Tottenham consolidated their position on the fringes of the Premier League top four with a commanding home victory over struggling Swansea.

There was controversy over their opening goal, scored by Harry Kane from the penalty spot, after Dele Alli appeared to dive in the box.
Son Heung-min's brilliant acrobatic strike doubled the lead at the end of a first half Spurs totally dominated.
Kane added his second when smashing home Son's unintentional lay-off, before Christian Eriksen nodded home from close range and later drove in his second to further punish the Swans in stoppage time.
Defeat means the Welsh side are bottom of the table after Sunderland's victory at home to Leicester.
Spurs' win - just a second from their past 11 games - keeps Mauricio Pochettino's side in fifth, three points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.
Spurs had won just once in their past 10 matches in all competitions, a run dating back to early October that has seen them eliminated from the Champions League and EFL Cup, and lose ground to the Premier League leaders.
They fully deserved their lead - Lukasz Fabianksi had made several key stops to keep the score level - but the penalty award that led to the opening goal was very soft.
Alli seemed to simulate contact as he ran across right-back Kyle Naughton just inside the area, with referee Jonathan Moss awarding Spurs' sixth spot-kick in eight games, all of which have been scored.
Son's spectacular strike for the second - the ball was smashed in at the near post courtesy of a scissor-kick - was a better reflection of the home side's overall play.
Their dominant hold over possession and quick attacking play continued to overwhelm Swansea throughout the second half and the away side were further punished three times on the break as they looked for a way back into the match.
In truth, it could have been an even wider margin of victory had it not been for further saves by Fabianksi and some wasteful finishing by Spurs, with Victor Wanyama's inexplicable miss from close range the most obvious example.
By manager Bob Bradley's own admission, December is a "critical month" for the Swans.
They play five of the bottom 12 teams - Sunderland, Middlesbrough, West Ham, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace - in their next six matches.
With just one win from their past 14 games and having now been sent to the bottom of the league after this emphatic defeat, the task of turning their season around is becoming significantly harder.
There was little in the way of positives to take from White Hart Lane, apart from the performance of Fabianksi and the fact Naughton was unjustly penalised for the opening goal.
The England striker celebrated signing his new six-year contract by scoring twice to take his tally to eight goals from 11 games in all competitions this season.
Swansea manager Bob Bradley speaking to BBC Radio 5 live: "I didn't think the referee was in a good position and that [penalty] decision certainly changed the game.
"Today is a big concern. I think the starting point was Tottenham got to every ball faster. On a day like today it feels like we have a long, long way to go.
"There have been other days where I think there have been promising signs. We have work to do. We knew coming here today was going to be particularly difficult. We have to learn from it but go forward quickly."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Former Spurs & England forward Clive Allen at White Hart Lane for BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
"This could have been double figures with the chances Spurs created in the second half. There was a catalogue of errors from Swansea. It was an emphatic victory for the home side."
What's next?
Swansea are at home to Sunderland in a 15:00 GMT kick-off in the Premier League on Saturday.
Spurs play CSKA Moscow in the Champions League at Wembley on Wednesday - a draw will secure a Europa League place - before travelling to Manchester United in a 14:15 kick-of on Sunday.
Match ends, Tottenham Hotspur 5, Swansea City 0.
Second Half ends, Tottenham Hotspur 5, Swansea City 0.
Goal!  Tottenham Hotspur 5, Swansea City 0. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Moussa Sissoko.
Attempt missed. Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Victor Wanyama.
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Josh Onomah replaces Harry Kane.
Foul by Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspur).
Neil Taylor (Swansea City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Harry Winks replaces Mousa Dembélé.
Attempt saved. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Moussa Sissoko.
Foul by Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur).
Fernando Llorente (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt saved. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Christian Eriksen.
Attempt saved. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Moussa Sissoko.
Attempt missed. Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Christian Eriksen.
Attempt blocked. Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Borja Bastón (Swansea City).
Attempt saved. Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Moussa Sissoko.
Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Fernando Llorente (Swansea City).
Substitution, Swansea City. Wayne Routledge replaces Modou Barrow.
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Moussa Sissoko replaces Son Heung-Min.
Leroy Fer (Swansea City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Goal!  Tottenham Hotspur 4, Swansea City 0. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur) with an attempt from very close range to the centre of the goal.
Attempt saved. Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Harry Kane.
Corner,  Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Lukasz Fabianski.
Attempt saved. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Christian Eriksen.
Foul by Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur).
Mike van der Hoorn (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, Tottenham Hotspur. Dele Alli tries a through ball, but Harry Kane is caught offside.
Substitution, Swansea City. Borja Bastón replaces Jefferson Montero.
Attempt missed. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left from a direct free kick.
Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Modou Barrow (Swansea City).
Jordi Amat (Swansea City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Jordi Amat (Swansea City).
Offside, Swansea City. Jack Cork tries a through ball, but Modou Barrow is caught offside.
Offside, Tottenham Hotspur. Danny Rose tries a through ball, but Son Heung-Min is caught offside.


A man who admitted killing a US tourist and wounding five others in a rampage in central London last year has been handed an unlimited hospital order.

Zakaria Bulhan, 19 stabbed retired teacher Darlene Horton, 64, to death as he roamed through Russell Square.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and charges of wounding at the Old Bailey on Monday .
His other victims all recovered well from their physical injuries.
Mrs Horton was among many tourists on their way back to their hotels that evening on 3 August, 2016.
Initially police feared it was the work of a terrorist, amid reports of indiscriminate violence close to the scene of the 7/7 bombings, but the court heard Bulhan had been suffering an "acute" episode of paranoid schizophrenia.
Sentencing Bulhan, Mr Justice Spencer described the killing as "a tragic waste of life" and said the psychological effects on the survivors of the attack would never leave them.
He told Bulhan: "It is quite clear that when you committed these dreadful crimes you were not in your right mind. You were in the grip of mental illness."
He added: "These were crimes which caused enormous public concern because, from their timing, it was feared initially that they might be the work of a terrorist fanatic.
"As it turned out they were not, although that is no consolation to your victims."
Previously one of the arresting officers told the court how he came "very close" to shooting Bulhan before he could injure any more people.
He said he was overcome by relief that he had not needed to use lethal force, but then had the "wind knocked out of his sails" on discovering that a member of the public had died in the attacks.
Bulhan was handed a hospital order without limit of time.


The three-day trial of Pastor James McConnell was filled with moments of theology, ideology and comedy.

No-one disputed the seriousness of the issues at stake, but that did not stop the participants - including the judge - indulging in some humour.
At the start of the trial, people in the public gallery were struggling to hear the defence barrister Philip Mateer QC.
Judge Liam McNally asked him to speak up a little, saying: "Pretend you're a preacher."
When Mr Mateer briefly made reference to the Ashers bakery 'gay cake' case, the judge interrupted him immediately.
"I think I've enough on my plate in this case," he said with a smile, and politely asked the barrister to change the subject.
The case centred on a 39-minute long sermon Pastor McConnell delivered at Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle on Sunday, 18 May last year, which was broadcast live on the internet.
As well as criticising Islam, the veteran pastor ventured back into history and attacked King Henry VIII, calling him an "auld reprobate".
Defending the sermon, Pastor McConnell's legal team insisted he had not set out to offend anyone.
The judge raised his eyebrows and muttered: "He didn't miss out on Henry VIII."
Everyone laughed, including the 120 supporters of the pastor who were packed into Court 12 of the Laganside courts complex in Belfast.
They filled the public gallery, as well as extra seating on the side of the courtroom which is usually reserved for police officers.
Pastor McConnell sat in front of them, beside his wife Margaret, son-in-law Norman and his two daughters Julie and Linda.
Aged 78, with no criminal record, his legal team said that rather than facing a possible conviction, he should be rewarded by the state for his Christian service and work with vulnerable people in society, like drug and alcohol addicts.
However, the prosecution barrister David Russell said the defence team were missing the point.
"He is not on trial for his beliefs," said Mr Russell.
The issue was the words he used about Islam in that controversial sermon.
Significantly, the key words in the case were not the ones which grabbed the headlines, when he described Islam as "satanic, heathen and spawned in hell".
Instead, the prosecution focused on this line from the sermon: "People say there are good Muslims in Britain - that may be so - but I don't trust them."
Mr Russell argued that the sentence was "grossly offensive" and that it breached the Communications Act for a man of influence to broadcast such a message through the internet.
Pastor McConnell insisted repeatedly he did not mean to offend anyone.
"I was completely unaware that I'd caused offence until Mr (Stephen) Nolan rang me (from the BBC)," he said.
It is now up to the judge to decide whether the sermon broke the law or not.
He will deliver his verdict on Tuesday 5 January.
Before leaving court, Judge McNally thanked everyone involved in the trial.
He added: "I want to wish you all a happy - and holy - Christmas."


A dog recently adopted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kaiya, bit two visitors, one a lawmaker, during a religious event.

The incident happened during a candle-lighting ceremony to mark the Jewish festival of Hannukah at Mr Netanyahu's residence.
MP Sharren Haskel and the husband of Tzipi Hotovely, the deputy foreign minister, were not seriously hurt.
Mr Netanyahu's son took the dog in from a rescue home earlier this year.
Prime Minister Netanyahu tweeted a picture of himself with the 10-year-old mixed breed in August.
"If you want a canine, find an adult dog to rescue. You won't regret it," he wrote.
Kaiya has met several high profile visitors including US Secretary of State John Kerry.


The sale by Cardiff City of captain David Marshall to Hull City has been described as "a joke" by former midfielder David Giles.

