A major parliamentary report into the London 2012 Olympics warns that the prospect of an "effective and robust" legacy from the Games is in jeopardy unless there is a change in government approach.

The House of Lords Select Committee on Olympic and Paralympic Legacy says the Games were an "outstanding success", but urges the government to appoint a minister with overall responsibility for producing legacy benefits which, it warns, "are in danger of faltering".
The report finds "little evidence" of increased participation in sport, highlights the uneven distribution of economic benefits of the Games across the UK, and also criticises funding body UK Sport for its 'no compromise' policy on sports without short-term medal prospects.
[UK Sport's funding] approach has an inherent bias against team sports, and fails to help emerging sport
"It is clear to everyone that the Olympic and Paralympic Games were an outstanding success," said the committee chairman, Lord Harris of Haringey.
"However, since the Games, the same political impetus and agreed deadlines no longer exist and many aspects of legacy are in danger of faltering, whilst some have fallen by the wayside.
"There is confusion on the timeframes and targets involved in delivery and a lack of clear ownership of legacy as a whole."
The committee, which took evidence from Mayor of London Boris Johnson, former Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell, and former Games organising committee chairman Lord Coe among others, recommended that a minister be given responsibility for the Olympic legacy, enabling greater co-ordination across Whitehall departments.
It also believes the Mayor of London should be given control over further development of east London and the Olympic Park in Stratford.
And there is a stark warning over the geographic disparity across the UK in the economic benefits stemming from the Games.
Government figures state that £2.5bn of additional foreign direct investment had been secured since the Games, resulting in 31,000 new jobs.
But while London and the south-east of England benefited with nearly 15,000 additional jobs, just seven were created in the North East.
London 2012 may have promised to "inspire a generation" but the committee of cross-party peers says it found "little evidence [of a] step change" in sports participation levels across the UK.
"Whilst some sports have performed well, many others were unprepared for capturing the enthusiasm of the Games," added Lord Harris.
"We call on the government urgently to develop action plans to ensure the forthcoming decade of major sports events can be leveraged to create the step change."
The committee also called on the Department for Education to give greater emphasis to PE in schools and to ensure teachers had the necessary training.
UK Sport, the body that invests approximately £100m in high-performance athletes and teams each year and decides funding levels for Olympic and Paralympic sports, is also criticised in the report.
Following London 2012, 18 sports were given increases in funding.
Five, including swimming, had their budgets cut - with volleyball suffering an 88% reduction in its allocation after all four Team GB teams were eliminated in the Olympic group stages last year.
But the committee believes not enough is being done by UK Sport to help both team and emerging sports.
"The 'no compromise' approach of UK Sport has delivered medals for Team GB and has clearly improved top-end importance," said Lord Harris.
"This approach, however, has an inherent bias against team sports, and fails to help emerging sports, some of which, such as handball and volleyball, generated real enthusiasm at London 2012.
"It is not a one-size-fits-all approach for all sports, and we make the case for a different approach to be applied to developing sports that have less prospect of short-term medal success."
UK Sport said it would be working on a full response to the report with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
"UK Sport's 'No Compromise' approach is about getting the right support to the right athletes for the right reasons over an eight-year investment cycle," a statement from the funding body said.
"It has created a high-performance system that is admired the world over and to abandon it now would enable other nations, who want to replicate GB's Olympic and Paralympic success, to seize upon the opportunity."


South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has dismissed Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan after days of speculation that rocked the country's markets,

Mr Gordhan will be replaced by Malusi Gigaba, said a statement issued late on Thursday by the preisdent's office.
Earlier this week, President Zuma recalled Mr Gordhan from planned events in the UK and US.
Sfiso Buthelezi will become Deputy Finance Minister, replacing Mcebisi Jonas.
"I have directed the new ministers and deputy ministers to work tirelessly with their colleagues to bring about radical socioeconomic transformation and to ensure that the promise of a better life for the poor and the working class becomes a reality," President Zuma's statement said.
Last October, Mr Gordhan was charged with fraud - but the charges were later dropped.
He has described the allegations as politically motivated.
Mr Gordhan has been seen as standing up to President Zuma in cabinet and has warned against corruption becoming rampant.
The South African Communist Party, an ally of the governing African National Congress, had earlier lodged a formal objection to plans to dismiss Mr Gordhan, who is widely respected internationally.
Many senior ANC figures also opposed the finance minister's removal.


Juventus moved within touching distance of a fifth successive Serie A title by cruising past lowly Palermo.

Germany midfielder Sami Khedira controlled Paul Pogba's pinpoint pass with his chest to fire in a stunning volley from 15 yards on 10 minutes.
Pogba added the second after break, eluding his marker at the far post to bundle in Alvaro Morata's flick.
On-loan Chelsea winger Juan Cuadrado whipped in from 18 yards, before Simone Padoin slid in a late fourth.
Juve are nine points clear of second-placed Napoli with five games left.
Massimiliano Allegri's team could clinch the Scudetto at Fiorentina next weekend - if Napoli drop points against Bologna on Tuesday and Juve beat Lazio on Wednesday.
However, Juve could be without Italy midfielder Claudio Marchisio for the run-in after he was taken off on a stretcher with a knee injury.
Meanwhile, Francesco Totti came off the bench to score a late equaliser for Champions League-chasing Roma in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Atalanta.
The 39-year-old forward earned a potentially vital point for the Giallorossi when he drilled in with five minutes remaining.
Roma led 2-0 after strikes from France left-back Lucas Digne and Belgium midfielder Radja Nainggolan, but Luciano Spalletti's side allowed the bottom-half hosts back into the game.
Former Roma midfielder Marco D'Alessandro reduced the deficit on 33 minutes, before Marco Borriello - another ex-Giallorossi player - netted twice after the break to put Atalanta ahead.
However, Roma legend Totti - whose contract expires at the end of the season - levelled just eight minutes after replacing Daniele De Rossi.
Third-place Roma remain in Serie A's final Champions League spot, although Inter Milan are only four points behind with five games left.
Fiorentina remain on course to clinch Europa League qualification after Paulo Sousa's fifth-placed side won 3-1 against Sassuolo.
At the other end of the table, Frosinone boosted their survival hopes by nicking an injury-time 2-1 win at bottom club Verona, while fifth-bottom Udinese are five points clear of the relegation zone after a goalless draw against Chievo.


Jose Mourinho may have left Chelsea after his sacking on Thursday - but the fall-out from his dismissal was littered all over Stamford Bridge during Saturday's 3-1 win against Sunderland.

Chelsea's miraculously improved performance was met with scorn and abuse from large sections of their own support, the finger being pointed firmly in the direction of players who they felt had downed tools and effectively forced Mourinho out.
The sudden upturn was described as "disgraceful" by BBC Sport pundits Mark Lawrenson and Chris Sutton, while Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa felt the full force of the fury of their own fans, who clearly felt the club's players had been instrumental in Mourinho's demise.
Make no mistake - there was a toxic atmosphere inside Stamford Bridge and it was almost impossible to find anyone who blamed Mourinho for the dreadful performances that left Chelsea in 16th place, one point off the relegation places, before kick-off.
The first real show of support for Mourinho came in the shape of a banner draped from the Matthew Harding Stand - which was still fluttering after the final whistle - that read: "Jose Mourinho: Simply The Best".
The true strength of pro-Mourinho feeling was revealed before kick-off when the names of Fabregas and Costa were read out and loud jeers swept around Stamford Bridge - repeated when the pair were substituted in the second half.
And, perhaps even more remarkably, each Chelsea goal was greeted with chants for Mourinho as much as a celebration, the second from Pedro met with a pointed and poisonous chant demanding to know why these same players had suddenly lifted their levels.
It is a very fair question given a run of four home defeats in eight Premier League games before Saturday.
Mourinho was supported with chants and banners, many making further accusations against the players.
One read: "The 3 rats. Hazard, Cesc and Costa". Another was emblazoned with the words "30 Pieces Of Silver Judas. The Players v Jose, One Of Us" and "Our Jose".
This was all played out under the gaze and within earshot of the man who made that sacrifice, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, sitting next to club legend Didier Drogba on a visit back to Stamford Bridge, and newly appointed interim boss Guus Hiddink, who must calm this mutinous atmosphere having taken charge until the end of the season.
The better Chelsea looked, with Oscar seemingly rejuvenated and even Branislav Ivanovic looking more like his old self, the more the discontent grew in a surreal first half.
When the chant "Stand Up For The Special One" started up it was hard to see a Chelsea fan not on their feet. The love aimed at their former manager was that strong.
The suspicion that Chelsea's players were suddenly finding their old form now Mourinho was out of the door did not help the mood.
Steve Holland, in charge until Hiddink takes over, said: "Obviously the supporters have a right to express their opinion but clearly the fans had a view on certain things and it is their right to do that.
"I'm sure if the players play and compete like they did on Saturday then I don't see any reason why the supporters won't be happy with that."
Set against the desperate fare served up this season, this much-improved performance meant many Chelsea fans had every right to ask where they were when they were not so good, to clean up the actual chant, and whether it really was player power (or lack of it on the pitch) that brought Mourinho down.
One of the gravest allegations you can make against any professional sportsman is that they are not trying or not giving their best.
And yet that was exactly the accusation aimed at Chelsea's players by large sections of their own support.
One thing is certain: there was more of a spring in Chelsea's step from kick-off, and more freedom, with Oscar unveiling two backheels and a rabona cross early on to almost confirm the handbrake is off.
The nervousness returned when Sunderland substitute Fabio Borini made it 3-1 but ultimately this was as easy as it has been all season for Chelsea - a game Mourinho might have relished to pick his players off the floor had he still been in charge.
Sunderland's incompetence certainly helped to settle early nerves. What would Mourinho have given for such a soft start and two easy goals?
Chelsea captain John Terry insisted there was no player power at work and that they simply got on with the football and left decisions to Abramovich and his cohorts.
There are two sides to every story and there was no doubt Mourinho seemed derailed from day one this season, particularly after the clash with team doctor Eva Carneiro that has provided a sub-plot to the whole season.
He has seemed distracted and locked on course for confrontation too often, so he cannot simply be absolved from blame. If he takes the credit for titles (and he more or less did at his final press conference at Leicester City on Monday) then he must take blame too.
Mourinho, however, has a powerful hold on Chelsea's fans, understandable given the success he has brought them, and it seems this force of personality has led to the supporters more or less putting total responsibility on the players.
Chelsea's fans are well within their right to apportion blame - and so many of these players have simply not performed this season - but logic dictates Mourinho had to have played a part in his own departure.
And, more specifically, at Manchester United?
As news of Norwich City's victory at United filtered to west London there was suddenly the prospect that the man having love showered upon him at Stamford Bridge could end up being adored at Old Trafford.
Louis van Gaal's reign is plunging into crisis. Mourinho's camp issued a statement on Saturday saying he will continue to live in England while insisting his batteries are fully charged and he has no intention of taking a break or sabbatical.
His trusted former assistant Holland said as much.
Holland, who will join Mourinho for a pre-Christmas farewell meal, said: "He will be back in football quickly because there will be big clubs that want him, and secondly because he needs football. In my opinion he's not the sort of guy who's going to spend six or seven months at home doing nothing in particular."
Join the dots and this is not what a manager struggling desperately at one of the world's biggest clubs want to hear.
Just as when former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was fighting for his future and Jurgen Klopp was available after leaving Borussia Dortmund, Van Gaal will feel the heat from the presence of an unemployed Mourinho, heat that will only get more intense with every bad result.
Mourinho felt the love from Chelsea on Saturday. Will he be feeling it from Manchester United if Van Gaal's struggles continue?


