One of Northern Ireland's largest construction groups made a pre-tax loss of £6m in 2015.

McLaughlin and Harvey said the loss related to "contracts procured during the depths of the economic downturn".
The results also recognise further predicted losses on those contracts that are due to be completed by the end of this year.
The group has an order book of more than £350m and expects to return to profit this year.
Group turnover in 2015 was up by 25% from £380m to £475m.
McLaughlin and Harvey is based in Newtownabbey, County Antrim, and also has a major Scottish-based business.
The two businesses were consolidated into McLaughlin and Harvey Holdings in October with that company showing a profit of £1.3m on turnover of £81m in its first two months of operation.
Analysis: BBC News NI Economics and Business Editor John Campbell
The cusp of downturn and recovery can be a tricky time for major construction firms.
They will have agreed fixed prices for big contracts which will include estimates of what they'll have to pay sub-contractors.
But as the economy improves those sub-contractors will have a bigger choice of jobs and so can demand higher prices.
That's what seems to have happened with McLaughlin and Harvey.
It may also feature in the £5m loss posted by another big firm, O'Hare and McGovern, which is blamed on 'supply chain challenges' on a GB contract.
Employment across the group stands at 768 and it has net assets of almost £40m.
The firm's current major contracts include the redevelopment of Luton Airport and it is understood to be bidding for other airport work.
Its recent Northern Ireland projects include the extension of the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
However, like all of Northern Ireland's largest building firms, it now does the majority of its work elsewhere.


Yn ei gyfweliad cyntaf â'r BBC ers etholiad Esgob newydd Llandaf mae'r Gwir Barchedig Jeffrey John yn honni bod "dau esgob wedi cynllunio gyda'i gilydd ymlaen llaw sut i drefnu'r etholiad yn Llandaf" a hynny er mwyn ei gadw allan.

Dywedodd Jeffrey John: "Yn eu barn nhw, byddai esgob sy'n hoyw yn peri gormod o drafferth."
Gwadu'r honiadau mae Mainc Esgobion yr Eglwys yng Nghymru gan ddweud fod "yr holl broses o ethol a phenodi Esgob Llandaf wedi bod yn un gywir a theg" ac nad yw bod yn hoyw yn atal unrhyw un rhag cael ei enwebu na'i ethol yn esgob.
Daw sylwadau Mr John wedi iddo weld rhannau o e-byst yr esgobion drwy gais dan y ddeddf gwarchod data.
Mae rhannau o'r e-byst newydd eu cyhoeddi ym mhapur newydd The Church Timesac mae copïau ohonynt yn nwylo'r BBC.
Mae e-bost dyddiedig 8 Chwefror, a lofnodir gyda'r enw John ac a gredir gan The Church Times o gael ei anfon gan Y Gwir Barchedig John Davies, Esgob Abertawe ac Aberhonddu at ei gyd-esgobion yn dweud: "Mae fy ngreddf yn dweud wrthai na fyddai safiad JJ ar fater perthynas un rhyw a'i sefyllfa ef ei hun yn cael llawer o groeso yn yr Esgobaeth...
"Fyddai hynna ddim yn gwneud lot o les chwaith i sut mae'r Fainc [yr Esgobion] yn cael ei gweld adre na thu hwnt."
Mae'r Church Times hefyd yn cyfeirio at e-bost arall y mae'r papur yn credu gafodd ei anfon gan Esgob Llanelwy, Y Gwir Barchedig Gregory Cameron.
Mae'r e-bost yn dweud: "Dw'm yn meddwl bod ganddo unrhyw bleidlais esgobol (?) ac yn bendant nid yw'n denu etholwyr Llanelwy.
"Rhaid i ni er hynny gamu'n ôl a pheidio rheoli'r broses."
Mae e-bost pellach ar 17 Chwefror - e-bost y mae'r papur yn tybio gafodd ei anfon gan yr Esgob John Davies yn dweud: "Byddaf yn cwrdd ag etholwyr Caerdydd, ddydd Llun siwr o fod, ac yn mynegi fy mhryderon."
Ddwy awr wedyn mae e-bost gan John Davies at ei gyd-esgobion yn dweud ei fod wedi clywed bod cefnogaeth yn Llandaf i Dr [Jeffrey] John ac felly "petai ymgeiswyr eraill yn cael eu cynnig bod angen gwneud gwaith cartref da arnynt fel eu bod yn edrych yn dda ac yn gredadwy. Hei-ho!".
Ym mis Ebrill cafodd June Osborne, Deon Caersallog ei dewis yn esgob newydd i Landaf wedi i'r Coleg Etholiadol fethu dewis olynydd i'r Parchedicaf Ddr Barry Morgan ym mis Chwefror. Ddydd Sadwrn cafodd ei chysegru yn Aberhonddu.
Mewn cyfweliad ar raglen Bwrw Golwg ar BBC Radio Cymru ddydd Sul, bydd Jeffrey John yn dweud bod y "cynllun" honedig yn ei erbyn wedi llwyddo.
Dywedodd: "Llwyddodd y cynllun, er imi gael bron deuparth o'r pleidleisiau, ac er bod yr etholwyr yn Llandaf yn unfrydol am fy apwyntio i.
"A thra bod yr esgobion yn fficso popeth yn gyfrinachol, yn gyhoeddus roedden nhw datgan cyn, yn ystod, ac ar ôl yr etholiad, nad oedd dim rhagfarn a dim rhwystr i bobl hoyw o gwbl yn yr eglwys.
"Mae'r e-byst yn profi mor dwyllodrus a rhagrithiol oedd yr holl broses o'r dechrau.
"Ydw i'n ddig? Wrth gwrs 'mod i'n ddig, mae llawer o bobl eraill yn ddig hefyd. Ond nid teimladau sy'n bwysig, be' sy'n bwysig yw newid y system sy' mor amlwg wedi mynd yn llygredig."
Wrth gael ei holi am agwedd yr Eglwys tuag at hoywon dywedodd Y Gwir Barchedig John: "Gallwch chi fod yn ddidwyll ond eto'n twyllo eich hun.
"Dwi'n derbyn wrth gwrs bod llawer o Gristnogion yn credu'n ddiffuant, ar sail y Beibl, fod hoywder yn bechod.
"Y broblem yw dehongli y Beibl yn ei gyd-destun gwreiddiol, a gwneud hynny yn onest ac yn gyson.
"Y cwestiwn felly dwi eisiau ofyn yw pam fod cymaint o Gristnogion yn dal i gondemnio hoywon, ond ar yr un pryd yn derbyn - er enghraifft -  ysgariad, neu ordeinio merched?
"Pam mae nhw'n dehongli'r Beibl yn llythrennol mewn un achos, ond ar bynciau eraill mae'n nhw'n derbyn dehongliad llawer mwy rhyddfrydol? Mae'r anghysondeb braidd yn amheus, on'd yw e?"
Ychwanegodd wrth ymateb i gwestiwn am y gwrthwynebiad honedig i'r ffaith ei fod yn hoyw: "Does gen i ddim problem gyda phobl sy'n mynegi eu barn yn onest. Y peth anoddaf gen i yw'r ffaith fod yr eglwys ei hun mor ddauwynebog ar y pwnc.
"Mae pawb yn gwybod fod llawer o offeiriaid ac esgobion yn hoyw, ond yn gyfrinachol.
"Y canlyniad yw bod bwlch mawr rhwng safbwynt swyddogol yr Eglwys, a safbwynt preifat y mwyafrif o esgobion ac offeiriaid."
Ganol Mawrth cyhuddodd Y Gwir Barchedig Jeffrey John yr Eglwys yng Nghymru o homoffobia yn dilyn honiadau bod yr Esgob John Davies wedi dweud wrtho y byddai'n "ormod o gur pen" ei benodi gan ei fod mewn partneriaeth sifil, er ei fod yn dilyn rheolau'r eglwys pan mae'n dod at berthynas rywiol.
Bryd hynny dywedodd llefarydd ar ran yr Eglwys yng Nghymru bod yr esgobion yn gwadu'r cyhuddiad o homoffobia ac y maent yn parhau i wadu'r cyhuddiadau.
Wrth ymateb i'r honiadau diweddaraf gan Jeffrey John, dywedodd yr Eglwys yng Nghymru ar ran yr eglwys a Mainc yr Esgobion: "Ry'n yn deall bod gohebiaeth breifat rhwng yr esgobion a oedd ynghlwm â'r broses o ethol Esgob Llandaf wedi dod i sylw'r cyhoedd eto gan eraill.
"Ry'm yn cadarnhau nad yw bod yn hoyw neu yn rhan o berthynas sifil yn rhwystr  i unrhyw ymgeisydd gael ei enwebu na'i ethol yn Esgob yn yr Eglwys yng Nghymru.
"Ry'm hefyd yn hapus fod yr holl broses o ethol a phenodi Esgob Llandaf wedi bod yn un gywir a theg.
"Mae'r broses etholiadol o ethol Esgobion wedi bod mewn grym ers 1920 ac wedi'i phrofi. Mae'r broses yn cael ei chynnal yn unol â gofynion Cyfansoddiad yr Eglwys yng Nghymru."
Bydd modd gwrando ar gyfweliad Y Gwir Barchedig Jeffrey John ar Bwrw Golwg ar Radio Cymru: Bore Sul, Gorffennaf 16 am 08:00 ac ar iPlayer.


Four sailors have been rescued from their stricken yacht after its sail became unusable and its engine failed.

They were rescued from the 11ft (3.4m) vessel after getting into difficulty a mile from Douglas at about 20:35 BST on Monday.
Without power, the yacht had drifted three miles away from the island.
The Douglas volunteer RNLI crew towed the yacht back to the Battery Pier where the coastguards were waiting to assist. No-one was injured.


A Republican student group has apologised after an anti-Semitic Valentine's Day card was handed out at one of its meetings.