The Bluebirds could receive up to £5m for the Scotland goalkeeper.
But Giles says the 31-year-old is worth at least £8m, underlining Cardiff's malaise in the Championship.
"They are going to get £3.5m and they're selling him on the cheap. And that tells me where the club is going: nowhere," said Giles.
Marshall agreed personal terms with Hull after being omitted from Saturday's Championship defeat by Reading.
The 31-year-old has made more than 280 appearances for Cardiff since arriving from Norwich City for free in 2009.
Cardiff are 17th in the 24-strong division with one win, two draws and two defeats.
Marshall is widely regarded as their star player and Giles, who had two playing stints with the club lasting a combined total of six years, is unhappy at the player leaving.
"I think it's a joke. Personally I think David Marshall is worth £8m, probably more than that to any club," said Giles before Marshall's move was finalised.
"Football today, I hate it, all these stats - they keep going on with stats, but if you look at Marshall's stats, they would without a doubt be better than anyone in the Championship and be a lot better than goalkeepers in the Premier League and they've let him go.
"Probably if Hull win the Premier League they'll get £5m."
"They are going to get £3.5m and they're selling him on the cheap. And that tells me where the club is going: nowhere."
Giles agrees that Cardiff City need a proven goalscorer, but does not believe one will be signed.
"Without a doubt Cardiff need a striker and talking to fans, they're looking for someone to score 15-20 goals a season," he told Radio Wales Sport.
"Well that's not going to happen this year and unfortunately we're looking at a season where if they finish half way, they've done well.
"Is that going to bring your fans back? You'll always get your diehards going, but is that going to get enthusiastic people coming down to Cardiff City Stadium?
"It's a poor Cardiff City when they're watching second-rate football."


Legislators in Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo, have banned the production and sale of foie gras, a delicacy made from the fatty liver of force-fed ducks and geese.

City councillors said animals go through a great deal of suffering for the production of the pate.
Animal rights campaigners have hailed the move, but some of Sao Paulo's best-known chefs have voiced concern.
Foie gras, originally a French delicacy, is produced worldwide.
Several countries, including Britain, Germany, Italy and Argentina, have banned its production. But the sale of the pate is still allowed in most of them.
The Sao Paulo city council has set a fine of 5,000 reais (Â£1,000) for restaurants and bars that break the new law - which will take effect in 45 days.
"Foie gras is an appetiser for the wealthy," said the law's author, city councillor Laercio Benko.
"It does not benefit human health and to make it, the birds are submitted to a lot of suffering,'' said Mr Benko.
However Sao Paulo-based chef Alex Atala told the UOL news portal: "How can a city regulate what a person eats? Where will it all end?''


Major-winning partnership Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson were among some big names to miss the cut at the revamped New Orleans Classic team event.

After a level-par 72, six off the lead, in the foursomes on day one, the pair shot a six-under 66 in the fourballs but it was one too many for the cut.
World number three Jason Day and world number nine Rickie Fowler carded a 68 but missed the cut by two shots.
Sweden's Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith of Australia lead by one at 15 under.
The tournament returns to foursomes for the third round, with the halfway cut reducing the 80-team field to 42 for the weekend.
It is the first official team event on the PGA Tour since 1981.
Englishman Rose, the 2013 US Open champion, and Open champion Stenson of Sweden needed to birdie the final hole at TPC Louisiana but the Ryder Cup partners both found the water at the par five.
The partnership set a Ryder Cup record of 12 birdies in 16 holes at Gleneagles in 2014, but Stenson said of their showing in Louisiana: "You want to be in the hole with two chances as much as possible. At times we didn't live up to that. We left each other hanging on a few occasions."
England's Ian Poulter and Australia's former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy had eight birdies in their 66 and are six shots off the pace.
Andrew "Beef" Johnston made the cut on the number at seven under in partnership with American Kyle Reiffers, but Luke Donald, Greg Owen, Jamie Donaldson, Tyrrell Hatton and Russell Knox were other British players who failed to qualify.
Find out how to get into golf with our special guide.


Four members of an armed moped gang intercepted during the attempted robbery of a watch shop have been jailed.

The gang, armed with knives and an axe, targeted the luxury store in Piccadilly, west London on 3 August.
But police intercepted the gang at 11:25 BST following a tip-off to the Met's flying squad, Blackfriars Crown Court heard.
The gang caused more than Â£100,000 of damage to the shop.
Four Met officers were injured.
The court heard the men drove stolen mopeds dangerously, mounting pavements and going up one way streets on their way to the shop.
"Terrified" members of the public saw visible weapons sticking out from their clothing and called the police, the court was told.
All four men were wearing balaclavas and full faced motorbike helmets.
Sentencing, judge Sally Cahill QC said: "In my view this was a professionally-planned commercial robbery."
Charlie Kavanagh 26, from Islington, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 13-and-a-half years.
He will have to serve a minimum of six years and nine months before he can be considered for parole. He was also disqualified from driving for 10 years.
Kavanagh's life sentence took into consideration his 17 previous criminal convictions and the fact he drove his moped at a police officer, leaving him with potentially life-changing injuries.
Stephen Hopkins 30, of no fixed address, and Stephen Hopkins 29, from Islington, were each jailed for 14 years and six months.
Johnny Kyriacou, 25, from Islington, was sentenced to 10 years and six months.
All four men had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob at an earlier hearing.
Kavanagh also pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and Hopkins admitted an additional charge of unlawful wounding.
Det Con Mike Bunn, who was one of the officers hurt during the foiled robbery, told BBC London: "I feel the sentences were very fair considering the danger posed to the public and the injuries sustained by my colleagues."


The United States consortium which tried to buy Nottingham Forest is still keen to take over the club.

Forest owner Fawaz Al Hasawi said last week that the chance of a deal with the group led by John Jay Moores was over and he wants to remain in charge.
But Trevor Watkins, the lawyer who represents the prospective buyers, said the collapse of the deal was a mystery.
"Sometimes relationships break down and there is no way back, but sometimes there is," Watkins told BBC Sport.
"The fact somebody says they don't want to sell does not mean you fall out of love, throw your toys out of the pram and don't want to speak to somebody again."
Al Hasawi has claimed he has spent £122m since buying Forest in 2012, but has been widely criticised after the second collapsed takeover of the Championship club in six months.
Former Bournemouth chairman Watkins said the deal between the group, led by Moores and Charles Noell, and Al Hasawi seemed to be a matter of hours away before it fell through.
He said the discussions were "amicable" and "positive" and his clients were left bemused by the breakdown.
"We were just about there and it was all systems go," he added. "We honestly do not know what happened but something happened that knocked it off course.
"If we knew why it keeled over at the last minute we would have tried to put it right."
However, Watkins said the two sides had not fallen out and the US group had "fallen in love with the club and city".
"Forest is a big club, a big name and iconic," he said. "Who wouldn't want to be involved?  It's a club with a great history. There is huge frustration and sadness.
"They feel they have an opportunity to add value and build for the long term."
Forest supporters have become increasingly angry and disillusioned with the Al Hasawi reign, which has seen the club fail to pay bills on time, be placed under a transfer embargo and part company with seven managers.
Academy director Gary Brazil is in interim charge following the sacking of Philippe Montanier last month, but the club are still without a chief executive, and fans have staged protests at the City Ground in recent weeks.


Match of the Day host Gary Lineker and his Cardiff-born wife have filed for divorce.

The ex-England footballer, 55, and Danielle Bux, 36, have decided to end their six-year marriage and a decree nisi will be issued.
The ex-model and mother-of-one, from Ely, wed the presenter in Italy in 2009.
Lineker confirmed the news on Twitter on Wednesday.
He said: "Thank you all for your kind words. @DanielleBux and I had many wonderful years together.
"We remain very close and the greatest of friends."
Ms Bux tweeted she will "cherish" the years the pair had together and they remained "best" friends.
A spokesman for the couple also confirmed to The Sun: "Gary and Danielle have decided to end their marriage."
He added: "They remain the greatest of friends and wish each other every happiness."
The paper quoted a source as saying the break-up was "friendly" and the pair filled out forms on a UK government website together.
The online site costs around Â£400, meaning the couple saved tens of thousands of pounds in legal fees.
When the couple married in Ravello they had been dating for two years.
Lineker had previously been married to Michelle, mother of his four sons, for 20 years.
They divorced in 2006.


Police and prosecutors are to be given fresh guidance on consent in rape cases.

The advice will go beyond the idea of "no means no" to indentify when possible victims may have been unable to give consent.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said this will include situations where someone is drunk or has taken drugs.
New guidance will also assess if "a suspect held a position of power over the potential victim."
This aspect of the new guidance will take in account whether someone who claims to have been raped knew any potential suspects "as a teacher, an employer, a doctor or a fellow gang member".
If you've been sexually assaulted and want help or have any questions, visit BBC Advice: Rape
There'll also be clearer advice on complainants with mental health problems, learning difficulties and those who were asleep or unconscious at the time of the alleged attack.
New guidance also covers domestic violence situations and those where "the complainant may be financially or otherwise dependent on their alleged rapist".
The toolkit also advises officers and lawyers to ask how the suspect knew that the complainant had consented "with full capacity and freedom to do so".
Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said: "For too long society has blamed rape victims for confusing the issue of consent - by drinking or dressing provocatively for example - but it is not they who are confused, it is society itself and we must challenge that.
"Consent to sexual activity is not a grey area - in law it is clearly defined and must be given fully and freely.
"It is not a crime to drink, but it is a crime for a rapist to target someone who is no longer capable of consenting to sex though drink.
The current legal definition of rape is:
The definition of consent and the law surrounding consent:
This means a key point for the jury was whether the victim had capacity to make a choice - and whether the accused reasonably believed he or she had consented.
Mrs Saunders added: "We want police and prosecutors to make sure they ask in every case where consent is the issue - how did the suspect know the complainant was saying yes and doing so freely and knowingly?"
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said: "As report after report has shown, there is still far too much variation in the way that forces move a complaint of rape through the system.
"Reporting of sexual offences is up 22% in the latest statistics because of increased confidence in our service and recording but we have further to go."
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube


Kevin Pietersen hit 76 from 42 balls but could not steer Melbourne Stars to victory over Sydney Thunder in Australia's Big Bash Twenty20 league.

