You know something's really badly wrong with North Sea oil and gas, when the people who control it are calling for their own overthrow.

The leaders are looking for leadership. Though fiercely competitive, they are asking someone to arrange for their collaboration.
These are business people asking for government to take over their assets.
This follows months of bad news in which we risk becoming inured to the job losses, pay cuts, slashed investment budgets, and the sale or transfer of distressed assets.
With the price of oil falling from $115 per barrel to below $30 in the past two years (it is currently about $50) we should also know the main reason.
We're reassured that the industry has booms and busts, and things should come right again.
But the list of complaints, warnings and proposals from the anonymously-interviewed 47 oil industry figures behind the new PwC report Sea Change is genuinely astonishing.
It can hardly be a comprehensive list of industry figures, but it ought to be an illuminating guide to thinking at senior levels.
They warn there are only around two years to save the industry from a rapid decline, giving it a new lease of life for a decade or two.
To get there, they suggest that resources should be pooled in a gigantic joint venture between offshore operators.
By having one humongous offshore operator, they would effectively get rid of the competition which is their life blood.
They suggest the same for finance, saying the lack of lender confidence is the biggest blockage they face. Effectively, big firms would provide funding for small ones, to do what small ones do better, and maybe the banks would be attracted by de-risking.
You'd expect business leaders to tell government to get out of their way. But in this case, they are asking for more intervention from government; more co-ordination and more direction.
Because they can't get to an agreement on how to share privately owned pipeline networks, they suggest these should be handed over to a third party company that treats all users of the pipelines equally and fairly.
And if that doesn't work, one suggestion is that these assets should be taken over by the state. That's right: a call for nationalisation.
They want a government plan that lets the oil and gas industry set a course for a low-carbon future. In other words "please tell us how and when you intend to put us out of business".
And the pleas to government go on: please help with finance guarantees for decommissioning, so that smaller companies can move in as oil fields empty.
They are better placed to squeeze the last drops out of subsea reservoirs, but cannot get the finance to do so while they face any risk of multi-billion pound bills for scrappage.
They want the new regulator, the Oil and Gas Authority, to get tougher with them. They like what it's done, but don't think it's done enough.
"Be firm with us," they're saying. The clue is in the name: "Use your authority to get us to behave better."
And when these leaders say they want a leader, they look at the auto industry, and see a sector that hit crisis point and then successfully turned itself around.
Despite being one of the the most resourceful and innovative sectors, these offshore industry figures say they might need an outsider to come in and challenge their old ways of thinking.
There was a clear call for that from Sir Ian Wood, when he produced his February 2014 report for the UK government on Maximising Economic Recovery.
The implications of that was a huge change in relations between oil sector firms and with government and regulators.
For the first time, it recognised that the interests of companies and government were no longer aligned.
Since then, the tax rates have been cut. Industry costs are being sharply reduced. The new regulator started regulating a year ago.
But if the Sea Change report is a fair representation of views in 2016, the change in culture and business climate has not gone nearly far enough.
Recognising that much may, in itself, be an important part of finding answer to the problem.
They recognise the depth of the challenge they face: they demand change that would overturn the regime by which they have succeeded: and that way, they might find a solution.


Blackburn midfielder Hope Akpan was sent off for pushing referee Scott Duncan as the visitors lost at promotion-chasing Sheffield Wednesday.