Warning: Some readers may find some language offensive
College Republicans at Central Michigan University were distributing gift bags to students on Wednesday when the card was discovered.
It featured a picture of Adolf Hitler, alongside Valentine sentiments.
The group apologised, saying it did not "condone this type of rhetoric or anti-Semitism". A CMU inquiry later concluded that the card was made by a non-student.
In a statement, the College Republicans group said: "At tonight's [Wednesday] College Republican meeting, we had a Valentine's Day party, in which each member decorated a bag and other members placed valentines inside of others' bags. Unfortunately, a very inappropriate card was placed into a bag without other members' knowledge."
CMU President Dr George Ross issued a statement saying the university was "deeply disappointed".
"This is not who we are as a campus community," Dr Ross wrote. "Such hurtful, offensive language, while protected by the First Amendment [of the US constitution], is unacceptable and is not consistent with our values and standards."
He said a meeting had been held to address the incident which included representatives from the Diversity Office and the CMU Police Department.
After completing an inquiry, the university's Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity said on Friday it had "determined the card was the misguided action of one individual, who readily admitted her role".
The office said the young woman was not a CMU student and had left the campus.
CMU students held a rally against hate speech on Thursday, which some Republican students attended.
Mackenzie Flynn, president of the CMU College Republicans, told student newspaper Central Michigan Life that the card had not been created from scratch - rather it was printed out from a page of Valentine's Day memes.
Alongside Hitler's picture, the card had: "My love 4 u burns like 6,000 Jews".
It was reportedly signed "XOXO, Courtney".
"While still not appropriate, I want to clear up that they did not create it themselves," Ms Flynn said.
The campus group for Jewish students, Hillel, wrote on Facebook that it was "deeply concerned and disappointed".
It promised to work with the university "to ensure all Jewish students feel safe and welcome on campus, and that incidents like this do not happen again".
Six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis in Hitler's death camps during World War Two.
Update: This article was amended to include subsequent findings of the CMU Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity. An earlier version said the card was made by a CMU student, which the university later said was not the case.


An historic mill museum in West Yorkshire has reopened to the public after a huge clean-up.

Thwaite Mills, one of the last remaining examples of a water-powered mill in Britain, was damaged four weeks ago when the River Aire burst into the Aire and Calder Navigation.
The museum and island were covered in a thick layer of silt and other debris.
Staff said they were "overwhelmed" by the help they received.
Six canal boats were swept away from the site before being secured by firefighters downstream.
Site keeper Sarah Barton said the boaters helped get the museum back on track despite suffering themselves.
"We've been overwhelmed and humbled by the help and support we received," she said.
"Leeds City Council, other organisations and the public helped with the clean-up. We're extremely grateful to the boaters, who not only helped each other through a difficult time but supported staff in getting everything back into a state where we can re-open."
Thwaite Mills, with one of the few remaining industrial drying sheds of its kind in the world, had a Â£200,000 renovation in 2010.
Council leader Judith Blake said: "The determination and dedication of all involved in the clean-up has been typical of the incredible community spirit we've seen across Leeds over the past few weeks.
"The city has come together and shown true Yorkshire grit, rising to the challenge of getting much-loved places like Thwaite Mills back on their feet and pitching in to help each other cope in what have been incredibly difficult circumstances."
Thwaite Mills grounds will be closed for the next few months and Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills remains closed.
Elsewhere in West Yorkshire, volunteers helped clean up the Calder and Hebble Navigation.
Bradford and Bingley Sports Club is also under repair.


The health and economic cost of cancer tops £15bn a year in the UK, a study by Oxford University researchers suggests.

They said half of the sum related to the economic losses from early deaths and patients taking time off work.
They believe the findings could help identify which areas offer the best returns from investment in research.
Lung cancer was the most expensive, costing £2.4bn a year, bowel cancer cost £1.6bn, breast cancer £1.5bn and prostate cancer £800m.
The study, which is being presented to the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) conference in Liverpool on Wednesday, looked at economic losses, health care costs and the burden of unpaid care provided by friends and family.
The £15.8bn total for all cancers included £7.6bn in economic costs, £5.6bn for health and £2.6bn for unpaid care.
Lead researcher Dr Jose Leal said: "Our research shows that cancer impacts on the economy as a whole - and not just the health service.
"Premature deaths, time off work and unpaid care by friends and family account for 64% of all cancer costs.
"These wider costs should be taken into account when deciding research priorities.
"Cancers with the highest economic cost could offer the highest expected returns from investment in research."
NCRI director Dr Jane Cope said: "These figures remind us that cancer has a cost, not just in professional health care but also in loss of earnings for patients and loved ones who give up work to look after them."
Jean King, director of tobacco control at Cancer Research UK, said the research was further proof of the need to tackle smoking, particularly among the young.
"Stopping young people taking up this deadly addiction in the first place will not only reduce the number of lung cancer cases in the future but a range of other illnesses that continue to blight the lives of so many people," she added.


A "shabby racist" who repeatedly kicked a pregnant Muslim woman, resulting in her losing her unborn baby, has been jailed for almost four years.

David Gallacher, 37, of no fixed address, attacked Samsam Haji-Ali, 34, and her husband outside a Co-op in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, in August.
He admitted actual bodily harm, assault by beating and two counts of racially or religiously aggravated assault.
The judge called him a "thug and a racist to boot."
Aylesbury Crown Court heard Somali Ms Haji-Ali was racially abused by Gallacher in the Water Eaton Road shop on 4 August.
He swore at her and said: "You come here with your clown outfit on..."
More news from Buckinghamshire
As her husband Abdullah Sulamain, 40, attempted to calm him down in the car park outside, Gallacher hit him on the head with a bottle of wine and a bag of ice.
He then kicked Ms Haji-Ali in the stomach.
Judge Francis Sheridan said: "She told him she was pregnant and he continued to kick her again, after he was told she was pregnant.
"She is left rolling around on the ground in agony and later found there is bleeding, before she lost the baby."
Ms Haji-Ali miscarried on 24 August.
Judge Sheridan said her pregnancy had been "absolutely fine" before the attack, and in his view "the loss of that baby was a direct result of a kick to the stomach of a pregnant woman".
He told Gallacher: "There was a racial element to this attack.
"The defendant is a shabby racist on the language that he used towards this lady.
"It is time you learnt that your vile conduct and abhorrent views are a thing of the past."
Gallacher admitted two counts of racially aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm and three counts of assaulting a police officer during his arrest in September last year.
He was jailed for three years and seven months for the race attacks and four months for the officer assault, to run consecutively.


Jamie Murray became the first Briton to win the Australian Open men's doubles title in 82 years, as he and Bruno Soares beat Daniel Nestor and Radek Stepanek 2-6 6-4 7-5.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Brazil's Soares, 33, twice lost his serve as Canada's Nestor, 43, and Czech Stepanek, 37, took the opening set.
Murray, 29, and Soares began to exert more pressure and broke in the fifth game on the way to the second set.
The pair then served out for the win at the second attempt in the decider.
Murray was serving for victory at 5-4 up in the third, but failed to hold serve as he was broken for the first time in the match as Nestor and Stepanek gave themselves hope.
But Murray and Soares immediately broke back before the latter comfortably held on to his serve to complete victory.
The livewire Murray's volleying and serving were a major part of the success, as the Scot - whose brother Andy plays in the men's singles final on Sunday - added the title to his mixed doubles win with Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon in 2007.
Andy Murray turned up for the post-match trophy ceremony and an emotional Jamie said: "Andy, you should be in bed, not here taking photos."
Having reached the Wimbledon and US Open finals with John Peers in 2015, Jamie Murray joined up with Soares in an attempt to go one better.
However, it seemed the duo's first major together would end with a similar fate as Nestor and Stepanek eased in front in 38 minutes.
Soares held for the first time in the match as he and Murray drew level at 2-2 in second set.
The Brazilian started to raise his game to that of his team-mate and the pair, on Nestor's serve, finally took a break point at the eighth attempt to take a 3-2 lead before levelling the match.
In the third set, the momentum was with Murray and Soares as the former became the first Briton to win the men's doubles title at the Australian Open since Fred Perry and Pat Hughes in 1934.
"You dream about this moment since when you start playing tennis and I don't know what to say," said Soares.
"Jamie, my partner, it's only one month [since we teamed up], but I think we can retire now.
"Thanks for inviting me and thanks for playing such good tennis. I hope we can carry it on and play for many more matches like this."


Protestors say they will maintain a presence at the site of a proposed exploratory oil well in Co Antrim.

Work had been expected to begin at Woodburn Forest, near Carrickfergus, this week. So far no work has started.
A small number of protesters are in place at the site along with a modest police presence.
Campaigners object because it is within the catchment of a reservoir. They claim it could impact on the water supply to thousands of homes.
Northern Ireland Water, which has leased the site, has said it believes the project does not pose a risk.
Protestors turned up on Monday to oppose the start of the work.
The drilling company, Infrastrata, cannot begin drilling until a waste management plan is approved.
That has to be done by the planning authority, which is Mid and East Antrim council. That could take several weeks.
The proposed well head is around 400m from the reservoir.
The campaign group Stop the Drill has called for the planning consents to be reviewed by the Department of the Environment.
The company has said that once it starts, it will take seven weeks of drilling to complete the borehole.
All work will be finished within four months.
Infrastrata has claimed there could be 40 million barrels of oil thousands of metres underground.
The work is proceeding under what are called permitted development rights, meaning it does not need full planning permission.
If it wants to progress to a working oil well, the company will have to submit an application.


A man has died after a "chemical incident" at house on the Isle of Wight, police have said.

Police cordoned off a house and closed part of St Mary's Road in Cowes shortly after 19:00 BST on Wednesday.
Hampshire Constabulary said a man in his 20s was initially treated at the scene but later died.
Others living at the property, along with two ambulance service crew, were taken to hospital for checks.
The Isle of Wight Ambulance Service said they were all expected to be discharged later.
Insp Robert Abel said: "The death is not being treated as suspicious.
"We are still currently at the scene but we would like to reassure residents that there is no wider risk to the community."
Hazardous materials experts from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service were sent to the island to identify the chemical.
It is not yet known what caused the incident.
The road remains cordoned traffic but is open to pedestrians.


Russian film stars, a cosmonaut and French actress Fanny Ardant are among 1,300 people reading Leo Tolstoy's epic War and Peace live on the internet - a 60-hour marathon spread over four days.