Stars were on course for a win with the ex-England batsman hitting five fours and six sixes as his side chased 178.
But Pietersen was dismissed by Clint McKay as Stars lost by one run.
Pietersen helped Dolphins to the final of the South Africa Ram Slam T20 event earlier this month but they ended up losing the game to Titans.


Britain's low carbon energy revolution is actually saving money for households, a report says.

Households make a net saving of £11 a month, according to analysis from the Committee on Climate Change.
It calculates that subsidies to wind and solar are adding £9 a month to the average bill, but that rules promoting energy efficiency save £20 a month.
The finding will be challenged by groups which say the UK spends too much on renewable energy.
But the committee, which advises the government, stands by its analysis, and forecasts a continuing trend of downward prices thanks to low carbon policy.
The trend is being driven by government and EU standards for gas boilers and household appliances like fridges and light bulbs. These bring down carbon emissions and bills at the same time.
It means households don't need to try specially hard to reduce energy usage - it just happens when they replace their old freezer.
The report says bills are about £115 lower in real terms since the Climate Change Act in 2008, having risen around £370 from 2004 to 2008 as international gas prices rose.
Gas and electricity use have been cut by 23% and 17% respectively, saving the average household £290 a year.
Many of the easy savings on highly inefficient devices have already been made, but the committee says it has been assured by manufacturers that more can be done.
The authors predict an annual bill reduction of £150 by 2030, driven by a mass switch to LED lights, and full take-up of more efficient condensing gas boilers.
This, they say, would more than compensate for another £100 a year rise from increased renewables deployment.
"What's interesting," said the committee chair Lord Deben, "is that people aren't having to strive to make these savings. They could save much more energy if they consciously set about it."
One huge area for improvement is home insulation. The committee says to meet its target to abolish fuel poverty, the government must double current investment.
Last week BBC News revealed that in order to meet targets to make all homes energy efficient, 25 million homes need to be refurbished by 2050 - that's 1.44 homes every minute, day and night.
A recent report from the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee said energy bills had been pushed up by "poorly designed government interventions in pursuit of decarbonisation".
It said energy security rather than decarbonisation should be the priority. "It's a very high price that is being paid [for renewables]," said Lord Hollick, the committee chair.
The climate committee said this analysis was unfair because it wrongly blamed renewables for rises in wholesale energy costs between 2004-2008.
It insists that from 2008, when renewables policy started to bite, household bills have been more or less stable.
Lord Deben said that, contrary to popular opinion, household bills in the UK were around average for Europe, although many households could still save £200-300 a year switching from standard variable tariffs to the lowest available tariffs.
But he agreed with the Lords committee that industry bills were too high, and urged ministers to examine whether the transmission networks or the wholesale electricity market are to blame.
The government welcomed the report and said new policies on insulating homes would emerge before long.
Claire Jakobsson from the manufacturers' organization EEF said: "While the Committee is right to say low-carbon policies may not be the only factor reducing industrial output in some sectors, we believe it is a significant one - and one where government can act, especially in respect of costs which our competitors don't face."
Iain Wright MP, Chair of the Commons Business and Energy Committee, said: "The government must be mindful of the burden that decarbonisation policies can place on businesses and ensure that they remain competitive.
"[But] the big energy companies are too quick to blame green policies from government for unjustifiable price increases. There are enormous opportunities in the UK moving to a low carbon economy."
Follow Roger on Twitter @rharrabin


A para-athlete who feared he would miss the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games after his custom-built wheelchair was stolen, has had it returned.

John Smith said he found it dumped outside his mother's home in Meopham, Kent, where he once lived.
The wheelchair was stolen from his van at nearby West Kingsdown on Tuesday night.
Mr Smith told the BBC it was "a bit strange" as the chair "appeared out of nowhere" on Friday afternoon.
Its steering bar had been damaged but he said he was confident it could be repaired in time for him to compete.
It is understood three people have been arrested over the break-in.
The para-athlete, who competes in the T54 classification, had feared his dreams of racing at the Games were over.
The chair is custom-built for him and there would not have been enough time to make a replacement.


It may not look as grand as Wayne Manor, but villagers hope Batman fans might be able to help them save a community building in the real Gotham.

The building in the Nottinghamshire village - historically connected to the fictional Gotham City - closed amid financial problems and is up for sale.
Campaigners are raising money to buy it and hope Batman fans will aid them.
"We all need a superhero around occasionally, don't we?," said John Anderson, who is leading fundraising.
"We are likely to be up against the big bidders, but this is worth fighting for," continued Mr Anderson, chairman of the Gotham & District Community Venture committee.
"It would be fantastic to hear from any American friends of Gotham who might also invest in this exciting venture."
Updates on this story and more from Nottinghamshire.
Read more about the historical connection between the village of Gotham and Batman.
The building was built for the Royal British Legion in 1966, but closed in January.
Rushcliffe Borough Council designated the site as an Asset of Community Value in July, allowing villagers extra time to find money for their venture.
They have already attracted more than Â£100,000 in pledges from residents, but are now looking for investment from beyond Gotham.
"It went on the market for Â£210,000 but we think we need to raise a bit more than that because it's a popular site to buy," said Mr Anderson.
Their plan, dubbed Destination Gotham, would see the creation of an expanded shop on the site, as well as a community-run cafÃ© and visitor hub where the village archives can be stored and displayed.
Steve Smith, from the Gotham Geeks Podcast, thinks the appeal could work.
"I think that comic fans take their community seriously and I think if they have the opportunity to help the town that gave such an important piece of the Batman universe its name, especially with all the press about Bill Finger lately, they'd absolutely be willing to help," he said.
"The power of social media is incredible and if fans heard about something like this, they'd be willing to help out."


In our series of letters from African journalists, Ghanaian writer Elizabeth Ohene - a former government minister and member of the opposition - asks why some leaders refuse to leave office.

President Barack Obama managed, during his recent African Union speech, to use almost 400 words to tell us that it is a good thing to have limits on presidential terms.
The truth is many people on this continent do know this, despite President Pierre Nkurunziza's recent re-election in Burundi.
African countries started independent and constitutional life with term limits clearly spelled out.
But whenever they became inconvenient, parliaments simply amended the rules and the constitutions to allow third or fourth terms or declared Presidents for Life.
Often, these amendments came with the enthusiastic support of academics, local and foreign, who found theories to support whatever changes the leader wanted.
The theories ranged from African Socialism to Nkrumahism - the ideology based on the philosophy of Ghana's first President, Kwame Nkrumah.
At the heart of it all was the idea that a particular leader was special and without him, the country would disintegrate.
Or, as Louis XV, who reigned France for almost 60 years, reportedly said "apres lui, le deluge" (after me, the flood).
This was said about all the first presidents and even if they didn't start like this, they came to believe it themselves.
The soldiers who staged the coups and ruled much of Africa in the 70s and 80s said it about themselves and sycophantic followers and academics for hire endorsed them.
The freedom fighters who marched into the capitals and overthrew colonial powers or indigenous autocrats said so about themselves and proceeded to turn into worse dictators before our very eyes.
Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire used to say it and so did Brother Muammar Gaddafi of Libya.
Any criticism about having been in power for too long was answered with: They held their countries together.
You had to wonder if it was possible that Mobutu's Zaire could possibly get any worse than it was under his corrupt rule.
In the event, after he was ousted from power, we looked back with nostalgia.
Much better to have the obscene opulence of Gbadolite, the city in the middle of nowhere, than the disaster that has been the Democratic Republic of Congo that followed the ousting of Mobutu.
Likewise in Libya, better to have Muammar Gaddafi's Green Book of political pronouncements.
Much better to have him crowned the King of Kings of Africa by traditional leaders and let him fund the African Union.
And better surely to put up with his air-conditioned tents and long rambling speeches at the United Nations than the chaos that is today's Libya after he was overthrown.
And if Obama had looked up the files just a few years back he would have found another US President, Bill Clinton, saying during his time that there was a "new Africa".
Two leaders who were part of the new Africa of the Clinton years are now refusing to leave office in the Obama years.
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni used to be openly contemptuous of African leaders who cling to office.
Next year, some 30 years after he marched into Kampala to chase out Milton Obote, he is proposing to stand for another term as president.
Next door, an enthusiastic parliament has opened the path for Paul Kagame to stand for another term as president of Rwanda in case the great successes he has achieved are jeopardized by someone else taking his place.
The West African leaders under the auspices of the regional body Ecowas (the Economic Community of West African States), tried to make a two-term limit for presidents binding on their members.
They retreated quietly once Togo and The Gambia protested.
I am told the unspoken answer these days to presidents not wanting to leave office in Africa is: "DRC and Libya, or Mobutu and Gaddafi".
More from Elizabeth Ohene:
Our presidents are addicted to titles
Britain's speedy high-drama elections seen through Ghanaian eyes
Taking advantage of a crisis
Tolerating fufu made in a microwave


Drivers filmed performing "ridiculous" U-turns on the M1 will not be prosecuted, police have said.