Vincent Sasso volleyed the Owls ahead before Danny Graham's header went in off Sam Hutchinson to put Rovers level.
Defender Sasso rose highest to head the hosts back ahead, but Blackburn went close when Marvin Emnes struck the bar.
In the closing stages, Akpan had a goal disallowed for handball and was given a straight red for his excessive protest.
The 25-year-old appeared to raise his arms to referee Duncan, prompting the official to dismiss the Rovers midfielder without hesitation.
Wednesday remain sixth in the Championship, but now have a four-point cushion in the final play-off place, while Blackburn are down to second-bottom.
Ross Wallace had already hit the bar with a free-kick before Sasso opened the scoring, the French defender netting his first league goals since November 2013.
Owen Coyle's side suffered a blow when Sam Gallagher was stretchered off after being caught by Hutchinson prior to half-time.
Before Emnes struck the underside of the crossbar, both he and Liam Feeney were denied by excellent saves from home goalkeeper Keiren Westwood.
Sheffield Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal:
"In these type of games we need a goal to calm us down, we achieved this goal and thought we could then play our football.
"But we didn't have time to taste the goal because after two minutes Blackburn scored and it was 1-1.
"We can't always play opera when we are playing against gladiators, sometimes we must put clothes on like gladiators to achieve the points.
"We played efficiently and achieved the three points."
Blackburn manager Owen Coyle:
"We don't control what decisions are given and the stuff that went against Blackburn Rovers tonight was beyond belief.
"Sometimes you can take an odd decision here and there, but for three or four huge decisions to be given against the football club, I thought it was beyond belief.
"We have scored three good goals tonight, but that has resulted in only one being awarded.
"Followed on from the fact that young Sam Gallagher is sat in there with 12 stitches across a deep gash on his knee that was punished with a yellow card.
"It is hard to take because of how well the players played tonight and how much the players put into the game."
Match ends, Sheffield Wednesday 2, Blackburn Rovers 1.
Second Half ends, Sheffield Wednesday 2, Blackburn Rovers 1.
Attempt saved. Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jordan Rhodes with a headed pass.
Attempt missed. Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
Marvin Emnes (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by David Jones (Sheffield Wednesday).
Elliott Bennett (Blackburn Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Elliott Bennett (Blackburn Rovers).
Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
Attempt saved. Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Steven Fletcher.
Foul by Charlie Mulgrew (Blackburn Rovers).
Jordan Rhodes (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Adam Reach (Sheffield Wednesday) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Marvin Emnes (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Adam Reach (Sheffield Wednesday).
Corner,  Sheffield Wednesday. Conceded by Craig Conway.
Foul by Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers).
Jordan Rhodes (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Hope Akpan (Blackburn Rovers) is shown the red card for violent conduct.
Hand ball by Hope Akpan (Blackburn Rovers).
Marvin Emnes (Blackburn Rovers) hits the bar with a right footed shot from outside the box. Assisted by Elliott Bennett.
Attempt saved. Liam Feeney (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Derrick Williams with a cross.
Attempt saved. Marvin Emnes (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Danny Graham with a headed pass.
Craig Conway (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ross Wallace (Sheffield Wednesday).
Attempt missed. Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right.
Attempt blocked. Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Barry Bannan.
Attempt saved. Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ross Wallace.
Attempt missed. Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Steven Fletcher.
Offside, Blackburn Rovers. Liam Feeney tries a through ball, but Marvin Emnes is caught offside.
Offside, Sheffield Wednesday. Barry Bannan tries a through ball, but Fernando Forestieri is caught offside.
Foul by Charlie Mulgrew (Blackburn Rovers).
Jordan Rhodes (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Corner,  Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Jack Hunt.
Substitution, Sheffield Wednesday. David Jones replaces Sam Hutchinson because of an injury.
Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Liam Feeney replaces Connor Mahoney.
Corner,  Sheffield Wednesday. Conceded by Connor Mahoney.
Elliott Bennett (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Glenn Loovens (Sheffield Wednesday).


With the centennial commemoration of World War One still very much on our minds, it is perhaps appropriate that we are approaching the anniversary of the Allied landings in the Dardanelles.

The effort by British, Australian and New Zealand troops to secure the vital straits ultimately ended in abject failure.
But by the end of World War One, Turkey was defeated and the territory of much of the Ottoman Empire divided up among the victors.
It is this World War One campaign, more than any other, that shaped the crumbling contours of the modern Middle East.
The boundaries of Iraq and Syria, bequeathed by colonial powers such as Britain and France, who inherited significant parts of the Ottoman lands, are under threat from the Islamic State (IS) militant group movement.
And for the Kurds, a mostly Sunni Muslim people who straddle many of those borders, with communities in Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran, this is a time of great risk, but also, potentially, of great opportunity.
It is the Kurds who, bolstered by US and allied air power, seized back the symbolically important town of Kobane from IS fighters.
And it is Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq who have held the line against IS encroachment.
It is perhaps a small footnote to the history of World War One that the Treaty of Sevres that sought to formalise the division of the Ottoman lands envisaged at least the possibility of an independent Kurdish state.
But during their subsequent and often turbulent history, statehood has been consistently denied the Kurds.
The closest they have come perhaps is in the semi-autonomous area of Iraq which they have ruled ever since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime.
Who are the Kurds?
Find out more
So what does the rise of Islamic State and the weakening of an already unsteady Shia-dominated government in Baghdad mean for the Kurds?
It is a question I put to Joost Hiltermann, programme director for the Middle East and North Africa, for the international Crisis Group.
He told me that prior to the arrival of IS, "the Kurds controlled their own region as well as a large area they claim, called the disputed territories".
"So far, Islamic State has challenged them only in the disputed territories, and this is where all the fighting has taken place," Mr Hiltermann said.
In broad terms it has been favourable to the Kurds.
They "have gained territory", he said, "especially the city of Kirkuk and adjoining oil fields, but they have not gained peace".
"Fighting in these areas will be endemic, as the non-Kurdish population does not necessarily accept Kurdish domination."
Henri Barkey, a professor of international relations at Lehigh University, in the US, and, like Joost Hiltermann, a regular visitor to the region, agrees that in the short term, the rise of IS "has allowed the Kurds to consolidate their claim to the disputed territories".
He said this had "led to the relative strengthening of their cause at the expense of Baghdad, but the weakening of Iraq is not necessarily a good thing for the Kurds as it exposes their vulnerability - especially economic - to political instability and uncertainty".
The Kurds are landlocked, and regional instability affects them disproportionally in terms of investment, commercial relations, export routes for oil and gas, and so on.
"The crisis has weakened the Kurdish economy further," Prof Barkey said.
Iran's increasingly explicit involvement on the side of the Baghdad government also exacerbates problems for the Kurds, according to Prof Barkey.
"It risks," he said, "not just unleashing a sectarian war which will further damage the prospects for stability and a chance for prosperity, but it will undoubtedly drag the Kurds into the conflict.
"You cannot escape your geography."
Iran, he believes, is clearly intent on parlaying its growing direct role in the fighting into lasting political advantage.
Furthermore, as Mr Hiltermann told me, rising Iranian involvement exacerbates intra-Kurdish divisions and so postpones the possibility of Kurdish independence - consistent with Iranian strategic objectives.
But what then of that aspiration to independence?
Prof Barkey said: "The idea of independence is just below the surface. Everyone knows it is an option. But it has not been invoked, and the reason is simple.
"Kurds cannot afford to be seen as the cause for Iraq's break-up.
"They will become independent when the other parties have given up on being Iraqi.
"Until then, their best best is to consolidate, especially the disputed territories, and use the chaos to carve out a better deal, especially on oil."
Mr Hiltermann said: "The aspiration will always be there and is openly expressed by many, but the Kurds' status will remain unchanged for some time to come.
"They have no realistic chance of independence."
Divided among themselves and divided by national borders, the Kurds' fate is to be manipulated by other regional players.
Turkey, Iran and the US all share an interest in Erbil - the seat of government in northern Iraq - and Baghdad working ever more closely together.
The territorial integrity of Iraq is not to be bargained away for fear that even greater instability will ensue.
One hundred years after the Great War that might have paved the way to a degree of Kurdish independence, a fully independent Kurdistan looks as distant a prospect as ever. Too many powerful players oppose it.


