades. The last census showed the population had completely stopped growing.
Friday's numbers mark the first time a decline has been recorded in the census, which has been taken every five years since 1920.
Researchers are predicting a sharp drop-off in the working population and a simultaneous rise in the number of elderly in coming decades.
According to government projections, by 2060 about 40% of its citizens will be sixty-five or older, and the general population will be one-third smaller than it is now.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made it a priority to boost the birthrate from 1.4 children to 1.8 children per woman, including improving childcare and tax incentives. Advanced economies usually require a rate of at least 2.1 for a stable population.


Cardiff Blues got their Pro12 season off to a winning start with a 34-16 bonus-point victory over Edinburgh at Cardiff Arms Park.

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Debutant fly-half Steve Shingler crossed for a fine early try in his 15-point haul for Cardiff Blues.
Other tries came from ex-Ulster forward Nick Williams, Tomos Williams and a penalty try, with Gareth Anscombe converting two of the scores.
Solomoni Rasolea scored Edinburgh's try while Duncan Weir kicked 11 points.
Ellis Jenkins led the Blues out with New Zealander Nick Williams and the ex-Scarlets trio of Shingler, Kirby Myhill and George Earle starting, while Wales utility back Matthew Morgan was a 58th minute replacement.
Edinburgh fielded a new midfield trio of Glasgow stalwart Weir, Rasolea and Sasa Tofilau.
It was the new boys who made plenty of impact as Shingler crossed for the first try after eight minutes, after his own break put Blues on the attack.
He also landed a penalty and two first-half conversions, with the home side awarded a penalty try in the 34th minute when Jamie Ritchie was yellow-carded for dragging down a rolling maul.
But Australian Rasolea also made a quick impression, crashing through for a short-range score after 15 minutes, Weir converting and booting two penalties from a series of long-range attempts, as Blues led 17-13 at the break.
Further penalties from Shingler and Weir were the only third-quarter scores, before man-of-the-match Nick Williams wrestled his way over for a typical close-range score 15 minutes from time, converted by Anscombe.
As the rain made conditions even more slippery, scrum-half Tomos Williams sniped over to earn the bonus point after 71 minutes.
Cardiff Blues lost Kirby Myhill with a knee injury while Nasi Manu (ribs) and Nathan Fowles (arm) were Edinburgh casualties.
Cardiff Blues head coach Danny Wilson told BBC Wales Sport:
"It's a good start, a five-point win in the first home game of the season in difficult conditions that I thought would have suited them more than us, but I was pleased with the way we dealt with their set-piece.
"I thought Nick Williams was superb and showed exactly why we signed him, his physicality is on another level and he's got some skills as well, on the whole his performance was top-drawer."
Edinburgh head coach Alan Solomons:
"They dominated territory and possession, and you can't play when you're deep in your half and don't have the ball.
"Maybe in the first half we had opportunities to counter-attack and we didn't, we kicked it away and they dominated the aerial battle.
"In fairness our pack will pick up, but they need game-time under their belt, but also give credit to Cardiff."
Cardiff Blues: Dan Fish; Blaine Scully, Cory Allen, Rey Lee-Lo, Tom James; Steve Shingler, Tomos Williams; Rhys Gill, Kirby Myhill, Taufa'ao Filise, George Earle, Macauley Cook, Josh Navidi, Ellis Jenkins (capt), Nick Williams.
Replacements: Kristian Dacey, Gethin Jenkins, Scott Andrews, James Down, Cam Dolan, Lewis Jones, Gareth Anscombe, Matthew Morgan
Edinburgh: Glenn Bryce; Rory Scholes, Sasa Tofilau, Solomoni Rasolea, Tom Brown; Duncan Weir, Nathan Fowles; Rory Sutherland, Ross Ford, WP Nel, Fraser McKenzie, Grant Gilchrist (capt), Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Nasi Manu
Replacements: Stuart McInally, Jack Cosgrove, Simon Berghan, Ben Toolis, Magnus Bradbury, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Blair Kinghorn, Chris Dean
Referee: John Lacey (IRFU)
Assistant referees: Stuart Gaffikin (IRFU), Rhys Thomas (WRU)
Citing commissioner: Jeff Mark (WRU)
TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)
Attendance 4,807


There was no room for Sir Bobby Charlton or Eric Cantona - and Ian Rush and Kevin Keegan did not make the cut either.

More than 150,000 BBC Sport users picked their greatest combined post-war Liverpool-Manchester United XI, and there were obviously some agonising decisions.
Seven United players made the team and, as you would expect, there is quality all over the pitch - plus experience of more than 50 English league titles.
Former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel was selected in 75% of teams, making him the most popular player, with ex-Red Devils winger Cristiano Ronaldo the most-picked outfield player, featuring in 67% of teams.
George Best, another Old Trafford great - who played for the club from 1963-1974, was the third most-popular pick, selected in a wide range of different positions.
Talismanic former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was fourth - the highest-ranked player from Anfield.
No current United or Liverpool players make the team, though three in the XI are still active - Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Gerrard (LA Galaxy) and former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez (Barcelona).
Suarez left Liverpool for Barcelona in 2014 after scoring 82 goals in 133 appearances, and he was the most popular choice for one of the two forward positions - appearing in 48% of the total selections.
Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish was the second most-popular forward - edging out United's mercurial Frenchman Cantona and Liverpool's great Welsh striker Ian Rush
Best was the only member of United's 'Holy Trinity' of Best, Denis Law and Charlton, who helped United to their first European Cup victory in 1968, to make the XI.
Ronaldo was one of the most-picked players the in front two, but he was also a very popular choice in midfield so takes his place there.
Wayne Rooney is one of four United players to score 200 or more goals for the club, but of the 54 on the shortlist he was only the 39th most selected - making 5% of the selected teams.
While users obviously had a very difficult time sorting out the midfield and attack, the defence seems to have been more clear-cut.
Alan Hansen, an ex-Liverpool central defender and former BBC pundit, was the most popular choice with 55%. He was part of a formidable defensive partnership with Mark Lawrenson - but there was no place for Lawro, who appeared in 18% of all selections.
The rest of the defence came from United - with Gary Neville (52% of choices) at right-back, Denis Irwin (47%) left-back and Rio Ferdinand (44%) claiming the other place in the centre of defence.
Ferdinand's nearest rival was former team-mate Nemanja Vidic, a five-time Premier League winner, who appeared in 35% of the teams.
It was a close race to make the final XI, with several big names having to settle for a place on the bench.
Cantona was the 12th-most selected player, appearing in 42% of teams, followed by Paul Scholes (39% of choices) and Vidic.
Jamie Carragher, who made 737 appearances for Liverpool, was in 15th place with 34%, ahead of Charlton with 32% and Jaap Stam with 29%.
The final spot on the bench went to David Beckham, who appeared in 28% of teams.
Trying to select a combined XI of both sets of players gave plenty of people a headache.
Do you think differently? Don't worry - pick your team now.
The impossible job? Probably. Use our shortlist and pick who you think would make the greatest combined post-war Liverpool-Manchester United XI.


Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura has been killed in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic.

Ventura, 25, helped the Royals win the World Series in 2015 and was renowned for his fastball, which he regularly threw at speeds in excess of 100mph.
"He was young and talented and always brought a smile to everyone," said Royals general manager Dayton Moore.
In a separate incident, former Major League player Andy Marte, 33, also died in a car crash in Dominican Republic.
Marte played for the Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians and the Arizona Diamondbacks during his Major League career, before spending the last two seasons in South Korea.


A huge leak of confidential documents has revealed some of the cash from one of Britain's most notorious crimes was laundered using a company set up by a Panamanian law firm.