CCTV footage was released showing a succession of vehicles, including a coach, making the manoeuvres near Crick, Northamptonshire in July.
Police were unable to trace the vehicles but said the footage had highlighted "selfish" driving.
Road safety charity Brake said the drivers "seemed to have got away" with their "risky behaviour".
More on this story and others from Northamptonshire
Motorists drove the wrong way down a slip road to get off the M1, near Crick, to avoid a queue further ahead caused by a serious accident at Junction 19.
A coach driver was spoken to by police following the incident and resigned.
Brake spokesman Dave Nichols said the "selfish drivers" put their lives and other people's at risk.
"They seemed to have got away with their risky behaviour, despite it being caught on film," he said.
PC Dave Lee, of Northamptonshire Police Safer Roads Team, said in July the drivers had been "behaving ridiculously" and "risking lives".
After a Freedom of Information Act request by the BBC revealed no drivers would be prosecuted, Mr Lee said: "Although the CCTV footage clearly shows the motorists committing offences, it is not clear enough to read the number plates of most of the vehicles involved and so we have been unable to trace the owners and take the action we would like to.
"We released the footage to show how some motorists do put themselves and others in danger by acting selfishly and to remind people that the rules of the road are there for a reason, to keep all road users as safe as possible."
Wigton-based coach company Reays confirmed their driver who performed an illegal U-turn had resigned, but did not want to comment further.


RMT union members working for Caledonian MacBrayne and Argyll Ferries are to hold a second strike on 10 July.

It follows three days of industrial action by CalMac staff last week which culminated in a 24-hour strike.
The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) has sent out strike ballot papers to about 100 of its members who work for CalMac.
CalMac managing director Martin Dorchester said he was "extremely disappointed" by the RMT's decision.
The Scottish government said it was "very disappointing" that the RMT felt the need to call further strike action on one of the busiest weekends of the summer for ferry services.
Like CalMac, Argyll Ferries is owned by the state-owned David MacBrayne Group.
Talks between CalMac and the RMT are due to be held on Monday.
Talks planned for earlier this week were postponed by the ferry operator due to "unforeseen circumstances".
RMT members at Argyll Ferries did not take part in last week's industrial action, but the union said the staff was increasingly concerned about job security.
CalMac's contract to run the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services comes to an end next year.
The Scottish government has put the contract out to tender, in line with European rules.
The RMT union has concerns that, regardless of who wins, the new contract will see changes in employees' current terms and conditions.
A reduction in staff numbers and pensions are key areas of concern.
The RMT has asked that the government guarantee in the new contract that compulsory redundancies do not happen and existing terms and conditions are continued.
Read more.....
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "Despite the most strenuous efforts to negotiate a settlement on CalMac we are still not getting the clear assurances that we seek that will defend the safety-critical jobs and working conditions that go hand in hand with delivering safe and efficient lifeline ferry services to the communities that we serve.
"It is a cold hard fact that privatisation is all about a race to the bottom in order to maximise profits and our members will not sit back while they are caught in the crossfire of the tendering process."
He added: "Our members on Argyll Ferries now find themselves staring down the barrel of exactly those same kind of attacks on jobs and working conditions and have delivered a massive and rock-solid mandate for action."
Mr Dorchester said: "We are extremely disappointed that the RMT has chosen to continue with strike action.
"The best way to protect the existing terms and conditions of its members is to work with us to ensure we win the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service (CHFS) contract and this action is damaging.
"We are anxious to avoid any more disruption which is not in the best interests of our employees and the communities we serve and would urge all our colleagues to turn out for work."
Two-thirds of state-owned CalMac's ferry services were cancelled last Friday during the 24-hour strike by RMT members, who make up about half of the company's workforce.
The dispute has been triggered by unions' concerns about the new contract to run the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services.
CalMac's current deal to operate the network comes to an end next year.
The Scottish government has put the contract out to tender, in line with European rules.
The unions have raised concerns that, regardless of who wins, the new contract will see changes in employees' current terms and conditions.
A reduction in staff numbers and pensions are key areas of concern.
The unions have asked that the government guarantee in the new contract that compulsory redundancies do not happen and existing terms and conditions are continued.
A Scottish government spokesman said: "We have been continuing to talk with the RMT Union, so it is very disappointing that they feel the need to call further strike action on one of the busiest weekends of the summer for our ferry services.
"Discussions between Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure Keith Brown and RMT representatives took place in London earlier this week and both parties committed to further dialogue."
The spokesman added: "To comply with EU procurement law, Scottish ministers cannot compel bidders to guarantee no compulsory redundancies.
"Bidders can make a voluntary commitment through tendering processes, as was the case in the recent ScotRail franchise.
"We would seek to achieve a similar outcome in the next CHFS contract, regardless of the outcome of the tendering process, and will pursue this objective vigorously.
"This position has been made very clear to the RMT union in recent talks."


Police dusting for crime scene fingerprints rarely encounter so much cheek.

Officers investigated a robbery at a community hall in Wodonga, in south-east Australia, at the weekend.
Instead of fingerprints, police found the offenders had left a bare bottom mark on a glass door.
Sergeant Shane Martin, from Victoria Police, told The Age newspaper he had never seen anything like it.
"They're having a joke, or they're actually trying to lean up against the door to break in, but I don't know why they'd do it pantsless," he said.
The intruders set off a fire extinguisher before stealing a television.
Police are looking for three people spotted in a black car near the scene.
Wodonga is a town about 300km (180 miles) north-east of Melbourne.


The number of motorists arrested for drink-driving the "morning after" has risen, police figures suggest.

Arrests between 06:00 and 08:00 rose from 350 in 2011 to 363 in 2012 - an increase of 4%, the data shows.
The figures from 22 of England and Wales' 45 police forces were obtained by a Freedom of Information Act and published by car insurers LV.
A separate survey by LV showed 46% of drivers did not realise how long it took for alcohol to leave the body.
One in five drivers surveyed thought they were "ok" to drive the morning after they had been drinking.
According to LV, "morning-after" drink-drivers are on average five hours away from being sober enough to drive when they get behind the wheel.
In the survey of 1,688 drivers:
It takes about an hour for the body to break down one unit of alcohol, NHS guidelines state. However this can vary depending on factors such as weight, age and sex.
With drink-driving arrests due to peak across the UK in the run up to Christmas, LV car insurance managing director John O'Roarke said: "It's easy to assume that after a good night's sleep you will be sober enough to drive the next day but, depending on how many units you've had, you may not be fit to drive.
"The key to enjoying the festive season is to plan ahead and don't drive if you are not within the legal alcohol limits."
The police data showed the most drunk person arrested so far this year was a motorist stopped by Bedfordshire police who was eight times over the limit.
It also showed that Thames Valley police made the highest number of arrests - 4,783 - for drink-driving between 2011 and 2012.
According to NHS figures, 230 people were killed as a result of drink-driving in 2011.
People convicted of drink-driving can be fined up to Â£5,000, be banned from driving for at least a year and even be given a prison sentence.


Police are appealing for information on a prisoner who is missing following a period of home release.

Simon Brown, 45, was reported missing at 17:00 yesterday after he failed to return to HMP Castle Huntly near Dundee.
He is described as being 5ft 11in tall, bald, of slight build and has brown eyes. He walks with a stoop and a limp.
Brown was last seen in the King Street area of Dundee wearing a black jacket and trousers and a white T-shirt.
He was also carrying a black and grey holdall with a white Puma emblem.
Police Scotland said Brown should not be approached and have urged the public to contact them with any information.


The size of the Welsh Assembly and how it is elected looks set to be considered by a panel of experts, under plans from a group of senior AMs.

The assembly commission - which runs the institution and is made up of AMs from all assembly parties - has already backed the case for more members.
It is now likely to appoint a body to examine how best to make the change.
Prof Laura McAllister of the Wales Governance Centre has been suggested as a possible chair of the panel.
Under the Wales Bill - which is passing through Parliament - the assembly will have responsibility for its own electoral arrangements, including how AMs are elected and how many of them there are.
Minutes of a meeting of the assembly commission in December said it wanted to appoint an "expert panel on electoral reform" of "diverse, appropriately experienced individuals", suggesting Prof McAllister as a suitable chair.
There have been longstanding calls from some political parties for an increase in the current total of 60 members to deal with the assembly's workload, particularly as new powers over taxation and other issues are devolved.
However Rachel Banner, who led the 2011 referendum campaign against increased law-making powers for the assembly, has said any increase in AMs should be put to a public vote.
The expert panel is likely to be set up if and when a motion on whether AMs back the finalised Wales Bill is passed in the assembly, according to an assembly source.
The vote - which is known as a legislative consent motion - is expected to be tabled in January.
An earlier academic report said there would need to be changes to the electoral system if the number of AMs was to be increased.


Hundreds of South Koreans are travelling to the North for a rare reunion with family members whom they were separated from by the Korean War.

The reunion, comprising a series of meetings over a week, will be held in a Mount Kumgang resort, near the border.
Thousands of families have been separated with little or no contact since the war ended in 1953.
Reunions have been held sporadically since 1988 and depend on the state of relations between the two countries.
The last reunion was held in February 2014.
This year's meeting comes after an agreement in August that de-escalated tensions sparked by a border explosion that injured South Korean soldiers.
The meetings, organised by the Red Cross, are hugely popular with tens of thousands signing up, but few on each side get chosen and they tend to be elderly.
It is hard to imagine a more bitter-sweet event. The reunion of Korean families who have not seen each other for six decades will be a tumultuous mix of emotions.
There will probably be both tears and laughter as old people divided from those they have not seen for most of their lifetimes get a brief and final meeting.
More than 65,000 South Koreans were eligible for reunions with relatives in the North but only 100 were chosen. Of those hundred, 10 have since died or become too ill to travel.
Read more: The human drama of Korean family reunions
In South Korea participants are picked at random by a computer which takes into account their age and family background.
They also have to sit for interviews and take medical examinations to determine if they are fit to travel.
The first group of about 400 South Koreans, comprising of chosen participants and their accompanying family members, are heading for the first round of meetings running from Tuesday to Thursday, reported Yonhap news agency.
Another 250 will attend the second round of meetings from Saturday to next Monday. Each round comprises of six two-hour sessions.
Many of those attending from South Korea are bringing gifts for their North Korean relatives such as clothes, food, toothpaste, and cash.


