Leicester's main hospital has experienced an influx at its A&E department after Leicester City's Premier League title party.

Leicester Royal Infirmary said twice as many people as usual had arrived at the unit overnight, with many suffering alcohol-related injuries.
On Saturday, the Foxes beat Everton at home 3-1 before being presented with the Premier League trophy.
The hospital urged people not to attend A&E unless it was an emergency.
Thousands of fans poured in to the city to join in the football celebrations following Leicester's incredible 5000/1 top-flight triumph.
A statement from the University of Leicester Hospitals NHS Trust said: "Last night and this morning we have seen twice as many patients in our emergency department than we would normally on a Saturday night and Sunday morning.
"We expected it to be incredibly busy this weekend and have the necessary plans in place to safely treat our patients.
"A plea is for those who do not need to come into A&E to call NHS 111 for healthcare advice."
Opera star Andrea Bocelli kicked the party off at the King Power Stadium with pre-match renditions of Nessun Dorma and Time to Say Goodbye, honouring a recent promise to his countryman Ranieri.
The party baton was then handed over to the players, who brushed Everton aside with a goal from Andy King and two from Jamie Vardy before the visitors struck a late consolation.
An open top bus parade will take place on Monday 16 May, ending up in Leicester's Victoria Park.


Growth in South Korea - Asia's fourth largest economy - marginally beat estimates and expanded 2.5% during the first three months of 2015 compared with a year earlier.

The Bank of Korea had estimated annual growth of 2.4% for the period.
Quarter-on-quarter growth came in at 0.8%, in line with expectations.
Growth was boosted by construction and construction investment, as well as manufacturing and private consumption.
Analysts had predicted that the country's growth would remain soft in the first quarter of 2015, before picking up pace later in the year.
In the fourth quarter of 2014, South Korea's economic growth fell to a six year low, expanding a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in the October - December period compared with the the previous quarter, when growth hit 0.9%.
At the start of June, a private survey suggested manufacturing activity in the country, which is export-dependent, contracted in May for the third month in a row.
Official data also showed the country's exports in May were down 10.9% from a year earlier, while imports were down 15.3%.
The numbers fuelled concerns over South Korea's faltering economic recovery, particularly as China's economy continues to slow.
China, the US and the European Union are South Korea's biggest export markets.
To help boost growth, the Bank of Korea in March cut its rates by 25 basis point to 1.75%.
The move surprised markets, but analysts have said the bank may cut its benchmark interest rate again to an historic low of 1.5% in the coming months.


A salesman from Kettering is to appear before a High Court judge over what he knows about his missing nephew, who vanished six months ago.

Judge Mr Justice Peter Jackson is investigating the disappearance of seven-year-old Mani Dad.
Mani was living in Poland with his mother, Leyla Dad, when he vanished. He is thought to be in the UK with her estranged husband.
His uncle, Mohammed Chaudhry, is to appear before the judge on Thursday.
Ms Dad's estranged husband, Zayn Dean, 47, is also known as Dholtana Dad, lawyers say.
She has launched family court proceedings in a bid to find her son.
Another judge raised questions about Mr Chaudhry at an earlier court hearing.
Mr Justice Newton said at a hearing in June that his preliminary view was that Mr Chaudhry had not told him "everything that was going on".
He has told of his "grave anxiety" for Mani's welfare.
Lawyers for Ms Dad, 33, say Mr Dean has links to Kettering, Bedford, Birmingham and Manchester.
Ms Dad - who uses her middle name, Paulina - made a direct appeal to Mr Dean and wrote an open letter to Mani, saying: "I promise we will be together again soon, my baby."
Lawyers said she has begun legal proceedings under the terms of the 1980 Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.


Injury-hit Wolves have suffered a new blow with the loss of Michal Zyro for potentially more than a year with multiple knee ligament damage.

The Poland international was injured following a late challenge on his left knee by defender Antony Kay in Tuesday's 2-1 away win at MK Dons.
Following an initial scan, the 23-year-old forward is now facing surgery.
"If he gets back in under a year, he'll have done well," Wolves head of medical Phil Hayward told BBC WM.
"He's really looking at a full year and maybe more than that.
"He has suffered damage to both the cruciate and lateral knee ligaments, as well as other structural damage. There is a small fracture on the inside of the knee, indicative of the amount of force involved in the challenge.
"He will see a consultant this week and undergo surgery once the swelling has subsided at some point in the next two weeks. The timeframe will become more apparent following surgery. But he is expected to be out for a considerable time."
MK Dons defender Kay was yellow carded for the challenge by match referee Mark Heywood.
Zyro is the third Wolves player to suffer a serious knee injury this season.
Striker Nouha Dicko has been sidelined since August, while winger Jordan Graham was then himself ruled out for up to nine months in January.
Wolves have also lost winger Razak Boukari and defender Ethan Ebanks-Landell for the season, while centre-half Mike Williamson (thigh injury) has not figured since returning to the club from Newcastle United in January.
Since Christmas, they have also spent long spells without Zyro, who missed two months with a calf injury, James Henry, Dave Edwards and Jed Wallace.
Henry made his first start since February in midweek, while Wales international Edwards made a late appearance from the bench.
Wolves head coach Kenny Jackett has cleared up confusion over midfielder Kevin McDonald's whereabouts.
It was reported that the 27-year-old Scot had been told to "train with the kids" after being left out of Jackett's matchday squad of 18 at MK Dons.
But McDonald actually voluntarily chose to keep fit with Wolves' Under-18 side. They were the only ones in training, because the Under-21 team also had a game on Tuesday.
McDonald, Wolves' player of the year in 2013-14 when they won the League One title, has not made the starting line-up since 8 March and has been linked with an end-of-season move to Scottish Championship winners Rangers.
Wolves boss Kenny Jackett and head of medical Phil Hayward were speaking to BBC WM's Rob Gurney.


A 22-year-old man has been charged with murder after a fatal shooting in Liverpool.

Mark Hillman, 26, was shot twice in the back and found on a pavement in Lloyd Close, Everton, on 27 April last year.
John Paul Johns, of Broad Lane, Kirby, has been charged with murder and is due to appear at South Sefton Magistrates Court on Saturday.
Two men have previously been charged with conspiracy to commit murder in relation to Mr Hillman's death.
A third man was charged with two counts of assisting an offender and a section 18 wounding offence in October.


The proposed takeover of Reading by a Chinese-based consortium is hinging on approval by the Premier League.

Businessman Dai Yongge and sister Dai Xiu Li began negotiations in November to buy the club from its Thai owners.
The Premier League, who have a say in takeovers of clubs who could compete in their league, are said to be cautious.
Yongge failed in an attempt to buy Hull City in September after reportedly not meeting the Football Association's fit and proper persons test.
One insider at Reading sees the Chinese offer as the "dream ticket".
However, the deal is dependant on convincing officials that Yongge and his associates are suitable additions to the English game.
Reading sit third in the Championship in manager Jaap Stam's first season in charge, but following a 1-0 defeat by QPR on Thursday, Dutchman Stam made his frustrations public at the uncertainty off the pitch.
"Everybody's asking me questions about what's going to happen," he told BBC Radio Berkshire.
"I don't know if there is going to be any more transfers.
"You need to have clarity within the group, a certain structure within the club with what's going to happen.
"What I thought was going to happen when I joined Reading was to build a team and hopefully make steps towards the Premier League.
"But, with the club for sale, you don't know what the new owners want to do."
Reading have been owned by the Thai consortium of Lady Sasima Srivikorn, Sumrith Thanakarnjanasuth and Narin Niruttinanon since September 2014.
They are understood to have become increasingly squeamish over the outlay required to bankroll the club from month-to-month.
Enthusiasm seems to be waning, despite Reading's exceptional form on the pitch, which has put them in promotion contention.


The Welsh Liberal Democrats' leader has pledged to be "relentlessly focused on getting public services right", ahead of their spring conference in Cardiff.

Kirsty Williams said the Lib Dem vision for May's assembly election would be to "provide good schools, good hospitals and a vibrant economy".
Ms Williams will accuse Labour Welsh ministers of failing "to get even the basics right" after 17 years in power.
The conference takes place on Saturday and Sunday.
"In the forthcoming election, the Welsh Liberal Democrats will show that we have listened to people's concerns," Ms Williams said.
"Our vision for a future Welsh parliament is one that finally gives people what they want - good schools, good hospitals and a vibrant economy.
"We will be relentlessly focused on getting public services right."
The party's key pledges include:
The Lib Dems are facing an uphill struggle in the assembly poll, after their collapse at the 2015 general election which left them with just one MP in Wales.
They currently have five assembly members.
Before Ms Williams' main speech on Saturday, party members will hear from UK Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron.
It's almost a cliche these days to describe an election as being a "make or break" one for the Liberal Democrats, but with the party facing a possible wipe-out in May's assembly election it's clear a bad result could cause long-lasting damage.
Having seen its Westminster representation reduced to a single seat and its local government base severely eroded, the Welsh party has come to depend more on the assembly group to maintain its profile.
The last assembly election in 2011 saw a plunge in support for the party following the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition at Westminster.
But despite a near-collapse in its vote, the party succeeded in dodging the bullet in terms of seats, retaining seats by narrow margins in four of the assembly's five electoral regions.
The emergence of UKIP as a major electoral force in Wales will make retaining those seats far harder in 2016 and the party probably needs a substantial increase in its support just to stand still.
Quite where those extra votes might come from is anyone's guess.


A silver artefact believed to date back to the early 17th Century has been declared treasure after its discovery in Flintshire.

Gordana Mitchell, of Deeside, found the mount while metal detecting in March 2013.
It features a motif of a female saint with long hair, botanical scrolls and a cherub.
The mount is thought to be a decorative hinge or a decoration from a small bible or prayer book.
Dr Mark Redknap from National Museum Wales said: "Although incomplete, it is an interesting example of 17th Century decorative silverwork."


Police investigating the murder of a former Provisional IRA member have arrested two people in east Belfast.

Kevin McGuigan Sr , 53, was shot dead at his home at Comber Court in the Short Strand on Wednesday.
A police spokesman said a 44-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman were arrested "as part of the overall investigation".
A number of searches have also been carried out.
Mr McGuigan, a father-of-nine, was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital but died a short time later.
Police believe two men shot him several times in the head and chest at point blank range before running off.


