Rangers International Football Club has rejected a possible £18m takeover offer from American Robert Sarver, saying it undervalues the Ibrox outfit.

But the board has invited the owner of the Phoenix Suns basketball outfit to invest in the Scottish Championship club along with other shareholders.
The news comes the day after football chairman Sandy Easdale loaned the club £500,000 to avoid a winding-up order.
RIFC admits that it will require further funding by the end of January.
"The directors are in discussions with Rangers' significant stakeholders with a view to arranging finance for the club," said a statement to the Stock Exchange.
"This is likely to comprise loans in the short term and possibly equity in the medium term.
"The board has invited Mr Sarver to consider participating in a similar discussion alongside other supportive shareholders."
Sarver, a 53-year-old banker by profession, purchased a majority ownership in the Phoenix Suns' National Basketball Association franchise in 2004 and also owns the Phoenix Mercury women's basketball club.
Rangers revealed that his plan for the Glasgow club involved buying 100 million shares at 18p per share - below the current share price of 26p.
"While the directors welcome Mr Sarver's approach, they believe that, notwithstanding the current financial difficulties, the proposal does not adequately value a controlling interest in the company," said the RIFC statement.
"And, accordingly, the resolution to approve the placing is unlikely to achieve the 75% majority required.
"The directors do not intend to hold the general meeting, which would be necessary to implement the proposal."
Sarver made his approach in December, but the news only broke in the media on Sunday and it was followed by Rangers appointing Sports Direct executive Barry Leach as their finance director.
Leach heads brands at Mike Ashley's sport retail business, the Newcastle United owner's associate, Derek Llambias, having already been installed as chief executive following Ashley's £2m loan to the Scottish Championship club.
In a separate Stock Exchange statement, Sarver stressed that his approach for Rangers was a serious one.
"First and foremost, I believe what the club needs today is a very quick, major injection of capital to stabilise things and I can give the Rangers supporters a categorical assurance that I have the resources and ability to get this club back to its elite level," he said.
"I'm looking forward to building a consensus amongst supporters and prominent Rangers-minded figures who have the long-term success of the club at heart.
"I've had detailed research carried out on Rangers and I'm convinced that we could take it back to the top of the Scottish game on a stable and sustainable basis."
Sarver also explained that his interest was ignited by a conversation with former Rangers defender David Robertson, who is now based in Arizona.
"My three sons all play soccer, as we call it here in the US, for Davie's club," he said.
"Initially, I'd had some of my advisors examining potential investments in teams in the English Premier League and in Spain, but Davie encouraged me to take a close look at Rangers."
Robertson, who played 245 times for Rangers over six seasons and was part of the side that won nine titles in a row, added: "I can tell every Rangers fan in Scotland and abroad, if Robert Sarver is successful in becoming part of the club, he'll not rest until they are back on top again."


Eight candidates will fight it out to be Labour's choice to be the next mayor of London.

Candidates include one ex-MP, four current MPs, a writer, a former mayor of Lambeth and one journalist.
All will vie to get on a shortlist next month, chosen by a committee of the Labour Party.
Then will lie ahead weeks of campaigning, hustings and media appearances before the winner emerges in the middle of September.
The line up is:
Labour is running a selection process based on the primary principle that extends voting rights to supporters who sign up to the party and pay a Â£3 fee by the middle of August.
But the first hurdle is to get nominations from at least five Labour constituency branches in London and at least one nomination from a so-called Labour affiliate, including unions, the Co-op or Fabian Society.
Candidates will be interviewed on 13 June by a selection committee made up of three members of the London regional board and three members of the party's national executive committee.
A shortlist will be revealed that day.
The process will run in parallel with Labour's selection of a new leader.
The Conservatives have not yet revealed when they plan to run their selection process although three people - deputy mayor Stephen Greenhalgh, London Assembly member Andrew Boff and businessman Ivan Massow - have so far said they are running.


It was a night when Donald Trump, John Kasich and Hillary Clinton gave victory-style speeches, and Marco Rubio bowed out in defeat.

The Republican field narrowed on so-called Super Tuesday II with the departure of Mr Rubio but it now becomes a three-way fight between Mr Trump, Mr Kasich and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
Five big states cast votes and Mrs Clinton has won four of them so far, cementing her lead over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
So what did it all mean? BBC reporters give their views on some of the candidates.
Senator Rubio was once portrayed as the saviour of the Republican Party, a Cuban-American supposedly with multiracial appeal, a devastatingly articulate 40-something who could halt what's been called the GOP's demographic death spiral - its failure to attract the support of ever more important Latino voters.
But Mr Rubio was an establishment favourite in an anti-establishment year and ran on a hopeful and optimistic message at a time of resentment and rage. Even his story of immigrant success - he's the son of a bartender and maid, and personifies the American dream - sounded off-key at a time in the conservative movement when anti-immigrant sentiments resonate more strongly.
Despite hoping that his youth would be a prime asset - he claimed to represent the children of the Reagan revolution - he's found it hard to shake off the taunt from Donald Trump that he's "Little Marco", a political bantamweight not ready to be president. And once he tried to demonstrate his toughness by wrestling with Trump in the mud, trading personal insults above the size of hands and the dimensions of other bodily parts, it was all over.
Nick Bryant, BBC North America correspondent, Miami
Hillary Clinton did better than her team expected in number of votes and delegates. For days, her advisers were managing expectations, aside from Florida where they expected a clear victory.
Even as exit polls showed she was winning in Ohio, her aides were cautious. They wanted no repeat surprise after Mr Sander's upset in Michigan last week. Both Mrs Clinton and Mr Sanders saw Ohio as a key state: he needed to win there to pick up momentum and show he was a viable candidate who could win swing states in a general election.
Instead it was Mrs Clinton who won Ohio and her victory in Florida, another swing state, solidified her grip on the Hispanic vote. All of this will work to the Democrats' advantage come November. Mrs Clinton is now effectively the nominee even if her campaign isn't ready to say so.
They will wait for the moment in a few weeks when it becomes mathematically impossible for Mr Sanders to catch up. Even then it's unclear if the Vermont Senator will drop out. He will try to keep generating excitement among young voters and work to shape the Democratic agenda, hoping to push Mrs Clinton further to the left until the convention. Will his supporters still turn up if it's a futile quest?
Mrs Clinton will be hoping they'll start to flock to her out of fear of what they see unfolding on the Republican side. In her victory speech, Mrs Clinton was clearly declaring the start of the general election, calling Mr Trump by his name for the first time and urging Democrats to rally around for an election she described as consequential not just for the US but for the world.
Kim Ghattas, BBC News, West Palm Beach
And then there were three. After Senator Marco Rubio's crushing defeat in his home state of Florida at the hands of Donald Trump, he had little option but to end his campaign for the presidency. At the Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's sumptuous gilded palace-cum-private members' club in Palm Beach, this was cause for big celebration.
He didn't just win. He won big. And he won in three other states too. But perhaps unusually - even uniquely - for a man who has totally dictated the media narrative since he convulsed the Republican race by entering the fray last June, the focus might just be on the state that he lost, rather than the states he won.  For John Kasich's victory means that the battle for the Republican nomination not only goes on, it could go all the way to the convention in July.
And in the Donald J Trump ballroom (what else was it going to be called?) Mr Trump gave a victory speech that sounded anything but victorious. It was low key, understated - and he had the air of a man who was weary of the punishing campaign schedule. Two weeks ago, he seemed much more confident of winning the Republican nomination than he did tonight.
And tellingly, while he was magnanimous in victory by praising Marco Rubio for running a tough campaign and talking about his bright future, Governor John Kasich didn't get a single mention. As if his defeat in Ohio hadn't happened. Maybe it was an oversight - or maybe that the Teflon man has found politics suddenly getting a lot more sticky.
Jon Sopel, BBC North America editor,  Palm Beach
John Kasich has not had much to celebrate up until now. Before Ohio, he had won precisely zero primaries and amassed only 63 delegates from more than two dozen contests.
But his team must have been confident enough in the home state advantage since they had hired two enormous confetti cannons to shower jubilant supporters as the victorious governor vowed to fight all the way to the Republican convention in July.
And his focus on the convention - more specifically a contested convention - is understandable, as that's the only hope he has of clinching this nomination. Put simply - he would need to win virtually all the remaining delegates in all the remaining primaries to get anywhere near the 1,237 to capture an outright win, and that is not going to happen.
However, some things will now get easier for him. As the new establishment favourite, he will find more money flowing his way; endorsements might follow from people like Senator Marco Rubio, together with his supporters; and of course, having survived to the last three, people will start to take notice in a way they have not to date.
But it is a long shot. And the confetti cannons might simply have heralded the bridesmaid rather than the bride.
Gary O'Donoghue, BBC Washington correspondent, Berea, Ohio
"Tonight was a good night," said Ted Cruz as he addressed a crowd of his faithful who'd packed into a hotel ballroom in his home city of Houston, Texas.
His campaign had entered this second Super Tuesday with relatively low expectations - there were no realistic hopes of winning a delegate-rich "winner-takes-all" state like Florida or Ohio - the plan was to pick up delegates where they could, however modest, to add to the tally and solidify their second place to Donald Trump.
But the big prize for Team Cruz was Marco Rubio's exit from the race. On stage Senator Cruz paid tribute to his "friend and colleague who ran an optimistic campaign", at the same time appealing to Mr Rubio's supporters to back him now.
The narrowing of the Republican field will delight the Cruz camp. They have long argued that the Texas Senator is the only candidate who can beat Donald Trump, and that a wider pool of hopefuls is splitting the vote, and the party.
But this isn't yet a two-horse race. The staying power of Mr Kasich could frustrate Mr Cruz's ambitions.
Only one candidate has beaten Donald Trump in this race, exclaimed Senator Cruz as his supporters looked on adoringly, "not once, not twice but nine times".
But he failed to mention how many times Mr Trump has beaten him - and therein lies his problem.
Rajini Vaidyanathan, BBC News, Houston


The "special honour" of a UK state visit should not be given to such a controversial figure as Donald Trump, Labour MP Paul Flynn has said.