"I will be in touch soon," was how EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton described her next contact with Iran after talks in Almaty ended without even an agreement to meet again.

But can it be soon enough to ease growing anxiety over Iran's nuclear programme and stave off more crippling sanctions?
"Another failed diplomatic foray is likely to prolong the standoff and increase the price each side has to pay for a compromise," commented Ali Vaez, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG), who was in Almaty.
The only common ground between Iran and six world powers seemed to be recognition of how far they still have to go to negotiate a way out of this crisis.
Time is not on their side. US Secretary of State John Kerry, now visiting the region, warned talks cannot last forever.
"There are four lanes, each with a different clock," commented another long-time observer of these tortuous talks.
He pointed to the speed of Iran's nuclear work, Israeli military threats, and deepening sanctions, alongside the negotiations.
On the negotiating track, the lane is still open.
"We're hopeful that P5+1 and Iran will meet again to resume our dialogue," said a senior US official in Almaty, referring to the five permanent members of the Security Council, plus Germany, tasked with the nuclear file.
The official didn't rule out another round before Iran's presidential election in June.
And it's also clear that, in this latest round, there was more talking in the talks than ever before.
"My colleagues, some of whom have been doing this for a decade, had never seen anything quite like it," remarked a senior American official. "Rather than stilted and overly formal exchanges we had an intensive dialogue on key issues."
But what world powers didn't get was what they say they need to make any progress: a concrete, comprehensive Iranian response to their "fair and balanced" package first put on the table in Almaty in February.
It puts the onus on Iran to take the first confidence-building step. That's reported to include a six month suspension of the 20% uranium enrichment programme regarded as dangerous. Incentives include modest relief from sanctions.
But Iran's chief negotiator, Saeed Jalili, insisted: "Confidence building is a two-way street."
Sources say Iran is ready to stop 20% enrichment but only in return for a full lifting of sanctions. That's a step the international community won't take.
Conversations with Iranian officials also underscore their demand for a clearer sense of the "end game".
What will be the final shape of Iran's nuclear programme and the scale of sanctions if it halts some of its most sensitive nuclear work?
Essential for Iran is recognition of what it regards as its "inalienable right" to enrich uranium, enshrined under the Nuclear Non Proliferation (NPT) treaty.
Western diplomats disagree with Iran's interpretation. They also point out that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would have to certify that Iran's nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, which it has so far been unable to do.
On both sides, there is still too little trust and too much inflexibility.
"The structure of the P5+1 deal makes a deal almost impossible," commented one informed observer in Almaty who said Iran could not work with the proposed sequence of steps.
One Western diplomat admitted as much to me.
"Iran's delegation can't go home and say it is a good offer," said the diplomat.
"Dr Jalili may want a deal but it's Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who calls the shots," he remarked with frustration, describing negotiations as "political theatre".
In this play, both sides read from a different script.
Playing to a domestic audience, Dr Jalili said the P5+1 had to return to their respective capitals to evaluate "Iran's proposed plan", implying the ball was now in the other court.
A senior US official said "All of us need to evaluate what the next steps should be in this process and think through how we can move more effectively to get there."
Some observers hold out hope that Iran may come forward with new ideas after its critical elections are over.
But no matter how diligent diplomats are, the clocks are also ticking on the other lanes.
"The time has come," said a statement from Israel's Minister of Strategic Affairs, Yuval Steinitz, "for the world to take a more assertive stand and make it unequivocally clear to the Iranians that the negotiations games have run their course."
Both Western and Israeli sources say Israel is holding fire, at the moment, aside from its verbal barrage.
And one Western official said Tehran was, for now, being "very careful" in its nuclear programme.  It recently confirmed it had resumed the conversion of medium enriched uranium into oxide fuel to slow down growth of its stockpile.
On the sanctions front, more penalties are pending.
"The US president can't push back sanctions when diplomacy is going nowhere," emphasised Ali Vaez of the ICG.
But world powers, bitterly opposed on key crises like Syria, are still finding enough common ground when it comes to Iran.
Russia's chief negotiator, Sergei Ryabkov, spoke of being "still on the threshold" in remarks to the Interfax news agency.
"There may not have been a breakthrough but there was also no breakdown," was how a senior US official summed it up.
But without a break in the stubborn deadlock, pressure will mount, surely and steadily, on all fronts.


Big Ben has fallen silent for major repair work expected to last until 2021.

The midday bongs were the last regular chimes from the famous bell until the repairs to its tower are complete.
It will still be used for special occasions, including New Year's Eve and Remembrance Sunday.
There were cheers and applause from a crowd of tourists and onlookers on the green opposite as the final chime rang out.
The decision to switch it off to protect workers' hearing has sparked a debate about the length of time it will be silent, with MPs not being told it would be four years, the longest period in its history.
Prime Minister Theresa May has said "it can't be right" that the famous bongs will not be heard again until 2021 and has asked for the proposals to be reviewed.
The House of Commons has said it will look again at the length of time Big Ben will be silenced after "concerns" were raised.
The 13.7-tonne Great Bell has sounded on the hour for 157 years and last fell silent in 2007. The Great Clock it forms part of is to be dismantled and repaired.
Almost as one, the crowd that had gathered in Parliament Square and on the pavement outside the Palace of Westminster pointed their mobile phones up towards the famous clock.
The passing traffic paused, and as the last of Big Ben's bongs sounded - at least until November - cheers broke out.
Most of the people who had taken up Parliament's suggestion to witness the last bells spoke of their sadness at the switch-off, and plenty, like Brian Mignot from Tasmania, questioned the four-year timescale.
Some, like engineer Neil Tomlinson from Derbyshire, took a pragmatic approach.
"It's got to be repaired, so they're repairing it," he said, bemused at the fuss the plans have caused.
Others just said they wanted to be there.
"It's a momentous occasion", said one of the onlookers, Annette Nicholson, from South East London.
"I thought the crowd would be even bigger."
Mark Tan, who had just arrived in the UK on holiday from Singapore, said: "It's a historic moment but it's good so that it will continue for another 100 years".
Inside the Parliamentary estate, there was more clapping and cheering as noon was struck.
Labour MP Stephen Pound - who had hoped to be joined by "like-minded traditionalists" to witness the last bongs, said it was a "desperately sad" moment and that the  decision showed a "real poverty of imagination".
Conservative Peter Bone said MPs had not been told the length of the switch off, adding that the timescale "doesn't make any sense".
"Maybe Big Ben will be silenced for a little while, but perhaps just until the end of this year, and then back bonging away from the New Year," he said.
But the SNP's Pete Wishart told them to "get a grip" over their "bizarre obsession" with the issue.
"The fact that even the prime minister is wasting time on this non-issue shows just how out of touch the Westminster bubble is, when MPs should be working for their constituents on the issues that really matter," he added.
Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake, a member of the House of Commons Commission, said one concession to critics could be allowing Big Ben to chime on special occasions.
But he said it was "too early to say" whether it would be used on the day the UK leaves the EU in March 2019, as demanded by some Eurosceptic Conservative MPs.
He added: "I understand why people would get excited about Big Ben and the Elizabeth Tower and the clock because they are so symbolic and people come from all over the world to have their photographs taken in front of it, and that's why we need to ensure that these works happen to ensure that this symbol of our Parliament, our nation, is available for people to relish for years to come."
Straight after Big Ben had finished at midday, nearby Westminster Abbey rang its chimes "to say farewell".
During the repair work, the roof of the Elizabeth Tower will be stripped off and restored, the bell frame repaired, leaks into the clock room stemmed and a lift installed.
A brick enclosure in the tower will also be replaced with glass to allow Big Ben to be viewed by people walking up the staircase.
The "drab" colour scheme on the Great Clock will also be changed to give it a more "vibrant" look, officials have said.
The Ayrton Light, which shines when the Commons and Lords are sitting, will be "off for some time" but the timescale will not be finalised until later this year.


Iraq's 2005 Constitution recognises an autonomous Kurdistan region in the north of the country, run by the Kurdistan Regional Government.