Documents show Mossack Fonseca formed a company that was used to launder money from the 1983 Brink's Mat robbery.
The stolen bullion, worth Â£26m at 1983 gold prices, disappeared offshore.
Mossack Fonseca says it cannot comment on specific cases and it has never been charged with criminal wrong-doing.
Commenting "would be a breach of our policies and legal obligation to maintain client confidentiality", it said.
The revelations came as part of a leak of 11 million documents showing how Mossack Fonseca helped some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful people to launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax.
Panama Papers reaction - latest
Masked robbers raided the Brink's Mat warehouse near Heathrow in 1983 and escaped with three tonnes of gold.
Leaked documents show in 1985 Mossack Fonseca set up a company called Feberion for a property dealer called Gordon Parry in 1985.
An internal memo circulated the following year shows that Mossack Fonseca was warned that Parry was laundering money from the Brink's Mat robbery.
It was written by Jurgen Mossack - one of the firm's founders - following a meeting with an associate who was helping to run Feberion.
It says: "He informed me that the owner of this company apparently is involved in the management of money which represents proceeds from the famous theft from Brink's Mat in London.
"The company itself has not been used illegally, but it could be that the company invested money through bank accounts and properties that was illegitimately sourced.
"They want to resign as directors and suggest that we do the same."
Jurgen Mossack didn't immediately resign as a director, even though he knew that Feberion was being used to launder stolen cash.
Feberion was owned by two bearer shares, which meant that whoever held the share certificates had control of the company.
British detectives investigating the robbery had seized possession of the two shares, making it impossible for Parry or the company to transfer any funds.
But on 3 September 1987, Feberion issued 98 new shares and Parry regained control of the company.
Parry was finally caught in 1990. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1992 after being convicted of laundering money from the robbery.
Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), said the leaked documents covered the day-to-day business at Mossack Fonseca over the past 40 years.
"I think the leak will prove to be probably the biggest blow the offshore world has ever taken because of the extent of the documents," he said.
The documents show 12 current or former heads of state and 60 people linked to current or former world leaders in the data.
Revelations include:
In a statement, Mossack Fonseca said: "Your allegations that we provide structures supposedly designed to hide the identity of the real owners, are completely unsupported and false.
"We do not provide beneficiary services to deceive banks. It is difficult, not to say impossible, not to provide banks with the identity of final beneficiaries and the origin of funds."
Jennie Granger, a spokeswoman for the UK's tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), said the organisation had received "a great deal of information on offshore companies, including in Panama, from a wide range of sources, which is currently the subject of intensive investigation".
She said the ICIJ had been asked to share all its data with HMRC.


The landlord wrongly arrested over Joanna Yeates's murder has told the inquiry into media ethics that the media had "shamelessly vilified" him.

Christopher Jefferies' statement to the Leveson Inquiry told of a "frenzied campaign to blacken his character".
He said the tabloid press had decided he was guilty of the murder, which happened in Bristol in December 2010.
Some headlines over which Mr Jefferies successfully sued included "The Strange Mr Jefferies".
In other evidence on Monday, ex-Army intelligence officer Ian Hurst told the inquiry his emails had been illegally accessed by a private investigator working for the News of the World (NoW).
Earlier, Robert Jay QC read a statement by Mr Jefferies to the inquiry, which is being held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
"The national media shamelessly vilified me. The UK press set about what can only be described as a witch hunt," it said.
"It was clear that the tabloid press had decided that I was guilty of Miss Yeates's murder and seemed determined to persuade the public of my guilt.
"They embarked on a frenzied campaign to blacken my character by publishing a series of very serious allegations about me which were completely untrue.
"Allegations which were a mixture of smear, innuendo and complete fiction."
Former teacher Mr Jefferies described how his reputation was left in tatters after police wrongly arrested him over the murder of landscape architect Miss Yeates.
By Peter HuntBBC News
Christopher Jefferies is an innocent man. Christopher Jefferies was an innocent man when he was arrested after Joanna Yeates's murder. But that didn't stop headlines such as "Jo suspect is Peeping Tom" being published at the time.
What is striking about his evidence is how the damage is ongoing.  The former teacher successfully sued eight newspapers. The attorney general took action for contempt of court. And yet, Mr Jefferies believes what was said will have a lasting impact as some will judge him to be a "weird character" who is "best avoided".
Another witness touched on an issue which will come to the fore in the coming months. Ian Hurst, a former British Intelligence officer,  alleged that there was corruption at "the very highest level" of the Metropolitan Police. The relationship between the press and the police is on the Leveson agenda.
Dutch engineer Vincent Tabak was convicted of her murder last month.
Miss Yeates, 25, was strangled in her Clifton flat by Tabak, her 33-year-old neighbour, Bristol Crown Court heard.
Her body was found at the roadside on Christmas Day, eight days after she had been reported missing.
Mr Jefferies said he had been "besieged" by the press after his release and had stayed with friends as he had been "very strongly advised" not to go out.
"If it had been apparent where I was staying, those friends would have been besieged by reporters and photographers," he said.
He said he had been "effectively under house arrest" for a period as if he was a "recusant priest at the time of the Reformation going from safe house to safe house".
He also said it had been suggested there was some sort of sexual motive for the murder of Miss Yeates and that he was gay.
"That created a bit of a problem as far as that line goes," he explained.
"There was another suggestion that I was a bisexual. The press were trying to have it every possible way."
The inquiry heard about a Daily Mirror article headlined "Jo Suspect Is Peeping Tom" and another asking "Was Jo's body hidden next to her flat?".
Mr Jefferies said the coverage had been "as sensational, as exploitative, as titillating to appeal in every possible way to people's voyeuristic instincts".
Later, former Army intelligence officer Ian Hurst discussed a BBC Panorama programme in which he was shown emails he alleges were hacked from his computer on behalf of the News of the World.
He was told that the paper had employed a private detective, who in turn employed a "specialist hacker" who had worked with Mr Hurst in the intelligence services for three years.
Mr Hurst said his computer had been hacked by a "Trojan horse" - a programme in which harmful code is contained inside apparently harmless data and allows a third party access to email exchanges.
Documents seized in 2007 by the police show the security on his computer had been compromised, but the Metropolitan Police did not tell M Hurst until October 2011.
Mr Hurst said Mr X, who was secretly filmed by the former intelligence officer, told him he had been targeted because of his work in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, Lord Justice Leveson has summoned political blogger Paul Staines to appear before the inquiry.
Mr Staines, who runs the Order-Order political website under the name Guido Fawkes, supposedly published confidential evidence online.
It included a link to papers submitted to lawyers by former Downing Street communications chief Alastair Campbell. Mr Staines claims to have obtained the papers legally.
Mr Staines is due to give evidence to the inquiry later this week over the documents he published relating to Mr Campbell.
Prime Minister David Cameron set up the Leveson Inquiry in July after it emerged that the NoW had hacked murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's phone after she had disappeared. The paper was shut down within weeks.


The head of the European Union has rejected Greece's request for an emergency meeting aimed at ending an impasse over the country's bailout.

EU Council President Donald Tusk said the group's finance ministers needed to resume talks themselves within days.
Greece agreed to a third rescue package worth €86bn (£60bn; $94bn) last year and faces a looming debt payment.
However, it has been unable to unlock the next loan instalment after clashing with its creditors over more reforms.
The International Monetary Fund and other European partners are demanding that Greece implement further austerity measures.
They are looking to generate nearly €4bn in additional savings or contingency money in case Greece misses future budget targets.
But the left-wing government led by Alexis Tsipras has said it will not agree to any "additional actions" to what it had already signed up to last summer.
A special ministerial meeting was supposed to be held on Thursday, but Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who is in charge of the Greece negotiations, called it off.
There are worries that Greece may default on €3.5bn in debt payments due in July if an agreement is not reached soon.
Last summer, a crisis erupted after Athens defaulted on its debt payments and raised the spectre of an exit from the eurozone.
But Athens has faced stiff resistance from voters to the austerity measures, which include politically charged changes to its pension and tax system.
It is already looking to implement spending cuts that will amount to 3% of the country's gross domestic product or €5.4bn euros by 2018.
Greek shares slumped by more than 4% during the trading day on fears of renewed economic uncertainty in the country.