The event was organised by Russian state broadcasters and it is being streamed online.
Places that feature in the novel were chosen as settings for some chapters, including the Borodino battlefield, where in 1812 Napoleon's troops fought the Russians.
War and Peace was published in 1869.
The novel - one of Russia's greatest works of literature - follows the lives of aristocratic Russian families during the French invasion in the early 19th Century.
Readers include schoolchildren, sports personalities, scientists and armed forces staff.
Cosmonaut Sergei Volkov is joining in from aboard the International Space Station.
Count Tolstoy's former home at Yasnaya Polyana is one of the venues - where Vladimir Tolstoy, a great-great-grandson of the writer, will take part in the reading. The estate is about 200km (124 miles) south of Moscow.
The scale of the book reading "has no parallel in the whole world", say organisers at the website voinaimir.com.
"The geography of the project is immense - from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka, from Franz Josef Land [in the Arctic] to London and Paris," they say.


On Thursday the New York Times and the Washington Post both published articles digging deep into the Clinton family finances involving the Clinton Foundation - and the possible conflicts of interest they have created.

In the Times Jo Becker and Mike McIntire write about a Russian energy conglomerate's purchase of a Canadian company with uranium mining interests in the US and Kazakhstan. It's a detailed, 4,000-word investigation with a lot of moving parts, but the gist is clear.
The chairman of the Canadian company that profited from the sale, Ian Telfer, donated millions of dollars to the  Clinton Foundation, the charitable organisation set up after Bill Clinton left the presidency - most of which was not reported publicly. The founder of the company, Frank Giustra, also donated $31m (Â£20.5m) to the foundation and flew Mr Clinton to Kazakhstan in 2005, at a time when the nation was considering whether to grant uranium mining rights to Canadian company.
In 2010, at roughly the same time, the Russian company, Rosatom, was attempting to purchase the Canadian company, Mr Clinton travelled to Moscow and was paid $500,000 by a bank affiliated with Rosatom.
The US government, including the Department of State then headed by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, had to approve the Russian purchase, as it involved acquiring strategic mineral rights on US soil. It did.
"Whether the donations played any role in the approval of the uranium deal is unknown," Becker and McIntire write. "But the episode underscores the special ethical challenges presented by the Clinton Foundation, headed by a former president who relied heavily on foreign cash to accumulate $250m in assets even as his wife helped steer American foreign policy as secretary of state, presiding over decisions with the potential to benefit the foundation's donors."
Those "special ethical challenges" were scrutinised in the Post piece, as well, which reveals more details about the vast sums of money in speaking fees Mr Clinton has amassed since his presidency ended in 2001.
Mr Clinton was paid "more than $100m for speeches between 2001 and 2013", the Post notes, including "at least" $26m by groups that also donated to the Clinton Foundation, such as financial firms often considered villains on the populist left, like Goldman Sachs and CitiGroup.
"The multiple avenues through which the Clintons and their causes have accepted financial support have provided a variety of ways for wealthy interests in the United States and abroad to build friendly relations with a potential future president," writes the Post's Rosalind S Helderman.
Meanwhile Reuters is reporting that the Clinton Foundation will refile "at least five" of its past tax returns to correct errors involving unreported or over-reported of millions of dollars donations from governments.
These stories come on the heels of a Sunday article in the New York Times detailing the growing buzz surrounding an upcoming book about the Clinton Foundation finances, Clinton Cash, by conservative scholar Peter Schweizer.
The work, according to reports, will contain numerous examples of donations to the foundation or speaking fees given to Mr Clinton followed by US government actions that were beneficial to the donating parties.
It appears the book will not contain concrete evidence of actions taken by Mrs Clinton in exchange for donations - but concerns over an appearance of impropriety are stoking interest by media outlets and attacks from Mrs Clinton's political adversaries.
The Times story also reveals that Mr Schweizer's publisher, HarperCollins, has provided advanced copies of the book to both the Post and the Times, which are relying on its research in their own investigations.
In Thursday's article the Times authors state that "some of the connections" between the Canadian energy company and the Clinton Foundation were "unearthed" by Schweizer and that the paper has "scrutinised his information and built upon it with its own reporting".
According to the Post's Helderman, Schweizer's work did not contribute to her story, which "is based on reporting and documents collected independently".
Bloomberg's Leonid Bershidsy writes that the most disturbing element to these stories is attempts by the Clintons to keep some of the donations secret. At the time Rosatom's purchase of US uranium interests wasn't considered a significant deal - the Wyoming mine in question was barely producing any nuclear material and its uses are solely commercial, not military.
"One can only guess at the reasons the contributions, totaling millions of dollars, were kept quiet, but perhaps the idea was to avoid precisely the kind of story the New York Times produced, hinting at a Clinton family interest in helping a businessman friend," he writes.
Mrs Clinton "was clearly worried about the optics of some of the things she and her husband were doing and tried to keep them out of the public eye," he continues. "As is usual in such cases, the cover-up drew her more unwanted attention than her actions warranted."
Brian Fallon, a spokesperson for the Clinton campaign, tells the Times the suggestions of impropriety were "baseless".
There is not a shred of evidence "supporting the theory that Hillary Clinton ever took action as secretary of state to support the interests of donors to the Clinton Foundation", he adds.
Clinton Cash is set to be released on 5 May, and this is almost certainly not the last of both the Post's and the Times's investigations into Clinton finances. Expect more stories that focus on the appearance and possibilities of conflicts of interest - but with no firm evidence of quid pro quos, such as Mrs Clinton's direct or unexpected involvement in altering US policy.
Fox News, another outlet granted access to Schweizer's research, is planning an hour-long report on Friday titled The Tangled Clinton Web.
As the US presidential campaign heats up, the issue of questionable financial dealings will likely not be limited to Mrs Clinton, however. According to Bloomberg's Joshua Green, Schweizer is also working on a book about the finances of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who is almost certainly seeking the Republican presidential nomination.
"What we're doing is a drill-down investigation of Jeb's finances similar to what we did with the Clintons in terms of looking at financial dealings, cronyism, who he's been involved with," Schweizer tells Green. "We've found some interesting things."
He adds that he will also share his Bush research with interested media outlets.
Given the level of partisan rancour that's already been directed in support of and against Schweizer, it'll be interesting to see how his next book is received.


Twenty-five male passengers, including a 14-year-old boy, had to be removed from a plane at Gatwick Airport earlier after reports of disorderly behaviour.

The Thomson Airways flight to Costa Rica was delayed by three hours when the captain refused to fly.
The airline said there was an initial delay due to "operational reasons", but passengers were subjected to a further wait due to a "customer incident".
A spokeswoman said customer and crew safety was its priority at all times.
"We operate a zero-tolerance policy in relation to any disruptive behaviour and several customers were asked to leave the aircraft.
"We worked as quickly as possible to ensure the other customers could get away on their holiday," she said.
A Sussex Police spokesman said there was no violence as the officers escorted the passengers away and "no evidence of criminal offences on the aircraft or in the airport".
Thomson Airways apologised to customers for the inconvenience.


A heavily pregnant mother and her six-year-old daughter were threatened at knifepoint by two men during an "atrocious" robbery at their home.

A machete was pointed at Fatima Bibi's abdomen and her daughter had the knife held to her throat during the attack in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
Mrs Bibi is going into hospital on Wednesday to have her baby.
Her three other children were at home during the raid. She said it had left her terrified and unable to sleep.
Mrs Bibi said the moment of the attack was "frozen in my mind".
Her daughter had been "crying and screaming" at night since the attack on Friday, she said.
Police have released CCTV images of the men, who escaped with a mobile phone.
Det Insp Kenny Blain, from Greater Manchester Police, said it was "beyond comprehension" to hold a knife to the throat of a six-year-old child.
"This was an atrocious attack on an innocent family in their own home," he said.
"The stress this would have caused [Mrs Bibi] could have potentially threatened the life of her unborn child," he said.
The men stormed in when one of Mrs Bibi's sons, aged eight, opened the door to someone knocking.
Mrs Bibi said she heard screaming and could see a masked man holding her young daughter by the neck, with a machete in his hand, dragging her upstairs.
She said one of the robbers then put the knife on her stomach and said: "Pregnant lady, I'm going to kill you.
"Tell me quickly. Where's your safe, where's your money?"
They escaped with an iPhone.
Mrs Bibi asked anyone with information to come forward.
"Nobody should be allowed to do that to kids in our society.
"Today I'm the victim, tomorrow it might be someone else," she said.
Police described one of the men as white, over 6ft (1.8m) tall, of heavy build, wearing a black wool balaclava, dark baseball cap, a black, quilted jacket with no sleeves and a dark top and dark blue jeans.
The other man was described as white, 5ft 5in (1.65m) tall and aged about 25 with light eyes, an oval shaped face, short ginger beard and of medium build. He was wearing a black wool hat with the hood of his red jumper over the hat, and a black, sleeveless, quilted coat and brown chinos.
Both men were said to have local accents.


An Australian man has received a suspended jail sentence over a jet ski collision that killed his girlfriend in Thailand.

Thomas Keating, 22, had pleaded guilty to reckless driving over the death of Emily Jayne Collie, 20, on the resort island of Phuket last month.
On Thursday, the Phuket Provincial Court handed Keating a one-year suspended sentence and a fine of 5,000 Thai baht (Â£115; $144).
He will now be able to leave Thailand.
Ms Collie suffered fatal neck and shoulder injuries when the pair collided on separate rented jet skis.
At the time, Keating told police his vision was impaired by sunlight reflecting off the water.
"I respect the judge's decision, and am grateful that the sentence was suspended," said Mr Keating said in a statement.
"This was a very difficult process for meâ€¦ but the heartbreak that Emily's parents, Ian and Sallie Collie, are going through right now is infinitely and incomparably more difficult."
Ms Collie's parents have said they "do not believe anybody was at fault" in the collision.
Keating had been barred leaving the country until his trial was finished.


The latest unemployment figures show that joblessness in Wales has remained lower than the average for the UK.