Images courtesy of AFP, EPA, Getty Images and Reuters

A selection of the best photos from across Africa and of Africans elsewhere in the world this week.
Ivory Coast's brightest students were invited to the presidential palace in the commercial capital, Abidjan, including this girl pictured at the vice-president's desk on Friday. She was among 51 school pupils to be honoured for achieving top grades in their end-of-year exams.
In the Tunisian capital, Tunis, these women pose for the camera wearing traditional veils known as Sefseri during National Women's Day celebrations on Sunday.
The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities released new photographs on Tuesday of recent discoveries, including this sarcophagus found in the Minya governate close to the river Nile. Archaeologists believe the tombs date back to some point between the 27th Egyptian Dynasty and the Greco-Roman era.
The Botswana 4x400m men's relay team meet with a moment of panic when they drop the baton at the World Athletics Championships heats in London on Saturday. The blunder left them in seventh place, costing them a place in the final.
On Friday, supporters of Kenya's governing Jubilee party already began celebrations in anticipation of victory for incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta. He won with a 54% share of the vote against his rival Raila Odinga's 45%.
Two days later, Raila Odinga, who has not accepted defeat takes to the streets of the Mathare slum in the capital, Nairobi, which is an opposition stronghold. He would later announce that he would be challenging the election result in court.
The widow of murdered Kenyan election official Chris Msando is seen attending a Requiem Mass on Thursday in her husband's memory, with their youngest son by her side. An investigation is under way into the death of Mr Msando, who was in charge of Kenya's computerised voting system and was killed just days before the general election.
Protestors take selfies in London on Monday to call attention to detained Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid. He has been held by the authorities since 2013 for taking photographs during a military crackdown, and campaigners fear he may face the death penalty.
Ganiyu Oyinlola is a tailor working in Lagos' Ikeja district. He is pictured at work on a customer's garment on Saturday.
Gabriella Engels, who has accused Zimbabwe's First Lady Grace Mugabe of assaulting her, appears before the media on Thursday. She is being represented by one of South Africa's highest profile laywers, Gerrie Nel.
Mass burials begin on the outskirts of Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, on Thursday for the 400 people known to have died in a mudslide and flooding. An estimated 600 people are still missing since it happened on Monday, and some 3,000 people are homeless in what is being described as a humanitarian emergency.
This grieving mother who lost her son in the disaster waits outside the university hospital in Freetown the day before to identify his body.
A child looks at UN peacekeepers during a visit of the UN high commissioner for refugees to the Al-Nimir camp in Sudan, which is home to more than 5,000 South Sudanese refugees. Most of those fleeing violence in their country travel to Uganda, which has so far welcomed one million refugees from South Sudan.


So, after a two-month stint in Australia, the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) has finally come to an end, and I'm back on England duty in sunny South Africa.