This was the outcome of decades of political and military efforts to secure self-rule by the Kurdish minority, who are estimated to number more than 6 million and make up between 17% and 20% of the population of Iraq.
Kurds, who number 30-40 million in total, live in a compact area that reaches from Syria in the west to Iran in the east and Iraq in the south, north through Turkey, and into the states of the former Soviet Caucasus.
Only in Iraq have they managed to set up a stable government of their own in recent times, albeit within a federal state.
However, the increase of sectarian tensions within Iraq as a whole from 2013 onwards, culminating in a campaign of violence launched by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq, meant that by 2014 the unity of Iraq was under severe threat.
In July 2014, Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani announced that his government planned to hold a referendum on independence later in the year, given that Iraq was already "effectively partitioned". The announcement triggered alarm among Iraq's neighbours, who feared that it could set a precedent for their own restive Kurdish minorities.
But a change of leadership in the Iraqi government was followed by improved relations with Iraqi Kurdistan. The two sides agreed to work together to defeat the common enemy of Islamic State and plans for an independence referendum were put on hold.
The Kurds of Iraq came under British colonial rule after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. Frustrated in their hopes for independence, Kurdish leaders launched a series of rebellions against British and subsequent Iraqi rule.
These were put down ruthlessly, most notoriously in the late 1980s when Saddam Hussein attacked the Kurds with massed armed forces in the 'Anfal' campaign.
This involved the deliberate targeting of civilians with chemical weapons, most notoriously in the town of Halabja in 1988.
Various Iraqi governments promised autonomy to the Kurds after the 1958 revolution, but none came to fruition until the anti-Saddam international coalition established a partial no-fly zone in northern Iraq in 1991 after the first Gulf War.
This allowed Kurdish leaders and their Peshmerga armed forces to consolidate their hold on the north after Iraqi forces withdrew, and provided the basis for the 2005 constitutional settlement.
The immediate tasks facing the Kurdish government were great, and included rebuilding infrastructure, creating an administration and absorbing hundreds of thousands of displaced people after years of war and destruction.
Overall its efforts exceeded all expectations. Iraqi Kurdistan largely escaped the privations of the last years of Saddam's rule and the chaos that followed his ouster in 2003, and built a parliamentary democracy with a growing economy.
Major problems remain, nonetheless. The landlocked Kurdistan Region is surrounded by countries unsympathetic to Kurdish aspirations, like Turkey and Iran, and by states approaching internal collapse - Syria and the rest of Iraq.
It is also in dispute with the Iraqi government over several territories, in particular the historic city of Kirkuk. No agreement has been reached over Kirkuk, but in the summer of 2014, when the city was in danger of falling to the hard-line Sunni Islamists of ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), Kurdish Peshmerga forces pre-empted this by seizing Kirkuk themselves.
Tension between the main political parties - the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party - erupted into a civil war that almost destroyed the autonomous government in 1994-97, and some differences remain.


Organisers of the Isle of Wight Festival have dropped a request to waive the fee for hiring the venue, the council has said.

An island council report had said there was a "real risk" that unless promoters Solo reduce costs or increase ticket sales the event may be cancelled.
But, the authority said after "incorrect media inferences" Solo had withdrawn the request.
Solo said its priority had been to keep ticket prices down.
The promoters currently pay £55,000 a year for the hire of Seaclose Park in Newport.
The council report, which had been due to be discussed on Thursday, said the costs of staging the festival are increasing and Solo faced either reducing its running costs or raising ticket prices.
"If the council decides not to vary or waive the annual payment for the use of Seaclose Park there is a risk that Solo may decide it is unable to stage the Isle of Wight Festival in 2017" it said.
The council had proposed cutting the hire fee for Seaclose Park by £42,000, with Solo taking on responsibilities such as traffic management at Halberry Lane estate and additional public toilets.
A council statement released on Monday said Solo had withdrawn the request and it would now work with the council to look at alternative ways to reduce the costs of the festival.
Solo's John Giddings said he "hoped" the festival had a future.
"It depends on a number of factors being in place, but that is always the case," he said.
"The priority is keeping tickets down to a reasonable price and I don't intend cutting the quality of the show. I'm not going to debate money in the public domain."
The Isle of Wight Festival, re-established in 2002, is thought to generate about £10m a year for the local economy, the council said.


Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has hit back after David Cameron accused him of a "Britain-hating ideology".

His spokesman said it was "a sure sign" the PM was "rattled" by Labour.
In his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, the prime minister launched his most outspoken attack on Mr Corbyn to date.
"We cannot let that man inflict his security-threatening, terrorist-sympathising, Britain-hating ideology on the country we love," the PM said.
The speech is being seen as an attempt to reclaim the centre ground from Labour after it elected left-wing MP Mr Corbyn as its leader.
He referred to the Labour Party 14 times and devoted a whole section of speech to Mr Corbyn, who has called for a "kinder politics" free of personal attacks.
The PM attacked comments his opposite number made in 2011 about the death of Osama Bin Laden, when he said it was a "tragedy" the al-Qaeda chief was killed rather than being put on trial.
Mr Corbyn had gone on to describe the attack on the World Trade Centre, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the death of Bin Laden as tragedies, arguing "the solution has got to be law not war".
Mr Cameron also said he was "angry" at the "self righteous" way Labour made its arguments and said the Tories were "keeping our head as Labour lose theirs".
In response, a spokesman for Mr Corbyn - who travelled to Manchester during the Conservative conference to address a protest rally - said: "The fact that David Cameron used his speech to make personal attacks on Jeremy Corbyn are a sure sign that he is rattled by the re-energisation of the Labour Party.
"With cuts to tax credits and a continued failure on housing, his claim that the Conservatives are the party of working people is being exposed."


The first new railway station to be built in West Yorkshire in 10 years is to open to passengers next month.

Apperley Bridge, between Leeds and Bradford, will start running on Sunday 13 December, subject to final approval by the Office of Rail and Road.
The original station was shut down 50 years ago and its replacement has cost about Â£8m to complete.
Two trains between Leeds and Bradford Forster Square or Skipton will run per hour Monday to Saturday.
Councillor Val Slater, Bradford Council deputy leader, said the station would make a "vital contribution to the economy of the region and improvements to the environment".
It is one of three new stations in the region with stations in Kirkstall Forge and Low Moor set to open next year.


People who work with cleaning products risk developing asthma, believe UK experts who have explored the link.

Their study of more than 7,000 people suggests exposure to bleach and other chemicals is a factor in one in six cases of adult-onset asthma among British people in their mid-50s .
The study, in Thorax, identified 18 high-risk jobs - four of which involved cleaning.
Top of the list were farmers, followed by aircraft mechanics and typesetters.
General cleaners, office cleaners, domestic helpers and care workers all featured on the list.
So too did hairdressers and laundry workers.
Experts say a person's working environment is to blame rather than their occupation per se.
Hundreds of occupational agents have been linked to asthma. This includes flour and grain as well as detergents.
Fine particles can be inhaled into the airways and cause irritation.
Lead researcher Dr Rebecca Ghosh said cleaning products were starting to be recognised as a potential cause of asthma.
She said there were specific Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) guidelines relating to cleaning products.
Employers are expected to control exposures to hazardous substances and report any cases of occupational asthma.
"Occupational asthma is widely under-recognised by employers, employees and healthcare professionals. Raising awareness that this is an almost entirely preventable disease would be a major step in reducing its incidence," Dr Ghosh said.
Malayka Rahman, of Asthma UK, said: "We advise anyone who works in the industries highlighted in this study and who have experienced breathing problems to discuss this with their GP, and we urge healthcare professionals to make sure they consider possible occupational causes in adult-onset asthma and tailor their advice to people with asthma accordingly."


Sepp Blatter has been urged to stick by his decision to quit as president of world football's governing body, Fifa.

Blatter announced on 2 June that he would step down at an extraordinary congress between December and March.
However, on Thursday the 79-year-old said he had not resigned and was thought to be considering re-election.
"The times of flirting with the power are definitely gone," said Domenico Scala, the independent chairman of Fifa's audit and compliance committee.
"I call on all concerned - including Mr Blatter - to endorse in the interest of the reforms unequivocally the announced changing of the guard at the top of Fifa."
Two criminal investigations into alleged Fifa corruption began in the week that Blatter was elected for a fifth term, with seven Fifa officials arrested on charges of receiving bribes.
Four days after his re-election, Blatter - who is reportedly under investigation in the United States - said: "While I have a mandate from the membership of Fifa, I do not feel that I have a mandate from the entire world of football.
"Therefore, I have decided to lay down my mandate at an extraordinary elective congress. I will continue to exercise my functions as Fifa president until that election."
However, Blatter did not use the words 'resign' or 'resignation'. He did add, however, that the election would be for his "successor" and said: "I shall not be a candidate."


Championship side Blackburn have signed Sunderland midfielder Jordi Gomez on loan until the end of the season.

The 30-year-old Spaniard has made six appearances for the Black Cats this season but is yet to feature in 2016.
Gomez joined Sunderland in 2014 after his Wigan contract expired and has also played for Espanyol and Swansea.
Rovers have also announced that midfielder Sacha Petshi has signed for French side US Creteil-Lusitanos on a free transfer.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Officers from Police Scotland have started an investigation into apparent financial irregularities at Edinburgh University.

The university said staff are assisting the police in every possible way in looking at a "support department".
An internal inquiry has also been ordered by the university.
Police Scotland confirmed the investigation is under way, and that it involves a former employee of the university.
A statement from the university said: "The University of Edinburgh alerted the police to an issue relating to potential financial irregularities within a support department.
"This is now the subject of an internal inquiry at the University and a Police Scotland investigation.
"The university will be assisting the police in every way possible with their inquiries. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."
A Police Scotland spokesman said: "We have received a complaint regarding concerns over the management of finances at Edinburgh University by a former employee.
"The Economic Crime Unit has a positive line of inquiry and while our investigation is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time."


Virgin Atlantic has set out details of its plans to compete with British Airways on Heathrow links with Scotland.

