The Home Office has "failed to deal" with the UK's backlog of asylum cases, with 29,000 applications dating back at least seven years still waiting to be resolved, MPs have warned.

The Public Accounts Committee said 11,000 of those applicants had not even received an initial decision on whether they could remain in the country.
Contact was lost with 50,000 people refused the right to stay, it added.
The government said it was "addressing the backlogs inherited" in 2010.
During Prime Minister's Questions, Labour leader Ed Miliband told David Cameron to "apologise" for his record on immigration, adding: "You're not making it right. You're making it worse."
But Mr Cameron replied that the coalition was "clearing up a shocking shambles and mess left by the last Labour government".
The government overhauled the UK's immigration and asylum operations in 2013 after a series of controversies, including a 2011 row over the relaxation of passport checks.
Home Secretary Theresa May scrapped the UK Border Agency and assumed direct executive responsibility for its Border Force enforcement arm.
She also took control of UK Visas and Immigration and Immigration Enforcement, new bodies created as part of the Whitehall restructuring.
In a report analysing the impact of the changes, the cross-party Public Accounts Committee said performance had "held steady" in most areas since the reorganisation but the Home Office had still "failed to deal" with the longstanding asylum backlog.
29,000
Unresolved cases dating back at least seven years
11,000
Without an initial decision
16,273 New applications in first three months of 2014
Analysis by Vicki Young, BBC chief political correspondent
Home Office ministers wryly observe that many of the people they deal with are doing their best to avoid being tracked down, but yet again a picture is being painted of a system that's struggling to cope.
Similar problems dogged the last Labour government and led to the then Home Secretary John Reid describing the immigration and asylum system as unfit for purpose.
Eight years on MPs don't believe things are quite that bad, but many of the problems are depressingly familiar - administrative incompetence and a failure to harness technology to streamline services.
Dealing with a huge backlog was never going to be easy, but now that Theresa May has brought the UK Border Agency back into the Home Office fold it'll fall to her to try to convince the public that the government has control of our borders.
The committee also suggested the Home Office was failing to meet its own targets for processing newer claims, which totalled 16,273 in the first three months of 2014.
It partly attributed this to the UK Border Agency's "botched and ill-judged" decision to downgrade caseworkers working in the area.
Although the decision was subsequently reversed, the committee said it had led to 120 experienced staff leaving, and this - combined with major problems with IT systems - meant the department lacked the data to manage the backlogs and track people through the system.
"It is deeply worrying that the Home Office is not tracking those people whose applications have been rejected to ensure they are removed from the UK," said Margaret Hodge, the Labour MP who chairs the committee.
"At the end of 2013-14, there were over 175,000 people whose application to stay in the UK had been rejected, and they are placed in a migration refusal pool to await removal.
"The number of such cases has not been reduced over time. Some may have left the UK voluntarily but without exit checks it is almost impossible to know."
Mrs Hodge said the Home Office had asked external contractors to check more than 250,000 case records in 2012 and 2013 but they had been unable to contact more than 50,000 people listed, their whereabouts unknown.
She said this "particularly disturbing" matter must be dealt with urgently while the Home Office must ensure it had sufficient staff with the right skills to resolve outstanding claims and prevent backlogs growing.
The Refugee Council warned that people caught up in the asylum system were "living in limbo".
"Behind these statistics are individuals, many of whom will have suffered extreme trauma, forced to live day to day in uncertainty while they await the outcome of what could be a life or death decision," said its head of advocacy, Lisa Doyle.
"It is very important that the Home Office makes decisions in a timely manner, but it's even more important that it gets its decisions right first time."
The Home Office, which published its latest figures on its handling of asylum applications in April, said the committee's figure of 11,000 asylum seekers awaiting an initial decision on whether they could stay in the UK was inaccurate.
Initial decisions had been made in many of the outstanding cases, it said, and officials were now considering further evidence provided by applicants with the aim of doing so by the end of the year.
Analysis by Dominic Casciani, BBC home affairs correspondent
This report gets to the heart of the problem: parts of Britain's immigration system don't have enough of the right staff in the right places, the right IT systems and, most importantly of all, the right data and records to help them do their job.
These kinds of management problems directly lead to casework backlogs, missing foreign offenders and, ultimately, judges rolling their eyes in the face of poor decisions that have affected the lives of ordinary hardworking people.
These broad criticisms are not new. They have been repeatedly made for 15 years.
The coalition has brought the system under direct ministerial control - but improvements have come so slowly that a crack internal team tasked with giving ministers a "single version of the truth" doesn't always know what's going on.
Whoever is in power, it may take years to build a system that commands universal confidence, not least because nobody inside the system can yet be confident that it's working as it should.
The recent increase in asylum claims was due to instability in the Middle East and North Africa, it added, but also to past failings by the Border Agency which had been addressed.
Immigration minister James Brokenshire said: "UKBA was a failing organisation that could not deliver an efficient immigration system for Britain.
"This is why we split it up into three separate divisions to improve focus on their specific roles in delivering a controlled immigration system and bring them under the direct supervision of ministers.
"Turning around years of mismanagement has taken time, but it is now well under way. We have reformed visa routes to make them more resistant to fraud and cancelled failing contracts. And we are addressing the backlogs we inherited."
But shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "This report lays bare how David Cameron's government is presiding over one failure after another in our immigration system.
"Theresa May was very quick to blame the UKBA, but since she took direct control of the border force and immigration system, we have seen backlogs increase sharply and the admission that the Home Office have no idea how many of the 175,000 failed asylum seekers are still here or where 50,000 failed asylum seekers even are."
She added: "David Cameron and Theresa May have failed to deliver on her promise to introduce exit checks, to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands, has cost the taxpayer Â£1bn on failed IT projects and as the report says introduced no processes to rectify these and other failings."
On Tuesday, Natacha Bouchart, mayor of the northern French port Calais, argued the UK was seen as a "soft touch" by asylum seekers and that its benefits system acted as a "magnet".
Planning minister Nick Boles told Total Politics magazine that people in the UK had a "sense that we don't have that control (over immigration) - and, bluntly, they're right. It's true."


Manager Scott Booth was delighted with the resolve and organisation shown by Glasgow City in their 1-0 loss away to Chelsea in the Champions League.

Fran Kirby scored the only goal at Wheatsheaf Park, with Booth saying: "We were undone by a moment of brilliance.
"We knew they would have a lot of the ball, we knew they would be dangerous on the break.
"But my players stuck to the game plan and proved to me how deep they can dig. As a unit we were excellent."
Goalkeeper Lee Alexander thwarted the English league and FA Cup winners with some good stops, while Kelly Montgomery volley over from the visitors' best chance.
"I couldn't have asked for any more from my players," enthused Booth. "They were up against some of the best players in the world, I think.
"Chelsea have a fantastic front line and they have some seasoned pros but we more than matched them at times."
Looking ahead to the return leg in Airdrie on Wednesday, the former Aberdeen and Scotland striker admitted City would need to take more risks in attack to reach the last 16.
"I'm satisfied with the result," he said. "We're still in this.
"We know we can be disciplined and sit in. But if we want to get through to the next stage, we'll need to come out and play a bit more.
"I'm really looking forward to the game."


Emergency workers in Mexico are searching for survivors after landslides killed dozens in the wake of Tropical Storm Earl.

The worst-affected state was Puebla in central Mexico, where at least 28 people were killed after torrential rains set off mudslides.
Puebla Governor Rafael Moreno Valle said dogs had been brought in to search for those missing.
Officials said some outlying areas had not yet been reached.
At least 40 people have been confirmed dead after Tropical Storm Earl moved over Mexico on Saturday.
Earl had earlier hit Belize and Guatemala in Central America.
But it was in the Mexican states of Puebla, Veracruz and Hidalgo where its heavy rains caused most damage.
Among those killed in Puebla were 15 children who died when their homes were buried by mud which slid down the rain-soaked hills.
A whole hill collapsed near Huauchinango, sweeping down on a nearby village.
"It is a tragedy what has happened to our people in Huauchinango," Mayor Gabriel Alvarado said.
About two hundred people were left homeless in the state of Puebla alone.
In neighbouring Veracruz, 11 people were killed and in Hidalgo a 15-year-old died in hospital after being pulled from the mud.
More than 10,000 people were affected and 18 villages remained cut off in the eastern state.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has warned of another storm approaching Mexico.
It said Tropical Storm Javier could strengthen into a hurricane by Monday afternoon local time.
"On the forecast track, the centre of the tropical cyclone should pass near or over the southwest coast of Mexico later today, and approach the southern portion of Baja California peninsula on Monday," the NHC said.


The parish of St Helier is losing about £750,000 per year in rates as the States do not pay for their property portfolio.

Constable Simon Crowcroft, in charge of the island's capital, said any other owner would have their property repossessed by now.
The States have never paid parish rates on their properties.
Calls for the States to pay from 2016, rather than 2017 as planned, were rejected by members.
A vote in the States saw 26 vote against the earlier start to 17 in favour.
Mr Crowcroft said: "Rates are so overdue, if we were talking about a domestic rate payer this person would have had their property repossessed many years ago.
"The States have agreed in principle for about 15 years that they should pay rates. The States have to honour their obligation and pay rates."
About 30% of the island's population lives in St Helier, with the majority of businesses and States buildings based there.
The Council of Ministers said it was strongly opposed to the idea of paying next year as there was work needed in how to fund it and make it fair.
It said: "It is right that the States pay rates on their properties, but it must be affordable and funded sustainably.
"Furthermore, it should be part and parcel of more joint working with the Parishes to deliver the best services for Islanders."
Constable Crowcroft said St Helier had the third highest rates in the island, but would ask parishioners what to do with the extra money from States properties.
He said: "When the States starts paying rates next year we could take it as a windfall and lower rates or we could use it as an opportunity to improve services."