Labour politicians have criticised David Cameron for what they said were "disgusting and shameful" remarks about long-serving MP Dennis Skinner.

In an answer to a question from the Bolsover MP in the Commons, Mr Cameron advised him "to take his pension".
Mr Skinner, who turned 80 earlier this year, has been an MP since 1970.
Labour MP Toby Perkins accused the PM of age "discrimination" while shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said the remarks were "shameful".
But one Lib Dem commentator has accused Labour MPs of "faux outrage" over the affair.
Mr Skinner and Mr Cameron regularly clash the weekly session of prime minister's questions but Monday's exchange came during a brief debate on the conduct of Jeremy Hunt in response to an urgent question from Labour leader Ed Miliband.
Mr Skinner said the prime minister wanted to keep the culture secretary in his job since while Mr Hunt was "in the firing line then it prevents the bullets hitting him". In response, Mr Cameron said Mr Skinner "has the right, at any time, to take his pension and I advise him to do so".
The PM's response angered Labour MPs, with shadow employment minister Toby Perkins raising a point of order later in the Commons claiming it was not the first time Mr Cameron had declined to answer one of Mr Skinner's questions "on account of the honourable member's age".
In January, the PM told Mr Skinner people should not visit the Natural History Museum to see dinosaurs but "come to the House of Commons".
Speaking on Monday, Mr Perkins said: "This sort of discrimination would not be accepted against black members or female members, so I have no idea why this House tolerates, on numerous occasions, members coming to that despatch box and refusing to answer his questions.
"This House should be above that sort of thing and I want to know what action to make sure today's disgusting spectacle is the last time we have to see it."
Deputy Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who was sitting in the chair at the time, said there was "no place" in the Commons chamber for discrimination of any kind and that members should show "respect" to all their colleagues.
Two senior Labour figures also expressed concerns at the tone of the PM's remarks.
Deputy leader Harriet Harman wrote on Twitter that "David Cameron couldn't answer Dennis Skinner question so stooped to ageist abuse - shameful."
And Mr Alexander said Mr Cameron's "abusive answer just now towards Dennis Skinner was unworthy of his office".
Mr Skinner regularly taunts Mr Cameron and other senior Conservatives in the Commons.
He was ordered to leave the Commons Chamber in 2005 after accusing the then shadow chancellor George Osborne of taking drugs.
Lib Dem commentator Stephen Tall accused Labour MPs of "faux outrage" over the prime minister's remarks.
"Dennis Skinner is hardly a shrinking violet and if he dishes it out - and he does - he should be prepared to take it," he wrote on the website Liberal Democrat Voice.
Mr Cameron has come under fire in the past for personal comments he has made in the Commons, urging shadow transport secretary Angela Eagle to "calm down dear" and suggesting Conservative colleague Nadine Dorries was "very frustrated". He also recently urged Tory MP Douglas Carswell to get a sense of humour.
The PM has acknowledged he sometimes gets "distracted" by the amount of background noise in the Commons and that he should "try and tune out the noise and just concentrate on trying to answer the question".


A shop owner who murdered schoolgirl Paige Doherty in a frenzied knife attack has asked for his sentence to be reduced.

John Leathem, 32, stabbed the teenager 61 times after she stopped at his delicatessen in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, in March.
He was jailed for life after admitting the murder and ordered to spend at least 27 years in jail.
His lawyers told appeal court judges the minimum term was "excessive".
Advocate Ian Duguid QC told the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh that the sentencing judge, Lady Rae, should have followed the example of judges in similar cases and imposed a lesser sentence.
He said: "This appeal focuses on a point of law. To put it simply the punishment part of the sentence is excessive."
The court will issue its decision in a written judgement at a later date.
Leathem claimed at the time of his conviction that he had panicked after the schoolgirl threatened to report him for sexual assault when he did not give her a job.
His attack left his victim with more than 140 injuries.
He then cleaned up the crime scene at his Delicious Deli shop and dumped the 15-year-old's body in bushes near Great Western Road two days later.
Paige's mother Pamela Munro and the family have been campaigning against any reduction in Leathem's sentence since they became aware of his appeal plans.
A petition opposing any reduction in his jail term has been signed by about 11,000 people.
Ms Munro, who has three other children, recently told the Sunday Mail: "Even if he got out at 59, he'd still have a life, so 27 years isn't long enough. He's totally deluded. This appeal is cruel.
"With the appeal being on 23 December, there is no way that our first Christmas without Paige can be a normal one - as much as we might try to make it that way for the kids."
Ms Munro also described how first offender Leathem appeared emotionless when she went to his shop while her daughter was missing nine months ago to talk to him about putting up posters to help to find Paige.
"Looking back, he was so cold," she said.
The sentencing judge, Lady Rae, described the killing as a "savage and frenzied attack" that was difficult to comprehend.


Microblogging site Twitter is to stop counting photographs and links in its 140-character limit for tweets, according to a report from Bloomberg.

The change could be made within the next two weeks, Bloomberg quoted a source as saying.
The company has not yet commented on the report.
But in January, founder Jack Dorsey said Twitter would explore ways of enabling its users to write longer posts.
10 years of Twitter: The tweets that changed lives
Should Twitter ignore its users?
Links currently take up to 23 characters of a tweet, reducing the space available to users for their own writing when sharing other online content.
The 140-character limit was originally added to make tweets fit into a text message. When the company launched in 2006, before smartphones were available, many users typed their tweets as texts before posting them.
Mr Dorsey has since described the limit as a "beautiful constraint" that "inspires creativity and brevity".
However, the company has struggled to attract new users and has seen its share price decline by more than 70% over the past year.
Last June, Twitter announced it would increase the limit on direct messages between one user and another to 10,000 characters.
In January, China's biggest microblogging service, Sina Weibo, dropped its 140-character limit, allowing some users to write longer posts.


Veterans of a historical Army regiment have bought the lease on the pub where it was founded.

The Staffordshire Regiment Association said it paid Â£64,000 to buy a 10-year lease on The King's Head in Lichfield.
The regiment was founded in 1705 when Col Luke Lillingston raised a force that later became the Staffords.
Capt Dave Donnelly said: "It's brilliant. We believe we have bought a piece of history."
He said the purchase was prompted by a "mad idea" by ex-warrant officer Derek Watts, from Wolverhampton, who went on social media to drum up support.
Within a fortnight, he had managed to raise enough pledges to buy the pub.
"We have reunions in the pub annually, so we didn't want it becoming a bed and breakfast or anything like that," said Capt Donnelly.
"The support to get this off the ground has been immense. We don't know how many associations run pubs, but what is unique is that we were actually founded there."
The pub will reopen - following a refurbishment - on March 25, 312 years to the day from when the regiment was formed.
It will serve two ales created in honour of the regiment - one named Col Lillingston and the other named Watchman, after the association's mascot - and will be managed by a former regiment man.
It will be opened by Lichfield's Lord Mayor and a descendent of Col Lillingston. The association will march from Lichfield Cathedral to the pub and will play the Last Post.


Nicola Sturgeon has insisted she is "absolutely committed" to fixing the problems on Scotland's railways.