Figures released from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the rate of unemployment in Wales has stayed at 4.4% of 16-64 year olds.
This compares with 4.7% for the UK as a whole.
Between November and January there were 66,000 people in Wales available for work but not employed.
That is 12,000 fewer than the same period 12 months earlier.
The unemployment rate in Wales has been below the UK rate for a year now.
First Minister Carwyn Jones said the statistics showed that the  jobs market in Wales "is continuing to outperform almost every other part of the UK".
"We are continuing to work hard to grow the Welsh economy and are constantly looking to the future."
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said: "It is great news that the UK unemployment rate has reached its lowest point since June to August 1975 and that Wales' rate continues to stay below this average.
"The increase in employment levels in Wales highlights business confidence in the Welsh economy and its ability to face the challenges ahead."
Analysis: Faltering wage growth is becoming Mayâ€™s headache
Analysis by Sarah Dickins, BBC Wales economics correspondent
Wales has had lower unemployment than the UK as a whole for many months now, with only the south west, East Midlands and south east England having a lower rate.
But Wales also has a relatively low level of employment and a relatively high proportion of people between 16 and 64 who are not working but also not available for work.
This may be because they are ill or caring for someone, referred to as economically inactive. In Wales 23.3% come into that category. Inactivity rates are only higher than Wales in north east England and Northern Ireland.
In Wales, 73.3% of people aged between 16 and 64 are working - only the north east, north west, Yorkshire and Humber and the West Midlands have lower levels of employment.
Wales has seen one of the biggest falls in the unemployment rate in the 12 months to the November to January quarter. Proportionately only Scotland has seen a greater fall.
But Scotland also saw a significant reduction in the number of people working during that period and a big increase in people not working and not available for work.
Other figures out on Wednesday show there has been a 13% increase in people employed on zero hours contracts across the UK in the past year to December, a total of 900,000 people or 2.8% of the workforce


Former chancellor George Osborne has defended making more than £320,000 over 31 days for giving speeches.

The register of MPs interests showed Mr Osborne declared payments for six speeches from 27 September to 27 October.
His largest fee was £81,174 from JP Morgan for a speech on 4 October, the register of MPs' interests showed.
The now backbencher said his income source was "similar" to that of other former chancellors.
On a visit to a construction site at Newcastle University, he said: "As a member of parliament I declare all my income, so people can see that.
"It's very similar to what previous chancellors, Labour and Conservatives, have done in the past.
"I'm now focused on this: Making the Northern Powerhouse a reality - because I'm passionate about this idea and I don't want the north east to lose out."
The MP for Tatton was sacked by Theresa May when she became prime minister.
The register showed a total of seven hours' work was listed for the largest JP Morgan fee and detailed another speech for which he was paid £60,578 by the firm.
Mr Osborne signed up to the Washington Speakers' Bureau, from where he is due to be paid £80,240 from a company called Palmex Derivatives for a speech in New York he gave on 27 October. He recorded that as a total of two hours' work.
He also expects to be paid £69,992 by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association in return for speaking on 27 September and 18 October, and £28,454 from the Hoover Institution at Stanford University for a speech on 17 October, listed as three hours' work.
Under Parliamentary rules, MPs have to register within 28 days any interest which could be seen as influencing their actions or words.
The latest edition of the register also showed former justice secretary and Conservative leadership candidate Michael Gove was due to be paid £150,000 a year for writing for The Times.
He also received a £17,500 advance payment for a book.


An Edinburgh company has won the UK's top engineering prize for its digital hydraulic power system.

The MacRobert Award judges said Artemis Intelligent Power's "digital displacement" system was a "technical advance of global importance".
The technology could increase the power of offshore wind turbines and cut fuel consumption and carbon emissions in commuter trains and buses.
The award judges called it "a massive leap forward".
The Â£50,000 MacRobert Award has been presented by the Royal Academy of Engineering annually since 1969.
It is known for spotting the "next big thing" in the technology sector, previously recognising technologies such as the catalytic converter and the CT scanner.
The judging panel said the Artemis system had "done for hydraulic engines what James Watt did for steam engines".
It has developed a digital hydraulic power system that can replace the mechanical gearbox in conventional wind turbines.
The "Digital Displacement" system is set to power the next generation of offshore turbines, making them more efficient and reliable.
One system has already been installed in a 7MW turbine - double the current average turbine power of 3.5MW - off the Scottish coast.
The same technology can also be used to reduce the fuel consumption of commuter trains and buses.
A regenerative braking energy storage system based on "Digital Displacement" can be retrofitted to existing diesel commuter trains, reducing fuel consumption by about 10%.
The system also generates less noise and cuts exhaust emissions within stations.
Artemis has been working with Lothian Buses and Alexander Dennis to develop hybrid buses which are cheaper and more fuel efficient.
Originally a spin-out from the University of Edinburgh, Artemis was acquired by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 2010.
Chairwoman of the MacRobert judging panel, Dame Sue Ion, said: "The Artemis story is truly compelling. The company has achieved a technical advance of global importance, making significant power delivery from offshore wind considerably more credible and realisable, and facilitating the global goal of reducing CO2 emissions.
"This is not simply evolutionary improvement but a complete step change, and one that took years of commitment to achieve.
"The Artemis Digital Displacement system is both an incredible piece of invention, and a brilliant example of detailed engineering design. It represents excellence in multiple facets of engineering, from control system technology to software and elegant mechanical design.
"The multidisciplinary engineering team within Artemis has produced a unique, world-beating product and is realising significant commercial success as a result. As a UK SME, Artemis represents the very best of modern UK engineering with global significance, which the Academy continues to champion through its Engineering for Growth campaign."
Last year's MacRobert Award winner, SME Cobalt Light Systems, won for the innovation behind an airport security liquid scanner that can now be found in over 65 airports throughout Europe.


The Welsh assembly's presiding officer has called for the number of AMs to be increased from 60 to 80.

Rosemary Butler makes the call in her submission to the Silk Commission examining whether further powers should be devolved to Wales.
She said an increase in AMs would be part of a "strong and clear constitutional settlement for the assembly and the people of Wales".
The UK government will decide what to include in a Government of Wales Bill.
"Given the weight of responsibility resting with the institution, and the unavoidable scale of the workload faced by members, I am in no doubt that the number of Assembly Members should be increased from 60 to 80," said Ms Butler.
Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said it was an interesting proposition as AMs would be "limited" to deal with all the work when more legislation has to be discussed and processed by the assembly in the years to come.
"What I would be interested to see as well is a corresponding reduction in the number of MPs so we don't end up spending extra money on this," said Ms Wood.
The Electoral Reform Society said having more AMs could save money for the taxpayer because politicians act as watchdogs for government spending.
It said the money saved by cutting the size of the House of Lords could be spent on a bigger assembly - something that was needed to hold the Welsh government to account.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats agreed, saying: "While it is not a popular call to make, 60 assembly members scrutinising and legislating on important issues such as economic development, health, education and other important areas is not enough."
However, the Welsh government has previously said it does not think there is a public appetite for more AMs.
A spokesman said: "The commission may feel that they want to look at the size of the assembly, in the light of the various evidence being submitted on further powers."
The Welsh government's own evidence to Silk calls for the devolution of powers over policing.
Ms Butler also cites a number of recent examples which illustrate what she calls the "unclear and uncertain" boundaries of the current devolution settlement.
The extent of the assembly's powers should be defined "to give us greater legal certainty" so the institution can legislate "effectively and with confidence".
The lawfulness of the first bill passed by the assembly under its new law-making powers was challenged in the Supreme Court by the UK government.
A panel of five judges found in the assembly's favour on every count.
However, Ms Butler said this and other examples illustrated the need for clearer boundaries and more autonomy for the institution.
"The pace of constitutional change in Wales has been dramatic and the institution today is very different to the one envisaged by the UK parliament as recently as 2006," she said.
"There should be a fundamental recognition that the assembly, not the UK parliament, is best placed to determine certain matters for itself and should not be subject to unnecessary restriction."
As part of her submission, she says that in future, it should be described as a parliament, rather than an assembly.
The Silk Commission was set up by the UK government to examine the future of devolution in Wales. It has already reported back on the first stage of its work, recommending that some tax-varying powers should be transferred.
Its second stage is under way, looking at whether powers in more policy areas should be devolved. A move to 80 AMs was recommended by the Richard Commission in 2004, but not implemented.
Campaign group True Wales, which was opposed to further law-making powers during the referendum in 2011, said that a Yes vote was likely to lead to an increase in the number of AMs.
However, it will be up to the UK government to decide what it puts in a new Government of Wales Bill which would be needed for any substantial changes to the assembly's powers or structure, including new members.
It is expected to release its submission to the Silk Commission next week.


A conservationist who made a 4,500-mile motorised paraglider flight along a route followed by migrating swans is planning a Scottish voyage.

Sacha Dench was dubbed "the human swan" when she followed the bird's path from the Arctic to the UK.
She is now planning to make a new aerial journey "from tip to toe of the Hebrides" in May.
Prior to that she will bring her flying machine to Dumfries as a guest at the Wild Film Festival Scotland.
The biologist and head of media for the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT) last year followed the migration route of the endangered Bewick's swan.
Now she will be speaking about the experience at the Robert Burns Centre in Dumfries as part of the film festival later this month.
Ms Dench is also making preparations for a planned "just for fun" paramotor flight the length of the Hebrides supported by a team on a tall ship.
She said: "I love Scotland and have spent a lot of time there working on WWT projects and doing aerial photography.
"It's such a beautiful country.
"I have been to Harris and Skye and have always wanted to explore more of the islands, so when I was thinking about my next flight I thought it would be amazing to fly from tip to toe of the Hebrides.
"It will be a brilliant way to enjoy those really challenging environments - the rugged peaks and the sea."
Sid Ambrose, manager of the film festival, said Ms Dench's story was "hugely inspirational".
"We are proud to have her as one of our festival guests and know people are going to be really keen to come along and meet her," he said.
The festival takes place from 24 to 26 March in Dumfries.


Laura Robson has decided not to use her protected ranking of 58 to gain direct entry into January's Australian Open.

The 21-year-old has played in eight events since a 17-month lay-off with wrist problems, including the US Open.
However, playing in New York - where she lost in the first round to Elena Vesnina - means the world number 555 can only use the protected ranking to enter one more Grand Slam.
She may now instead opt to wait for the French Open.
In the meantime, Robson is likely to try and build up her ranking at smaller events.
Four other Britons - Andy Murray, Aljaz Bedene, Johanna Konta and Heather Watson - all gain direct entry into the draw in Melbourne.
Kyle Edmund is currently the third alternate for the men's singles, meaning he stands a good chance of avoiding the qualifying competition.


A specialist policing unit which investigates sexual offences on the Tube will not be disbanded  the British Transport Police (BTP) has confirmed.