A 70-year-old US military veteran in Texas has been fired from the Home Depot hardware store where he worked, for confronting shoplifters.

Jim Tinney tells KTRK-TV that he was trying to do the right thing when he intervened as thieves stole valuables.
"In the Army, they train you to do things like that", he said, describing how he thrust an extension pole at the shoplifters' feet as they fled.
A Home Depot spokesman says his actions were "a very serious safety risk".
The incident happened about two weeks ago, when Mr Tinney says he saw three men flee the store as they carried expensive tools.
Despite his attempts, the men got away, and Mr Tinney was fired from his job after he acknowledged that he violated the company's policy which only permits trained security personnel to confront shoplifters.
"I think they could have written me up, reprimanded me. But terminate me? That's pretty strong," Mr Tinney told KTRK-TV.
"I'm 70 years old. I need to work. I needed that job. I enjoyed working with customers figuring out what they wanted to do. It's fun."
Home Depot spokesman Stephen Holmes said the policy is in place for safety reasons.
"We've had deaths and serious injury over the years, and no amount of merchandise is more important than the safety of our associates and customers," he said in a statement to local media.
"Last week, we had an associate bitten. We've had stabbings, another associate with serious brain damage, and it goes on from there.
"In fact, in just the past 24 hours we've had two shoplifters pull guns at two different stores at both ends of the country. So you can see, it's a very serious safety risk to everyone, even when it doesn't appear to be."


Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has admitted defeat for his governing BJP in a key regional election in the eastern state of Bihar.

An alliance of regional parties took 178 seats out of 243. The BJP won 58.
Mr Modi won a convincing victory in last year's national elections, but this poll was seen as a referendum on his economic programme.
Defeat is a major setback for the prime minister, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder, in Delhi.
However, a spokesman for the Hindu-led nationalist BJP rejected suggestions the result was a personal blow for Mr Modi, saying the party "managed a creditable performance".
The prime minister had been hoping a victory in Bihar would boost his party's strength in India's upper house of parliament, which is made up of representatives of state legislatures and where he lacks a majority.
With a population of 100 million, Bihar is one of India's largest states and one of the poorest.
The BJP's defeat in Bihar is the second consecutive setback for Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party since it swept to power in Delhi last year.
Earlier this year the BJP suffered a drubbing at the hands of an upstart anti-corruption party in Delhi. Now a "grand alliance" of powerful regional parties has handed out a defeat in what is one of India's most politically crucial states.
Despite what his defenders say, Sunday's defeat is another blow to the charismatic Mr Modi, who is arguably the party's biggest vote-getter and who attended 26 campaign rallies in Bihar ahead of the vote. The results make it clear that Mr Modi's vote-catching abilities are on the wane and voters are already holding him to the promises he made to them last year.
For India's bedraggled opposition, the Bihar victory is a major shot in the arm. They will now be emboldened to challenge Mr Modi by forging alliances and change the narrative of Indian politics.
Bihar results challenge Modi's BJP


A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after a man was killed by falling traffic lights.

The incident happened in High Street, Gorseinon, Swansea on Friday at about 16:15 GMT.
A 55-year-old man died when a BMW hit traffic lights and they fell on him.
He has been named as Gerald Macey, and was described as a "fun loving character" who dedicated his life to his children and grandson.
A 21-year-old  driver of a BMW was arrested and has since been released on police bail pending further enquiries.
Mr Macey's family said in a statement: "Gerald was a much loved and cherished husband, father, bampy, son, brother, brother-in-law and uncle.
"Nobody ever had a bad word to say about him. He was a fun-loving character, always busy and 'on the go'.
"Since losing his wife, Jackie, 12 years ago, Gerald dedicated his life to his children Melanie and Sean, and grandson."
Mr Macey, from Gorseinion, was retired having worked in the construction and coal-mining industries.


Bristol have been relegated to the Championship with two games left to play after a brave defeat by ruthless Premiership leaders Wasps.

Jason Woodward's try put them ahead but Josh Bassett, Tommy Taylor and Joe Simpson scored as Wasps went in ahead.
Christian Wade, Guy Thompson and Bassett went over for the visitors for a bonus point, which deflated Bristol.
The hosts rallied, Jack O'Connell and Nick Fenton-Wells touching down, but it could not stop them from going down.
Having finished top of the Championship in five seasons before finally winning promotion in the play-offs last year, Bristol will return to the second-tier at the first time of asking.
After Worcester's win over Bath on Saturday, Mark Tainton's Bristol needed two points from the game to prolong their relegation battle, but they lacked a clinical streak.
It leaves them 12 points adrift at the bottom of the table, with a maximum of 10 points on offer from their final two matches.
Wasps were far from at their best, on the back foot for much of the game, but have restored their five-point lead at the top and need one win from their last two to secure a home semi-final in the play-offs.
The Premiership's top try-scorer Wade, on his 100th appearance for Dai Young's side, did his England hopes no harm with his 16th score of the campaign.
Bristol were promoted to the top tier on 25 May after winning their two-legged play-off final, with the Premiership season starting just 100 days later.
Director of rugby Andy Robinson, a former England head coach, was sacked in November after his side lost their first 10 games of the campaign.
Tainton took interim charge and Bristol finally got their first league win against Worcester on Boxing Day, following it up with victory at Sale and a losing bonus point at Northampton, but it was a false dawn.
The scrapping of the Championship play-offs, meaning the team that finishes top will gain automatic promotion, may give Bristol more time to plan ahead next season if they are successful.
Connacht boss Pat Lam will have the task of bringing Bristol back into the Premiership, having signed a three-year deal in December to become head coach from June.
Tainton will remain at the helm for their final two matches at Saracens and at home to Newcastle, and remains optimistic about the future of the club.
"Obviously it's disappointing to get relegated, but we've put a plan in place whether we were going to stay in the Premiership or get relegated," he said.
"We have the infrastructure at Ashton Gate to be a Premiership team - we're not going to be next year, but hopefully the supporters will still watch us in that league.
"Bristol more than most know what a difficult league it (the Championship) is, but hopefully we can bounce back very quickly."
Bristol interim head coach Mark Tainton:
"It was a similar story to a lot of games - we've created an awful lot, we've been in the opposition 22 many times but we've just not executed and got across the line.
"We give Wasps an opportunity and they score tries, it's as simple as that - that's the difference in the level we need to get to.
"We were down and beaten in the second half but we played right until the very end of the game - I expect that from them in the next two games."
Wasps director of rugby Dai Young:
"Obviously there are still things to work on, especially our starts - I thought our first 10 minutes, again, we made far too many mistakes and gave ourselves a bit of a hill to climb.
"We just had enough to do it but we make it hard for us really - there's room to improve in every area, but I'm pretty pleased and felt we looked in control for most of the game.
"It's up to us to nail it (a top-two finish) ourselves - we're not relying on other people."
Bristol: Woodward; Edwards, Hurrell, Henson, Tovey; Searle, Mathewson; Bevington, Jones (capt), Cortes, Phillips, Sorenson, Jeffries, Fenton-Wells, Eadie.
Replacements: Crumpton, O'Connell, Ford-Robinson, Glynn, Robinson, Williams, Pisi, Amesbury.
Wasps: Le Roux; Wade, Daly, Beale, Bassett; Gopperth, Simpson; Mullan, Taylor, Swainston, Launchbury (capt), Symons, Haskell, Thompson, Hughes.
Replacements: Cruse, Bristow, Cooper-Woolley, Myall, Young, Robson, Cipriani, Leiua.
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.