The first minister was responding to claims by Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale that ScotRail passengers were "paying more for a shocking service".
Ms Dugdale said services across the country were regularly cancelled, delayed or overcrowded.
Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that passengers had the right to expect services that ran on time.
And she said it was "absolutely incumbent" on operator Abellio, which was awarded the ScotRail franchise in 2014, to deliver services that met those expectations.
Keith Brown, the Scottish government's transport minister at the time, described the contract with the Dutch firm as "world leading" and predicted it would "deliver for rail staff and passengers".
But Ms Dugdale said figures released earlier this week showed that a third of all routes in Scotland had services that were late more often than they were on time.
Services have also been hit in recent months by industrial action by the RMT union in a dispute over driver-operated doors that has now been resolved.
The new statistics were raised at First Minister's Questions by Ms Dugdale, who said the Scottish government's cap on rush hour rail fairs had increased by four times more than average commuter earnings since 2011.
Ms Dugdale said Abellio was making Â£1m profit every month from ScotRail, and suggested the franchise "might be working for the transport bosses, but it's certainly not working for commuters."
She added: "I doubt commuters on the morning train from Dundee to Edinburgh or North Berwick to Edinburgh or the nightly commute from Cumbernauld to Dalmuir would agree that Scotland has a world-leading contract, or indeed that the expectations of the public are being met.
"Those who travel by train to their work every day are paying more for a shocking service and Scottish commuters are fed up of the first minister's excuses.
"This is her responsibility - when is she going to do to get things back on track?"
Ms Sturgeon responded by saying the Scottish government had requested an improvement plan from ScotRail on 26 August, which the rail operator had delivered on 16 September, and that the government was "absolutely committed to working with ScotRail to deliver a quality service to passengers".
The first minister added: "I don't think anybody listening to this exchange will have heard me making excuses. What I have said is it is our responsibility, working with ScotRail, to make sure that quality service is delivered.
"That is exactly why the transport minister has been taking the action that he has been taking and it is why we continue to invest significant sums of money in the rail network to make sure that responsibility is discharged
"I do not quibble at all about Kezia Dugdale's right to come to this chamber to raise these concerns. I understand the concerns of the travelling public but my job, and the transport minister's job, is to get on with fixing the problems, not just to carp from the sidelines."
Abellio replaced Aberdeen-based FirstGroup as the ScotRail operator after promising to invest millions in improving services.
The contract is worth up to Â£6bn over the ten years from April 2015, with a provision for the government to cancel it at the halfway point if Abellio - a subsidiary of the Dutch national rail company Nederlandse Spoorwegen - fails to meet its obligations.


A nursery forced to destroy 50,000 ash trees after a fungal disease was found is considering taking legal action against the government for failing to block imports sooner.

Simon Ellis of Crowders in Lincolnshire said ash dieback was found in 15 trees in June but officials issued a notice preventing the firm from taking action.
Ministers said the import ban was brought in as soon as it was practical.
The environment secretary will chair a summit on ash dieback on Wednesday.
The disease has now been confirmed at 82 locations in England and Scotland.
On Monday, government officials confirmed that the disease was present in woodlands in Kent and Essex.
In the last six weeks, 100,000 ash trees have been destroyed and experts say it may be too late to stop the spread of the fungus.
Scientists say the infection in native trees has been caused by a fungus Chalara fraxinea, which is believed to have been carried on the wind from mainland Europe.
Unlike animals, trees cannot be vaccinated and once infected, a tree cannot be cured.
A plant health order banning imports and the movement of ash trees came into force on 29 October.
Mr Ellis, who is considering suing the government for Â£200,000, said by the time his firm was permitted to destroy its trees, many more had become infected.
He says the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) wrote to the government in 2009 warning of a new strain of ash dieback disease and urged it to close UK borders.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "They should have taken it seriously at the time. They chose not to and now we have this really dramatic situation.
"Effectively our income stream starts now, this is the season, this is our harvest time so to cut off our income stream - what other course of action can we take?"
Here to stay?
The HTA says the government misdiagnosed the disease when it first alerted officials - the fungus was thought to be the same as one already widespread in the UK.
The HTA's Tim Briercliffe said: "We saw the disease, we saw what it was doing in Denmark. It wasn't doing that in the UK. Whatever the details of the science were saying, that surely was going to speak far louder."
By Mark KinverEnvironment reporter, BBC News
Known as the common or European ash, the tree - the UK's only native ash species - is scientifically known as Fraxinus excelsior.
It is the UK's third most abundant species of broadleaf tree (after oak and birch), covering 129,000 hectares of woodland.
Ash is deemed to be a very important species within the UK's hedgerows and accounts for about for about 10% of the nation's estimated 123 million "non-woodland" trees.
The common ash is a large deciduous tree that can reach heights in excess of 40 metres (130ft). It can live up to 400 years but coppiced trees can live for centuries longer. The species is wind pollinated, and the seeds (known as keys) are primarily dispersed by the wind.
As the species is long-lived, it is important for wildlife. It supports specialist deadwood species, such as the lesser stag beetle and hole nesting birds, including owls and woodpeckers.
Ash woodlands have light, open canopies, so are an important habitat for flora such as bluebells and ramsoms. Birds like bullfinches feed on the trees' seeds.
Also, ash provides an important habitat for more than a quarter of Britain's lichen, including nearly 14% of the nationally rare and nationally scarce species.
Upland mixed ash woodlands are listed as a priority habitat under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.
Farming Today: Ash dieback
Martin Ward, the UK's chief plant health officer with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), said ash dieback disease was not spreading but acknowledged that "we're probably not going eradicate it".
"We have stopped the movement of plants and the sporulation on the leaf litter, which can lead to aerial spread, doesn't happen until the summer," he said.
"The increasing number of cases we are recording at the moment is the result of greater information, more knowledge of the distribution of the disease."
He told Today when the disease was first identified in UK nursery stock in March this year the "important thing then was to track down that... stock, to destroy these isolated findings in recent plantings".
Defra then worked on identifying the "right measures" to be taken before the start of the planting season.
The government has ruled out paying compensation.
A spokesman for Defra said: "Hundreds of staff members from government agencies have been investigating sites across the UK.
"They have examined around 2,500 blocks of land, each 10 kilometres square, where mature ash trees are known to be present, in order to seek out traces of the disease in our established trees.
"At a time when our trees face increasing threat from a range of diseases, and in a tight financial climate, we believe that resources are best spent on surveillance and trying to tackle the disease."
The prime minister's official spokesman has confirmed that Environment Secretary Owen Paterson will host a summit on ash dieback on Wednesday.
How to spot the signs
He said the meeting, involving tree health experts and other "key stakeholders", would provide updates on the problem and what was being done to tackle it.
"We are taking this issue very seriously," he added.
"What is important is that we focus on the action we can take now to try and limit the effects of the disease."
He acknowledged that there were questions about how the government handles "different animal and plant diseases".
"That is why Owen Paterson set up this taskforce to look at how we handle plant diseases," he told journalists.
"One of its jobs is to ensure that we are as well prepared as we can be in the future to deal with this kind of problem."
On the issue of compensating affected horticultural businesses, he said that it would be "dealt with ultimately by the courts".


Former banker and hedge fund manager Steven Mnuchin has been sworn in as US treasury secretary following his confirmation by the Senate.

President Donald Trump said Mr Mnuchin had spent his career making money in the private sector and would now work for the taxpayer.
Mr Mnuchin pledged to create jobs and combat terrorist financing.
Democrats had argued that Mr Mnuchin had made a fortune foreclosing on families during the financial crisis.
The top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, Maxine Waters of California, called Mr Mnuchin "the foreclosure king".
His critics have also questioned whether he is too close to the Wall Street banking community, which he will be responsible for regulating.
Democrats also complained that Mr Mnuchin had failed to disclose nearly $100m (Â£79m) in assets when he filed with the Senate Finance Committee.
Mr Mnuchin spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs before becoming a hedge fund manager.
He later founded a film production company that was behind such box office hits as the X-Men franchise and American Sniper.
Mr Trump said Mr Mnuchin would help make the US a "jobs magnet".
"He'll work 24 hours a day, I know him. He'll work 28 hours a day if they give him the extra four hours," he said.
Another former Goldman executive, Gary Cohn, is the director of President Trump's National Economic Council.
Mr Mnuchin hasn't announced a fully fledged plan, but his responses in media interviews and during the Senate debate over his appointment make clear some of his priorities:
There are still many policy areas that have not been addressed, including how he will approach trading relations with China, Mexico and other partners.


The number of children who rang ChildLine worried they could be forced into marriage has nearly trebled in the last three years, the NSPCC has said.

Across the UK the number of calls to the charity about forced marriage has risen from 55 calls a year in 2011 to 141 in 2013.
Around a quarter of those who contacted ChildLine about the issue were aged 12 to 15, the NSPCC said.
From Monday, forced marriage will be a criminal offence in England and Wales.
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill will make the crime of forced marriage punishable by a maximum of seven years in prison.
The NSPCC, which has released an animated film to educate children about it to mark the change in law, said some of those who called ChildLine last year were frightened, depressed or even suicidal.
The charity says others had been threatened by their families and that one in 10 cases had involved violence.
Sameem Ali told BBC Breakfast she was forced into a marriage after she was taken abroad at the age of 12 by her mother.
"I was brought back to the UK at the age of 13 - I was pregnant at the time. I gave birth at the age of 14 in the UK.
"Nobody batted an eyelid, nobody asked any questions because it was culturally acceptable," she said.
John Cameron, from the NSPCC, said it was difficult to pinpoint the number of children who might be at risk of forced marriage, but said the charity had seen a "real increase" in the number of calls it has received on the issue.
"Children are becoming more and more conscious of the fact that they want to have an opportunity to choose their partners and have relationships out of choice and not be forced into it," he told the BBC.
He said children are now being "empowered to speak out" but said more work needs to be done.
Dr Ash Chand, the NSPCC's strategy head for minority ethnic children, said the change in the law was a "huge step forward".
"However, there is still much work to be done. Choosing a life partner is a basic human right and no religion or culture condones forced marriage.
"Yet, despite this, many children and young people are being coerced or even forced to do so without their consent."
BBC Asian Network reporter, Poonam Taneja, said forced marriage remains a "very under reported problem" and said the ChildLine figures may just be the "tip of the iceberg".
Last year the government's forced marriage unit gave advice or support to potential victims of a possible forced marriage in 1,302 cases.


A group that campaigns against supermarkets being built in a Lincolnshire town believes a new Aldi store is "not bad news".