BTP said it had "unintentionally caused concern" by suggesting a new operating model, which meant all officers would investigate sexual offences.
It said it would now carry out an "urgent review" of its plans.
The number of sex crimes reported on London transport rose by over a third last year.
The Sexual Offence Unit was originally set up to tackle crimes on the London transport network.
In response to the news, the group End Violence Against Women (EVAW), said: "Good on British Transport Police for listening and having a re-think".
EVAW had previously said losing the unit would "dilute the expertise" required to tackle sex crime.
Figures released recently showed that between April and December 2015, police received 1,603 reports, compared with 1,117 complaints in the same period the year before.
An internal risk assessment by Transport for London (TfL) has also suggested that the introduction of the Night Tube will lead to a rise in sexual offences on the Underground.
In Japan, Russia, Brazil, India and Germany, seats and carriages are reserved for women on public transport to protect them from sexual harassment.
Last August, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn sparked debate when he said he would consider introducing segregated carriages in Britain to stem the rise in assaults on public transport.


Predicting the oil price is a bit of a mug's game.

There are simply too many variables involved to make any kind of meaningful, definitive forecast.
What we do know is that, despite a recent upturn, the price of oil has slumped almost 50% since last summer following the longest-running decline for 20 years.
And we know why - US shale oil, and to a lesser extent Libyan oil returning to the market, has pushed up supply while a slowdown in the Chinese and EU economies has reduced demand.
Add to the mix a strong US dollar making oil more expensive in real terms, pushing demand even lower, and you have a recipe for a plummeting oil price.
What happens next is a little harder to see.
With the booming US shale industry showing little signs of slowing, and growing concerns about the strength of the global economy, there are good reasons to suspect that the current slump in the oil price will continue for some time.
This is precisely when Opec, the cartel of major global oil producers, would normally step in to stabilise prices by cutting production. It has done so many times in the past, so often in fact that the market expects Opec to intervene.
This time it hasn't. In a historic move at the end of last year, Opec said not only that it would not cut production from its 30 million barrels a day (mb/d) quota, but had no intention of doing so even if oil fell to $20 a barrel.
A series of articles looking at how the world will meet increasing demand for energy and the need to cut CO2 emissions linked to global warming, using old and new technologies
And this was no empty threat. Despite furious opposition from Venezuela, Iran and Algeria, Opec kingpin Saudi Arabia simply refused to bail out its more vulnerable cohorts - many Opec members need an oil price of $100 or more to balance their budgets, but with an estimated $900bn in reserves, Saudi can afford to play the waiting game.
Opec now supplies a little over 30% of the world's oil, down from almost 50% in the 1970s, partly due to US shale producers flooding the market with almost 4 mb/d from a standing start 10 years ago.
"Given this scenario, who should be expected to cut production to put a floor under prices?" Opec argued last month.
Equally, Saudi is not prepared to sacrifice more market share while its competitors, not least US shale oil producers, prosper. Safe in the knowledge that it can withstand very low oil prices for the best part of a decade, it would rather stand back and, as Philip Whittaker at Boston Consulting Group says, "let economics do the work".
The implications of Opec's decision, therefore, go way beyond sending the oil price crashing even further.
"We have entered a new chapter in the history of the oil market, which is now starting to operate like any non-cartel commodity market," says Stuart Elliott at energy specialist Platts.
The fallout has been immediate in many parts of the industry, and promises to wreak further havoc in the coming months and, quite possibly, years.
Without Opec artificially supporting the oil price, and with potentially weaker demand due to sluggish global economic growth, the oil price is likely to remain below $100 for years to come.
The futures market suggests the price will recover slowly to hit about $70 by 2019, while most experts forecast a range of $40-$80 for the next few years. Anything more precise is futile.
At these kinds of prices, a great many oil wells become uneconomic. First at risk are those developing hard to access reserves, such as deepwater wells. Arctic oil, for example, does not work at less than $100 a barrel, says Brendan Cronin at Poyry Managing Consultants, so any plans for polar drilling are likely to be shelved for the foreseeable future.
Source: IEA
North Sea oil production is also at serious risk, certainly in terms of new wells that need an oil price of about $70-$80 to justify drilling. Indeed in a recent interview with Platts, the head of Oil & Gas UK said at $50, North Sea oil production could fall by 20%, dealing a hammer blow not just to the companies involved but to the Scottish economy as a whole.
Exploration into unproven reserves in regions such as Southern and West Africa will also grind to a halt.
The price of oil has halved over the past eight months - but what's the real cost of cheap oil? The BBC's correspondents around the world look at who's benefiting and who's hurting from the shock fall in oil prices. Follow their reports on TV, on radio and online.
Special report: Energy
Questions are also being asked about fracking. Costs vary a great deal, but research by Scotiabank suggests the average breakeven price for US shale producers is about $60. At the same price, energy research group Wood Mackenzie estimates that investment in new wells would halve, wiping out production growth.
"The vast majority [of US shale wells] just don't work at $40-$50," says Mr Cronin.
Oil majors are already suffering, having announced tens of billions of dollars of cuts in exploration spending. But while the share prices of BP, Total and Chevron are all down about 15% since last summer, the majors have the resources to see out a sustained period of low oil prices.
There are hundreds of other much smaller oil groups across the world with a far more uncertain future, not least in the US. Shale companies there have borrowed $160bn in the past five years, all predicated on selling oil at a higher price than we have today. Banks' patience can only be tested so far.
Oilfield services companies are also "feeling severe pain", according to Mr Whittaker, with share prices in the sector down an average 30%-50%. Last month, US giant Schlumberger announced 9,000 job cuts, some 8% of its entire workforce.
But it's not just oil companies that are being hit by lower oil prices - the renewables sector is suffering as well.
In the Middle East and parts of Central and South America, oil is in direct competition with renewables to generate electricity, so solar power in particular will suffer at the hands of cheap oil.
See how much petrol and diesel costs around the world
Elsewhere, falling oil prices are helping drive down the price of gas, the direct rival of renewables. Subsidies, therefore, may have to rise to compensate.
Indeed lower oil and gas prices undermine a fundamental economic argument propounded by many governments to support renewables - that fossil fuels will continue to rise in price.
The impact is already being felt - shares in Vestas, the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer, are down 15% since the summer, while those in Chinese solar panel giant JA Solar have slumped 20%.
Lower oil prices are also a grave concern for electric carmakers, with sales of hybrids in the US falling while those of gas-guzzling SUVs surge.
The knock-on effects within the energy industry of a sustained period of lower oil prices are, then, both widespread and profound.
But while Saudi Arabia's decision to call time on supporting the oil price marks an important milestone in the industry, oil's self-stabilising price mechanism remains very much intact - prices fall, production drops, supply falls, prices rise.
As a direct result of lower prices, exploration and production will be curtailed, and while it may take a number of years to filter through, supply will fall and prices will rise. After all, while there may be hundreds of new small suppliers entering the fray, there are still too few big players controlling oil supply for a truly free market to develop.
But real change is on the way. There is a growing realisation that fossil fuels need to be left in the ground if the world is to meet climate change targets and avoid dangerous levels of global warming.
Against this backdrop, it is only a matter of time before a meaningful carbon price - hitting polluters for emitting CO2 - is introduced, a price that will have a profound impact on the global oil market.
Equally, for the first time oil is facing a genuine competitor in the transport sector, which currently accounts for more than half of all oil consumption. Electric vehicles may be a niche market now, but as battery technology in particular advances, they will move inexorably into the mainstream, significantly reducing demand for oil.
The oil market is undergoing significant transformation, but more fundamental change is on the horizon.


The number of days lost by West Mercia Police employees through depression or anxiety problems has more than doubled between 2010 and 2014, figures show.

A BBC freedom of information request to the force revealed 4,789.27 days were recorded in 2010, compared to 12,198.48 in 2014, an increase of 155%.
Overall sickness went up by 60% in the same period. The force employs 1,939 officers and 1,568 staff.
West Mercia Police Federation said the figures suggest a link to funding cuts.
The number of employees off with anxiety and stress in 2010 was 134 but rose to 229 last year, representing a 70% increase.
Days lost because of sickness and ill health overall totalled 24,419.89 in 2010 compared with 39,022.75 in 2014, a 60% rise.
The force has not said how much the absences have cost.
West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police announced plans to form an alliance in 2011, which came into effect in 2013.
They two forces started a three-year plan to cut spending by Â£30m in 2012.
Russell Yeomans, chairman of the West Mercia Police Federation, said: "On the face of it, it's difficult to say but the figures suggest that there is a direct link to the cuts and the extra responsibilities police officers have faced but it could be difficult to say that based purely on these figures."
He said police numbers had dropped over the past five years, a trend which was going to continue.
An ongoing recruitment campaign would only replace officers leaving, he said.
"Policing is and always will be a stressful profession," he added.
West Mercia Police said it recognised the figures showed a rise in sickness absence, particularly for anxiety and stress and a number of measures were already in place to provide support.
"A new action plan has been implemented in the past year and additional training has recently become available for line managers to help them support their staff," the force said.


A man has admitted killing a woman who died after the car she was driving hit a house in Cardiff.

Sophie Taylor, 22, died in the crash in Adamsdown on 22 August. A 21-year-old passenger is still in hospital.
Michael Wheeler, 22, of Tremorfa, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving on Monday.
Lewis Hall, 18, of Tremorfa, admitted perverting the course of justice at Cardiff Crown Court.
Another driver, Melissa Pesticcio, 23, of Llanrumney, is also accused of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving, but is yet to enter a plea.
Miss Taylor, of Llandaff, was killed when her black BMW lost control and crashed into the house.
The case was adjourned until a later date.


Three South African motorcyclists have arrived in Powys after an epic ride of more than 6,000 miles, inspired by the Battle of Rorke's Drift.