Aerial performer Erendira Wallenda has just broken the world record for the highest suspension over Niagara Falls in the United States.

16 June 2017 Last updated at 09:18 BST
She dangled from a helicopter about one hundred metres above the waterfall to perform her tricks.
She dangled from her teeth, did the splits and even hung upside down.
She was attached to a rope harness to keep her safe but she didn't have to use it, phew!
Take a look.


The Co-operative Group has said increased investment means profits this year will be lower than in 2014.

This is despite the company reporting a pre-tax profit of Â£36m in the first half of 2015, compared with a loss of Â£9m a year earlier.
The group said the turnaround was due to "robust trading" in its food and funeral businesses.
These are the first results since radical changes to the business were brought in at the end of last year.
Following a review of the business by Lord Myners, the number of board members was cut drastically, while directors had to have qualifications suited to running the business. Members were also given one vote each.
The business recorded a deficit of Â£2.5bn in 2013 following massive losses at the Co-operative Bank. Following changes in the ownership structure of the bank, the Co-op Group now holds just a 20% stake in the bank.
"We've made a good start on the three year journey to rebuild the Co-operative Group," said chief executive Richard Pennycook of the half-year results.
"These early days are about fixing the basics - putting in place new leadership teams and providing the investment to deliver the strategies for our businesses. Our customers and members are beginning to see the difference.
The food business saw like-for-like sales at its main convenience stores increase by 3.3%, as well as 35 new store openings.
The funeral business saw volumes rise by almost 12%, "principally due to a high death rate".
Despite the improvement in the business seen in the first half of the year, the company warned that "we expect full-year profitability to reduce year on year, given the planned and increased levels of investment we are making in the second half of the year".
It also said that, again due to greater investment, it was unlikely to declare any dividends before 2018.


An A-Level student's homage to the John Lewis Christmas advert has gone viral - with many mistaking it for the company's latest festive offering.

7 November 2016 Last updated at 11:31 GMT
Nick Jablonka's coursework, titled John Lewis Christmas Advert 2016 - The Snowglobe, has attracted hundreds of thousands of views.
The 18-year-old, who studies in Bournemouth, said the clip got about 200 views when it was first uploaded in June, "but in the past week it went crazy".
The retailer said it was so impressed it was arranging for Mr Jablonka to spend some time with its advert team.


The owner of a building which collapsed in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Friday, killing at least 21 people, has been arrested, police have told the BBC.

Samuel Karanja Kamau would appear in court on Tuesday, police added.
Earlier, officials said he did not have permission to rent out 119 rooms in the six-storey building. Mr Kamau has not yet commented on the allegation.
More than 90 people are still feared trapped beneath the rubble, reports the BBC's Abdinoor Aden from the scene.
Rescue operations are continuing, he adds.
About 135 people have been freed so far from the collapsed building, local media reports.
The governor of Nairobi, Evans Kidero, said that officials who approved the construction of the building in the poor neighbourhood of Huruma would be sacked.
Three days of rainfall caused landslides and flooded roads in Nairobi.
More than 800 homes were affected by the flooding, Kenya's Red Cross said.
It criticised "chaotic scenes" as rescuers arrived after the Friday night collapse.
Nairobi's police chief has said rescue teams were delayed on their way to the scene by hours-long traffic jams caused by flooded roads.
Huruma is made up of narrow streets, and this made it more difficult for rescue workers to reach the scene, local media reports.


Councillors are being asked to pledge £100,000 to a public appeal to secure a major Viking hoard for the Kirkcudbright gallery project.

It has been acknowledged that inclusion of the treasure in the new facility would boost visitor numbers.
The items were discovered in Galloway last year by a metal detectorist.
The Treasure Trove Panel will decide where the artefacts end up but Dumfries and Galloway Council is being asked to back a bid to bring them to the region.
A report to the Kirkcudbright common good sub committee states that the acquisition of the hoard would be a considerable draw for visitors to the town and the new gallery, with benefits for the local economy.
However, finance is a major issue with the plans with the collection thought to be worth between £500,000 and £1m.
All accredited museums in Scotland can bid for ownership.
The local authority has been advised that £100,000 should be allocated from the common good fund to kick-start a public appeal.
If the bid to bring the Viking hoard to Kirkcudbright was to prove unsuccessful, the council's pledge would not be called upon.


A woman from South Australia has been reported after she was photographed flashing a Google Street View car.

Karen Davis is accused of disorderly behaviour and will appear at Port Pirie Magistrates Court at a later date.
In a statement, police said: "The woman's actions were the same as someone flashing their genitals and the expectation is that we take action.
"It isn't appropriate for anyone to expose themselves... Our community should be able to expect decency."
Davis was quoted in a local newspaper on Monday saying she looked at Google Maps "a lot" and wanted to feature on Street View.
"I got to tick something else off my bucket list. I met Sam Newman and now I am on Google Maps," she told the Adelaide Advertiser.
"There was no child harmed in the making, my children don't have to go to therapy because of it, I didn't give any old man a heart attack â€” that I'm aware of.
"I spoke to my 19-year old son before and he thinks it's funny as, my children don't have a problem with it at all.
"I'm going to try and go to court with a straight face and try not to laugh - I think it is a bit hilarious because it is so low scale in the criminal world."
Google has now pixelated the whole of Karen Davis' body in Street View.
The photos were taken two months ago.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Davis said people in her local community have been calling her a "bad mother" and "pure filth".
"They are narrow-minded people who are not happy with their own bodies," she said.
She also said that she has a friend in the UK and she thought it would brighten up his day if he saw the image online.
"If he looks on there he will smile," she said.
Davis says she plans to do a topless skydive for her 40th birthday next year.
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British number one Johanna Konta reached the last eight of the Sydney International with a 6-1 6-3 victory over Australian Daria Gavrilova.

The 25-year-old broke the world number 25 in the opening game and dropped only four points on serve in the first set.
The world number 10 wasted four match points on her own serve in the eighth game of the second set, but broke Gavrilova in the ninth to seal victory.
Konta will play Russian world number 26 Daria Kasatkina in the quarter-finals.
The 19-year-old beat world number one Angelique Kerber earlier. Third seed Dominika Cibulkova and fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova were also beaten on Tuesday.
Konta said: "It's such a strong tournament, such depth. I know going into every single match that it's going to be a tough one and I'm just going to have to, first and foremost, take care of things my end."


Three Premier League clubs have denied "false" doping allegations made by the Sunday Times.