The derelict malt kiln building in Newbridge Hill, Louth, could be pulled down and replaced with the discount shop if permission is granted.
Keep Louth Special said it was not against the plans as it would not affect the town's independent shops.
It said it was more concerned for the future of the nearby cattle market.
Aldi held an exhibition on Tuesday outlining its plans and said if the store was granted planning permission it could generate about 40 jobs.
But more concern has been focussed on another location in the town.
East Lindsey District Council's planning committee granted outline approval for a new cattle market at the Fairfield Industrial Estate, in Louth, in July 2012.
Keep Louth Special said they feared this could make way for one of the major supermarkets to buy the existing site.
Alan Mumby, chair of the group, said: "Aldi coming in is not bad news. It will get rid of the eyesore [malt kiln] and won't put a dent on Louth's independent shops.
"The cattle market site is our big one and we'd fight to the death [over it]. We don't want our high street to die."


A series of adult tongue-in-cheek Ladybird books by the co-writers of TV's Miranda, with titles such as The Shed and The Wife, are to be published.

The eight books have been written by Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris, who have also written for comedy show That Mitchell and Webb Look.
The titles include The Shed, The Wife, The Husband, The Hangover, Mindfulness, Dating and The Hipster.
The pair also wrote for Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe.
Brooker said: "This is such a good idea I'm currently experiencing all the physical sensations of anger because I didn't think of it, whereas Jason and Joel did."
Hazeley tweeted a quote from The Hipster, which said: "This is a hipster. He is childless, unaccountably wealthy, and always well turned out. He likes art, porridge, scarves, and anything reclaimed from French factories, like this dog rack."
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The books also include original Ladybird-style artwork to accompany the new text.
Ladybird is celebrating its 100th birthday this year.
The original hardback books, sold at 2/6d for almost 30 years, have become a nostalgic favourite in recent years for the children who have now grown up and are buying them for their own children.
And while the revival in interest in Ladybird has spawned a number of unauthorised parodies for adults on the internet, this is the first time official Ladybird books for adults will be published.


Odeon & UCI Cinema Group has been bought by AMC Entertainment, a US chain owned by Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda, in a deal worth £921m ($1.21bn).

Odeon & UCI is currently owned by private equity firm Terra Firma, and has 242 theatres with 2,236 screens.
Dalian Wanda, the world's biggest movie theatre operator, is led by China's richest man Wang Jianlin.
Odeon & UCI will continue to be based in London and will operate as a subsidiary of AMC.
Adam Aron, AMC's chief executive and president said in a statement: "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to acquire Europe's leading cinema chain and create the world's biggest and best theatre operator."
He said there were uncertainties created by Brexit, but added "we are encouraged that current currency rates are highly favourable to AMC with the pound falling to a three decade low versus the dollar".
The addition of Odeon & UCI will mean AMC has 627 theatres and more than 7,600 screens in eight countries.
The sale is still subject to competition clearance from the European Commission.
David Hancock, head of film and cinema at IHS Technology, said: "AMC is part of the Wanda group, which includes screens in China, AMC in the US, Hoyts in Australia and now Odeon UCI in Europe: all major exhibitors in their part of the world and making Wanda the largest global cinema exhibition group.
"In addition, Wanda has built the world's largest film production studio in China and acquired Legendary Entertainment, a US producer of blockbuster features, as well as assets in big data, entertainment marketing and gaming distribution."
Wang Jianlin was born in 1954 and spent 16 years in the People's Liberation Army before moving into property.
He founded Wanda in 1988 and built it up to become China's biggest commercial real estate firm.
Wanda's expanding entertainment and tourism sector spans movie cinemas, theme parks and film production.
The company owns a share in a US film studio, Legendary Entertainment, the maker of blockbuster hits such as Jurassic World and the Dark Knight Batman trilogy.
As well as AMC, the Chinese giant has picked up a slew of other foreign companies - with a focus on investing in hotels and big foreign brands - including luxury British yacht maker, Sunseeker.
Mr Hancock said the Odeon & UCI sale had been a long-running saga.
Terra Firma paid €650m (£475m) for Odeon in 2004 and bought UCI the same year for €350m, merging the two groups.
The group, chaired by Guy Hands, is best known for its ill-fated £2.4bn takeover of record company EMI in 2007.
It tried to sell Odeon & UCI in 2011, but abandoned the process after failing to attract bids close to its £1.2bn valuation.
There was a second attempt in 2013 that also proved unsuccessful.
AMC was bought by Dalian Wanda Group in 2012.
AMC is still in the process of trying to buy US movie theatre operator, Carmike Cinemas.
It said the Odeon & UCI sale did not affect its ability to complete the Carmike deal.
But Mr Aron said there was a risk the purchase could fall through because some of Carmike's shareholders had an "unrealistic view" of the company's value to AMC.


Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his two challengers, Angela Eagle and Owen Smith, have taken part in a hustings in front of Labour MPs.

Mr Smith and Ms Eagle have both launched leadership bids but Mr Smith has said only one of them should stand against Mr Corbyn in the final vote.
He has indicated that he would withdraw from the contest if Ms Eagle won more support among Labour MPs.
The contest was prompted after Mr Corbyn lost a vote of no confidence.
Speaking afterwards, Ms Eagle said the debate had gone "very well".
One of her supporters told BBC political correspondent Iain Watson she had shown "more substance" while an MP backing Mr Smith said only he could unite the Labour Party.
Nominations for the leadership contest open later on Monday, with an initial list of which MPs are backing whom to be published on Tuesday evening.
As challengers, Mr Smith and Ms Eagle need nominations from 51 MPs and MEPs to get on the ballot paper while, as the incumbent leader, Mr Corbyn is automatically entitled to stand.
During his leadership launch on Sunday, Mr Smith said the contender with the most backing should become the unity candidate to take on Mr Corbyn - a view shared by senior colleagues.
Mr Corbyn has vowed to fight the challengers, but in the latest in a string of rows over the vote he has said he thinks rules which exclude recently signed-up Labour members from voting in the contest are "not very fair".
He told the BBC's Sunday Politics programme that he wants the party's National Executive Committee to change the restrictions, adding that he believes the Â£25 fee for registered supporters to vote in the contest is too high.


A US Muslim-led fundraising project to help repair a Jewish cemetery that was vandalised has raised more than four times its $20,000 (Â£16,000) target.

The crowdfunding campaign, which calls for "solidarity with the Jewish-American community", aims to help "rebuild this sacred space".
More than 170 headstones were damaged at the Jewish cemetery in St Louis, Missouri on Monday.
It comes after a string of anti-Semitic threats targeting the Jewish community.
The fundraising effort, launched by Linda Sarsour and Tarek El-Messidi, has received over 3,000 donations and has raised more than $85,000.
"Muslim Americans stand in solidarity with the Jewish-American community to condemn this horrific act of desecration," the fundraising page states.
The project, which is still accepting funds, aims to repair damage at the Chesed Shel Emeth cemetery in St Louis, but the campaigners said that any additional funds raised would be used to "assist other vandalised Jewish centres nationwide".
Vice-president Mike Pence visited the cemetery on Wednesday during a trip to St Louis.
"We condemn this vile act of vandalism and those who perpetuate it in the strongest possible terms," he told reporters travelling with him.
He added that "it's been inspiring to people all across this country to see the way the people of Missouri have rallied around the Jewish community with compassion and support".
On Tuesday, the Muslim organisations the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Missouri chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations both spoke out against the vandalism.
"We encourage our members to reach out to their local synagogue and Jewish neighbours to express their solidarity and support and to generously support the rebuilding of the recently desecrated cemetery," ISNA President Azhar Azeez said in a statement.
US President Donald Trump described the recent threats targeting the Jewish community in America as "horrible and painful".
His response was criticised by the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, which described it as "a pathetic asterisk of condescension".
In a scathing Facebook post, spokesman Steven Goldstein said: "When President Trump responds to anti-Semitism proactively and in real time, and without pleas and pressure, that's when we'll be able to say this president has turned a corner.
"This is not that moment."
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer countered by insisting his boss "has been very forceful with the denunciation" of racists and bigots.
"I wish that they [the Anne Frank Center] had praised the president for his leadership in this area. And I think hopefully as time continues to go by, they will recognise his commitment to civil rights, to voting rights, to equality for all Americans," he said.
On Monday, 11 Jewish community centres across the country, including in the Houston, Chicago and Milwaukee areas, reported receiving hoax bomb threats.
Last week, 27 Jewish facilities in at least 17 US states received similar threats.
No bombs were found at any locations and normal services resumed following building evacuations.
The FBI said it is investigating the incidents in partnership with the US justice department.


Four decommissioned Royal Navy frigates are destined for the scrapyard, the BBC has learned.

Type 22s HMS Cumberland, HMS Campbeltown, HMS Chatham and HMS Cornwall are currently moored in Portsmouth Harbour.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) expects to receive just under £3m from the sales agreed earlier this month.
HMS Cornwall has been sold to Swansea Drydocks while the other three have been bought by Turkish firm Leyal.
The two companies will recycle as many parts of the former Devonport-based ships as possible.
Aircraft carriers Ark Royal and Invincible have also been sold to the Leyal yard in recent years.
The four frigates were put up for sale in January with a preference for at least one of them to go to a UK ship recycler to determine the capacity of the UK's industry in the field.
An MoD spokesman said: "We believe this deal represents value for money and a number of tenders were received both nationally and internationally.
"Certain aspects of the ships' equipment will be recycled for use on other vessels and we have tried to be as economical with the disposal as possible."
Penny Mordaunt, Conservative MP for Portsmouth North, had hoped one of the frigates could have been sunk and turned into a diving attraction but bids in that field were rejected.
The ships are expected to leave Portsmouth in the autumn.


Microbes extracted from the insides of a 5,300-year-old mummy have shown he was suffering from a stomach bug before he died, scientists have discovered.

