Jeremy Corbyn says his leadership campaign is going "extremely well" but that talk of him winning the contest is "a bit premature".

The left-winger is ahead of his rivals in the race to replace Ed Miliband, according to a Times opinion poll.
He also dismissed claims that he would split the party if chosen as leader.
The Islington North MP was speaking to journalists after promising a "publicly led expansion and reconstruction of the economy" in a speech in London.
His comments came after former prime minister Tony Blair said he would take the country backwards if elected and that anyone with his politics in their heart should "get a transplant".
"I do not know what he means by taking the country backwards," Mr Corbyn said, adding that Mr Blair's suggestion he was the Tory preference amounted to "rather silly remarks".
"Surely we should be talking about the situation facing Britain today, the situation facing many of the poorest people in this country today, and maybe think if our policies are relevant," he said.
"A lot of people are supporting us, particularly young people supporting us who want a very different Labour Party to the one they've had in the past."
In his speech on the economy, Mr Corbyn said austerity was a "political choice not an economic necessity".
You would expect people who are eligible to vote in the Labour leadership contest to be unusually interested in politics.
But the full details of the poll show that of the 1,056 people polled, 80% said they would definitely be voting in the leadership election while another 15% said they would probably be voting.
I know that the rules for the leadership election have been changed, but it still seems a very high turnout.
Compare it with the 2010 leadership election, when about 72% of constituency Labour Party members voted.
Labour poll: have we learned nothing?
He promised to protect public services and increase taxes on the wealthy, arguing that "all of us are an accident away from needing a benefits system that sustains us
The YouGov poll for The Times suggests that in the final round of voting, the Islington MP  would get 53% of support, six points ahead of Andy Burnham. Liz Kendall and Yvette Cooper are also in the contest.
Mr Corbyn only made it onto the ballot paper at the last minute after MPs who supported other candidates "lent" him their nominations to get him into the contest, arguing Labour needed as wide a debate as possible about its future direction.
John McTernan, a former adviser to Tony Blair, has described those MPs who helped him reach the leadership shortlist as "morons".
Mr Corbyn dismissed this, saying: "I don't get involved in personal stuff, it's really not worth it. That kind of remark is really uncalled for in any kind of politics."
Labour peer Lord Foulkes said those who nominated Mr Corbyn despite disagreeing with him should be "searching their consciences right now". They should "realise they've put the Labour Party in to a very difficult position", he told the BBC.
But Frank Field, who nominated Mr Corbyn despite disagreeing fundamentally with him about economic policy, said the other candidates had failed to articulate an alternative to Mr Corbyn's stance of "deficit denial".
"I would be surprised if Jeremy wanted to win. He really wanted to test the arguments and the mettle of the other candidates," he told BBC News. "He has played his role. Sadly we have not had the other candidates with the abilities to take him on and say...'this is my vision, these are my priorities, there are my values'."


A concert pianist, who was allegedly murdered by her husband, sent a text before her death saying she was having "bad times" with him, a jury has heard.

John Martin, 48, denies murdering his Russian-born wife Natalia Strelchenko, 38, at their Manchester home on their second wedding anniversary last August.
Ms Strelchenko's ex-husband told Manchester Crown Court he received a text from her shortly before her death.
He said he read it the next day when it was "too late to react".
She was married to organist and conductor Vladimir Suzdalevich for 10 years before their marriage broke down and she moved to Manchester three years later in 2009.
He told the jury that they remained "close friends".
He said he met Mr Martin, who was a double bass player, in 2011.
But he recalled that, after a meeting with the couple, she phoned him and said there had been "struggling and fighting in the car" on their way home.
"She said that she was standing by a road and didn't know what to do and asked me to come," he said.
He advised Ms Strelchenko that Mr Martin was a "difficult man to get married with".
Mr Suzdalevich also said his ex-wife had told him that she wanted to end the relationship with Mr Martin.
He said: "I think she was afraid to say 'I'm leaving you now'."
He recalled her final text, where she said she and her husband were "having bad times in Manchester" and she was looking forward to starting a new job in France.
Ms Strelchenko was found with fatal face and neck injuries at her Newton Heath home.
Mr Martin denies the murder or manslaughter of his wife.
He has also pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of a male youth who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
The trial continues.


Kosovo's former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has been detained in Slovenia over an investigation into war crimes during the late 1990s conflict.

Mr Haradinaj, now an opposition leader, was blocked from boarding a flight at Ljubljana Airport, his party said.
He resigned as Kosovo leader in 2004 to stand trial at a UN court for war crimes, though he was later acquitted.
Mr Haradinaj denies allegations he oversaw a campaign of torture and murder against Serbs and their allies.
Slovenian police said they were executing a 2006 Interpol arrest warrant issued at the request of Serbia over his time as rebel commander in the 1998-99 war.
War crimes prosecutors in Belgrade are investigating Kosovo's former leader over three cases dating to the conflict of the late 1990s, involving the deaths of at least 60 people.
"This attitude and act by the Slovenian state is unacceptable and very offensive for me and for Kosovo," Mr Haradinaj was quoted as saying by a senior official in his party, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, after his arrest in the Slovenian capital on Wednesday.
The government in Kosovo said it was concerned that "such warrants are still treated as valid in certain countries, despite the fact that... Haradinaj's innocence was proven... by the international justice," the AFP news agency reports.
Meanwhile, his party has called on the Slovenian authorities to allow Mr Haradinaj to continue his journey.
He served only 100 days in power before he stepped down in early 2005 to deal with an indictment at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. He was acquitted of the charges in 2012 after standing two trials.
It is the second time in a week that people wanted for war crimes in Serbia have been arrested elsewhere, says the BBC's Guy Delauney in Belgrade. Last Wednesday, Swiss police detained a former Bosniak Muslim army commander.
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, after years of strained relations between its Serb and Albanian inhabitants.


Britain's Adam Yates moved into second place after four stages of the Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy.

Yates, 24, whose brother Simon is competing in the Paris-Nice event, finished third in the 171km stage from Montaldo di Castro to Terminillo.
Colombian Nairo Quintana broke with two kilometres to go, finishing 17 seconds clear of Britain's Geraint Thomas, with Yates 23 seconds adrift.
Quintana also claimed the overall lead with three stages remaining.
Overall standings after stage four:
1.  Nairo Quintana (Col/Movistar) 16hrs 34mins 46secs
2.  Adam Yates (GB/Orica) +33secs
3.  Thibaut Pinot (Fra/FDJ) +56secs
4.  Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa/Movistar) +1min 01secs
5.  Rohan Dennis (Aus/BMC Racing) +1min 06secs
6.  Tom Dumoulin (Ned/Sunweb) +1min 19secs
7.  Primoz Roglic (Slo/LottoNL)  same time
8.  Geraint Thomas (GB/Team Sky) +1min 23secs
9.  Daniel Moreno (Spa/Movistar) +1min 27secs
10. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita/AG2R) +1min 29secs
Find out how to get into cycling with our special guide.


Scotland's first operational nuclear reactor is to be demolished.

The Dounreay Materials Test Reactor (DMTR) achieved criticality, a nuclear term referring to the balance of neutrons in the system, in 1958.
The site at Dounreay, near Thurso, was built using 600 tonnes of steel. It was shut down in 1969.
Large parts of the DMTR site have already been demolished as part of wider work to decommission the Dounreay nuclear power site.
The control room desk and panels for the reactor were moved to Caithness Horizons, a museum in Thurso, in 2015.
A contractor has been sought for the work of demolishing the reactor.
Notice of the contract has been released on 60 years since the first criticality was achieved in Scotland.
A system known as a rig and named the Zero Energy Thermal reactor installed at Dounreay in 1956 went critical for the first time on 13 August 1957.
This was the first artificially made criticality in Scotland.
Bill Lambie, DMTR project manager, said: "This month we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first criticality in Scotland, which took place in a temporary test rig.
"That was an immense achievement, and we are now poised to demolish its successor and the oldest reactor on site, DMTR.
"The removal of DMTR from the skyline will be a significant step for Dounreay, and will be a real and visible sign of the decommissioning progress being made."


Thousands of people have accompanied the coffin of late Czech leader Vaclav Havel to Prague Castle where he lies in state.

The procession marked the start of three official days of mourning for Havel, who died on Sunday aged 75.
Many applauded as the hearse carrying the dissident playwright, who led the 1989 overthrow of communism, passed through Prague's historic centre.
A state funeral for the first Czech president is to take place on Friday.
Royal route
Havel's coffin was carried in a hearse, followed by members of his family and an estimated 10,000 people, many dressed in black.
By Rob CameronBBC News, Prague
This is a country in mourning for the first post-communist president of the Czech Republic.
In the city's medieval centre, a crowd of mourners followed his coffin up the steep hill. Many more people stood by the side, watching the procession pass.
Many are still struggling to come to terms with Havel's death. Local people have told me that he was unique and that they felt he will always be their president.
He was, they say, the man who led the demonstrations in November 1989 and then led the country back to Europe.
Many towns and cities have already asked to name squares and streets after him.
"Mr Havel was a model of a man who longs to live in truth and in harmony with his inner conscience, and who is not afraid to suffer for that," Jaroslav Mino, who came from eastern Slovakia for the event, told Agence France Presse.
The procession through the heart of the medieval Old Town following what is known as the Royal Route - used by kings and emperors for centuries.
Among the crowd was Havel's secretary during the 1990s, Martina Smith.
"It's a personal affair for me. I wanted to bid farewell and accompany him on this journey," she said, according to AFP.
At the barracks of the Castle Guard, the coffin was draped in the Czech flag and placed on a gun carriage drawn by six horses accompanied by soldiers in ceremonial uniform for the short journey to Prague Castle.
Life of Vaclav Havel in pictures
The carriage is the same one that bore the coffin of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, Czechoslovakia's first president after it was founded in 1918.
It now lies inside the 15th-century Vladislav Hall from where current President Vaclav Klaus - who often clashed with Havel on the direction of the country after communism - described his predecessor as a "remarkable personality" and a "brave man of firm opinions" who is "difficult to classify".
"He became a symbol of changes under way and people projected their hopes in him," he said.
Friday's funeral, at St Vitus Cathedral in Prague, will be the Czech Republic's first state funeral since independence and is expected to be attended by dignitaries from around the world.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose husband, Bill, visited a jazz club as president with the late Czech leader in 1994, is expected to attend, as is the Czech-born former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Heads of state or government from France, Germany, Israel and Austria and leaders from across eastern Europe, including Georgia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Lithuania are also expected to attend.
Vaclav Havel became president of Czechoslovakia in 1989 after the fall of communism. When Slovakia split in 1993, he remained Czech leader until 2003.
Having suffered from respiratory problems for many years, he died on Sunday at his country home in Hradecek, north-east of Prague.