The paper claims London-based private doctor Mark Bonar prescribed banned performance-enhancing drugs to over 150 British athletes including footballers.
Arsenal said they were "extremely disappointed" by the publication of the claims, "which are without foundation".
Chelsea said the claims were "false and entirely without foundation" while leaders Leicester also denied them.
Bonar himself broke his silence on the matter on Sunday evening, writing on Twitter that the newspaper's claims were "false and very misleading".
"I have never had a relationship with any premier football club or player," he added on his unverified account, @ZenGrifter.
Read more: Footballers 'doped by London doctor'
Chelsea added they have "never used the services of Dr Bonar and have no knowledge or record of any of our players having been treated by him or using his services".
Leicester denied the allegations and added: "We are extremely disappointed that The Sunday Times has published unsubstantiated allegations referring to players from clubs including Leicester City when, on its own admission, it has insufficient evidence to support the claims."
Championship side Birmingham City said: "The club have not used the services of Mark Bonar and has no knowledge or record of any of our players, past or present, doing so."
The Sunday Times says it has secretly filmed Bonar claiming he has prescribed drugs such as EPO, steroids and human growth hormone to elite sports professionals from the UK and abroad over the past six years, including:
The Sunday Times says it has no independent evidence Bonar treated the footballers or the other sportspeople.
Bonar told the Sunday Times he treated the athletes for medical reasons and not to enhance their performance. There is no suggestion the substances were illegal, but they are banned by sporting bodies.
Bonar had his professional services agreement with the Omniya Clinic terminated on Friday, after it emerged he does not have a licence to practise medicine in the UK.
The Football Association released a statement regarding the claims, saying: "These are very serious allegations. As such, The FA welcomes UK Anti-Doping's decision to immediately launch an independent review into the matters raised by the Sunday Times.
"The FA is fully committed to maintaining the integrity of English football and will work with Ukad and other relevant agencies in seeking to do so. The FA urges anyone with information that may be relevant to come forward as soon as possible."
The case is now the subject of a government investigation, following claims made by a whistleblower athlete who was banned for breaching anti-doping rules in 2014.
According to the newspaper, the sportsman - who wishes to remain anonymous - approached Ukad with evidence that alleged Bonar had prescribed him performance-enhancing drugs.
Ukad says it did begin an investigation into Bonar but decided he was outside of its jurisdiction as he was not governed by a sport.
Ukad also decided not to pass the case to the General Medical Council (GMC) or to contact the doctor.
Ukad chief executive Nicole Sapstead said the organisation was "deeply concerned and shocked by the allegations" and it would conduct an independent review into the case.
World Anti-Doping Agency president Craig Reedie told BBC Radio 5 live it was "pretty dreadful news" and backed calls for an inquiry, but added: "It is best to wait for Ukad to do their own investigation, then we have full knowledge of the facts to work with.
"My own guess is if they had sufficient evidence then they would have acted."
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More than 30,000 litres (6,600 gallons) of sulphuric acid may have leaked from a freight train that derailed in Australia on Sunday, police say.

Carrying 819,000 litres of sulphuric acid, the 26-wagon train derailed 20km (12.4 miles) east of Julia Creek, in north-west Queensland.
A 2km exclusion zone is likely to remain for at least 48 hours.
Regional flooding has hampered access, but police say they hoped salvage teams would reach the site shortly.
"Assessments to date indicate that one of the carriages has likely ruptured and it is possible that up to 31,500 litres of acid has leaked out," police said in a statement.
"No other ruptured carriages have been identified as leaking at this stage."
Authorities had earlier said that the train was carrying 200,000 litres of sulphuric acid.
Salvage crews have not yet reached the site but police said that they hoped to have teams there by the end of Tuesday, depending on the weather.
A spokesperson for Queensland Rail, which operates the service, said that the flooding had prevented its own staff from reaching the site.
It is not yet clear what caused the accident and whether floodwaters played a role.
Initial testing by Queensland's environment department indicated that any leak had not affected nearby waterway Horse Creek.
Sulphuric acid is a highly corrosive substance that can cause severe burns on contact with skin.


Nationwide has reported a sharp fall in mortgage lending, mainly due to making fewer buy-to-let loans.

Net mortgage lending fell to £2.4bn in the April-to-June quarter, down from £3.5bn a year earlier.
The building society also said more people opened a current account with it during the three-month period than with any other provider.
Nationwide's profits for the quarter fell 20% to £322m, after last year's results were helped by a one-off gain.
A year earlier, the building society had received a £100m boost to its profits from the sale of its investment in Visa Europe.
Announcing the latest results, chief executive Joe Garner said "Profit performance in the first quarter remained comfortably within our strategic target range and, after allowing for one-off items, was broadly consistent with the prior period."
Nationwide had a 13% share of the mortgage market in the quarter, down from 15% in the same time last year.
A spokesman for the building society said it expected its buy-to-let lending to remain "broadly flat".
Nationwide had "raised the bar for landlord's affordability before most other lenders with the aim of helping ensure our borrowers can meet future repayments", he added.
"This, together with a softening of lending due to Stamp Duty and tax changes, led to a decline in buy-to-let."
In the first quarter Nationwide opened 202,000 new current accounts, a rise of 17% on the same time last year.
The company also said that more than a fifth (22.4%) of all people switching current accounts had moved to Nationwide.


Usain Bolt has defended athletics at a news conference that featured a dance troupe and a rapping Norwegian.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Amid the razzamatazz, the six-time Olympic champion, 29, made a serious point about the future of the sport.
The run-up to the Games was dominated by Russia's doping scandal, while American rivals Justin Gatlin and LaShawn Merritt have served drug bans.
"People should have faith," said Bolt. "We're weeding out the bad ones. We're going in the right direction."
But the Jamaican added "nothing is guaranteed" when asked whether the sprint races at the Games, which start on Saturday, would be drug-free.
Bolt, who said in February he would retire from athletics after the 2017 World Championships, confirmed this would be his last Olympics.
The sprinter, who holds the 100m and 200m world records, also said he was aiming to become the first man to run under 19 seconds in the 200m.
He could leave Rio with a third successive Olympic treble after winning the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay titles in 2008 and 2012.
"The 100m is never stressful," Bolt said. "For some reason, when I get to the 200m, I'm always a little bit nervous."
Watch: Bolt gets a Samba send-off at his lively news conference.
Retired USA sprinter Michael Johnson believes he would have beaten Bolt at 200m if they had raced in the same era.
The 48-year-old ran a world record 19.32 seconds to win 200m gold at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
Bolt lowered Johnson's world record twice, setting the current standard of 19.19secs at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
Yet Johnson told the Radio Times: "I'd have been first."
Johnson, working in RIo as a pundit for BBC Sport, thinks a rivalry between himself and Bolt would have seen one of them break the 19-second barrier.
"He thinks the time would have been 19.01 or 19.02," the American said. "I think we would have been around 18.99, so we differ on that."
"But we both agree that we each would have won!"
The athletics events in Rio begin on Friday, with Bolt first in action in the 100m on the Saturday, before the final on Sunday.
Bolt's news conference on Monday was held at the Cidade das Artes, the home of the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra and the largest theatre in South America.
The world's media queued for more than two hours before the start.
When the event did get under way, there were fewer empty seats than at many of the actual events.
Given the significant media appeal of the world's fastest man, it was perhaps to be expected that the news conference would be far from ordinary.
A Norwegian journalist declined to ask a question, instead proclaiming his love for Bolt before rapping a song in his honour and then blowing him kisses while samba dancers joined the sprinter on stage and danced with him.
"I like to entertain, because that's what people come out to see," said Bolt. "I try to entertain and make it different. That's my personality."


An investigation into suspected tax evasion by four Belfast accountants centres on how losses made by an investment partnership were offset against tax, the High Court has heard.

The details emerged during judicial review proceedings taken by Eamonn Donaghy, Jon D'Arcy, Paul Hollway and Arthur O'Brien.
The former KPMG partners are challenging the legality of searches at their homes and offices.
They were arrested in November 2015.
However they have not been charged with any wrongdoing.
The court heard that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigators had suspicions about the men's use of a financing partnership which made loans to another firm under their control.
Focus Finance Partnership (FFP) was established in May 2009 with the stated purpose of providing short term funding for businesses.
It soon made unsecured loans of £800,000 and €2.2m to Jeap Ltd, a firm which the four men had set up in 2005.
Jeap was set up in 2005 and invested in property companies on both sides of the Irish border.
Within 24 months the value of FFP's loans to Jeap had been written down to zero with the loss available to set against other taxes.
A barrister for HMRC said that gave grounds for suspicion that FFP was not a business for making commercial loans but was a vehicle for claiming tax relief.
He added that while FFP had been established in 2009 the partnership document was not drawn up until March 2010 and it did not have a bank account until August 2011.
Aside from Jeap, it made one other loan of £300,000 to a County Armagh business woman.
A barrister for the men said that HMRC had failed to ask the men simple questions about FFP and instead took the "nuclear option" of applying for warrants to search their homes.
He told a panel of three judges that the tax authority was legally obliged to have considered less intrusive steps in an attempt to quell any suspicions.
He also that claimed judges who granted the search warrants were given misleading information about the extent of the four accountants' co-operation with inquiries.
Adverse inferences were wrongly drawn from their alleged failure to get back to HMRC during correspondence in 2014, the court heard.
The barrister also said HMRC had been acting on improper motives.
"On the night before the warrants were executed senior (HMRC) managers were gleefully exchanging emails to the effect that this had the makings of a great story for them," he said.
The case continues.