Mr Flynn will open an MPs' debate on the visit on Monday after two petitions received more than 100,000 signatures.
One opposed to the US president's visit received 1.85m names, while one backing it got 311,000.
But Conservative MP Glyn Davies said it was perfectly reasonable for Ms May to invite Mr Trump.
Both were speaking on BBC Radio's Good Morning Wales programme.
The debate is taking place after two petitions - named Prevent Donald Trump From Making a State Visit to the United Kingdom and Donald Trump Should Make a State Visit to the United Kingdom- crossed the 100,000 signature threshold to be considered in Parliament for discussion.
Mr Flynn, MP for Newport West and a petitions committee member, said: "His behaviour has been as such that he certainly doesn't deserve the accolade of having an invitation of a state visit.
"You don't give a special honour, the highest honour that the country can give, to somebody who is such a controversial figure, such a dangerous figure in the world, like Trump," he said.
Montgomeryshire MP Mr Davies said it was "perfectly reasonable" for Theresa May to invite Mr Trump for a state visit.
"I'm no fan of Donald Trump, his style of presentation and speaking, there are a number of things he's said that are offensive," he said.
"But he is the president of the United States, the people of America have elected him as their president. The relationship between Britain and the US means that he is going to be a very important ally and a very important partner from a security point of view and probably an economic point of view over the next four years."
The UK government has said it recognised the "strong views" expressed by the US president but looked forward to welcoming him once details have been arranged.
The debate in Westminster Hall opens at 16:30 GMT.


Residents of a Paisley housing scheme have hit back after official statistics rated it the most deprived community in Scotland.

They claimed the Scottish government figures did not paint a "true picture" of Ferguslie Park.
It followed the publication of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), which rates 7,000 communities by factors including health and income.
Locals said the area has a "fantastic community spirit".
It is the second successive time that Ferguslie Park has featured at the bottom of the official deprivation index, which is published every four years.
Parish priest Father Oliver Freney told BBC's radio's Good Morning Scotland programme he was "quite disappointed" by the results.
He said: "There are plenty of good people living in Ferguslie and people that do care about the Ferguslie area and put a lot of work into trying to up it."
Another resident, Heather Sloan, told the programme that she won a place at university as mature student, despite leaving school with no qualifications.
She now has a "flourishing" career with the NHS - but she still lives in Ferguslie Park.
"I ended up at university just because I lived in Ferguslie Park and there was great initiatives a number of years back," she said.
"I was a mum of four kids and I was able to go and do an English class, a maths class and I got enough to get into university."
She added: "I still choose to live in Ferguslie Park because I think it's a brilliant place to live in."
"We get all the stigma and all the labels, but nobody comes into Ferguslie and actually sees the community spirit that's out here.
"We've got a fantastic community spirit and we should be looking at the assets that Ferguslie Park's got and not constantly looking at the deficits all the time."
Ian Williams told Good Morning Scotland that he set up the Environmental Training Team to try to clean up the community, on the back of a series of bad media reports.
He gathers together people who have been unemployed for a long periods in a bid to improve area and boost their confidence.
Mr Williams said: "If you keep getting told you're a deprived area, you're no good, you'll never get anywhere, you're applying for 500 jobs a day and your postcode says we can't take you on because you stay in Ferguslie Park... your confidence goes."
He added: "We try our hardest to get the stigma away that we're a deprived area."
Renfrewshire Council's leader Mark Macmillan said: "The figures don't tell the whole story of Ferguslie, of the community, of the changes that have been made."
He pointed to projects aimed at young children and families and he said residents would also benefit from a City Deal which could "change the economy of Renfrewshire".
But he said SIMD figures proved that local government funding required reform.
Mr Macmillan said: "Sadly, since 2012, the cuts to Renfrewshire Council year-on-year by the Scottish government have meant a 10% real terms cut in the amount of money that Renfrewshire Council has to spend to make a difference.
"If the government continues to cut local government in the way it does, and expects a different result, and expects more investment, that simply can't happen. We need a change in the way local government is funded."
When the statistics were published on Wednesday, Communities Secretary Angela Constance said she was determined to "take on the challenge of making a generational change for those areas that have been in poverty for too long."
"In the face of continuing UK government welfare cuts, an austerity agenda and attempts to take Scotland out of Europe, this will continue to be a long-term challenge," she added.


One of Hong Kong's icons - a pair of lions guarding the HSBC building - has been given a rainbow-coloured makeover.

Replicas of the two lions have been painted as part of the bank's "Celebrate Pride, Celebrate Unity" campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights.
It's a sight that might not be considered controversial in many cities - but in Hong Kong it has reignited debate about gay rights and whether corporations should get involved.
Many people have expressed support for the campaign - and have been posing for selfies with the lions. But it has also angered several campaign groups, who have started a petition against the lions. Organisers say more than 4,500 people have signed the petition.
Although Hong Kong is an international city, it is divided when it comes to social issues like LGBT rights.
In a 2011 survey, 22% of respondents said they were "not accepting" of lesbian, gay and transgender individuals, and a further 21% said they felt ambivalent or unsure.
A quarter of respondents also felt it was "acceptable" or "sometimes acceptable" to not offer a job to an LGBT individual.
The two HSBC lions are well-known in Hong Kong - and appear on many of the territory's bank notes.
Ahead of the rainbow versions being unveiled, HSBC Group general manager Kevin Martin said: "Understanding and embracing everyone's unique perspectives, beliefs and experiences is core to HSBC's values. This campaign demonstrates our commitment to achieving a truly open and diverse working environment."
But several groups, including the Family Schools Sodo Concern Group, Parents for the Family Association, and Overturning LGBT Agenda, have issued a joint statement, accusing HSBC of "trampling on the existing family values of Hong Kong".
Roger Wong, from the Family Schools Sodo Concern Group, told the BBC: "The lions are an icon of Hong Kong. A lot of Hong Kongers have a certain affection for them - and it's not right that they are  projecting meanings on to them, that a lot of people may disagree with.
"The male lions represent the stability and power of the bank. By adding a rainbow on the lions - does that mean they're homosexual? I find that objectionable - and they don't look that aesthetically good either."
The groups say they are also unhappy with other pro-LGBT policies of HSBC - saying the policies are "not fair to the shareholders because it essentially forces every shareholder to endorse the homosexual lifestyle".
No. On social media, many people have been vocal about their support for the campaign. On HSBC's Facebook page, one user wrote "support HSBC for their stand for diversity", while another lauded the "beautiful colours and beautiful frame of mind".
And nearly 7,000 people took part in a pride parade last month, marching in support of the LGBT community.
There is also growing support for anti-discrimination laws for LGBT people. In a recent survey, more than half of respondents said they would support such legislation - nearly double the figure from a decade ago.
And young people were especially supportive - with 91% of those aged 18-24 supporting anti-discrimination legislation.
Rights activists have been critical of the fact that Hong Kong has laws prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of gender, disability, race and family status, but not sexual orientation.
They argue that Hong Kong lags behind many Western countries, which have similar attitudes towards LGBT rights but better legal protections.
Many LGBT people say they experience discrimination - with Hong Kong's first openly gay legislator, Chan Chi-chuen, also being subjected to verbal abuse on public transport.
Wong Ka Ying, a local artist who is a lesbian, says a lot of her LGBT friends have to hide their orientation for fear of losing their jobs.
"I'm really lucky because, as an artist, I don't have peers, colleagues or office politics," she says. "But a lot of my friends in professional industries can't come out."
Without laws against LGBT discrimination, "you don't know where to report it… so you have to hide your sexuality, and not talk about it to protect yourself", she says.
Ms Wong says she was subjected to online attacks after she revealed she was a lesbian on a reality TV show, and argues it is because of a lack of education about LGBT issues.
"In Chinese culture, people tend not to put 'embarrassing' subjects on the table… it's a social norm that keeps discussion of LGBT rights, and same-sex marriage, under the table," she says.
LW, a lawyer who asked not to be identified, says he considered LGBT discrimination to be "pretty serious in Hong Kong".
"Though I think things are changing with the younger generation, discrimination is still quite rampant for the older generation - I am 'out' to my younger colleagues at work but not to my boss."
The Hong Kong government has published anti-LGBT discrimination adverts - but has stopped short of implementing anti-discrimination legislation so far.
Some pro-family or religious groups have argued that an anti-discrimination law could infringe on people's religious freedoms.


Morecambe boss Jim Bentley has rubbished rumours linking him with a move to take the vacant manager's job at National League side Tranmere.

The 40-year-old had been linked with a move to Prenton Park after Rovers sacked Gary Brabin.
"No contact has been made between the two clubs," he told the club website.
"I want to stress that [assistant] Ken McKenna and I are very happy and we are looking forward to progressing under new owner Diego Lemos."


Four artists have been shortlisted for the first Hepworth Prize for Sculpture, a new award for UK-based sculptors.

Phyllida Barlow, Steve Claydon, Helen Marten and David Medalla will find out in November which of them will be the first recipient of the £30,000 prize.
The prize, which will be awarded every other year, is open to artists who have made "a significant contribution to contemporary sculpture".
The four artists will go on show at the West Yorkshire gallery in October.
Barlow, who will represent Britain at the Venice International Art Biennale later this year, said it was "a surprise and huge honour" to be shortlisted.
Her sentiments were echoed by Claydon, who said the award was "a validation... of the part played by artists in Britain who contribute toward this medium."
Marten said she was "excited" to exhibit alongside her fellow nominees, while Medalla called the prize "a palpable expression of the greatness of Barbara Hepworth as a sculptor".
The gallery that bears Hepworth's name opened in May 2011 and has since had about 1.4 million visitors.
Hepworth's granddaughter, the art historian Dr Sophie Bowness, said the award was "a fitting legacy to... one of Britain's greatest sculptors".
The prize is being funded by benefactors including TV executive David Liddiment, the art collector David Roberts and Linda Harley, founder of the LK Bennett shoe chain.