A man has been arrested in connection with a series of social media posts related to Syrian refugees.

The allegedly offensive posts concern refugees living in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute.
Police said a 40-year-old man was arrested in connection with alleged offences under the Communications Act.
He is expected to appear at Greenock Sheriff Court later. A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.


Laura Massaro, Sarah-Jane Perry and Nick Matthew produced superb performances to give England three of the four finalists at the British Open.

Massaro will take on Perry in the first all-English women's final since 1991 after beating top seed Nour El Sherbini of Egypt 5-11 7-11 11-5 11-3 11-6.
Perry then upset Malaysia's five-time champion and sixth seed Nicol David 11-8 7-11 13-11 11-7.
Matthew beat Egypt's top seed Mohamed Elshorbagy 11-8 11-8 8-11 11-5.
He will face Frenchman Gregory Gaultier in Sunday's final in Hull after the third seed led 11-9 when Egypt's Ramy Ashour retired.
Fifth seed and 2013 winner Massaro looked to be heading out when she trailed reigning champion El Sherbini by two games.
However, the 33-year-old from Chorley fought back to win in 63 minutes - reversing last year's World final, when she lost to the same opponent from two games up.
"I'm just proud of myself that I lived to see another day," she told PSA World Tour. "I'm really pleased, a chance to play again at home. I love coming here. A British Open final is where you want to be."
Perry, seeded seventh, was playing in her first British Open semi-final but led from the front against eight-time world champion David.
"I'm really proud of the way I fought, even when it was really tight, and I'll just be trying to do the same again tomorrow," said the 26-year-old from Birmingham.
"There's no pressure on me. I'm not just here to make up the numbers, I'm here to try and win these tournaments."
Matthew, from Sheffield, is closing in on a fourth world title after a brilliant win over Elshorbagy, who had been hoping to claim his third successive British Open.
"I was trying not to let the adrenaline get to me, I could feel my heart beating through my head knowing the crowd were cheering," said the 36-year-old.
"I felt him wavering at the end which gave me belief."


Two girls have apologised to a mother whose child was glued to a toilet in a fast food restaurant.

Kaya Langmead was left with "red raw" skin after getting stuck to the seat at McDonald's in Exeter's High Street, her mother, Nicole Langmead, said.
Devon and Cornwall Police said the girls had "apologised to the victim's mother for the upset caused to her and her daughter".
Police said the case, which was treated as an assault, has since been closed.
Updates on this story and more from Devon
Ms Langmead said her daughter managed to free herself from the toilet seat, thought to have been covered in super-strong glue, but was in tears after the incident which was thought to have been a prank.
A police spokesman said: "Following injuries to a four-year-old girl at the McDonalds in Exeter High Street on New Year's Day, police identified two juvenile girls who were subsequently interviewed by police.
"The two girls immediately accepted what they had done, were sorry and have apologised to the victim's mother for the upset caused to her and her daughter.
"Devon and Cornwall Police have subsequently taken appropriate action against the offenders."
He added that Ms Langmead was "happy with the outcome".
McDonald's previously said staff swiftly offered medical help and contacted police "as soon as our restaurant team was made aware of this incident".


Elgin City slipped three points behind Scottish League Two leaders East Fife after drawing with Montrose.

Craig Gunn's 20th league goal of the season put the hosts ahead, the forward finishing from Connor McLaren's pass.
The Borough Briggs side dominated the rest of the half but found themselves level again after the break when Ross Campbell struck for the visitors.
Darryl McHardy had a late chance to win it for City but it was saved by goalkeeper Jordan Millar.


Bromley have signed winger Iffy Allen following his departure from National League rivals Wrexham.

Allen joined Wrexham in March on a deal until the end of the season, having left Aldershot in December.
The 23-year-old made seven league appearances for the Welsh side before being released on 1 May.
Meanwhile, former Staines Town and Welling winger Luke Wanadio, 24, has also joined the club after leaving National League South side Dartford.
Details of the length of Allen and Wanadio's contracts with Bromley have not been disclosed.


There were no buyers for Elpida shares at the Tokyo Stock Exchange as investors shunned the stock after the chipmaker filed for bankruptcy protection.

Despite being marked down by 24%, Elpida shares failed to find buyers.
The firm filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday as it continues to struggle to repay debts of 448bn yen ($5.6bn; Â£3.5bn).
It is the biggest corporate failure in Japan's manufacturing sector to date.
Investor sentiment was further dented after Japan's Trade Minister Yukio Edano refused to give a hint on whether the government might help to bail out the firm.
"What I can say now is that I will carefully watch with interest how the procedures move forward within the framework of the corporate rehabilitation law," Mr Edano said.
"It is unclear whether Elpida Memory would have been able to operate in the same scale as today in mid-to-long-term, say in the next three, five, or 10 years."
Elpida specialises in making dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, which are widely used in personal computers.
However, the sector has seen prices fall due to weak demand and increased competition.
Demand for DRAM chips has been dented by falling sales of personal computers as more consumers turn to tablet PCs, which rely more on flash memory chips.
The firm has also been hurt by a strong Japanese yen which makes its products more expensive to foreign buyers.
Analysts said investors were worried that once the firm was placed under bankruptcy protection, it may lose more ground to competitors.
"Although this doesn't necessarily mean Elpida will disappear, one can quickly fall behind in the memory chip business if large investments aren't made at the right time, which will be very difficult for Elpida under court management," said Kim Young-chan of Shinhan Investment & Securities.
Elpida's troubles have had a big impact on other firms in the region.
Concerns over its long-term future saw investors pick up stocks of Elpida's competitors, hoping they may gain from its problems.
Shares of Hynix semiconductor jumped 6.8% on the Kospi index in South Korea, while Samsung, another big manufacturer of memory chips gained 1.2%.
"With less competition, the stronger South Korean DRAM makers should be able to better control supply-side risks by aligning their investment plans more closely with industry demand," said Alvin Lim of Fitch Ratings.
However, shares of some of Elipda's suppliers and other firms associated with the company dipped.
Tera Probe, an affiliate of Elpida which does chip testing, fell 19%.
Meanwhile, Advantest Corporation, a producer of chip testing equipment, fell 1.5%, while Shin-Etsu Chemical Company, which manufactures silicon wafers for chipmaking, lost 1.3%.


Online fashion retailer Asos has seen a jump in half-year profits and sales driven by an "accelerated international performance".

The company said the fall in sterling since the EU referendum, had boosted exports, enabling it to cut prices.
Asos, which targets people in their twenties, now has more than five million active customers in the UK.
Profits for the six months to the end of February rose by 14% to £27.3m. Sales hit £889.2m, a rise of 31%.
UK retail sales rose by 18% and international sales leapt by 42%.
"As a net exporter, sterling weakness has created a FX tailwind for the business which has enabled investment above previously planned levels into both price and proposition," said chief executive, Nick Beighton.
As a result, Asos said it expected full-year retail sales to rise by between 30 and 35%. Previously it said it expected sales to go up by 25-30%.
However, its gross profit margin fell because of the price cutting, and its full-year profit before tax is predicted to be "broadly in line with market consensus".
Its shares fell by more than 6% in early trade, before recovering some ground. At lunchtime they down by nearly 4%.
Asos now has a total of 14.1 million active customers worldwide, up from 10.9 million in February of last year. It sells more than 85,000 products all over the world. As well as the UK site, it also has local websites in the US, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia and Russia.
In February, its websites were visited 127 million times.
"Things have been pretty bleak for the UK's High Street retailers recently, which may be in part due to the sustained success of online giants like ASOS," said George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"ASOS' market cap now exceeds that of several FTSE 100 companies. However, with plenty of untapped potential across Europe and the US, the king of the AIM market [a junior stock market] has plenty of gas left in the tank, and looks set to continue its impressive record of double digit sales growth for years to come," he added.


Southend goalkeeper Dan Bentley says he needs to "weigh up" his future with his contract expiring in the summer.

Bentley, subject to interest from QPR last summer, has made 159 appearances for the League One side.
"My agent and I are in talks with Southend and they'll be making an offer to me," the 22-year-old told BBC Essex.
"I've got to weigh up my situation. I want to play at the highest level and I'm sure any player, if they get the chance to do that, will do so."
He continued: "I have really high aspirations and am a really motivated person. If you ask anybody they'll say the same thing. If they get the chance to play at the highest level, they'll take it."
Bentley broke a club record with 12 consecutive home clean sheets last season, helping the club earn promotion via the League Two play-offs, with the keeper's save from Wycombe's Sam Wood in a penalty shootout at Wembley sending them up.
Bentley was in goal against Walsall on Saturday as Jordy Hiwula scored an 88th-minute winner for the Saddlers, a result that saw Phil Brown's side drop to 13th in the table.
The Shrimpers had been within touching distance of the play-off places for much of the campaign, but are now nine points off with four games to go.
"It's something we hadn't foreseen ourselves. I never expected us to fall away in the way we have," said Bentley.
"Our inconsistencies have meant that that's happened. It's really disappointing because we've been there or thereabouts most of the season and at the final hurdle we've not taken our consistency over the line."


Taulupe Faletau will captain the Newport Gwent Dragons in what is likely to be his final appearance at Rodney Parade.

Wales number eight Faletau is heading to Bath in the summer and will lead the Dragons against Ospreys.
"The only time I've been captain before was playing FIFA," Faletau said. "I'm not really thinking about it being about my last game at Rodney Parade."
"It is an honour to follow some top names in captaining the side."
Faletau revealed that he found a move to the Premiership too good to turn down after seven-years with the Welsh region, though he admits he leaves the Dragons with a heavy heart, having been raised in Pontypool.
It's the club that has given me the chance to go on further and do things but it's the right time to look for a new challenge and take it on," he said.
"It's something fresh. I'm looking forward to a new challenge and going into a new environment.
"I've been here since starting playing professional rugby and it will be a different environment with different people to work with.
"But we've still got a lot to play for in the Challenge Cup and can still finish on a high in the league by winning a few games towards the back end."
Friday will represent Faletau's final bow at Rodney Parade unless the Dragons beat Gloucester in the quarter-final of the European Challenge Cup and Sale also beat Montpellier in the quarter-finals.