Venezuela's ambassador to the UN, Rafael Ramirez, has denied there is a humanitarian crisis in his country.

He said comments made by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to that effect last week were "wrong".
Mr Ban said he was "very worried" by the "humanitarian crisis" in Venezuela. He said it was caused by "political instability".
Venezuela is in the grip of a severe economic crisis which has led to shortages of basic goods.
At the weekend, almost 150,000 people crossed from Venezuela into Colombia to buy food and medicine, according to Colombian migration officials.
Long queues formed on Saturday before dawn to take advantage of the 12-hour daily window in which pedestrians are allowed to cross.
The re-opening of the border on Saturday was agreed just days earlier by Colombian leader Juan Manuel Santos and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.
It came almost a year after Mr Maduro had ordered the closure of the border to prevent the smuggling of subsidised goods from Venezuela to Colombia.
With Venezuela's economy nose-diving, Venezuelans had been clamouring for the border to re-open so they could cross into Colombia to buy goods which are not available to them in Venezuela.
The shortage of basic items has become so severe, Mr Ban described it as humanitarian crisis.
Speaking to journalists during a visit to Argentina he said: "I'm very worried about the current situation, in which basic goods and services such as food, water, health care and clothes aren't available."
"This triggers a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela which is created by political instability," he added.
But Mr Ramirez called Mr Ban's description "strange" and questioned where the UN secretary-general got his information.
"We have problems here, but it's nowhere near a humanitarian crisis," he said.
He also said that President Maduro would speak to Mr Ban in September during a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Caracas.
The Venezuelan government blames the shortages on an economic war being waged against it by its enemies and the United States.
Opposition politicians, however, argue the government has mismanaged the economy for years and is therefore responsible for the shortages.


The seventh series of Game of Thrones has come to a dramatic conclusion.

Fans are torn between being stunned by the major plot developments and heartbroken that the episode could be the last one on our screens until 2019.
That's when the fantasy epic, based on George RR Martin's books, is rumoured to be coming back one last time.
The finale was shown in the US on Sunday, and broadcast in the UK on Monday. So what have critics said?
The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg said The Dragon and the Wolf episode had "action, twists and just a little incest". Which all sounds pretty standard for Game of Thrones.
In a series that has often been "dumb", it was a "satisfying as heck" conclusion, with the storylines between Jon Snow, played by Kit Harington, and Daenerys Targaryen, played by Emilia Clarke, coming to a climax - if you can excuse the pun.
"The finale worked better than most of the rest of the season for me because while it lacked not for dragons, it also delivered one great two-person chamber scene after another," wrote Fienberg.
Ed Power, writing in the Daily Telegraph, was a fan of the "solid 80 minutes of betrayal, nudity and skulduggery in dimly-lit rooms".
"It was good to welcome the old, happy-stabby Game of Thrones back with a vengeful gleam in its eyes," he mused, describing it as a "dark and slow-burning instalment".
But he noted that the revelation about Jon Snow's parentage was "presented as an interesting nugget rather than continent-quaking pivot".
On that note - in the New York Times, Jeremy Egner had some good and bad news for Snow.
"The good news is, you're not actually a bastard... The bad news? Say hi to your aunt."
Ouch.
Egner noted, though, that the finale "didn't offer much in the way of surprise" and "largely checked off boxes that have been broadly telegraphed throughout the season".
Sean T Collins, of Rolling Stone, said there were "moments of happiness and horror straight out of the biggest GoT nerd's dreams", and that it was quite right that "the lion's share of screentime" went to Cersei Lannister.
He said the storyline had been "hurtling to a point of no return", adding: "The lies, betrayals, power plays, and murders we've witnessed for seven years, and which still continue in this episode - they are all a distraction. We're all in this together, and we'd better realize it ASAP."
Christopher Hooten complained that the seventh series has become "bonkers and Top Trumps-esque", but wrote in the Independent: "When it looks this gorgeous, the dialogue exchanges are this pithy and the action is this jaw-dropping and enthralling, it's hard to be mad about it.
"At some point in season eight, a living dragon is going to fight a dead dragon, jets of blue and red flame meeting in the middle like in a Manga, while dead giants and dead horses do battle with multiple races of men. And I will be there."
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One of the country's most recognisable and celebrated footballers, Paul Gascoigne's life on and off the pitch has been an eventful one.

In 1985 a fresh-faced Gascoigne made his league debut for Newcastle United at the age of 17 as a second-half substitute against Queens Park Rangers.
Within three years, "Gazza" had won the PFA Young Player of the Year award. Shortly afterwards, in the summer of 1988, he joined Tottenham for £2.3m.
During the World Cup in 1990 he showed his vulnerable side, shedding tears of frustration after his booking in the semi-final against Germany ruled him out of a potential appearance in the final.
Despite England's subsequent defeat on penalties depriving Bobby Robson's side of a place in the World Cup Final, Gascoigne went on to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
The aftermath of England's run in the 1990 World Cup saw Gascoigne reach the peak of his popularity as "Gazzamania" swept England.
He released a pop reworking of the Lindisfarne hit Fog on the Tyne, which reached number 2 on the UK singles chart and led to an appearance on Top of the Pops.
But the high times were not to last.
At the end of the 1991 season, in the FA Cup Final, a wild and reckless Gascoigne sustained a serious cruciate ligament injury in the early minutes of the game.
His already agreed transfer to Italian club Lazio was put on hold while he recovered and, having played some exceptional football in the 1990-91 season, he would never be the same player again.
Accompanied by his Geordie sidekick Jimmy "Fivebellies" Gardner, Gascoigne went to Italy and eventually resumed his career on the pitch.
Although he was plagued by injury, Gascoigne was a popular figure with the fans at the Rome club.
In 1995 Gascoigne returned to the UK, joining Glasgow Rangers for £4.3m, and the following year he married Sheryl, shortly after the birth of son Regan.
A year later, he was a key player in the England team which was again defeated on penalties in the semi-finals of a major tournament by the Germans - this time Euro 96 held in England.
His "dentist's chair" celebration after scoring a magnificent goal against Scotland - itself a reference to his heavy drinking - is a treasured memory of many English football fans.
In 1998, he was given a warning by the Scottish FA after a "playing the flute" mime - a sectarian gesture - during an Old Firm game against Celtic.
Later that year his marriage ended following incidents of domestic violence and he was admitted to the Marchwood Priory hospital to receive treatment for his drink problem.
He was also left out of the 1998 World Cup squad and would never play for England again.
He spent the last six years of his football career with Middlesbrough, Everton, Burnley, and Chinese side Gansu Tianma, retiring from the game in 2004.
The same year, Gazza talked about his problems in his autobiography, including his struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder, bulimia, depression and Tourette's syndrome.
He struggled with alcoholism throughout the decade and in 2008 Gascoigne was sectioned under the Mental Health Act following reports that he was acting strangely in Hemel Hempstead.
In 2010 he admitted admitting drinking and driving and was given a suspended prison sentence after he was stopped in Newcastle.
It was also 2010 that saw perhaps Gascoigne's most bizarre act - when he turned up at Rothbury in Northumberland in an attempt to broker peace between armed police and the gunman Raoul Moat, who'd been on the run after shooting his ex-girlfriend, her new partner - who was killed - and a police officer.
Gascoigne appeared at the police cordon, saying he was good friends with "Moaty" and that he'd brought the fugitive a "can of lager, some chicken, a mobile phone and something to keep warm".
The BBC's Fiona Trott, who was at the scene, reported he then posed for some pictures with children before driving off.
In February 2012, it was announced he was one of those who had settled claims for damages with the publishers of the News of the World over phone-hacking.
He has received treatment on a number of occasions including in February 2013, when he was admitted to a clinic in the US and his management company said he was an alcoholic with "complex issues".
It followed an appearance at a charity event when he sparked concern by breaking down and sobbing on stage.
A number of his celebrity friends helped to fund the trip to the Arizona clinic including former England cricketer Ronnie Irani, presenter Chris Evans and ex-Tottenham and England team-mate Gary Lineker.
In August 2013, Gascoigne was fined £1,000 for assaulting a railway guard and being drunk and disorderly at Stevenage railway station.
On Monday, he was again fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation by Dudley magistrates for making a racist comment to a black security guard in front of hundreds of people at his An Evening With Gazza show.