The life and work of one of Wales' most famous musicians will be celebrated with a two day festival in Powys.

The event marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of John Roberts, Harpist of Wales.
A range of performances, talks, and events will explore the life of Roberts, who performed for the likes of Queen Victoria and the King of Belgium.
The celebrations are part of the Gregynog Festival, Wales' oldest music festival.
Born in north Wales to a Romany mother and a Welsh father, Roberts and his family lived in Newtown, Powys, for most of his life where he became a noted harpist and singer.
He performed at Gregynog Hall, where the festival is taking place, during the mid-19th century.
He also played for Queen Victoria on multiple occasions, the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia, and the King of Belgium in Swansea.
In 1848, he won the World Welsh Harp competition at Abergavenny as well as the harp prize at the National Eisteddfod in Cardiff.
He taught nine of his children to play the harp and they too gave a concert before Queen Victoria in 1889.
Russell George, AM for Montgomeryshire, highlighted the work of Roberts in the Senedd on Wednesday.
He said: "Roberts became one of Wales' best known musical acts of his day, touring Wales as part of the Original Cambrian Minstrels.
"He put Newtown firmly on the musical map and remains a significant figure within Welsh culture.
"I was pleased to be able to mark his 200th birthday in the Senedd and hope that the celebrations at the Gregynog Festival are a great success."
The festival takes place between 18-19 November.


Karolina Pliskova claimed the Brisbane International title with a 6-0 6-3 victory over France's Alize Cornet.

The third-seeded Czech raced to victory after taking just 18 minutes to secure the first set.
Cornet recovered in the second set but Pliskova's powerful serve ensured she sealed a 66-minute victory.
The win sees her move above Dominika Cibulkova to fifth in the world rankings before the Australian Open, which begins on 9 January.


Venezuela's Supreme Court has banned the attorney general from leaving the country and frozen all of her assets.

The court, which is dominated by government loyalists, said Luisa Ortega Díaz had committed serious errors.
Ms Ortega, once a staunch government ally, broke ranks in March when she said an attempt by the Supreme Court to strip the opposition-controlled Congress of its powers was unlawful.
Critics believe President Nicolás Maduro is trying to push Ms Ortega out.
She faces a hearing on 4 July - some analysts say she may eventually be put on trial. The move comes amid growing political turmoil in Venezuela.
According to reports, the accusations against her refer to the appointment of judges.
The Supreme Court recently transferred Ms Ortega's powers of investigation to the national  ombudsman.
On Wednesday, she strongly criticised President Maduro following an incident in which a stolen police helicopter flew over government buildings in the capital, Caracas, dropping grenades and firing shots.
Mr Maduro called it a "terrorist attack" but Ms Ortega said Venezuela was suffering from "state terrorism" due to the harsh response by authorities to anti-government protests.
The suspected pilot, a rogue elite police officer identifying himself as Oscar Pérez, posted Instagram videos admitting the attack and calling on Venezuelans to rise up against the government.
Venezuelan security forces later said they had found the helicopter, near the north coast in the state of Vargas. There was no sign of the pilot.
Andrew Rosati, a Caracas-based journalist for news website Bloomberg, said some people doubted the government's version of events.
"I spoke to people today on the streets and some are absolutely mystified by the whole affair," he told the BBC's Newsday programme.
"This idea that a helicopter almost vanished into the air, flew off into the sunset. Many think this whole thing is staged by the government."
Opposition politician and parliamentary Speaker Julio Borges also raised the possibility that the incident was a hoax but said more information was needed.
"Whatever it is, it is very serious," he said. "It all points to one conclusion: that the situation in Venezuela is unsustainable."
There have been almost daily anti-government protests in Venezuela for more than two months as the country's economic and political crisis worsens.


Glancing up at the big screen in studio D at Elstree, I see the rather glum face of Mark Field, MP for Cities of London and Westminster.

It reminds me suddenly of a conversation we had a month or so ago.
He told me, and my ilk, to "get outside the bubble" and I had laughed because here he was, a Tory MP in a safe seat in central London - a man who literally had a Westminster village that comprised his constituents at his feet.
By the bubble, he meant, I assume, the vast numbers of people outside London, around the country, voting Brexit, or UKIP or hoping - he would have thought - to put the Conservatives on a huge majority.
But there was another bubble and we both missed it. A bubble of young, excited, Remainers or at least anti austerity-ers who would even put his seat in the kind of precarious position he would never have dreamt of.
As I write, we still await the result from Kensington. It doesn't get more True Blue than that - and yet Kensington has already, I hear, been twice recounted.
They've now suspended further counting as a result of drooping eyelids at the count.
The very notion that Kensington could turn red is the stuff of nightmares for the Conservatives. It is the kind of shifting tectonic plate that signals the opening up of the ground.
But here's why it's not impossible. Kensington only needs an 11% swing by Labour to turn it red - a heavily Remainer seat with a vocally Brexit MP.
And we have seen those swings in London in many places overnight...
In Putney, a swing away from Education Secretary Justine Greening of nearly 10%.
In Chelsea and Fulham a swing of 9% and in Westminster North - a Labour seat which returned its MP with a swing of 11% to Labour.
Suddenly that gloomy face on the screen makes sense. Sleepless yes, but also shocked perhaps to his very core.


TV chef Jamie Oliver has urged ministers to be "big and bold" by introducing a sugar tax on fizzy drinks.

Mr Oliver has been campaigning for the levy to be included in the forthcoming child obesity strategy.
He told MPs on the House of Commons' Health Committee a tax would be the "single most important" change that could be made.
He said it would be "deeply symbolic" as well as raising money.
Ministers have indicated a tax will not be introduced, although Mr Oliver said he did not believe, from his discussions, that it had been "written off".
It has been estimated a 20% sugar tax could raise up to a Â£1bn a year.
Mr Oliver said he would like to see that shared between the NHS and primary schools.
But he said the most important reason for introducing a tax was the message it sent out.
Mr Oliver, who has introduced a levy on soft drinks with added sugar in his own restaurants, said: "We should be big and bold. Who is running the country? The businesses who are profiting from ill health or is it us?"
Why is sugar so addictive?
Michael Mosley on how much sugar is in food
Can we trust industry?
Mr Oliver said it was right to target fizzy drinks rather than other sources, such as chocolate bars, because people did not realise just how much sugar was in such drinks.
The official advice is that no more than 5% of daily calories should come from sugar - the equivalent of about six or seven teaspoons of sugar for a normal weight adult. A typical can of fizzy drink contains about nine teaspoons.
He went on to liken the introduction of a tax to disciplining children. "When my kids are naughty, they go on the naughty step. That is what this tax is."
Mr Oliver has started a petition calling for a tax to be introduced, which has nearly 150,000 signatories.
But the government has responded by saying that it has no plans to introduce a tax.
In a statement, the Department of Health said: "The government has committed to a tax lock to avoid raising the cost of living and to promote UK productivity and economic growth.
"The causes of obesity are complex, caused by a number of dietary, lifestyle, environmental and genetic factors, and tackling it will require a comprehensive and broad approach.
"As such, the government is considering a range of options for tackling childhood obesity."
The strategy is likely to be published in the new year.
Earlier at the evidence session, Duncan Selbie, the head of Public Health England, defended his decision not to release a review of how sugar consumption could be reduced.
PHE has carried out the review - looking at measures such as a sugar tax and discounted deals - for the government.
But despite it being ready it has not been published - something the committee has already criticised. Mr Selbie said there was "no conspiracy" and the review would be published.


A satellite image confirms the main temple in the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria has been destroyed by Islamic State (IS) militants, the UN says.

Syria's head of antiquities had suggested on Monday that the Temple of Bel was still standing, despite reports of a massive explosion at the weekend.
But Unosat analysts said the main structure had been reduced to rubble, as well as a line of columns beside it.
IS captured the Unesco World Heritage site from government forces in May.
"Unfortunately, the images we acquired do show that the main building of the temple has been destroyed," Einar Bjorgo, Unosat's manager, told the BBC early on Tuesday.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) considered the Temple of Bel - the great sanctuary of the Palmyrene gods - one of the most important religious buildings of the 1st Century AD in the East.
Maamoun Abdul Karim, the head of the Syrian Department of Antiquities and Museums, said its destruction was a "catastrophe".
"I feel very sad and I am very pessimistic... for the future of Palmyra," he told BBC Radio 5 live.
"I am sure we will have more bad images [in the future] because these people... are ignorant, they are very criminal," he added. "They don't respect any image, any identity of the people."
IS threat to 'Venice of the Sands'
History's lesson in how to save artefacts
Understanding sadness at loss of sites
Why IS destroys ancient sites
Mr Abdul Karim had said on Monday that there was a large explosion at the Temple of Bel, but that he believed most of the site remained intact.
The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says the temple is bounded by a high perimeter wall, and the whole sprawling site of Palmyra is controlled by IS, so it would have been hard for outside witnesses on the ground to verify what had happened without putting themselves at risk.
IS has ransacked and demolished several similar ancient sites that pre-date Islam in Iraq, denouncing them as symbols of "idolatry".
The sale of looted antiquities is nevertheless one of the group's main sources of funding. It has also been accused of destroying ancient sites to gain publicity.
Authorities removed hundreds of statues and priceless objects before IS overran Palmyra earlier this year.
Last week, it was confirmed that another important site at Palmyra, the Temple of Baalshamin, had been blown up.
Unosat released satellite images showing the extent of the damage, proving that parts were heavily damaged or completely destroyed.
Earlier last month, the group beheaded 81-year-old Khaled al-Asaad, the archaeologist who had looked after the Palmyra ruins for 40 years.
The world-famous Greco-Roman ruins of Palmyra are in the desert north-east of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Syrian government forces have sought to drive IS out of the Palmyra area in recent months and there has been fierce fighting in nearby towns.


