An academic at Newcastle University has been taking a closer look at a question we posed a short while ago - where exactly is the centre point of Newcastle?

Earlier this year we asked where the centre spots of various cities around England were - these being the points distances on road signs are measured to.
Google identifies the centre spot of Newcastle as being in a cafeteria in the King George VI building at Newcastle University, while the city council believed it might be Grey's Monument.
Philip James, a senior lecturer in geographical information science (GIS) at the university, has been doing some investigating, and the answer is fairly simple - it depends who you ask.
"Different providers give different answers depending upon what method they are using," said Mr James, who specialises in mapping people's use of places through their online activity, such as where they tweet from.
Facebook marks the centre point as being near Exhibition Park in the Town Moor, Michelin next to the Haymarket Metro station and the Ordnance Survey places it close to the Manors Metro station.
Twitter marks it as being on Nuns Moor in the north-west of the city while Open StreetMap places the centre point near Kenton in the north of Newcastle.
Why such a division of opinion?
"The Newcastle administrative area is not a simple shape so determining the centre is not easy," said Mr James.
"One method is to draw a boundary box around it then use the centre of that rectangle as your centre point.
"Of course that will give you a different centre to the methods others might use."
One answer that is probably as good as any other is to take the mean of all these various sources and see where that leads, which is what Mr James did.
This approach shows the centre point as being outside the front of the Civic Centre.
But if you ask people where they think it should be, which we did, they invariably gave the same answer as the council - Grey's Monument at the top of Grainger Street.
Comments varied from "it's the biggest thing and can be seen from anywhere" to "it's where the shops are".
And even Mr James said he would consider that the centre in any meaningful way.
"It's the point most people know and where they arrange to meet," he said.
Ultimately, does knowing the centre point even matter?
"I don't think it causes us any real issues in a practical sense," Mr James said.
"Most people will know where they are going, either from knowledge of the area or by searching for actual addresses, I can't really see any scenarios where knowing the absolute centre of Newcastle is very important. It's just an interesting question though.
"A lot of arbitrary decisions will have been made in the past, probably for good reasons at the time, and they will simply still be used today to determine things like distances for road signs and city centre spots."


Thousands of migrants have been saved from the sea near Libya during one of the busiest weekends of the year for rescue workers.

More than 2,000 people were rescued on Friday and 3,000 on Saturday in dozens of separate rescues, the Italian Coast Guard said.
But at least seven people drowned as aid workers struggled to rescue more than 1,500 migrants in one operation.
An eight-year-old boy was among the dead, rescue workers said.
An earlier agency report said 20 bodies had been recovered by the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (Moas), but this was later corrected.
Moas said its rescue started in the early hours of Saturday and had continued non-stop into Sunday afternoon.
The group said it had rescued at least 453 people, but more than 1,000 remained in danger.
Chris Catrambone, one of the founders of Moas, said it had requested "urgent assistance" on Saturday morning.
"Our crew says they've never seen anything like it," the organisation tweeted.
Italian NGO Sea Eye and the German group Jugend Rettet were also aiding the rescue attempt.
Doctors without Borders (MSF) said its rescue boats Prudence and Aquarius had rescued about 1,000 people during Friday's operations, during which one migrant is believed to have died.
The improving Spring weather may have factored into the sudden surge of ocean crossings.
The Libyan coastline remains a hotspot for such rescues, as unscrupulous smugglers crowd wooden boats or inflatable dinghies with hundreds of desperate migrants.
At least 97 migrants died the previous Thursday, when their boat sank. Just 23 men were rescued, clinging to a flotation device. In late February, the bodies of 87 people washed ashore in a Libyan city.
Although the Mediterranean migrant crisis has subsided from its 2015 peak, the Libyan trafficking situation prompted EU leaders to agree a plan of action.
They gave â‚¬200m (Â£170m) to Libya's UN-backed government to reinforce its coastguard and disrupt the people-smuggling networks.
But that government has limited control over the largely lawless strife-torn nation, and human rights groups argue that turning refugees away and forcing them back to the dangers of Libya is unacceptable.
The United Nations estimates that 32,750 people have arrived in Europe by sea so far this year, despite the dangerous winter weather. An estimated 826 are dead, or missing.
A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.


France coach Guy Noves has made four changes for Saturday's Six Nations match with bottom side Italy in Rome.

Full-back Brice Dulin replaces Scott Spedding while Fabien Sanconnie, 22, will make his debut in place of the injured Charles Ollivon.
Sebastien Vahaamahina has a back injury so Julien Le Devedec comes in, while Virimi Vakatawa is back on the wing.
France are only one place off the bottom having won only one of their first three games, against Scotland.
It will be the 40th occasion on which the sides have met in a competitive fixture, France winning 36 of their previous encounters and Italy three.
The Azzurri, who have conceded 132 points in their first three games of this year's competition, last beat France in 2013 at the Stadio Olimpico.
France: Brice Dulin; Noa Nakaitaci, Remi Lamerat, Gael Fickou, Virimi Vakatawa;  Camille Lopez, Baptiste Serin; Kevin Gourdon, Louis Picamoles, Fabien  Sanconnie; Yoann Maestri, Julien Le Devedec; Rabah Slimani, Guilhem Guirado  (capt), Cyril Baille.
Replacements: Christopher Tolofua, Uini Atonio, Eddy Ben Arous, Paul  Jedrasiak, Bernard Le Roux, Antoine Dupont, Francois Trinh-Duc, Yoann Huget.


BBC Sport presents coverage of the artistic gymnastics European Championships from Russia.

Some of Great Britain's London 2012 medallists, including Dan Purvis, Max Whitlock and Sam Oldham, return to action as the road to Rio 2016 gets underway in Russia.
Friday 19 April
1300-1630, BBC Two/online
Matt Baker presents coverage of the artistic gymnastics European Championships from Moscow, with expert analysis from London Olympic medallists Louis Smith and Kristian Thomas.
There's live coverage of the women's all-around competition plus highlights of the men's all-around, with some of Great Britain's London 2012 heroes back in action.
Saturday 20 April
1030-1400 GMT, Red Button/online
Live coverage from Moscow of the day's five apparatus finals, with British all-around champion Max Whitlock hoping to at least emulate the bronze medal he won on the pommel horse at last summer's Olympic Games. Team-mate Daniel Keatings could also be a contender, having won the European title in 2010.
The men's floor and rings titles are also decided, along with the women's vault and uneven bars.
Sunday 21 April
1300-1430, BBC Two/online
Highlights of the 10 apparatus finals as the European Championships concludes in Moscow.
The eight gymnasts in each final came through qualifying during the week and now start afresh in their quest for gold.


A man from Greater Manchester has been bound over to leave Jersey for three years after admitting running a brothel.

Catalin Mihail Avram, 35, of Whitehouse Avenue, Oldham, was arrested on Wednesday morning.
He was charged with running a brothel at Panama Apartments on Green Street in violation of an 1895 Jersey law.
Magistrate Bridget Shaw said there was no benefit to Jersey to keep Avram in the island.
Avram appeared at Jersey Magistrates' Court in St Helier on Thursday where he pleaded guilty.
The court heard he arrived in Jersey by boat on Monday from the UK with two women, a car boot full of adult material and £300 in cash.
The prosecution lawyer said the officers spoke to one of the women who said she had sold sex for money and had had three clients in one afternoon.
Police found £697 in their possession meaning they had acquired £397 in the time they had been in the island.
The court heard there was no coercion or threats against the women and they were here willingly.
Magistrate Shaw bound him over to leave the island for three years and ordered him to sign £397 over to the court, which she said were the proceeds of prostitution.


The gardai (Irish police) are to establish a permanent armed support unit for Dublin in the wake of two killings in a gangland feud.

The latest victim was shot in the city on Monday night.
Eddie Hutch Sr, 59, was killed in his flat in Poplar Row, North Strand, in the north inner city.
Police believe it could be a reprisal for a murder at a boxing match weigh-in on Friday.
The garda commissioner (head of police) met the Republic's justice minister on Tuesday to discuss the latest attacks.
After the meeting, Nóirín O'Sullivan said she outlined to minister Frances Fitzgerald her requirements in terms of capacity and capability to respond to current and emerging threats.
She said since Friday, gardaí have an organisation-wide response in place, with plans in place for the coming days.
She added that she is also adopting a policy of saturation policing, involving multi-rolling checkpoints and controls paid for by overtime.
The total cost of the package is an additional €5 million.
Monday's murder was believed to be in retaliation for a gun attack on the Regency Hotel on Friday, which resulted in another man, David Byrne, being shot dead.
Gardaí have been criticised for not having any intelligence about what was going to happen on Friday, despite the fact that various media outlets heard something might happen.
However, Ms O'Sullivan insisted there was no specific intelligence relating to the event.
She said that gardaí are deployed on the basis of risk and threat.
"We have to be very careful how we deploy members," she said.
"If there is no threat, we cannot [deploy] members. Last Friday was a public sporting event and you cannot have [police] going to every single event, just because criminals may be there."
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said that she would be concerned at any failings.
"Obviously if intelligence had been available, clearly the gardai would have been there," she said.
"I would be concerned at any intelligence failing, of course, but what I would say is that gardai did not have intelligence in relation to it."
Ms O'Sullivan said that she is happy with the police resources she has at her disposal.
"There is no doubt that over the last number of years we have seen significant reductions in both human and financial resources, and we've worked hard to redress that.
"We can't redress it overnight, but I'm very satisfied with the intelligence capability that we have and the calibre of people that we have remaining and with the investment in the ongoing continuous recruitment."
At least four gunmen entered Mr Hutch's home at 19.45 local time and shot him dead in the hallway. The getaway car, a silver BMW, was found a  short distance away.
Petrol was found inside the car and it is thought the gunmen intended to burn it out.
Ms Fitzgerald urged gang members fearing for their safety to go to the police.
Friday's shooting was claimed by a group purporting to be the Continuity IRA (CIRA), a dissident republican faction.
A second statement made on Monday evening, also claiming to be from the Continuity IRA, denied any involvement in the attack at the hotel.
Ms Fitzgerald said all lines of inquiry will be pursued.
"We have had claim and counter claim, that is still under investigation and like all of the other lines of investigation has to be taken very seriously.
"And I suppose the point I would make in terms of the firearms, we have had a history where An Garda Síochána in this state has had to confront dissidents where firearms were widely available, and of course there are legacy issues in relation to that, and indeed in relation to dissident activity.
"So one has to always be conscious that many people who were formerly involved in various types of activity have got involved in organised crime as well."
Eddie Hutch Snr is the uncle of Gary Hutch who was shot dead in Spain five months ago.
He is the brother of Gerry Hutch, a notorious criminal in Dublin in the late 1980s and 90s  who was nicknamed the Monk.
It is understood the Monk has retired from crime and made a settlement with the Criminal Assets Bureau.
The shooting Is believed to be part of a feud between two gangs - one based mainly in Spain and the other linked to the north inner city in Dublin.
The victim was a father of five and had a criminal record, but he was not regarded as a senior figure in Dublin's criminal world.
Ms Fitzgerald called it "another deplorable example of the ruthlessness of gangland criminals".
"It seems that some gangs are intent on waging a feud where human life counts for nothing," Ms Fitzgerald said.