It is to fly six round trips between the London airport and Edinburgh, with three round trips linking it with Aberdeen.
The airline says 150 people will be employed as a result of the move.
Virgin Atlantic will take over landing slots from BMI, after it was bought by British Airways owner, IAG.
From 31 March 2013, the planes are to be operated by Aer Lingus, but will be in Virgin Atlantic livery.
Scheduling is intended to appeal to business travellers wishing to spend a day working in either capital city, with departures from 06.40, as well as linking to international flights in to and out of Heathrow.
Having already committed to fly Heathrow to Manchester, this is the start of short-haul flights for Virgin Atlantic.
It has seen the opportunity to compete with its long-time British Airways rival, after regulators required it to give up slots to ensure competition is retained on Heathrow's links to Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
As BMI had given up its Glasgow-Heathrow route, regulators did not insist on competition on that route. However, an assessment by the European Commission found there has been a significant increase in British Airways fares on the Glasgow route since BMI withdrew early in 2011.
Steve Ridgeway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said British Airways' monopoly on the Heathrow links is causing "serious consumer harm" which his company intends to challenge.
"Virgin Atlantic will offer millions of passengers in Scotland and Manchester connections around the world through our and our partners' long-haul network, with the additional benefit of providing direct services to and from London Heathrow," he said.
"This is a robust business model that will protect competition to and from Heathrow for the long-term."
Scotland's Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, welcomed the Virgin Atlantic plans, adding: "We are still concerned about the absence of competition on the Glasgow-Heathrow route, and will continue to promote its re-introduction, as well as our desire for better direct international connectivity.
"We also reiterate once again our calls for Air Passenger Duty to be devolved as quickly as possible to provide the means to incentivise new direct international services from Scotland."
Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said: "These services operating from Edinburgh and Aberdeen will provide direct links to and from London Heathrow, as well seamlessly linking into Virgin's long-haul network creating new links between Scotland and the rest of the world.
"Together, this will only benefit Scotland's business and leisure travelers."


A severed human foot found in a park in Bath earlier this year was probably an anatomical specimen used in teaching, police have said.

The left foot found by dog-walkers on top of bramble bushes in Weston Park East on 19 February prompted much speculation about its origins.
Police said they were now satisfied no crime had been committed, but they are keen to find out how it got there.
They said they would follow up any new information they receive.
Initial tests proved the foot was human, but subsequent forensic examination found very little DNA.
A Home Office pathologist told BBC News the item's genetic material appeared to have been "killed by something" which made further identification very difficult.
Avon and Somerset Police have spent three months consulting a number of scientific experts.
One of them, Dr Heather Bonney, a forensic anthropologist at the Natural History Museum in London, told BBC News she believed the foot had probably been "fixed" or preserved with chemicals, which could explain the lack of DNA.
Dr Bonney explained that the appearance of the foot was "very unusual" because it did not look like it had recently been severed from a body.
She said the state of the bones suggested the foot came from an adult, but there was no way of knowing the sex, age or ancestry.
She added there was no evidence of any injury or disease and the item was "entirely consistent with being either a medical, anatomical or museum specimen."
Other experts agreed, including Dr John Troyer who runs the Centre for Death and Society at Bath University.
He said the foot may have come from a private collection and the owner may not have known how to dispose of it properly.
Det Insp Paul Catton from Avon and Somerset Police said he accepted the consensus of scientific opinion and was now "satisfied" that no crime had been committed.
He said the foot was no longer thought to be linked to any recent missing persons cases, but he still wanted to hear from any "training establishments" in the Bath area which may have stored anatomical specimens in the past.
"The public really want answers and I want answers," he said.
"I want to hear from any colleges or buildings that were previously schools and may have owned items like this.
"I'll be asking them if they've cleared out any cellars recently, that kind of thing."
He added that, despite recent findings, he would keep "an open mind" and his team would follow up any additional information they receive.


London Mayor Sadiq Khan is presenting a bid to the government for more powers for Transport for London (TfL) over rail services to the outer capital.

Commuters have faced "bad service" and "nightmare delays" for too long, he said, promising reliable journeys and fare freezes if TfL took over.
He said the move would boost growth with 80,000 new homes near stations.
Franchise Govia Thameslink said it had "not got everything right" but was "committed to making things better".
Campaign for Better Transport backed the bid citing the Tube's reliability.
City Hall said passengers were being let down by services from London Bridge and Waterloo stations, and the proposals come after a three-day strike by Southern Rail staff.
Mr Khan has in the past said he believes TfL should take over the running of the Southern Rail franchise from Govia Thameslink. The franchise said its focus was on resolving issues "not arguments about political control".
The mayor's bid for managing suburban routes comes on the day MPs attacked the government's handling of rail franchises.
A Transport Select Committee report cited the "woeful" experience of Southern passengers and urged the government to "get a grip" on monitoring rail franchise agreements.
Putting TfL's case, Mr Khan said: "Our plans will not only use TfL's skills and expertise to improve the daily commute for millions of Londoners, but act as a catalyst for new jobs and homes in outer London."
TfL said after it took over the service between Shenfield in Essex and Liverpool Street station last year from Greater Anglian Railway, journeys rose by 27%, while delays fell by 15% and fare evasion by 86%.
In a statement, Govia Thameslink's CEO Charles Horton admitted it had failed in some areas but said it was working to improve, citing "400 new vehicles on our network in the past two years across the GTR franchise, extended smart card technology across our network and [delivery of] nearly 250 of our obligations under our franchise agreement."
A spokesperson for South West Trains said the challenge was over capacity "regardless of where responsibility lies for delivering individual services".
"We need urgent investment to address overcrowding on trains, and practical measures to tackle the congestion and declining performance on the network from running increasing services on limited and fragile infrastructure."
City Hall has pointed out the devolution of suburban rail services was agreed between the government and former London mayor Boris Johnson in January.
TfL's business case promises:
Campaign group Better Transport said passengers would benefit from more frequent and reliable services, an extension of the Oyster card scheme, and a turn-up-and-go service for all disabled passengers across the network.


Colombian police have released further details of the arrest of Camilo Torres on suspicion of drug trafficking.

Mr Torres, better known as Fritanga (Fry-up), was detained minutes after getting married in a lavish ceremony on a Caribbean island on Sunday.
Police say he is an influential member of the Urabenos gang, which controls much of the drug trafficking in northern Colombia.
A US court has asked for Mr Torres to be extradited on drugs charges.
Police said they surprised Fritanga on the Caribbean island of Mucura moments after he had married his girlfriend and as he was preparing to host a party for 150 guests.
Police said Fritanga had spared no expense, inviting soap-opera stars and entertainers to the festivities, scheduled to last for a week.
They estimated the cost of the party at $1.41m (Â£900,000).
Alive and kicking
A video released by the police shows Fritanga's wife, a model, hugging him and sobbing as officers lead him away.
Police are heard telling guests to lie on the floor and keep their heads down as the arrest is made.
The video also shows Fritanga being shown a photocopy of his ID card by police and jokingly saying that he has trouble recognising it as he has not used it for a few years.
Official documents later showed Mr Torres was listed as deceased.
His death certificate said he had died of natural causes in the capital, Bogota, on 2 December 2010.
Police are investigating the notary who asked for the death certificate to be issued.
Prosecutors accuse Fritanga of being a leading member of the Urabenos, a criminal gang made up of former paramilitaries which controls much of the drug- and arms-trafficking in northern Colombia.
Earlier this year, the gang offered a reward for the killing of police officers in revenge for the arrest of their leader, Juan de Dios Usuga.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has made the fight against gangs such as the Urabenos one of his government's priorities.


Bradford maintained their League One play-off push with victory at Bury.

James Vaughan spurned two good chances for the hosts before Mark Marshall broke the deadlock after 56 minutes.
Charlie Wyke then tapped in Bradford's second in the 84th minute to make it back-to-back wins and close the gap on second-placed Bolton to seven points.
The Bantams started strongly, with Alex Jones heading over from a Marshall cross while Wyke's shot was saved by Joe Murphy.
Marshall then tested Murphy at his near post before Bury replied with Vaughan and Jacob Mellis firing wide in quick succession.
Marshall struck straight at Murphy right on half-time, while Callum Styles and Vaughan were off target for the hosts after the break.
But Marshall cut in from the right to open the scoring, curling into the bottom corner from 25 yards.
And although substitute Jordy Hiwula was denied by Murphy, the Bradford substitute later squared for Wyke to convert his seventh Bradford goal and leave Bury one point above the relegation zone.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Bury 0, Bradford City 2.
Second Half ends, Bury 0, Bradford City 2.
Paul Caddis (Bury) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Paul Caddis (Bury).
Nathaniel Knight-Percival (Bradford City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Ryan Lowe (Bury) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Foul by James Meredith (Bradford City).
Paul Caddis (Bury) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Charlie Wyke (Bradford City).
Cameron Burgess (Bury) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Timothee Dieng (Bradford City).
Scott Burgess (Bury) wins a free kick on the left wing.
James Meredith (Bradford City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Scott Burgess (Bury).
Attempt saved. Charlie Wyke (Bradford City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Goal!  Bury 0, Bradford City 2. Charlie Wyke (Bradford City) left footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila.
Attempt missed. Scott Burgess (Bury) right footed shot from long range on the left is close, but misses to the left.
Foul by Nicky Law (Bradford City).
Paul Caddis (Bury) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution, Bury. Scott Burgess replaces Jacob Mellis.
Cameron Burgess (Bury) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Attempt saved. Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila (Bradford City) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Substitution, Bradford City. Timothee Dieng replaces Mark Marshall.
Foul by Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila (Bradford City).
Callum Styles (Bury) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila (Bradford City).
Antony Kay (Bury) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Bury. Ryan Lowe replaces Taylor Moore.
Substitution, Bradford City. Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila replaces Alex Jones.
Attempt missed. Charlie Wyke (Bradford City) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is high and wide to the right.
Attempt saved. Callum Styles (Bury) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Foul by Josh Cullen (Bradford City).
Jacob Mellis (Bury) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Bradford City. Nicky Law replaces Billy Clarke because of an injury.
Charlie Wyke (Bradford City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Antony Kay (Bury).
Goal!  Bury 0, Bradford City 1. Mark Marshall (Bradford City) left footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner.
Attempt missed. James Vaughan (Bury) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left.
Attempt missed. Callum Styles (Bury) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
James Vaughan (Bury) wins a free kick in the attacking half.