Swede Alex Noren overturned a six-shot deficit on Sunday to win the Nedbank Golf Challenge by the same margin.

The 34-year-old produced a brilliant nine-under-par round of 63 to finish on 14 under and clinch his fourth European Tour title of the season.
"This was the round of my life," said Noren, who climbs into the world's top 10 for the first time.
South Korea's Jeunghun Wang, who led by three strokes overnight, shot a three-over-par 75 to finish on eight under.
Victory brought Noren a winner's cheque of more than £903,000 to take his earnings for the year above £2.6m. Two years ago, he won less than £5,000 for the season.
Behind him and Wang, five players finished on seven under, including England's Andy Sullivan.
Noren's compatriot Henrik Stenson still leads the Race to Dubai after finishing eighth on six under.
England's Danny Willett remains in second, after he finished tied 11th on three under at Sun City, with Noren in third.
The final event of the Race to Dubai is the DP World Tour Championship in the Gulf state, which begins on 17 November.
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Scotland's 22 new MPs have been officially sworn in, and are getting to grips with life in the Houses of Commons.

It has been a turbulent week at Westminster since the election, with extended talks over the formation of a government and delays to the Queen's Speech.
Against this backdrop, Scotland's new MPs have been learning the ropes. Many of them have been keeping their constituents up-to-date via social media. So what have they been telling?
One new Labour member who turned heads on his first day was Hugh Gaffney.
The member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill followed in the footsteps of Labour legend Keir Hardie by wearing his old work shirt on his first trip to the Commons.
Spying the ParcelForce logo on the former postie's shirt, someone apparently asked Mr Gaffney what he was supposed to be delivering: "justice for workers" came the prompt reply.
Elsewhere, Lesley Laird had a pretty good week as the new Labour MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath.
Not only did she recapture Gordon Brown's old seat in Fife, once the safest of safe Labour heartlands, but she was appointed Jeremy Corbyn's new shadow Scottish secretary.
Two Conservative MSPs-turned-MPs handled the change of scenery by carrying on some of their old habits in a new setting.
Douglas Ross and John Lamont used to go running together in Edinburgh - now they do it in London.
The move to Westminster didn't stop their old Holyrood colleagues poking some fun; Edward Mountain claimed Olympic athlete turned Tory MSP Brian Whittle was "delighted the slow runners have moved to London".
Moray MP Mr Ross said life at Westminster was "very different" to the more modern parliament at Holyrood, with "very peculiar ways of doing things".
David Linden is one new MP who probably won't need to be shown where the canteen is. The SNP member for Glasgow East previously worked for Glasgow Central MP Alison Thewliss.
Not only do they now represent neighbouring constituencies, they have been allocated neighbouring coat pegs - complete with pink ribbons to hang their swords on.
He described the first meeting of parliament as "more pantomime than anything", and said there was a strange "us and them mentality" with some areas for MPs only. "There are some toilets I was never allowed in before because I was a staffer not an MP," he said.
To reinforce the "first day at school" feeling, Mr Linden was sworn in wearing his old Bannerman High School tie, and revealed that his mum had even bought him a new pencil case for his first day.
New Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine is another who has spent time at Westminster, as an advisor to the coalition government.
However, the Edinburgh West representative professed to being nervous ahead of her swearing-in, and said it was still easy to get lost now she is allowed in members-only areas.
It has also been a turbulent start to the new parliament for the Lib Dems, with leader Tim Farron resigning - and Dunbartonshire East MP Jo Swinson tipped as a potential successor.
Ms Jardine said being an MP was a "huge privilege".
She said: "It's quite overpowering sometimes when you think about the people who have gone before you - it's a lot to live up to. But you have to not let yourself be drawn in too much - the day job is back in the constituency, it's the constituents and their issues that matter and come first."


Ross County have completed the signing of central midfielder Tim Chow on a two-year contract.

The 22-year-old leaves first professional club Wigan Athletic after four years, having made 19 senior appearances.
County boss Jim McIntyre described Chow as "a box-to-box midfielder with great athleticism".
"He came through Wigan's academy system and has got great energy," the manager added.
The Dingwall side visit Hamilton Academical on Saturday, having won two of their three Scottish Premiership matches so far.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


An Irish-American priest is to be the new papal nuncio to Ireland.

Monsignor Charles J Brown is an unusual appointment in that he does not come from the Vatican's diplomatic corps.
Instead, he has worked at the Holy See's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).
This means he will be deeply familiar with the Catholic Church's response to child sexual abuse which was central to the CDF's work.
The decision to make him papal nuncio is being viewed as an indication of the thought that Rome has invested in the appointment.
In November, the Irish government decided to close its embassy to the Vatican in what was described as a cost-cutting measure.
The decision was greeted with dismay by Cardinal Sean Brady, Ireland's most senior Catholic cleric.
He said he was "profoundly disappointed" by it.
Damning report
Earlier this year, the Vatican recalled its special envoy in Ireland after a damning report on the Irish Catholic Church's handling of child abuse by priests.
Papal Nuncio Giuseppe Leanza was called back to Rome to discuss the impact of the Cloyne Report which showed how allegations of sex abuse by priests in Cork had been covered up.
The report led to angry condemnation of the Vatican by Prime Minister Enda Kenny in the Irish Parliament.
In a blistering attack, Mr Kenny accused the Church of putting its reputation ahead of child rape victims.
Monsignor Brown's nomination has been approved by the Irish government.  However, it is standard practice for the Vatican not to confirm or deny the nomination until it is officially published by the government.


Britain's Bradley Wiggins broke his collarbone as he crashed out of the Tour de France before compatriot Mark Cavendish went on to win stage seven.

The 31-year-old Team Sky rider - who was sixth overall when the Tour left Le Mans - was caught up in a multiple pile-up around 40km from the end of the 218km stage in Chateauroux.
Cavendish later clinched his second stage win of the 2011 Tour as Thor Hushovd retained the yellow jersey.
It was his 17th career Tour stage win.
The Manxman, third in this year's points competition and only 17 points off the leader Jose Joaquin Rojas, is now in the top 10 on the all-time list for stage victories.
The HTC-Highroad rider's latest victory came on the same road in Chateauroux as his maiden triumph in 2008.
"It's a very special day for me," said Cavendish.
"Out of all the stages this is the one I wanted [again]. I had to go for the intermediate sprint, which was really dangerous.
"A few of the riders are getting dangerous now. But the guys [support riders] were incredible today, I'm so proud of them staying together.
"I'm gutted for Bradley. People may doubt him, but he's in the best form of his life."
That's the risk you take as bike riders - it's unfortunate but life goes on.
Team Sky's hopes of seeing Wiggins become the first Briton to finish on the podium ended around 43km from the end of the 218 km seventh stage to Chateauroux.
A visibly shaken Wiggins said: "It was just one of those things, I couldn't get up off the floor for love nor money.
"That's bike racing, these stages are part of the Tour de France. That's the risk you take as bike riders - it's unfortunate but life goes on."
Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford, whose team had celebrated their first Tour stage victory when Edvald Boasson Hagen won on Thursday, said it was a bitter blow to lose the recently-crowned British road champion.
"It's obviously a devastating day for the team. Bradley's in great shape, team leader, it's the end of his Tour," said Brailsford.
"It's a shame we never got to see him going in the mountains. He was in the form of his life."
Welsh Team Sky rider Geraint Thomas lost possession of the white jersey for the best young rider on Friday, with Radobank's Robert Gesink taking it ahead of stage eight.
Both he and Boasson Hagen also dropped down the general classification.
Speaking on behalf of the eight remaining members of Team Sky, Thomas - who was ahead of the incident on a Tour which now seen eight riders withdraw - said: "It's obviously gutting for the team. I was really looking forward to riding for him in the mountains because he's in great shape.
"There was a lot of fighting all day, a lot of stress.
"We've been lucky up until now. We've managed to avoid it all. Unfortunately Brad had that crash. He was just behind and I heard it.
"He'll be back. Come the end of the season I'm sure he'll be up there at the worlds [the World Road Championships in Copenhagen] - and I'm sure he'll be back [at the Tour de France] next year."
STAGE SEVEN RESULT:
1. Mark Cavendish (GBR/ HTC-Highroad) 5 hours 38 minutes 53 seconds
2. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita/ Lampre - ISD) same time
3. Andre Greipel (Ger/ Omega Pharma-Lotto) "
4. Romain Feillu (Fra/ Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) "
5. William Bonnet (Fra/ FDJ) "
6. Denis Galimzyanov (Rus/ Katusha Team) "
7. Thor Hushovd (Nor/ Garmin-Cervelo) "
8. Sebastien Turgot (Fra/ Team Europcar) "
9. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa/ Movistar Team) "
10. Sebastien Hinault (Fra/ AG2R La Mondiale) "
OVERALL STANDINGS:
1. Thor Hushovd (Nor/ Garmin-Cervelo) 28 hours 29 minutes 27 seconds
2. Cadel Evans (Aus/ BMC) +1"
3. Frank Schleck (Lux/ Leopard Trek) +4"
4. David Millar (GB/ Garmin-Cervelo) +8"
5. Andreas Kloeden (Ger/ RadioShack) +10"
6. Jakob Fuglsang (Den/ Leopard Trek) +12"
7. Andy Schleck (Lux/ Leopard Trek) same time,
8. Tony Martin (Ger/ HTC-Highroad) +13"
9. Peter Velits (Svk/ HTC-Highroad) same time
10. Robert Gesink (Ned/ Rabobank) +20"


A blaze at a farmhouse which killed two people was "likely to be cooking-related", the fire service has said.

The bodies of a man and woman, believed to be in their 90s, were found inside the building on Spout Lane in Stannington, Sheffield.
At the height of the blaze, 20 firefighters from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue were called in to tackle the fire.
An investigation is under way. The victims have yet to be named.


The Queen isn't the only one celebrating her 90th birthday this year, so is the famous bear Winnie-the-Pooh.