England vice-captain Heather Knight is writing another series of columns this winter. Having played in the inaugural Women's Big Bash League, she is now in South Africa with England for their limited-overs series which begins on Sunday, 7 February.
It's great to be back with the team - everyone is ready and raring to go with what is set to be a pretty big 2016, starting here with three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals against South Africa.
One of the big things on the immediate "to do" list for the girls that have come straight from playing in the WBBL has been to meet our new head coach Mark Robinson. A lot of the girls (me included) had never met Robbo before and we're all really excited to start this new era for the team. A fresh start is never a bad thing, and we are now focused on what's ahead of us.
It's fair to say the inaugural WBBL was a pretty big success. People came to watch, particularly in the double-header fixtures alongside the men's Big Bash League (BBL), the competition was well publicised, and there was some great cricket played.
For Hobart Hurricanes, our season unfortunately ended in a rain-affected semi-final defeat at the MCG.  It was a disappointing way to go out, but having been written off without a ball having even been bowled as 16-1 rank outsiders for the tournament, it was quite an achievement to finish second in the group stage and make the last four.
It's also been a great experience to captain the Hurricanes. Having played with most of the girls last year, I knew them all pretty well and the team has been an absolute pleasure to lead.
We seemed to love a close finish, and with a lot riding on each game you learn an awful lot when you're put in those high-pressure situations, win or lose. Having those experiences to draw upon going back into international cricket is brilliant and I'm sure the other England girls who played in the WBBL will be in the same boat.
Kate Cross seems to have learned a new diving technique at least… (sorry Crossy!)
Overall, it's been great for the women's game to bring some of the best players in the world together to play in the tournament, and hopefully it will push forward the standard of international cricket too.
It's brilliant that the Women's Cricket Super League will be starting back home in England this summer to continue this momentum. While the WBBL has to some extent benefited through piggybacking on the success of the men's BBL, it's exciting to see how a standalone women's competition will go in England.
It might end up taking slightly longer to develop the competition to the same scale as the WBBL, as the six hosts are effectively starting from scratch, but I'm certain that in time, the Super League will be just as successful.
Ultimately, it's massively exciting to see how the game develops in the next few years.
Read more: Anya Shrubsole & Lydia Greenway look ahead to the Super League
It's been great to "feed" off other international players during the WBBL - here's my Hurricanes team-mate Hayley Matthews. The West Indies batter is never to be seen without a packet of her favourite brand of crisps!
There is absolutely nothing which is less fun than staring at a wall from the depths of an ice bath - sadly a frequent occupational hazard for any professional cricketer. So when you get the opportunity to do your recovery in the sea at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach instead, you jump at the chance.
We were doing just this after a training session when things got even better as we bumped into some of the lifeguards that patrol the beach, along with the TV crew that was following them for the show Bondi Rescue.
Obviously we challenged them to a game of beach cricket and had a pretty decent game, despite being interrupted a few times as they had to pop off to save a few tourists who had got into trouble in the sea. Thanks guys, ice baths will never be the same again.
Another bonus of being a professional cricketer, is that on occasion, you get the odd freebie and loving a good book, I was excited to hear that a Tasmanian author was a fan of the Hurricanes and had given us all a copy of her recent book.
That excitement turned to shock and then hilarity, when we found out the book was called 50 Bales of Hay - a farming version of the erotic bestseller 50 Shades of Grey. Definitely the oddest freebie I've ever been given - and yes, I left the book in Tassie...
The last and only time I toured South Africa was back in 2011 and we played all our games at Senwes Park in a small town called Potchefstroom. This time we're lucky enough to see a bit more of the country, including matches at the iconic grounds of Newlands and the Wanderers - definitely a couple to tick off any cricketer's bucket list.
I actually took my first international wicket back on that 2011 tour, bowling my old filthy seamers - I definitely didn't expect to come back to South Africa as a spinner five years later!
This is going to be a really important tour for us, the three ODIs are massive in terms of the ICC Women's Championship and qualification for the 2017 Women's World Cup in England, and the three T20 matches are the last games we will play before the World T20 in India in March.
Get behind us!
BBC Radio will have commentary on all of England's ODI and T20 international matches in South Africa. Under a new rights deal announced on Monday, the BBC Sport website will show video highlights of ICC events for the next four years, including the World Twenty20 and Women's World Cup.


A prominent Jewish group, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, has asked the French government to rename a small village in central France that is currently called 'Death to Jews' ('La Mort aux Juifs').