Dating apps "must take more responsibility" for protecting their users' safety on dates, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) has said.

It comes after Stephen Port was found guilty of murdering four men he had met through such apps and websites.
Chief Constable Jane Sawyers, police lead for LGBT issues, said apps should provide safety messages.
One app, Grindr, did not reply to a request for comment. Tinder said it took users' safety "very seriously".
Ms Sawyers told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme that while apps had a role in "signposting people to the police" after potential crimes had occurred, "they could do more to prevent the offences in the first place".
She suggested apps could display messages such as: "Get to know the person, not the profile," when users enter them, warning of the many fake accounts that exist across the various sites.
Ms Sawyers admitted there was still a "stigma" surrounding the reporting of crimes stemming from gay dating apps.
But, she said: "There shouldn't be any concerns about gay people reporting things to police... we're not there to judge, what we're interested in is justice for the individual."
Josh French, 24, uses dating apps on a daily basis.
During his first experience of Grindr, he was invited to the home of a man he had been in touch with on the app for a month.
When he arrived, he found the man and three friends high on drugs, and remembers being "petrified".
"It was really quite scary, he was really full on - had his hands all over me," he says.
"They just kept on offering me drugs."
Mr French was eventually able to leave the property, but admits he was "naive" in not telling anyone where he was going.
"I felt like anything could have happened," he says.
He did not report the incident to police.
Asked in what instances he would contact the authorities, he says "perhaps" following a rape or serious assault but adds: "Even then, there would be serious hesitation."
Mel Stray, from the LGBT charity Galop, said it had seen "a dramatic rise in the number of sexual offences reported to us".
She called for "better whistle-blowing facilities for people to report fake profiles, [to ensure] those profiles do get taken down".
But she was also critical of the lack of convictions made by police and the wider justice system when such incidents were reported.
"Of the over 100 cases we've seen in the last few years where clients have come to Galop and reported sexual assault in a chemsex or hook-up context, not one person has been charged or sent to court," she said.
Ms Sawyers said police officers were now receiving training on how to deal with such cases, adding: "These sorts of offences are more prevalent now than your traditional offences."
Tinder said in a statement: "We authenticate each user's identity using Facebook login.
"We take our users' safety very seriously and continuously advise our community of millions of users to be vigilant [and] report any suspicious activity."
The Victoria Derbyshire programme is broadcast on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel.


Two tries from Josh Mantellato helped Hull KR rescue a draw with Castleford in their opening Super League game.

Denny Solomona crossed to put Tigers ahead, but James Donaldson went over to level the scores before half-time.
Jake Webster drove over for Castleford after a scrum deep in Rovers territory, before Josh Mantellato touched down to reduce the deficit to two points.
Webster scored again to extend the lead to six, but Mantellato's second try and successful conversion secured a point.
In wet and windy conditions, the visitors looked to have the game won until Mantellato's last-minute effort.
The Italy winger went over just inside the touchline, before he struck a difficult kick through the uprights to level the scores.
Rovers, who secured their Super League status by topping the Qualifiers table in 2015, matched the visitors throughout the game, but fell behind three times after they failed to deal with attacks down the left wing.
Tigers could have sealed the win when Solomona was held up by Ben Cockayne moments before Mantellato went over, but Daryl Powell's side were forced to settle for the draw.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Hull KR head coach Chris Chester:
"Considering Josh Mantellato's only got one eye that's open he did a fantastic job at kicking that goal.
"I was pleased with the defensive side of the game but we were a long way off where we needed to be with the ball.
"I'm really proud of the resilience and toughness of the boys. From one to 17 the effort was first class."
Castleford head coach Daryl Powell:
"I have to give credit to Hull KR who have copped a load of stick in recent weeks.
"We were just a bit dumb; we had the game. It was pretty tight all the way through in real tough conditions.
"I thought we worked really hard but a couple of brain explosions from some players hurt us.
"We need to pick ourselves up and be a fair bit better than that. That was a disappointing effort today."
Hull KR: Sio; Cockayne, Minns, Thornley, Mantellato; Blair, Kelly; Tilse, Lawler, Allgood, Horne, Clarkson, Greenwood.
Replacements: Mulhern, Donaldson, Green, Boudebza.
Castleford Tigers: Dorn; Monaghan, Crooks, Shenton, Solomona; Roberts, Gale; Millington, McShane, Cook, Holmes, McMeeken, Jewitt.
Replacements: Boyle, Milner, Moors, Webster.


A hazardous materials team were called out to deal with a suspicious package at a home near Truro.

Emergency services were called to a bungalow in Penhalls Way, Playing Place, at about 13:45 BST, after they received a package, police said.
Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service staff used breathing apparatus to enter the property and police and ambulance crews were all at the scene.
A police cordon was set up. No other properties were thought to be affected.
Although two people were left unwell, police said three people - aged 25, 30 and 54 - were examined at the scene by ambulance crews.
Chief Inspector Ian Drummond-Smith, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said the package would be sent off for forensic examination.
He said: "They did feel unwell. There were no serious injuries and no requirement for them to attend hospital."
Emergency services began winding down their operation at about 17:00.


Slowing down the destruction of the Earth's natural resources is essential if the global economy, and the businesses that drive it, are to prosper long term.

The current rate of destruction is estimated to cost the world trillions of dollars every year, and the damage will only get get worse unless wide-ranging measures are taken to stop it.
The reason is simple - population growth is the main driver behind those factors that are causing biodiversity loss.
There are currently about 6.7 billion people living on Earth, and this number is projected to grow to 9.2 billion by 2050 - that's roughly the population of the UK being added to the planet every year.
This means we'll need 70% more food, according to the United Nations (UN), just one of the many additional pressures on Earth's finite resources.
If left unchecked, these pressures will lead to the ever-faster destruction of nature, which could cost the world $28.6tn (£18.2tn), or 18% of global economic output, by 2050, according to the UN-backed Principles of Responsible Investment and corporate environmental research group Trucost.
That's about twice the current output of the US, the world's biggest economy.
So what can be done?
A vital step has already been taken - for the first time in history, we now have at least a rough idea of the economic cost of depleting the earth's natural resources.
This not only means that governments, businesses and consumers can understand the gravity of the problem, but it also means the value of nature can be factored into business decisions.
As Will Evison, environmental economist at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), says: "No-one is saying we should just stop converting pristine land, just that the value of the environment is recognised".
For example, a study on the conversion of mangroves to commercial shrimp farms in southern Thailand estimated the net economic returns at $1,122 per hectare a year.
The conclusion, at least for the shrimp farmer, is clear - there is an economic benefit of converting the mangroves.
But once the wider costs of the conversion - what economists call externalities - are taken into account, a very different conclusion is reached.
The economic benefits from the mangroves of collecting wood, providing nurseries for offshore fisheries and protection against storms total $10,821 a hectare, far outweighing the benefits of converting them into a shrimp farm.
There are a number of initiatives, some already introduced and some in the pipeline, that are specifically designed to ensure that the economic value of nature is recognised.
One example is reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, or REDD, under which forest owners are paid not to cut down trees. A number of governments across the world have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to these projects.
Another is habitat banking, the market for which currently stands at around $3bn in the US, where companies that degrade natural areas are forced to restore nature elsewhere.
Trade in forest conservation obligations in Brazil and ground-water salinity credits in Australia have also proved successful.
Alongside these schemes and those like them, there are various compensation arrangements that make those causing environmental damage pay for it, just like carbon credits that currently exist.
Exemptions from these various taxes, charges and fees, as well as subsidies, are also used to encourage environmentally responsible behaviour.
There is also growing pressure for companies to begin incorporating the costs of the damage that they do to the Earth's natural resources into their profit and loss accounts.
Only by incorporating these costs into their accounts, many argue, will companies be forced to reduce their impact on the natural world.
"Directors' bonuses don't have to be included [in company accounts] from a pure profit and loss point of view, but they are. Environmental externalities should be the same," says Pavan Sukhdev, a career banker and team leader of the United Nations' The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (Teeb) study.
"This is not a straightforward process and needs standard methodologies accepted by everyone, but it could be achieved within 10 years."
The next step would be to incorporate environmental assets into national accounts.
But many companies already do acknowledge the costs of biodiversity loss.
A survey conducted by PwC earlier this year found that 27% of chief executives were either "extremely" or "somewhat" concerned about biodiversity loss, although there was a large disparity between those operating in developed economies and those in emerging markets.
Indeed many multinational companies have made significant investments in protecting the natural resources upon which their success depends.
These include investments to mitigate the impact of tighter regulation, such as shipping giant Swire's decision to buy up swathes of rainforest to offset the possible introduction of pollution taxes in the shipping industry.
Indeed those companies that are well prepared for more stringent regulation, and have made the necessary investment in protecting the natural assets that serve them, will gain an important competitive advantage.
But it's not just a question of risk mitigation - there are also opportunities for companies that act in an environmentally responsible manner.
Brewing giant SABMiller has made considerable investments in reforestation in Columbia and South Africa, as well as setting stringent targets for reducing water consumption - commitments, it says, that helped the company secure licences to brew in Australia, "because the authorities trust that we will be water efficient", says Andy Wales, the brewer's global head of sustainable development.
Contrast this with mining group Vedanta, which has been denied permission both to expand its aluminium operations and to mine bauxite in India after campaigners claimed the company had ignored the needs of indigenous peoples.
Companies also recognise that they need to react to increasing customer awareness of environmental issues.
For example, another survey conducted by PwC in May found that more than half of UK consumers were willing to pay between 10% and 25% more for goods up to £100 to account for their impact on the natural world.
Such changing consumer attitudes mean that more and more companies are investing in reducing their impact on nature.
For example, the world's biggest retailer Walmart has introduced sustainability criteria as part of its official product sourcing process.
Coffee giant Starbucks has also invested millions of dollars in protecting natural resources because "we know maintaining biodiversity makes a difference to our coffee drinkers" according to Tim McCoy, the company's head of communications.
Natura, the Brazilian cosmetics group with a turnover of $2.4bn, has committed to sourcing products sustainably from natural sources in order to appeal to consumers, while French energy group GDF Suez has invested in conserving biodiversity on its landfill sites purely as part of its "reputational risk management".
Google Maps has even launched a service that allows users to track changes in forest cover across the world.
Not everything some companies say about their environmental commitments can be believed, but the fact that they are saying it at all is what's important, says Mr Sukhdev.
"Once you get away from denial, you pass through a phase of understanding and then one of empty rhetoric before you arrive at action. The stage of empty rhetoric is part of the process."
And those companies that do take action will win out in the long run.
The costs of failing to protect the Earth's natural resources and the services they provide, and the price of failing to grasp the opportunities that investing in nature present, are simply too great for those that do not.
This is the third in a series of three articles on the economic cost of human activity on the natural world.
The first looks at the full impact of the degradation of the natural world on the global economy - both on business and consumers.
The second looks at the direct costs to businesses, both large and small.