To mark the occasion, a new story is being released, called 'Winnie-the-Pooh and the Royal Birthday'.
In the story Piglet, Pooh, Christopher Robin, and Eeyore all decide to go on an adventure to Buckingham Palace.
Along the way they meet Prince George, and Pooh even manages to bump into the Queen, and hums her a special birthday tune.
Winnie-the-Pooh was first published in 1926, and apparently the Queen was a big fan when she was a child.


A former Gwynedd bus company boss has gone on trial accused of fraud and false accounting.

John David Hulme, 55, denies charges which relate to more than £800,000 in public money paid to Padarn Bus Ltd in claims for concessionary fares.
The offences allegedly occurred between July 2011 and December 2012, before he was suspended as the firm's managing director on an unrelated matter.
The trial is being held at Caernarfon Crown Court.
Judge Merfyn Hughes QC told the jury a fraud existed but added: "You have to decide whether Mr Hulme was involved in it. That's the issue you will want to concentrate on throughout the case."
The prosecution counsel told jurors fraudulent claims totalling £814,655.78 were made between July 2011 and March 2014 when the fraud came to light.
The total, which had been falsely claimed by the company at the point Mr Hulme, from Caernarfon, was suspended in December 2012 was £495,857.08.
The jury heard a second man, Darren Price, of Llanrug, the operations manager at Padarn Bus Ltd, had already pleaded guilty to charges relating to fraud offences.
Mr Hulme was "intimately" involved although he claimed he had become suspicious that something wrong was going on before he was suspended, prosecutor Matthew Dunford said.
The fraud allegation against Mr Hulme involves making false representations to Gwynedd council over concessionary fare passenger numbers.
The second charge involves a falsified document presented to the council.
Jurors were told Padarn Bus Ltd was formed in 2009 when Padarn Bus and KMP buses merged and it was a "substantial local company" employing 79 staff with a fleet of 43 buses.
But Mr Dunford said the company had borrowed heavily at the time of the merger and by 2011 it owed money to the taxman.
Chartered accountant Simon Thelwall-Jones was brought in to help out and the fraud came to light when operations manager Price told him: "I have got something to tell you."
The accountant immediately contacted Gwynedd Council and police were also informed.
The trial continues.


Buoyant Uefa TV income helped Premier League clubs' revenues rise 9% to a record £3.6bn in the 2015-16 season, according to analysis from Deloitte.

It says broadcast earnings of £1.9bn accounted for more than half of the top flight clubs' total revenues.
A new domestic TV deal which kicked in last year means overall revenues continue to grow strongly, it added.
For a third straight season, clubs' combined operating profits exceeded £500m, but wages rose 12% to £2.3bn.
"Even in the final year of its old broadcast contracts, Premier League revenues continued to set new records," said Dan Jones, partner in Deloitte's sports business group, which has unveiled its latest Annual Review of Football Finance.
He said the broadcasting boost to revenues in 2015-16 was mainly down to European federation Uefa increasing its payments to Premier League clubs by £100m.
Source:  Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance 2017
Mr Jones said Premier League clubs were now reaping the benefit of a new broadcast rights cycle which started in 2016-17, plus new commercial agreements, and match day revenue growth from new and expanded stadia.
Deloitte says it now expects total Premier League clubs' revenues to be more than £4.5bn in 2017-18.
Meanwhile, Premier League net debt fell for the third consecutive season, by £125m (5%) to £2.2bn at the end of the 2015-16 season.
However, while Premier League clubs returned to a collective pre-tax loss in 2015-16. Deloitte said this was the result of exceptional, or one-off, accounting adjustments, without which clubs collectively would have broken even.
One example of these one-off adjustments was Chelsea making a big financial provision to cover the cost of the early cancellation of their kit deal with Adidas.
"We fully expect that Premier League clubs will collectively achieve record levels of profitability in the seasons to come," said Mr Jones.
In the Championship, overall revenues increased to a new record level of £556m in 2015-16, and have risen by 74% in the past decade.
But for the third time in four years, clubs spent more on wages (£561m) than they generated in revenue, resulting in a record operating loss of £261m. This follows two seasons where losses have been reduced.
Clubs in the Championship stand to see their revenues jump by at least £170m from promotion to the Premier League, rising to over £290m if they survive one season.
But Deloitte says there there is a danger that Championship clubs may continue to be tempted "to spend excessively relative to their revenues, particularly on wages".
Former Chelsea captain John Terry has signed for Aston Villa on a reported £60,000 a week, plus further cash incentives should they win promotion
Yet Deloitte points out that Huddersfield Town's promotion at the end of the 2016-17 season shows any Championship club can reach the Premier League, regardless of their budget. And they point out that in 2015-16 Huddersfield had the Championship's fourth-lowest wage costs.
Including Football League clubs, the top 92 professional teams in England generated a record £4.4bn in revenue in 2015-16, Deloitte said.
The 92 clubs contributed £1.6bn to UK government in taxes in 2015-16, up from £1.5bn the year before.
In Scotland, despite Celtic's failure to qualify for the Uefa Champions League group stages for the second consecutive season, Scottish Premiership clubs' aggregate revenues grew 10% to 149m euros.
Celtic continued to generate more than 50% of total revenues as they won the league for a fifth consecutive season, and Deloitte says "their participation in the 2016-17 Uefa Champions League group stages will result in a substantial uplift in revenue".
China's investment and influence in football has been growing in both domestic clubs' playing squads and infrastructure, and foreign club purchases and sponsorship.
In their 2016-17 winter transfer window, Chinese Super League clubs spent more than £300m on players, including Oscar's transfer from Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG  and Odion Ighalo's move from Watford to Changchun Yatai.
But Deloitte says some recent political moves could curtail this player spending boom.
In January, the government body responsible for regulation of sport in China said that a cap on player salaries and transfer fees would be established to control "irrational investment".
That month, the Chinese Football Association also implemented a stricter rule allowing only three foreign players to participate for a club in a super league fixture. This replaced the previous "4 plus 1" rule which allowed four foreigners plus one (non-Chinese) Asian player in a matchday squad.
And in June 2017, the Chinese Football Association said clubs that were loss making and spent in excess of 45m yuan (c.£5m) on a foreign player must pay an amount equivalent to the excess into a national fund to develop young Chinese players.


Russia's military has admitted for the first time the scale of its information warfare effort, saying it was significantly expanded post-Cold War.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russian "information troops" were involved in "intelligent, effective propaganda", but he did not reveal details about the team or its targets.
The admission follows repeated allegations of cyberattacks against Western nations by the Russian state.
Nato is reported to be a top target.
During the Cold War both the USSR and the West poured resources into propaganda, to influence public opinion globally and sell their competing ideologies.
Speaking to Russian MPs, Mr Shoigu said "we have information troops who are much more effective and stronger than the former 'counter-propaganda' section".
Keir Giles, an expert on the Russian military at the Chatham House think-tank, has warned that Russian "information warfare" occupies a wider sphere than the current Western focus on "cyber warriors" and hackers.
"The aim is to control information in whatever form it takes," he wrote in a Nato report called "The Next Phase of Russian Information Warfare".
"Unlike in Soviet times, disinformation from Moscow is primarily not selling Russia as an idea, or the Russian model as one to emulate.
"In addition, it is often not even seeking to be believed. Instead, it has as one aim undermining the notion of objective truth and reporting being possible at all," he wrote.
Russia has been testing Nato in various ways, including targeting individual soldiers via their social media profiles, Mr Giles told the BBC.
"They have been reaching out to individuals and targeting them as if it comes from a trusted source," he said.
There have been reports of Russian information attacks targeting Nato troops in the Baltic states, the Polish military, and Ukrainian troops fighting pro-Russian rebels.
Russia rejects Western narratives about its "disinformation", instead accusing Nato of aggressive expansion and support for anti-Russian nationalists in Ukraine.
Russia's effort in cyberspace is under intense Western scrutiny following high-level US accusations that Russian hackers helped to swing the presidential election in favour of Donald Trump.
According to Mr Giles, the Russian military decided to prioritise information warfare after the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict. The country's security apparatus drew lessons from its "inability to dominate public opinion about the rights and wrongs of the war", he said.
Commenting on Mr Shoigu's remarks, former Russian commander-in-chief Gen Yuri Baluyevsky said a victory in information warfare "can be much more important than victory in a classical military conflict, because it is bloodless, yet the impact is overwhelming and can paralyse all of the enemy state's power structures".
The EU has a special team to combat Russian "myths" spread on social media, called the East StratCom Task Force.


Sri Lanka head coach Marvan Atapattu has resigned after less than a year in charge following the team's home Test series defeat by India.

Former skipper Atapattu, 44, was appointed in October 2014 after six months as interim coach where he led Sri Lanka to a series win over England.
No reason was given for the change.
But a statement said Atapattu had served his time "with the same professionalism that was his hallmark as an international cricketer".
Sri Lanka are set to tour England in the summer of 2016, playing a three-Test series against Sri Lanka followed by five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match.


The number of people playing sport in England has fallen since the 2012 London Olympics, despite the Games' pledge to "inspire a generation."