A massive tech show has been taking place in Las Vegas, USA, where companies have been showing off their latest gadgets.

11 January 2016 Last updated at 08:10 GMT
Ricky's been at CES 2016, the biggest gadget show in the world, for Newsround.
He takes a look at the latest robot creations revealed at the event.


It had the lowest turnout of any constituency in the UK at the 2015 general election. But fresh from a by-election and a fired-up electorate which overwhelmingly backed Brexit, could June's ballot see Stoke-on-Trent Central return to the polls?
"They are all just in it for themselves. I don't really see how my vote can change anything."
Mick Billington, Hanley town centre's postman, hasn't voted in years.
"The literature comes through my door from all the parties, but I don't read it. I just throw it in the bin," he says.
Latest coverage on the 2017 general election
"I thought about voting in the referendum. The Mrs kept saying 'come on, we should go', but you know how it is, you get in from work and you're comfortable."
He is not alone.
While many were moved to vote in the EU Referendum, Stoke Central's turnout at general elections has been falling steadily for 67 years - from a record high of 83% in 1950 to 51% in 2015, the lowest in the UK.
This once-proud Labour heartland - the party has held the seat every election since 1950 - is now home to an electorate that has become increasingly uninterested in politics.
Mr Billington's indifference for voting is not reflected in his views of the NHS.
His 86-year-old mother died six weeks ago, following a fall which saw her hospitalised for a fractured spine.
She'd suffered with dementia and when he visited her in hospital, Mr Billington saw for himself the pressures staff were under.
"People were lining the corridors [in their beds]. We're in 2017, not the 1940s or 50s," he says, his voice teetering on the edge of exasperation.
"I was saying to my wife only last night, I'd be happy to pay an extra £1 a week to help the NHS."
It's a rainy day in Hanley, one of the six Potteries towns that were amalgamated into the city of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910.
Over the years, it has become the city's main shopping centre, but it has suffered some decline as shops including Argos, JD Sports and much-loved independent bookshop Webberley's all closed.
While Stoke-on-Trent City Council is part way through regeneration plans - a four-star Hilton hotel is planned for the growing new Smithfield site and a shopping complex is due to replace the old bus station - some feel not enough is being done to breathe new life into the town centre.
As lunchtime approaches, some streets in the centre are virtually empty of shoppers. Several units are boarded up.
Carol Dugan works at JM Edwards tobacconist, opened by the late Tony Edwards in 1952.
"There's not enough done in Hanley to support us. Shops are boarded up but the council doesn't lower the rent to attract new ones in," she says.
"The druggies and the homeless have also become a really big problem."
A staunch Conservative, she chose not to follow her late father's own political beliefs.
"My dad was Labour. But he'd turn in his grave if he could see what was happening in the party now.
"I don't know why so many people don't vote. I vote because I'm a woman. Women died to give us the vote and we should use it."
Kevin Jones was a third generation Royal Doulton worker until he was made redundant when the china maker closed its last UK factory more than a decade ago.
He now runs Oatie Mostons in Market Square, selling Staffordshire oatcakes from his van.
"I haven't voted for a few year," he says. "After I was made redundant I became very disillusioned with things. They say the same things over and over but nothing ever changes."
Despite his apathy, Mr Jones felt strongly enough to vote to remain in the EU - something 69.4% of Stoke-on-Trent's voting population disagreed with.
He is a floating voter and says he will probably take part in the forthcoming General Election.
He likes Gareth Snell, who was elected to the Stoke-on-Trent Central seat over UKIP's Paul Nuttall in February's by-election.
"He's a people person. He comes into town and he talks to people," says Mr Jones.
"The Labour party should have more people like him and maybe they wouldn't have as many problems."
He also wouldn't mind paying more tax.
"I'd be prepared to pay more to pay for the right things," he adds.
"People are living longer - the money [to care for them] has got to come from somewhere.
"But I disagree in giving money to young people who haven't put anything in."
Mr Jones points to the pedestrian area outside his van, which is parked between Boots and Poundland.
"There are people begging here all the time. They come from outside Stoke - they know people here are generous. I've seen people give them £5 notes."
Source: House of Commons Library Statistics
Mr Jones talks of being told about families where three generations have never had jobs.
"It's a lifestyle choice for some, and it shouldn't be."
At the end of 2016, there was an estimated 17 rough sleepers a night on the streets of Stoke-on-Trent.
Tackling homelessness is on the agenda for the three main political parties.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn plans to make 4,000 homes across the country available to the homeless, while Lib Dem boss Tim Farron wants to introduce a policy that will place long-term rough sleepers straight into independent homes rather than emergency shelters.
The Conservatives aim to eradicate rough sleeping by 2027, and want to set up a homeless reduction taskforce.
For lifelong Labour supporter Janet Ellis, education is a top priority.
"Schools - I've got two young grandchildren, aged five and eight - and their education is very important," she says.
"These schools that have large classes and just one teacher in charge - how can that be good for them?"
She is in the town centre with her eldest grandson, Ethan Jenkins, having just given him a lift to an interview for an engineering apprenticeship.
Aged 18, he's looking forward to being able to vote for the first time.
"I'm voting because I've got the right to. A lot of people my age were in uproar that we couldn't vote in the referendum," he says.
"One person in particular was very angry and he's campaigning to get the voting age lowered to 16."
He's decided to back Labour, but not because his grandmother is a lifelong supporter.
"I'm not very political at all, but I've read a lot about what Labour is standing for, such as getting rid of hospital parking charges," he says.
"My step-dad works in the NHS and we've been a few times when relatives have been in hospital and you're there fumbling about with change."
Wearing a black T-shirt with "Too Glam to Give a Damn" in bright pink letters makes Laura Cook stand out among the rain-soaked shoppers.
Aged 23 and a manager at the Kurt Geiger concession in Debenhams, she and her partner have just bought a property.
Despite her glittery message, pay is a big issue for her.
"Costs of things are starting to rise but our wages aren't. Everything [previously] stretched quite well but it's becoming harder," she says.
"I'm only 23 - owning a property is a big deal. I'm not poorly paid and I'm very fortunate.
"I've worked since I was 16 - I used to work at Alton Towers.
"But the cost of living is rising for everyone. I've had to work and work hard."
She's voted in elections ever since she turned 18. "It's important. If you've got a vote you should use it. Plenty of people my age don't."
And plenty of people who aren't her age don't either.
Whether or not more constituents in Stoke Central will be fired up enough to cast their vote on 8 June is yet to be seen.


Up to 10,000 jobs could go in Northern Ireland as a result of the decision to end subsidies for renewable energy, an energy advisory organisation has said.

Government-backed incentives for wind power and other energy sources are due to end within 18 months.
Michael Doran of Action Renewables told the BBC's Inside Business programme that some people who had invested in wind turbines faced massive losses.
He said jobs would be lost unless a replacement incentive was introduced.
He is a director of the organisation which advises provide expert advice on renewable energy to both the government and commercial investors.
"I'm aware of 15 individual farmers who've already bought wind turbines which they now will not be able to put in because they don't have the grid connection from NIE [Northern Ireland Electricity]," Mr Doran told the programme.
"Those have cost them between Â£100,000 and Â£200,000 each already - so already I'm aware of individuals who have lost over Â£1m.
"My guess is, if there is nothing to replace the renewables obligation whatsoever, it would lead to between 5,000 and 10,000 job losses within Northern Ireland - it's significant."
Last week, it was announced that the current subsidy system for on-shore wind energy in Northern Ireland is set to end next April, a year earlier than planned.
Stormont's Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell started a two-week consultation on the proposal.
Inside Business will be broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster at 13:30 BST on Sunday 4 October.


Ubisoft has promised to fix a fault with its blockbuster video game Tom Clancy's The Division that caused hundreds of players' characters to vanish.

Gamers develop their agents over time in the online game, so many feared they had lost weeks of progress.
The problem appears to have affected only people using the Xbox One version of the title.
The publisher, Ubisoft, said it would soon restore the missing data.
"The issue was caused by a malfunctioning server that couldn't synchronise character data correctly and corrupted them instead," Ubisoft told the BBC.
"The game client was unable to read this corrupted data, and simply assumed that the character didn't exist.
"Once this has been identified, we were able to restore the server to its normal functions, thus ensuring that the issue will no longer occur for other players.
"For those who experienced the issue, your character is not gone.
"We are currently working on a fix that should make it available shortly.
"Implementing this fix will require a server downtime, and we will let you know when we are ready to perform it."
The Division sold more copies in its first day than any other Ubisoft title to date - including Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs.
It went on to spend four weeks at the number one spot in the GfK Entertainment All Formats video game charts, following its release on 8 March.
The story takes place in New York after the smallpox virus has been spread via infected banknotes.
The player assumes the role of a Division agent - a secretive organisation tasked with bringing order to the chaos that has engulfed Manhattan
"If you've spent 30 or 50 or 100 hours building up your progress, you're going to be quite upset when it magically disappears," said Keza MacDonald, editor of the games news site Kotaku UK.
"Similar things have happened before - for instance, when Grand Theft Auto Online was released, for the first several weeks, characters would just disappear.
"People are generally understanding of there being launch issues with online games and there can be an element of forgiveness, but the Division has been out for over a month now and people are going to have expected better."
The Division had had a relatively smooth start, after experiencing some server issues in its early hours.
The 1.1 update was released on Tuesday to make the title "more satisfying".
Changes included ensuring players would be given a "high-end" reward when they killed a challenging computer-controlled enemy.
But it soon became apparent there was a problem.
"Wow, I really love this game, but this is too much - I lost my character,  and I'm not going to do a new one... bye The Division," tweeted Pedro Morales.
Another player, nicknamed Freak5how, wrote: "If they do not get characters restored, I am going back to Destiny" - a reference to Activision's rival online shooter.
One analyst said the fault highlighted the risks of a wider shift to making games dependent on remote computer servers.
"In the past, if you lost your character save and your console wasn't connected to the net, then you didn't really have anyone to blame," said Piers Harding-Rolls, from the IHS consultancy.
"But in today's context, you've got your information being stored by a company, so it's out of your control.
"And when it affects lots of people it becomes a big problem for the firm involved."
Ms MacDonald said a lot was now riding on Ubisoft resolving the issue as quickly as promised.
"If it takes a couple of days to sort out, you might forgive them," she said.
"But if it takes two weeks or longer to get the characters back - or they never return - you're probably not going to be inclined to play anymore.
"So, speed is really important when it comes to fixing problems like this."