The centre's director wrote to France's interior minister to request the removal of "this genocidal name".
In his letter, Shimon Samuels suggested the hamlet's name dated as far back as the 11th Century.
But local officials in the hamlet have dismissed any concerns over the name.
The hamlet comes under the jurisdiction of the village of Courtemaux, located some 100km (60 miles) south of Paris.
The director of the US-based Jewish organisation expressed shock at discovering "the existence of a village in France officially named 'La Mort aux Juifs", in a letter to Interior Minister Bernard Cazenave.
"It is extremely shocking that this name has slipped under the radar in the 70 years that have passed since France was liberated from Nazism and the (pro-Nazi) Vichy regime," Mr Samuels wrote.
Requesting the name change, Mr Samuels said "the current surge in public and violent expressions of anti-Semitism makes us uneasy regarding the motives of those seeking to reside at such an address".
He said the name could have been in existence since the Crusader pogroms that led to the expulsion of France's Jews in 1306.
But the deputy mayor of Courtemaux, Marie-Elizabeth Secretand, appeared to downplay any concerns over the name, telling Agence France-Presse news agency: "It's ridiculous. This name has always existed."
"No one has anything against the Jews, of course. It doesn't surprise me that this is coming up again," she added.
It is not the first time the hamlet has come under the spotlight. An anti-racism group lobbied the government to get the name changed in 1992 but was unsuccessful, AFP reports.
France has one of Europe's largest Jewish communities, totalling about 500,000.
But it has seen a rise in the number of anti-Semitic incidents, spurred on by the recent flare up of the Israel-Gaza conflict.


Could plastic that is thrown away as rubbish be used to build our roads?

27 April 2017 Last updated at 07:22 BST
Usually, roads are made up mostly of rocks, limestone and sand. Then something called bitumen is added.
Now an inventor says he has come up with a way of using recycled plastic to replace some of this bitumen.
Watch Leah's report to find out how.


Plans to modernise railways in the Thames Valley are a year behind schedule after they proved to be "dramatically more expensive" than first thought.

The predicted cost to transform the old Great Western route has climbed from Â£640m to Â£1.74bn, the BBC has learned.
Senior industry executives have said the plans to complete the work by the end of 2016 will not be met.
Network Rail said work was "progressing well" but schedules could change.
Overhead wires need to be fitted between Reading and Oxford so that modern trains can run on the line and carry more passengers, ease overcrowding, and improve rail times.
New trains are being shipped from Japan, with the first due to arrive in two weeks.
But they cannot be tested on the Great Western line because the power supply is not in place.
Sources have told the BBC the job is bigger and harder than expected, but also dramatically more expensive.
The first of a new fleet of electric trains is on its way from a factory in Japan, raising the prospect of brand new trains standing idle in sidings.
Officially, Network Rail is still aiming for the wires to be working late next year. But note the careful choice of language. "Aiming for" is not the same as promising.
I've now been told by four separate sources the target will not be met.
One told me the project was in complete disarray and the wires will not be up until 2017.
This matters because other investment is dependant on the overhead wires being in place 18 months from now.
Putting up the wires is the central element. If that runs badly behind, the effect will be like a knocking over the first of a row of dominoes running through the rail industry.
Network Rail described it as the "biggest and most complex electrification scheme for more than a generation".
It said the work was a "major investment" in the region's railways which would benefit millions of rail users.
"While work is progressing well and we're aiming for an end of 2016 target for the Thames Valley," it said, "the programme is subject to change and alteration as the scope and needs of the overall project also change."


The Metropolitan Museum of Art's practice of requesting a "recommended" admission fee of $25 (Â£16) deceives patrons entitled to pay as little as they choose, a lawsuit charges.

Under a longstanding agreement with the city of New York, the museum must accept whatever patrons offer to pay.
But signs at cashier desks appear to demand full price, the suit contends.
The museum says its "recommended" policy has been place for 40 years and it makes no effort to deceive visitors.
The lawsuit, filed in New York City on behalf of former patrons, contends that the world famous museum, which receives six million visitors a year, uses misleading marketing and cashier training to deceive unwary visitors.
Lawyers say the signs in the lobby listing the price of admission with the word "recommended" below in smaller type violate a 1893 law mandating the public be admitted free of charge at least five days and two evenings per week in exchange for monetary grants and rent-free use of city-owned land.
The suit, which lawyers hope will eventually represent a broad class of people who have visited the museum in recent years, seeks a change in the admissions policy and reimbursement for those who they say were misled.
Confusion over whether visitors were required to pay the full $25 is "an issue with tourists travelling to the US from a foreign country", Michael Hiller, a lawyer for those who brought the suit, told the BBC.
"They are violating the statute, plainly and simply," Mr Hiller said, referring to the 1893 law. "The museum was designed to make art accessible to the public."
A former employee of the Met is expected to testify, Mr Hiller said.
The witness, who trained cashiers from 2007-2011, alleges that signage was changed from "suggested" to "recommended" because administrators believed it would encourage people to pay more, Mr Hiller said.
Harold Holzer, a spokesman for the museum, said the 1893 law had been superseded.
New York City agreed to the museum's request in 1970 to charge an admission fee - so long as the amount was left up to individuals and the signage reflected that.
About 40% of visitors pay full price, Mr Holzer said. He said gate proceeds allowed the Met to offer free admission to special exhibitions.
About 11% of the museum's operating expenses were covered by admissions last year. As a non-profit organisation, the museum pays no income taxes. It is one of the wealthiest museums in the world, with a $2bn investment portfolio.
Mr Holzer estimated the museum would receive 15-20% of its operating budget from the fees this year, with 11% coming from city grants.
The Met believes its policy "guarantees access for people regardless of their ability to pay", Mr Holzer said. He noted other New York City museums charge steep admission fees.
Entrance fees for prominent New York City art museums such as the Whitney, the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim range from $18 to $25.
Mr Hiller demands the museum stop charging entirely for admission and remove the cashier desks.
"You have got to eliminate any effort to charge people," he said.