A woman was airlifted to hospital after falling from a cliff in Aberdeenshire.

She had been climbing as part of a team and had stumbled and fallen backwards on to rocks.
Emergency services were called to the incident at Newtonhill at about 21:30 on Friday.
The casualty suffered head and back injuries and was flown by coastguard helicopter to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for treatment. Her injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.
The incident was attended by coastguard rescue teams from Stonehaven and Montrose.
The Scottish Ambulance special operations rescue team and RNLI Stonehaven were also involved.


As civil wars get longer, they become more complex and more intractable.

And after nearly five years of fighting, the Syrian conflict has long since passed the point where an outside power can embark on a course of action and be confident that it will have a predictable outcome on the ground.
Syria is like a broken kaleidoscope made up of jagged, overlapping fragments and when it's shaken up, the pieces move in unpredictable ways.
It is in that context that the British decision on expanding air operations from Iraq into Syria is viewed in the Middle East.
No-one believes it will be militarily decisive of course - French, American and Russian warplanes are already in action in Syrian skies after all and Britain is not talking about committing a game-changing level of air power to this complicated equation.
And there is no doubt this is a more important issue in British domestic politics than it is in the context of the Syrian war as seen from the Middle East.
But there are plenty of people who believe this is an important moment in the war.
The retired Jordanian Air Force Gen Mahmoud Idraisat - who once flew fast jets himself - put it like this.
"Militarily it's not so important," he said, "France and the United States and others have already flown 8,000 sorties and Britain will fly in a year perhaps 1,000 or 2,000. What difference will that make?"
But the general was far from negative about the political implications of deeper British involvement.
It was all about deepening the involvement of another significant Middle East player who was at least trying get the stubborn pieces of that kaleidoscope moving.
There is a keen awareness in the Middle East that rich Western democracies prefer to use air-power alone in this sort of situation without committing their own ground forces.
It may be less effective but the political, military and financial costs are all lower - and so is the risk of punishment by voters if things go wrong or stretch on longer than promised.
You still need boots on the ground to win any war of course - the question is always "whose boots?"
The estimate by the British Prime Minister David Cameron that a force of 70,000 moderate rebels was ready to take on the so-called Islamic State - or Daesh as it is known in the Middle East - has been the subject of fierce debate.
The Syrian battlefield is extraordinarily complex and fragmented and there are hundreds of groups and sub-groups at play, some of them small and local, others able to call on thousands of fighters across the country.
All are united in the belief that the military and political priority must remain the overthrown of Bashar al-Assad.
Otherwise it is difficult to calibrate their positions on any sliding scale of moderation or extremism or even to place them with precision on any religious or ideological spectrum.
A senior official here in Jordan, speaking anonymously, said he had no doubt that there were tens of thousands of fighters who would be prepared to take on the so-called Islamic State - not least because in many parts of Syria, IS was attacking rival rebel groups rather than regime forces.
But others are much more sceptical about how numerous the forces that might be classed as moderate really are - especially in the light of the United States' disastrous experience of trying to raise, train, equip and deploy just such a force.
One Syrian opposition official here told the BBC that it was likely that there would be some kind of reckoning with Islamic State after Mr Assad had been overthrown - but he was reluctant to put a timeframe on what would undoubtedly be a messy and dangerous end-game.
Dealing with the more immediate issue, another rebel source said that Britain's original decision to confine air operations against IS targets in Iraq had not been logical when seen from the Middle East and that an expansion of air operations into Syria was both natural and welcome.
And that sums up a lot of the reaction to the British debate you hear in Amman - a wider role for the UK is seen as something to be welcomed.
But it is also seen as just another step on a long journey whose end is not in sight.


President Donald Trump has said a hasty US withdrawal from Afghanistan would leave a vacuum for terrorists to fill.

He said his original instinct was to pull US forces out, but had instead decided to stay and "fight to win" to avoid the mistakes made in Iraq.
He said he wanted to shift from a time-based approach in Afghanistan to one based on conditions on the ground, adding he would not set deadlines.
However, the US president warned it was not a "blank cheque" for Afghanistan.
"America will work with the Afghan government, so long as we see commitment and progress," he said.
The Taliban responded by saying that Afghanistan would become "another graveyard" for the US if it did not withdraw its troops.
President Trump has committed to stepping up the US military's engagement in Afghanistan, but details were few and far between.
He said his new approach would be more pragmatic than idealistic, and would switch from nation building to "killing terrorists".
But he refused to get drawn on how many extra troops, if any, would be deployed and gave no timeline for ending the US presence in the country.
Washington is expected to send up to 4,000 additional troops, but Mr Trump did not comment on this.
The president did, however, put pressure on neighbouring Pakistan, warning that the US would no longer tolerate it offering "safe havens" to extremists - an accusation swiftly dismissed by a Pakistani army spokesman.
The president also, for the first time, left the door open for an eventual peace deal with the Taliban, saying: "Someday, after an effective military effort, perhaps it will be possible to have a political settlement that includes elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan."
However, Mr Trump said there would be an escalation in the battle against groups like al-Qaeda and so-called Islamic State.
"[They] need to know they have nowhere to hide - that no place is beyond the reach of American arms," he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump made it clear he expects his existing allies - singling out India - to support him in his new strategy, and urged them to raise their countries' contributions "in line with our own".
Read more on Trump's presidency:
By Secunder Kermani, BBC correspondent in Kabul
Even with a few thousand extra US soldiers in Afghanistan - deployment levels would remain far lower than their peak in 2010/11 when there were around 100,000 US personnel in the country. So what is different this time?
Firstly, that there is no deadline by which the US will begin to scale operations back. Critics of President Obama's surge say that because he made it clear it was temporary - the Taliban were encouraged to wait the Americans out.
The second difference is that the US will put more pressure on Pakistan to end "safe havens" for the Taliban, according to President Trump.
One analyst told me that the key to solving the conflict lies in Islamabad not in Afghanistan. But it is not clear how much leverage the US still has over Pakistan - or how Pakistan will respond to the accusations, given its consistent denial that it operates a "good terrorist, bad terrorist" policy.
Pakistan has grown increasingly close to China, and has already had millions of dollars of US aid withheld for allegedly not taking enough action against the Taliban-allied Haqqani network.
Before his presidency, Mr Trump was not shy about criticising his predecessors on their Afghanistan policy. He previously supported pulling US troops out of the conflict, which began under President George W Bush in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks.
End of Twitter post  by @realDonaldTrump
Early on in his presidential campaign, however, he did acknowledge that US troops would have to stay in order to avoid the total collapse of the Afghan government.
And this long-awaited announcement came after a months-long review, with the president himself acknowledging that his original instinct to pull-out had been reversed after discussions with national security advisers.
BBC correspondent Aleem Maqbool in Washington says the people who might object to Mr Trump's strategy are the very ones who voted for him.
They were told the president would focus on a policy of "America First", but he now says he wants a win in Afghanistan to make all the sacrifice worthwhile, our correspondent adds.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomed the plan, saying: "The US-Afghan partnership is stronger than ever in overcoming the threat of terrorism that threaten us all."
He said the new strategy would enhance the training of Afghan security forces.
Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg also praised the move and said the alliance, which has about 12,000 troops in Afghanistan, would not allow the country to become "a safe haven for terrorists who would attack our own countries".
General John Nicholson, the head of both US and international forces in Afghanistan, said it "means the Taliban cannot win militarily".
But Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid dismissed Mr Trump's strategy as "nothing new", telling the US to think of an exit strategy "instead of continuing the war".
US combat operations against the Taliban officially ended in 2014, more than 8,000 special forces continue to provide support to Afghan troops.
The Afghan government continues to battle insurgency groups and controls just half of the country.


Raleigh Cycle, one of the best-known and oldest bicycle makers in the UK, has been bought by Dutch rival Accell for $100m (£62m).

The deal is expected to go through at the end of May, subject to approval from competition authorities.
The Nottingham-based firm, which has made cycles for 125 years, also makes bikes under the Diamond Back brand.
Raleigh is famous for bikes such as the Chopper in the 1970s and the Vektar in the 1980s.
The company employs 430 people worldwide, including 100 sales, marketing and design staff in Eastwood, Nottingham, with many of the bikes being made in the Far East.
At one time, the firm was the biggest bicycle maker in the world. In its heyday, after World War II, Raleigh employed some 8,000 people.
Raleigh ceased production in Nottingham, the city in which it was founded by Sir Frank Bowden on Raleigh Street in 1887, in 2002.
"Raleigh is one of the very few examples of a UK company which has successfully migrated from a pure manufacturing model into a global brand; boosting international sales, particularly in North America, and with a fast growing presence in Asia," said Jonathan Buxton, partner at Cavendish Corporate Finance, which advised on the deal.


The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) has been accused of using someone's name and signature on an election form without their knowledge.

Rupert Duke's name appears on nomination papers for a UKIP candidate in council elections in Essex.
Mr Duke, who was not a member of the party, said it was "a disgrace" and he had reported the matter to police.
UKIP's election agent for Castle Point Borough Council said it was an "administration error".
Mr Duke was named as a supporter of UKIP candidate Lucy Parkin's nomination in the Canvey Island Winter Gardens ward for the council elections on 5 May, but he said "it is not a party that holds my vote".
"It's a disgrace that they've used my name, address, electoral roll number and they've forged my signature - they've signed it - so how can that be a mistake?" said Mr Duke.
"It's insulting my intelligence and everybody else's."
James Parkin, UKIP's electoral agent for the borough, said he "doesn't know how it happened" and called it an "administration error or some mistake".
"I am not corrupt - the reason I got into politics is to stop these sort of things from happening," he said.
"The signatures [on the nomination forms] have been done by a lot of different peopleâ€¦ candidates, friends and during [campaign] action days.
"I've got 140 signatures for the different wards and it seems to me there is a slight problem with one signature, which we are looking into."
Mr Parkin said he had been contacted by Essex Police, but had not been questioned yet.
A force spokesman said it was reviewing an allegation and "the purpose of the review is to establish if any criminal act has occurred".
Earlier this year, a Conservative Castle Point councillor was cleared of assaulting Mr Parkin in the run-up to last year's council elections.