Three men have been charged over the murder of a man in Rotherham just before Christmas.

The body of Steven Fretwell, 47, was found at an address on Kingswood Avenue in Dinnington on Sunday 18 December.
A post-mortem examination found Mr Fretwell died of multiple injuries, said South Yorkshire Police.
The men, aged 21, 28 and 35, have all been charged with murder and are due to appear before Sheffield Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.
Nathan Kieran Fensome, 28, from Dinnington, Ashley Grant Fensome, 21, also from Dinnington and Barry Scott Plant, 35, from Wath have all been remanded into custody, said police.


A proposed legal challenge to the Electoral Commission's decision to make Vote Leave the official Out campaign in the EU referendum has been abandoned.

UKIP donor Arron Banks reacted angrily to news that the group he was backing had not been selected, claiming the decision was "corrupt".
But he said he had decided not to seek a judicial review after talking to UKIP leader Nigel Farage.
Mr Farage has said he will campaign with any group that wants an EU exit.
Mr Banks' Leave.EU group was affiliated to Grassroots Out (GO), the group that lost out to Vote Leave.
Announcing its decision on Wednesday, the Electoral Commission said Vote Leave had "better demonstrated that it has the structures in place to ensure the views of other campaigners are represented in the delivery of its campaign"
"It therefore represents, to a greater extent than 'Go Movement Ltd', those campaigning for the 'Leave' outcome, which is the test we must apply," it added.
Mr Banks signalled his intention to launch a legal challenge immediately after the news that Vote Leave had won the official designation, and said it could delay the referendum - taking place on 23 June - until October.
After consulting lawyers, he said: "What is clear now is that if we were to pursue a judicial review, according to legal experts, we would win."
But explaining the group's change of heart, he added: "But this is a time to take a step back from the matter, and after consulting with leading campaigners on this issue, including UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage - we have decided to show the public how this process was stitched up, but not to pursue the judicial review any further."
He said it was time to "turn our collective guns on the real opponents" in the referendum campaign - those campaigning for Britain to remain in the EU.
"We will be pursuing this campaign with vigour - and we'll have some fun with it along the way," he said.
Britain Stronger In Europe, led by former Marks and Spencer boss Lord Rose, is the lead campaign for the Remain side.


People with diabetes are to be given improved access to equipment after the Scottish government announced a £10m funding programme.

The spending is part of a new plan to improve the management of type 1 diabetes.
The condition affects about 30,000 people in Scotland.
The government has said a priority will be to increase the use of insulin pumps, which can replace the need to inject several times each day.
There are 3,200 insulin pumps currently in use in Scotland.
In addition to the pumps, additional continuous glucose monitoring equipment is to be made available.
Karen Addington, the chief executive of the diabetes charity JDRF, said: "Evidence shows this type 1 diabetes technology, provided alongside support and training for its use, can improve lives.
"We welcome the announcement of increased funding to improve access to it."
Health Secretary Shona Robison said: "We know that insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring kits can make it much easier for some people to manage their type 1 diabetes.
"Proper control is absolutely key to improving outcomes and preventing complications from developing.
"This new investment will increase the provision of this equipment, meaning it's available to many more people, and making it easier for them to lead healthy lives."


Sir Michael Stoute's Convey secured a comfortable win in the Easter Classic, the feature race on All-Weather Championships Finals Day at Lingfield.

The 11-10 favourite, who also won over the same mile and two furlongs at Lingfield in February, galloped to victory by a length and three-quarters.
Absolute Blast (7-1) came home strongly to take second ahead of French outsider Allez Henri (25-1) in third.
Sovereign Debt (8-1) won the Mile by a neck from Nimr (14-1).
The eight-year-old grey, runner-up for the last two years, swept through in the final furlong to catch clear leader Salateen - who finished third - handing Ruth Carr her biggest win as a trainer.
After a sedate early pace in the Easter Classic, Paul Hanagan sent Third Time Lucky ahead of the field but Ryan Moore took up a prime position on Convey, tracking him and the mare Elbereth.
Rounding the home turn it was clear Convey had plenty to give and Moore said: "Things haven't always been straightforward with him, but I think he really enjoys the surface and he's grown up.
"He had too much class for them today."


The co-founder of the Eden Project has said a new £150m Devon tourist attraction has got the funding needed for its development.

Sir Tim Smit says the "money is in place" for the Eden Westwood project.
The tourism and leisure complex would be built at junction 27 of the M5, near Tiverton, and would "focus on the key strengths and attributes of Devon".
It is understood the main funding for the project would come from the Friends Life insurance company.
The founders of Eden Westwood said its centrepiece in will be "The Ark" which will be "an iconic structure and educational facility that will showcase Devon's finest produce".
The scheme will also include a surf lake and beach, a hotel, a regional visitor centre and a designer outlet village.
Sir Tim said: "If the people of Devon want it to happen it will 100% happen because the money is in place and the people to build it and dream what's in it are there.
"It will probably be somewhere between £100m and £150m, it'll be in that area.
"There will be a lot of jobs created directly at the site itself but more importantly our belief is what should be creating is a place that points out all the fantastic things in Devon itself so you come to this place.
The proposals have been submitted to Mid Devon District Council for inclusion in its draft 2013-2033 Local Plan.


A bright moon halo caught the attention of many in the West of England on Monday night.

Leighton James, a photographer in Bristol, said: "It's something I have never seen before and thought it looked quite amazing."
A halo around the moon appears when a thin layer of cirrus cloud - which is very high and made up of ice crystals - moves across the moonlit sky.
Refraction of the light by the ice crystals causes the halo to form.
Mr James said he saw it from Bishopston at 23:00 BST and it grew in size as the night went on.
Several photos were taken and shared on social media.
Will Belcher, in Wiltshire, described it on Twitter as a "pretty decent moon halo", while Les Knowles in Cheltenham called it "amazing".
Dowager Countess Bathurst, who lives in Cirencester, said it was "stunning".
Ian Fergusson, BBC Weather forecaster for the West of England, who also snapped a picture from Somerset, said 22 degree lunar halos are caused by the same reason as solar ones.


The Electoral Commission has ruled that Ryanair has not broken election law with its "campaigning activities" during the EU referendum.

Vote Leave complained after the airline hosted an event where George Osborne, Vince Cable and Ed Balls spoke in front of a "Remain in Europe" branded plane.
The Commission ruled that while the airline had been campaigning, it had not spent enough to break the law.
Campaigners who spend more than £10,000 must register with the watchdog by law.
While it is not registered as an official campaigner, the Commission found Ryanair "was undertaking campaigning activities" and said it had been in contact with the airline about these.
But it said there was "no reasonable ground to suspect that a breach of PPERA [the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000] has occurred."
A spokesman added: "We are satisfied, following an assessment that the available evidence suggests Ryanair has not spent in excess of £10,000 without registering as a campaigner for the EU referendum.
"We will continue to monitor campaign spending in the run-up to the referendum and take action if it is appropriate and necessary to do so in line with our established Enforcement Policy".
Ryanair, which is registered in Ireland, has run adverts for a "Brexit special" discount on flights to passengers who want to fly home to vote to stay in the EU and had pledged to "continue to work hard to help deliver a resounding Remain majority on 23 June".
Ryanair's head of communications Robin Kiely said: "Ryanair's Fly Home to Vote Remain seat sale, which allowed UK citizens to buy a £19.99 one-way fare to fly to the UK on 22 and 23 June next, fully complies with Ryanair's policy of lowering the cost of air travel to/from the UK.
"Vote Leave must be getting really desperate if they are now objecting to low fare air travel for British citizens."
But a Vote Leave spokesman pointed to a Reuters story suggesting the airline had spent nearly £20,000 on advertisements urging customers to vote to remain in the EU.
He said: "Vote Leave is surprised by the Electoral Commission's decision given Ryanair has confirmed in its own publicity that they are spending more than the amount that the Electoral Commission state is the threshold for registering."


Even in the unusually cold and wet weather, the centre of Hanoi was still a typical whirl of commercial activity this past week, as people prepared for the Tet lunar new year holiday.