Enisei-STM added another European scalp after beating Worcester as they sealed a bonus point win against the Dragons.

Iurii Kushnarev's penalty gave the Russians the lead and Dragons responded thanks to Pat Howard but Enisei went ahead through Dmitrii Gerasimov's try.
A minute later, Sam Beard crossed for Dragons but Enisei soon took control.
Two tries from Stanislav Selskii in either half in addition to Valery Morozov going over gave the hosts a bonus-point victory.
The result mean Enisei-STM now top the Pool 3 table with nine points from their two games after they beat English side Worcester in the first round.
Enisei-STM: Ramil Gaisin, Igor Kurashov, David Kacharava, Thomas Halse, Denis Simplikevich, Iurii Kushnarev, Alexey Shcherban; Andrei Polivalov, Stanislav Selskii, Innokentiy Zykov, Uldis Saulite (captain), Maxim Gargalic, Mikheil Gachechiladze, Vitalii Orlov, Anton Rudoi
Replacements: Shamil Magomedov, Valery Morozov, Evgenii Pronenko, Tagir Ghadgiev, Jurijs Baranovs, Konstantin Uzunov, Aleksei Mikhaltsov, Viacheslav Krasylnyk
NG Dragons: Carl Meyer, Pat Howard, Sam Beard, Jack Dixon, Adam Warren, Angus O'Brien, Charlie Davies; Phil Price, Rhys Buckley, Lloyd Fairbrother, Nick Crosswell (captain), Rynard Landman, James Thomas, Nic Cudd, Harrison Keddie.
Replacements: Darran Harris, Thomas Davies, Craig Mitchell, Matthew Screech, Cory Hill, Tavis Knoyle, Geraint Rhys Jones, Ashton Hewitt.
Referee: Vlad Iordachescu (Romania)
Touch judges: Ionut Bodea (Romania), Cristian Serban (Romania)
Citing commissioner: Wayne Sheridan (Ireland)


Rival mayoral candidates have united to condemn plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

They addressed a protest in Parliament Square, central London, attended by more than 1,000 people.
Conservative contender for City Hall, Zac Goldsmith, warned it would be "catastrophic". Labour's Sadiq Khan called it "madness".
A Heathrow spokesman said a third runway was needed to keep London "at the heart of the global economy".
Mr Goldsmith told the crowd: "We know that our air pollution problems in London would be unsolvable if we expand Heathrow. And we know it requires the demolition of more than 1,000 homes. It is a catastrophic price to pay."
Mr Khan told BBC London: "It would be madness to build a new runway. People who care about London and the health of London, who worry about the noise, who worry about the infrastructure, are united against it."
Green candidate Sian Berry, Liberal Democrat Caroline Pidgeon and UKIP's Peter Whittle all gave speeches against the proposed expansion, joined by environmental campaigners and local residents.
John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor and Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, also addressed the crowd. He said: "In my constituency at the moment, people are literally dying. They're dying because the air has already been poisoned by the aviation industry."
A Heathrow spokesman responded: "London's future success as a global city, and as a centre for finance and investment, will depend on the strength of links with existing and new markets.
"The Airports Commission has confirmed that Heathrow expansion will keep the capital and the whole of the UK at the heart of the global economy, meet environmental targets and balance the needs of local communities."
Heathrow was chosen by the Davies Commission as the best way to increase airport capacity for London and the South East because it was predicted it would add Â£147 billion in economic growth and 70,000 jobs by 2050.
Prime Minister David Cameron is due to announce a decision on expansion by the end of the year.


The economic case for independence should not include North Sea oil revenues, the chairman of the SNP's growth commission has said.

The commission, headed by former MSP Andrew Wilson, was set up by the SNP to help shape its future economic policy.
Mr Wilson suggested that making North Sea revenues central to the economic arguments for independence ahead of the 2014 referendum had been a mistake.
He said any future campaign would need to balance optimism and realism.
Concerns about the potential economic impact coupled with the UK government ruling out the possibility of a currency union are widely seen as being central reasons for Scottish voters rejecting independence by 55% to 45% in 2014.
The Scottish government's White Paper on independence ahead of the referendum had predicted North Sea oil revenues of between £6.8bn and £7.9bn in 2016/17 - which would have been the first year of independence if Yes had won.
It also said independence would ensure that "taxation revenues from oil and gas support Scottish public services, and that Scotland sets up an Energy Fund to ensure that future generations also benefit from our oil and gas reserves".
Since then, the North Sea oil price has plummeted - with UK oil and gas production generating negative receipts in 2015/16 of -£24m, compared with +£2.15bn the year before.
Mr Wilson, whose report is due to be delivered to the first minister in the coming weeks, said Yes campaigners had argued ahead of the 2014 referendum that "oil was a bonus and not the basis" of the economic case for independence.
He told the BBC's Scotland editor, Sarah Smith: "But we did have oil baked into the numbers and it was indeed a basis.
"So I can say with some certainty in terms of our own work that we'll assume for the purposes of our projections that oil is producing zero revenues and therefore treat any revenues that we get from oil as a proper windfall to be used on intergenerational projects rather than spent on spending today."
The Scottish government's Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (Gers) figures, which were published last August, put the country's spending deficit at just under £15bn in the previous financial year, partly because of the fall in oil revenues.
That figure represented a 9.5% share of Scotland's GDP - more than double the 4% figure for the UK as a whole.
The SNP are already preparing for the possibility of another referendum.
They have experts working hard on formulating a new economic case for independence, considering key questions such as what currency an independent Scotland might use and how they would cope with the sharp fall in the price of oil.
Other Yes supporting campaign groups have already started fundraising.
But calling another referendum would still be a gamble, and the consequences of defeat could be disastrous for Nicola Sturgeon.
To lose two referendums in quick succession could set back the cause of Scottish independence for at least a generation.
And there could be a high personal cost. Both Alex Salmond and David Cameron resigned immediately after losing referendums. There would be an expectation that Nicola Sturgeon would have to do the same.
But still, every time the first minster mentions the possibility of another vote she makes it seem increasingly likely.
Read more from Sarah
Sarah will be examining the SNP's possible strategy for a second referendum on BBC Radio 4's Analysis programme at 20:30 on Monday 6 March.
Mr Wilson said it was "true that the economic circumstances are fraught at present", and that the "world sea is very stormy".
He added: "The energy sector has had troubles and the fiscal inheritance that we would have from the rest of the UK is a very difficult one.
"All of the above, however, would be a reason to change the way you're operating rather than to stay stuck to your deckchair on the Titanic.
"There are plenty of precedents that we're looking to from around the world of small countries who have put governance in place and put programmes in place that can both ensure that their economy grows and the welfare of people increase.
"But the financial footing that they're on is one that the markets and people who would be funding the government can respect, and that's what we would seek to achieve."
He said he did not think a future independence campaign would explicitly be arguing that there would be "short-term pain but long-term gain" following a Yes vote.
But he added: "I do think there will be a very purposeful approach to all of us working very hard to make it successful.
"I guess that's why oil's not a particularly helpful argument - because it gives the suggestion that somehow there's a free lunch and that we won't have to work, and of course we all will have to work no matter what happens.
"Independence would give us more tools and that's what's different".
Mr Wilson also said it was "imperative" for Scotland to continue to have full access to both the UK and EU single markets, and to be able to grow its population.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that a second independence referendum is "all but inevitable" following the Brexit vote - but has insisted that the UK government can avoid one by agreeing to its demands to allow Scotland to retain its membership of the EU single market.
However, opponents have accused her of using Brexit as an excuse to push for independence  - and argue that the UK market is worth four times more to Scotland's economy than the EU is.
In her address to the Scottish Conservative conference on Friday, Prime Minister Theresa May said the SNP was "interested only in stoking-up endless constitutional grievance and furthering their obsession with independence, at the expense of Scottish public services like the NHS and education".
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Murdo Fraser said Alex Salmond had "never admitted he tried to mislead people on oil during the 2014 referendum. Now that even his own SNP colleagues are owning up, it is time he did so himself."
He added: "If the SNP is now admitting oil is a bonus, it must set out which taxes would rise and what public services would be cut in order to fill an independent Scotland's £15bn deficit."
Scottish Labour's Jackie Baillie said her party had "warned time and again during the 2014 referendum about the SNP's rose-tinted fantasy of an independent Scotland's finances" but had been accused of "talking Scotland down".
She added: "Now the SNP's own economics guru has admitted promises of a land of milk and honey were a figment of Alex Salmond's imagination.
"And that reality has hardly changed. With a £15bn deficit, the cost of independence to our valued public services would be even more brutal".
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said the economic case for independence was "weaker than ever" with the plummeting oil revenues, adding: "The SNP will need to explain which public services will be cut to pay for independence."