Match reports for the weekend matches in the Scottish Premiership and Championship.

Premiership
Celtic 3-0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Dundee 2-0 Motherwell
Heart of Midlothian 2-2 St Johnstone
Kilmarnock 0-0 Hamilton Academical
Championship
Ayr United 0-3 Hibernian
Dunfermline 0-0 Raith Rovers
Falkirk 1-1 Greenock Morton
Queen of the South 1-4 Dundee United
St Mirren 0-1 Dumbarton
Premiership
Ross County 1-1 Rangers


Five Irish students and one other young woman have been killed after a fourth-floor balcony collapsed at a US apartment.

Authorities in California confirmed that seven others remain in hospital.
The collapse happened during a 21st birthday party shortly before 01:00 local time (08:00 GMT) on Tuesday in the city of Berkeley.
The students are believed to have been living temporarily in the US as part of a work exchange programme.
Around 700 Irish students are currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area, said Philip Grant, the Consul General of Ireland to the Western United States.
"We're still in an emergency response mode," he said. "It's a formative experience, and to have this happen ... has left us all frozen in shock and disbelief".
Berkeley City Mayor Tom Bates described the incident as a "shocking set of events".
"We're all sort of awestruck by the incredible tragedy," he said.
The victims
Police began receiving emergency calls about the incident around 00:41 local time. The police chief said it took patrolmen about two minutes to arrive on the scene.
The cause of the collapse is still under investigation, but the city's police chief said there was no indication of any criminal activity at this point.
Photos taken at the scene appear to show a 5ft x 10ft (1.5m x 3m) balcony on the fourth floor of the building fallen on to the balcony on the level below.
Two Irish students who were asleep in the building when the incident occurred described a loud sound when the balcony fell.
"I just heard a bang and a lot of shouting," said Dan Sullivan.
Outside the apartment where the balcony collapsed, flowers and photos and wreaths are stacked, and shocked Berkeley residents have been coming to pay their respects.
The building is cordoned off while forensic workers investigate and scrub the street below the collapsed balcony.
One woman who used to live in the building told the BBC she thought there should be a criminal investigation of the city's Planning Commission.
But the police chief says so far there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
Another student, Mark Neville, said: "I walked out and I saw rubble on the street and a bunch of Irish students crying."
Enda Kenny, the Irish Prime Minister, said that police had told him there were 13 people on the balcony when it collapsed.
Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan said that four of the victims died at the scene and another died in hospital.
The Alameda County coroner's office later told the BBC a sixth person had died in hospital.
The foreign minister has said that the families of all of those who died have been contacted.
University College Dublin President Andrew Deeks said late Tuesday that the accident involved students from the university and their friends.
"We cannot comprehend the desperate shock and grief they are feeling and we are heartbroken at their suffering and loss," he said. "We know the local Irish community has been offering assistance and solidarity and we thank them for this."
Berkeley Police spokesman Byron White said first responders described the scene as "quite disturbing".
Many of those hurt have life-threatening injuries, said Jennifer Coats, a Berkeley Police Department spokeswoman.
Police received a complaint about loud noise at the flat about an hour before the balcony collapsed, but did not go to the building to investigate.
The city's police chief said that the noise complaint was treated as a low priority, and noted that police officers were responding to several other emergency calls at the time - including one for shots fired in another part of town.
Irish President Michael Higgins said that he had "heard with the greatest sadness of the terrible loss of life of young Irish people and the critical injury of others in Berkeley, California today".
He said his heart goes out to the families and their loved ones.
The Irish consul general in San Francisco is helping those affected and there is an Irish helpline (+353 1 418 0200).
The apartment building was constructed in 2006, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A Berkeley city official said that building inspectors had visited the building on Tuesday. Three remaining balconies on the building have been closed.
In 2013, a similar accident killed 13 people and injured at least 50 others in Chicago, when a deck holding revellers collapsed.
In that incident, more than 60 people were on the building's porches, according to CBS Chicago.


Wolves chairman Jeff Shi says the Championship club do not plan to allow star Portuguese winger Helder Costa to leave this summer, despite confirmed interest from other clubs.

"Helder's my boy," said Shi. "I don't want to let him go.
"Especially this season, he cannot go, as he is so important to the squad.
"There is strong interest from other clubs but my job is to keep him. It's very important for him to go to the Premier League, but together with us."
Costa was Wolves' first signing following their takeover by Chinese group Fosun when he signed from Benfica last summer, initially on loan.
He then became their record signing when he joined on a more permanent basis in January, completing a £13m move and signing a four-and-a-half-year deal.
"The first job was for him to come here," added Shi. "If I want to have a good career with Wolves, then that is bound up with Helder very tightly. Why should he go? I have to keep him."
On the back of the club's best season-ticket sales since relegation from the Premier League in 2012, fuelled by three new signings - Ryan Bennett, Roderick Miranda and Phil Ofosu-Ayeh - Shi promises further investment in new players for new head coach Nuno to work with.
"Money is not a problem," he added. "The only tricky thing is Financial Fair Play. I am not a supporter of that, but we have to think about it.
"The important thing is getting the quality. We need strong players. The goal for the season is only about promotion. We will focus only on this season. We will not think too much about the long-term future."
Interview with Jeff Shi recorded for BBC Sport by Wolves TV.


More than six million UK workers could find their take-home pay cut from April after the new flat-rate state pension comes into effect.

The move, first announced in the 2013 Budget, will boost the Treasury's coffers by £5.5bn a year.
Most of that sum will be raised from public sector employers and employees by higher National Insurance payments.
An estimated five million workers in the public sector and 1.5 million in the private sector will be affected.
They will have to pay an extra 1.4 percentage points of NI on their earnings - equivalent to a deduction of up to £37 a month.
Former pensions minister Steve Webb, now director of policy at Royal London, told The Times: "I think the chancellor had hoped that no one would notice this rather large tax increase smuggled out in advance as it was some years ago."
The move involves merging the state second pension with the basic state pension.
This will abolish the current practice whereby employees get an NI rebate of 3.4% for contracting out of the second state pension to enter final-salary schemes, which affects more workers in the public sector such as in the NHS - the UK's largest employer.
Employers will now have to pay higher NI, amounting to that 3.4% of their employees' relevant earnings.
The government said in 2013 that the new system was fairer for the self-employed and many mothers.
Public sector employers will pay £3.33bn and employees £1.37bn more to the Treasury in 2016-17 as a result of bringing in the pension earlier, according to the Treasury.
From the private sector, employers will pay an extra £570m and employees £235m.


Libya's prime minister has appealed for British help to remove weapons from the country amid fears of increased arms smuggling to Syria.

Ali Zeidan met British PM David Cameron earlier and said weapons left after the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in 2011 were an "international" problem.
On Monday the UN was told a "worrying" amount of weapons were leaving Libya.
Mr Cameron said the country faced "huge challenges" and Britain was determined to help.
At the meeting in Downing Street on Tuesday, Mr Zeidan said he wanted to co-operate with Britain, "especially in the field of removing weapons from Libya".
He said: "It is now an international matter and we do need assistance in order to perform this task because we are now facing a battle with international terrorism that extends from Afghanistan to Mali."
Mr Cameron told Mr Zeidan: "We recognise the huge challenges you face in terms of security and governance, putting in place the capacity that Libya needs for a good and strong government.
"We are doing everything we can to help."
Specific details of the proposed help have not yet emerged.
Speaking before the meeting, Mr Cameron said talks would include "legacy issues" such as an ongoing investigation into the murder of policewoman Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984 and the north African country's supply of arms to the IRA.
The UN Security Council heard on Monday from its committee on Libyan sanctions, which said more arms and ammunition were being smuggled out of Libya.
The committee said there was "an increasing number of reported cases of trafficking in such materiel to Syria".
Weapons from Libya were used by Islamist militants who laid siege to a BP gas plant in Algeria in January, killing at least 40 foreign workers including six Britons.
Tarek Mitri, UN envoy to Libya, said elections after the fall of Gaddafi "raised more expectations than what the political institutions and forces have been capable of meeting".
Security problems, political disagreements and disruption to oil exports had contributed to public scepticism and even "rejection" of the process, he said.
He added: "But this should not be mistaken for a loss of faith in national unity, democracy and the rule of law.
"Their commitment to the principles for which they fought their revolution remains deep."


People heckling you would be cause for alarm - unless you're a pantomime baddie that is.

For these festive actors its a sign of success, and the louder people in the audience shout, the better they feel.
"It's always a good feeling to get all the kids booing at you," says pantomime star Danny Grehan. "If they're booing at you, you know you've done a good job."
He's playing the evil Abanazar in the Porthcawl production of Aladdin.
Fresh from their collaboration with Tinchy Stryder, the Chuckle Brothers will take a starring role in Darlington's The Chuckles of Oz
Better known as Neighbours veteran Karl Kennedy, Alan Fletcher will feature in Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood in Dunstable.
Craig Revel Horwood is playing one of the ultimate pantomime baddies - Captain Hook - in Dartford's production of Peter Pan.
Blue singer Duncan James is taking to the stage in Birmingham, where he will take to the stage in Jack and the Beanstalk.
"The whole participation of people shouting, you never get that apart from in panto, where everybody is allowed just to vocalise that enjoyment," says Dick Bradnum, who will be playing Widow Twankey in Aladdin.
"In the age that we live in, people are in front of screens a lot of different types and to get them in front of a live experience where there are real human beings around them and real noise, there is something genuinely uplifting about it. It's not a bad job to be doing," adds Danny.
Working all through the Christmas holidays does have its downsides and there are some things the paid wish they had more time to enjoy.
"The only thing with panto is you've got to work on the 26th so you always miss out on cold turkey and chips, which is one of my favourite bits of Christmas," says Danny.
Dick adds: "Boxing Day audiences are a little bit quieter in my experience because I think they're still recovering from Christmas Day.
"You can still smell the turkey off them. Bloated, sitting there happy."
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A Jewish group has condemned the "low-lives" scrawling "racist nonsense" after offensive graffiti was found at a university.