A driver who left his passenger to die after crashing his car has been jailed.

Fleeing police, Mark MacCormick drove at more than 80mph (130 km/h) on 24 November before his vehicle hit a lamp-post and telegraph pole in Stockport.
The 30-year-old, who had traces of drugs in his system, ran away, abandoning Declan Blackburne, 21, who was fatally injured in the car.
MacCormick, of Norton Grove, Stockport, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for six years.
He was also disqualified from driving for eight years when he was sentenced at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said an officer in an unmarked car spotted MacCormick speeding in Cheadle Heath, Stockport and began to follow him.
After a short period, the officer activated his vehicle's blue lights and instructed MacCormick to pull over.
MacCormick took a turning into a public car park and briefly circled around it before suddenly accelerating out of it.
He then reached speeds in excess of 80mph before losing control of his car, flipping off the carriageway and hitting a lamp-post, telephone junction box and a wooden telegraph pole at such speed that all were broken in half.
As the car came to a stop, he jumped out and ran away.
His passenger Mr Blackburne was taken to hospital where he died 12 days later.
MacCormick presented himself at Cheadle Health Police Station where he was arrested.
At the time of the arrest he had traces of cannabis and cocaine in his system, police said.


Two boys have been arrested after an alleged end-of-term smoke grenade prank saw an entire school evacuated.

Hundreds of pupils vacated Hounsdown School in Totton, Hampshire, at about 10:30 BST after the alarm was raised.
A "number of smoke grenades or similar objects had been set off on the school grounds", a Hampshire Police spokesman said.
Two boys, aged 16, have been held on suspicion of criminal damage.  No one was injured in the incident.
Local councillor David Harrison said he had been told "about half a dozen" masked youths "entered the school, terrorist fashion" and set off the bombs as an end-of-term prank.
He added: "At one point this morning it seemed like the entire Hampshire Constabulary had descended on the area, with sirens from vehicles coming in from all directions.
"End of school pranks are something of a tradition but this particular action was badly ill-judged.
"It would have caused real alarm and might well have led to some serious consequences.
"We all have the capacity to cause mayhem with stupid, irresponsible behaviour. It isn't clever."
Hounsdown School, which teaches 1,251 pupils aged between 11 and 16, was unavailable for comment.


Thousands of residents are fleeing the Iraqi city of Fallujah, amid artillery fire and air strikes by government forces, witnesses told the BBC.

The exodus comes after the government admitted it had lost control of the city - west of Baghdad - to al-Qaeda-linked militants and allied tribesmen.
Fighting is also reported in Ramadi, also in Anbar province, parts of which are in the hands of militants.
Both the US and Iran have offered military support, though not troops.
Fallujah is a highly symbolic city for many Iraqis, particularly Sunni Arabs, say correspondents.
It is remembered for the battles fought there between insurgents and US-backed forces in 2004.
The latest upsurge in violence in Anbar began after troops broke up a protest camp by Sunni Arabs in the city of Ramadi on Monday.
Separately on Sunday, bombs in the capital Baghdad left at least 19 people dead. The deadliest attack, which police and medical sources told Reuters had killed nine and wounded 25, was in the Shia district of Shaab.
Local journalist and Fallujah resident Ahmad al-Jumaili told the BBC that the city had been targeted by artillery fire and air strikes since Monday, and that a heavy bombardment continued on Sunday.
Some specific districts were under attack, he said - al-Askari (in the east), al-Shuhada (in the west), al-Nazzal and al-Andalus (central), and al-Jughifi (in the north).
By Ahmed MaherBBC Arabic
Fallujah is highly symbolic for Sunni Arabs, who call it the "Jerusalem" of Iraq and the "city of mosques and minarets". For them, the city is an emblem of resistance against, in their words, the "occupiers" and "oppressors" over the years.
Sunni Arabs further remember Fallujah for the battles fought by tribesmen and insurgents against US-backed Iraqi troops in 2004, and finally for sparking off the anti-government protests in late 2012 against what Sunni Arabs called marginalisation of their community.
But it was the government's decision on 30 December to break up a protest camp in Ramadi, another city in Anbar province, and the subsequent arrest of a Sunni MP that provoked Fallujah residents and al-Qaeda militants to join forces against the regular security forces.
Iraqi press divided over Maliki's handling of crisis
"The army is using a military camp known as Tarik on the eastern outskirts of Fallujah as a launch pad for its strikes," Mr Jumaili said.
"Thousands of families have fled their homes to near villages fearing for their lives and as the city is hit by severe shortage of food and fuel supplies."
Other residents confirmed the exodus. It came as a senior regional Iraqi army commander, Lt Gen Rasheed Fleih, said it would take "two to three days" to eject the militants from Fallujah and Ramadi.
Al-Qaeda-linked militants the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, known as ISIS, are reported to control the south of Fallujah.
Tribesmen allied with al-Qaeda hold the rest of the city.
Reports also speak of air strikes and clashes in Ramadi.
Iran's deputy chief of staff Gen Mohammad Hejazi offered military equipment and advice to Iraq to help it battle al-Qaeda, reported the official Irna news agency.
It followed comments from the US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said the US would help Iraq fight al-Qaeda-linked militants, but that it was not planning to send troops back to the country.
Q&A: Fighting in the west
The fighting in Anbar comes against the backdrop of swelling anger among Sunni Arabs at what they say is their marginalisation by the Shia-led government.
They say their minority community is being targeted by anti-terrorism measures implemented to stem the surge in sectarian violence.
For many Fallujah residents, the Iraqi army is serving the "sectarian" agenda of Prime Minister Maliki's Shia-led government, says BBC Arabic correspondent Ahmed Maher.
But among other Iraqis, Fallujah is also known as the "city of terrorism" as it served as the nucleus of al-Qaeda in their country. After the US-led invasion in 2003, al-Qaeda based itself in Fallujah where several beheadings and killings of foreigners took place.
In recent months, Sunni militants have stepped up attacks across Iraq, while Shia groups began deadly reprisals - raising fears of a return to full-scale sectarian conflict.
On Wednesday, the United Nations said at least 7,818 civilians and 1,050 members of the security forces had been killed in 2013.
The annual death toll was the highest in years, but still significantly below those recorded at the height of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007.
US forces ended combat missions in Iraq in 2010 and left the country in late 2011, having entered in 2003 in a US-led invasion to remove Saddam Hussein from power.


Dan Biggar chose to stay in Wales because he "did not want to risk" his place in the national team.

The 26-year-old fly-half won BBC Cymru Wales Sport Personality 2015 after an outstanding international season.
Coach Warren Gatland has a limit on the number of non-Wales based players he can select, and Biggar says that was a factor when he agreed a dual contract.
"Playing in front of 70,000 whenever you pull on that [Wales] shirt is pretty special," said Biggar.
"I didn't want to risk that by moving away.
"It took a long time [to decide to stay] because your career is short and there were some great offers on the table."
Biggar's deal will see him remain with Ospreys potentially until the 2019 World Cup with his salary paid 60% by the Welsh Rugby Union and 40% by the region.
The dual contracts are designed to keep high-profile players in Wales.
His Ospreys and Wales half-back partner Rhys Webb is also in talks over extending his deal while second-row Alun Wyn Jones' contract ends next summer.
One of the terms of the funding and management agreement between the WRU and the regions means Gatland can pick only two players who have chosen to play outside the country rather than accept a contract with one of the regions.
Biggar says loyalty to the Ospreys also played a part in his decision.
"Ospreys is somewhere I've racked up a fair amount of games and I've got some loyalty towards there as well," he added.
"It was a long a long, hard decision.
"But I'm here for the next two years, guaranteed, and then we'll see where we go from there."


A police officer at Hillsborough said he tried to save a 14-year-old boy after seeing a "glimpse" of what he "thought was life".

Thomas Howard, 39, and his son Tommy were the only father and son to both die in the 1989 disaster.
PC Graham Butler told the new inquests he found Tommy among other casualties and tried to resuscitate him.
The jury saw footage of the boy holding on to his father's jacket in the crowd before the match kicked off.
They were seen in footage on the Leppings Lane terraces at the Sheffield ground on 15 April 1989 after taking a coach from their home in Runcorn.
David Lackey, a Liverpool fan who was in the same pen, said he saw Mr Howard in front of him saying "my son, my son", but he could not move to help him.
He said: "I said 'drag him up' and he said he couldn't. I knew he couldn't. There was nothing else I could say, nothing else I could do."
Mr Lackey said he later saw Mr Howard turning yellow and slumping forward in the crowd.
The jury heard how another Liverpool fan, Paul Taylor, saw Tommy in the pen after the crush and tried to give him the "kiss of life".
Mr Taylor said Tommy's eyes were open and "watery", he looked "very peaceful" and was unconscious, but he did not check for a pulse or breathing.
A police officer later checked Tommy for a pulse through his gloves before saying "leave him, he's dead", Mr Taylor said.
Mr Butler later found Tommy among other casualties and thought he saw "a flicker in his eyes".
"I thought there was a chance he might survive, so I picked him up," he said.
The jury heard how Mr Butler and some fans carried Tommy the length of the pitch to where someone who he now believes was an ambulance man told him: "He is not alive, take him to the gym."
A doctor confirmed Tommy's death in the gym at 15:55 BST.
Another police officer, Peter Muir, said he found Mr Howard inside pen three after the crush.
He said he was drawn towards him because his eyes were "flickering" and his lips were "quivering".
The officer said he carried Mr Howard through a tunnel at the back of the pen and laid him on a grassed area.
He checked Mr Howard's pulse and in a statement said he felt a "slight response" at one point.
He continued with CPR and an off-duty nurse came over to help, but Mr Muir said they were told by a doctor that Mr Howard had died.
The inquests, in Warrington, are due to resume on Friday.
BBC News: Profiles of all those who died


The Statue of Liberty was plunged into darkness for a few hours after an unexpected power cut late on Tuesday.