Latest figures show 15.8 million people play sport or exercise at least once week, a drop of 0.4% since 2012.
Former Sports Minister Richard Caborn said the fall was "disappointing" and a sports charity said the Games' promised long-term legacy had not yet emerged.
Sport England said participation had risen by 1.7 million since 2005.
Figures show the number of once-weekly participants has dropped by 8,700 since the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Sport England data reveals the biggest decline is among people from ethnic minorities and economically-deprived groups.
BBC analysis of the data found five of the nine regions in England recorded a decline in sports participation.
The biggest drop was in Yorkshire and Humber where a 1.7% decline equates to 67,100 fewer people regularly participating in sport or exercise.
Helen Marney, from the Yorkshire Sport Foundation, said London 2012 provided an initial boost but a long-term legacy had yet to emerge.
"Like other parts of the country, we did see more people wanting to do sport after 2012, but we have to remember it takes more than an Olympics games on TV to get people active," she said.
"A lot of the reasons why people don't get into sport come down to the individual themselves. Do they have the time, money and the facilities nearby?
"But yes, I would say that the legacy of London 2012 hasn't delivered what we wanted to see."
Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, saw the biggest fall of any area in England, registering a decline of 13.2%. Oxford saw the biggest increase, of 14%.
Data shows there are continuing challenges in getting people from economically-deprived or ethnic minority backgrounds involved with sport and exercise.
8,700
fewer people play sport or exercise once a week in 2016 compared to 2012
Â£8.77bn
The cost of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
15.8 million people in England now play sport or exercise once a week
1.7 million more people are playing sport or exercising once a week since 2005
People in the poorest social groups saw the biggest fall in participation.
Over the four-year period this group saw a 2.9% decline in activity, a fall of 365,100 people.
Those from an ethnic minority background also saw a decline in participation over the same period.
According to the data, 80,300 fewer people from this group were playing sport, a fall of 1.4% from 2012.
However, the figures do show that the number of young people aged between 16 and 25 playing sport has increased since London 2012 with 3.8 million under-25s now taking part, an increase of 1.4%.
Those working within grassroots sport say there is no one single reason to explain changing rates of participation.
Sport England, however, says that since 2010 the amount that local councils invested in sport had fallen by Â£389m.
According to its figures in 2013/14 local authorities invested just over Â£1bn in sports projects, a fall of 27% compared to 2009/10.
Phil Smith, Sport England's director of sport, said: "Since London won the right to host the 2012 Games, over 1.7 million more people in England are playing sport regularly.
"That means we're the first host nation ever to deliver the legacy of getting more people active.
"Building on that success we now want to look beyond the numbers; to how sport changes lives and is a force for social good.
"This is why Sport England is tripling the amount it invests in tackling inactivity and focusing on people who are typically much less active."
Richard Caborn, who was Sports Minster in 2005, when London was awarded the 2012 Games, said: "The world 'legacy' was used in our bid from the start and it was taken very seriously. We wanted a million more people to be doing two hours of sport a week as part our plan.
"I'm disappointed that since 2012 there's been a fall but going forward we have to make sure that we get more money into grassroots sport. That means funding things like Parkruns and community projects and not just focusing on giving big sport associations lots of money and then letting them to decide how best to use it."
As part of its annual Active People's Survey, Sport England interviewed 170,000 people by telephone, asking them how often they participated in sport or regularly exercised.
Data for sports participation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is collected separately and by using a different survey method, meaning it is not directly comparable.
The BBC has also excluded data collected about the City of London and the Isles of Scilly due to the small sample size of the surveys conducted.


Defender Conrad Balatoni has left Kilmarnock by mutual agreement.

The Englishman, 25, moved to Rugby Park in 2015 from Partick Thistle and made 34 first-team appearances for Killie.
"As well as his solid defending, Balatoni was known for his ability to create and even score goals from the back, netting three in total," Kilmarnock said on their website.
"Everyone at the club would like to wish Conrad the best of luck in the future."


A bid to save a remote red telephone box in Ceredigion has been launched by campaigners.

The isolated phone booth can be found on the mountain between Tregaron and Llanwrtyd.
But BT has announced it could be decommissioned, giving people 90 days' notice to raise objections.
Spearheading the campaign, the Elenydd Wilderness Hostels Trust has called for it to be saved, describing it as "an important part of the landscape".
Its chair Marilyn Barrack said: "From a safety point of view it's used by walkers and cyclists, and it is a very bleak area."
But BT said the phone box had been deliberately damaged several times in the last few years, and appeared to "attract criminal and anti-social behaviour".
It said it had started a consultation with Ceredigion council and the community would have the opportunity to feed into this.
Ms Barrack said the phone box could provide shelter in bad weather.
"Mobile coverage is very sparse and there is not another phone box for about seven miles, and there are not many houses in the area.
"It could be a lifeline," she said.
Dafydd Morgan, 46, of Tregaron Walking Club, said it was a key landmark for walkers.
"From a distance it stands out prominently in whatever direction you see it from - it's the only landmark up there that can assist people on their travels," he said.
Tregaron councillor Catherine Hughes said she appreciated the concerns, but the phone had not worked for 18 months and was regularly vandalised, so it was difficult to know what to do for the best. She said the town council intended to discuss the matter at its next meeting.
In 2002 there were 92,000 BT payphones across the UK. Now about 57,500 remain, of which 9,400 are traditional red models.


The gunman who killed five police officers in Dallas was "changed" by his experience in the US military, his mother has said.

Micah Johnson went from being an extrovert to a "hermit", Delphine Johnson told The Blaze website.
"The military was not what Micah thought it would be," she said. "He was very disappointed."
Johnson opened fire at a protest being held over the deaths of African Americans at the hands of police.
The demonstrations, echoed nationwide, followed the police killings of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana.
Bomb-making material, rifles and a combat journal were found at the home of Johnson, who was himself killed.
"I don't know what to say to anybody to make anything better. I didn't see it coming," James Johnson, his father, told the website.
"I love my son with all my heart. I hate what he did."
'What have white people ever done for us?'
Can white and black Americans live together?
Who was Micah Johnson?
'Legendary' image of US protests emerges
'I am a vessel': #BlackLivesMatter muse
Dallas police chief David Brown said all of the officers are on edge after the events and that his family has received death threats.
He said 13 officers used force against Johnson during the stand-off, in which Johnson was killed by a robot bomb.
Killing Johnson was "not an ethical dilemma", he said.
"I'd do it again" to protect fellow officers, he said.
The events will not discourage the department, Mr Brown said, which has seen 12 consecutive years of crime reduction in Dallas.
"We're going to turn over every rock" to make sure Johnson was the only person planning the attack, he said, and that the department is following "any and all leads".
Mr Brown suggested angry young black people in the US join their local police departments and try to become "part of the solution".
"We're hiring," he said.  "Get off the protest line and put in an application."
A picture featuring a woman in a dress standing calmly before two heavily body-armoured police officers during a Black Lives Matter protest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is circulating on social media.
The woman, Ieshia Evans, responded on Facebook, saying: "I appreciate the well wishes and love, but this is the work of God. I am a vessel!"
Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump, speaking at a campaign event on Monday, mentioned the events in Dallas and said it's "time for hostility against police and all law enforcement to end immediately".
"I am the law-and-order candidate," he said.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, speaking last week at the Emanuel AME church where nine worshippers were killed last summer, said bias exists in some police departments.


A boy has been taken to hospital by helicopter after falling on rocks at Abercastle Beach in Pembrokeshire.

Milford Haven Coastguard said the incident happened just before midday on Monday.
The boy was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff by Air Ambulance.
It is understood he has head injuries, but his condition is not known.


The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are on their first official visit to County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.

It follows a two-day trip to Northern Ireland, which began in Belfast on Monday. The Duchess joined Prince Charles on Tuesday.
The couple's first stop on Wednesday was to Donegal town and the factory where the famous Donegal tweed is made.
Their visit to Donegal was at the request of the Irish government.
Sean McLoone manager of Donegal Castle said the visit would provide a welcome "tourist boost".
"It went very very well, the sun shone which always helps and I thought the castle looked resplendent and certainly the royal highnesses expressed their thanks, they enjoyed their tour.
"There was a lot of smiles all round. I think its very important from a tourist perspective because a lot of our visitors would be traditionally from England anyway," he said.
Róisín McCool, principal of Gaelscoil na gCeithre Máistrí, the only Irish speaking school in Donegal town, said it was an honour to perform.
"We were absolutely honoured and privileged to be here today to be singing and dancing and playing music for Prince Charles and Camilla.
"It went fantastic and they loved it. Everybody was so down to earth he was absolutely lovely and he was talking to the kids and us.
"The kids sang their hearts out and they played so well and danced fantastically well. So I was over the moon and delighted for them all," she said.
After a visit to Donegal Castle, the party made their way to the Donegal Tweed factory where the Prince and Duchess were shown how the fabric is made.
They finished off the trip with a visit to a local butcher shop to sample some produce.
Then they were received at a civic reception at Letterkenny, before taking a tour of Glenveagh National Park.
It was the Royal couple's second official visit to Ireland.
Last May, they visited Mullaghmore in County Sligo.


The role and influence of opinion polls have certainly grown since polling began in the UK in 1938.

Labour's Nye Bevan complained subsequently that opinion polls "took the poetry out of politics".
As if to prove his point, polls today both reflect public opinion and are used to test policies and messages that help political parties shape that very same public opinion.
The way polls are conducted has changed enormously over the past seven decades.
At the outset interviews were conducted face-to-face either in the respondent's home or on the street.
By the 1980s, telephone interviewing began to dominate the scene and subsequently we have seen the growth of polling conducted among panels of internet users.
Over the years there have been a few proverbial car crashes: at the 1992 general election, 38 of the 50 polls published during the campaign suggested Labour was narrowly ahead - when the result was a resounding seven-point Conservative lead.
More recently, in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, one poll by YouGov created a massive stir when it published a 2% lead for "Yes" and the actual outcome was an 11% lead for "No".
However, the experience of polling in the 2014 Scottish referendum illustrates how easily polls themselves can become part of the political story.
In recent months my email box has been filled with messages from the Green Party, recording every occasion when its rating in an individual poll matched or surpassed support for the Liberal Democrats.
The Greens used these polls very effectively in their successful campaign to be included in the planned televised debates for the 2015 election.
GENERAL ELECTION 2015
Lord Ashcroft's enormous investment in individual 1,000-strong polls in marginal constituencies (by my guess, he must have spent the best part of £1m so far) is another example of polls helping to shape a campaign.
UKIP received 3.2% of the national vote in 2010.
We know it is performing well above its support now but national polls with just 1,000 samples cannot tell us anything about UKIP prospects in specific constituencies.
The Ashcroft polls give us that granular detail and help define the different battlegrounds where the 2015 election will be decided.
Lord Ashcroft's first tranche of polls in Scottish constituencies gave detailed information about the extent of the rise in SNP support that Scotland-wide polls suggested.
However, these seats were mostly drawn from areas with the largest Labour "Yes" referendum vote and we have yet to discover if a similar picture exists in Labour constituencies where support for independence was less strong.
The great profusion of polls published these days can seem very daunting.
However, what they offer is a great wealth of detail beyond the headline figures that most journalists use.
Do you want to know why the Conservatives appear to be receiving little, if any, reward for national economic recovery?
Go to the October 2014 Populus poll where only 14% of respondents agreed that there was economic recovery in their area and they were sharing in it.
The polls tell us that immigration is an important issue for the public. Dig a little deeper and they will also tell you that many people have no confidence that any of the main Westminster parties can solve this issue to their satisfaction.
Polling also shows us the changing priorities of the electorate.
The monthly Ipsos MORI Issues Index, unlike most other polls, does not offer respondents a shopping list of issues to choose from but asks for spontaneous choices.
In recent months it has reflected concerns about issues that mirror responses in other polls; the NHS, the economy and immigration.
However, the January 2015 index had spontaneous mentions of "poverty/inequality" in fifth place, ahead of education and crime.
The MORI series has also seen rises in concerns about low wages and housing since the 2010 general election.
But do such polls influence the political parties?
Of course they do; it would be a rather spectacular form of insanity for parties seeking millions of votes at an election to ignore the views of those people as expressed in the polls.
And the line between polls simply registering how policy is being received and polls playing an important part in how policy is actually formed was crossed many years ago.
Past election campaigns that have been framed by appeals to "White Van Man" or to "Worcester Woman" were the result of polls identifying key groups in the electorate that could swing the result one way or the other; and the polling would not just identify a demographic group but also test to death what floats their boat.
With more and more pollsters on the pitch, the six-week-long 2015 election campaign is likely to be swamped with opinion polls.
If 2010 is any guide, many of them will focus on expectations about and reactions to the televised leaders' debates.
But one of their biggest challenges will be to provide us with insights into the unprecedented number of people who currently seem set on rejecting the main Westminster parties on 7 May.
This is likely to be an angry election, and we will be looking to the polls to help us understand what provokes that anger.
I suspect the answer will not be found in headline voting intention figures or in particular policies.
The Ashcroft polls have shown that UKIP's attraction is not based on policy but on attitude, which is why the other political parties have found trying to combat UKIP so difficult: it is like wrestling with eels.
But we need answers from the pollsters - and nobody said this election was going to be easy.