A swastika was found carved on a door with a Rights for Whites sign at an Exeter University hall of residence.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the perpetrators "deserve nothing but our contempt".
The university said it was investigating, but said the graffiti may have been an "ill-judged" joke.
The graffiti and sign have been removed.
Last September there was an investigation after students wore T-shirts featuring racist and anti-Semitic slogans to a pub crawl hosted by the university's Snowsports society.
In a statement, the Union of Jewish Students said the latest incident was "concerning".
"This abhorrent suggestion comes in the same academic year as the phrase 'The Holocaust was a good time' was scrawled on a shirt at a University of Exeter society's event last September... we hope that this incident is treated with equal gravity," it said.
Exeter University said the graffiti may have been parodying a sketch in a TV comedy show.
A spokesman said any form of racist or discriminatory behaviour was unacceptable.
"The actions of those involved are in contrast to the vast majority of students, who help to build our tolerant and inclusive university community," a statement said.


Illustrator Quentin Blake, who has been knighted in the New Year Honours list, is perhaps best known for the distinctive drawings that helped bring to life some of the most popular characters in children's literature.

Over many years, he worked with Roald Dahl on some of his most famous books and his sketches captured the very essence of Willy Wonka, Matilda and the BFH.
His own heavily illustrated and quirky books include Mister Magnolia, Zagazoo and Loveykins.
Born Quentin Saxby Blake, he was born in 1932 in Sidcup, which is now part of south east London, and studied English at Cambridge.
After National Service he did a postgraduate diploma at the University of London, going on to teach at the Royal College of Art, where he was the head of illustration between 1978-86.
He was first published at the age of 16 in the satirical magazine Punch - while he was still a pupil a Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School.
A later cover featured his illustration of a weightlifter at full stretch being aped by a dog carrying a bone.
He said: "I can remember getting a letter from the art editor congratulating me on being the youngest contributor and I thought 'this is alright!'. I started drawing for print then."
From there, he went on to illustrate nearly 300 books with writers such as Joan Aiken, Michael Rosen and John Yeoman.
Blake also worked on more than 150 episodes of the BBC children's show Jackanory, providing the illustrations for the books narrated for the young audience.
"I draw every day - unless I'm being interviewed," Blake told the BBC.
"What is nice is to have different kinds of things to do."
Blake began working with Dahl after a meeting in 1975 set up by their publisher.
By that point, Dahl had already published some of his most famous works including James and The Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr Fox.
"Initially I was rather apprehensive because he was a big chap and very famous, but it was a relationship that worked," said Blake.
"Because I had established myself as an illustrator, I had something to bring to it."
Blake became the first ever Children's Laureate when the position was created in 1999, using his tenure to promote literature for the young.
Among his other accolades are the JM Barrie lifetime achievement award, which he received in 2008, the Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration in 2002 and an honorary degree from the Anglia Ruskin university in Cambridge.
He was made an OBE in 1988, a CBE in 2004 and will receive his knighthood at Buckingham Palace during 2013, for his services to illustration.
The 80-year-old's most recent collaboration has been with comic actor and writer David Walliams.
They first worked together on Walliams' debut children's novel The Boy in the Dress, which was published in 2008.
He admitted he was initially apprehensive about working with the Little Britain co-creator.
"I was also worried it would have loads of projectile vomiting," he said, "but I wanted to do it as soon as I read it."
He added: "I had breakfast with David and I think we were on the same wavelength. It was very nice because he wanted me to do it and I got so involved in it that I did twice as many drawings as I was supposed to."
The pair have now worked on five books together, including Walliams' latest book Mr Stink, about a girl who befriends a local tramp and hides him in her garden shed to stop him being driven out of town.
Walliams said of Blake: "His work kind of means children's books somehow, so even if you haven't studied it or don't pay attention to who illustrators are, you know his work.
"It has been copied everywhere so many times that it is now part of the culture."
He added: "I think the magic of his work is that it doesn't tell you exactly what the person looks like, it allows you add your own imagination to it."
As well as illustrating books, Blake also does work with hospitals and mental health units, decorating buildings with his sketches.
"It's a different kind of brief, a different kind of audience. A lot of the pictures I do in hospitals are to cheer up gaunt surroundings," he said.
He was also the instigator of the House of Illustration project, which aims to open a museum dedicated to illustration in London by 2014.
However, even the most beloved of artists have their critics and one slight levelled at Blake is the consistently upbeat nature of his drawings.
"There are a lot of smiles about, it's true," he admitted. "People have come up and said 'thank you for your work' - and 'joy' is the word they've used, but I've also been reproached for it, for being too cheerful.
"But if you add a smile, it doesn't make it necessarily joyful."


Former world 110m hurdles record holder Colin Jackson is against UK Athletics' proposal to reset world records.

UKA chairman Ed Warner, who floated the idea, wants a "new era" of clean athletics after recent doping scandals.
"I don't think that should be the case. World records are world records," Jackson told BBC Wales Sport.
But he wants a fresh bidding process to take place for the 2019 World Athletics Championships if allegations of corruption are proven against Qatar.
An investigation into two bids by Qatar's capital Doha for the 2017 and 2019 championships is ongoing, following allegations of bribes, Warner has told a Parliamentary select committee.
"If there has been corruption and there's time for a rebid, then yes, that should happen," said Jackson.
"If other countries are prepared to bid, and they think it was a bad way that Qatar got the championship, I see no reason why not to have a new bidding process. That's only fair."
Qatar lost out to London for the 2017 event but beat Eugene and Barcelona to secure the 2019 championships.
Jackson's 110m hurdles time of 12.91 seconds, set in Stuttgart in 1993, stood for over 12 years.
"World record holders like Jonathan Edwards [triple jump] - I'd hate to see Jonathan's record taken from him," Jackson added.
"[But] athletes who broke world records and were proven later on to have been a doped athlete, then I think yes, get rid of those records."
Warner has also called for Russia to be prevented from sending an athletics team to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The country was banned from international athletics competition following an independent World Anti-Doping Agency report that alleged widespread doping by Russian athletes.
Jackson though doesn't think an Olympic ban for Russian athletes later this year would be fair on the country's clean athletes.
"There are many great athletes in Russia who are not playing with drugs, who just train hard so it's really difficult to say: 'Ban them all,'" said Jackson.
"I understand where Ed is coming from and it's a really powerful statement.
"Sometimes people have to take the fall and if somebody innocent gets dragged into it, it's really unfortunate, so I wouldn't want to see it happen."


About 150 lobsters have been stolen from a Fife dock after being caught by a fisherman.

The catch, thought to be worth about £1,300, was taken from Methil Docks between 01:00 and 05:00 on Monday.
Police said they believe the lobsters were hand-picked from a container, and urged restaurant owners to be on the alert.
Sgt Craig Fyall said: "This might seem like a comical incident, but this is a fisherman's livelihood."
He added: "It's likely they were hand-picked from the container, so it would've been noticeable if anyone left the docks with that amount of lobsters.
"If anyone remembers seeing anything suspicious, or has any relevant information, please contact police."


Indian minister Smriti Irani's office has denied a car from her convoy caused a man's death on Saturday.

Ramesh Nagar died and his daughter and nephew were hurt as a car hit their bike on the busy Agra-Delhi motorway.
His family filed a police complaint which said that the car which hit him was part of the minister's convoy, and that she did not help the victims.
But on Monday Ms Irani's office rejected the allegations and said she had called for medical assistance.
PTI news agency quoted a statement as saying that the car which hit Mr Nagar's motorbike "had nothing to do with HRD [Human Resource Development] Minister's cavalcade as being run in section of media".
The statement added that Ms Irani had instructed officials "to arrange ambulance immediately so that injured could be given medical treatment at the earliest".
The statement was issued after the family told several media outlets that she had refused to help the accident victims.
Abhishek, Mr Nagar's son, told BBC Hindi that "the minister got out of her car" and left the scene of the accident "despite my sister's pleas".
"She is such an important minister, but she did nothing to help. A stranger helped and he called me to inform me about the accident. He also called the police," he said.
The minister tweeted on Saturday about the crash.


Britain is "too lazy and too fat" with businessmen preferring "golf on a Friday afternoon"  to trying to boost the country's prosperity, Liam Fox has said.