The lights illuminating the statue in New York City shut off in what the National Parks Service said was an "unplanned outage".
There was online speculation that the move was deliberate, to show solidarity with the Day Without A Woman inequality protests on Wednesday.
But the parks service said it was probably down to construction work.
The last rebuilding work after Hurricane Sandy in 2012 is being completed nearby. The statue was shut for a month after damage it sustained during the hurricane.
The lights eventually came back on just before midnight local time (05:00 GMT on Wednesday).


It's been more than a year since the first special clinic was set up in West Africa to help people suffering from the deadly virus called Ebola.

6 November 2015 Last updated at 07:32 GMT
Lots of countries and charities have been working hard to stop the virus spreading, and bring it under control, since the outbreak started.
Now one of the worst affected countries, Sierra Leone, is about to be declared Ebola free.
Watch BBC reporter Anna Foster's special piece from the West African country to find out more.


The XX, Vampire Weekend and Alt-J are among the acts nominated for this year's AIM Independent Music Awards.

These awards recognise artists on independent labels and the unsung heroes in the indie sector of the music industry.
Ten albums have been nominated in the Album of The Year category including Vampire Weekend, The XX and Daughter.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are up for two awards, most played new independent act and best video for Thrift Shop.
Enter Shikari are up against Johnny Marr and The National for Best Live Act.
Alt-J could be adding to their collection of awards, which currently includes the Mercury Music Prize as they are up for two.
The foursome are up for hardest working band and most played new independent act.
They tweeted their excitement about the news, "very happy to be nominated for two AIM awards!"
The awards take place on September 3 in London and will be hosted by Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens and BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq.
Independent Album of the Year
Daughter - If You Leave (4AD)
David Byrne & St Vincent - Love This Giant (4AD)
Ghostpoet - Some Say I So I Say Light (PIAS)
Jagwar Ma - Howlin' (Marathon Artists)
John Grant - Pale Green Ghosts (Bella Union)
Jon Hopkins - Immunity (Domino)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push the Sky Away (Bad Seed)
Public Service Broadcasting - Inform - Educate - Entertain (Liquid Management)
Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City (XL)
The xx - Coexist (XL)
Best Difficult Second Album
Ghostpoet - Some Say I So I Say Light (PIAS)
John Grant - Pale Green Ghosts (Bella Union)
Major Lazer - Free The Universe (Because Music)
Villagers - Awayland (Domino)
The xx - Coexist (XL Recordings)
Special Catalogue Release of the Year
Bonobo - The North Borders (Ninja Tune)
Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights 10th Anniversary Edition (Matador)
The Horrors - Higher (XL)
Various - Kenya Special (Sound Way Records)
Various Artists - Scared to Get Happy: A Story of Indie Pop 1980-89 (Cherry Red)
Independent Track of the Year
Daughter - Youth (4AD)
Jagwar Ma - The Throw (Marathon Artists)
Palma Violets - Best of Friends (Rough Trade)
Passenger - Let Her Go (Nettwerk)
TNGHT - Higher Ground (Warp Records)
Vampire Weekend - Diane Young (XL Recordings)
Independent Video of the Year
Childhood - Solemn Skies (Marathon Artists)
David Byrne & St Vincent (4AD)
Django Django - WOR (Because Music)
Grimes - Genesis (4AD)
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (Macklemore/ADA)
The Ramona Flowers - Lust & Lies (Distiller Records)
Best Live Act
Bellowhead (Navigator)
Bonobo (Ninja Tune)
Enter Shikari (PIAS)
Johnny Marr (ADA)
The National (4AD)
PPL Award for most played new independent act
Alabama Shakes (Rough Trade)
Alt-J (Infectious)
Django Django (Because Music)
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (ADA)
The 2 Bears (Southern Fried)
Independent Label of the Year
Bella Union
Cooking Vinyl
Matador
PIAS
Warp
Best Small Label
Alcopop! Records
Gringo Records
Hyperdub
Rocket Girl
Too Pure Singles Club
Hardest Working Band or Artist
Alt-J (Infectious)
The Computers (One Little Indian)
Enter Shikari (Ambush Reality/PIAS)
Frankie & the Heartstrings (Wichita)
Sam Lee (Nest Collective)
Indie Champion Award
Gilles Peterson - BBC Radio 1
Joe Sparrow - A Band A Day
John Kennedy - XFM
Lauren Laverne - BBC 6Music
Lawrence Montgomery - Rise Music
Best Independent Festival
Hebridean Celtic Festival
In The Woods
Leefest
Truck Festival
Y Not Festival
Independent Breakthrough of the Year
The 1975 (Dirty Hit)
Daughter (4AD)
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (Macklemore/ADA)
Palma Violets (Rough Trade)
Passenger (Nettwerk)
Public Service Broadcasting (Liquid Management)
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter


Swansea City head coach Paul Clement says centre back Alfie Mawson has a bright future ahead of him at the club.

23-year-old Mawson arrived at the Liberty Stadium from Championship side Barnsley in August of 2016 and has performed well despite never playing in the first tier before joining the club.
Swansea face Everton needing to win as they fight Premier League relegation and Clement believes Mawson's fine form will help in them stay up.
"He can be very good," Clement said.
He continued: "He is so young and does not have a lot of experience at this level. You can see there is that rawness about him that really catches the eye, the next moment there is something he should not be doing.
"But he is at the age where he is developing. He has a lot of good attributes, physically, technically and tactically. So he can go on and do really well."
Mawson has struck up a promising partnership with fellow centre-half Federico Fernandez, much like his predecessor and club captain Ashley Williams.
After the departure of Williams to Everton in the summer, the Argentine international suffered a dip of form, but has worked well at the back with Mawson.
"He [Fernandez] has hit some really good form. He was very, very good against Manchester United in his defending," said Clement.
"He could do better with the ball at times, but he and Alfie are forming a nice partnership.
"Earlier in the season there were too many goals going in, but they have had a fair share of games now where they have only conceded one goal or kept a clean sheet so that is good."
With a late kick-off at the Liberty Stadium, the Swans know they could be as much as five points behind the side they are chasing, Hull, when they take to the pitch.
The Tigers entertain already relegated Sunderland.


A funeral is being held for a family who were found stabbed at their home in Didcot, Oxfordshire.

Janet Jordon, 48, her daughter Derrin, aged six, and her partner Philip Howard, 44, were found in a house in Vicarage Road, Didcot, on 23 May.
The body of murder suspect, Janet's son 21-year-old Jed Allen, was found two days later in woodland near Marston Ferry Road, Oxford.
The private funeral is being held at Oxford Crematorium.
The families of the murder victims described their deaths as an "unimaginable" tragedy.
Post-mortem examinations confirmed all three died from multiple stab wounds.


The US economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.2% in the first quarter of the year after being hit by bad weather, spending cuts among energy firms and the strong dollar.

The latest figure is an upgrade from the previous estimate of a 0.7% contraction.
Despite the contraction, economists believe that by the end of the three month period growth was recovering.
By May, retail sales, housing and employment figures had all improved.
Consumer spending, which accounts for some two thirds of the US economy, grew at an annual rate of 2.1% in the first quarter, faster than earlier estimates of just 1.8%.
The new figures were in line with economists' expectations and follow an annual growth rate of 2.2% in the fourth quarter of 2014.
But the strong dollar and a dispute with workers in the West Coast ports also meant that the trade gap widened in the first quarter. Imports increased by 7.1% while exports fell 5.9%.


Championship club Bristol City have signed defender Eros Pisano on a two-year contract from Hellas Verona.

Pisano will officially join City after the expiry of his contract with the Italian side on 1 July.
The 30-year-old former Varese, Palermo and Genoa right-back helped Verona earn promotion to Serie A last season.
"Eros brings with him a winning mentality, having just won promotion with Verona," City head coach Lee Johnson told the club website.
"He's a tough cookie and that's what we're after in that position."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


The English Football League (EFL) is helping Newport County to sort drainage issues with the Rodney Parade pitch.

The EFL sent a specialist company to the ground to inspect the surface last week and Newport are awaiting details of the report.
County's League Two encounter with Morecambe on Saturday was abandoned at half-time because of waterlogging.
Newport are awaiting a report from the company as they look to ensure two lucrative cup games can go ahead.
Newport host Plymouth in an FA Cup replay on Wednesday, 21 December, with the winners visiting Liverpool in the third round on Sunday, 8 January.
The game between the Exiles and Argyle is to be televised, with both clubs receiving £37,000 as a broadcast fee.
The winners of the second-round replay then receive £144,000 in television money for the visit to Anfield, plus a portion of the gate receipt funds.
However, if the second-round replay is washed out, it is unlikely the replay will be staged in time to allow the third-round clash to take place on the correct date, meaning the clubs would lose the TV revenue.
With Newport and the EFL keen to avoid such issues, it is understood specialists commissioned by the EFL were at the ground last week.
County are keen to find answers for they have now had two games - against Morecambe and Barnet -  abandoned at half-time this season. The League two encounter with Stevenage was also postponed on 1 October.
Three teams use Rodney Parade - County and two rugby sides, Newport Gwent Dragons and Newport RFC.
The Exiles are tenants at the ground, which is owned by Rodney Parade Limited.
Newport County signed a 10-year lease to use Rodney Parade in 2013.
The Exiles have had problems with the pitch since 2013. Last season their then-manager John Sheridan criticised the club when an FA Cup third round clash with Blackburn fell foul to the weather.


Millions of motorists could see their car insurance premiums reduced as a result of plans to cut compensation for whiplash injuries in England and Wales.