Peter Rattray, Michael O'Byrne and Blaze O'Byrne travelled from the site of the 1879 conflict, made famous by the endeavours of Welsh soldiers.
They brought two artefacts from the battle with them for The Royal Welsh Regimental Museum at Brecon.
Mr Rattray's family has a close relationship with the Royal Welsh.
They run the Fugitives' Drift hotel, near the battlefield, and have hosted dozens of members of the Brecon-based regiment, whose descendants fought in Rorke's Drift.
They also conduct battlefield tours, recounting tales of the Welsh soldiers' heroics during the Anglo-Zulu war.
Mr Rattray and his two friends have crossed Africa, the Middle East and Europe on their way to the museum on Saturday morning.
They have brought with them a traditional Zulu assegai spear and a British boot plate, which was found on the battlefield, for the museum.
Mr Rattray said finally seeing Brecon would be a special moment, especially as his father made numerous trips to talk about the battle.
"To finally have an opportunity to see the significant sites in Wales and visit the home of the Royal Welsh is something I have looked forward to for most of my life," he said.
"To me, this is such an incredible opportunity to view these places my father told me so much about.
"Most importantly for me though, I want to visit the garden of The Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh in Brecon. After my father passed away in 2007, a memorial to him was placed in this garden. This, for me, is the main reason I want to visit Brecon."
The Battle of Rorke's Drift took place on 22 and 23 January 1879.
Following their defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana the previous day, 150 British and colonial troops were cornered in a small makeshift garrison by thousands of Zulu warriors.
Despite injuries to virtually every man, and almost running out of ammunition, this tiny force held out for more than 10 hours until the Zulu onslaught finally subsided.
Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded to the defenders - more than in any single engagement in British military history.
The events were famously depicted in the 1964 film Zulu, starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine.


A campaign has been launched to save a Pembrokeshire town's outdoor pool.

Pembrokeshire council recently voted to cut Milford Haven paddling pool's Â£1,000 budget, leaving its future uncertain.
A petition started by Brian Phillips calls on Milford Haven Town Council to take over its running.
Mr Phillips said the pool "has been a source of summer fun for children for many decades" and had been "gaining in popularity over the last few years".
"We need Milford Haven Town Council to take responsibility for this lovely feature to ensure it remains open for many years to come," he added.
A Pembrokeshire council spokesman said the local authority would work with elected members, the town council and the community to "ensure a bright future for the town's paddling pool".


Archaeologists have begun exploring two locations in Bath which have been hidden from view for more than half a century.

The dig, in part of the Roman Baths complex, was partly excavated in the 1960s but then sealed up and left.
Archaeologists will investigate the masonry and also examine the materials used to backfill the baths.
The site will eventually become part of an exhibition at the new Archway Centre which is expected to open in 2019.
Archaeologist Simon Cox said it is a "really rare opportunity" to examine the world heritage site.
"We don't get to do that sort of stuff everyday, a lot of what we do look at is fairly mundane...to come down and work in the heart of one of the most significant Roman bathing complexes is remarkable and exciting," he said.
One of the baths will be given a protective lining and filled with earth so it can be used as a digging pit for school groups, where children can uncover a variety of replica Roman objects.
Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones said it was a milestone in the development of the Archway Centre and will provide "access to Roman remains that have never before been on display."


Dozens of people were killed, including children, when a lorry ploughed into a large crowd watching a fireworks display in Nice to mark the Bastille Day holiday.

The driver also fired shots, before being killed by police. This is what we know about what happened.
The driver of the lorry was identified as  Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian man.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins says Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was divorced with three children. His ex-wife was taken into custody along with four other people believed to be linked to him. A flat he lived in near Nice railway station was searched by police.
Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was "totally unknown" to security services, and investigations are continuing into whether he acted alone, Mr Molins said.
Lahouaiej-Bouhlel is said to have hired the lorry from a rental company in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, a town to the west of Nice, on 11 July. He had been due to return it on 13 July.
Police said that, at the time of the attack, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was in possession of an automatic pistol, bullets, a fake automatic pistol and two replica assault rifles (a Kalashnikov and an M16), an empty grenade. Also in the lorry with him were a driving licence and a bank card.
Who was the Nice attacker?
Eighty-six people were killed, all but three of them at the time of the attack. The dead included 10 children and teenagers.
A total of 303 people were taken to hospital for medical treatment. A man who was badly injured in the assault died on 4 August, taking the total number of those killed to 85.
In the hours after the attacks, worried relatives posted images on social media of the missing.
Among the dead was Fatima Charrihi, whose son said she was the first to die.
Another victim, according to reports, was the assistant head of the Nice border police, Jean-Marc Leclerc.
An American 11-year-old boy, Brodie Copeland, and his father, Sean, were also killed. They had been on holiday in Nice.
Three people on a school trip from Germany were unaccounted for.
Read more about the victims
French security officials are still assessing whether the driver of a truck was working alone or in a group.
So-called Islamic State later claimed one of its followers carried out the attack.
A news agency linked to the group, Amaq Agency, said: "He did the attack in response to calls to target the citizens of the coalition that is fighting the Islamic State."
Officials said it bore the hallmark of a terrorist organisation.
President Hollande said it was "an attack whose terrorist nature cannot be denied".
Mr Molins said the attack was "in line with the constant calls to kill" from militant Islamist groups, and the investigation would be seek to find out whether Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had ties to Islamist militants.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Lahouaiej-Bouhlel seemed to have been "radicalised very quickly".
Anti-terrorist prosecutors in Paris have launched an inquiry for murder and attempted murder as part of an organised terrorist strike.
France's DGSI internal security organisation warned of the danger of further attacks from Islamist militants with "booby-trapped vehicles and bombs".
The so-called Islamic State has targeted France on several occasions since January 2015.
Only hours before the Nice attack, President Hollande had announced that France's state of emergency would be removed later this month. After the attack in Nice he announced it was being extended.
The terror began a little after 22:30 (20:30 GMT) on 14 July, shortly after thousands of people had watched a firework display on the seafront.
There had been a mood of celebration and the crowd had enjoyed an air force display. Families strolled along the city's renowned Promenade des Anglais.
A large white lorry was seen driving erratically a couple of streets away from the seafront promenade. "He was speeding up, braking, speeding up again and braking again. We thought it was weird," said Laicia Baroi. She described how the lorry then turned on to the promenade heading south-west towards the airport.
But it was not for another half hour before the attack began. A German journalist saw events unfold from a hotel balcony, as the lorry doubled back from the direction of the airport, breaching the barriers erected on the promenade opposite the Lenval children's hospital.
"He was driving really slowly, that's what was astonishing," said Richard Gutjahr, who described seeing the lorry being tailed by a motorcyclist. "The motorcyclist tried to overtake him and even tried opening the lorry driver's door," he told AFP news agency. At that point the motorcyclist fell under the wheels of the lorry.
When two police officers opened fire on the lorry, the driver accelerated and careered at full speed towards the crowd.
The vehicle mounted the kerb then went back on the road, zigzagging for up to 2km (1.25 miles), as the driver deliberately drove into people.
A local MP spoke of hundreds of people being run over. Others scrambled to safety, on to the beach or into nearby hotels.
"I was opposite the Palais de la Mediterranee [hotel] when I saw a lorry at high speed running over people. I saw it with my own eyes, people tried to stop it," said one witness.
Police finally managed to bring the lorry to a halt near the luxury hotel.
Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins says the driver fired repeatedly on three policemen, who returned fire and pursued him for hundreds of metres.
Mobile phone footage appeared to show the moment the driver was shot.
Images from the scene showed the windscreen and front of the lorry raked with bullets. Interior ministry officials later confirmed that the attacker had been "neutralised".
It soon became clear that many people had died, although the full scale of the disaster was unclear. The dead and injured were taken to the local Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice.
In the area around Nice, the anti-terror alert was raised to its highest level.
President Francois Hollande was flown back to Paris from a visit to Avignon, joining Prime Minister Manuel Valls in a crisis room. Mr Valls declared three days of mourning.
The pair then travelled to Nice, where the interior and health ministers were already involved in crisis meetings with local officials.
Mr Hollande met his defence and security chiefs and cabinet ministers.
Later, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called on "patriotic citizens" to become reservists to boost security across the country.
He also reiterated a pledge made by Mr Hollande to call up France's current squad of reservists, which total some 12,000 volunteers.


A man has been found guilty of murdering a man two days after Christmas.

Damir Begmatov, 25, of London Road, Reading, was convicted of the murder of Bobir Esanov, a Uzbekistan national, on 27 December at a property on the same road.
A jury at Kingston Crown Court came back with a unanimous verdict on Wednesday.
Begmatov will be sentenced on 21 September.


Asian shares were largely higher on Friday as investors continued to hope the US Federal Reserve would delay its decision to raise its rates.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei index was up 1.05% in early trade at 18,289.16 points.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.97% at 5,280.7 taking a positive lead from Wall Street.
Investors were also digesting the latest earnings from mining giant Rio Tinto.
The firm's Sydney-listed shares were slightly down in mid morning trade despite the company saying it would achieve its iron ore shipment target for the year. The firm posted a 17% rise in iron ore shipments for the three months to September, while production of commodities such as coal and copper fell.
Shares in China were rising again in early trade on Friday as investors continued to hope for new stimulus moves after disappointing economic data from China this week.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 1.09% at 23,135.39 points, while the Shanghai Composite on the mainland was up 0.84% at 3,365.89 points.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index was flat, down 0.1% at 2,032.50.


Power has been restored to all homes in north Wales after heavy rain and wind left 700 without power on Saturday.

Around 70 homes were still cut off from the grid on Sunday as engineers worked round the clock to reconnect them.
Improving conditions later on Sunday enabled them to reach the last of the affected homes.
Rescue team members from Gwynedd, Vale of Glamorgan, Bridgend, Anglesey, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, Neath Port Talbot and Denbighshire had helped.
Meanwhile, specialist flood rescue lifeboat volunteers from the RNLI in Wales have been helping with evacuation efforts in storm-hit Cumbria.
Chris Missen, a volunteer from Porthcawl, Bridgend county, who arrived with others early on Sunday, called the conditions "unprecedented".
"We've probably assisted 200 people since we arrived in Carlisle and there are at least another 200 who still need our help," he said.
"The scale of this isn't like anything I've seen before, it's relentless. I've been involved in six other flood rescue operations with the RNLI and this is by far the worst."


Relatives of a Muslim man murdered by a racist claim they have been recent victims of race hate abuse.