The international trade secretary's remarks, at a Conservative Way Forward event, were recorded by the Times.
Downing Street said he was clearly expressing private views.
Richard Reed, Innocent Drinks co-founder, said Mr Fox "had never done a day's business in his life".
Mr Fox, who was a prominent voice within the Leave campaign in the EU referendum, is in charge of negotiating trade deals for the UK once it has left the European Union.
During his speech to activists on Thursday evening he said there needed to be a change in British business culture and said people had got to stop thinking about exporting as an opportunity and start thinking about it as a duty.
"This country is not the free-trading nation it once was. We have become too lazy, and too fat on our successes in previous generations," he said.
He added: "Companies who could be contributing to our national prosperity - but choose not to because it might be too difficult or too time-consuming or because they can't play golf on a Friday afternoon - we've got to be saying to them if you want to share in the prosperity of our country you have a duty to contribute to the prosperity of our country."
In Mr Fox's speech he also criticised the "Foreign Office view of the world" for focusing on capital cities and diplomacy rather than business, and claimed his new government department had taken charge of "trading elements".
The comments follow his letter to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, which was leaked to the press, suggesting British trade would not flourish unless the Foreign Office was reduced to a department focused only on diplomacy and security.
Liam Fox says that UK exporters are too often on the golf course to focus on selling their wares overseas.
No-one knows how much business is done on the front or back nine - or more plausibly in the clubhouse over a glass of something - but it's probably not insignificant.
Business bibles such as Forbes, CNBC and Bloomberg all have special features about golf and its importance to sealing a deal.
People do business with other people and golf is a game which replies on honesty, temperament and sound judgement. Cheating is shunned. Deciding whether to do a deal with someone can require similar attributes.
Setting aside your clubs for a moment though, many business people will have been galled to be told that they are too lazy not to be exporting and that it is their duty to be doing so.
The notion that entrepreneurs couldn't be bothered to increase their sales will irritate - especially when it comes from a politician who has never run a company.
A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Fox had been expressing his own views at the event, and not the views of the government.
Mr Fox's own spokesman said the minister was committed to supporting the full range of businesses in the UK so they could best take advantage of the opportunities that Brexit presented.
But Mr Reed, who was also deputy chair of the official Remain referendum campaign, called Mr Fox's comments "absolutely disgusting".
"He is a representative of us, of this country, and he turns round and slags us off, calling us fat and lazy," he said on BBC Radio 4's Today. "He's never done a day's business in his life."
"He's talking about business people here who were absolutely clear in saying that we want, and do, export, and that's why we do want to remain in the EU... I just think: 'how dare he talk down the country that he damaged, how dare he'.
"He's a terrible, terrible voice for British business."
Mr Reed added that he'd "never played golf in [his] life".
Labour MP Chuka Umunna said Mr Fox's comments were "a complete disgrace, coming from the man supposed to be promoting our businesses globally" and UK businesses deserved an apology.
"UK business must have woken up today, read Liam Fox's comments, and thought with friends like these who needs enemies", he tweeted.
The chief executive of the Engineering Employers Federation, Terry Scuoler, said: "The comments from Liam Fox were extremely unwise and very unhelpful.
"What we're looking for in these uncertain times is support from government - not negativity - particularly through the forthcoming Autumn Statement."
Shadow minister without portfolio Jonathan Ashworth said Mr Fox lacked "humility" and should apologise.
"These are offensive and crass comments," he said.
"Every MP knows of hard working businesses in their constituency who are struggling at the moment. None of them are lazy or more interested in playing golf."
Pat McFadden, Labour MP and supporter of the Open Britain campaign group pushing for a close relationship with the EU, said he was sceptical about how Mr Fox could fulfil his role.
"If the government doesn't confirm it supports membership of the single market it won't serve British business, but that is hardly surprising if ministers can't even speak up for British business," he said.
"It is hard to see why the government's trade minister is attacking British business when he is supposed to be promoting the UK as a great place to do business."


A village pub, visited of Chinese President Xi Jinping and then Prime Minister David Cameron, could be the model for a chain of pubs across China.

Chinese investment firm SinoFortone has bought The Plough at Cadsden, near Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire.
Mr Cameron took Mr Xi there during the state visit to the UK in October 2015.
Peter Zhang, managing director of SinoFortone, said the English pub concept with fish and chips and beer was growing "very fast" in China..
"We see bigger opportunities, namely countries lying between China and Europe, where we believe we could also export the UK brand internationally," he said.
The Plough, which dates back to the 16th Century, shot to fame in China when the president ate fish and chips and drank a pint during a state visit to the UK last year.
Buses now ferry hundreds of Chinese tourists from London to the country pub.
While the inn was not officially up for sale, SinoFortone Investment managed to strike a deal after approaching pub and restaurant agent Christie and Co, to ask the owners if they would sell.
SinoFortone, which has been linked with a bid for Liverpool Football club,  is also involved in the new London Paramount theme park development and the proposed Crossrail 2 route through London.
Pub group Greene King has also seen sales of its beers rocket in China after Mr Xi's visit.


An excellent second-half performance just failed to bring Scotland a deserved win over Denmark in the first of their two friendlies in Cyprus.

The higher-ranked Danes were the better side in the first half and led 2-1 thanks to goals by captain Pernille Harder and Johanna Rasmussen either side of a Jane Ross strike.
Scotland's young substitutes made a huge impact in the second half.
And their pressure paid off when Erin Cuthbert levelled in 71 minutes.
The only downside for Scotland head coach Anna Signeul was watching her captain, goalkeeper Gemma Fay, limp off in the first half. She has been taken to hospital for X-rays on her left foot.
Scotland gave a first start to forward Fiona Brown since she suffered an ACL knee injury playing against France in May 2015.
The 21-year-old recently joined Swedish club Eskilstuna United from Glasgow City and she partnered Jane Ross in a 4-4-2 set-up.
Denmark opened the scoring after just five minutes and it was a poor goal for Scotland to concede. Fay's clearance was collected by Sanne Troelsgaard and then Harder was given too much space to slip the ball past the Scotland goalkeeper after being fed by Rasmussen.
The Danes continued to look the more dangerous until Ross equalised after 22 minutes. Kim Little, who looked lively throughout, fed a fine ball through and it was also an excellent finish by the Manchester City striker, who scored from 22 yards.
There was a lengthy hold-up when Fay crumpled to the ground after trying to collect a high ball. She was eventually replaced by Vittsjo's Shannon Lynn. The replacement could do little to prevent Denmark's second, scored by Rasmussen just after the half hour from close range.
As planned, Signeul brought Rachel Corsie, Leanne Crichton, Cuthbert and Lizzie Arnot on at the start of the second half and that completely transformed the game.
Just about every chance was created by the Scots, with 18-year-old Cuthbert, who has joined Chelsea from Glasgow City, in particular making a massive impact up front beside Jane Ross.
Scotland richly deserved the equaliser which came their way after 71 minutes. It was a fine team move and Cuthbert finished it off with a powerful strike.
Scotland came very close to turning the game completely on its head in the closing few minutes. Corsie, playing her first game for six months, was just wide with a header from a Kim Little corner.
Then the outstanding Cuthbert came even closer, her shot rattling back off the far post and Jane Ross narrowly missing out on bundling the rebound home.
Rachel Corsie: "I felt really good to get 45 minutes under my belt. It has been a long time. It was also nice to get a good team performance. I thought we were terrific in the second half from back to front.
"Erin Cuthbert did really well. She played a little further forward than she's maybe used to. She gave us a good outlet, as did the other younger players who came on.
"It's an excellent start to our Euro 2017 preparations. Theses games are friendlies for a reason, but they count for a lot and we need to keep building the momentum and creating a good morale in the team."
Scotland: Fay (Lynn 28), Frankie Brown, Dieke (Corsie 46), Beattie, Mitchell (Arnot 46), L Ross (Cuthbert 46), Little, Weir (Crichton 46), Lauder, Fiona Brown (Emslie 78), J Ross
Yellow card: Weir


An anarchist group has claimed it started a fire which ripped through a police firearms training centre being built in Somerset.

A passing officer spotted the blaze at the Black Rock centre in Portishead in the early hours of Tuesday.
In a post on the Bristol Indymedia website, the group, called "Angry Foxes Cell", says it "used accelerant to burn the major electrical cables".
Police said it is too early to decide "cause or responsibility".
A spokesman said the group's claims were "one of the lines of enquiry" and a forensic team will be investigating the incident.
He said he wanted to stress that as the facility was still under construction it did not contain ammunition or anything that posed any danger to the public.
Avon and Somerset PCC Sue Mountstevens described the fire as "devastating".
She apologised to the local community for any inconvenience caused by the fire and while the site is being made safe.
The group said in the post that its members targeted the construction site on Monday night, leaving it with "flames licking high".
Angry Foxes Cell said it "puts smiles on our faces to realise how easy it was" to target the building.
The statement claimed the group also slashed tyres and poured paint stripper on two vehicles in Bristol - one belonging to the security company G4S and the other to GEOAmey, a firm that transports prisoners.
The post concludes by saying the "night of action coincides with the announced start of the planned cull of wild badgers in the south-west of England".
"Through attempting to facilitate the cull and stop resistance the police shore up the interests of agricultural industry and the land-owning classes.
"We hope this will be one of many rebellions against this slaughter."
The final sentence says: "The struggle will continue until all are wild and free."
Avon and Somerset Police said no-one had been arrested in connection with the badger cull in west Somerset.
A G4S spokesman confirmed one of its vehicles had been damaged, while GEOAmey said none of its fleet in Bristol had been vandalised.
A fire service spokeswoman said the cause of the blaze was not yet known.
"Firefighters are likely to be there for some time checking for any hot spots to make sure the blaze doesn't reignite," she said.
"Once the building is secure an investigation into the circumstances of the fire will take place."
Valley Road remains closed and drivers are being advised to take alternative routes. Firefighters are expected to be on site for several days.
The centre, which is being built at Black Rock Quarry, is to be used by the Avon and Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire forces.
The facility, which will contain two indoor firing ranges and classrooms, is due to open in January.
It is part of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) deal, worth more than Â£100m, which will also see police stations and other operational facilities built in Patchway, Keynsham and Bridgwater.
Bristol Indymedia is a volunteer-run open-access news website which is part of the global Indymedia movement which covers "grassroots, non-commercial news".


Real Madrid extended their unbeaten run to 36 games by beating Club America 2-0 to reach the Fifa Club World Cup final.