Half an hour's drive away, in a bland hall resembling an airport terminal, Vietnam's political future was being decided by 1,510 delegates, all chosen by the Communist Party, which has a constitutionally-enshrined monopoly on power.
It might have been happening on a different planet.
Of course people knew the party congress was going on; how could they not?  Hanoi is festooned with red-and-gold posters celebrating this secretive, five-yearly ritual in the communist calendar in characteristically retro style, all muscular workers and peasants radiating revolutionary joy.
But no-one I spoke to felt any sense of connection to a process from which they are mostly excluded.
"We talk about it a lot, we watch TV", says Duong Bui, the 22-year-old lead singer for heavy metal band Windrunner, which was performing at the recently built Hanoi Creative City art space.
"But to reach it is hard. It's not like we can take our ideas for building this country to the congress - it's far from us."
A battle at the heart of power
Vietnam follows the classic communist doctrine of democratic centralism, whereby the party is the only permitted political player. Once decisions have been made inside the organisation party members are expected to toe the line. Debates are usually resolved before the congress, which holds the highest authority in the party.
But that did not happen this time.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made a bold play to win the top job, that of secretary-general of the party. He presided over the transformation of Vietnam's economy into an export-driven, manufacturing success story. Moving into that post would have made him one of the most powerful leaders of modern times.
He had an unusually high international profile for a Vietnamese leader, pushing for warmer relations with the old enemy, the United States, and demanding faster reforms in bloated state industries. He built up a network of influence in the security forces and the local business community. Up until a few months before the congress, he appeared to have strong backing from the 200-member central committee of the party, which had helped him ride out at least two previous attempts to remove him from power.
So what went wrong? One sign support was slipping was a leaked letter, apparently from Mr Dung, responding to serious allegations against him by three academics. That he needed to respond suggests the allegations had powerful backers.
It is worth remembering that for all his charisma and public popularity, Mr Dung was a controversial figure in the party. His family had gained wealth and political promotions; with rapid economic growth corruption had also proliferated; and his efforts to privatise the state sector had made slow progress.
What we do know is that by the time the congress began last week, Mr Dung was not among the candidates approved by the politburo to be the next secretary-general. An attempt by his supporters to get him onto the next central committee, where he might have been able to challenge the incumbent, Nguyen Phu Trong, fell flat partly thanks to Mr Trong's expert use of the Byzantine rules governing the congress.
Mr Trong, an old-style ideologue, was a long-standing rival of Mr Dung. With his victory, it would appear that conservative factions of the party now predominate, casting doubt on Mr Dung's reform agenda.
Mr Trong's reaffirmation at the start of the congress that socialism and the state must remain at the heart of the economy seemed to support that view. But the party does not divide up so neatly. In fact the new central committee includes a number of younger, pro-reform politicians, and Mr Trong's options for changing course are limited.
"Life is stronger than any dogma", says economist Le Dang Doanh, "and the condition of the economy of Vietnam nowadays is so pressured that it must change. If the state sector plays a leading role, there will be no fair competition. Vietnam is now deeply integrated into the world economy."
The state-owned industries are a case in point. A legacy of the command economy built during the long war against the French and Americans, they are everywhere, making cars and ships, milk and clothing. They account for almost a third of GDP and consume most of the credit in the local banking system - most of them make a loss.
Mr Dung had encouraged a few SOEs to become national champions, allowing them to expand. It was a disaster. The state-owned shipbuilder and shipping line collapsed under ballooning debts. So in recent years he has encouraged them to restructure, partially privatising and selling off unprofitable businesses. But this is not easy.
Just ask Tran Viet, a director of the huge textile conglomerate Vinatex, which has become one of the most successful state-run companies, exporting suits and shirts to the US and the EU.
"As a stated-owned enterprise we were bound by a lot of conditions and regulations - a lot more than a private company. We cannot just go in and shut factories down."
On a visit to one of Vinatex's many factories I was taken around by Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan. As she proudly showed me the factory kindergarten, the clinic and dormitories, she said her parents and grandparents had worked there, and she expected her children to do the same. "It's like a family to us", she explained.
In the brutally competitive global market in which Vinatex now sells most of its products, how much of its collectivist legacy can it afford to keep?
The old men of the communist party are ideologically loyal to this legacy. But the reality of raising living standards, to sustain the party's legitimacy, will force them to rely increasingly on the tremendous entrepreneurial energy of the Vietnamese people.


Sunderland's Duncan Watmore has become only the second Premier League player to get a first-class degree after graduating in economics and business management at Newcastle University.

Media playback is not supported on this device
The striker, 21, has scored three goals in nine games for the Black Cats.
"There were lots of long nights reading textbooks and going online for lectures. It was hard," said Watmore.
Ex-Leeds and Bradford defender David Wetherall got a first in chemistry from Sheffield University in 1992.


Irish police have welcomed the seizure of a €37.5m (£32.4m) cannabis haul at Dublin Port.

The drugs are understood to have been hidden in farm machinery on board a ship which docked in the city.
Gardaí and revenue officers recovered the stash on Friday in a joint operation against organised crime.
Garda assistant commissioner John O'Driscoll said: "We are all about achieving results and this, in anyone's estimation, is a great result."
The investigation resulted in the identification and interception of 1,873 kilos (4,129 lbs) of herbal cannabis.
Investigations are continuing both in the Republic of Ireland and internationally.
The assistant commissioner said "the business of organised crime will be impacted" by the seizure.
He listed a string of recent operations, including the seizure of firearms from groups "intent on killing each other" in an apparent reference to recent gangland killings in the city.
Gardaí recently confiscated 18 cars in another blow against the underworld.
Assistant commissioner O'Driscoll added: "All of these actions together combine to have a significant impact on organised crime."


The top local authority in the country for tackling homophobic bullying in schools has been named as Brighton and Hove City Council.

Pressure group Stonewall put the authority in first place in its 2014 Education Equality Index.
It also praised the council's work with local charity the Allsorts Youth Project.
The charity delivers anti-homophobic bullying sessions in secondary and primary schools.
Richard Chamberlain is the assistant head teacher at Blatchington Mill School, which was also praised by Stonewall for its student equality conference earlier this year.
"We've done a huge amount of work in school and I know other schools across the authority are doing this work as well supported by Allsorts and Stonewall.
"It's just really great to get that recognition."


Aberystwyth University has bought two new boats to increase the number of marine research projects undertaken in Mid Wales.

They include a rigid inflatable boat and a purpose-built Cheetah catamaran.
The vessels will be used for projects such as mapping shallow water seaweed to research its potential for climate change mitigation.
Other uses include exploring the biodiversity of Cardigan Bay and using robots to map underwater habitats.
They were bought with cash from the Welsh Government Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.
Dr Pippa Moore, scheme coordinator of the marine and freshwater biology degree, said: "The boats will allow students to undertake trawls for fish, deploy pots for mark and recapture studies of lobsters and crabs, and grab sampling to identify organisms that live in the sand.
"We also plan to get kit for acoustic sampling of, for example, dolphin activity. We are getting a full diving set-up so we anticipate incorporating scientific diving into our teaching in the future."


A 93-year-old US Army veteran said he was "humbled and honoured" to be reunited with the dog tag he lost while in Britain during World War Two.

Raymond Odom's tag was discovered at his former base RAF Knettishall in Suffolk by a metal detectorist in May.
The USAF at RAF Mildenhall was contacted and helped track down Mr Odom through his daughter.
8th Air Force commander Maj Gen Thomas Bussier returned the tag to the veteran at his home in Louisiana, USA.
Mr Odom, who lives with his wife at a care home in Farmerville, has only recently begun to speak about his time during the war, according to his daughter Debbie Ball.
She said: "It is still difficult for him to talk about lots of his crew mates leaving for missions and never coming back."
Andy Fuller discovered the dog tag when he was sweeping the ground at the disused RAF station, with the permission of its owner Colin Davey.
Mr Fuller, a groundsman at RAF Honington, passed the tag on to Cpl Ed Stanley who researched its history and contacted Mr Odom's daughter Debbie Ball.
Senior Master Sgt Brian Boisvert from RAF Mildenhall said: "We got an email from RAF Honington to say the tag had been found and a plan was put into place to repatriate it."
Mr Odom joined the Army Air Forces in 1943 and was assigned to the 388th Bomb Group.
He was posted to Knettishall later that year.
The 388th Bomb Group no longer exists, but it would have been subordinate to the 8th Air Force, which is why it took charge of returning the tag.
Mr Odom said: "It's a real honour to have you people here to recognise me."


Fairy dust, baby booties and a German monument made from marzipan were among the gifts given to the royal family during their official visits last year.

Prince Charles received numerous presents for his grandchildren, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, during his travels, including a baby rattle, booties, and giant lollipops.
Gifts to the Queen included a bag of salt from the British Virgin Islands.
The items have been named in a list of official gifts given to royals.
Prince Charles received what was one of the year's more unusual gifts - a packet of fairy dust - when he and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, visited New Zealand in November.
Other gifts given during the trip included an organic wool hat, and a vest and blanket for Charlotte.
David Carter, the speaker of the New Zealand parliament, also presented the royal couple with a woollen poncho for Charlotte and a woollen tank top for George.
The Queen was given a marzipan Brandenburg Gate - one of Berlin's most important monuments - from Germany's president, Joachim Gauk.
She also received a black handbag from the Maltese prime minister, Joseph Muscat, and a framed watercolour of Villa Guardamangia - her former home in Malta.
Other gifts she received during 2015 included a bag of salt from the governor of the British Virgin Islands.
The 1lb bag is given to the British monarch every year as rent for Salt Island - one of the islands in the Caribbean archipelago.
US first lady Michelle Obama gave the Queen a Tiffany sterling silver honeycomb and bee bud vase, as well as a gift box containing lemon verbena tea, a candle, two small pots of honey and a jar of honey butter from the White House Kitchen Garden.
Official gifts can be worn and used, but are not considered the royals' personal property and the royals do not pay tax on them.
They can eat any food they are given, and perishable official gifts with a value less than Â£150 can also be given to charity or staff.
Gifts cannot be sold or exchanged and eventually become part of the Royal Collection, which is held by the Queen for her successors and the nation.