An Aberdeen Labour councillor has been formally warned for breaching the code of conduct over an "accidental" leak.

Willie Young admitted he emailed confidential legal advice to one of the campaigners against the controversial Â£107m Marischal Square project.
Offices and a hotel are being built on the site of the former council headquarters.
Mr Young, who referred himself to the Standards Commission, was formally censured.
He is Aberdeen City Council's finance convenor.
The incident happened before protestors failed in their bid to get the development halted last March.
Councillors voted by 22-21 to continue with the project.
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland, Bill Thomson, told the hearing: "The circumstances are relatively straightforward and are not in dispute."
Roddy Dunlop QC, who represented Mr Young, said: "This is the electronic equivalent of leaving a confidential memo on a bus."
Mr Dunlop said: "He is demonstrably of good character and a man devoted to his work as a councillor who is extremely distressed to have found himself in the circumstances that he does."
Panel member Julie Ward said the panel had decided to censure the councillor because he was sincerely apologetic and had reported himself.
She said: "The panel would remind all councillors of the importance of due care and consideration in handling information that is of a confidential nature.
"The panel do recognise councillor Young's significant contribution to public life."


A 28-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with the death of a man in Kilmarnock.

Martin Gorman, 41, died in Crosshouse Hospital after being found seriously injured in a house in Croe Place.
Emergency services had been called to the property at about 01:40.
The woman is expected to appear at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Friday.


Two hospitals in the East of England are considering merging into one trust.

The NHS trust boards of Colchester Hospital and Ipswich Hospital will hold a public meeting outlining plans.
In a joint statement, the trusts said if the merger did not happen they would "struggle to maintain the range of patient services they currently provide".
The move comes after a review by staff, patients, clinical experts and health and local authority partners.
David White, chairman of both trusts, said: "By thinking differently and working together we can change the way we deliver care and provide excellent services that are vital for the future of the communities we serve.
"Many patients, staff and supporters have helped us to get to this stage in our partnership and I am immensely grateful for their time and effort."
A final decision will be taken by both boards around June 2018.


A gannet bonanza has been confirmed on the towering cliffs of Yorkshire by research from the RSPB.

A survey shows the cliffs around Flamborough Head and Filey are home to 412,000 seabirds including gannets, puffins and razor bills.
Since 2000, the number of gannet pairs on the cliffs has shot up from 2,550 to 13,400.
But the charity warned that overall seabird numbers in the UK are faring badly.
It wants funds for a full national census, but says research money from government is hard to find.
The RSPB is celebrating the gannet invasion, though. The clumsy clamouring birds are attracted by plentiful nesting sites on a 17-mile stretch of cliffs up to 400ft high.
They feast on abundant fish on the nearby Dogger Bank. It is within easy flying time, which allows them to make multiple trips to secure food for their young.
The RSPB’s scientists are trying to fathom exactly what has created such a huge population increase in a short space of time.
They say the success of a colony is the ability to raise chicks with steady supplies of food, and note that almost all gannet chicks survive whereas the chicks of sea birds on other sites often perish.
Gannets capture bigger fish than most other sea birds, so they can scoop up mackerel out of water.
Ellie Owen, seabird conservation scientist with the RSPB told BBC News: “Gannets used to be hunted in some places, but that doesn’t really explain their success in Yorkshire.
“One major factor has been the good fortune of feeding. From an oceanographic point of view in the North Sea in summer there are strong flows from the NE English coast, past the northern edge of the Dogger Bank, and NE to the Skaggerak.
“There is a lot of mixing of waters and nutrients, making the waters rich in plankton and fish.
“There seem to be more large predatory fish like mackerel available in the part of the water in which they feed – perhaps due to EU conservation measures, or climate change – or other factors. The truth is we don’t know really what’s going on – and we would very much like to.”
The team funded by Natural England to survey the Yorkshire cliffs took experts 253 hours, including 214 hours spent on a boat counting the nesting birds.
Sea birds elsewhere in the UK appear to have seen big declines, although the scientists can’t fully work out why some are failing to raise chicks.
Since 1982, the UK’s Seabird Population Indicator – based on breeding numbers for 13 species of seabird from a handful of colonies – has declined by 22%, with most of this decline taking place over the last 10 years. This has made some species and sites very vulnerable, that charity says.
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Manxman Dan Kneen repeated his success of 2014 in the Tandragee 100 feature race, taking victory from Derek Sheils and Bolton's Malachi Mitchell-Thomas.

Earlier in the day, Kneen came in first in the Open race but he and runner-up Derek Sheils were penalised one minute for allegedly jumping the start.
That left Ryan Farquhar the winner but the result is the subject of an appeal.
William Dunlop took the 600cc honours, Farquhar was the Supertwins victor and Sam Wilson took the flag in the 125cc.
Welsh competitor Rhys Hardisty edged out Saintfield's Davy Morgan by 0.2 seconds in the 250cc event.
The outcome of the five-lap Open race was left shrouded in controversy, with the definitive winner of the event still to be decided.
As it stands, Farquhar won from Dunlop and Mitchell-Thomas, but the stewards of the meeting are set to look at the circumstances surrounding the outcome again.
The penalties incurred by Kneen and Sheils saw them relegated to 10th and 11th places respectively.
Kneen, a double winner over the 5.3-mile course on his debut two years ago, produced a commanding performance in the feature event, beating Sheils by more than six seconds.
CD Racing Yamaha rider Dunlop, 30, came home 1.2 seconds ahead of Mar-Train Yamaha pilot Kneen at the flag in the 600cc class after a thrilling battle at the front.
Mitchell-Thomas, the hat-trick hero at the Mid Antrim 150 three weeks ago, occupied the final podium spot for the Cookstown BE racing outfit on his Honda.
Farquhar lapped up the perfect conditions to triumph in the Supertwins race, seeing off Mitchell-Thomas in an exciting finish, with Sheils in third.
Czech visitor Michael Dokoupil was a popular winner of the 400cc race, securing victory by two-tenths of a second over Farquhar, who was on board his single cylinder 450cc Kawasaki.
Wilson was followed home by Adam McLean, Paul Robinson, while Gary Dunlop, son of the late Joey, was sixth on his Tandragee debut.


Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has not done enough to tackle anti-Semitism in the party, a committee of MPs has said.