Whiplash claims have risen by 50% over the past decade, costing insurance companies about £1bn a year.
The government said insurers have pledged to pass on the savings, worth about £40 a year.
Following a promise made last year, ministers are looking at scrapping the right to compensation or capping it.
In its consultation, the Ministry of Justice suggests that such payments - which are separate from medical bills or loss of earnings - could be banned.
Another option is capping them at a maximum of £425. By contrast the current average payout is £1,850.
The government pointed out that while the number of road accidents in the UK has been falling, the number of whiplash claims has been increasing.
"For too long some have exploited a rampant compensation culture and seen whiplash claims an easy payday, driving up costs for millions of law-abiding motorists," said Justice Secretary Liz Truss.
"These reforms will crack down on minor, exaggerated and fraudulent claims."
Other proposed measures include:
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) welcomed the consultation, saying the proposals would "give honest motorists a better deal".
The insurance industry has been complaining about the issue of whiplash claims for at least eight years.
Andrew Morris, operations director at UK insurance company Aviva, said that while the number of accidents on UK roads had fallen by almost 40% since 2000, the number of injury claims had risen by 90% over the same period.
"All of that suggests that actually there is something fundamentally wrong with our compensation system," he told the BBC. "In the UK, almost 80% of every injury claim that we see relates to whiplash. Now in France, by comparison, is it just 3%."
In 2015 alone, motor fraud accounted for 60% of all claims fraud detected by Aviva, Mr Morris said.
Aviva said the measures might also help to discourage nuisance calls and texts from claims management companies.
Lisa Eallett, 46, from Totton in Southampton, describes her experience as "horrendous" and does not believe the government's proposals will work in genuine cases of motor injury.
Mrs Eallett, whose car was rear-ended by a Land Rover in February 2014, said: "My GP sent me for physio which helped. But I was sent for assessment by the other driver's insurance to no fewer than three specialists.
"I was made to feel a fraud and it was an upsetting experience."
Mrs Eallett said: "I will suffer from tinnitus and the hearing loss now for the rest of my life and no amount of money can compensate for that."
"At the time I was a working single mother and the whole experience was horrendous."
Following a minor accident almost three years ago, Phil Ainsworth, 51, from St Albans, is still receiving nuisance calls encouraging him to make a claim.
Mr Ainsworth said he and the driver exchanged details before he phoned his insurer. "There was no damage and that seemed to be the end of it."
But he said: "Then the calls started to come and I've been getting them ever since."
Mr Ainsworth said he has received in excess of 50 phone calls and text messages from various claim management companies using "different tactics" to entice him into making a whiplash claim.
"They say money's waiting for you or that they're just trying to clear the file and that you don't have to be injured or see a doctor. It's all very persuasive language they use."
He said: "I have held firm and not claimed, but sometimes wish I had claimed if only to stop all the calls."
The government has tried to crack down on fraudulent injury claims before.
Under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, so-called "no win, no fee" legal actions were curtailed, and referral fees were banned.
Following that law, whiplash claims fell by 19%, but it remains to be seen how effective any further measures might be.
Amanda Blanc, the chief executive of insurer AXA UK, also called for the government to push ahead with the reforms.
"We have been here before and still not yet managed to beat the whiplash epidemic," she said.
"This is a golden opportunity for the government to tackle the compensation culture once and for all."
The RAC motoring group's insurance director, Mark Godfrey, said the plan was "broadly welcome", but added: "It is crucial that motorists that have genuine claims are not disadvantaged, which is why we now look forward to seeing the finer detail of the government's proposals."
Any changes will require an act of Parliament, so are likely to be many months away.


A member of pioneering rap group Run-DMC has filed a $50m (Â£40.7m) lawsuit accusing retailers of unlawfully using the group's name on items of clothing.

Darryl "DMC" McDaniels said that products sold by Amazon, Walmart and other stores violated federal trademark and New York competition laws.
McDaniels, who owns a firm named Run-DMC Brand, made the allegations in a complaint filed in the US District Court in Manhattan.
The products include T-shirts and hats.
Run-DMC were one of the biggest rap acts of the 1980s, with global chart hits including Walk This Way and It's Tricky.
Their distinctive logo has become a fashionable motif on T-shirts, often worn by people who are not necessarily fans of the group's music.
McDaniels said the brand was "extremely valuable" and had been legitimately licensed to various manufacturers including sportswear firm Adidas, itself the subject of one of Run-DMC's most successful songs.
Amazon and Walmart have yet to comment on the lawsuit.
McDaniels founded the group in 1981 in the New York borough of Queens with fellow rapper Joseph "Run" Simmons, who is now an ordained Pentecostal minister known as Reverend Run.
The third original member of the group, DJ Jam Master Jay, was shot dead by an unknown assailant in a recording studio in Queens in 2002.


An eight-year project to remove asbestos from the former Chapelcross nuclear plant has been completed ahead of schedule and under budget.

It is thought to be the largest such operation carried out in Europe.
The work at the site near Annan was completed a year ahead of schedule and at Â£5m less than the original estimated cost of Â£43m.
Some 3,300 tonnes of asbestos have been taken from the turbine hall, reactor buildings and heat exchangers.
Since 2007 over one million bags of asbestos waste  - enough to fill four Olympic-sized swimming pools - have been removed from the site and taken to licensed landfill sites.
Site director John Grierson said: "This is a tremendous achievement for Chapelcross and OCS Environmental Services; the safe, early and cost-efficient delivery is testament to the quality of the personnel working on the project.
"It is a major milestone in moving the site towards a care and maintenance state and demonstrates our commitment to excellence in nuclear decommissioning."
Before the actual asbestos strip could beging in 2009, two years were taken to erect a containment structure around each of the 16 heat exchangers to aid the construction of asbestos enclosures and protect it from further damage by wind and rain.
Constructing the containment required:
The scaffolding boards used for the containment, if placed end to end, would have stretched from Manchester to Bristol.
Brian Burnett, head of programmes at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, said: "The safe removal of 3,300 tonnes of asbestos at Chapelcross completes an important hazard reduction activity for the site and a key step on the path to care and maintenance.
"I commend Chapelcross and Magnox on completing this project."


The seizure of a number of firearms in west Dublin disrupted an imminent attack and saved lives, Irish police have said.

At least 15 guns were recovered in a warehouse in the Greenogue industrial estate on Tuesday.
Among them were an assault rifle, a sub-machine gun, several handguns and semi-automatic pistols.
Three men in their 40s and 50s have been arrested.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, a man in his 20s has been arrested in connection with the murder of Eddie Hutch Snr in Dublin.
Hutch Snr, 59, was killed at his flat in Poplar Row, North Strand, in the north inner city on 8 February last year.
He was the uncle of Gary Hutch who was shot dead in Spain in September 2015.
He was also the brother of Gerry Hutch, a notorious criminal in Dublin in the late 1980s and 1990s, who was nicknamed the Monk.


The president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso has said that he is "fully confident" Ireland will overcome its economic crisis.

Speaking at Cambridge University, Mr Barroso said that the EU was taking the right decisions to support those member states which are in difficulty.
He said that the EU overall was "not in a bad position" in terms of debts.
Ireland was given a 90bn euros bail-out from the EU and IMF after it ran up a massive fiscal deficit.
Some analysts have argued that the bail-out terms are to punitive and that Ireland will eventually have to default on part of its sovereign debt.
But Mr Barroso said that he believed Ireland would overcome its problems, which had been caused by "unprecedented behaviour in the financial sector".
Mr Barroso said there had been 'strong temptations' for the European single market to splinter during the economic crisis of recent years.
He said the defence of the single market had been an "unsung success story".
"We managed to defend the single market and keep it open for business. Respect for the rules held firm," he said.


The family of a teenager who was given only a 5% chance of recovery when he was horrifically injured in a fire has thanked those who saved his life.

Troy MacKinlay suffered 85% burns when a candle set fire to the house in Shildon, County Durham, in October.
The 19-year-old was taken to Newcastle's RVI, and his family was warned to expect the worst.
But he defied the odds, and his sister has described his survival as "a miracle".
Abra Wood said that when the family first saw him in hospital he was bandaged from head to toe and looked "like a mummy", with "lines and wires and pipes coming out of him all over the place".
She said: "He was on 100% oxygen, kidney dialysis because his kidneys had failed, and his lungs and liver were also failing.
"His face and head was massively swollen up and blistered to the size of a big gym ball. I was heart-broken looking at my little brother like this."
However, 15 weeks on, his recovery was "going great".
"The doctors and consultants have said that he is doing better than expected at this stage", she said.
She said she wanted to thank everyone at the RVI, and all the other people who had supported them, including Katie Piper - a former model disfigured in an acid attack who started a charity to help others recover their confidence.
Ms Wood said: "She has sent cards, letters, and has even been on the phone a few times, she's been really, really supportive."
On Sunday, Ms Woods was asked by her brother to take a picture of his injuries and post it on Facebook, along with his defiant message - "This is me, if you don't like it do one".
It has since received more than 7,000 "likes".
Ms Woods said: "There have been loads of positive comments, with people offering all sorts of support.
"He will be absolutely amazed by the response he really, really will."
Troy is expected to remain in hospital until the end of the year, and an online fundraising page has been set up for him.


Campaigners have expressed fears thousands could miss out under a new compensation scheme for those with the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma.