Oetzi the Iceman, the name given to the frozen body discovered in the Alps in 1991, had a bacterial infection that is common today, researchers said.
He had been killed 5,300 years earlier after being struck by an arrow.
The research is published in the journal Science.
This new study suggests he was suffering from an infection that can cause stomach ulcers and gastritis.
A genetic analysis of the bacteria was carried out, helping to trace the history of the microbe, which is closely linked to the history of human migration.
The frozen corpse of Oetzi has allowed scientists to look back at his life in unprecedented detail.
Previous research has revealed that he was between 40 and 50 years old, had brown eyes, was covered in tattoos and had recently eaten ibex.
He was found with an arrow in his left shoulder, and most likely died of blood loss. However he also suffered other medical problems, including heel fractures, arthritis and possibly Lyme disease.
Now, to add to his health woes, scientists have now discovered the Helicobacter pylori bacteria.
Prof Albert Zink, head of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, at the European Academy in Bolzano (EURAC), said: "One of the first challenges was to obtain samples from the stomach without doing any damage to the mummy.
"Therefore we had to completely defrost the mummy, and we finally could get access by an opening - by an incision that was already done by a previous study.
"We were able to obtain samples from the stomach content, from some of the intestinal content, and also from the parts of the stomach wall."
The bacteria are found in about half of the population today, and in about 10% of cases can lead to inflammation of the stomach lining and ulcers.
The researchers do not know what clinical symptoms Oetzi displayed, but there was evidence that the bacteria reacted with the Iceman's immune system.
Sequencing the genome of the microbe has also provided new information about ancient human migration.
The strain that infects Europeans today is thought to be the result of two older strains -  one African and one Asian - combining.
Essentially this means infected people from these two areas must have come together and mixed.
However, the microbe found in Oetzi was different.
"We had assumed that we would find the same strain of Helicobacter in Oetzi as is found in Europeans today," said Thomas Rattei, from the University of Vienna, in Austria, who worked on the study.
"It turned out to be a strain that is mainly observed in Central and South Asia today."
This suggests that there may have been a wave of people from Africa, who were carrying the bacteria, into Europe at some point after Oetzi's death.
"The recombination of the two types of Helicobacter may have only occurred at some point after Oetzi's era, and this shows that the history of settlements in Europe is much more complex than previously assumed," says Frank Maixner, from Eurac.
It adds to the growing evidence that rather than a single movement of humans out of Africa and into Europe, there were several migrations.
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Great Britain women's wheelchair basketball team have won their fourth straight European Championship bronze medal after a comprehensive 69-39 victory over France.

After losing 56-55 to Paralympic champions Germany in the semis, Britain were dominant throughout on Sunday.
Helen Freeman and Jordanna Bartlett led the scoring with 10 points apiece.
The British men face Turkey in their final at 17:15 BST as they chase a third consecutive European title.
A win over Spain on Thursday had already guaranteed the women's team a top-four finish and a place at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio.
"Friday's defeat was hard for us to take but I'm very proud of the way we have come out to win bronze," captain Sophie Carrigill told BBC Sport.
"This tournament has been a massive motivator for all of us. We have developed so much as a team and that is a real benefit for us ahead of Rio."


Road closures will be in place in Cardiff on Saturday for the Speedway.

About 45,000 people are expected to watch the Adrian Flux British FIM Speedway Grand Prix, with a fanzone at the City Hall lawn.
It involves 500cc motorcycle riders reaching up to 70mph (113km/h) on the track, with no brakes on their bikes.
Gates at the Principality Stadium open at 15:30 BST, with the first race starting at 17:15. Organisers have warned of extra security this year.
Roads closed between 15:00 and 21:30:
Roads closed between 17:00 and 20:00:
If the event finishes at 20:00, additional closures between 19:45 and 20:45:
If there are any safety concerns over the queuing system at Cardiff Central Railway Station, then Wood Street, Westgate Street, Park Street, Havelock Street, St Mary Street, Penarth Road, Saunders Road and Customhouse Street will remain closed until these issues are resolved.
Buses will be diverted out of the central city centre bus stops and St Mary Street taxi rank will be closed from 18:00, re-opening from 23.30.


An Australian woman has told an Indonesian court she did not see her British boyfriend hitting a policeman they are accused of killing.

Sara Connor, 46, and David Taylor, 34, are both charged with murdering Wayan Sudarsa on Bali's Kuta beach last year.
Mr Taylor has admitted he hit Mr Sudarsa with items including binoculars and a beer bottle.
Ms Connor told the Denpasar District Court on Monday she believed Mr Taylor was acting in self-defence.
"I believe David is not an aggressive man," she said. "He was defending himself."
Both Ms Connor and Mr Taylor face up to 15 years in jail if they are found guilty of murder.
The court heard Ms Connor and Mr Taylor were enjoying a night on the beach on 16 August when they became aware her handbag was missing, and separated to search for it.
Mr Taylor has said he approached Mr Sudarsa believing the policeman may have stolen the bag, and the encounter escalated into a fight.
Ms Connor on Monday said she spotted Mr Taylor on top of a man and tried to separate them. She claimed she fled the scuffle after Mr Sudarsa pulled her hair and bit her on the leg.
The court heard Ms Connor did not ask questions when Mr Taylor told her he had left the man "passed out" on the beach.
Ms Connor said she later "panicked" when she learnt Mr Sudarsa was dead. The court heard the pair burnt clothes they were wearing on the night.
Asked why she destroyed evidence, Ms Connor said: "I am still not guilty and look where I am. It was the panic of being in a distant country, not understanding the language."
Outside court, Mr Taylor told reporters he was happy that Ms Connor "told the truth".
"I'm glad the truth is finally coming out about this case," he told reporters. "It's not a murder case, it's a self defence case."


As US energy costs tumble on the back of shale oil and gas, the rest of the world is gripped with envy.

Just four years ago, natural gas prices in Europe were roughly comparable with those in the US; now they are three times higher. In Japan, they are five times higher.
Understandably, countries around the world want a piece of the action.
Governments from the UK and Poland to China and Argentina are dreaming of cheap power and, just as importantly for some, energy security. Shale, many have decided, is the answer.
But can the shale gas revolution in the US really be replicated around the world?
How American energy independence could change the world
Poland was seen as the poster boy for European shale gas but, according to Stuart Elliott, managing editor at the industry information provider Platts, "the Polish experiment has been a failure to date".
Enticed by seemingly abundant reserves and a government keen to kick-start production, US energy majors moved in, hoping to replicate their domestic success on foreign shores.
Thirty to 40 wells were planned for 2013. To date, there is just one well producing enough gas to be economically viable.
Source: US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Figures show technically recoverable resources in trillions of cubic feet of gas.
Exxon Mobil, Talisman and Marathon have all pulled out, while Chevron, Conoco Phillips and San Leon are persevering.
Much of the blame has been laid at the door of the government, which got "greedy and stupid", according to Prof Paul Stevens, senior research fellow at the Chatham House think tank.
A punitive tax regime and an insistence that foreign companies work with local partners did much to dampen enthusiasm, although the government has since made its regulatory regime more attractive to overseas investors.
But more significant for the wider shale industry in Europe, says Prof Stevens, were comments made by Exxon's chief executive. The technology that had proved so successful in the US did not work on Polish geology, Rex Tillerson said.
The UK government is another that has high hopes for shale, but only a handful of test wells have been drilled in the past four years. In the US, more than 100 wells were needed before the industry was satisfied that shale gas was viable.
This inactivity is largely due to public opposition to fracking - the process of drilling for shale gas - and an 18-month moratorium on drilling following concerns about earth tremors.
"Suspicions are high so the regulatory regime needs to be very robust," says John Williams, senior principal at Poyry Management Consulting. "Everything needs to be gold-plated - any slip-ups and it's game over. This is why we haven't really moved forward."
And opposition will not go away.
Concerns about water contamination, earthquakes and disruption to rural communities have captured the public imagination, but experts suggest we may be worrying about the wrong things.
"The argument that fracking damages the water supply doesn't stack up, and any disruption would be fairly short-lived," says Prof Stevens.
Concerns about earthquakes were always something of a red herring.
"The legitimate concerns," says Prof Stevens, "are 'What do we do with the waste water - there are nasty heavy metals and radioactivity [deep under ground]?' There is also the question of fugitive methane - we simply don't know how much leakage there is."
He also points out that while shale gas may be less polluting than coal and oil, it is still a fossil fuel. "If we have any hope of hitting our two-degree [climate change] target, burning gas is not the way.
"Diverting investment from renewables is also a genuine concern".
And opposition is not confined to the UK. Protests have taken place around the world, with activists from more than 20 countries signing up to Global Frackdown day last year. France has banned fracking, while moratoriums have been put in place in Germany, Romania and Bulgaria.
But public opposition, partly because Europe is more densely populated than the US, where people are far more familiar with oil and gas operations, is just one of many factors holding back shale development.
For a start, environmental regulation is far stronger in Europe.
Source: EIA. Figures show technically recoverable resources in billion barrels of oil.
There has also been relatively little government investment in research and development outside America. The US government ploughed millions of dollars into basic scientific research in the early 1980s, while the European Commission wants the industry itself to make these investments in R&D. This is by no means a given.
After all, the US shale industry did not appear overnight, but has developed over the past 25 years.
Property rights are also key, says Prof Stevens. In the US, homeowners usually own the minerals under their land, so they can agree a price and hand over the rights to an energy company. In Europe, the state tends to own the minerals, and no-one is going to let an energy company rip up their land without a fight.
Add to this questions about the suitability of the geology in many countries and the lack of infrastructure and pipelines, and it is clear that the barriers to a shale revolution outside the US are considerable and numerous.
There are also questions about the ultimate impact of shale on energy prices in Europe, which operates an integrated market across the continent.
Forecasts by Poyry suggest wholesale gas prices might be between 6% and 14% lower over the period 2020-50, while electricity prices might be between 3% and 8% cheaper. The impact on household spending would be lower, as the wholesale price is just one component of energy bills.
These figures suggest the impact of shale on energy prices in Europe would be far less significant than in the US.
One country where the prospects for shale do look brighter is China.
"Gas demand is set to rocket and they are looking to spend billions on shale," says Mr Elliott. The government plans to produce about one-third of the current US shale gas capacity by 2020.
Experts view this target as ambitious to say the least, but the country has the right geology, a cheap labour market, far fewer regulatory obstacles and, so far, relatively little public opposition.
The main issue is water. Much of China's shale reserves are located in the north west of the country, which is extremely arid. This is a "major sticking point", says Mr Elliott.
And despite the government's grand plans, so far all China's efforts to exploit its abundant shale resources have come to nothing. In fact, while there are thousands of shale wells in the US, there are only a handful producing commercial quantities of gas in the whole of the rest of the world.
Mr Williams thinks it will be eight to 10 years before China is producing a significant amount of shale energy, let alone enough to affect the overall price of gas. And this in a country where there are relatively few barriers to entry.
For the rest of the world, then, any significant shale production within this timescale seems wholly unrealistic. "You can forget about the next five to 10 years," says Prof Stevens. "Fifteen to 20 is a possibility".
Those governments looking to shale as a quick fix for high energy prices and security of supply may, then, have unrealistic expectations. Shale may not be the saviour that many hope it to be.