Mohammed Saleem, 82, was stabbed on his way home from a Birmingham mosque in 2013. Ukrainian Pavlo Lapshyn admitted killing him because he was not white.
The victim's daughter, Maz Saleem, said she and her mother were both recently racially abused and her nieces, aged 11 and 13, were insulted and spat at.
She said the hostility was frightening, especially after her father's death.
The 38-year-old said the family was fearful because of a recent rise in hate crime.
Her mother, who was racially abused by a passenger on a bus, was now too scared to leave her house, she said.
"My mum wears the hijab and abaya (long coat) and [the passenger] started saying that we should 'go back to our own country' and, 'look at what she's wearing'."
Ms Saleem said she was targeted by a woman on the London Underground as she tried to help a Muslim woman in Arabic dress, who was being abused by a passenger.
"I felt extremely disappointed that someone who doesn't know the person is judging them for the way they look, just because they look Muslim," she said.
The abuse her nieces received led to the family contacting local police.
"A lorry driver hurled racist, Islamophobic abuse at them because they were wearing hijabs.
"I don't like using the word, but he called them [the racist word] 'Paki' and then spat at them."
The incident was reported to Greater Manchester Police, but she said no further action was taken because they could not trace the number plate of the vehicle.
Ms Saleem said her family was still coming to terms with what happened to her father who was killed "simply because he was brown and dressed like a Muslim".
"The devastation of the death of our father is still overwhelming. Even today, it's hard for us to comprehend how someone could have such hatred for an 82-year-old man," she said.
Ukrainian student Lapshyn was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years for murder and terrorism related offences.
To hear more on this story listen to BBC Asian Network Reports at 13:00 and 17:00 BST and BBC Radio WM.


Two men have been found guilty at the Old Bailey of smuggling assault rifles and sub-machine guns into the UK.

Harry Shilling, 26, and Michael Defraine, 30, were part of a gang that brought weapons worth £100,000 on a boat from France to Kent last August.
National Crime Agency detectives had them under surveillance and made what they say was the largest-ever weapons seizure on the UK mainland.
Two other defendants, Jennifer Arthy, 42, and John Smale, 58, were cleared.
The NCA's head of specialist operations, Rob Lewin, said: "These are hugely powerful firearms, and have, as the prosecution stated in court, a truly devastating capability.
"We cannot say for certain what the organised crime group would have done with the weapons had they not been stopped. But the evidence pointed to them not being afraid to use guns themselves to expand their influence.
"They wanted to move up in the criminal world from regional to international gangsters. The group was motivated by profit, so we can only speculate that some of these weapons would have been sold to whoever had the means to pay the asking price."
After Shilling and Defraine were found guilty of conspiring to import and sell the weapons, the judge, Mr Justice Topolski, told them they both faced the possibility of life sentences.
"Criminals like you at or near the top of criminal organisations invariably pose a serious danger to the public," he said.
A life sentence would come in for "serious consideration", he added.
David Payne, 43, Richard Rye, 24, and Christopher Owen, 30, had already pleaded guilty to smuggling the weapons into the country.
Payne and Rye also admitted the second count relating to conspiracy to sell the arsenal.
All five will be sentenced on 13 May.
The guns - 22 assault rifles similar to AK-47s, and nine Skorpion sub-machine guns - were brought into the UK from Boulogne on a 38ft (12m) cruiser, the MV Albernina, the court heard.
All had originally been deactivated but were reactivated before they, along with a large amount of ammunition, were smuggled up the Medway into Kent, arriving near Cuxton Marina on 10 August last year.
But detectives had the plotters under surveillance and swooped to seize the cache before it could be buried and then sold, the court heard.
The court heard each of the 22 Czech-made assault rifles would have fetched up to £4,000, even though they were sold at "shockingly low" prices in Eastern Europe.
The Skorpion machine guns, originally developed for use by Czech special forces, would have netted £3,500 apiece.
On 11 August, the gang was seen by investigators unloading the cruiser, the jury was told, and a number of large heavy bags were loaded into a white van which was driven away by Payne.
Shilling and Defraine were arrested outside a branch of the DIY store Homebase, where they had just bought spades and other tools, the court heard.


Asian shares rose on Thursday despite investors being cautious ahead of a Good Friday public holiday in some major markets.

Japan's shares rose despite a central bank survey showing firms expect inflation to rise 1.4% a year from now, casting doubts on the bank's pledge to hit 2% this fiscal year.
The Nikkei 225 ended up 1.5% at 19,312.79, leading the region's gains.
That is its biggest daily percentage gain since 12 February.
Investors are also awaiting key jobs figures from the US on Friday.
Concerns over the health of the world's largest economy were raised after data on Wednesday showed the pace of US manufacturing growth in March eased to its slowest in nearly two years.
The dollar remained under pressure, buying 119.62 yen.
In China, the Shanghai Composite closed 0.4% higher at 3,825.78, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended up 0.8% at 25,275.64.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.7% at 5,898.6 as bank stocks were boosted on growing expectations of an interest rate cut by the central bank next week.
A private survey also showed that inflation rose from a five-year trough in March as petrol prices rebounded.
The TD Securities-Melbourne Institute's monthly measure of consumer prices rose 0.4% in March, from February when it had been unchanged.
The annual pace was up to 1.5%, from 1.3%, but stayed well below the central bank's target band of 2% to 3%.
The Australian market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter holiday.
South Korean shares closed flat after data showed the country's seasonally-adjusted current account surplus in February at a record high for the second consecutive month.
Exports in February rose by 2% from January while imports fell 0.4%.
The benchmark Kospi index was at 2,029.07.


A critic of Turkey's government, arrested in Spain at Turkey's request, has been granted conditional release.

German-Turkish writer Dogan Akhanli has written extensively about human rights in Turkey.
He usually lives in Germany, where his arrest is seen as politically motivated, and Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticised Turkey over the case.
Mr Akhanli is being released on condition that he stays in Madrid, his lawyer said.
"The fight was worth it," Ilias Uyar said in a Facebook post after the hearing. "Dogan Akhanli is free."
Mr Akhanli was detained on Saturday in the city of Granada, where he was reportedly on holiday.
The arrest was carried out on an Interpol "red notice" - a request to arrest a wanted individual for extradition. The request is made by national police forces, and it does not indicate the person is wanted by Interpol itself.
Mrs Merkel, speaking at a televised forum with voters, welcomed Mr Akhanli's release but warned Turkey against misusing Interpol to go after its critics.
"It's not on," she said, adding that other similar cases had forced Germany to "massively change our Turkey policy".
Mr Akhanli, 60, has written about the killing in 2007 of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, and the 1915 killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks - which was labelled as genocide by the German parliament last year.
Large numbers of journalists have been jailed in Turkey since a failed coup last year, and news outlets critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been shut down or taken over.
Tens of thousands of people, including academics and government officials, have also faced arrest.
Mr Akhanli's own website describes him as a former "political prisoner" in Turkey between 1985 and 1987. He fled to Germany in 1991 as a refugee, achieving citizenship in 2001.
He was arrested again in 2010 when he visited Istanbul, accused of a 1989 armed robbery. He was acquitted and released after a number of months - only to have proceedings reinstated at a later date.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has intervened on the writer's behalf, requesting that he not be extradited from Spain.
The incident comes at a difficult time in German-Turkish relations.
In February, German-Turkish journalist  Deniz Yucel, who works for Germany's Die Welt newspaper, was detained in Turkey over allegations of producing terrorist propaganda. He remains in police custody.
In March, President Erdogan accused German officials of acting like Nazis after Germany's cancellation of rallies among ethnic Turks ahead of a referendum on greater powers for the Turkish president.
And earlier this week, Mr Erdogan urged Turkish voters in Germany not to vote for the country's main parties.
The two countries are major trade partners and military allies in Nato.


England boss Gareth Southgate believes video technology "won't always get it 100% right" after France had a player sent off in their 3-2 win over the Three Lions in Paris.

Raphael Varane was dismissed for bringing down Dele Alli for a penalty, which Harry Kane scored.
Southgate said: "I assume the referee wanted to make sure and if he can, then it's a sensible decision.
"There will still be an element of one person's judgement in that."
France played for almost the entire second half with 10 men but still won the friendly at the Stade de France, which was the first England international to feature video assistant referee (VAR) technology.
"Even with the video, you won't always get it 100% right," said Southgate.
"I've not seen it again but from my initial view I thought it was the right call. From where we were it looked like a clear penalty and then a sending off.
"If people are saying otherwise then I would have to see it again."
France coach Didier Deschamps added that the sending off "was quite harsh".
The second half was just over 30 seconds old when Alli broke into the penalty area and went down after contact from Real Madrid defender Varane.
Referee Davide Massa immediately pointed to the spot and took the yellow card from his pocket, without showing it to anybody.
He was then in contact with the video assistant referee (VAR), holding his earpiece to his ear while being confronted by several France players and England's Kyle Walker.
Unlike in other sports which use video technology - cricket or rugby, for example - broadcasters and supporters cannot hear what is being discussed by the officials.
After exactly a minute, Massa showed the red card to Varane.
After reviewing the incident, the video assistant referee decided Varane's challenge on Alli was deliberate and therefore worthy of a red card - not the yellow that referee Massa was poised to show.
New rules introduced at the start of last season mean giving away a penalty 'as the last defender' does not now necessarily mean an automatic red card.
Players committing accidental fouls that deny a goalscoring chance should now be cautioned instead, while deliberate fouls - including holding, pulling or pushing, not playing the ball, serious foul play, violent conduct or deliberate handball in order to deny a goalscoring opportunity - will still incur a red card.
Although Varane appeared to try and pull out of a challenge on Alli, there was contact and he could have been adjudged to have not played the ball.
As Southgate suggests, despite the assistance of technology and the opportunity to review the action, decisions such as this will still effectively come down to one person's interpretation of an incident.
BBC senior football reporter Ian Dennis said: "The video referee is still open to interpretation and therefore human error. Seven out of 10 decisions will be correct but with the three that will be incorrect all hell will break loose."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Video assistant referee (VAR) technology can only review incidents relating to goals, red cards, mistaken identities and penalties.
Video assistance was introduced for the first time in a Fifa competition at the Club World Cup in Japan last December and is being used in select competitions.
It was used to correct two decisions as Spain beat France in a friendly earlier this year, having previously been used in France's 3-1 friendly win in Italy last September.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has suggested the system will be used at next summer's World Cup finals in Russia and the Football Association wants to test the system from next season's FA Cup third round.
It could also begin in the EFL Cup first round in August.


Two women have been re-arrested after the death of a woman who was assaulted in a Hull street.