The Queen's Speech included a scheme to help those with the disease, which is usually contracted in the workplace, who cannot trace their insurer.
But campaigners said victims of other asbestos-related conditions would miss out and criticised a cap on payouts.
Ministers said the scheme was a "major breakthrough" for victims.
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of internal organs, notably the lungs, and almost always arises from exposure to asbestos.
People do not develop symptoms of the disease until about 30 or 40 years after exposure and there is no known cure.
Cases in the UK have been rising in recent years, with official figures showing about 2,400 die each year from the disease.
Larrie Lewington, 65, from Eynsham, Oxfordshire, was exposed to asbestos in his 20s while working as a lagger.
He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in August 2012, so he will be eligible for compensation under the new scheme, but his daughter Rebecca told the BBC the 70% cap on compensation was "insulting".
She said: "When my dad was working with asbestos the government at the time knew it was dangerous and they need to take some responsibility.
"For them to do this scheme and then say they are going to cap it is incredible. It's insulting.
"My dad worked his whole life, paid all his taxes and his national insurance, and he never borrowed a penny. Now, through no fault of his own, he's got this disease.
"It's been devastating. We're a very close family and it's ruined our lives.
"I wish I could go into Parliament and face them and they could see the pure pain that I've got.
"It's as good as murder what they've done, allowing this substance to be used and now, to put it bluntly, it is going to kill my dad."
Because of the delay in developing symptoms, some workers who were negligently exposed to asbestos at work find it difficult to trace an employer or insurer who is liable to pay compensation.
On Wednesday, the government announced a Mesothelioma Bill, which will set up a payment scheme aimed at addressing this "market failure".
The proposal is to offer all victims using the scheme a flat-rate payout set at 70% of the average compensation paid out by insurers to those victims not using the scheme.
It will be paid for by a levy on insurance companies which provide employers' liability and is expected to cost the insurance industry £300m over the next 10 years while helping more than 300 sufferers a year.
But campaigners say the scheme does not go far enough in compensating victims, and thousands who suffer from other asbestos related diseases, such asbestosis and pleural thickening, will not receive anything.
The proposed 70% cap on compensation is also a "red line" for campaigners.
Tony Whitston, chairman of the Asbestos Victims Support Group, said: "What appears to be a great deal brokered by government, and costing the insurance industry a small fortune, is in reality something entirely different.
"This scheme excludes 50% of asbestos victims, pays 'average' compensation only to victims dying from the cancer mesothelioma and then slashes average compensation by 30%.
"This scheme is not what we expected. It was presented as a fait accompli to asbestos victims and saves the insurance industry a small fortune at huge cost to asbestos victims.
"The bill needs to be unpicked and repackaged if the victims' best interests are going to be truly at its heart."
There have also been concerns that only those who are diagnosed after 25 July 2012, when the government first announced details of the scheme, will be eligible for compensation.
Arthur Butts, an electrician who is now his 70s and was diagnosed with the disease two years ago, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that there was "no sense" in the cut-off point.
Source: Health and Safety Executive
"I feel a bit cross about it," he said. "I feel it's discrimination on a large scale."
"I think the compensation could come in full from when you were diagnosed. If they had the disease they'd be a little bit more understanding."
The effect of the disease on his life had been "terrible", he said.
"I'm not living a normal life. I can't do anything. If I exert myself anything other than walking up the garden I have to have a five minute sit down to take a breath.
"Life is just a mess."
The British Lung Foundation said it would seek to amend the bill to ensure a "long-term, sustainable research fund" is set up to find a cure for mesothelioma.
It said "a shamefully small amount" was spent on research - only £400,000 in 2011, compared with £11.5m spent on lung cancer.
But Otto Thoresen, director general of the Association of British Insurers, welcomed the bill saying: "The insurance industry wants to do all it can to help sufferers and has worked with the government on this package of measures that will deliver help to claimants much faster, including to those who would otherwise go uncompensated."
A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "The mesothelioma support scheme will be a major breakthrough for the many victims of this terrible disease - who have been failed by successive governments and the insurance industry for many years.
"It will end the injustice that means many victims and their families do not receive compensation and it will help around 3,000 people over the next 10 years as we reach the forecast peak in cases.
"We urgently announced the scheme in July last year to ensure as many people as possible will be covered."


The boyfriend of a pregnant woman killed in a scooter accident in Thailand is to be charged over her death, police in the country have said.

The scooter Danny Glass was riding on with Sophie Emma Rose Anderson collided with a truck in Phuket on 8 May.
Mr Glass, 29, originally from Margate, escaped serious injury.
Now he and the lorry driver Natt Awut Timsue are to be charged with causing death by reckless driving, Thai police said.
Mr Glass - who lived in Thailand with Ms Anderson - is to hear the charges formally on Thursday and a translator has been called in for the hearing.
His family is expected to attend.
Ms Anderson, 41, originally from Blackpool, was a keen video blogger, as was Mr Glass.
She had a YouTube channel called Sophie's Joy Breastfeeding Mama, on which she uploaded videos about nursing her son until the age of eight.
After her death Mr Glass paid tribute to her in a video he uploaded on YouTube.
He said he "missed her so much" and added: "Somebody wake me up from this nightmare... she is meant to be having my baby in three months."
On Tuesday he posted another video titled 'When will I come back to Youtube', in which he stated he would not be posting any more videos for "a while" and did not know when he would return online.
He said: "It's not the right time at the moment, I need to get my life in order and get through this death."
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are in contact with the Thai police and are providing consular support to a British man following a road traffic accident in Bangkok."


An attack near the Indian consulate in the Afghan city of Jalalabad has left five militants dead, including a suicide bomber whose device killed only himself, police have told the BBC.

They say the gunmen were shot dead by the security forces soon after the bomber detonated his device.
Medics told the BBC that at least nine people were injured. Consular officials said none of their staff were hurt.
Jalalabad is often targeted by Taliban militants.
A suicide bomber killed at least 13 people in the city in January.
That attack took place at the home of a prominent local politician who backed President Ashraf Ghani's peace talks.
It took place a few days after a gun battle near the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad in which at least seven Afghan security personnel were killed.
Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province, where two districts are controlled, or at least influenced, by the Islamic State group - a rival of the Taliban.
In the violence on Wednesday, police say a bomb in a car driven by one of the attackers was detonated near the Indian consulate, destroying other cars and shattering doors and windows.
In the aftermath there was a gun battle between gunmen accompanying the bomber and security forces, witnesses said. So far no group has claimed the attack.
The Afghan government has been locked in a bloody conflict with Taliban militants for more than a decade.
The Taliban have launched several high-profile attacks in recent months. The army recently said the militants were on the verge of capturing the key district of Sangin in Helmand province.
On Wednesday at least 25 people were killed in two suicide attacks in the capital Kabul and in the eastern province of Kunar.
In September, the Taliban briefly overran the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, in one of their biggest victories since they were ousted from power in 2001.


False memories have been implanted into mice, scientists say.

A team was able to make the mice wrongly associate a benign environment with a previous unpleasant experience from different surroundings.
The researchers conditioned a network of neurons to respond to light, making the mice recall the unpleasant environment.
Reporting in Science, they say it could one day shed light into how false memories occur in humans.
The brains of genetically engineered mice were implanted with optic fibres in order to deliver pulses of light to their brain. Known as optogenetics, this technique is able to make individual neurons respond to light.
Just like in mice, our memories are stored in collections of cells, and when events are recalled we reconstruct parts of these cells - almost like re-assembling small pieces of a puzzle.
It has been well documented that human memory is highly unreliable, first highlighted by a study on eyewitness testimonies in the 70s.  Simple changes in how a question was asked could influence the memory a witness had of an event such as a car crash.
When this was brought to public attention, eyewitness testimonies alone were no longer used as evidence in court. Many people wrongly convicted on memory statements were later exonerated by DNA evidence.
Xu Liu of the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics and one the lead authors of the study, said that when mice recalled a false memory, it was indistinguishable from the real memory in the way it drove a fear response in the memory forming cells of a mouse's brain.
The mouse is the closest animal scientists can easily use to analyse the brain, as though simpler, its structure and basic circuitry is very similar to the human brain.
Studying neurons in a mouse's brain could therefore help scientists further understand how similar structures in the human brain work.
"In the English language there are only 26 letters, but the combinations of letters make unlimited words and sentences, this is also true for memories," Dr Liu told BBC News.
"There are so many brain cells and for each individual memory, different combinations of small populations of cells are activated."
These differing combinations of cells could partly explain why memories are not static like a photograph, but constantly evolving, he added.
Mice have previously been trained to believe they were somewhere else, "a bit like the feeling of deja-vu we sometimes get", said Rosamund Langston from Dundee University.
A possibility in the future is erasing memories, she told BBC News.
"Episodic memories - such as those for traumatic experiences - are distributed in neurons throughout the brain, and in order to make memory erasure a safe and useful tool, we must understand how the different components of each memory are put together.
"You may want to erase someone's memory for a traumatic event that happened in their home, but you certainly do not want to erase their memory for how to find their way around their home."
"If you want to grab a specific memory you have to get down into the cell level. Every time we think we remember something, we could also be making changes to that memory - sometimes we realise sometimes we don't," Dr Liu explained.
"Our memory changes every single time it's being 'recorded'. That's why we can incorporate new information into old memories and this is how a false memory can form without us realising it."
Susumu Tonegawa, also from RIKEN-MIT, said his teams' work provided the first animal model in which false and genuine memories could be investigated in the cells which store memories, called engram-bearing cells.
"Humans are highly imaginative animals. Just like our mice, an aversive or appetitive event could be associated with a past experience one may happen to have in mind at that moment, hence a false memory is formed."
Neil Burgess from University College London, who was not involved with the work, told BBC News the study was an "impressive example" of creating a fearful response in an environment where nothing fearful happened.
"One day this type of knowledge may help scientists to understand how to remove or reduce the fearful associations experienced by people with conditions like post traumatic stress disorder."
But he added that it's only an advance in "basic neuroscience" and that these methods could not be directly applied to humans for many years.
"But basic science always helps in the end, and it may be possible, one day, to use similar techniques to silence neurons causing the association to fear."
Mark Mayford of the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, US, said: "The question is, how does the brain change with experience? That's the heart of everything the brain does.
He explained that work like this could one day further help us to understand the structure of our thoughts and the cells involved.
"Then one can begin to look at those brain circuits, see how they change, and hopefully find the areas or mechanisms that change with learning."
"The implications are potentially interventions for diseases of thought such as schizophrenia. You cannot approach schizophrenia unless you know how a perception is put together."


People travelling to and from the Western Isles have been urged to check-in for ferry sailings early during this week's HebCelt music festival.