The Home Affairs Select Committee report criticised him for a lack of "consistent leadership" on the issue, which it said benefited people with "vile attitudes" toward Jewish people.
Mr Corbyn accused the committee of a "disproportionate" emphasis on Labour.
The MPs also criticised Twitter, which they said hosted "vast swathes" of hate speech and abuse aimed at Jews.
Their Anti-Semitism in the UK report said the social network should do more to identify abusers. A spokesman for Twitter said it tackled hateful conduct "head-on".
The cross-party committee also criticised National Union of Students (NUS) President Malia Bouattia for failing to take the issue sufficiently seriously on university campuses.
Among its findings were:
The report by five Conservative, one SNP and two Labour MPs made unanimous recommendations to Twitter, the police and politicians on how to tackle anti-Semitism.
Jonathan Arkush, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, welcomed the report.
He said: "We look forward to a strong response from the government and the speedy implementation of the committee's recommendations."
The MPs said the failure of the Labour Party "consistently and effectively to deal with anti-Semitic incidents in recent years risks lending force to allegations that elements of the Labour movement are institutionally anti-Semitic".
In June, a report by the former director of human rights body Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti - who has since become a Labour peer and shadow attorney general - found that the party was not overrun by anti-Semitism or other forms of racism, but there was evidence of "minority hateful or ignorant attitudes and behaviours".
However, the MPs said the Chakrabarti report had failed to deliver "a comprehensive set of recommendations, to provide a definition of anti-Semitism, or to suggest effective ways of dealing with anti-Semitism".
The committee's report said Mr Corbyn had a proud record of campaigning against many types of racism, but did not fully appreciate "the distinct nature of post-Second World War anti-Semitism".
The party was incompetent in dealing with members accused of anti-Semitism, it added.
Mr Corbyn hit back at the committee's findings and said the report's "political framing and disproportionate emphasis on Labour" risked undermining it.
He said the committee had heard evidence from "too narrow a pool of opinion" and had "violated natural justice" by rejecting requests from Baroness Chakrabarti and the Jewish Labour Movement to give evidence.
The report also "unfairly criticised" Baroness Chakrabarti, Mr Corbyn said, adding that Labour was "already acting on her recommendations".
Jeremy Newmark, the national chair of the Labour Jewish movement, said anti-Semitism cut across political parties and was being dealt with by his own.
"We do see people suspended following incidents of anti-Semitism - often within less than 24 hours," he said.
"We have major investigations taking place into figures like Ken Livingstone and Momentum vice chair - or former vice chair - Jackie Walker."
Former London mayor Mr Livingstone, who was suspended from Labour over anti-Semitism, said the committee was "rigged" against Mr Corbyn.
"The membership was either all solidly Tory - who weren't friends of Jeremy - [or] filled with [Labour] people who would actually go on, a few weeks later, to vote for no confidence in Jeremy," he told BBC London.
Conservative MP Tim Loughton, who is acting chairman of the committee, said he resented the "attack on the integrity" of the MPs, who he said had "gone out of [their] way to be non-partisan".
He told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "You cannot deny that the spate of anti-Semitic incidents and allegations made against Labour Party members and many elected members has raised the whole profile of this issue.
"And it was because of that, that Jeremy Corbyn commissioned the so-called independent Chakrabarti report, which we feel wasn't worth the paper it was written on.
"And he still seems to be in denial about the nature and extent of the problem he has got within his own party."
Mr Loughton said the committee was still waiting for a reply from Baroness Chakrabarti "about the timings of when she was offered the peerage".
Last month, she said there was "nothing remotely transactional" about her work for Labour and subsequent peerage.
Several Labour MPs, including Gisela Stuart, Pat McFadden and John Mann, have said the MPs' report must be taken seriously by the party.
The committee also said abuse on Twitter was "growing exponentially" and the company must do better at identifying abusers.
"The onus should not be on victims to monitor their accounts for ongoing abuse and report it to the company," MPs said.
A spokesman for Twitter said it tackled hateful conduct "head-on", adding that there was "a clear distinction between freedom of expression and conduct that incites violence and hate".
The report expressed concern about use of the word "Zionist", saying "use of the word in an accusatory context should be considered inflammatory and potentially anti-Semitic".
But it did say free speech should be allowed on the Palestinian issue, saying it was not anti-Semitic to criticise actions of the Israeli government.
The committee said a 2011 blog written by Ms Bouattia which called Birmingham University a "Zionist outpost" smacked of "outright racism".
Ms Bouattia said she was "deeply concerned" about the reported rise of anti-Semitism on campus and regarded tackling it as a "key priority".


The RSPCA is bracing itself for a big influx in the number of abandoned and neglected horses.

Nationally, numbers are currently lower than the same time last year, one of the worst on record.
But Equine Rehoming Officer Gareth Johnson said the charity had been "very lucky" with the weather and was preparing for the worst from January.
"We've got space, but very, very limited space to be perfectly honest," he said.
"We are at this moment above our quota of where we should be and the winter hasn't really started yet.
"But we are making in-roads as to where we can take in more, but it's very costly and we are struggling."
Reports of neglected horses tend to peak in the winter when animals that have managed to survive for the rest of the year start to struggle for grazing.
Where there is no shelter, cold weather and rain mean the condition of animals can also deteriorate quickly.
Gonsal Farm, in Shropshire, is one of three RSPCA horse rescue centres in England, with others at Felledge near Durham and Lockwood in Surrey.
Between them they can accommodate about 150 horses and ponies.
A network of up to 20 private boarding stables across the country provides extra space, but at a cost to the charity.
Mr Johnson said Gonsal Farm, with a working capacity of 50, was currently caring for about 40 horses, with another 20 known to be coming in January.
In November alone, 71 horses were abandoned across the country, taking the year's total to over 1,200.
Last year, more than 2,300 horses were reported to the charity, but Mr Johnson said that included one case in South Wales involving about 650 animals - thought to be one of the biggest rescues of its kind in the world.
Mr Johnson said horses were often difficult to rehome because of their size and specialist needs, although campaigns had proved "very successful".
"At Gonsal Farm alone we've rehomed something like 110 horses this year. On top of that we've got 33 horses and ponies out being fostered."
Hotspots for abandoned horses this year include Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Kent and Durham.
Many of them will go to Gonsal Farm, a 186-acre purpose-built site near Dorrington.
One resident, 16-year-old Yasmine, a Welsh-cross pony, was found in Anglesea in February.
"It was one of the worst cases I have ever seen as far as neglect goes," Mr Johnson said.
"She was complete skin and bones. We have a body score of between one and five and she didn't even register.
"There were horses dead in stables, dead in fields, a very harrowing situation.
"Yasmine was one of the lucky ones, but what this mare saw was unbelievable. She was literally walking on dead bodies and she's not going to forget that."
Source: RSPCA (figures up to end of November)
Another of the horses at Gonsal Farm waiting for a new home is Three-year-old Polo, rescued from a garden shed in a small yard at a home in Dudley.
"We found this poor animal emaciated," Mr Johnson said.
"It had no proper food, it had potato peelings and maybe a few apples, but no hay, no bedding. It was living with household rubbish in the shed and in a real state.
"Parts of the Black Country have a real problem. There are lots of really good owners in the area, but a few have horses on tethers, on wasteland, on council land, and it's a bit of bravado.
"They have a horse because it's the in-thing to do."


A lorry driver who killed a mother and three children while distracted by his phone has been jailed for 10 years.

Tracy Houghton, 45, died instantly along with her sons Ethan, 13, and Joshua, 11, and her partner's daughter Aimee Goldsmith, also 11, when Tomasz Kroker smashed into stationary traffic.
Judge Maura McGowan said his attention had been so poor he "might as well have had his eyes closed".
Kroker, 30, was scrolling through music selections at the time of the crash.
The court heard he had been so distracted he barely looked at the road for almost a kilometre. The judge described the case as the most horrific she had ever seen.
Kate Goldsmith, whose daughter Aimee died in the crash on the A34 near Newbury in Berkshire, said Kroker had turned his lorry into a "lethal weapon" by using his phone while driving at 50mph, and she made a plea to all road users to learn the lessons from the case.
"We urge you to make a personal commitment to stop using mobile phones while driving and make our roads safer for everyone," she said.
Speaking outside Reading Crown Court, she said: "The 10-year sentence will not ease our pain and suffering, nor do we believe it will send a strong enough message to those who lack the self-restraint to not use a mobile phone when driving."
Lorry death crash: Live updates
The court heard how the family had been returning from a camping trip in two cars at the time of the crash on 10 August
Ms Houghton's partner Mark Goldsmith and his 13-year-old son Jake were in a car that was struck by Kroker. The court heard how the Vauxhall Zafira being driven by Mr Goldsmith was shunted into the Corsa containing the rest of the family, which was forced underneath a lorry in front.
The Corsa was compressed to a third of its normal size, the court was told.
Prosecutor Charles Ward-Jackson said: "It is a particularly distressing feature that the two surviving members of the family were in the car behind, and a 13-year-old boy was forced to witness at close range the deaths of four members of close family."
Some family members left the court as the prosecution began to show photos of the crash scene and video from the lorry's cab camera.
Others were reduced to tears as video of the crash was shown.
Less than a second before the impact, an onboard camera showed Kroker, originally from Poland, "looking up with sudden horror on his face... it was too late to take any avoiding action", the court heard.
In the pile-up, Kroker also seriously injured Mazda driver Adam Pearson, whose car was thrown on to its roof, leaving him with a collapsed lung and a broken back, and also injured the two occupants of a Citroen.
Jake Goldsmith, who witnessed his sister Aimee's death, now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a victim impact statement from his mother Kathryn.
"Jake doesn't talk much any more, he doesn't have much to say," she said. "Our nights are plagued with nightmares and broken sleep."
The court heard that an hour before the pile-up, Kroker had signed a declaration to his employer, promising he would not use his phone at the wheel.
He initially told police his brakes failed, and the traffic in front of him "just stopped". He was also found to have lied to his bosses about whether he had been distracted, claiming he had the radio on.
The lorry driver, from Trajan Walk, Andover, Hampshire, pleaded guilty on 10 October to four counts of causing death by dangerous driving.


A rare Sumatran tiger has arrived at Paignton Zoo in Devon as part of a European breeding programme.

Eight-year-old Fabi was moved from Chester Zoo, where he fathered seven cubs with a female who was born at Paignton.
The move was necessary after Paignton's 14-year-old male, Tenang, had to be put to sleep because of illness in June,
Sumatran tigers are critically endangered, with just about 300 believed to remain in the wild.
The zoo said the decline in numbers has been caused by habitat loss, poaching and "human-tiger conflict", making the breeding programme vitally important to the future of the species.
It is hoped Fabi will mate successfully with Paignton's female tiger Shakira.
Curator of mammals at the zoo, Neil Bemment, said initial signs from Fabi were good
"He is settling in very quickly to his new surroundings and early signs are good, with lots of encouraging vocalisations," he added.
Fabi and Shakira are important genetically, with both of them ranked in the top 15 Sumatran tigers in Europe, because their blood lines have not been "over represented" or diluted.
Stewart Muir from Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust said: "We hope that Fabi and Shakira will breed successfully and help us to help the dwindling population of Sumatran tigers."


The BBC should be "cut back to the bone" and the licence fee reduced by two thirds, according to  Nigel Farage.

The UKIP leader told a public meeting in Rochester he believed the BBC should not be privatised but retained as a public service broadcaster.
His proposal would mean the current fee of Â£145.50 would be reduced to Â£48.50.
Some of the other parties have set out their plans for the licence fee in their manifestos, including the Conservatives and the Green Party.
Mr Farage said: "Do I think the BBC needs to involve itself and engage itself in many other fields of entertainment and sport, given the whole world has changed with cable television and satellite television? No.
"I would like to see the BBC cut back to the bone to be purely a public service broadcaster with an international reach, and I would have thought you could do that with a licence fee that was about a third of what it currently is."
The BBC's Robin Brant said while UKIP had committed to reviewing the licence fee, which comes up for renewal next year, this was the first time the leader had put a figure on it.
Last week Mr Farage accused the BBC of fielding what he called a "left-wing" audience in the TV debate between him and the leaders of Labour, the SNP, the Green Party and Plaid Cymru.
The Conservatives have said they would maintain a freeze on the fee, while the Green Party wants to abolish it and fund the BBC through general taxation.
Labour's manifesto says the party will ensure the BBC delivers value for money, while the Liberal Democrats say the fee should not rise faster than inflation.
The SNP says it wants a "fairer share" of the licence fee for BBC Scotland.
The licence fee was frozen until March 2017 under an agreement reached in 2010 between the broadcaster and the coalition government.
The current Royal Charter, through which the BBC is constituted and which guarantees its independence, expires at the end of 2016. The coalition government has delayed discussions about its renewal until after the election.