Zayn Malik has decided to leave One Direction after five years with the band.

In a statement he says: "I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight."
Harry, Louis, Liam and Niall have said they'll continue touring as a four-piece and will record a new album.
It's not the first time a group has opted to carry on after a member has left the band.
Geri Halliwell left The Spice Girls in the middle of their world tour in 1998.
Baby, Posh, Sport and Scary continued with their North American tour and released another album after Ginger went solo.
They had two number one singles after Geri's departure, before each went their separate ways in 2000.
All five girls reunited in 2007 for a Spice Girls world tour and performed at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic games.
Robbie Williams left Take That in 1995. It's never been made clear whether he was pushed out or left because he wanted to.
The band continued without Robbie for another year before they announced they were disbanding.
Following that announcement the Samaritans set up a special helpline to help fans come to terms with the fact Take That were no more.
In 2005 the four-piece reunited and went from strength to strength.
Robbie rejoined the group in 2010 but left again in 2014, along with Jason Orange.
In 2005 the Pussycat Dolls released their debut album with singles Don't Cha, Stickwitu, Beep, Buttons, I Don't Need A Man, Wait A Minute and Sway.
Carmit (the redhead) left the group after the first album, saying they used to argue about where to go for dinner, but nobody really noticed.
They released their second album Doll Domination as a quintet. It did alright, but then things all went a bit sour.
The others thought Nicole was getting too much attention so Jessica left the group and then Ashley did followed by Kimberly and Melody.
Before Beyonce was Mrs Carter she was in Destiny's Child and their line-up changed quite a bit.
The most-famous line-up was Kelly, Beyonce and Michelle and they once came into the Radio 1 studios and met Scott Mills.
Before all that though LaTavia Roberson, LeToya Luckett, Farrah Franklin (who?) had all at one point asked people to "say their name".
Destiny's Child didn't do bad, despite losing three members over the years. They ended up selling more than 60 million records worldwide.
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The Co-operative Bank has escaped a fine from regulators  investigating the "failings" throughout 2009-13 that led to its bailout.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the Co-op had misled investors - which would normally mean a fine.
Georgina Philippou, the FCA's acting director of enforcement said it was a serious matter.
But she said exceptional circumstances meant public censure was the appropriate and proportionate response.
Ms Philippou said: "It is vitally important that Co-op Bank's capital resources are directed towards improving its resilience.
"Co-op Bank's statements about capital in the 2012 financial statements were misleading."
Co-op said these were "legacy issues" that had occurred under the previous management.
Its chairman, Dennis Holt, apologised and said the bank was "a significantly stronger organisation today under the leadership of the current senior management team".
"They relate to historical events and legacy issues and were not decisions made by the current senior management team."
Mr Holt said the bank had made "material progress" in addressing these shortcomings and had overhauled processes, systems and practices, significantly strengthened its board and rebuilt the bank's capital position."
My sources at the FCA have admitted that this is the first time a firm of the Co-op's size has escaped a fine given the findings against it.
The main reason, according to both the Bank of England and the FCA, is that the Co-op still has a lot of work to do building its capital position, the key marker of the financial health of a bank.
Remember, the Co-op was the only bank to fail the Bank of England's stress tests last year.
The regulators appear to have made the judgement that because the bank is still making losses, a fine would have been counter-productive.
Read Kamal's blog in full


The brother of DUP MP Ian Paisley has criticised an acceptance speech by the party's Gavin Robinson after he won the East Belfast seat in the general election.