Google has promised to allow rivals' search engines and apps to be pre-installed on phones running its versions of Android in Russia.

The concession follows an out-of-court deal with the country's competition watchdog.
In addition, Google has promised to develop a tool to make it easy for users to change their device's default search engine.
Shares in Google's local Russian rival, Yandex, rose more than 7% on the news.
It brings to an end a long-running battle between the US firm and Russia's competition regulator, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS).
Google had argued the regulator had no case because manufacturers could develop their own versions of Android or pre-install other apps of their choice.
But the FAS had argued that, despite its denials, Google was indeed  "prohibiting" rival software to its own YouTube, Maps and Photos apps to be pre-installed alongside its own dominant version of Android.
The agency became involved after Yandex filed a complaint in February 2015.
Despite the nature of the settlement, Google will still have to pay a 438m rouble ($7.8; Â£6.2m) fine imposed after it failed to appeal the case last August.
"We are happy to have reached a commercial agreement with Yandex and a settlement with Russia's competition regulator, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), resolving the competition case over the distribution of Google apps on Android," a spokeswoman for Google told the BBC.
Yandex's chief executive Arkady Volozh declared the settlement "an important day for Russian consumers".
"I am thankful to the Federal Antimonopoly Service for applying the law in a manner that effectively and efficiently restores competition to the market for the benefit of Russian users, as competition always breeds innovation," he added.
The EU continues to pursue similar claims against Google, saying the firm is "requiring and incentivising" Android hardware manufacturers to exclusively use its services.


The playing style that saw Spain win the 2010 World Cup and successive European Championship titles may no longer work, says Gerard Pique.

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Spain were beaten 2-0 by Italy in the last 16 of Euro 2016 on Monday and Pique believes they should no longer be considered favourites for tournaments.
"I think we have to undertake a big reflection, in terms of style and level," the 29-year-old said.
"We don't have the level that we had a couple of years ago."
The Barcelona centre-back added: "We are a team that can win matches because of our name and our past, but we are not the best team. We are not in a position to win tournaments right now.
"It's not only about the level of the players. Despite trying to play the same way as we have done in recent years, we weren't as effective.
"This exit could help us to go into future competitions knowing that we are no longer favourites to win."
Manager Vicente del Bosque has said he will consider his future following Spain's exit.
He took over after Luis Aragones had led the side to their first major trophy with the 2008 Euros, adding Spain's first World Cup in 2010 and claiming victory again at the Euros in 2012.
Del Bosque offered to resign after Spain's exit at the 2014 World Cup group stage but was convinced to stay, and has previously indicated he plans to retire after the Euros.
"I must speak to the (Spanish federation) president," Del Bosque. "We must do what is best for Spanish football.
"I don't think an era has ended. Spanish football is very well structured. There are good academies, very good players and very good clubs."
Compiled by BBC Monitoring
El Mundo examines how Spain's tournament went day-by-day in a "diary of an unexpected failure" that takes in the Torbe sex scandal allegedly involving David de Gea, Chelsea attacker Pedro disturbing the peace, and Sergio Ramos missing a penalty.
El Pais describes the defeat against Italy as having closed "Spain's great cycle". It goes on to say that despite the loss, coach Vicente del Bosque has become a reference point for Spanish football. "If he resigns or is forced to resign, his legacy will remain for life."
Barcelona-based daily El Periodico de Catalunya says the defeat is "the end of a glorious era". The report goes on to say: "Italy, a bold a beautiful Italy... closed the circle of sad Spain, which returns home dejected. Everything in life has an ending."


A former soldier who escaped two IRA murder attempts during the Troubles has been appointed as a junior minister at the Northern Ireland Office.

Kris Hopkins, MP for the West Yorkshire constituency of Keighley and Ilkley, survived an IRA gun attack in Belfast and a mortar attack in County Armagh.
In 2010, he wrote about his experiences with the Army in Northern Ireland.
In the Yorkshire Post, he wrote of his "revulsion" at Martin McGuinness but said he supported the peace process.
"The IRA tried to shoot me on the New Lodge road, and tried to blow me up in a 16-round mortar attack in Bessbrook," Mr Hopkins wrote in November 2010.
He said those attacks "fossilised" his view of the IRA.
However, Mr Hopkins signalled his support for devolution in Northern Ireland and said when he watched politicians arguing over issues like water rates, he was thinking "how great it was that they were not trying to kill each other".
On Sunday, the 53-year-old was given the role of parliamentary under secretary of state at the Northern Ireland Office - a junior ministerial role.
The article was written four month after the then prime minister David Cameron apologised on behalf of the state for the Bloody Sunday killings in Londonderry.
The Saville report of June 2010 unequivocally blamed the Army for the fatal shooting of 14 civilians during a civil rights march through the city in 1972.
Mr Hopkins said that at the time of the report's publication "it was difficult for me, as an ex-soldier, to hear the words that were said and their context".
However, the MP said he reiterated his support for the prime minister's apology.
Mr Hopkins also wrote in the Yorkshire Post about his views of Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness' journey from paramilitary to politician.
"I was at a meeting at the Tory Party conference recently [in 2010] with Sinn FÃ©in's deputy leader Martin McGuinness.
"I have to tell you of the absolute revulsion and anger that I felt when he walked into the room.
"So, it is great for you politicians to do it, but for me, that moment involved a huge journey and a massive leap," Mr Hopkins wrote.
"But as he spieled his spiel, and as the media and the secretary of state challenged him, I realised that that was the place where we needed to be.
"That is why those Members should be in the House of Commons, where they can be held to account. That is the politics of the future."
The same year, he said Sinn FÃ©in MPs should not be allowed to claim parliamentary expenses because they abstain from taking their seats at Westminster.
After leaving the Army, and before entering politics, Mr Hopkins gained a degree in communications and cultural studies and worked as a media lecturer.
He is also a keen photographer and in 2010 he wrote about how an iconic photograph, taken during Bloody Sunday, affected him.
"One that had a huge impact on me is that of Father Daly, a priest in the United Kingdom, begging for safe passage for injured people.
"What a terrible situation to have in our country."


A suspected drug smuggler has handed himself in to police in Gibraltar "dripping wet" after seeing himself on Crimewatch.

Jason Waterman "arrived without warning, dripping salt water and carrying a bag of wet clothing".
The 32-year-old, originally from Watford, handed himself in late on Monday.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) is now attempting to extradite him under a European arrest warrant.
The NCA said: "He refused to say how he reached Gibraltar, only that it wasn't through the frontier."
Mr Waterman, whose nicknames include Jugs and Jumbo, was wanted in connection with a drug trafficking investigation.
Border police found 7kg (15lb) of cocaine, with a potential street value of Â£1.2m, at Bagby Airfield in October 2015.
The discovery was made shortly after a light aircraft arrived from the Netherlands. The plane's pilot was arrested but later found not guilty of importation offences.
Brian Shaw, NCA North East operations manager, said: "It might sound like a cushy number, sitting around watching Crimewatch Roadshow on a Monday morning, but life as a fugitive is hard and stressful.
"The NCA first issued an appeal for Waterman in London nearly a year ago. Clearly something about the new appeal made him crack.
"To everyone else feeling the stress of being on the run, I would say we are patient people, we keep the pressure on, and we never stop looking for you."


The SNP will set out details of its plans on council tax reform next week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.

She said, if the party was re-elected in May's Scottish Parliament election, it would introduce a more "progressive" local tax from April 2017.
The reforms could see councils given a share of income tax revenues in an effort to give them an "incentive" to boost economic growth.
Last year, a commission on reform called for a "more progressive" tax.
The Commission on Local Tax Reform did not recommend a single alternative but it suggested there could be merit in combining a property-based levy with an element of income tax.
The current council tax charges householders on the value of the property they live in. The rate it is charged at has been frozen by the Scottish government since 2007.
Speaking at the David Hume Institute in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said: "The report from the cross-party Commission on Local Tax Reform made clear that now is the time to reform local taxation.
"The commission argued for measures which will make council tax more progressive, and which will give greater assistance to people on lower incomes.
"So next week we will set out details of how we intend to achieve this from April 2017 onwards.
"These changes will be part of a longer term plan to increase the accountability of local councils to the populations they serve."
Discussions with local authorities are expected to determine how the Scottish Parliament can gain more power over income tax and local authorities can secure a share of income tax revenues for their area.
Asked if councils should be given power over sales and tourism taxes, as recommended by the commission, Ms Sturgeon said priority would be given to the assignation of income tax and other council tax powers would be considered.
"Scotland is a small country and I think it is right that we take steps to incentivise local authorities to boost economic growth in their own areas, but equally I think we have got to be careful about creating a postcode lottery in terms of tax rates in different local authority areas."


Two UKIP officials have resigned from the party, claiming leader Paul Nuttall was "unprofessional" and donor Arron Banks showed "crass insensitivity" about the Hillsborough disaster.