Karim Benzema gave the European champions the lead with a clipped finish after a Toni Kroos pass.
Cristiano Ronaldo sealed the win - and a place in Sunday's final against Kashima Antlers - by drilling a second in added time amid some confusion.
Referee Enrique Caceres briefly asked for a video assistant consultation before allowing the goal to stand.
This year's Club World Cup is the first tournament to use video assistant referees. A pitchside monitor is available to referees to review decisions.
However, Caceres did not view the incident on the monitor before restarting the game and awarding the goal.
In the other semi-final, referee Viktor Kassai stopped the game after being alerted to an incident by his assistant, then viewed footage on a monitor and gave a penalty to Kashima Antlers in their win over Atletico Nacional.
The Club World Cup features champion club sides from each of Fifa's six continental confederations.
Before Real Madrid's match began, there was a minute's silence at the Yokohama Stadium, in tribute to the victims of the air crash on 28 November that killed 71 people, including 19 players and staff of Brazilian team Chapecoense.
Ronaldo, who won the Ballon d'Or for a fourth time earlier in the week, had hit the post with a glancing header from Lucas Vazquez's cross before Benzema scored.
The Portuguese then had a shot blocked and headed wide before scoring.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said that the uncertainty surrounded Ronaldo's late strike needs to be ironed out as new uses of technology are trialled.
Referee Caceres initially called for a video review, before independently deciding that there had been no infringement in the build-up to the goal.
"Things have to be clearer. We can not control what they want to do to improve things with technology but things have to be clearer," the former France international said.
The tournament is the first time that a pitch-side monitor has been available for referees to view footage to help them make "match-changing decisions"..
Match ends, América 0, Real Madrid 2.
Second Half ends, América 0, Real Madrid 2.
Offside, América. Rubens Sambueza tries a through ball, but Oribe Peralta is caught offside.
Goal!  América 0, Real Madrid 2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by James Rodríguez.
Nacho (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Nacho (Real Madrid).
Carlos Quintero (América) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Marcelo.
Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by José Daniel Guerrero (América).
Attempt missed. Michael Arroyo (América) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by William Da Silva.
Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Paolo Goltz (América).
Corner,  Real Madrid. Conceded by Pablo Aguilar.
Substitution, Real Madrid. Álvaro Morata replaces Karim Benzema.
Foul by Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid).
William Da Silva (América) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
James Rodríguez (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by William Da Silva (América).
Attempt saved. Luka Modric (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez.
Substitution, Real Madrid. James Rodríguez replaces Toni Kroos.
Substitution, América. Michael Arroyo replaces Silvio Romero.
Attempt missed. Luka Modric (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Carlos Quintero (América).
Foul by Marcelo (Real Madrid).
Silvio Romero (América) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution, América. Carlos Quintero replaces Renato Ibarra.
Corner,  Real Madrid. Conceded by Paolo Goltz.
Attempt blocked. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez.
Hand ball by Karim Benzema (Real Madrid).
Attempt blocked. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez.
Substitution, América. José Daniel Guerrero replaces Ventura Alvarado.
Attempt missed. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Toni Kroos with a cross following a set piece situation.
Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Miguel Samudio (América).
Offside, Real Madrid. Luka Modric tries a through ball, but Cristiano Ronaldo is caught offside.
Foul by Raphael Varane (Real Madrid).
Oribe Peralta (América) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Luka Modric (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.


Democrats have condemned President Donald Trump's tweet attacking a clothing retailer after it dropped a fashion line owned by his daughter.

Mr Trump tweeted that "Ivanka has been treated so unfairly" by clothing retailer Nordstrom.
A Democratic senator called the post "inappropriate" and an ex-White House ethics tsar dubbed it "outrageous".
Earlier this month Nordstrom became the fifth retailer to drop the Ivanka Trump clothing line, citing lack of sales.
The move comes amid a boycott of all Trump products, which activists have dubbed #GrabYourWallet, in reference to a 2005 comment Mr Trump made about women's bodies.
A spokesman for Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey said the senator "feels it is unethical and inappropriate for the president to lash out at a private company for refusing to enrich his family".
Norm Eisen, who served as ethics tsar under President Barack Obama, called the move "outrageous" and advised Nordstrom to sue Mr Trump under the California Unfair Competition Law.
In 1950 President Harry Truman penned an angry letter to Washington Post music critic Paul Hume, who had panned a singing performance by the president's daughter, Margaret. Sixty-six years later, another president has come to the defence of his offspring.
For Truman, the incident led to widespread ridicule. Donald Trump's Twitter attack on Nordstrom may have graver consequences, however, calling into question the appropriateness of a president using his public megaphone not just to protect a daughter's honour, but to advance the family's business interests as well.
Mr Trump has slammed companies before, but that at least has been in the name of advancing US economic interests. This is different. This is personal.
Ethics experts have warned that Mr Trump's assurances of a "firewall" between his presidency and his family's financial concerns was insufficient. Now the president has provided a new, key piece of supporting evidence that could very well be cited in lawsuits trying to force Mr Trump to fully divest from his business empire.
The irony is that Mr Trump's efforts may backfire. Would any retailer want a partnership with Ivanka Trump knowing they risk the ire of the president and his supporters if things go sour?
The White House has played down the row.
Press spokesman Sean Spicer said that Nordstrom's decision was political, and the president was simply reacting to "an attack" on his daughter.
"This is a direct attack on his policies and her name and so there's clearly an attempt for [the president] to stand up for her being maligned because they have a problem with his policies," Mr Spicer said during the daily press briefing.
In announcing their decision six days ago, Nordstrom said the decision was based on the brand's performance, which is what the firm repeated on Wednesday.
"Sales of the brand have steadily declined to the point where it didn't make good business sense for us to continue with the line for now," the company said in a statement, adding that Ivanka Trump was personally informed of the decision in early January.
The tweet, which was sent by Mr Trump's @realDonaldTrump account, was then retweeted by the official @POTUS account.
Shares in the retailer fell 0.7%, before rallying slightly by midday.
Earlier this week, First Lady Melania Trump came under fire after she re-filed a lawsuit against the Daily Mail over false allegations that she once worked as an escort.
Her lawyers accused the news website of trying to deny her a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to profit from her position as "one of the most photographed women in the world".
Critics accused the First Lady of improperly seeking to profit financially from her White House position.
Mrs Trump is seeking damages of $150m (Â£120m).


Traditional Irish musician Francis McPeake has been cleared of all 12 charges of sexually abusing a girl.

The 72-year-old had denied the charges allegedly involving a 15 year old.
Mr McPeake from Eliza Street Close, Belfast, was acquitted at Belfast Crown Court on Monday.
He looked up and breathed sighs of relief as the foreman of the jury delivered unanimous verdicts of "not guilty" on each count.
The woman whom he had been accused of abusing, wept in the public gallery.
She is now 20 years old and she had claimed she was involved in a sexual relationship with Mr McPeake when she was a 15-year-old schoolgirl.
She left the court before all 12 verdicts were returned.
Mr McPeake thanked the jury as he left the dock.
In the trial, that lasted more than two weeks, the jury of six men and six women heard evidence from the woman involved, her friends and several family members.
The woman claimed she and the pensioner first became intimate during a cross-border music trip in 2009, and that when they returned to Belfast, their relationship became sexual.
The jury also heard evidence from Mr McPeake, who told them that all the allegations against him were untrue.
He said that at the time, he was offering support and guidance to a troubled teenager who was going through personal problems - maintaining that nothing sexual or intimate ever occurred between them.
Mr McPeake did not comment as he left Laganside Courts.


Barclays has apologised after customers reported problems using cash machines, debit cards and phone banking.

Some customers reported being unable to withdraw money from cash machines or use cards in shops. Online and telephone banking, and in-branch payments were also affected.
Customers were still reporting problems on Saturday evening.
However, Barclays said there had been issues with "some digital services" but that the cause had been fixed.
The BBC understands the fix is being staggered across bank's systems resulting in a delay before some customers get all their services reinstated.
It is not yet known how many of Barclays' 15 million card customers have been hit by the problems.
The bank said not all customers were affected but that issues had been reported across the UK.
The bank had earlier advised customers to use other banks' cash machines.
Several Barclays customers contacted the BBC to say they were experiencing problems.
In a tweet at 16:09, the bank said: "We're still experiencing issues affecting Barclays Debit Card and ATM transactions. Our teams are working to get this restored."
Barclays added: "Technical issues are affecting some digital services. We're investigating this and apologise for any inconvenience."
In a later statement sent to the BBC, a spokesperson said: "We're aware some customers may have had issues with some digital services today. We can confirm everything is now back up and running and customers can get money out of ATMs and card payments are going through.
"We apologise to any customers that were impacted."
The problems come months after thousands of Barclays customers in the north of the UK had payments wrongly taken from their accounts.
Barclays said customers had been refunded after having duplicate debit card payments taken from their accounts.
Many Barclays customers have tweeted about problems using their cards when out shopping or trying to access online banking on Saturday afternoon.
"Wondered why my card was declined when paying for lunch. Barclays servers have crashed. Brilliant," said one customer, James.
Nine-months pregnant, Ewa Wiczkowska was shopping in Aldi when her card was declined at the till.
The 26-year-old said she was spending the day with her daughter, before she is induced on Tuesday.
"I logged into my account to check and I do have enough money. I tried one more time, but it was declined again. I left Aldi so embarrassed.
"Instead of spending time in the park, going for lunch, buying a costume for Thursday's World Book Day at school, my daughter [and I] went back home.
"Our day was ruined, because I have no cash on me. That's the story of one very sad and disappointed Barclays Bank customer."
Another customer, Chris Sparks, who lives in Camberley, Surrey, said he was worried he would not be able to pay his council tax bill after his card was declined in a local Sainsbury's.
He said he was unable to buy food, fuel and a costume for his daughter for World Book Day.
"I can't do any of those things now. I also want to pay my council tax bill online and I'm worried that I will be fined if I can't pay it. Barclays cannot tell me whether this will last hours or days. I don't think Barclays do enough to keep their customers informed."


Defender Lathaniel Rowe-Turner says he is confident Torquay United will evade relegation from the National League.