The Rev Kyle Paisley told the BBC's Talkback programme that the speech had been "quite disgraceful".
Mr Robinson ousted Alliance's Naomi Long from the seat, but did not mention her in his speech afterwards.
He later said he should have recognised her contribution to East Belfast.
Rev Paisley said: "It has to be acknowledged that Gavin won, but the DUP is so unsure of itself in east Belfast that it has lost its independent strength where it was once very strong.
"You'd think he would have had a bit more humility when he made his acceptance speech last night, but it was quite disgraceful in some parts.
"I'm not saying 'here's to you Mr Robinson' because he doesn't deserve that kind of congratulation."
A unionist pact between the DUP and the UUP saw Mr Robinson beat Ms Long by over 2,500 votes.
In his speech, he said he was delighted the "last five long years are over" and that there was a "new dawn" in East Belfast.
He added: "When people of East Belfast were asked to vote for a shared future, they chose to share that future with somebody they can trust, rather than back a party that are only interested in offering us a future if we share their view".
On Friday, Mr Robinson told Talkback that the campaign had been "very difficult and bitter at times", but that he should have been more gracious following his victory.
"I've found it difficult and I'm sure Naomi found it difficult, there has been an incredible focus on East Belfast," he said.
"Set party politics aside, I think Naomi Long is a formidable politician. I didn't say it in my speech last night, as I say, I'm reflecting this morning as it's been long and difficult.
"There should have been scope for me to recognise her contribution."
Speaking to the BBC, Ms Long said it was "disappointing" that she would not be serving the constituency for the next five years, but that she was "blown away" by the support for the party.
When asked about Mr Robinson's speech, she said: "Let's just say his party leader was more magnanimous in defeat than he was in victory.
"At this stage in my political career, what the DUP say and do never comes as a shock to me."
The Alliance Party leader David Ford claimed Mr Robinson's acceptance speech was the "nastiest" of all acceptance speeches across the UK.
He said: "Naomi showed graciousness in her speech, which was utterly unforthcoming from Gavin.
"I'm glad he showed a bit more graciousness this morning, but I never thought I would say that Peter Robinson in defeat five years ago was gracious compared to Gavin Robinson when he won last night."
The DUP leader Peter Robinson said: "At three o'clock in the morning after a bruising campaign, people will obviously express whatever is in their mind at that time.
"Having gone through the role of having lost my seat, I know how disappointing it is and that's why I felt it was necessary to pass on my commiserations to Naomi long.
"I do say to Naomi, I think I proved in 2011 that there is life beyond Westminster defeat. I bounced back in 2011 and topped the poll in East Belfast, it's not a case of her political future being over - she'll bounce back."


A British man has been been questioned in Peru after posing naked at the Machu Picchu ruins, local police have said.

Adam Burton, 23, and a French tourist were caught posing naked on Wednesday by surveillance workers and were removed from the Unesco World Heritage site, Cusco police said.
A police spokesman told the Press Association the pair were questioned over minor offences "against morality".
The Foreign Office said it was in contact with the Peruvian authorities.
It is understood the men have not been arrested or charged.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are in contact with local authorities in Peru following an incident involving a British national in Machu Picchu."
Surveillance was increased at Machu Picchu in March 2014 after nude photos and streaking became increasingly common at the site.
The Machu Picchu citadel, built by the Inca Empire in the 15th Century, stands at 2,430m (7,972ft) above sea level.
Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the site, which is one of Peru's main tourist attractions, each year.
In June, four tourists who posed naked on a mountain in Malaysia, including one Briton, were given jail sentences of three days for causing a public nuisance.


Arsenal defender Gabriel Paulista has joined Spanish club Valencia for an undisclosed fee.

The Brazilian centre-back made a total of 64 appearances for the Gunners after joining from Villarreal for about £11m in January 2015.
The 26-year-old helped Arsene Wenger's side win the FA Cup in 2015 and 2017.
"We would like to thank Gabriel for his contribution to the club and to wish him well for his return to La Liga with Valencia," Arsenal said.
The La Liga club, who finished 12th in the Spanish top flight last season, said Gabriel has signed a five-year contract until 2022.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Kilmarnock goalkeeper Craig Samson has been called into the Scotland squad to face Qatar and Republic of Ireland after Dundee's Scott Bain withdrew.

The 31-year-old has not been capped at senior level but played six times for Scotland's Under-21 side.
Uncapped Bain, 23, was included in Gordon Strachan's initial squad with Hull City's Allan McGregor, 33, rested.
The Scots face Qatar in a friendly on Friday before the Euro 2016 qualifier against the Irish on 13 June.
Celtic's Craig Gordon, 32, and 30-year-old Cardiff City stopper David Marshall are the other keepers in Strachan's squad.
Speaking last week, the national coach explained: "Allan's got a problem that we've known for a year, he's been playing with an injury, and the club and himself want time for that to calm down."
Samson started his career at Killie and had spells with seven other Scottish clubs and Hereford United before returning to Rugby Park in 2013. He has amassed over 300 senior club appearances.
Stoke City's 29-year-old midfielder Charlie Adam and Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths, 24, secured places in Strachan's selection after impressive end-of-season form while Griffiths' club-mate Charlie Mulgrew, 29, also features after recently returning from injury.
Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon (Celtic), David Marshall (Cardiff City), Craig Samson (Kilmarnock).
Defenders: Christophe Berra (Ipswich Town), Craig Forsyth (Derby County), Gordon Greer (Brighton & Hove Albion), Alan Hutton (Aston Villa), Russell Martin (Norwich City), Charlie Mulgrew (Celtic), Mark Reynolds (Aberdeen), Andrew Robertson (Hull City), Steven Whittaker (Norwich City).
Midfielders: Charlie Adam (Stoke City), Ikechi Anya (Watford), Barry Bannan (Crystal Palace), Scott Brown (Celtic), Darren Fletcher (West Bromwich Albion), James Forrest (Celtic), Shaun Maloney (Chicago Fire), James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion), James McArthur (Crystal Palace), Matt Ritchie (Bournemouth).
Forwards: Steven Fletcher (Sunderland), Leigh Griffiths (Celtic), Steven Naismith (Everton), Johnny Russell (Derby County).