Lying on an insurance claim should not necessarily invalidate it, the Supreme Court has said, in a judgement likely to affect all household policies.

It said collateral lies - which are untrue, but do not affect the validity of the claim - can be acceptable.
The judges voted by four to one to change one of the important principles behind current insurance law.
The insurance industry called it a "blow for honest customers", and warned that the price of policies could rise.
The precise case involved a Dutch cargo ship, which ran into difficulty after its engine room was flooded.
The owners deliberately lied, by saying the crew couldn't investigate an alarm, because the ship was rolling in heavy seas.
In fact the accident was caused by bad weather, so the lie was irrelevant, the court ruled.
The judge in the original court case said the lie amounted to a "fraudulent device", which invalidated the claim.
The Court of Appeal upheld that judgement, but the Supreme Court has now overturned it.
One of the judges, Lord Clarke, said: "The critical point is that, in the case of a collateral lie….the insured is trying to obtain no more than the law regards as his entitlement, and the lie is irrelevant to the existence of that entitlement. Such a lie is immaterial to the claim."
The judgement suggests that someone who puts in an insurance claim for a stolen computer worth £1,000 - but who fabricates a receipt for that amount - would still have a valid claim.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said it was looking at the judgement carefully, and warned that policies could become more expensive as a result.
"This decision risks pushing up the cost of insurance and prolonging the pay-out process for the vast majority of people who are honest customers," said James Dalton, the ABI's director of general insurance policy.
"Lies are lies. Insurers will investigate all suspicious claims and we make no apology for doing so as it keeps premiums down for honest customers."
It is thought that the principle will apply to millions of household, travel and motor policies.
Kevin Pratt, consumer affairs expert at MoneySuperMarket, said the change would not amount to a blank cheque for fraudsters.
"It will still be a fraud if you fabricate a claim, and it will still be a fraud if you exaggerate a claim," he said.
"But insurers can no longer use so-called 'collateral lies' to reject a valid claim. The one worry is that, if insurers are paying more claims as a result of this ruling, then they will increase premiums."


A former police chief who oversaw the vetting of officers' statements after the Hillsborough disaster has admitted some facts were removed.

Retired Ch Supt Donald Denton told the new inquests he could see "no reason" why some accounts were changed.
However he denied there was a deliberate attempt to withhold officers' accounts from the original public inquiry in 1989-90.
Ninety-six Liverpool fans died due to a crush at the match on 15 April 1989.
More than 600 police statements were internally reviewed by South Yorkshire Police (SYP), of which about 60 were amended between May 1989 and May 1990, the court heard.
The jury was shown how statements which contained comment on police leadership, lack of manpower and poor communications were altered.
Mr Denton, who had overall responsibility for the vetting of statements, told the inquests that removing criticism of senior officers was justified because it was "very largely opinion", whereas criticism of fans was seen as "fact".
In one statement, a sergeant at Hillsborough recalled that, in previous years, a group of police officers was stationed at a tunnel into the central pens at Sheffield Wednesday's stadium.
This part of his statement was crossed out and did not appear in later versions.
Mr Denton, who has now retired from SYP, said: "I can't see any reason why this should have been taken out at all. That should have been left in."
He agreed it was "not satisfactory" that a reference to police radio problems, a year before the disaster, was also removed from another officer's statement.
"Because of the difficulties that were being experienced with the communications system there on the day [in 1989], I would have thought that should remain in," he added.
Mr Denton told the jury that SYP's legal advisors suggested the removal of comment, opinion and hearsay from officers' statements, even though it was allowed in the original Taylor public inquiry between 1989 and 1990.
But he admitted he was wrong to tell a previous inquiry all statement changes were suggested by lawyers and none by police.
Pete Weatherby QC, a barrister for 22 bereaved families, put it to him that key evidence about a police tactic to close the tunnel to the Leppings Lane terrace, once the central pens were full, was removed from officers' statements.
He said there was a "train of evidence for this critical matter that is not provided to the Taylor inquiry by South Yorkshire Police".
Mr Denton replied: "I don't accept the construction you're putting on it, sir. It may obviously have been an error somewhere along the line but there was definitely nothing deliberate in withholding statements."
The inquests in Warrington, Cheshire, continue.
BBC News: Profiles of all those who died


Egypt's Nour El Sherbini defeated compatriot Raneem El Welily in front of their home crowd to retain her title at the Women's World Championship.

El Sherbini, who became the first Egyptian and the youngest player ever to win the world title last year, won 11-8 11-9 11-9 in El Gouna.
"I'm over the moon," the 21-year-old told the PSA.
"Two or three months ago I wouldn't have imagined I would have won because I haven't won a title this season."
England's Laura Massaro fell short in her attempt to win a second world title, losing to El Welily in the quarter-finals.


Supermarket giant Tesco and wholesaler Booker have asked the UK competition regulator to fast-track its probe into their proposed Â£3.7bn tie-up.

Tesco announced it had agreed to buy Booker in January and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) started an initial review in late May.
The firms now want the CMA to move "more quickly" to probing the merger through an in-depth "Phase 2" process.
They expect the CMA to issue a decision to refer to Phase 2 within two weeks.
The CMA is assessing whether the proposed grocery tie-up could reduce choice for shoppers and for small stores supplied by Booker.
The first phase of its CMA investigation had been due to run until 25 July, but that could now be wound up within 10 working days in advance of instigating the more detailed investigation.
The statutory timetable for a Phase 2 inquiry would be 24 weeks, the CMA said.
The fast-track process has been used in a number of CMA merger investigations previously, including that of telecoms firms BT-EE and also during the tie-up of bookmaking firms Ladbrokes and Coral.
Booker is the UK's largest food wholesaler and also owns the Premier, Budgens and Londis store brands.
Despite rising competition from the likes of Aldi and Lidl, Tesco remains Britain's biggest supermarket.
The CMA could force Tesco to sell stores if it believes the deal will harm competition within the industry.
When the merger was announced, Tesco and Booker said they did not expect it to be completed until late 2017 or early 2018, suggesting both companies expected closer scrutiny from the watchdog.
In March, one of Tesco's biggest investors, Schroders, warned about the cost of the deal, telling the BBC that the supermarket giant was paying a "premium" and it had "major concerns" about the deal.


Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk is "pretty optimistic" shareholders will approve a $2.6bn (£2.1bn) deal to buy solar panel company SolarCity.

The billionaire, who is chairman of both companies, said he would be surprised if the deal did not go through next month.
The takeover will expand the electric car maker's clean energy business.
But some shareholders oppose the deal, arguing it is a conflict to combine two of Mr Musk's firms.
"I'm pretty optimistic about where the vote's going," Mr Musk, who owns large stakes in both businesses, told analysts on Tuesday.
"The early votes so far have been overwhelmingly in favour... I would find it quite strange if that didn't turn out to be the case."
Mr Musk was speaking after the car maker released further details about the deal, including estimates that SolarCity could add $1bn of extra revenue to Tesla next year.
Together, the two firms will move towards "accelerating the world's transition to sustainable energy", Tesla said, by generating and storing clean energy and providing transport that uses it.
Tesla also sought to address concerns about SolarCity's financial standing by revealing that the solar panel installer had raised about $1bn in funds in the last four months.
Mr Musk said there had been "quite a few naysayers", including big hedge funds, about Tesla's expansion into the energy business.
But he questioned how good they had been at predicting the outcome for Tesla in the past.
"If they have a batting average of zero, you should really question whether their future predictions are going to be better," he said.
Investors will vote on the deal on 17 November.


Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made a string of saves to secure a Champions League draw against Bayer Leverkusen.

The France international superbly kept out Javier Hernandez's close-range shot, and pushed away low drives from Charles Aranguiz and Admir Mehmedi.
Dele Alli should have done better at the other end when he powerfully headed wide from six yards out.
Team-mate Vincent Janssen hit the bar and, from the rebound, Erik Lamela had an effort tipped over by Bernd Leno.
Spurs will be thankful to man-of-the-match Lloris for keeping a clean sheet in a match in which they had more of the possession but their hosts had the better chances.
The former Lyon player made six saves at the BayArena, three of which were high quality:
Mauricio Pochettino's side remain second in Group E, and have conceded just seven goals in 11 games in all competitions this season. Their only defeat came in the opening group game against Monaco last month.
Tottenham are playing in European football's elite competition for the first time in five seasons, and - three games in - they have struggled to find their best form.
A draw is by no means a poor result away from home, but they will need to improve significantly in the final third if they are to progress.
Spurs had six shots, none of which were in the second half, and worked goalkeeper Leno only once. In contrast, Leverkusen had 13 shots in the second 45 minutes.
In the continued absence of Harry Kane, lone striker Janssen lacked service, while former Leverkusen man Son Heung-min, who scored 21 goals in 62 games for the Bundesliga side, barely had a sniff.
But among the positives was the performance of full-back Kieran Trippier, who was playing for only the third time this season. The former Burnley man made more tackles (four), clearances (seven) and interceptions (three) than any of his team-mates.
Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris: "You need a bit of luck in that kind of action and this time I saved (from Javier Hernandez).
"It was a key moment but it was not the only one. We should have scored in the first half and then the game would have been much different."
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino: "I am not disappointed. After the game, I think it is a good point for us.
"It was a very tough game. In the first half we deserved more and in the second they got better. I am pleased with the point.
"In the second half I think they played better than us and started to dominate the game. We need to be positive - it is in our hands to go through to the next round."
Tottenham are back in Premier League action on Saturday as they travel to Bournemouth (kick-off 12:30 BST). Their next Champions League match is on Wednesday, 2 November when they welcome Leverkusen to Wembley (kick-off 19:45 BST).
Match ends, Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0, Tottenham Hotspur 0.
Second Half ends, Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0, Tottenham Hotspur 0.
Attempt saved. Julian Brandt (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Josh Onomah replaces Son Heung-Min.
Corner,  Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Charles Aránguiz.
Substitution, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Julian Brandt replaces Chicharito.
Attempt missed. Stefan Kießling (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box misses to the left. Assisted by Kevin Kampl with a cross.
Corner,  Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Kevin Kampl.
Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Julian Baumgartlinger (Bayer 04 Leverkusen).
Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Stefan Kießling (Bayer 04 Leverkusen).
Hand ball by Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur).
Substitution, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Tin Jedvaj replaces Lars Bender.
Foul by Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspur).
Stefan Kießling (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt missed. Ömer Toprak (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left following a corner.
Corner,  Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Conceded by Dele Alli.
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Moussa Sissoko replaces Erik Lamela.
Foul by Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur).
Charles Aránguiz (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Charles Aránguiz (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur).
Stefan Kießling (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Lars Bender (Bayer 04 Leverkusen).
Attempt saved. Ömer Toprak (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Kevin Kampl with a cross.
Corner,  Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Conceded by Hugo Lloris.
Attempt saved. Stefan Kießling (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Kevin Kampl with a through ball.
Foul by Mousa Dembélé (Tottenham Hotspur).
Julian Baumgartlinger (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Mousa Dembélé replaces Vincent Janssen.
Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Charles Aránguiz (Bayer 04 Leverkusen).
Corner,  Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Conceded by Hugo Lloris.
Attempt saved. Admir Mehmedi (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Stefan Kießling.
Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Stefan Kießling (Bayer 04 Leverkusen).
Corner,  Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Conceded by Danny Rose.
Attempt blocked. Chicharito (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Julian Baumgartlinger with a headed pass.