In the last two seasons the 26-year-old has played in teams that have gone down from the division, and the left-back is keen to avoid an unwanted hat-trick.
"I don't want to do it [relegation] any more - it's not fun, hopefully I don't do it any more," he told BBC Sport.
"Everyone wants to do well for the manager. Everyone's working hard so I honestly think we'll be all right."
With four games remaining this season, the Devon side are 22nd, two points from safety.
Rowe-Turner is in his second spell with the Gulls, having played in their League Two play-off final defeat during his previous stint in 2011.
"I was here for a good two-and-a-half years before, so it does mean a lot to get the club to stay in this league," he added.
"It has been difficult to be fair, there's been a lot going on but you've just got to get on with it really.
"There's more motivation when things are being put against you - it makes you want to work harder and prove them wrong."
Meanwhile, Torquay have recalled centre-back Ben Gerring from his loan with Truro City.


Eleven members of a breakaway Catholic group have been arrested in Rwanda after they tried to deliver a "vision from Virgin Mary" to President Paul Kagame, urging him to make reforms.

The group had staged an illegal protest outside the presidential residence in the capital, Kigali, police said.
Protests outside Mr Kagame's home are extremely rare, correspondents say.
The opposition accuses him of running an authoritarian regime since he took power in 1994.
However, his supporters and Western governments credit him with ending a genocide that killed some 800,000 people before his rebel forces seized power in Rwanda.
The BBC's Jean Claude Mwambutse reports from Kigali that those who were arrested came from the little known Intwarane group, which is not recognised by  the official Roman Catholic church.
Police chief Emmanuel Gasana said the group was arrested as it was heading towards Mr Kagame's home in Kigali's wealthy suburb of Kiyovu.


At least 11 people have been killed by a record-breaking snowstorm in Japan, according to local media.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes and hundreds more injured, as more than one metre (three feet) of snow fell in some areas.
The snow forced airports to cancel flights and closed roads as it barrelled past Tokyo on Saturday.
Forecasters are warning of blizzards and avalanches later, as the storm moves north towards Hokkaido.
Kyodo news agency reported deaths in several prefectures near Tokyo, and other deaths as far south as Oita on Kyushu island.
Reports said roofs of buildings had collapsed under the weight of snow in some areas, and hundreds of drivers had been left stranded in miles-long traffic jams.
Some 27cm of snow was dumped on Tokyo on Friday and Saturday, and several other cities reported record snowfall.
It is the second major snowstorm to batter Japan in a week.
Last week Tokyo residents were warned of a severe snowstorm for the first time in more than a decade.
Eleven people were also killed in that storm, with more than 1,000 injured nationwide.


Voters have "seven days to take your chance to run Britain for working people once again", Ed Miliband has said.

Launching Labour's final week of election campaigning, he told voters: "This is your time and your chance."
And he claimed that Labour has had "four million conversations" with voters on the campaign trail and set a target of one million more.
With one week to go, polls show Labour and the Conservatives neck-and-neck.
The latest BBC poll of polls put the Conservatives on 34%, Labour on 33%, UKIP on 13%, the Lib Dems on 9% and the Greens on 5%.
At a campaign event in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, the Labour leader said the election was "not just about parties or leaders".
Labour has claimed it has had "four million conversations" with voters on the doorstep since January.
"Because we've achieved that, I'm setting a new target," Mr Miliband said, aiming for a total of five million by polling day on 7 May.
He said Labour policies such as an Â£8 per hour minimum wage and an end to what the party calls "exploitative" zero-hours contracts would provide a "bedrock of security for working families".
He accused the Conservatives of "planning to devastate family finances" by cutting tax credits and child benefit in order to make Â£12bn of welfare cuts.
The Conservatives have dismissed Labour's claim and said their opponents would "wreck" the economic recovery.
* Subscribe to the BBC Election 2015 newsletter to get a round-up of the day's campaign news sent to your inbox every weekday afternoon.


Bristol Rovers forward Matt Taylor says they will go to Northampton Town on Saturday looking to "ruin the promotion party" for the League Two leaders.

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Victory at Sixfields for the Cobblers, who are 14 points clear at the top with six games remaining, would secure them at least an automatic promotion spot.
But Rovers, whose top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions this term is Taylor, have their own promotion hopes.
"We have a gameplan to try to execute a win," he told BBC Radio Bristol.
"It will be a tough game. But we'll be going there to ruin their promotion party."
Manager Darrell Clarke added: "Northampton are going to win the league and they thoroughly deserve it. We will go there with respect.
"But we'll be expecting to win. We'll have a gameplan to try and win a football match. The expectation will always be sky-high here, while I'm manager."
Clarke's third-placed side go into Saturday's game level on points with fourth-placed Plymouth and fifth-placed Accrington, and two points behind Oxford United.


Journalists in Hong Kong have said they are "shocked and disturbed" by the sacking of an editor at prominent newspaper Ming Pao.

Ming Pao's management said on Wednesday that Keung Kwok-yuen was dismissed in a cost-cutting exercise.
But journalist unions and the paper's staff have said they believe it was a politically motivated move.
Ming Pao ran a story on Wednesday about Hong Kong politicians and individuals named in the Panama Papers leak.
The papers, leaked from a Panama law firm, exposed offshore business dealings by the rich and powerful around the world.
The sudden departure of veteran editor Mr Keung comes amid increasing concern in Hong Kong about the territory's freedoms within China.
Mr Keung, who was executive chief editor, was dismissed late on Tuesday night with immediate effect.
Editor-in-chief Chong Tien Siong said it was a resources decision in a "difficult business environment".
But the paper's staff association expressed "extreme dissatisfaction and anger", and asked whether the sacking was about "punishing staff members who have different opinions on editorial issues".
On Wednesday, staff members staged a protest outside the newspaper's offices.  A joint statement by eight other journalists' associations in Hong Kong said the public was owed an explanation.
The sacking comes two years after the paper's then chief editor Kevin Lau was also dismissed, and replaced by Mr Chong, who was widely seen as more pro-Beijing.
Mr Lau was later stabbed by two men who fled to mainland China and were subsequently jailed. They alleged they had been paid to carry out the attack but refused to say by whom.
Hong Kong is part of China, but enjoys many civil liberties, such as freedom of speech, expression and assembly, because of its status as a special administrative region.


Carl Froch retained his WBA and IBF super-middleweight titles with a ninth-round stoppage of George Groves at Manchester Arena.

Froch, 36, was floored by underdog Groves in the first round and was playing catch-up thereafter.
After some thrilling exchanges the challenger was ahead on all three judges' scorecards going into the ninth, when Froch turned things around.
However, while Groves did seem to be in some trouble when the fight was stopped, the referee probably stepped in too soon.
I'm not sure what to make of that at the end - Groves was defending himself. It started with boos and it ended with boos - they weren't boos against Groves, they were boos for the decision.
The crowd, who had jeered the 25-year-old Groves into the ring, certainly thought so, booing both the champion and the decision.
Nottingham's Froch said he would be open to a rematch, and while he has other options, he might not be able to avoid a return bout with Groves.
Other options for three-time world champion Froch include a rematch with American Andre Ward, who beat him in 2011, or hard-hitting WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
"Let's have a rematch [against Groves] and sort it out," said the champion.
The veteran fighter said that referee Howard Foster from Doncaster made the correct decision to halt the fight.
"He's is a very experienced referee. George had his head low and I had a free shot and the referee had a split-second decision to make. It was dangerous and he had to put the safety of the fighter first."
Groves made plenty of confident noises before the fight, despite his relative inexperience.
Indeed, an ill-tempered build-up brought back memories of the bitter rivalry between Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank in the 1990s.
However, while Londoner Groves had 19 wins and no defeats before Saturday, he had never fought anybody of Froch's class.
Froch was taking part in his 11th consecutive world title fight, arguably the most gruelling sequence by a British boxer in the modern era.
At the final news conference, Groves said he would meet Froch in the centre of the ring, push him onto the back foot and pepper him with right hands.
And Groves made good on his promise, flooring the champion with a crackerjack right towards the end of the first round.
Froch was on unsteady legs when he finally made it to his feet and still looked groggy at the beginning of the second, which Groves probably nicked.
Froch had Groves in a spot of bother with a flurry in the third and the challenger finished the round with pronounced swelling under his left eye.
Groves landed with a couple more big rights in the fourth and the pair exchanged smiles at the sound of the bell to end the round.
Froch got the better of some tasty exchanges in the fifth before a classic sixth, which Groves probably won courtesy of some more dynamite right hands.
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Froch employed a high guard for periods of the seventh but was unable to prevent Groves from getting through.
The champion was warned for use of his forearm in the eighth and there were signs that Groves was beginning to run out of steam.
Groves came out bombing at the start of the ninth but a thunderous right from Froch turned the fight on its head.
With Groves tottering and turning away from Froch, referee Foster decided the challenger had taken enough punishment.
The capacity crowd at the Manchester Arena were incensed at the premature ending, and it is doubtful the referee would have been so compassionate had it been the other way round.
Groves was leading 78-73, 76-75 and 76-75 on the judges' scorecards when the fight was stopped.
Froch now has 32 wins from 34 professional fights but will not be satisfied until he can secure a return match with Ward, the world's best at 168lb.
The dazzling Ward easily outpointed the previously unbeaten Edwin Rodriguez last weekend to remain undefeated in 26 fights.
But Froch, who was cheered into the ring but booed out of it, may have to do it all again against Groves before looking elsewhere.
To see a gallery of images from the fight and to comment on whether you would like to see a rematch, go to the BBC Sport Facebook page.


The government has outlined its plans to make companies justify high levels of executive pay.