A health authority is to deny operations to the obese and smokers for six months as a cost-cutting move.

NHS Harrogate and Rural District Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said the new rules would affect patients with a BMI of 30 and over and smokers.
These patients would have to attend either a weight management programme or stop smoking service for six months as part of an Â£8.4m savings plan.
NHS England halted nearby NHS Vale of York CCG doing a similar policy.
For more on this and other North Yorkshire stories
Amanda Bloor, of Harrogate and Rural CCG, said: "The CCG are not saying patients can't have the surgery.
"By introducing a six-month health optimisation period, we are encouraging and supporting patients to undertake a lifestyle change which will provide them with the best possible clinical outcome."
"The NHS spends around Â£9bn a year on patient care for those living with diabetes and with spending on obesity-related ill-health and smoking-related illness increasing year on year."
Ian Eardley, vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: "The policies for smokers and overweight patients that Harrogate and Rural District CCG intend to impose ignore the public outcry that surrounded similar plans."
St Helens CCG was recently forced to abandon plans to save money by stopping all non-urgent referrals for four months.
The BMI and smoking policies would not apply to certain groups such as patients undergoing surgery for cancer, children and frail elderly people.


An ambitious project to gather and preserve historic place names for future generations has said it hopes to cover the whole of Wales.

The scheme, called Gwarchod - 'to protect' in Welsh -  will see the names of fields, river pools, caves and even ruined cottages collected and used to develop a definitive digital map.
The names will also make their way onto a National Library of Wales database.
The project's first priority is field names on the LlÅ·n Peninsula in Gwynedd.
Researchers want to initially focus on the names of sites in the rural seaside parish of Aberdaron.
The Welsh Place-Names Society's project has been backed by Natural Resources Wales, who will co-operate on developing the digital name map of Wales, and bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
Jennifer Stewart, the head of HLF in Wales, said:  "Place-names are an integral part of Wales' national identity which is rooted in the distant past.
"We are very pleased to support this project which will take essential steps towards ensuring the local place-names are recorded to create a national resource for everyone."
The issue of Welsh place names has prompted recent calls for more legal protection to prevent them from being replaced with English names.
The public is being invited to see the project work first hand at a drop-in day being organised by the Welsh Place-Name Society at Plas Glyn-y-Weddw in Llanbedrog, Gwynedd, on Thursday.


Spain's Iberia has cancelled more than a third of its flights as pilots hold a one-day strike over plans for a new low-cost airline.

They want to stop managers employing pilots at lower rates of pay at Iberia Express, which will launch in April.
The airline said it had scrapped 118 domestic and international flights.
But it said it had found seats on other Iberia flights or with other carriers for all of the 10,000 passengers affected by the strike.
It is the second walk-out this month, following a strike on 18 December.
International Airlines Group (IAG), which owns Iberia, hopes to allocate 40 planes from its current fleet to Iberia Express.
However, pilots argue that salaries at the new carrier will be too low, and fear job losses with Iberia hiring new staff at lower salaries.
The airline will handle short and medium-range flights from Madrid, where Iberia has been facing increasing competition from other low-cost carriers and high-speed trains.
The IAG group also owns British Airways.


Widnes Vikings coach Denis Betts makes two changes to the squad which lost to league leaders Warrington on Friday.

Centre Stefan Marsh and hooker Lloyd White drop out of the 19, with second row Hep Cahill and young hooker Danny Walker included in their place.
St Helens coach Keiron Cunningham makes one change from the squad which lost at home to Wigan on Friday.
Full-back Ricky Bailey is called up to the side, with Samoa international Lama Tasi missing out.
Widnes Vikings (from): Ah Van, Brooks, Cahill, Chamberlain, Dean, Dudson, Gerrard, Gilmore, Hanbury, Heremaia, Houston, Leuluai, Manuokafoa, Mellor, O'Carrol, Sa, Thompson, Walker, Whitley.
St Helens (from): Makinson, Turner, Burns, Walsh, Walmsley, Roby, Amor, Wilkin, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Richards, Savelio, Thompson, Peyroux, Fages, Greenwood, Dawson, Owens, McDonnell, Bailey.


Manager Derek McInnes is frustrated by the absence of Aberdeen players from the Scotland squad.

Dons assistant Tony Docherty joins the national coaching team for this month's fixtures against Canada and Slovenia.
But there are no players from the Pittodrie club, who sit second in the Scottish Premiership.
"I'm disappointed but I seem to be saying the same thing after every squad, so I'm not totally surprised," said McInnes.
"I think they should be in it, some have a stronger case than others."
Last month, McInnes backed Kenny McLean and Ryan Jack for Scotland call-ups after Aberdeen routed Motherwell.
But Scotland coach Gordon Strachan, a former Dons star, who was at Pittodrie to watch the 7-2 victory, has chosen 15 other midfielders in a 30-man squad for the impending double-header.
"We've really developed Niall McGinn [Northern Ireland] as an international player, Jonny Hayes and Adam Rooney [both Republic of Ireland] have become internationals here," added McInnes.
"Danny Ward [Wales] came here and was an international, so we can provide the platform.
"There are other clubs, lesser clubs, getting their players capped [for Scotland]."
Jack, 25, and McGinn, 29, are both out of contract in the summer, along with defender Ash Taylor, while the manager said that second-choice goalkeeper Neil Alexander would be moving on.
"Hopefully, we'll have news after the international break," said McInnes of the negotiations, adding "conversations are ongoing".
Chairman Stewart Milne has indicated that he would like McInnes to extend to his stay in order to lead the club into a proposed new stadium in 2020.
The Dons boss is under contract until 2019, having been in the post for four years.
"It's clear how happy I am here and I do feel we still have a lot of work to do, we want to finish this season strongly.
"If the chairman wishes to talk about it, I'm happy to sit down with him but we have a lot of challenges ahead of us.
"The chairman is busy trying to drive home the stadium and training ground and I'm busy trying to drive home performances on the pitch."


The European motor industry has called for non-European governments to scale back assistance for their own automotive industries.