Taking place in Stornoway on Lewis from Thursday to Saturday, the festival comes amid one of the busiest times for visits to the islands.
HebCelt's acts this year include Julie Fowlis, King Creosote, Astrid, Runrig and Bella and the Bear.
Early check-ins for ferries has been advised to help ease congestion.
The festival's organisers along with ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne, Police Scotland, Stornoway Port Authority and islands' local authority Comhairle nan Eilean Siar have jointly issued the advice.
The comhairle said: "We are delighted that so many people are coming to visit the Western Isles for the Hebridean Celtic Festival and various other different events over the coming weeks and we are thoroughly looking forward to welcoming them.
"With ferries at full capacity, we are keen to avoid unnecessary congestion and delays and we would urge passengers travelling by car and by foot, to make sure they check-in early at the ferry terminals.
"Please keep an eye on CalMac social media sites for the very latest service information."
A spokesman added: "It is also essential for those intending to use the bus service between Ullapool and Inverness to pre-book to avoid disappointment."


Brazilian police near the border with Paraguay have exchanged gunfire with members of a gang who carried out what Paraguayan officials are calling the robbery of the century.

Three gang members were killed and two injured in the clash, police say.
Earlier on Monday about 50 men moved into the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este, blew up the front of a private security firm, and fired on police.
Unconfirmed reports suggest they could have stolen up to $40m (£31m; €37m).
After the robbery, the gang created a diversion by burning cars and attacking the local police station.
They escaped after a two-hour shootout that left one police officer dead at the scene after the company's vaults were blown up.
Police believe they fled in several of the security company's armoured trucks and then may have transferred their booty to waiting boats at the Parana river.
They were believed to have travelled 50km (30 miles) downriver to a region called Itaipulandia in Brazil, were they were intercepted by Brazilian police.
Brazilian federal police came across 12 men who exchanged fire and then escaped, Brazilian Globo website reported.
The men left guns, ammunition, flack jackets and explosives in the car they abandoned, police said.
A large security operation is under way to try to recapture the gang on both sides of the border.


An American teen sentenced to life without parole for the murder of two British tourists has had his sentence overturned.

Shawn Tyson was found guilty of killing friends James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, in Sarasota, Florida, on 16 April 2011.
An appeal court upheld his conviction but his sentence was thrown out because he was 16 when the crime was committed.
The case was remanded to a lower court for a new sentencing hearing.
In his judgement, Associate Senior Judge James R. Case said Tyson's guilty judgements were affirmed "without discussion".
But his status as a juvenile homicide offender required his sentence to be re-assessed, the judge said.
He referred to a Supreme Court ruling which held that mandatory life terms without parole for juveniles violated a constitutional bar on "cruel and unusual" punishment.
Mr Cooper, from Hampton Lucy, Warwickshire, and Mr Kouzaris, from Northampton, were shot dead when they drunkenly wandered into the Newtown area.
Tyson, who was tried as an adult, was convicted of first-degree murder in March 2012.


A pipe bomb has exploded outside a house in north Belfast.

Police said it is believed the device was thrown at a property in Sheridan Street, in the New Lodge area, overnight, but the incident was not reported until 09:45 GMT on Saturday.
Damage was caused to a window frame in the attack but the occupants of the house were not injured.
A number of houses were evacuated during the police operation but residents have now been allowed home.


Sir John Vickers, who was asked to construct a safety plan for Britain's banks in the wake of the financial crisis, has warned regulators over hasty bank asset sales.

Parliament is investigating whether UK banks have the capital means to keep going during a shock and Sir John and the Bank of England gave evidence.
The Bank said some lenders could help themselves by selling off assets.
Sir John has warned that this could lead to a "fire sale".
Sources close to the Bank insist that it monitors and must approve plans for asset sales during economic stress to show that the sales could still be beneficial.
During the financial crisis, bad loan losses chewed through banks' capital reserves and lenders including Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds had to be given new capital by taxpayers, making them part-nationalised.
Parliament's Treasury Committee, which has the responsibility of examining the government's work on economic and regulatory matters, is aiming to discover whether new plans for banks will mean they can avoid needing taxpayer help the next time trouble calls.
As part of evidence published earlier this month, the Bank of England said one way for a bank to bolster its capital when it was facing low expected profitability due to high costs rather than poor lending, was to sell some of its loans.
Sir John has replied in a letter seen by the BBC, and said this plan may work if only that one bank is in trouble.
However, he warned that during another widespread crisis, this may be seen by other banks and investors as a so-called "fire sale", where the assets, or loans, would be considered damaged goods by potential buyers and end up selling at a knock-down price.
"Systemic crisis risk is the principal risk that regulation should guard against," Sir John wrote in the letter to the Bank. "The prudent stress test question, then, is whether the bank can meet its obligations without resorting to asset sales. It is not whether it can do so on the assumption that assets can be sold at good prices."
The bank has previously said that a sale may not be allowed if "the sale of a business unit may not be executable in the stress scenario or may not yield the full capital benefit the bank expects."
"Sir John's letter is puzzling and wrong. The Bank of England conducts rigorous stress tests of major banks. In those tests, any bank that assumes it would sell assets in a stress must also assume that they would be sold at very low prices. Such sales do not help banks withstand stresses," the Bank said in a statement.
Sir John, who has served as chief economist for the Bank of England and is now professor and warden of All Souls College, Oxford, has cautioned his former employer before over its approach to capital.
Capital is considered vital to a bank's safety, as it serves to protect it from sudden losses. It comes in many forms, but the most common is funding from shareholders, who expect a hefty return on the risk they are taking.
Last year, Sir John said the central bank needed to demand a deeper capital buffer from the banks, calling it an "insurance policy" against harder times and deserving "full cover".
The exchange is part of a wider debate over how banks should be managed and policed and whether they are still too big to be rescued by the private sector.
Stricter accounting rules, stress tests, stricter liability for bank directors and plans to dismantle failing banks have at various stages been discussed as the solution.


Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea is expected to stay at Old Trafford beyond the end of the transfer window.

De Gea missed Saturday's 1-0 win over Tottenham after manager Louis van Gaal said the 24-year-old lacked "focus" following interest from Real Madrid.
United insist they will only sell to the La Liga side for a world-record fee for a goalkeeper, or if Spain defender Sergio Ramos, 29, comes the other way.
And club officials are not expecting either to happen before 1 September.
De Gea played against Barcelona and Paris St-Germain in pre-season but watched the Premier League opener from the stands as Argentina international Sergio Romero, 28, made his debut.
He has been named in the United squad for the two-legged Champions League play-off against Belgium's Club Brugge this month. An appearance at this stage would not bar De Gea from playing for another club in the group stages and beyond.
After the Spurs game, Van Gaal said it was possible De Gea could play for United again, but added the situation would not be reviewed until the transfer window closes.
"He's our best player for the past two or three years so we cannot let him go so easily," Van Gaal said of the Spain international, who is out of contract next summer.
"We want to sell at the same level as we pay. We want to keep him of course."
De Gea has made 175 appearances for United since joining the club from Atletico Madrid in 2011 for a reported fee of £18.9m.
The most ever paid for a goalkeeper is the £32.6m Juventus spent to sign Gianluigi Buffon from Parma in 2001.
The uncertainty surrounding De Gea means a loan move to Preston for United's England Under-21 keeper Sam Johnstone is on hold.
"We're waiting on different situations and have to see how it pans out," said Johnstone, who was on the bench at the weekend.
Denmark international Anders Lindegaard is surplus to requirements at Old Trafford while De Gea's compatriot Victor Valdes has been made available for transfer after Van Gaal claimed he "refused to play" for the reserves.


The Malaysian Minister for International Trade and Industry, Mustapa Mohamed, told the BBC that the single market that the 10 nations of South East Asia (Asean) are forming by the end of the year will not include a single currency in their deliberations.

Mr Mohamed told me at the World Economic Forum in Jakarta that a single monetary policy was out of the question in the near future, as we discussed lessons from the European experience that could apply to the Asean Economic Community (AEC) that is due to launch at the end of year.
He pointed to the vastly different levels of income in Asean which would make sharing a currency - and therefore monetary policy - infeasible. He told me that there would not be the equivalent of the European Central Bank in the AEC in the foreseeable future.
Malaysia is chair of Asean and will lead the conclusion of the talks to form a single market that will rival the EU in terms of population.
With more than 600 million people, Asean is seeking to link together 10 countries ranging from rich Singapore to poor Laos in a free trade area, with free movement of labour, removal of tariffs, and common standards.
Mr Mohamed is confident that the AEC will soon rival the EU and could overtake it by 2025. He cited the 5%-plus economic growth rate of Asean, as compared to the 1-2% growth of the EU.
Still, there are numerous challenges facing the formation of the AEC. There aren't many pan-regional institutions, for one.
Tony Fernandes, the chief executive of AirAsia, one of the few pan-Asean companies, called for a strong commission for the AEC. Instead of going to 10 different governments, he would like to see the equivalent of the European Commission in the AEC. Although, Mr Fernandes added, he would prefer a less bureaucratic version of the Commission in Asean.
Others, such as the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, have called for institutions to protect human rights and workers, including a court like the European Court of Justice.
That will be challenging, as political differences in the region - including numerous non-democratic states - will make it tough to integrate politically, as well as socially. Those are the two other unsurprising pillars of the AEC, which mirrors the development of European institutions, since tying markets together requires more than just economic agreements.
Besides institutions, the region also faces challenges in terms of what economists call "deep" integration. There are many trade links in the region, but intra-regional trade in Asean is only about a quarter of total trade as compared with the EU or, in particular, the eurozone, where the biggest trade partners are the other economies in Europe.
Trade has increased in the past few decades, but it is non-tariff barriers protecting some home industries that remain barriers.
Mr Mohamed also emphasised that the impetus behind the AEC is to compete with the sizeable markets of the EU and US, as well as neighbouring China and India.
Mr Fernandes also pointed to the rise of regional free trade agreements being negotiated, such as the TPP linking America to Asia, and TTIP tying the US to the EU, as to why there is urgency for South East Asia to link their economies to compete.
With twice the population of the United States and one that is similar to the scale of the EU, the AEC has potential to become one of the largest economic entities in the world. And Mr Mohamed is not only confident that the AEC will overtake the EU, he also believes that the AEC could rival the United States one day.
We'll soon see if the AEC becomes a common reference point for the rest of the world like the EU is, and if it can become a market like the US that global businesses have to be in. It seems that South East Asians certainly have that ambition.