Joanne Hemingway, 39, suffered serious injuries outside a flat on Beverley Road at about 19:15 BST on 29 June and died in hospital, police said.
Glenn Foster, 42, of Beverley Road, has been charged with her murder.
The women, aged 52 and 34, are in custody again in connection with the incident after first being held and then released earlier this month.
Mr Foster remains in custody until 7 August when he is due to attend a hearing at Hull Crown Court. A provisional trial date has been set for 27 November.


Police are "too sensitive" about asking victims of crime if they are disabled, an inspection has found.

Disability hate crime is "overlooked" and "under-reported", a joint inspectorate review into police, probation and the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales found.
The review recommends a new "common definition" of the crime to ensure it is dealt with effectively and quickly.
Senior police officers said they had "worked hard to improve its handling".
More than 1,700 disability hate crimes were recorded by police in England and Wales in 2011-12.
The joint review of disability hate crime was prompted by the case of Fiona Pilkington, who killed herself and her disabled daughter Francecca Hardwick in 2007 after repeated complaints to police about harassment by youths.
The review warned a similar case could be happen again if urgent changes were not made.
Inspectors interviewed staff of varying seniority at six police forces and the associated CPS and probation trust offices based in Cleveland, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Hertfordshire, Greater Manchester and West Midlands.
They also observed seven court hearings and spoke to disabled victims, representatives from witness care units, the witness service, victim support and a number of independent disability advocates.
Disabled people told inspectors that police officers and control-room operators had become "too sensitive about causing offence", and, as a result, they were reluctant to ask victims if they were disabled.
Among the inspectors' other findings were:
Steve Ashley, programme director to HM Inspectorate Constabulary (HMIC), said: "There's a lack of willingness by police officers and police staff in control rooms to ask the right of questions to establish whether it's a crime, whether its anti-social behaviour and what effect disability is having on that person in terms of the effect on the crime."
Mr Ashley said there was also confusion over how to define disability hate crime.
"It's not as easy as identifying a religiously-motivated attack or a racially-motivated attack. Police officers don't like to say to people 'Are you disabled?'," he said.
Asked if the Pilkington case could be happen again in light of the review's findings, Mr Ashley said: "Yes, it could."
Disability charity Mencap said its own research suggested that nine out of 10 people with a learning disability had been a victim of a hate crime.
Emma Harrison, assistant director at the charity, said the review revealed that "victims of disability hate crime continue to be let down at every stage of the criminal justice system".
She said Mencap welcomed the review's recommendation that the police, probation and CPS must work together to "address these serious and continued failings".
Among its recommendations, the review said a "single, clear and uncomplicated" definition of disability hate crime was required to reduce confusion.
It said the three agencies should consider how their front-line staff participate in disability hate crime training.
It also called for police to encourage victims of the crime to come forward to prevent under-reporting remaining a "significant concern".
And the review said it would recommend that the Law Commission, the body that deals with law reform, looks at creating a stand-alone offence for dealing with disability hate crime.
Speaking on behalf of all three agencies, CPS chief inspector Michael Fuller said: "This report finds that in many ways disability hate crime is the hate crime that has been overlooked.
"The criminal justice system must therefore change to provide an improved service for those with disabilities."
Javed Khan, chief executive of the charity Victim Support, said police must ensure they begin to deliver "improved services" to disabled victims of hate crime.
The Association of Chief Police Officers said the police service had "worked hard to improve its handling of disability hate crime" by speaking with disabled people to understand the types of harassment they face and the barriers that prevent them reporting it and then working with the community and other agencies to help remove those barriers.
Meanwhile, a Home Office spokeswoman said: "The Home Office has improved the way police forces collect and record data on hate crimes, including those against disabled people, and we will keep working with disability groups to ensure victims have the confidence to come forward."


The ashes of a free runner killed on the Paris Metro will be scattered around the world, his family says.

Nye Frankie Newman, 17, from Aldershot, was involved in a train accident on the Metro on New Year's Day.
His mother, Deborah Malone-Newman, said Nye's ashes were being given to family and members of his parkour group to take on their travels.
The family hopes to have Nye's ashes scattered in 100 countries.
More on this and other stories from across the South of England.
Ms Malone-Newman insists the accident on 1 January was not due to "train surfing".
She said: "It was a trip that was not solely for parkour purposes.
"He was sightseeing with his girlfriend - they were on their way to the fireworks - he was trying to take a picture, popped his head out the train door and a heavy object hit his head."
Investigations are continuing into Nye's death with a pre-inquest review hearing expected to take place on 22 May.


Jules Bianchi would have replaced Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari, says the team's former president Luca Di Montezemolo.

The Frenchman died on Friday from head injuries sustained in a crash at last October's Japanese Grand Prix.
Di Montezemolo said. "He was the driver we had chosen for the future, once the collaboration with Kimi Raikkonen had finished."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Motorsport governing body the FIA is retiring car number 17, which Bianchi carried last year, in his honour.
The FIA said: "As Formula 1 car numbers are now personally chosen by each driver, the FIA believes it to be an appropriate gesture to retire Jules Bianchi's number 17.
"As a result, this number can no longer be used for a car competing in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship."
Bianchi was driving for the Marussia team, which used Ferrari engines, and had been earmarked at the time of the accident for a promotion to Ferrari's other customer team, Sauber, in 2015.
Di Montezemolo's remarks suggest that, had he lived, Bianchi could have driven for Ferrari as early as next year, as the team are currently considering whether to drop Raikkonen at the end of this season amid concern at the level of his performances.
Di Montezemolo, who was replaced by Sergio Marchionne shortly before Bianchi's accident last year, told Sky Italia: "Jules was one of us; part of the Ferrari family.
"The Suzuka incident took away from us a first-rate person; reserved, quick, very educated, very close to Ferrari, who knew how to interact with the engineers.
"In short we lost a driver with a certain future."
Former Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali, who resigned in April last year, added: "Jules was always at Maranello. Every day he came to the factory to grow and nurture his dream of driving for Ferrari.
"Our idea was that, after Marussia, he should go to another team to grow and be ready for the big leap. That is what we planned some years ago. But unfortunately fate took him away."


Self-harm is a serious issue for women in prison, who make up only 5% of the prison population but account for half of all self-harm incidents, say Oxford University researchers.

According to a study in The Lancet, nearly a quarter of female prisoners cut, scratch or poison themselves.
Self-harm was also found to be a strong risk factor for suicide in prison, particularly among men.
Experts say more should be done to reduce self-harm rates in prisons.
The Oxford research team looked at self-harm incidents in all prisons in England and Wales between 2004 and 2009.
It found that 5% to 6% of male prisoners and 20% to 24% of female prisoners deliberately harmed themselves every year, resulting in 20,000 to 25,000 incidents per year.
This compared with a 0.6% rate among the UK's general population.
Repeated self-harming was common, the study said, and a small group of 102 women inmates self-harmed more than 100 times a year.
Cutting and scratching were the most frequent methods of self-harming in men and women, followed by poisoning and overdosing.
The study also examined those at greatest risk of self-harm. In female prisoners, being younger than 20 years old, white, in a mixed local prison, or serving a life sentence were major factors.
In male prisoners, those at risk tended to be young, white, in a high-security prison and with a life sentence or unsentenced.
Prisoners who self-harmed were found to be at "substantially greater" risk of suicide than other inmates, particularly among men.
Older male prisoners (aged 30 to 49) with a history of serious self-harm were most at risk.
Dr Seena Fazel, joint study author from the department of psychiatry at the University of Oxford, said all prisoners who are self-harming should be regarded as a risk.
"Now we know the extent to which the risk of subsequent suicide in prisoners who self-harm is greater than the general population, suicide prevention initiatives should be changed to include a focus on prisoners who are self-harming, especially repeatedly."
Writing in a Comment article in The Lancet, Dr Andrew Forrester from King's College London, and Dr Karen Slade from Nottingham Trent University call for more research to address how the self-harm rate in prisons in England and Wales can be reduced.
"The available evidence indicates a key role for multi-agency collaboration, in which suicide is everyone's concern, rather than being the sole preserve of healthcare staff.
"We need to invest in the wide inclusion of all people who, on the ground, can listen to prisoners who are experiencing distress, mobilise concern, and help to deliver joined up care."
Andy Bell, deputy chief executive at the Centre for Mental Health, said it was well known that women in prison were more likely to have depression, anxiety and borderline personality disorder which, in turn, can make them extremely vulnerable.
He added it was important to be aware of those at risk at an early stage.
"Women should have access to mental health support and advice at every police station. It should start when they are arrested, particularly if there are signs of self-harming or poor mental health. We have to intervene early to stop the journey."


Wigan have signed Grimsby striker Omar Bogle, Rangers goalkeeper Matt Gilks, Eastleigh striker Mikael Mandron, Hartlepool midfielder Josh Laurent and Manchester City's Jack Byrne for undisclosed fees.

French winger Gabriel Obertan has joined the Latics on a free transfer.
Hull City defender Alex Bruce, 32, and midfielder James Weir, 21, have joined on loan until the end of the season.
Bogle, 23, has scored 19 goals for Grimsby this season.
He, Mandron, 22, and Laurent, 21 have all agreed two-and-a-half-year deals, while midfielder Byrne, 20, has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract.
Obertan, 27, has signed a contract until the end of the season while Gilks, 34, has signed an 18-month contract.
Meanwhile, midfielder Jordi Gomez has joined Rayo Vallecano on a free transfer.
Gomez, 31, returned to the Latics at the start of the season, following their promotion back to the Championship, after his release by Sunderland.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page or visit our Premier League tracker here.


People are being urged to record sightings of dead hedgehogs as part of a conservation research project.

Reading University ecologists are investigating the impact of urban traffic the nocturnal mammal's numbers.
Dr Philip Baker said hedgehogs face "growing threats" in built-up environments.
Anyone spotting a dead hedgehog in Reading is asked to contact the team who will recover the body and carry out genetic studies.
Surveys suggest Hedgehog populations in Britain are in steep decline.
In the 1950s, 36 million of the animals used to snuffle in UK gardens. There may now be less than a million.
The study team is investigating if roads and other obstacles like rivers can create barriers to movement and cause populations to fragment.
Dr Baker said: "Towns and cities provide surprisingly good habitats for hedgehogs, but if different populations become isolated, they may face an uncertain future.
"Our research is focusing on Reading but our findings will help hedgehog conservation nationwide."