A drug dealer who bludgeoned a 68-year-old man to death in order to steal his cannabis has been jailed for life.

Lee McClatchley, 29, who denied murdering Tony Swift, was ordered to serve a minimum of 26 years after a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
In sentencing, judge Mrs Justice Jefford said: "Mr Swift lost his life because you took a chance to increase your drug dealing for a few days."
The jury heard evidence indicating the victim was killed with a claw hammer.
Mr Swift, who lived in Mendip House, Cheltenham, suffered at least 10 cuts and fractures to his skull in the attack.
The court heard McClatchley, of Cromwell Road in the town, was a drug dealer who owed money to various people.
He had gone to Mr Swift's house on October 26, 2015 intending to steal his cannabis.
"You had bludgeoned him to death, hitting him over the head with a claw hammer or something similar, and leaving him lying in a pool of blood," Mrs Justice Jefford told McClatchley.
"This was a vicious attack to enable you to steal drugs and saw you taking advantage of Tony Swift's trusting nature."
McClatchley disposed of his bloodstained jeans and the murder weapon and within minutes of the killing had sent texts to around 20 of his customers offering the stolen drugs for sale.
He also settled debts with three people that afternoon.
Det Insp Richard Pegler of Gloucestershire Police, said McClatchley "had never explained what happened or shown any remorse" and tried to blame Mr Swift's son for the murder.
"It was not a pre-meditated attack but to hit somebody repeatedly with a claw hammer or something similar is extremely violent and aggressive.
"There's a sense of relief justice has been done for a good man who had supported many people and shown them a great deal of love over the years," he added.


Owen Smith, who challenged Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership last year, has returned to the shadow cabinet in a mini reshuffle.

Mr Smith, who becomes shadow Northern Ireland secretary, is the only senior figure who quit the frontbench in 2016 to return following Labour's better-than-expected election result.
John McDonnell, Keir Starmer and Emily Thornberry all keep their current jobs.
And campaign managers Andrew Gwynne and Ian Lavery are rewarded with new roles.
Mr Lavery will now chair the Labour Party while Mr Gwynne has been named shadow communities secretary. Both remain as co-national campaign co-ordinators in anticipation of what Labour believes could be another general election within months.
In other moves, the newly elected MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, Lesley Laird, becomes shadow Scottish secretary.
There had been speculation that the likes of Yvette Cooper and Hilary Benn might return to the shadow cabinet but they are likely to focus on securing re-election as chairs of the influential home affairs and Brexit select committees respectively.
Mr Corbyn said on Tuesday that his party should be in "permanent campaign mode" in light of Theresa May's attempts to form a minority government with the backing of the Democratic Unionists.
"I look forward to working with the strengthened shadow cabinet as we prepare a government in waiting to carry out our manifesto for the many not the few," Mr Corbyn said.
"I am therefore appointing Ian Lavery to the additional role of Labour Party chair to strengthen our campaigning and party organisation."


Belfast boxer Paddy Barnes will have to be content with a second Olympic bronze after suffering an agonising defeat by China's defending champion Zou Shiming in the light-flyweight semi-finals.

The judges scored the contest 15-15 after three rounds but Zou was given the verdict on countback.
Trailing 11-8 after two rounds, Barnes produced a huge effort in the third and appeared to have done enough to win.
Ireland's John Joe Nevin has qualified for the bantamweight final.
Mullingar man Nevin produced a classy performance to beat Cuba's world champion Lazaro Alvarez Estrada 19-14 in the bantamweight semi-finals to set up a gold medal contest with Britain's Luke Campbell.
Twice world bronze medalist Nevin won the first round 5-3 and he bossed the remaining two rounds to complete a 19-14 victory.
"I just believed I could beat the best in the world. The script was already written but I've re-written it," said Nevin after his win.
Barnes' contest was a far closer affair and the countback margin couldn't have been tighter with Zou edging it 45-44.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Irish team member Barnes, 25, was beaten 15-0 by the Chinese fighter at the same stage in the Beijing Olympics four years ago.
But the Belfast man was a different proposition four years on as befitting his status as the first Irish boxer to have won two Olympic medals.
"I gave it my all. I went in there and threw everything at him but he is so, so tricky," said a disappointed but gracious Barnes.
"And once I had him pinned down and was opening up, he's so smart and just picks you off and moves."
Barnes trailed 8-5 after the first round and the Belfast man felt that the opening three minutes ultimately cost him the fight.
"If I hadn't started so slowly, I would have won the fight."
Many observers felt Barnes' last-round rally might have been enough to edge the contest and the Irishman thought he had won the bout when it was announced that a countback verdict had been arrived at.
Last year, I had one fight in the World Championship and lost. I thought I was going nowhere
"I thought I had it because I threw more punches than him.
"Hopefully, he will be retired in four years time. I don't want to see that man again."
Before leaving the ring, Barnes had playfully pretended to strangle his Chinese foe and Zou responded by holding the Irishman's arm aloft.
"Last year, I had one fight in the World Championship and lost. I thought I was going nowhere," added Barnes.
"To go from that to lose to a three-time world champion and Olympic champion on countback. I'm happy."
Barnes and Conlan are among the five Northern Ireland medal winners at the London Games.
Katie Taylor won a women's lightweight boxing gold for Ireland on Thursday.


Dozens of hospital patients were "dragged outside in their beds and on mattresses" when a fire broke out near an accident and emergency unit.

A major incident was declared at the Royal Stoke University Hospital at about 18:00 BST.
Six fire engines were sent to the scene, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said.
Pictures show evacuated patients, hospital staff and visitors congregating outside the hospital.
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust said the fire was in the main building, which now needs to be ventilated.
Eyewitness Paul Bradbury had gone to visit his mother in critical care but was told he could not go inside because there had been a fire in a theatre and smoke was coming into a corridor. He saw fire engines arrive about 10 minutes later.
"People were then dragged outside in their beds and on mattresses. It was quite surreal to see really," he said.
"The staff worked incredibly well in getting everybody out.
"There were quite a few nervous patients, but lots of nurses were with them and they were happy to be out and seemed fairly relaxed. There was no panic. It was very well managed."
Patients were being allowed back inside from about 20:15.
People are being asked to stay away from A&E until Thursday and use Haywood Hospital instead.
A hospital spokesman said: "The priority is now to ventilate all the wards affected so patients can be safely returned. We would like to thank all patients, relatives and members of the public for their patience and understanding during this major incident."
West Midlands Ambulance Service said it had a number of staff at the hospital who assisted during the incident.


At least 42 people have been killed and more than 400 wounded in two huge bomb attacks in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli.

The blasts, near mosques, are thought to be the deadliest attack in Lebanon since the end of the civil war in 1990.
War in neighbouring Syria has raised sectarian tensions between the city's Sunni Muslim and Alawite communities.
The blasts came a week after a car bomb in a Shia district of the capital Beirut killed 27 people.
Prominent Sunni Muslim cleric Sheikh Salem Rafii could have been the intended target of the latest attacks, BBC Arabic reports from Beirut. He was unharmed.
By Yolande KnellBBC News, Beirut
Local television channels here are showing dramatic security camera footage from inside the al-Salam mosque. At 12:16, as worshippers were sitting quietly inside listening to the preacher, a powerful explosion shakes the building.
Since the uprising against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011, there has been concern that violence could spill across the border and exacerbate Lebanon's sectarian divisions.
Now there is growing evidence that is happening.
The latest attacks will increase tensions in Tripoli between the Sunni Muslim majority, which supports opposition fighters in Syria, and its Alawite community that remains loyal to the Syrian president.
These blasts come exactly a week after a bombing in southern Beirut killed more than 20 people.  The suburbs hit in that attack were a stronghold of the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah, that is also allied with the Syrian government.
These are worrying times for the Lebanese.
The cleric is opposed to Lebanon's militant Shia Hezbollah group and has previously urged young Lebanese men to join opposition fighters in Syria.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the attacks and called for calm and restraint. Meanwhile the UN Security Council called for "people to preserve national unity".
The first bomb hit the al-Taqwa mosque shortly after Friday prayers ended. Minutes later, the second blast struck the al-Salam mosque in the Mina area.
It is not clear if Sheikh Salem Rafii was at the al-Taqwa mosque, although some reports say he was giving a sermon.
In a TV interview after the blast he called for restraint. "We do not want to destroy the country. We want to safeguard the country and preserve Tripoli and its people," he said.
"We should not rush towards reacting. God willing, there is enough time to hold consultations, investigate the matter and know the results."
Ambulances rushed to the scene of the blasts and a pall of black smoke covered the area.
"It was as if there was an earthquake, the whole city seemed to be shaking," a local resident told Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper.
Television pictures showed cars on fire and people trying to carry the wounded to safety.
Bodies could be seen on the ground and windows were broken on surrounding apartment blocks.
The preacher at the al-Salam mosque - the site of the second explosion - is also an opponent of the Syrian government and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, Associated Press reports.
No group has said it carried out the latest attacks.
In a statement reported by Lebanon's National News Agency, Hezbollah strongly condemned the blasts.
The group said the attacks aimed to "sow seeds of strife among the Lebanese and drag them into bickering under a sectarian guise".
Outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and President Michel Suleiman also condemned the attacks, calling on citizens to unite against violence.
A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "The secretary-general calls on all Lebanese to exercise restraint, to remain united, and to support their state institutions... in maintaining calm and order in Tripoli and throughout the country, and in preventing the recurrence of such destructive actions."
In a statement, the UN Security Council "appealed to all Lebanese people to preserve national unity in the face of attempts to undermine the country's stability".
The council "stressed the importance for all Lebanese parties to... refrain from any involvement in the Syrian crisis".
Tripoli, a city of nearly 200,000 people and Lebanon's second largest, is one of the country's most volatile sectarian fault lines, with a small Alawite population living in the midst of a Sunni majority.
The Alawite community tends to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with Sunnis mostly backing the rebels fighting him.
The bombs come a week after a massive car bomb rocked a Shia district of Beirut, leaving 27 people dead. The area hit contained Hezbollah strongholds.