As thousands of 16-year-olds in England sit GCSEs in maths and English, BBC education correspondent Gillian Hargreaves goes to meet teenagers  trying to achieve good grades second time around.

At Coventry City College, staff more used to teaching hairdressing or construction have been set the challenge of teaching English and maths GCSEs to students who did not achieve the benchmark C grades at school.
Achieving C grades in these subjects is crucial for anyone wanting to progress to most vocational courses or apprenticeships leading to a good career.
But every year about 40% of candidates fail to meet this standard.
Since September 2013, the government has insisted further-education students who did not succeed at 16, study GCSEs in these key skills until they are 18.
The hope is that they will eventually pass - and their college funding is conditional on them continuing to try.
Reece Beal, by his own admission, switched off during English and maths lessons at school - but now, as part of apprenticeship in coach-making for Arriva, he is flourishing.
"At school I didn't achieve the proper level, I couldn't grasp what we were doing, and it wasn't quite explained enough basically," he says.
"Here its more one-on-one, so if you are struggling on one area, they focus on that area so you can get better at it."
Reece is doing well, perhaps motivated by the knowledge that it will be impossible for him to progress to higher level training or apprenticeships without good grades in these two subjects.
For Richard Brooks, a former adviser to the Department for Education and Ofsted, good GCSEs in English and maths amount to vocational qualifications.
"If you look at the number of people who are unemployed, or not in any from of training or education, at the age of 19,  the most common characteristic of them is they lack that all important GCSE English and maths at C grade," he says.
"We have an image of these people being difficult, socially excluded, the Neet [not in education, employment or training] generation.
"Actually, most of them are perfectly average. The thing they have in common is that lack of GCSE English and maths."
Trainee hairdresser Samantha Richards recently achieved the equivalent of C grades in English and maths through an alternative qualification called Functional Skills.
She says she would not be able to cope in her chosen profession without being able to write emails, do stock checking or work out ratios when measuring hair dye.
There is also the added bonus of being able to help with her own children's homework in a way she would never have dared before .
She says: "My children come to me and ask me for help now. Before I'd shy away from it and say, 'You can do this yourself.'
"Now, it's like, 'Yes, course I can. Let's sit down and work it out.'"
Colleges are having to try to achieve in two years what schools failed to deliver in a decade of formal education.
Coventry City College is getting record numbers of candidates through their GCSEs by radically changing its approach.
Two new highly qualified maths graduates have been employed to enthuse both students and lecturers alike, while older teachers such as Andrea Radford, who has taught hairdressing at the college for decades, have had to go back to school themselves.
"I think it does help because I've now got an understanding of what they are going through," she says.
In the car workshop, Jason Riley, a former road digger training for work in Coventry's automotive industry, says this approach is paying off for him.
His tutor, Di Crooks, is a former police officer.
"I did go to another college, but they weren't as persistent at teaching the key skills," he says.
"It wasn't until I got here, sat down with Di, who said, 'You've got to learn this, this and this.'
"Then, I thought, 'I've got to pull my socks up here.'
"Di helps me with my maths and English as well as the rest of my coursework."
As Di Crooks says, students "need to realise apprentices with these good skills, English and maths, are the ones who are going to progress higher in a job".


A football fan has been arrested for allegedly trying to punch Crystal Palace's eagle mascot.

Police said Kayla, an American bald-eagle, was targeted after violence broke out at a Palace home game against Charlton Athletic in September.
A 34-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and attempted criminal damage.
Six other men were also arrested on Wednesday in connection with the violence, Scotland Yard said.
Kayla has been Crystal Palace's mascot since 2010 and flies around the stadium at every home game.
The 19-year-old female is based at Eagle Heights sanctuary in Eynsford, Kent.
She is from Canada but was brought to the UK after she became too aggressive to remain at her previous home, according to her owners.
Kayla also appeared on the front cover of US rockers King's Of Leon's album, Only By The Night.
She has continued to perform her match day duties since the Capital One Cup game against Charlton.
The side, known as The Eagles, won the match at Selhurst Park 4-1.


Pope Francis has brought in new regulations for the Vatican's process of making saints after allegations of abuses in the system.

Two recent books claimed officials get huge payments for investigating candidates for sainthood, with little control over how they spend the money.
The new rules mean external oversight of the bank accounts concerned.
Pope Francis has made reform of the Vatican a priority of his papacy, including perceived corruption.
The new rules set out the mechanism by which donors supporting a candidate for sainthood pay for the services of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Vatican office responsible for reviewing candidates for sainthood.
How does someone become a saint?
The rules call for an administrator to be named for each prospective saint, and they must "scrupulously respect'' the intention of each donation.
The administrator must keep a running tab on expenditures and donations, prepare an annual budget and be subject to the oversight of the local bishop or religious superior.
However, the rules do not specify how much money should be given by donors.
The costs to the Vatican of investigating candidates can be high, if lots of travel is necessary to collect testimony and conduct research about the candidate's life, including establishing whether they performed miracles.
However, recent books by Italian journalists alleged that there was no oversight over how some donations were spent and that candidates supported by wealthier donors were likely to have cases resolved more quickly.


An Ohio mayor says charges may be brought over a false accusation that a United Arab Emirates (UAE) tourist vowed allegiance to the so-called Islamic State (IS) militant group.

Ahmed al-Menhali, a businessman, was detained while wearing traditional robes in a hotel in Avon, Ohio.
Bodycam footage showed him being roughly confronted at gunpoint.
The UAE later urged its citizens to not wear national dress outside the region.
According to Avon Mayor Bryan Jensen, two emergency calls were placed by relatives of a female clerk at the hotel who were unnerved by Mr Menhali's appearance.
They told police he was carrying several phones and pledging allegiance to IS.
Mr Jensen said: "We came to find out that those statements were never heard by anyone, the statements were never said.
"A person who makes a false accusation like that endangers not only the person that they are making them about but [also] it frustrates us and angers us that we're going into a situation that puts our police officers in a position they would never want to be in."
Mr Jenson met Mr Menhali and Julia Shearson, the head of the local branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
"There were some false accusations made against you, and those are regrettable," the mayor told Mr Menhali.
After meeting him, Muslim community leaders invited the officials to break fast with them as part of the holy month of Ramadan.
A video of Mr Menhali's arrest, filmed by police, was published by WEWS on Friday.
It shows armed police approaching him outside a hotel and forcing him to lie on the floor, before searching him.
Mr Menhali, who is wearing white robes, the ghutra headdress and the agal - cords to hold the headdress in place - is heard repeatedly asking why police stopped him.
"They were brutal with me," Mr Menhali told the UAE newspaper The National. "They pressed forcefully on my back. I had several injuries and bled from the forceful nature of their arrest."
The UAE ministry of interior warning was distributed on Saturday. A day later, the ministry also issued travel advice to Emirati citizens, urging them to respect bans of the full-face veil where they are in place.
The note also urges people "to take caution while abroad due to the security developments in some European countries, triggered by the unfolding unrest in the Middle East region, and their fallout, especially the refugee crisis".
In April, an Iraqi university student in California was escorted off a Southwest Airlines flight for having a conversation in Arabic.


Oliver Hawkins scored a first-half hat-trick as Dagenham & Redbridge swept aside Wrexham in the National League.

The striker, who missed the 3-1 win at Woking last weekend because of a back injury, tapped in to open his account.
Poor defending allowed the 24-year-old to head home a corner midway through the half, before converting a penalty in added time after Hamza Bencherif had fouled Luke Guttridge.
Dagenham & Redbridge have now won four in a row in the National League.
Wrexham manager Gary Mills said: "[It was] very poor, the game was over at half-time.
"[We were] second best all over the park today and deserved what we got.
"They looked a lot sharper than us, we didn't win enough balls to get us playing. When we had the ball we gave it away, which is totally not what we are about.
"We have to overcome this very, very quickly."
Match ends, Dagenham and Redbridge 3, Wrexham 0.
Second Half ends, Dagenham and Redbridge 3, Wrexham 0.
Substitution, Dagenham and Redbridge. Frankie Raymond replaces Jordan Maguire-Drew.
Substitution, Wrexham. Callum Powell replaces Martin Riley.
Substitution, Dagenham and Redbridge. Corey Whitely replaces Luke Guttridge.
Substitution, Wrexham. Shaun Harrad replaces Bradley Reid.
Substitution, Wrexham. Tyler Harvey replaces Gerry McDonagh.
Second Half begins Dagenham and Redbridge 3, Wrexham 0.
First Half ends, Dagenham and Redbridge 3, Wrexham 0.
Goal!  Dagenham and Redbridge 3, Wrexham 0. Oliver Hawkins (Dagenham and Redbridge) converts the penalty with a.
Joe Widdowson (Dagenham and Redbridge) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Goal!  Dagenham and Redbridge 2, Wrexham 0. Oliver Hawkins (Dagenham and Redbridge).
Goal!  Dagenham and Redbridge 1, Wrexham 0. Oliver Hawkins (Dagenham and Redbridge).
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.


Braintree Town have agreed to release goalkeeper Jamie Butler just 72 days after he signed for the club.

Butler, 24, joined the Iron for an undisclosed fee from National League South side Hemel Hempstead in June.
He kept two clean sheets in six appearances for the club, but was sent off in their defeat by Macclesfield.
Fellow keeper Sam Beasant joined the club last week after his release by Cambridge United and made his debut against Guiseley last Saturday.