Mr Nuttall said last week he was "sorry" over false claims that he had lost close friends in the 1989 tragedy.
Mr Banks later tweeted he was "sick to death" of hearing about Hillsborough.
Liverpool and Merseyside chairmen Stuart Monkham and Adam Heatherington said such comments were "intolerable".
Mr Nuttall is yet to respond while Mr Banks has declined to comment.
Ninety-six fans died after the crush at the FA Cup semi final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday's ground.
In a radio interview last week, Mr Nuttall said he knew people who died in the disaster but he was "appalled" his website had given the impression that he was close to any of the victims
He said he did not check press releases posted by an aide in 2011 and 2012.
Relatives of Hillsborough victims accused the MEP of "insensitivity".
Mr Heatherington said he "completely" endorsed Mr Nuttall as party leader and claimed most of the anger in Merseyside was directed at Mr Banks over the "total disregard" he had shown for the victims' families.
He told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme: "It was the Arron Banks' remarks that I cannot put up with."
Mr Heatherington said the party leader should have taken down the comments about losing close friends at Hillsborough from his website sooner.
"That's where he was unprofessional, but he's apologised, it's been taken down.
In a statement, Mr Monkham said: "Although the timing of our resignations is unfortunate in light of upcoming elections, both Adam and I wish to make it clear, where the painful subject of Hillsborough is concerned, with closure not yet in sight, this unprofessional approach and crass insensitivity from high profile people closely within and without UKIP is upsetting and intolerable."
He said they had been "affected both personally and professionally by words that were not said in our name".
"With this in mind, we wish to apologise to the people of Liverpool and the Hillsborough families for any offence caused and have done what we consider to be the only honourable thing we could do which was to resign and disassociate ourselves from UKIP."
Mr Monkham added that he "felt that supporting a libertarian party was the right thing to do in order to effect change within the political system in this country".
"Unfortunately that dream has been shattered and the potential of UKIP has been squandered by people who have demonstrated they are not fit to lead at present."
The BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith said UKIP officials in Merseyside were expecting further resignations in protest at Mr Nuttall's handling of the Hillsborough controversy.
Mr Nuttall, who is an MEP for North West England, is a candidate in the Stoke Central by-election, which is being held on Thursday.
Stoke Central by-election: Candidates


Sam Allardyce has been appointed England manager.

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The 61-year-old signed an initial two-year deal after compensation was agreed with Sunderland, whom he steered to Premier League safety last season.
He succeeds Roy Hodgson, who quit after England were knocked out of Euro 2016 in the last 16 by Iceland.
Allardyce, whose first game in charge will be a friendly at Wembley on 1 September against as yet unnamed opponents, said he was "honoured".
He added: "It is no secret that this is the role I have always wanted. For me, it is absolutely the best job in English football.
"I will do everything I can to help England do well and give our nation the success our fans deserve. Above all, we have to make the people and the whole country proud."
Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn said: "His excellent managerial credentials, including his ability to realise the potential of players and teams, develop a strong team ethos and embrace modern methods that enhance performance, made him the outstanding choice.
"We could not help but be energised by his personal perspective on England's future."
A statement on the FA's website said Allardyce's primary target is qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but he "is also charged with helping technical director Dan Ashworth integrate and strengthen the FA's elite performance and coaching programme across the England senior and development teams at St George's Park".
Allardyce's first competitive match will be in Slovakia on 4 September as England begin their qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup.
He leaves Sunderland after nine months, and the Black Cats are now looking for their ninth manager in eight years.
A statement from the club read: "The focus of everyone at Sunderland AFC is on moving forward quickly and decisively, with the appointment of the club's new manager to be confirmed at the earliest opportunity."
Allardyce, a former Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn and West Ham boss, becomes the 14th permanent England manager.
He has never won a major trophy but did win promotion to the Premier League with Bolton and West Ham.
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Allardyce has been endorsed by his fellow managers, including Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, former England manager Sven Goran-Eriksson and ex-Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.
Mourinho said Allardyce was "more than ready" to lead the national side, while Redknapp said he would bring "a Premier League style and pace" to the national side.
Former FA director David Davies told BBC Radio 5 live: "This is a challenge for English football.  This is the person the League Managers' Association probably would have wanted. Now will the clubs actually go out of their way to help the national team because they've got the person they wanted - one of their own?"
Allardyce was first interviewed for the England job following Eriksson's departure after the 2006 World Cup, but Steve McClaren was appointed. He has been vocal about his disappointment in not being selected then.
This time he was the early favourite, chosen by a three-man FA panel of Glenn, Ashworth and vice-chairman David Gill ahead of Steve Bruce, who resigned as Hull City manager on Friday.
Bournemouth's Eddie Howe and USA manager Jurgen Klinsmann were reported as potential candidates, but it is not known how many other interviews were conducted.
The FA panel said it wanted a strong-minded, tactically savvy manager who could build a clear team identity.
Glenn told BBC sports editor Dan Roan the new manager would need to "build resilience" in players so they are able to deal with criticism on social media and the pressures of an "intensely passionate" English media.
Neil McDonald, who has worked alongside Allardyce at three Premier League clubs, said: "He gives the players everything they need to perform to the highest level and lets them express themselves as much as they possibly can.
"He's been in the game a long time, he's won a lot of games and a lot of respect off everybody and it's well deserved to be given the England job.
"He should have had one of the big four, big six jobs in the past. But the clubs he's gone to he's always improved them and improved the players."
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Allardyce is known for having an immediate impact on sides when he joins them - shown below after he arrived at Blackburn Rovers (2008-09) and Sunderland (2015-16).
The graph also shows the dip in form immediately after Allardyce has left (Newcastle 2007-08) and Blackburn (2010-11).
England have had a near-perfect qualifying record for recent tournaments, but have won just one of their past seven games in the finals.


FA chairman Greg Dyke has warned Premier League football is in danger of "having nothing to do with English people" as new proposals to limit the number of non-EU players are outlined by English football's governing body.

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The FA has also revealed plans to toughen the rules on home-grown talent in the latest proposals from its commission, which was set up in 2013 to improve the England team.
The commission has also proposed changes to work permit rules having highlighted flaws in the system.
The stricter work-permit rules, approved by the Home Office on Friday, will come into force from 1 May.
Under the proposals outlined by the FA on Monday:
Speaking to the BBC's sports editor Dan Roan, Dyke explained the rationale behind the FA's new proposals by highlighting the impact of Harry Kane.
The Tottenham striker, 21, only made his first Premier League start for Spurs in April 2014, and is this season's top scorer with 19 goals.
"We have to do this by negotiation with the different leagues and with the clubs - we have to convince them that this makes sense for English football," said Dyke.
"And we are helped by Harry Kane in truth - we are helped by seeing a young kid come into the Spurs team and become the top scorer in English football.
"How many other Harry Kanes are around in the youth teams of Premier League clubs? It was almost by chance that Tim Sherwood became manager at Tottenham for a time and put him in the side - otherwise he would still be out on loan at Millwall or somewhere else."
"If you apply the system we are just introducing over the last five years, a third of non-EU overseas players that have come here wouldn't get in," Dyke added.
"We don't want to stop the outstanding talent coming here, but there are an awful lot of bog-standard players as well.
"If we could get all this through, over the next three, four or five years, you could see the numbers of home-grown players going up from a percentage in the high 20s to 40%. It matters that this happens across the whole of English football, but it particularly matters to the top end of the Premier League.
"The future England team by and large play for the top six sides. If you look in Germany, or Spain, it's always the same. And amongst the top six sides the decline in English players is quite marked.
"If you look at who is playing in the Champions League, the English numbers compared to the Germans, the Spanish or the Brazilians, are pathetic."
Former England full-back Danny Mills sits on the FA commission established by Dyke two years ago.
"Something like 95% of work permit appeals go through. On what basis? We want the creme de la creme," said Mills.
"We want the best players. But we are starting to get foreign players in the Championship and League Two. That reduces the number of English players who can come through the system.
"It matters to the English game. Harry Kane is adored. Fans will always have an affinity to the local lad or English players. It bridges the gap between superstar and fan, between the exceptional and the normal.
"It is very important that those links stay there."
Former Arsenal striker John Hartson says the FA need to be careful about bringing in new rules as foreign players can help to improve their English counterparts.
"The best players I ever worked with were Dennis Bergkamp and Henrik Larsson," said the ex-Wales international. "I learned so much from them.
"Having 12 English players in a squad may not be a bad rule but you don't want to prevent good foreign players coming over and playing in this country.
"By that, you could miss out on a couple of really good foreign players who could be of benefit to the Premier League."
Lee Canoville, a former Arsenal defender who left the club in 2001 having made just one senior appearance in four years, welcomed the proposals.
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"If the FA can limit the number of foreign players in a squad, that will help," he said. "A world-class player is entitled to come and play in the Premier League. But players who are not quite ready?  What is the difference between our lads who are not quite ready? A rule needs to come in.
"Something obviously has to be done, because who knows in 10 more years what is going to happen, The Premier League will still be going, I am sure, it will still be exciting and brilliant but everyone wants that buzz back when we can look forward to the World Cup and European Championships.
"It is so important these young lads, like Daniel Sturridge and Harry Kane, get their chance. I am sure there are a lot more players out there who just need that chance."


Work is to start on a multi-million pound development at Chester Zoo after planning permission was granted.

The £30m islands project will offer a boat ride where people can see plants and animals from south east Asia.
Linked by a series of bridges, the development will be home to animals including tigers, orangutans and crocodiles.
Work on the project is expected to start in the new year and be completed by Easter 2015.
The project will also include educational exhibits, play areas and restaurants.
The zoo's director general, Dr Mark Pilgrim, said he thought the animals would be a huge draw, adding: "It will be the first time a UK zoo has attempted anything on this scale."


A victim of physical and sexual abuse at a Catholic orphanage in Australia has revealed how he turned on one of his tormentors - threatening to cut his throat if he "laid a finger on him".