Among the measures under consideration are pay ratios, which would show the gap in earnings between the chief executive and an average employee.
Shareholders would be handed more powers to vote against bosses' pay, but the government will not force companies to put workers on boards.
Prime Minister Theresa May has made tackling corporate excess a priority.
Her Conservative government is "unashamedly pro-business", but big firms must earn and keep the public's trust, she said in the consultation plans.
Chief executives of FTSE 100 firms now have a median pay package of Â£4.3m, which is 140 times that of the average worker, according to the High Pay Centre.
"There may be some circumstances where that is defensible, but it should be for the boards of companies and executives to justify that," Business Secretary Greg Clark told the BBC.
He said the UK was not alone in targeting pay ratios, with the US set to report them at the start of next year.
However, businesses have warned it would be difficult to compare pay ratios across companies.
Former Business Secretary Vince Cable proposed them four years ago, but he dropped the idea because of what he called the "Goldman-Waitrose issue".
By comparing pay gaps, Goldman Sachs will look like a more equitable company than John Lewis thanks to the very high pay of the average banker, which is around Â£400,000, explained BBC business editor Simon Jack.
Simon Jack: The great pay crackdown?
Other suggestions from the government include more frequent binding votes by shareholders on chief executive's pay packages.
"The right thing is to give greater powers to shareholders to do their job in holding executives to account," Mr Clark said.
The proposals form part of the government's Green Paper on corporate governance reform, which aims to increase public trust in business.
The paper also includes measures on:
Prime Minister Theresa May said she wanted to stop an "irresponsible minority" of private firms acting badly and ensure "everybody plays by the same rules".
The move follows widespread anger over the collapse of BHS with the loss of 11,000 jobs and a big pension deficit.
Shadow business secretary Clive Lewis said the plans could become known as the "BHS law" because they responded so closely to the retailer's demise.
"But had the proposals outlined today by the secretary of state been in place six months ago, I'm not wholly convinced that we would have avoided the corporate governance scandals that have plagued the last summer," he told MPs.
The proposals announced by Mr Clark include a bespoke code of practice for the largest private companies who would have to comply or explain why they had not in their annual report.
Private firms will also be expected to report on diversity, greenhouse gas emissions and social and community issues.
Every 30 years or so, the government has a crack at bringing businesses to heel - usually in the wake of a scandal.
In the 1980s it was Asil Nadir's Polly Peck and the late Robert Maxwell who prompted a series of corporate governance reforms.
Sports Direct and BHS are the poster children of this new crackdown and some of the measures contained in the Green Paper are designed with those miscreants in mind.
Will today's proposals succeed in changing the culture and practice of a corporate world perceived by the prime minister and others to be working for the few rather than the many?
The failure of BHS casts a long shadow over the corporate landscape and yet this Green Paper gives little emphasis on amplifying the voice of pension scheme members.
Ultimately, the success or failure of this crackdown will depend on how much is voluntary and how much is mandated. Today's Green Paper and the comments of the business secretary suggest that the government wants to encourage rather than impose a new approach.
That will be seen by most as a far cry from the fighting talk of Theresa May's early days.
Read Simon's blog in full
Mr Clark also said he hoped the Green Paper would give a "stronger voice" to workers.
Non-executive directors or advisory panels could represent workers' interests in the boardroom, the consultation paper suggests.
Last week, Mrs May appeared to row back from plans to force companies to appoint employees to their boards, an idea that had caused unease among companies.
She ruled out forcing firms to appoint employees to company boards when she gave a talk to the CBI, saying there were "other routes" to providing worker representation on boards.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said the prime minister should have the confidence to take on "big business elites" over the issue.
"Workers on boards is a policy that's tried, tested and proven in many other countries. And it will work for Britain too, helping us build a stronger and fairer economy," she said.
The Institute of Directors welcomed the proposed changes to private firms.
"The government is right to bring a new focus to the corporate governance of unlisted companies, which at the moment is a bit of black box - we don't know what's going on in there until something goes wrong," said head of corporate governance Oliver Parry.


Worcestershire batsman Joe Clarke top-scored with 89 as MCC were bowled out for 332 on the opening day of the Champion County match in Abu Dhabi.

James Harris (3-49) and Ravi Patel (3-83) ensured MCC were kept in check.
Northamptonshire's Ben Duckett made 69 and Yorkshire opener Alex Lees 41 after MCC had won the toss.
And it was MCC's day when Lewis Gregory removed Sam Robson in the four overs Middlesex had to face before stumps, Middlesex closing 9-1 - 323 behind.
Middlesex limited MCC to two significant partnerships with Harry Podmore (2-44) and Tom Helm (2-46) also among the wickets.
Duckett and Lees shared a stand of 109 - the highest partnership of the innings - before Lees was stumped by John Simpson to become Patel's first wicket of the day.
The off-spinner then trapped Duckett lbw.
Clarke found Ben Cox for company in a stand of 81 before Podmore won an lbw appeal against Cox for 40.
Seamer Harris removed Clarke 11 shy of his century after tea and picked up Liam Plunkett for 15 as MCC lost their last five wickets for just 42 runs.


Corey McMullan scored a late winner as Ballyclare Comrades beat Institute 1-0 in the first leg of their Championship play-off at Dixon Park on Tuesday.

McMullan drilled a low 20-yard shot into the bottom corner in the 81st minute to ensure his side going into Friday's second leg at Drumahoe ahead.
The winner of the tie will play Carrick Rangers over two legs next week, with the victor sealing a Premiership place.
Warrenpoint Town have already been promoted as Championship winners.
This is the first year that a play-off between the second and third placed teams in the Championship has taken place, Institute having finished second, six points ahead of Comrades.
Ballyclare had the better of the first half and their best scoring opportunity fell to Dean Youle, his effort being kept out by Martin Gallagher.
For the visitors, Mark Scoltock headed over from eight yards from a Michael McCrudden corner.
In the second-half, Gallagher made another important intervention, tipping Chris Trussell's 25-yard free-kick over the bar.
Institute's Stephen O'Donnell saw his header come off the top of the bar, while Sammy Morrow had his shot denied by Paddy Flood.
The team that emerges on top after Friday's second leg will host Carrick, who finished 11th in the top flight, in the first leg of the promotion/relegation play-off on Tuesday 9 May, with Rangers enjoying home advantage for the second leg on Friday 12 May.


Wicketkeeper Adam Rouse has signed a contract extension with Kent after an impressive start to the season.

Rouse, 24, joined Kent in January 2016 after Ryan Davies move to Somerset.
He struck an unbeaten 95 against Derbyshire, a career-best first-class score, and has 13 catches in three County Championship games this season.
"I'm enjoying my role right now and with Sam Billings away it's given me a nice opportunity to figure out my game and develop as a player," he said.
Rouse played previously for Hampshire and Gloucestershire before moving to Kent on a temporary contract in 2015.
The former England Under-19 international has now established himself as Kent's first-choice keeper, with Billings out of action because of commitments with the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.
"He's kept brilliantly and scored some vital runs since he joined the club," said head coach Matt Walker.
"There's a lot more to come from him and with Sam Billings away on England duty, he will play a lot of cricket."


A primary school from Drumgreenagh in County Down has made it to the semi-final of Britain's Got Talent.

Thirty-five pupils from St Patrick's Junior Choir performed for judges Simon Cowell, David Walliams, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden during Saturday night's episode on ITV.
The choir, who were BBC Radio Ulster School Choir of the Yea in 2016, received a standing ovation.
The semi-final is due to take place on Monday at 19:30 BST.
In a tweet on Saturday night the school said: "We did it!!!!!! Thanks so much for everyone's support.... now we need you to tune in and watch live on Mon night - VOTE for us!!!!!!"
A further tweet on Sunday morning read: "After the excitement of last night we are getting ready for our next live performance on Monday. Please watch and please vote!"


Five men and a woman have been charged with 53 child sexual offences relating to the alleged sexual exploitation of a number of girls in Sheffield.

The charges include numerous counts of rape and conspiracy to rape and relate to eight victims, South Yorkshire Police said.
The offences are alleged to have occurred between 2005 and 2012.
The six, aged between 22 and 38 and from South Yorkshire, are due before magistrates in Sheffield on 21 March.


Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale says his budget dictates he cannot "buy the best of everything" in the transfer market this summer.

The League Two club have 19 players under contract for next season, in addition to four academy graduates.
They also have six players, including Christian Ribeiro and Alex Nicholls, who are yet to be offered new deals.
"You've got to compromise in some areas and that's not being disrespectful to some players," Tisdale told BBC Sport.
"I might be able to be quite bullish when it comes to making one or two signings, but then in other areas we have to be considered and selective with our recruitment.
"When you make that one signing that might cost you 50% more than you were hoping to spend, that will then influence how much money you have left for the next signing - it's as simple as that."
Since the end of the season Exeter have signed midfielder Lloyd James, plus strikers Robbie Simpson and Liam McAlinden, all on free transfers.
Tisdale says he wants to make "two or three more signings" ahead of the new campaign, "primarily in defensive positions".
"Most of what I'm doing is blind, you're going into the selection process blind of value and cost - you've got to go very slowly and you have to work it out bit by bit," he added.
"It's like going to Sainsbury's - you've got a budget to spend and you've got to buy all different types of things for your shopping trolley and if you start buying the best in everything, you'll find that you haven't got any money to fill your trolley up with some of the basics.
"It's the ugly side of the game because you're leaving people hanging on, players are keeping clubs hanging on - it's a big game of poker and it takes a long time."


Seamer Jofra Archer helped secure Sussex a fourth County Championship Division Two victory of the season as they beat Leicestershire by 231 runs.

Set 425 to win, the Foxes slumped from 116-3 at lunch on the last day at Arundel to be dismissed for 193.
Archer finished with 4-30 in the second innings to take his championship wicket tally against Leicestershire to 16 in their two fixtures this season.
Colin Ackermann (43) top-scored for the visitors in their sixth loss this year.