America's Ginny Thrasher won the first gold medal of the Rio Olympic Games with a surprise victory in the women's 10m air rifle.

Media playback is not supported on this device
The 19-year-old secured her first major international victory, scoring 208.0 to leave China's 2006 world champion Du Li with silver.
Du's compatriot Yi Siling, the defending champion, took bronze.
Jen McIntosh secured the best-ever finish for a British woman - 15th out of 51 in the qualification round.
The five-time Commonwealth medallist overcame a rifle malfunction to produce a strong finish and was just 1.2 points from securing a place in the final.
She will return to compete in her favoured 50m rifle three positions event on Thursday.
Find out how to get into shooting with our special guide.


Three teenagers have been arrested in a murder probe after a man's body was found on moorland.

Craig Nelson, 34, who was also known as Craig Preston and who was from Wath-Upon-Dearne, was found at the Woodhead Tunnels in Derbyshire on 22 August.
Two boys, aged 15, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and a girl, also aged 15, on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, said South Yorkshire Police.
Two people have already been charged with murder.
Mohammed Bashir, 41, and Leonie Mason, 23, both of Holme Park Court, Huddersfield, appeared at Sheffield Magistrates' Court charged with murder.
Both were remanded in custody to appear at Sheffield Crown Court on 27 September.
All three teenagers remain in custody, said the force.
A post-mortem examination found Mr Nelson died as a result of head injuries.


Forest Green Rovers midfielder Charlie Cooper has extended his loan at The New Lawn from Championship side Birmingham City until the end of the season.

The 19-year-old son of Rovers boss Mark Cooper has made three starts in five appearances in all competitions since originally signing on 9 December.
That was just four days before ex-Birmingham boss Gary Rowett was sacked.
But Rowett's successor Gianfranco Zola has allowed Cooper to remain in Gloucestershire to see out the season.
Cooper also had a month on loan in Nailsworth last season, before moving earlier this season to York City, where he made five starts.
Forest Green also have defender Aarran Racine and forward Rhys Murphy back at the club from their joint loan at York.
Both scored once in their month at Bootham Crescent, Racine making five starts, while Murphy made six appearances.


Political figures are on the campaign trail trying to win votes for the general election.

But other campaigns have been taking place to encourage people to register to vote before the deadline of 20 April.
The election projections show the outcome on 7 May is difficult to predict.
So the difference could be made by minority groups if they use the opportunity to register and vote.
The campaigning group that fights for racial equality, Operation Black Vote (OBV), has been travelling around the country in an orange bus promoting voter registration especially to ethnic minorities.
The bus with its images of US civil rights activist Rosa Parks and black and Asian World War Two army personnel, has facilities to allow people to register on board.
OBV's director Simon Woolley says there is a disproportionate number of black and Asian people that have registered to vote.
According to OBV figures, in the 2010 election 18% of black and minority ethnic (BME) groups did not register to vote compared with 7% of white people. Of the BME groups - 50% of Africans, 20% of Caribbeans, and 15% of Asians were not registered.
"It's clear the people we have talked to are not apathetic to politics," says Simon.
"They are interested in education, health, politics and unemployment.
"But they are frustrated and angry because of the lack of representation in politics, so they consciously opt out."
OBV says they have reached a million people in the last eight weeks of campaigning, and that tens of thousands of people have registered on their bus.
OBV has used black British celebrities to illustrate the cause.
The Homeland actor David Harewood, musician Tinie Tempah, and the former footballer Sol Campbell are featuring on posters.
Their faces have been whitened by make-up to show that without the black vote, the colour is taken out of British politics.
"We have great role models in these individuals and they wanted to give back to the community," says Simon.
He adds: "I'm impatient for fundamental change and I won't rest until people are judged by their ability and not by the colour of their skin."
Inspired by Operation Black Vote, Operation Disabled Vote (ODV) was launched in November 2014 with the aim of aiding deaf and disabled people to register and vote.
The London-based group has been part of a national voter registration drive No Vote No Voice.
ODV is touring the capital on a bus with deaf interpreters to provide help and information.
ODV's co-founder, Ellen Clifford, says there are many issues surrounding voter registration.
"Primarily, a lot of the information is online but some people have no access," she explains.
"Statistically disabled people, particularly with learning difficulties, have less online access than any other group."
ODV has found that people are interested in registering but they may not have their national insurance number to hand or they need to rely on family members for help.
In a Mencap survey, 64% of people with learning disabilities who were questioned said they did not vote in the last election.
Reasons included finding the process of registering too difficult and being turned away from polling stations.
Ellen says: "There is no legal duty for polling stations to be made wheelchair accessible. Polling officers can come out on the street with a ballot paper. But we don't think that's acceptable."
She adds that the biggest barrier is people thinking there is no point in voting because politicians have failed in representing the interests of deaf and disabled people.
Young people, particularly women, are not big on voting.
Only 39% of women between 18-24 voted in the 2010 general election, making them the demographic least likely to vote.
After a consultation, the Youth Media Agency recognised it was more of an issue than previously thought.
The agency's Hannah Vincent says: "We found there was a massive level of apathy and young women were overwhelmed by politics."
To help redress this, the agency used the #XXVote hashtag in social media and with the help of crowdspeaking platform Thunderclap their message reached 1.6 million people.
The team also turned to the big screen to spread the word.
Hannah Vincent directed a film that was made by young women for young women, which shows the relevance of politics in young women's everyday lives and also emphasises the importance of voter participation.
The National Union of Students (NUS) has used various methods to inform students about registering.
"Some didn't realise they had to register," says the NUS President Toni Pearce.
"They thought because they pay their taxes and that the people know who they are, they would automatically be able to vote."
#RegAFriend is the latest NUS online campaign targeting students to encourage their friends to register.
Students are taking selfies with friends crossing fingers and adding their photos with the #RegAFriend hashtag online.
"It's an opportunity to talk about politics as well as people taking responsibility for others to register rather than focus individually," says Toni.
"They care and are interested in many issues. They are concerned about the cost of living for students which is really high, and they are worried about getting a job and if it pays enough to pay back their student fees."
No matter how seemingly wacky the idea, many students have heeded the campaign's message.
The University of East Anglia ran a Goats for Votes registration drive.
"The idea was that if students registered to vote, they can get a play with some goats," explained Toni, who added that the idea led to 2,000 students signing up.
"Students are a force to be reckoned with and it is not just the NUS talking about issues, so are they."
Shout Out UK, a news network for young people has won a commission for a youth leaders debate that will be shown on Channel 4 on 28 April.


Russia has said it will introduce a new scrappage scheme to try to boost flagging car sales.

The government has put aside 10bn roubles ($272m; Â£164m) to pay owners of cars that are at least six-years old an incentive to buy a new vehicle.
Car owners will be eligible for a discount of at least 40,000 roubles.
The government expects the scheme, which will run to the end of the year, to subsidise the sale of more than 170,000 vehicles.
The scheme could "seriously stimulate sales," said Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, according to local news agencies.
Car sales fell by almost a quarter in July compared with a year earlier, following a sharp fall in the previous month.
Russia, along with many other countries including the US, the UK, Germany and France, first introduced a car scrappage scheme during the global economic downturn.


New portraits of MPs have been produced - and they've gone down a storm.