But at the same time, they say they want more government support at home.
Governments in Europe should support the industry's efforts to cut car emissions, European car maker bosses agreed during a meeting in London.
But other governments should remove tariffs and other barriers to trade, they said.
The seemingly contradictory positions taken by the chief executives, during a board meeting of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, may not be as outlandish as it first seems.
The assistance the carmakers want at home relates to issues like like funding a national roll-out of the power charging infrastructure for electric cars.
They have also called for short-term assistance with research and development into electric cars and other new technologies.
"We in the industry have to take the lead,"  said Dieter Zetsche, chief executive of Daimler and president of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association ACEA.
He said European carmakers would invest billions of euros in green technologies.
"In Germany alone, the automotive industry will invest about 16 bn euros," he said.
"Over the next five years we will see no return on that investment."
The car chiefs say import tariffs and other barriers to trade - notably in India, China, South Korea and other large emerging markets for cars - should be scaled back.
The tariffs make it difficult for European exporters to compete with domestic manufacturers.
For example, India exports 250,000 cars to Europe every year, but only imports 5,000 vehicles from Europe, according to Paul Everitt, chief executive of the UK motor industry group SMMT.
And he said Japan should also do more to open up its market to imports.
"Our vision is for us to design, develop and manufacture high-value vehicles to export around the world.That is difficult if we don't get access."
Mr Zetsche said he was convinced the European motor industry was the most advanced in the world, and would be perfectly able to compete globally in a truly free market.
"We are asking for a level playing field," he said.
Developing countries often insist they need to protect their strategically important embryonic growth industries against powerful rivals from industrialised countries, in part because they want to create economic growth and reduce poverty at home.
Although this might be fair in some instances, said Mr Everitt, carmakers in India, China and South Korea were both large and resourceful and should no longer need protection.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association points to its importance to the economic health of Europe and has urged EU governments to treat it as a strategic industry.
"Eight million jobs are related to the automotive industry in Europe, 700,000 of them here in the UK," Mr Zetsche said.


Egypt's foreign minister has paid a rare visit to Israel, offering his country's help to revive peace talks with the Palestinians.

Sameh Shoukry called for a two-state solution, but said conditions for achieving it were deteriorating.
His trip is seen as a sign of strengthened ties between two countries sharing deep concerns over regional unrest.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said he welcomes Egypt's efforts.
The last round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians came to an end amid acrimony in April 2014.
The Palestinians accused Israel of reneging on a deal to free prisoners, while Israel said it would not continue negotiations after the Palestinians decided to bring the militant Islamist Hamas movement into a unity government.
Mr Shoukry, the first Egyptian foreign minister to visit Israel in nine years, said the current state of affairs was "neither stable nor sustainable".
He added that the vision of two states living side by side was "not far-fetched" and called for confidence-building measures that could lead to renewed peace talks.
"It is no longer acceptable to claim that the status quo is the most that we can achieve of the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian and Israeli peoples," he said, alongside Mr Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
Mr Shoukry met the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank on 29 June.
Co-operation between Israel and Egypt has intensified under Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.
Egypt faces Islamist militants in the Sinai region south of Israel, and both countries are wary of Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers.
In May, Mr Sisi urged both sides to seize the opportunity to make a peace deal, offering the Arab peace initiative of 2002 as a potential way ahead.
Mr Netanyahu said he would be willing to discuss the plan, but that changes would have to be made.
He repeated his call for Palestinians to resume direct negotiations with Israel.
Violence has escalated recently, and 35 Israelis have been killed in a wave of knife, gun and car-ramming attacks since October.
More than 200 Palestinians - mostly attackers, Israel says - have also been killed in that period.
Earlier this month, the so-called Middle East Quartet said ongoing violence, Israeli settlement-building and Palestinian splits were undermining peace hopes.
And it warned of "perpetual occupation and conflict" between both sides.


Newcastle United have sacked head coach Steve McClaren.

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The former England boss won just six of 28 Premier League games in charge of the Magpies, who are just one place off the foot of the table.
McClaren and his team were booed off following Saturday's 3-1 loss to Bournemouth at St James' Park - their third successive league defeat.
However, in a statement McClaren said: "I remain confident that we would have stayed in the Premier League."
He added: "I am obviously disappointed with the decision.
"Whilst there has been a lot of intense speculation surrounding my position over recent days, my sole priority has been to maintain my professionalism and carry on with my work to best prepare the team.
"For every supporter of Newcastle, I genuinely hope the club can produce the results I believe they are capable of to maintain their Premier League status."
McClaren's future has been a source of almost constant speculation since the defeat by the Cherries.
Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker tweeted: "Newcastle have finally put Steve McClaren out of his misery.
"The running of that great football club is beyond shambolic."
Ian Dennis, BBC Radio 5 live's senior football reporter, said Benitez had been identified as a replacement for McClaren at a board meeting on Monday.
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"Rafa in the driving seat to replace McClaren," tweeted former Magpies striker Michael Owen. "Whoever takes over, I still expect Newcastle to stay up."
McClaren, 54, signed a three-year contract with the Magpies in June after the club avoided relegation on the final day of last season.
Newcastle's next game is at leaders Leicester City on Monday.
"After the defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, the club has spent some time considering its position and has today concluded that Steve McClaren's employment with the club will end with immediate effect.
"We acknowledge that reaching this decision has taken a number of days and that this has caused uncertainty for everyone involved, in particular for Steve and the players, for which we apologise.
"However, we felt that this time was necessary to ensure the right decisions were reached with the best interests of the club at heart.
"Managing director Lee Charnley added: 'I would like to thank Steve personally for his services to Newcastle United.
"'He is a man of integrity and class and he has conducted himself with great dignity during this difficult time.
"'Steve worked tirelessly to try and bring success to Newcastle United.
"'He has the utmost respect of all the players, staff and management and he leaves with our very best wishes and sincere thanks.
"'We feel that a change is now needed in order to give the club the best possible chance of securing its Premier League future. A further announcement on a successor to Steve will be made in due course.'"
Former Newcastle defender Steve Howey agreed with Lineker that the club's handling of McClaren's sacking had been "pretty shambolic".
He added: "That seems to sum Newcastle up at the moment.
"Everyone thought after the defeat by Bournemouth there would be discussions straight after the game with the board - which Steve is on - and a decision could be made before the new week started.
"It dragged on and, to be fair to Steve, he's shown superb professionalism. He's carried on knowing all along that he was going to be leaving."
BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty:
Steve McClaren was an uninspired, seemingly safe, appointment by Newcastle United after they escaped relegation from the Premier League on the final day of last season.
Dismissed by Derby County after they failed to reach the Championship play-off despite strong financial backing, McClaren arrived as damaged goods.
He was fortunate to get the job and it proved comprehensively beyond his capabilities, despite an £80m expenditure since the summer, resulting in just six wins and a place in the relegation zone.
But how much influence did McClaren have over transfer policy? Chief scout Graham Carr appears to wield the power, but McClaren took responsibility.
This unwieldy system must be scrapped and the manager must be allowed to manage, otherwise Newcastle will never escape the shadow hanging permanently over this giant of a club.
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McClaren spent about £80m on players during his time at St James' Park, including £30m on midfielders Jonjo Shelvey, Andros Townsend and Henri Saivet in January.
However, the signings have failed to help improve the club's form and they have won just one of their past six league games, conceding 14 goals in defeats by Watford, Everton, Chelsea, Stoke and Bournemouth.
As well as Newcastle, Derby and England, McClaren has managed Middlesbrough, Dutch side FC Twente and Wolfsburg in Germany.


A murder inquiry has begun after a man died in an assault on a street in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The 36-year-old, who has not yet been identified, died after an attack on Arden Street at about 16:15 BST on Monday, Warwickshire Police said.
A post mortem examination is expected to take place in the coming days.
Four people aged 39, 41, 26 and 37, who are from the Stratford and Wellesbourne areas, have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
The two men and two women are currently being questioned by officers.
A fifth person, a 36-year-old man from Stratford-upon-Avon, has been arrested on suspicion of assault.
Arden Street remains closed at the roundabout on Guild Street/Birmingham Road while police carry out inquiries.