What started out as just another interception in just another NFL Championship game has grown - inflated if you will - into the week's biggest sporting scandal, commanding healthy column inches and withering ridicule.

It's now a week since Indianapolis Colts linebacker D'Qwell Jackson intercepted a pass by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and tossed the ball over to his team on the sidelines. There, it seems, the matter of the balls' pressures first came up and conversations were had.
Whether the words "deflated", "deflation", "deflating" or any other variant came up in the course of that chat is open to debate.
But what almost certainly was not said in the driving rain of Foxboro Stadium was "deflate-gate".
That would come later.
In a nutshell, the NFL is investigating claims the Patriots may have deflated the match balls to give themselves an advantage in Sunday's 45-7 win over Indianapolis that sent them to the Super Bowl.
According to reports, 11 of the 12 game balls they provided for the rain-affected match-up were under-inflated by about two pounds per square inch. If you deflate a ball in cold or wet conditions, it provides more grip for the quarterback, in this case Brady.
In a statement, the NFL said initial evidence thus far supports the conclusion that under-inflated footballs were used by the Patriots in the first half but were properly inflated for the second half.
However, the Patriots have denied any wrongdoing.  immediately after the game, and again throughout the week.
Strangely, no. Both teams supply their own balls for each game so Colts quarterback Andrew Luck used his own. Twelve balls are presented to the referee by both teams two hours and 15 minutes before the game. NFL rules on the types of ball to be used are painfully specific:
"The Ball must be a "Wilson," hand selected, bearing the signature of the Commissioner of the League, Roger Goodell," the rule in question begins in a faintly ridiculous manner.
It continues: "The ball shall be made up of an inflated (12 1/2 to 13 1/2 pounds) urethane bladder enclosed in a pebble grained, leather case (natural tan color) without corrugations of any kind. It shall have the form of a prolate spheroid and the size and weight shall be: long axis, 11 to 11 1/4 inches; long circumference, 28 to 28 1/2 inches; short circumference, 21 to 21 1/4 inches; weight, 14 to 15 ounces.
"The Referee shall be the sole judge as to whether all balls offered for play comply with these specifications."
The final line of that particular rule states that "a pump is to be furnished by the home club, and the balls shall remain under the supervision of the referee until they are delivered to the ball attendant just prior to the start of the game."
This certainly hints at a possible window of opportunity, but the league said on Friday that it could not yet determine whether the deflations were the result of "deliberate action" and certainly no one is pointing fingers at any 'ball attendants'.
Of course. The hashtag #deflategate has been used almost 350,000 times in the last week and has been one of the top trends on Twitter for several days.
And if anyone likes to keep track of these things, massrelevance.com has identified the individual who sent the first #deflategate tweet as one Ryan Edwards from Aurora, Colorado.
Newspaper headline writers have been having fun with this over in the US, while chat show hosts such as Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel have predictably taken aim.
Michelin Tyres couldn't let a good deflation gag pass them by, and for those of you who enjoyed seeing Bango, the mascot of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team, moving and shaking with Thierry Henry at the O2 in London last week, then you really don't want to miss this brilliant vine of him, er, checking his balls.
It's a fair question. It's worth remembering that the Patriots scored 17 points in the first half when, according to the NFL, the balls were below their optimum pressure. Twenty-eight points were piled on by Brady and Co after interval, when the balls had been re-inflated.
And a tweet by Colts tight end Dwayne Allen is also worth considering.
"They could have played with soap for balls and beat us," he said. "Simply the better team."
After denying any wrongdoing in the wake of the game a week ago, head coach Bill Belichick appeared once again on Saturday - to hold a 'science-based' press conference to further deny anything untoward.
The Guardian reports "he was 35 minutes late. He spoke at length about ball textures, equilibriums, rubbing processes and atmospheric pressures. He name-checked Mona Lisa Vito, a character from the 1992 Joe Pesci comedy My Cousin Vinny."
Belichick went on to explain how the Pats had conducted their own experiments on balls this week - detailing how they simulated the game day situation which has landed them in hot water.
But the physics teacher routine just gave Twitter more ammo, and then a Vine appeared where Bill was mercilessly ridiculed for "handling dozens of balls this week".
Unfortunately the Pats have previous in this area. In 2007 they were embroiled in 'spygate', when an assistant coach videotaped New York Jets defensive signals at a game so Brady would know what they were changing the play to.
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Fines totalling $750,000 and the loss of a first-round draft pick was the punishment on that occasion. The expectation is for something similar this time if found guilty, with commentators universally ruling out any prospect of the team being stripped of their Super Bowl berth.
However, as time wears on the spotlight is growing increasingly strong on Brady, whose performance in his news conference on Thursday failed to convince many observers.
An editorial on the ESPN website claimed "Tom Brady's tale doesn't hold weight", and called for him to be "benched" for the Super Bowl if found guilty.
Right, let's wheel out Kevin Costner at this point.
The Oscar-winning actor stumbled out of left field and straight into the 'deflate-gate' discussion on Friday when he decided to upbraid former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman for saying that it was "obvious that Tom Brady had something to do with this" in a radio interview.
"It's bold talk. I like Troy a lot and I like Tom a lot. And it's bold when you say somebody is lying," Costner told HLN TV.
The gate suffix is an ironic nod to the major US political scandal which eventually toppled President Richard Nixon, after his administration were involved in a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington.
This week there were two 'gates' when  Twirlgate hit the news after Eugenie Bouchard defeated Kiki Bertens in the second round of this year's Australian Open. Asked during her on-court interview to "give us a twirl", Bouchard reluctantly agreed, but the request was considered sexist and attracted a wave of social media outrage.
Other sporting 'gates' include:
Pizzagate: As players and officials from both sides clashed in the tunnel at Old Trafford after Manchester United's tempestuous 2-0 victory over Arsenal on 24 October 2004, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was struck by a slice of pizza thrown by an Arsenal player, later alleged to be Cesc Fabregas.
Bloodgate: The events surrounding a faked injury to Tom Williams of rugby union side Harlequins in a Heineken Cup quarter-final against eventual champions Leinster in April 2009. Fake blood duped the referee into allowing Quins to send on a blood replacement, at the instigation of Quins coach Dean Richards. It was later admitted that Williams' mouth had been cut open immediately after the match in an attempt to cover up the fake injury. Richards was ultimately banned from rugby for three years.
Homeworkgate In 2013 during a tour of India, the Australia cricket team's South African coach Mickey Arthur instructed his players to write a presentation on how to improve the team following defeats in the opening two Tests. Vice-captain Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja failed to do so and were all dropped for the next match. Watson left the tour, although returned later, while Arthur was sacked three months later.
Bladegate: In January 1994, top American ice skater Nancy Kerrigan was assaulted at the US National Championships in Detroit, her right knee clubbed with a metal baton after a practice session. Then it sensationally emerged the assault was a conspiracy hatched by Jeff Gillooly, the former husband of Kerrigan's ice dance rival Tonya Harding.


For someone who would prefer her work to do the talking Helen Marten is spending a lot of time in the limelight.

Last month she made national news as the winner of the inaugural Hepworth Prize for sculpture, to which she has now added one of the world's highest-profile art accolades, the Turner Prize.
At 31 years old she was the youngest artist on the shortlist, and also the most difficult to fathom in terms of her work.
Her hybrid sculptures, made out of materials both found and fabricated, form a complex tableau of ideas and associations.
They are poetic puzzles that question meaning and assumption, and require an almost archaeological mindset to solve.
Think Professor Branestawm meets Heath Robinson meets James Joyce, with a dose of Duchamp and Fischli & Weiss thrown in for good measure.
And then add some of the issues of today, from fake news to the nodal nature of the internet, and hopefully a picture starts to emerge in your imagination of what you might encounter when viewing a Helen Marten sculpture.
She wants to jolt you, provoke you; throw you off balance.
Things are not quite what they seem, objects don't conform to our expectations, awkwardness abounds.
At least, it does to begin with. But once you tune in to her way of thinking, and start to understand that the artist is not trying to fool you, but to take you by the hand and show you something new, you begin to see the beauty of her work.
Her attention to detail is extraordinary, the materials she makes (has made) exquisite.
This is not like so much contemporary conceptual art, which consists of a weak one-liner of little significance. Marten's sculptures are formally substantial and intellectually rigorous: they are made to last, in every sense.
Her father is a chemist. She is an alchemist. We are the beneficiaries.
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Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond says Britain needs a "robust deal" for staying in the EU, when European leaders meet at a summit on Thursday.