Edward Delaney told the inquiry into child abuse a Christian Brother had regularly beaten him with a strap, to which a hacksaw blade had been fixed.
He was among thousands of children sent to Australia in the post-war period under UK government-approved schemes.
Mr Delaney said it was "kidnapping".
The first phase of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales is looking at the way organisations have protected children outside the UK.
Mr Delaney was housed at the Bindoon Boys Town orphanage, in Western Australia.
It was run by the Christian Brothers order, with residents forced to construct outbuildings.
In the post-war years, British children were recruited by religious institutions from both the Anglican and Catholic churches, or charities, including Barnardo's and the Fairbridge Society, with the aim of reducing pressure on UK orphanages and increasing the population of Commonwealth countries.
How will the inquiry work?
Mr Delaney, who is now in his late 60s, said: "It's not deportation, it's not sending me to another country to uphold the British flag or whatever.
"I was taken from my mother, which is a very serious offence - I accuse the British government of kidnapping."
He managed to overcome his upbringing to build a successful career as an investment broker.
But he told the inquiry he was still severely affected by the psychological damage of his childhood.
The canings left him unable to sit for two weeks at a time and beatings on his hands resulted in him being told later, aged 21, that he had broken fingers.
But he said after making the threat to the brother who beat him - "the most vicious man I have ever met in my entire life, even by today's standards" - he was left alone.
At one point Mr Delaney collapsed with rheumatic fever and spent nearly a year in hospital without being visited.
"We were nobody's - who cared about us anyway?" he said.
He added that he had been raped regularly for 18 months by another brother during his time at Bindoon.
"Every Christian Brother had a pet - I didn't understand what that meant at the time but I do now," he said.
Mr Delaney said attempts to report, during confession, what had been happening achieved no results.
He recalls being told "Say three Hail Marys and you would be forgiven".
He told the inquiry: "I just wondered why I have to be forgiven - I had done nothing wrong."
The inquiry is currently hearing two weeks of evidence from people sent abroad as children.
In total it is conducting 13 investigations over the next five years into claims made against local authorities, religious organisations, the armed forces and public and private institutions.


Holders Warrington Wolves have been drawn at home to Huddersfield Giants in the quarter-finals of the Tetley's Challenge Cup.

Super League leaders Wigan will host neighbours Widnes while Hull FC will have to travel to France to face Catalan Dragons.
The only non-Super League team left in the competition Sheffield Eagles will host London Broncos.
The games will be played between 12-15 July.
Two of the games will be screened live on BBC Two over the weekend of 13 and 14 July.
The final will be at Wembley on Saturday 24 August.
Warrington are seeking a fourth Wembley triumph in five seasons and in Huddersfield they face the side who they beat in the 2009 decider and who claimed an impressive win over Grand Final winners Leeds to reach the last eight.
Warrington's former Huddersfield coach Tony Smith was happy to avoid a cup trip to Catalan for a second successive year.
The Wolves won 32-22 in the quarter-finals in Perpignan last May but Smith appreciates how tough the Dragons are on home soil.
"The tough draw would have been Catalan at Catalan but Huddersfield will provide good, hard opposition," Smith said. "We've got a healthy respect for the Giants."
Wigan are the most successful side in the competition with 18 wins and will be bidding for a Cup double after Wigan Athletic's win in the FA Cup.
Sheffield coach and chief executive Mark Aston, who was man of the match when the Eagles stunned Wigan to win the Cup at Wembley in 1998, admitted he could not have been happier with the draw.
"We wanted either one of the top clubs away or London or Widnes at home and I'd say we're happy with how it's turned out," Aston said.
"It would be massive for us to get to the semi-finals and we're capable of it. We're at home and we know how to play at home."
The tie will almost certainly be played at Don Valley Stadium, which is due to close at the end of the year.
"It's a great way to close the stadium," Aston added.
This year's final will be the 71st at Wembley since the old Empire Stadium first hosted rugby league's big day out in the capital in 1929.


A newly discovered species of Tyrannosaur - the group of meat-eating dinosaurs to which the infamous T. rex belongs - could hold the key to how these creatures grew so huge.

Scientists from the University of Edinburgh, along with US and Russian colleagues, discovered the fossilised remains of the animal in Uzbekistan.
They have named it Timurlengia.
A study of the 90-million-year-old beast suggested its ears and brain were crucial in Tyrannosaurs' dominance.
"We have a totally new species of dinosaur," explained lead researcher Dr Stephen Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh.
"It's one of the very closest cousins of T. rex, but a lot smaller - about the size of a horse.
"And it comes from the middle part of the Cretaceous period - a point where we have a huge gap in the fossil record."
This "frustrating" gap has made T. rex - which was found later in the period and was up to 13m head to tail - something of an evolutionary mystery. That is what this find has helped to resolve.
"It has features of its bones that are also found in T. rex," said Dr Brusatte. "So this is evolving features that would eventually allow T. rex to become this super-dominant top-of-the-food-chain animal."
The team studied about 25 sections of Timurlengia's skeleton, piecing it together to work out its size and shape.
Most revealing was a part of the animal's skull, which the team scanned to work out the shape of its brain and inner ear - an attempt to build a picture of its sensory capabilities.
"Its brain and ear - which we can tell from CT scans - were almost identical to T. rex," said Dr Brusatte.
Dr Bill Sellers from the University of Manchester told BBC News that this braincase was "the really important part of this fossil".
"It shows us that relatively big brains and keen senses evolved early in the history of this group of dinosaurs and may have been what allowed tyrannosaurs to become such successful predators."
Following Victoria on Twitter


Bottom side Leicester City's predicament worsened as they were held to a goalless draw by 10-man Hull.

The Foxes - seven points off safety - barely troubled Hull, who were reduced to 10 men in the 72nd minute when Tom Huddlestone was shown a second yellow.
The best chances fell to Hull striker Nikica Jelavic, who headed over from six yards and scuffed a shot from a similar distance.
Abel Hernandez also had a fierce shot saved by Foxes keeper Mark Schwarzer.
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That chance came in the closing minutes when the Tigers were down to 10 men after Huddlestone was dismissed by referee Jon Moss for a foul on Jamie Vardy.
It did not change the complexion of the match as Hull continued to look comfortable at the back thanks to the leadership and organisation of centre-back Michael Dawson.
His backline and the rest of the team look far more assured than they did back in December when they were in 19th place - two wins and only one defeat in their last six games suggest they have turned a corner.
They had only conceded four goals in the previous five, and against a Foxes side who had managed a mere four goals in their last six league outings, the likelihood was that Hull would improve upon that stat.
The only time they looked like conceding was when Leicester striker Andrej Kramaric failed by a fraction to get his boot on the end of a Riyad Mahrez cross in the first half.
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They also created chances of their own, with top scorer Jelavic twice going close.
Hull's top scorer this season should have done better with his first opportunity, when he failed to get a good connection on a lay-off from Ahmed Elmohamady, and after the break when he headed over from close range.
The Croat did manage to put the ball in the net but Foxes keeper Schwarzer was judged to have been fouled by striker Dame N'Doye in the lead-up. Substitute Abel Hernandez also forced a good low save from Schwarzer with just a few minutes remaining.
Leicester manager Nigel Pearson said this was a must-win game for his side. That chance has now gone - they cannot afford many more slip-ups.
Hull manager Steve Bruce:
"I've got no problem with Huddlestone's two yellow cards, but is every challenge now a yellow if you mis-time it?
"It got a bit angry towards the end, but for me the referee booked my two centre-backs for (fair) challenges.
"There's a raging debate about Chelsea in midweek and if we're not careful...I saw everyone surround Alex for a red card for his challenge.
"There wasn't a nasty challenge in the game yet we've had five yellow cards and a sending off. I never saw that coming."
Leicester manager Nigel Pearson:
"We've got 10 games left, six at home and we probably need to win five. Today's game shows how tough it can be.
"We are in the same sort of position as before. We have six games at home so our home form has to be drastically improved to give us the best chance.
"Today I think the players expected to get three points, so it is disappointing to come away with one.
"To get the three we needed to be more committed to our attacking play."


Irish mathematicians may have solved the mystery of why bubbles in stout beers such as Guinness sink: it may simply be down to the glass.

Simulations suggest an upward flow at the glass's centre and a downward flow at its edges in which the liquid carried the bubbles down with it.
But the reasons behind this flow pattern remained a mystery.
Now
          a study on the Arxiv server
 reports simulations and experiments showing the standard glass' shape is responsible.
Many stout beers contain nitrogen as well as the carbon dioxide that is present in all beers.
Because nitrogen is less likely to dissolve in liquid, that results in smaller and longer-lasting bubbles.
But it is the sinking bubble that has confounded physicists and mathematicians alike for decades.
Like many such "fluid dynamics" problems, getting to the heart of the matter is no easy task; only recently was it
          proved they actually sink
 rather than being the result of an optical illusion.
Now the University of Limerick's William Lee, Eugene Benilov and Cathal Cummins have discovered the simple answer to the problem - and a test that can be carried out by consumers as well.
The team has been generally interested in the formation of bubbles in liquids.
"One of the things we found was it's actually very easy to see bubbles forming in stout beer rather than in, say, champagne where the bubble formation process is much more violent," Dr Lee told BBC News.
But as has happened to a generation of like-minded scientists before them, the question of falling bubbles became their focus.
The team had the idea - borne out by calculations carried out by Mr Cummins - that the relative density of bubbles and the surrounding liquid could be behind the phenomenon.
"If you imagine your pint is full of bubbles, then the bubbles will start to rise," Dr Lee said.
But the bubbles in a standard pint glass find themselves in a different environment as they rise straight up.
"Because of the sloping wall of the pint, the bubbles are moving away from the wall, which means you're getting a much denser region next to the wall," Dr Lee explained.
"That is going to sink under its own gravity, because it's less buoyant, and that sinking fluid will pull the bubbles down."
The bubbles, that is, are "trying" to rise, but the circulation that creates drives fluid down at the wall of the glass.
"You'll see sinking bubbles not because the bubbles themselves are sinking, but because the fluid is and it's pulling them down with it."
The same flow pattern occurs with other beers such as lagers, but the larger bubbles of carbon dioxide are less subject to that drag.
Mr Cummins carried out calculations using a simulated pint and "anti-pint" - that is, the upside-down version of a pint glass - showing the effect at work; in the anti-pint, the bubbles rise as expected.
For those interested in experimenting in the pub, the effect can be best seen if a pint of stout is served in a straight-sided, cylindrical glass (not quite filled up).
If the glass is tilted at an angle while the pint settles, the side in the direction of the tilt represents the normal situation of a pint glass, while the opposite side is the "anti-pint" - and bubbles can be seen to both rise and fall in the same glass.


British American Tobacco is planning to merge with its US partner Reynolds in a deal valued at $47bn (Â£38bn).