Calls were made to police before a two-car crash which claimed the lives of three teenagers and a woman in Powys, a father has told a pre-inquest hearing.

Alesha O'Connor, Rhodri Miller, Corey Price, all 17 and from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, and Margaret Challis, 68, from Merthyr Tydfil, were killed near Storey Arms, near Brecon, in March.
David Miller queried whether the accident could have been prevented if a "car had been sent to the party".
An inquest is to be held next year.
Coroner Andrew Barkley told family members at the hearing at Aberdare Coroner's Court the inquest could now go ahead as Dyfed-Powys Police had ruled out taking any criminal action.
Mr Miller said: "Apparently, there were three calls made to South Wales Police before the accident happened. A fair distance from where the accident took place.
"Could the accident have been prevented if a car had been sent to the party?"
The coroner said all issues would be addressed at the inquest.
He said the one-day hearing was likely to place next February.
An initial coroner's investigation in March was told the collision involved a green Volkswagen Golf and a black Volkswagen Golf estate.
The hearing was told Mrs Challis, a passenger, was in one car while the three teenagers were in the other car.


The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has confirmed that the Libyan Soccer League will resume on 15 May.

The league has been suspended since 2014 season because of the security troubles in the country.
LFF chairman Anwar Al-Tishani said: "We had meetings with the heads of the clubs, official authorities, security officials, and the conditions look suitable to start the 2015-16 League."
On Thursday in Tripoli, the LFF conducted the draw for the season.
Twenty-one teams have been divided into two groups.
Group One includes nine clubs from the east, two of which will qualify for the final round. Group 2 will have 12 clubs from the west, south, and central regions, three of which will qualify for the final round.
The most recent league champions were Al Ahli from Tripoli, who the title for the 11th time in its history.


It might seem odd that it has taken a six-week-long investigation to produce proof of something as catastrophic as a torpedo strike on a warship.

When it finally came, it was in dramatic form.
A few bits of rusty scrap metal, unveiled in front of the assembled reporters at a press conference marking the publication of the investigation report.
Ever since the South Korean warship, the Cheonan, was split in half by an explosion and began sinking in the darkness with the loss of 46 lives, North Korea has been the prime suspect.
But why has it been so difficult to prove?
Stealth is the name of the game in submarine warfare.
It is entirely plausible that a ship, on routine patrol in its own shallow waters, would not pick up any signs of an enemy sub, or even a torpedo fired from one, on its sonar system.
So the fact that North Korea was not caught in the act has meant that the investigation team has had to embark on a painstaking and slow process, attempting to piece together what happened by examining the shattered wreck of the ship, salvaged in two pieces from the sea bed.
It was announced early on that the Cheonan had been hit by an external "non-contact" explosion.
That ruled out a simple collision with a rock, or an internal malfunction of the ship's own weapons systems.
Whatever sank it had exploded underwater, close to the hull of the ship but not in contact with it.
That is exactly the way that many torpedoes are designed to work, because exploding a few feet away from the ship causes a far more devastating blow than a direct hit.
The trouble for the investigation team was that many sea mines are designed to explode in exactly the same way.
Could the Cheonan have been sunk as the result of an accidental collision with an unexploded mine left over from the Korean War perhaps?
It was crucial to find direct evidence of the type of weapon involved.
To that end the South Korean navy even designed its own special nets and they have been dragging them, up to eight times a day, across the seabed close to the site of the sinking.
Just five days ago, they found what they were looking for - the propellers, a propulsion motor and a steering section of a torpedo, a perfect match for a model known to be manufactured and exported by North Korea.
The markings, in Korean script, are said to be consistent with those on a previously obtained model.
It was these fragments that were put on display at the news conference. They were clear evidence that the weapon used with such devastating effect was a 1.7 ton torpedo with a net explosive weight of 250kg, and apparent proof of North Korea's involvement.
There is other evidence of course.
The investigation report says that a number of small submarines, escorted by a support ship, left a North Korean naval base in the Yellow Sea a few days prior to the attack and returned a few days after it took place.
The investigation itself was given an added air of impartiality by the presence of 24 foreign experts from America, Australia, Britain and Sweden.  They are all said to support the conclusions reached.
The only big question that remains is why?
Using a submarine to launch an unprovoked attack on another country's warship is such an extraordinary act of aggression with such serious potential consequences.
And despite the difficulties in obtaining proof after the event as outlined above, such an action certainly runs a substantial risk of detection.
Why would North Korea have taken such a calculated risk, and for what purpose?
Some observers have suggested that it may have been a simple act of retaliation.
The Cheonan sank close to the disputed sea boundary between North and South Korean territorial waters, along which the two navies have clashed a number of times in the past decade.
The most recent incident, last November, left a North Korean ship in flames, with reported casualties amongst the crew.
But torpedoing a warship would be a very dramatic response indeed.
Another theory suggests that the incident is a worrying indication of the tensions within the North Korean power structure.
Perhaps the order was given by the ageing and ailing North Korean leader to keep the military on side.  Or perhaps the military were acting alone.
The speculation will continue, as will the debate about the appropriate response.
But for now, one thing seems to be beyond reasonable doubt, the Cheonan was sunk by North Korea, and South Korea has the evidence to prove it.


Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers fielded his son, Anton, as a trialist during the Scottish champions' 1-0 friendly win over BW Linz in Austria.

The midfielder, 24, is a free agent after leaving Swindon Town, having previously played for Brighton, Exeter and Oldham.
James Forrest scored the only goal as Celtic beat second-tier side Linz.
"Anton has come with us just to get fit really," manager Rodgers told Celtic TV.
"His season won't start down in England for another week or so. So I asked him to come in. Then we had a few injuries to midfield players, Eboue Kouassi and Kris Ajer.
"I know he can play, he is technically very gifted, Anton. He has a good view of the game and he can come in and slot in and play with the players, and I thought he did very well."
Celtic made 11 substitutions and new signing Jonny Hayes played the opening 45 minutes.
They start their competitive season against either Linfield or La Fiorita in the Champions League second qualifying round, with the first leg during the second week in July.


Analysis of pollen found on pottery buried with a young woman more than 4,100 years ago has identified plants used for medicinal purposes.
The woman's bones, including a skull and teeth, were discovered at Achavanich in Caithness 30 years ago.
Known as "Ava", an abbreviation of Achavanich, she is the subject of a long-term research project managed by archaeologist Maya Hoole.
Ms Hoole said the presence of the pollen "raises interesting questions".
Last year, forensic artist Hew Morrison created a facial reconstruction of Ava.
Now the results of other research have been published.
Analysis of pollen recovered from a decorated beaker buried with Ava identified various plants and trees.
Archaeologist Ms Hoole said: "Of the pollen recovered the majority were from trees and shrubs including birch, pine - most likely Scots pine - hazel and alder.
"Heather was also identified, as well as grasses, meadowsweet and St John's wort.
"The inclusion of meadowsweet proves interesting as it has also appeared at other Bronze Age burials elsewhere in Scotland.
"The presence of both meadowsweet and St John's wort may represent a deliberate inclusion of flowers within the burial. Interestingly, both of these plants are also considered to have medicinal properties."
The archaeologist added: "The presence of several different species of plant which are considered to have medicinal properties raises interesting questions: was this intentional, and was it in any way related to whatever caused the death of this individual?"
Other results of the latest research included:
Ava's remains, along with other artefacts found with her, are held in the care of Caithness Horizons museum in Thurso.
Unusually, the Bronze Age woman was buried in a pit dug into solid rock and her skull is an abnormal shape which some suggest was the result of deliberate binding.
It is believed Ava was part of a much wider European group known as the Beaker people.
Further research is to be done in an effort to shed more light on Ava and her burial.


Marks and Spencer has hired the boss of bikes and car parts retailer Halfords, Jill McDonald, to take charge of clothing, home and beauty.

The retailer has struggled with its clothing sales in recent years amid increased competition on the High Street and from online retailers.
Sales in the clothing and home division have improved recently, but M&S has said more work was needed.
She fills the role left by Steve Rowe when he became M&S chief executive.
Mr Rowe said: "Jill's first-class customer knowledge and great experience in running dynamic, high-achieving teams make her exactly the right person to lead this all-important part of our business from recovery into growth," he said.
Ms McDonald, who ran the UK arm of McDonald's before joining Halfords, said: "I have long been an M&S customer and professional fan, so working with the brand was a career opportunity that I just couldn't turn down."
She will join M&S in the autumn.
Mr Rowe has made it his mission to revive the clothing division, saying he wants to make it simpler and put customers back at the centre of its business.
But Ms McDonald has a tough job ahead of her.
M&S has suffered intense competition High Street rivals such as Zara, Primark and Topshop. Many of its traditional customers have complained of multiple clothing lines that have little to differentiate them and a lack of fashion-conscious vision.
Retail analyst Nick Bubb described Ms McDonald's appointment as a "shock".
"It goes without saying that there is nothing in her CV that would have implied that she was a candidate for this key position.
"It will be interesting to see how long she lasts," he added.
Brokers Canaccord and Liberum both said the announcement was "unexpected" and "disappointing" for Halfords, whose shares were 3% down on Wednesday.
Canaccord pointed out that it was the second time Halfords had lost a CEO to a "bigger" role at a rival.
Former Halfords' chief executive Matt Davies left to run Tesco's UK business in 2015.
Last month M&S revealed plans to shut six stores while opening 36 brand new ones over the next six months, creating more than 1,400 jobs.
The plans involve opening 200 new food-only stores, while selling clothing and homeware from 60 fewer stores.
Also, M&S has revealed plans to venture in to online grocery deliveries, with reports of a potential deal with Ocado.