Prime Minister David Cameron is seeking EU reform before Britain votes in an in/out referendum before 2018.
"There are still a lot of moving parts," Mr Hammond told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
"We've got a negotiation that will run through this week and, I have no doubt, will run right to the wire."
Mr Hammond said the draft deal contains lots of "square brackets", "blanks" and "unclear language", but added a final agreement should provide "clear winds for Britain on national sovereignty".
Mr Cameron has promised a referendum on whether Britain should remain in the EU by the end of 2017 but could bring the date forward if a deal is reached this week.
Among the four main changes Mr Cameron is trying to secure is limiting access to welfare benefits for EU migrants for their first four years in the country.
"Until a few weeks ago, people were telling us it was impossible to have any kind of period in which we treated newly arrived migrants differently from people who are already here," he said.
"But the text that's on the table recognises there can be a period of four years in which people are treated differently.
"That's a major step forward. What we have still got to discuss is what that difference in treatment precisely is... I don't think that is going to get resolved before Thursday."
EU referendum: US wants 'strong UK in strong EU'
Guide: All you need to know about the referendum
Asked whether a one-year ban on in-work benefits for migrants would be enough to satisfy his party, Mr Hammond replied: "Definitely not."
He went on: "Getting agreement that we can treat new arrivals differently for a period of four years is a major breakthrough in challenging, as we have done, one of the sacred cows of European ideology."
Mr Hammond said the government was "still arguing" that treaty change would be the best way of cementing a new relationship with the EU.
But Mr Hammond said it was not essential, if European heads of government signed a binding agreement.
"Even if treaty change is agreed, it will be years before that treaty change comes into force," he said. "And once this [deal on Thursday] is agreed we need to see it implemented as quickly as possible."
Eurosceptic Labour MP Gisela Stuart said the EU project "was always deeper integration" and Mr Cameron had not been ambitious enough in the reforms he had sought over membership.
"The bar he set himself was exceptionally low," she told Marr.
"My instincts are this simply isn't good enough and won't serve the British people."
Ms Stuart said she thought voting in the referendum over whether to stay in the EU or leave would "not fall along party lines".
"We will go into the referendum with people coming from all sides and voting in pretty unpredictable ways," she said.
Asked about Syria, Mr Hammond accused Russia of "carpet bombing tactics" and carrying out "indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas".
Russia denies hitting civilians and has said it will continue its air attacks, which it says target only "terrorists".
On the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Mr Hammond said the key question was "whether the Russians are prepared to use their influence to remove him".
"There is one man on this planet who can end the civil war in Syria by making a phone call and that's President [Vladimir] Putin."
Mr Hammond said Russian air strikes were causing "attrition" among rebel groups but that the conflict overall was in "a bit of a stalemate".
Russian air power was forcing opposition forces to give ground but the Syrian government was unable to take and hold that territory, he added.
Mr Hammond said the number of "moderate" opposition fighters now stood at 150,000.
"I wouldn't call them all democratic," he said.
Russia has said other countries should join it in backing the Syrian government.
Mr Hammond's comments come after three days of talks among foreign ministers in Munich about prospects for peace in Syria.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says that with President Assad and three mainstream rebel groups all vowing to carry on fighting, talks are "in practice, back where they started".


An 82-year-old woman accused of historical sexual abuse against a young girl has appeared in court.

Elizabeth Mulcahy, of Llandaff, Cardiff, has been charged with six counts of indecent assault against a female under 13.
The offences are alleged to have taken place in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The jury, sworn in at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday, heard Mrs Mulcahy had denied all the charges.
Clare Wilks, prosecuting, said the woman had shown the girl medical journals of female and male genitalia and touched her inappropriately.
"The defendant said if she was to say anything about what happened there would be serious consequences," Ms Wilks added.
The trial continues.


Burkina Faso's Presidential Security Regiment (RSP) has ousted the interim government of President Michel Kafando and replaced it with a junta known as the National Council for Democracy (CND).

The junta accused the government of "mismanaging" the transition, which was scheduled to end with general elections on 11 October this year. The transitional government was formed after former President Blaise Compaore was ousted following protests in October 2014.
The RSP, which was prominent under Mr Compaore, has had a rocky relationship with the interim authorities. On 14 September, a government commission recommended the disbandment of the RSP.
Below are brief profiles of the key personalities and groups involved in the crisis.
He is the new military ruler, and was Mr Compaore's right-hand man for more than 30 years.
Brig-Gen Diendere is the officer who announced the 15 October 1987 coup that brought Mr Compaore to power. He was instrumental in the formation of the RSP in 1995 and acted as its de facto head until Mr Compaore was ousted.
Gen Diendere's wife, Fatoumata Diallo Diendere, was an MP in the forming ruling party, CDP, and therefore currently banned from contesting the forthcoming elections.
Earlier in 2015, there was speculation that he would be appointed head of Burkina Faso's anti-terrorism operations. In February, he attended the US-led counter-terrorism exercises in Chad.
He is the speaker of the transitional parliament. He opposes the coup and has declared himself the new leader. Cherif Sy urged his compatriots, in particular the "army chief of staff and the chiefs of staff of the various military regions to immediately take measures to ensure that this act of treachery is stopped".
A journalist by profession, Mr Sy was also considered for the interim presidency after Mr Compaore was forced to resign.
In 1990, Mr Sy founded the Bendre newspaper, which carried hard-hitting editorials and glorified the ideals of the 1983 coup that brought the late charismatic military ruler, Thomas Sankara, to power. Sankara was killed during the October 1987 coup led by Mr Compaore.
He is the head of the RSP. He has been in France since August attending the French military academy in Saint Cyr. He is another former aide to Mr Compaore.
Lt-Col Coulibaly accompanied Mr Compaore into exile before returning home to rejoin the RSP. He took over as head of the RSP in February 2015.
He is the ousted interim president. Mr Kafando was a career diplomat before he became the leader of the interim government in November 2014.
He served as the country's envoy to the UN between 1981 and 1982, and then foreign minister until 1983. He later served as the UN envoy from 1998 to 2011, when he retired.
The 73-year-old leader was initially detained in the presidential palace, but the junta later released him as part of peace negotiations.
He is the ousted interim prime minister. Lt-Col Zida was the deputy commander of the RSP when Mr Compaore was ousted.
Immediately afterwards, Lt-Col Zida took over as head of state before being pressed to hand over power to Mr Kafando in November 2014. He was subsequently appointed interim prime minister.
Since then he has had rocky relations with members of the RSP, who view him as a traitor.
In December 2014, elements of the RSP disrupted a cabinet meeting and demanded guarantees on the non-dissolution of the unit, payment of bonuses and the sacking of Theophile Nikiema, who had been named a military adviser at the presidency. Mr Nikiema is an ally of Lt-Col Zida. The soldiers were unhappy that Mr Nikiema had been picked over other senior RSP officers. A similar protest took place in February.
This is Mr Compaore's former ruling party. It was formed in February 1996 and ruled the country until Compaore resigned.
The party is a pale shadow of its former self. It suffered a major setback on 25 August, when the Constitutional Court excluded some of its candidates, including its current leader and presidential flag bearer, Eddie Komboigo, from the polls citing a controversial electoral law.
By the time the ruling was made, the deadline for the submission of the presidential candidatures had passed on 21 August. More than 40 CDP legislative candidates were also disqualified. The judgement effectively locked the party out of the presidential race.
The law, passed by the interim parliament in April, disqualified politicians who supported Mr Compaore's bid to extend his 27-year rule.
This is a civil society group that was at the centre of the 2014 protests, and its name translates as "Citizens' Broom".
The group was formed in 2013 by two musicians - Karim Sama and Serge Bambara (popularly known by their stage names Sams'K Le Jah and Smockey respectively).
Balai Citoyen actively mobilised civilians to reject Mr Compaore's bid to extend his rule.
The group has called for "popular resistance" in every neighbourhood against the "RSP militia".
Since the 2014 uprising, Balai Citoyen has been vocal in demanding the dismantling of the RSP and other vestiges of the Compaore era.
The movement has sought to propagate the ideals of Thomas Sankara.
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Singer Bjork has revealed she has had successful surgery to remove a polyp on her vocal cords.

The Icelandic star had been trying to manage the polyp, which was discovered by doctors about four years ago, with diets and exercise.
The 47-year-old decided this year to undergo laser surgery, after being forced to cancel some performances of her Biophilia show in April.
"I have to say, in my case anyway: surgery rocks!" she wrote online.
"I stayed quiet for three weeks and then started singing and definitely feel like my cords are as good as pre-nodule," the singer continued.
"It's been very satisfying to sing all them clear notes again."
The performer, whose music career took off with pop group The Sugarcubes, opened her latest world tour in Manchester in July 2011.
In October last year she released Biophilia, a concept album about nature with songs inspired by such themes as DNA, tectonic plates and crystals
"I'm sorry I had to cancel stuff earlier in the year - didn't want to talk about this until I knew for sure if it would work," she wrote.
"So looking forward to singing for you in 2013."
Bjork joins a number of musicians who have had surgery on polyps - fleshy, non-cancerous growths that usually form on the vocal cords.
Last year Adele had minor surgery to remove a benign polyp, as did Australian country singer Keith Urban.
An operation to remove a small polyp from Dame Julie Andrews' vocal chords in the late 1990s caused serious damage to her voice.
The actress later took legal action against two doctors at New York's Mount Sinai hospital.


A man charged with murdering Labour MP Jo Cox has appeared before a judge at the Old Bailey.

Thomas Mair, 52, was remanded in custody by Mr Justice Sweeney after appearing by videolink.
He is also charged with grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of an offensive weapon.
The Batley and Spen MP, 41, was shot and stabbed in Birstall, West Yorkshire, on Thursday.
She was attacked shortly before she was due to hold a constituency surgery.
When asked by the judge to confirm he was Thomas Mair, he replied: "Yes, I am."
There was no application for bail at the hearing, which lasted about eight minutes.
He is due to appear at the same court for a preliminary hearing on Thursday.
At an initial hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday he refused to give his name, instead saying he was called "Death to traitors, freedom for Britain".