BAT wants to buy the 57.8% of Reynolds it does not already own.
The merger would bring together some of the tobacco industry's best-known brands, including Lucky Strike, Rothmans, Dunhill and Camel cigarettes.
BAT has been a shareholder in Reynolds since 2004 and the company said the merger was "the logical progression in our relationship".
The FTSE 100 company is offering $20bn in cash and $27bn in shares for the US business. This values Reynolds at $56.50 a share, compared to its closing price of $47.17 on Thursday.
BAT estimates that it can make $400m worth of cost-savings through the merger.
The company has not yet held talks with Reynolds and said the merger would have to be approved by all the US company's independent directors.
This is the biggest foreign deal by a British company in recent years, and flies in the face of the prevailing, post-Brexit wisdom that a weak pound would stop British companies buying foreign rivals.
It also marks a substantial consolidation in the ranks of big tobacco - the kind of consolidation that has just happened in another of the "sin" industries with the merger of the world's two largest brewers, AB InBev and SAB Miller. Analysts have for years thought there could be another big deal to being together the big players in world tobacco, and today it has finally arrived.
There have been no talks between the companies in advance of this morning's offer, but the pair know each other well - and after some haggling over price, it is likely we will see the creation of a new giant player in world tobacco.
BAT has held a significant stake in the company for 12 years after merging its US operations, known as Brown & Williamson, with RJ Reynolds. A new parent company was established at the time, of which BAT owns a 42.2% share.
RJ Reynolds has been operating since 1875 and is the second largest tobacco company in the US after Altria, which owns Philip Morris USA.
Last year, Reynolds completed its $25bn takeover of US rival Lorillard. The combined company was forced to sell off a number of brands, including Kool, Salem and Winston, to satisfy regulators. They were eventually bought by Britain's Imperial Tobacco for $7.1bn.
BAT also released results for the first nine months of the year on Friday which showed that revenue rose by 8.1% on a constant currency basis.
The company said there would be an impact from the fall in sterling against the dollar and that trading remained "challenging" in a number of key markets.


Russia's rouble has fallen to a fresh all-time low against both the dollar and the euro after the political turmoil in Ukraine intensified.

The rouble fell 2.5% to 36.5 roubles against the dollar and 1.5% against the euro to 50.30.
Stocks on Moscow's MICEX main stock index also fell more than 11%.
The Russian Central Bank was reported to have sold up to $10bn (Â£6bn) of reserves to support the rouble, according to Reuters news agency.
The Russian Central Bank said last month that its international reserves totalled $493.4bn as of 21 February.
The sharp falls came as Russia's central bank hiked its key lending rate on Monday to 7% from 5.5%.
"The decision is directed at preventing risks to inflation and financial stability associated with the increased level of volatility in the financial markets," the central bank said in a statement.
Neil Shearing, chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, said the success of the central's banks moves would "depend largely on political rather than economic developments".
The dramatic market reaction came as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said a team would arrive in Kiev on Tuesday to discuss conditions for urgent aid.
It said its "fact-finding mission" would discuss the reforms that would need to be in place before the fund could offer Ukraine financial support.
A European Commission spokesperson said a team of European experts was already in Kiev to assess matters.
"There are some difficulties in that country to which we have to respond through emergency measures in the economic field," said European Commission President Jose Barroso.
However, Reuters reported a European source saying no EU member would act on financial support for Kiev without the IMF assessment.
At the weekend, President Vladimir Putin received parliamentary approval to deploy Russian troops in Ukraine.
His spokesman said he had yet to decide whether he would send troops in.
"Now that (Russia and Ukraine) are actually on the verge of a military confrontation investors will start selling Russian stocks with special fervour," analysts at Rossiysky Capital said in a note for investors.
Artem Argetkin, trader at BCS in Moscow, said brokers were trying to close their positions at any price.
"There's a sell-off of everything right now," he added.
James Hughes, chief market analyst at Alpari UK, warned the sell-off would get worse.
"We can expect some very sharp moves in the ensuing couple of days as markets and world leaders look to establish just how much of a threat there is not only to stability in the area but stability across Europe."
Operators of privately run exchange booths in Russia said they were not prepared for the higher demand for the US dollar.
An employee at a small exchange said that her booth, which is open 24 hours a day, ran out of dollars by Sunday morning.
"We were not ready for this, we have not stocked up," she said.
Meanwhile, the G7 nations of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US said they were ready "to provide strong financial backing to Ukraine".
Ukraine needs an estimated $35bn (Â£20.9bn) over the next two years, according to its finance ministry,


China's economy has grown at its slowest pace in three years as investment slowed and demand fell in key markets such as the US and Europe.

Gross domestic product rose by 7.6% in the second quarter, compared with the same period a year ago. That is down from 8.1% in the previous three months.
In March, Beijing cut its growth target for the whole of 2012 to 7.5%.
China accounts for about a fifth of the world's total economic output and any slowdown may hamper a global recovery.
At the same time, many of Asia's biggest and emerging economies are becoming increasingly reliant on China as a trading partner.
"China has been a big factor for the slowdown in Asia this year," said Tai Hui from Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.
He added that if China's growth does not pick up in the second half of the year then "that's going to mean a very difficult second half for a lot of the manufacturers in this region".
By Martin PatienceBBC News, Beijing
As the world's largest exporter, China is being hard hit by the slowdown in Europe and elsewhere.
These are the country's worst figures since the start of the global financial crisis.
China's leaders are pinning their hopes on investment - especially in state companies - to drive growth in the world's second largest economy.
In recent weeks, they've twice cut interest rates to bolster lending. The authorities are also pumping money into public works - such as social housing. Fuel prices have also been reduced.
Many economists believe these measures will ensure that China's growth rebounds in the coming months.
But with a once-in-a-decade leadership change starting later this year - this is a sensitive time in Chinese politics. China's leaders will be deeply concerned that any further slowdown could lead to rising social unrest.
Watch: Stockpiles a symbol of slowdown
However, despite Friday's slower growth figures many analysts tried to allay fears of a so-called hard landing in China's economy and its subsequent impact on the rest of the world.
"If you get a drop in the growth rate of 1 percentage point per annum, that's not a lot in terms of the world gross domestic product," Edmund Phelps, a professor of political economy at Columbia University and a Nobel prize winner, told the BBC.
He added that China had a lot of ammunition to counter the slowdown, some of which it has already started using because of the patchy recovery in the US, and the ongoing debt and economic issues in the eurozone.
China's central bank has cut the amount of money banks must keep in reserve in order to boost lending, and it recently cut the cost of borrowing twice in one month.
Earlier this week, Premier Wen Jiabao said that boosting investment would also be crucial for stabilising growth, fuelling expectation that more state-driven stimulus measures would be on the way.
"Now that China's growth is slowing, there are calls for yet another stimulus," said Edward Chancellor, global Strategist at investment management firm GMO.
But analysts warned that China's growth problems may not be solved by a simple injection of capital and a new round of government spending. Especially as many of today's issues can be traced back to the way the country tried to kick start growth after the global financial crisis in 2008-2009.
At the time the central government began pumping huge amounts of money into the economy, mainly on infrastructure and construction spending.
This led to excess capacity, a surge in property prices and an increase in consumer costs and inflation.
Faced with these problems and amid fears that the economy may be overheating, policy makers decided to implement measures to curb lending and slow inflation.
Those steps, along with a drop in demand for Chinese goods from key markets such as Europe and the US, have caused the most recent cycle of slowing growth.
Viewpoints: Is China heading for a crash?
In 2011, China's economy grew by 9.2%, down from 2010's figure of 10.4% growth.
But while the longer-term trend is of a slowdown, China also released a number of other figures on Friday and they painted a more nuanced and mixed picture of the economy.
According to the official figures, retail sales increased by 13.7% in June, little changed from May's 13.8% figure.
At the same time, electricity output, an indicator that many analysts use to calculate current business and consumer activity, was also flat in June at 393bn kilowatt-hours.
Optimists, however, would have been buoyed by news that new bank loans increased to $144.4bn in June, up from $124.4bn in May.
The BBC's John Sudworth in Shanghai says the data will do nothing to stop the economic squabbling over whether China is heading for a hard or soft landing.
"Rising stock piles of coal paint a vivid picture of just the kind of indicator the bears will use when arguing that 7.6% is proof of the impending economic catastrophe," he says.
"But here's another picture for you. A new DHL delivery hub built on the outskirts of Shanghai shows that there are still plenty of bulls out there too.
"For them 7.6% is probably a turning point and they also have their indicators of choice to support the case."


Wales prop Tomas Francis has extended his contract with Exeter Chiefs until 2019.

The 24-year-old joins Luke Cowan-Dickie, Henry Slade and Jack Nowell in signing new deals with the Aviva Premiership side in recent weeks.
Francis joined Exeter two years ago and has 14 caps for Wales.
"Hopefully we can help keep developing him as not only a Premiership and European quality player, but also as an international," said coach Rob Baxter.


Internet giant Google has agreed to forfeit $500m (Â£306m) for publishing online adverts from Canadian pharmacies selling illegal drugs to US customers.

By reaching a settlement, Google will avoid criminal prosecution in the US for profiting from the adverts.
The $500m represents the firm's revenues from the adverts and the revenues generated from the sale of the drugs, federal investigators said.
Google said it should it not have allowed the adverts.
"We banned the advertising of prescription drugs in the US by Canadian pharmacies some time ago," the company said in a short statement.
"However, it's obvious with hindsight that we should not have allowed these ads on Google in the first place."
The US Justice Department said controls over selling the drugs were inadequate.
"While Canada has its own regulatory rules for prescription drugs, Canadian pharmacies that ship prescription drugs to US residents are not subject to Canadian regulatory authority, and many sell drugs obtained from countries other than Canada which lack adequate pharmacy regulations," the department said.
It added that the higher price of the drugs reflected the fact that some could be bought without a doctor's prescription.