Photographer Chris McAndrew, who's snapped rock stars, actors and ballerinas, took the pictures in the Commons just after MPs were sworn in, following June's surprise general election.
Tory Paul Masterton, the new MP for East Renfrewshire, told Radio 4's Today programme the pictures went down well on social media - and showed MPs weren't "alien species" but a "reflection of us as real people".
"It's the first time we've been able to look at notifications on Twitter and burst out laughing rather than feel like we wanted to burst into tears," he says.
"It's been done in good spirits... It's been a nice start to the summer."
Certainly there's a real freshness to the pictures - particularly compared with what went before.
Mr Masterton ruefully acknowledged his nickname.
End of Twitter post  by @PM4EastRen
And Conservative Sir Edward Leigh harked back to a previous look.
End of Twitter post  by @EdwardLeighMP
Labour MP Carolyn Harris was another.
End of Twitter post  by @carolynharris24
The impetus behind these new portraits comes from the digital team at UK Parliament, led by Carrie Barclay.
How did she hope people would see the pictures?
"I wanted to focus on the human element of Parliament," she says. "Chris's distinctive style and ability to put people immediately at ease meant we could capture a raw, but sophisticated, image that showed MPs as relatable people.
"I want people to see these portraits as part of our commitment to a more open and transparent, modern Parliament."
And there's certainly been a positive response on social media.
BBC Trending: fun with MPs' portraits
"It's been wonderful to see how people have reacted to the portraits," she says.
"There's a clear need for members of the public to be able to recognise the person that represents them in Parliament, but seeing how so many people (and plenty of MPs) have used them to strike up conversations and share jokes and stories has been really exciting."
How did the team get so many busy MPs in front of the camera? They used the moments after each MP was sworn in following their election to Parliament, which "gave us an unprecedented opportunity to take an official portrait of each member without complicated shoot schedules, myriad locations, diary management, or difficult staffing issues", Barclay explains on her blog.
She adds: "Chris has an innate ability to put people at ease immediately. It's one of the reasons he's had the distinguished career that he has, and it's one of the reasons we chose to work with him.
"Chris is incredibly down to earth, and the atmosphere in the room was relaxed and informal.
"Lots of MPs were laughing and joking with each other as they waited their turn, and that also really helped - they were happy and relaxed when they walked through the door - which is half the battle."
The portraits are informal, direct and open. They are there to be used for MPs themselves, as well as for wider use. Will it make the public see MPs as people, rather than part of a system?
"There's no hidden agenda with these portraits," she says. "MPs are people, just like everyone else. We simply wanted to have strong, recognisable and consistent portraits of them that were so good, everyone would want to use them. We want to promote an open and transparent, modern Parliament, and these portraits support that ambition."
It's peers next - all 800 plus of them. That's going to pose something more of a challenge, surely?
"When we started this project we weren't sure what we'd be able to achieve," she says.
"The snap election afforded us an opportunity, and we made the most of it. There are plans to update the photos of members of the House of Lords on the parliamentary website but it's too early in the planning to be able to give you any more details on that."
These photos of MPs, and all related crops, are released under an Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) licence.


Amal Clooney has given birth to twins - a girl named Ella and a boy named Alexander.

They were born in London on Tuesday morning, the publicist of her actor husband George Clooney said.
"Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine," Stan Rosenfield said before joking: "George is sedated and should recover in a few days."
George, 56, married the lawyer, 39, in September 2014 in Venice.
Amal Clooney's parents said they were delighted to welcome their grandchildren.
"They are in great health, all is perfect," Amal's father Ramzi Alamuddin, who lives in Beirut, told AFP news agency.
"I am very happy for them, they will be great parents."
Amal's mother Baria, who is in hospital with her daughter, said: "We are over the moon. It was a beautiful delivery. The babies are beautiful and are doing well."
Other celebrities have congratulated the couple.
Actress Nicole Kidman, speaking at the Glamour Women Of The Year awards in London, said:  "Any time a baby is born, I'm like: 'Ahhh'. So two babies it's double 'ahhh'. They have the most joyful journey ahead."
Mia Farrow also added her best wishes, tweeting: "Wishing Ella and Alexander Clooney a warm welcome and every blessing - and congratulations to Amal and George!"
Comedian and TV host Ellen DeGeneres tweeted her best wishes with a reference to George Clooney's Oceans Eleven film franchise: "Welcome to the world, Ella and Alexander Clooney. Congratulations, George and Amal, or as I'm now calling you, Ocean's Four."
Social media reaction has included comments about how "normal" the twins' names are.
One Twitter user wrote: "Classy people give their kids classy names. Ella and Alexander."
And another tweeted: "What, George and Amal Clooney gave their new twins nice normal names? Ella and Alexander. Isn't that a violation of celebrity rules?"
The couple's friend, actor Matt Damon, confirmed that Amal was pregnant with twins back in February.
He was speaking after the news of the pregnancy was reported by CBS's The Talk host Julie Chen.
Explaining how Clooney revealed the news, Damon said: "I was working with him last fall and he pulled me aside on set and I almost started crying.
"I was so happy for him. And I was like, 'How far along is she?' And he goes, 'Eight weeks.'
"I said, 'Are you out of your mind? Don't tell anybody else! Don't you know the 12-week rule?' Of course he doesn't. I was like: 'Just shut up, man.'"
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.


A British-Iranian aid worker accused of causing the death of a young Indian boy has been acquitted on appeal.

Narges Kalbasi Ashtari was convicted in 2014 and jailed for a year over the death of five-year-old Asim Jilakara, who disappeared from a picnic she had organised.
It is thought Asim was swept away by a strong current. His body was lost.
Ms Ashtari, 28, denied causing death by negligence and has been on bail pending the outcome of an appeal.
She said she gave a statement about the death to the police on the day, but a month later officers filed a complaint against her, insisting that she had thrown the boy into the river.
Jilakara's mother accused the aid worker of killing her son, but Ms Ashtari maintained that she was caught up in local corruption after she refused to pay bribes to local officials after the accident.
She was banned from leaving India during her appeal, which drew the attention of international aid organisations. An online petition about her case was signed hundreds of thousands of times.
On the petition she wrote: "I have gone through the most horrific forms of abuse by a group of people with immense power, influence and protection."
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed the acquittal in a post on his Instagram account.
He said: "I felt happy about the news of the acquittal of the benevolent Iranian lady Ms Kalbasi. Greatest congratulations to Ms Kalbasi and regards for her because of her patience and perseverance, and thanks to colleagues and [the Iranian] people's campaign in her support."
Born in Iran, Ms Ashtari moved to the UK when she was four and then to Canada to live with her aunt after losing both her parents.
She moved to India in 2011, to Mukundapur in Orissa, one of India's poorest states, where she established a foundation for orphaned children.


Thirteen North Koreans working at the same restaurant abroad have defected to South Korea, Seoul officials say.

People have defected from North Korean restaurants overseas before but this is the first mass escape from the same one, a South Korean official said.
Overseas North Korean workers are usually thought to be chosen largely because of their loyalty.
North Korean defections are a bitter point of contention between the two Koreas.
Pyongyang has accused Seoul of enticing North Korean citizens to defect, something Seoul denies.
South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon Hee said one man and 12 women arrived in the South on Thursday.
Mr Jeong did not reveal where they were working to avoid causing diplomatic rifts or endangering North Koreans still working in the country.
According to a staff member at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Danang, Vietnam, a North Korean restaurant there recently closed down and all staff left the country, the Associated Press reported.
It could not confirm a link to the defections.
North Korea is reported to run an estimated 130 restaurants in other countries, primarily in Asia, providing essential hard currency for the regime.
Seoul believes the restaurants have been struggling since new sanctions were applied on Pyongyang following a recent nuclear test.
The defectors said they learned about the South by watching South Korean TV dramas online and began to distrust North Korean propaganda, Mr Jeong said.
The Unification Ministry's website says more than 29,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea as of March.


Tributes have been paid to an "immensely talented" motorbike racer who died after a crash at the Oliver's Mount Spring Cup in Scarborough.

Billy Redmayne, 25, and from the Isle of Man, sustained severe head injuries in the crash and passed away in hospital in Middlesbrough on Monday.
Redmayne had already won the Junior Manx Grand Prix in 2015 and was set to make his TT debut this summer.
A Manx Motorcycle Club spokesman said he "made a huge impact on the sport".
The Bob Smith Spring Cup meeting at Scarborough was abandoned following the Manx soldier's accident at the weekend.
Redmayne was a serving member of the Parachute Regiment for eight years and completed three tours of Afghanistan.
This year his regiment had given him their full support to pursue his road racing ambitions.
Jim Hunter of the Manx Motorcycling Club, who organise the Manx Grand Prix, said he was a "modest and very unassuming character with an immense talent".
He added: "He was a real kingpin in the paddock. Everybody appreciated his opinion and everybody looked up to him. He made an huge impact on our event. It is such a sad loss for all of us."
TT riders and road racing fans have paid their tributes on social media.
Twenty-three time TT winner John McGuinness tweeted: "Really sorry to hear the terrible news of the passing of Billy Redmayne. Thoughts are with family and friends at this moment #RIPmate."
Meanwhile, fellow Manx racer Conor Cummins tweeted: "Terrible to read of the passing of Billy Redmayne this morning. No doubt a talented young rider. My prayers are with his family and friends."
TT organiser Paul Phillips said Redmayne was a "smart, ambitious and talented young man".


MSPs have passed legislation requiring all airgun owners in Scotland to hold a licence.

The Scottish government pledged to introduce the licensing scheme following the death of Glasgow toddler Andrew Morton, who was shot dead by an airgun in 2005.
The Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Bill also contains tougher regulations on pubs, strip bars, taxi firms and scrap dealers.
It was passed by 92 votes to 17.
Offences involving air weapons accounted for almost half of all offences involving a firearm in 2013/14, according to Scottish government figures.
The new law will mean anyone wanting to own an air gun will need to demonstrate they have a legitimate reason for doing so.
Sharon McMillan, the mother of Andrew Morton, was at the Scottish Parliament as MSPs debated the bill.
She told the BBC: "We are totally delighted that this day has finally come. We never thought it would come. It is a step in the right direction. I know it isn't an outright ban, but it is the next best thing to it.
"I would love to see the guns getting banned altogether, but I know that farmers and pest control need it for work.
"I just hope that they stick to their words and call it 'Andrew's Law', because that is what we are fighting for. We have a good future to look forward to, knowing that we have actually achieved something for him."
Labour backed the bill despite describing it as "far from ideal", while the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats said while they supported many parts of the legislation, they could not back measures relating to the licensing of air weapons, arguing that the matter should have been addressed in a separate piece of legislation.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: "We have a long standing commitment to reducing gun crime, and the licensing of air weapons has been central to that aim. It featured in our manifesto in 2007 and 2011, and the powers to regulate on air weapons were finally devolved to this Parliament in the Scotland Act of 2012.
"We have acted on this new power, consulting widely with experts and the public. Our proposals have not always been universally welcomed but we believe they strike the right balance between respecting the interests of those people who shoot legitimately for work, sport, pest control or leisure, and the need to ensure that those who misuse guns do not have access to them."
The bill includes a wide reform of the licensing system in Scotland and will give councils the power to reject applications for new pubs, off-licences, lap dancing clubs and hire cars on the grounds that there are too many in the area.
It was endorsed by Holyrood's local government committee in March, but committee members called for action to close a "loophole" which could see strip clubs circumvent the new laws.
Premises which hold four or fewer sexual entertainment events a year would be exempt, but MSPs feared this could lead to strippers moving from venue to venue to avoid the law.
However, theatre productions that contain nudity will be exempt from the licensing shake-up.
Other provisions include a requirement for pub owners to prove that they are fit to run a premises, including disclosing spent convictions.
Councils must have the stated objective of reducing the consumption of alcohol when considering new licences while those who give alcohol to children to drink in public will be criminalised.
Communities will be given a greater say over the opening of lap-dancing bars while councils will also be able to judge whether there is an over-provision of private hire cars in the area.
The bill will also impose new regulations on scrap metal dealers to cut down on theft, including a requirement to get proper identification from those selling scrap and refuse payment in cash.
You can read through the debate on BBC Scotland's Democracy Live page.


The world's biggest producer of canned tuna, Thai Union Frozen Products, is buying Norwegian seafood firm King Oscar, for an undisclosed sum.

Thai Union, which owns the 'John West' and 'Chicken of the Sea' brands, is looking to increase earnings overseas to offset slowing sales at home.
The purchase comes days after it bought French smoked salmon producer MerAlliance, for an undisclosed amount.
The deal is expected to close later this year pending regulatory approvals.
Thai Union president and chief executive Thiraphong Chansiri called it a "relatively small, but highly strategic acquisition for our group".
"It will give us a unique position and an opportunity to build 'King Oscar' brand in the market worldwide and into our global brand portfolio," he said in a statement.
"In addition to organic growth, mergers and acquisitions will continue to be the company's key strategy for business expansion in both short and long term."
Thai Union said it was aiming to increase sales to $8bn (Â£4.9bn) by 2020 following the purchase of King Oscar, which is one of the world's largest suppliers of canned fish such as premium-quality sardines.
King Oscar has two factories in Poland and Norway that help churn out 90 million cans per year. The privately-owned company logged sales worth $80m last year.
Geir-Arne Asnes, chief executive of King Oscar said the deal marked an "expansive phase" for the brand globally.
"Now we will be part of one of the strongest seafood companies in the world," he said.


Sheffield United confirmed their return to the Championship after a six-year absence with victory at Northampton.

The Blades knew a win was enough to send them up and, after Marc Richards put the hosts ahead, Leon Clarke and John Fleck scored to secure promotion.
Chris Wilder made a triumphant return to Northampton, having led the Cobblers to the League Two title last season.
United will win the League One title if they take four points from their final four games of the campaign.
Even if the Blades had lost, they would still have been promoted as third-placed Fleetwood were beaten at Oldham.
Promotion from League One has been a long time coming for United, who were relegated from the Championship under Micky Adams in May 2011.
They had three failed play-off campaigns in their previous five seasons in the third tier, but have secured automatic promotion this time around with four games to spare.
Danny Wilson, David Weir, Nigel Clough and Nigel Adkins all had spells in charge of the Blades before Wilder, a boyhood Sheffield United fan, was named as manager in May 2016.
Wilder's appointment came shortly after he had led Northampton to automatic promotion from the fourth tier, but he made a slow start as his new side took only one point from his first four league matches.
However, the Blades have lost only three more league games since 20 August and have not dropped outside the top two places in the division in 2017.
Key to the club's success this term has been captain and striker Billy Sharp, who has scored 26 goals in 42 league outings.
Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Wilder has taken charge of 88 league matches and won 55, collecting 187 points.
Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield: "It's just incredible. It's life-changing and I feel quite emotional about it.
"We all put our heart and soul into it. They're a special group of players and they deserve to go down as that because they have had pressure on them week in and week out. I am so proud of them.
"The scenes at the end of the game and in the dressing room will live with me for a lifetime."
Match ends, Northampton Town 1, Sheffield United 2.
Second Half ends, Northampton Town 1, Sheffield United 2.
Corner,  Sheffield United. Conceded by Rod McDonald.
Corner,  Sheffield United. Conceded by Marc Richards.
Foul by Shaun McWilliams (Northampton Town).
Kieron Freeman (Sheffield United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Goal!  Northampton Town 1, Sheffield United 2. John Fleck (Sheffield United) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Billy Sharp.
Foul by Shaun McWilliams (Northampton Town).
Billy Sharp (Sheffield United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Sheffield United. Ethan Ebanks-Landell replaces Leon Clarke.
Substitution, Northampton Town. Rod McDonald replaces Luke Williams.
Zander Diamond (Northampton Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Leon Clarke (Sheffield United).
John Fleck (Sheffield United) is shown the yellow card for hand ball.
Attempt missed. Paul Coutts (Sheffield United) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Corner,  Sheffield United. Conceded by Zander Diamond.
Attempt missed. Leon Clarke (Sheffield United) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
Corner,  Northampton Town. Conceded by Kieron Freeman.
Substitution, Northampton Town. Alex Revell replaces Michael Smith.
Substitution, Northampton Town. Shaun McWilliams replaces Paul Anderson.
John Fleck (Sheffield United) hits the bar with a right footed shot from very close range.
Corner,  Sheffield United. Conceded by Adam Smith.
Attempt saved. Billy Sharp (Sheffield United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Attempt missed. Matthew Taylor (Northampton Town) left footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
Michael Smith (Northampton Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jake M Wright (Sheffield United).
Corner,  Sheffield United. Conceded by David Buchanan.
Attempt saved. Jack O'Connell (Sheffield United) header from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Corner,  Sheffield United. Conceded by Zander Diamond.
Foul by Michael Smith (Northampton Town).
Jack O'Connell (Sheffield United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal!  Northampton Town 1, Sheffield United 1. Leon Clarke (Sheffield United) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by John Fleck.
Attempt saved. John Fleck (Sheffield United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Attempt saved. James Hanson (Sheffield United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Foul by David Buchanan (Northampton Town).
Kieron Freeman (Sheffield United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Northampton Town. Conceded by Jack O'Connell.
Attempt blocked. Brendon Moloney (Northampton Town) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Matthew Taylor (Northampton Town) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by John Fleck (Sheffield United).


The drummer of Ivory Coast's famous Magic System band has drowned at the age of 46, the group has said in a Facebook post.

Didier Deigna, known by the stage name Pepito, drowned at a beach in the small town of Jacqueville in southern Ivory Coast on Sunday, it said.
Magic System are particularly popular in French-speaking West Africa and in France.
Reports say Pepito died while trying to save another person who was drowning.
"For the last 16 years, Pepito was our backing vocalist, our drummer, but above all the conductor with our group Magic System," the band added in a statement.
Pepito's tragic loss comes a week after the sudden death of influential Congolese musician Papa Wemba, who collapsed on stage while performing in Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan.


Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says captain Wayne Rooney is likely to have found the criticism of him this week tough to deal with.

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Rooney apologised over "inappropriate" pictures that emerged of him at a wedding at the England team hotel.
Mourinho said: "Even if you build a wall around you to protect you from what people write or think, it always has points of fragility.
"We are flesh and blood, so I think it has an effect."
United return to Premier League action this weekend and host Arsenal at Old Trafford on Saturday (12:30 GMT kick-off), with the fourth-placed Gunners six points and two spots above the Red Devils in the table.
Rooney, 31, has trained this week after recovering from the knee injury that led to him being released from the England camp prior to Tuesday's 2-2 friendly draw against Spain at Wembley.
Mourinho refused to respond to questions about whether it was appropriate for his and the national team's captain to have been in a hotel bar drinking in the early hours of Sunday after England's 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over Scotland on Friday.
There have been reports a number of Rooney's England team-mates were out late themselves after being given the night off by interim manager Gareth Southgate.
Mourinho said: "If you go one by one, to see where these 23 players were, some of them were in worse places than the hotel bar."
The Football Association has refused to say where the rest of the squad were, although Everton defender Phil Jagielka was pictured with Rooney.
Mourinho, 53, said the FA should examine how it looks after England players in future.
"I learned since I was a kid, if someone lends me something, I have to take care of it even better than if it was mine," he said.
"You have to build something to protect what is not yours."
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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola: "When I was an international I sometimes had a drink. I was lucky there were no pictures.
"Everyone is entitled to a private life so we have to respect what other people do."
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: "All the legends we love and admire drank like devils and smoked like crazy.
"Once when Borussia Dortmund had 11 points and were last in the table, I had a party with some friends in the city. Nobody had seen me because I had a mask.
At the end, when I was a little bit drunk I lifted the mask. The next thing there is a picture. The next day Bild said "That is how Klopp celebrates 18th!"
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Sunderland and ex-Manchester United manager David Moyes: "He got some time off, so I don't see too big a problem."
Mourinho has an excellent record against Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, winning eight and losing one of their 15 meetings.
The Portuguese has won three Premier League titles, over two spells as Chelsea manager, and has won the Champions League twice. Wenger has also won the Premier League on three occasions - in 1998, 2002 and 2004 - but is yet to win the Champions League.
However, Mourinho claims the media have more respect for the Frenchman.
He said: "Tomorrow is a match between two managers with the best record in the Premier League.
"Should we be respected even in periods when our results are not the best? Mr Wenger has that from all of you.
"I don't think I have even though my last Premier League title was 18 months ago, not 18 years."
Mourinho was criticised this season for his treatment of defenders Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw - who he suggested could have played through injuries after the 3-1 win over Swansea earlier this month - this season and for a run of four league games without a win.
"Maybe it's my fault. I put the level so high that people don't expect anything different," he added.
"I won in four different countries. I won in Europe. I always won in the first or second season so nobody is saying, 'let's see if he can win with Manchester United in the third season'. Nobody says I deserve time or credibility.
"I want to be champion in every club I have worked. I want to do that at Manchester United."
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Mourinho said Shaw would play at some point in the next few games and refused to comment on the fitness of the left-back's England international team-mate Smalling, who has broken his toe.
"You have your sources. You trust them. You believe them," he said.
"You did that for 15 days. Now you are not going to ask me to comment on your trusted sources. You wrote, spoke, comment, criticised. I don't say a word.
"You do the big headlines."


Vote Leave and Britain Stronger in Europe have been designated as the official Leave and Remain campaigns in June's EU referendum.

Vote Leave - backed by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove - saw off a challenge from a rival campaign Grassroots Out, backed by UKIP leader Nigel Farage.
The campaigns will be allowed to spend up to £7m, get a free mailshot, TV broadcasts and £600,000 public funds.
The Electoral Commission made the decision after weeks of deliberation.
It is likely to have a major impact on the shape of the debate in the run up to 23 June's referendum.
It means Nigel Farage will not feature on official Leave campaign literature, with Vote Leave insiders fearing the UKIP leader would alienate centre ground voters they believe hold the key to winning. The group wants to make a "positive" case for leaving the EU, with less emphasis on immigration.
Britain Stronger in Europe is likely to continue to focus on the impact of an exit on jobs and economic prosperity.
Grassroots Out founder, Tory MP Peter Bone, said his campaign would continue, but with a spending limit of £700,000, as he attempted to draw a line under the bitter war of words between his group and Vote Leave.
He added: "We look forward to working closely and productively with all those who want to see the UK set free to determine its own destiny."
A spokesman for Vote Leave said: "Our focus has always been the real campaign and the £350m we send to Brussels every week which we want to spend on our priorities like the NHS. We will continue to work constructively with everyone who wants to campaign for a Leave vote."
Nigel Farage offered an olive branch to Vote Leave, saying he could work with them as they had accepted his argument that immigration must play a more central role in the debate.
The UKIP leader added: "Regardless of whichever campaign got the designation, UKIP would always have played a big role in this campaign as the only national party committed to leaving the EU and with a substantial £4m spending limit.
"I have always wanted all on the Leave side to come together and have done my best to try and make this happen. I'll continue to do so in the run up to the referendum to ensure the Leave side wins."
But Leave.EU, a group backed by UKIP donor Arron Banks, which supported Grassroots Out, said it was planning to seek a judicial review of the Electoral Commission's decision, with Mr Banks claiming it "smells of political corruption" and did not make sense.
The Trade Union and Socialist Coalition also applied for designation as the official Leave campaign, claiming left-wing anti-EU views were not being properly represented, but its application was also rejected by the Electoral Commission.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron - who is backing a vote to Remain in the EU - welcomed the designation of Britain Stronger in Europe with a message on Twitter: "Congratulations to @StrongerIn who have been designated as the Remain campaign in the EU referendum. We're stronger, safer and better off in."
Britain Stronger in Europe - chaired by former Marks and Spencer boss Stuart, now Lord, Rose - was the only campaign to apply for Remain designation.
The campaign's executive director Will Straw said: "I'm delighted that the Electoral Commission have recognised that Britain Stronger in Europe has the breadth of support, the unity of purpose and the campaigning organisation to be the official Remain campaign in the upcoming referendum."
He congratulated Vote Leave on gaining the designation but called on them to "come clean with the British people and say what Out looks like".
The elections watchdog said it had based its decision on the campaign "which appears to us to represent those campaigning for that outcome to the greatest extent".
The Commission's assessment scorecard, which took into account factors such as breadth of support and funding levels, gave the Out designation to Vote Leave by 49 to 45.
Electoral Commission chief executive Claire Bassett said: "After careful consideration, the Commission decided that 'Vote Leave Ltd' better demonstrated that it has the structures in place to ensure the views of other campaigners are represented in the delivery of its campaign.
"It therefore represents, to a greater extent than 'Go Movement Ltd', those campaigning for the 'Leave' outcome, which is the test we must apply.
"We encourage all campaigners to now focus on engaging voters on the historic decision they will have to take on 23 June."


China says Muslim separatists trained in Pakistan were behind an attack which killed six civilians in the western region of Xinjiang on Sunday.

In an online statement, the local government said "armed terrorists" stormed a restaurant, killing two, then fatally stabbed four people outside.
Police responding to the attack shot dead five suspects.
The attack was part of a weekend of violence which left up to 18 people dead.
Kashgar is in west of Xinjiang region, which has a Muslim Uighur population and has seen regular outbreaks of ethnic tension, mainly triggered by the influx of Han Chinese.
In a statement the Pakistani foreign office has said that all "incidents of terrorism are deplorable" and that it is fully confident that the Chinese government will succeed in frustrating the "evil designs of... extremists and separatists, who constitute an evil force".
The statement said that Pakistan "will continue to extend its full co-operation and support to the Government of the People's Republic of China against the the separatist East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).
The Kashgar city government said suspects captured after the restaurant attack had admitted their leaders had joined the ETIM and been trained in making firearms and explosives.
The attackers followed "extremist religious ideology" and advocated "jihad", the statement said.
The government said four suspects had been shot dead at the scene and another died in hospital.
The Kashgar government's online statement did not mention Saturday's attack, which a Xinjiang government-run website said began when assailants hijacked a truck at traffic lights.
Tianshannet.com said two men stabbed the driver to death before driving the vehicle into bystanders.
They then got out of the vehicle and started attacking people at random, the report said.
It said the crowd turned on the assailants - killing one of them - and the second man was captured.
State-run news agency Xinhua said the attack had been preceded by two explosions.
The weekend attacks were the second outbreak of violence in Xinjiang in a month.
On 18 July, several police officials and a number of civilians were killed in an attack on a police station in the city of Hotan.
Chinese officials blamed the attack on "terrorists" from the Uighur minority.
Uighur activists said the security forces had provoked clashes by opening fire on a peaceful demonstration.
According to China's most recent census, Xinjiang's largest population group are ethnic Uighurs, Muslims with strong cultural ties to Central Asia.
Our correspondent, Martin Patience, says many Uighurs are unhappy about what they say is the repressive rule of Beijing and are angered by the migration of the majority Han Chinese to the region.
In 2009, riots erupted in Xinjiang in which nearly 200 people died after tensions flared between the Uighurs and the Han.


One of the UK's biggest business lobby groups has urged the cabinet to stop "dancing around the edges" of Brexit.

The Institute of Directors (IoD) called on the cabinet to come up with a "transitional agreement" to smooth the move to Brexit.
It wants it to bridge the "the Brexit Gap" between leaving the EU and setting up new trading arrangements.
It warned that without agreement, business faces "short-term chaotic cliff edges".
The group criticised the cabinet for engaging in what it called "a range of speculative arguments over transition".
In recent weeks cabinet members have given opposing views on how long a transition period would last and what it would involve.
The IoD report Bridging the Brexit Gap: Options for Transition said: "Instead of dancing around the edges, this issue must become a policy discussion for the cabinet.
"This could minimise the growing level of confusion and uncertainty in this area."
However, Gerard Lyons, an economist and leading figure in the Economists for Brexit group this week described concern about a "cliff-edge" Brexit as "alarmist talk" similar to the fear of the Y2K bug threat to computers at the turn of the millennium.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond warned in June: "There is a large amount of business investment that is being postponed until business can see more clearly what the likely outcome of these discussions is."
Allie Renison, IoD head of EU and Trade Policy, said: "The Chancellor is right to worry about business investment stalling.
"This is among the most frequently considered changes to deal with Brexit, alongside relocation of operations to the EU.
"The latter is especially true for IoD members in Northern Ireland who are currently considering co-location [or] relocation."
The IoD suggests a range of options including:
Ms Renison said: "The IoD has put forward this range of options for transition in the hopes that it sparks a proper debate on the practicalities of how best to Brexit.
"Prioritising interim arrangements and thereby mitigating the risks of EU exit means the eventual opportunities aren't diminished by short-term chaotic cliff edges."


The World Bank has said the recent economic growth in the Palestinian Territories is unsustainable because of its heavy reliance on foreign aid.

The Palestinian Authority had begun establishing institutions for a future state, but the economy was not strong enough to support it, a report warned.
It was critical to increase trade and spur private sector growth, it added.
The PA said last month it was facing a funding crisis, with debts of $1.5bn (Â£968m) and a cash shortfall of $500m.
The admission that civil servants would not be paid in July led some Palestinians to demand the dismantling of the PA, which was established under the 1994 Oslo Accords.
The World Bank said donor countries had propped up the Palestinian economy by giving the PA billions of dollars in aid, helping it achieve a 7.7% increase in GDP between 2007 and 2011.
But the report said the growth had only occurred in government services, real estate and other non-tradable sectors. The manufacturing and agriculture sectors had shrunk, and aid levels had begun to fall because of the global economic downturn, it noted.
"The Palestinian Authority has made steady progress in many years towards establishing the institutions required by a future state but the economy is currently not strong enough to support such a state," said the author of the report, economist John Nasir.
"Economic sustainability cannot be based on foreign aid so it is critical for the PA to increase trade and spur private sector growth," he added.
The report also said the security restrictions imposed by the Israeli government continued to stymie investment, but there was little that could be done about them until there was a peace agreement. Direct talks have been suspended since September 2010.
"However, there are a number of areas where the PA can focus its attention to not only improve current performance, but to lay the groundwork for a future state," it said.
"A future Palestinian state should seek to emulate Asian countries that have managed to sustain high levels of economic growth by adopting an outward orientation and integrating into world supply chains."