Satellite images confirm that the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq has been destroyed by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).

St Elijah's stood on a hill near the northern city of Mosul for 1,400 years.
But analysts said the images, obtained by the Associated Press, suggested it had been demolished in late 2014, soon after IS seized the city.
A Catholic priest from Mosul warned that its Christian history was "being barbarically levelled".
"We see it as an attempt to expel us from Iraq, eliminating and finishing our existence in this land," said Father Paul Thabit Habib, who now lives in Kurdish-administered Irbil.
IS has targeted Christians in Iraq and neighbouring Syria, seizing their property and forcing them to convert to Islam, pay a special tax or flee.
The group has also demolished a number of monasteries and churches, as well as renowned pre-Islamic sites including Nimrud, Hatra and Nineveh in Iraq and Palmyra in Syria.
St Elijah's Monastery, or Deir Mar Elia, was believed to have been constructed by Assyrian monks in the late 6th Century. It was later claimed by a Chaldean Catholic order.
In 1743, its monks were given an ultimatum by Persian forces to convert to Islam. They refused and as many as 150 were massacred.
Had it not been for these satellite images, we would probably not have learnt about the monastery's destruction. This is because journalists and archaeologists cannot go to IS-controlled areas for security reasons. But more importantly, IS did not release any video on its propaganda outlets showing the demolition of this particular ancient site.
The jihadists have released footage showing themselves destroying shrines, churches and antiquities with sledgehammers and dynamite. More than 100 churches and monasteries have been razed to the ground in Mosul and the predominantly Christian villages surrounding it, like Bashiqa and Qaraqosh, since they took control of the area in 2014.
The militants believe that Islam is the only religion that must be adopted by the followers of other faiths. And that is why they have targeted minorities and destroyed their places of worship. Those who have remained in these areas have been forced to choose between conversion and execution.
Why IS destroys ancient sites
Palmyra: Blowing ruins to rubble
Understanding sadness at loss of sites
Fr Thabit told AP that the monastery "became a spiritual place for Christians to visit and to have religious ceremonies, and to ask forgiveness from the saint who founded this monastery".
"The monastery attracted all the people from Mosul - Christians and Muslims. All the poets, historians and travellers wrote about this monastery," he added. "It became a very important place for the history of the Church in Iraq."
In the 1970s, the monastery became a base for the Iraqi Republican Guard, and in 2003 one of its walls was damaged by the impact of a T-72 tank turret that was hit by a missile during the US-led invasion of Iraq.
The US Army used the monastery as a base itself, before a chaplain recognised its importance and a commander ordered it to be cleared.
Stephen Wood of Allsource Analysis told AP that the satellite images published on Wednesday suggested  the monastery was destroyed between August and September 2014, two to three months after IS captured Mosul and ordered Christians who had not already fled to leave.
The images showed "that the stone walls have been literally pulverized", Mr Wood said. "Bulldozers, heavy equipment, sledgehammers, possibly explosives turned those stone walls into this field of grey-white dust. They destroyed it completely."
A security source in Nineveh province separately confirmed to the BBC on Wednesday that IS militants had blown up the monastery, completely destroying it.


The prominent sign in seven languages at the base of Uluru, the giant red monolith in Australia's dusty red heart, could hardly be clearer.

"Uluru is sacred in our culture," state its Aboriginal owners. "It is a place of great knowledge. Under our traditional law climbing is not permitted. Please don't climb."
While thousands of tourists disregard the sign and scale the World Heritage-listed rock every year, their numbers are dwindling.
Under a plan announced in 2010, once fewer than 20% of visitors venture up the steep path, which has claimed at least 35 lives since the 1950s, climbing will be officially banned.
Not everyone, though, supports the move, with some tourism operators warning it will deter people from visiting the national park containing Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, and Kata Tjuta, or the Olgas - another massive rocky outcrop.
Now the Northern Territory's chief minister, Adam Giles, has stirred the pot, comparing the rock to the Eiffel Tower and Sydney Harbour Bridge - both routinely scaled by visitors - and dismissing a ban as "ludicrous".
"We should explore the idea of creating a climb with stringent safety conditions and rules enforcing spiritual respect," Mr Giles, who is Aboriginal, told the Territory's parliament. That would bring "significant economic benefits" to indigenous locals, he said.
His remarks unleashed a storm of criticism, with Francis Kelly, chairman of the Central Land Council, which represents the area's traditional owners, calling them "completely wrong" and "offensive".
"Uluru is for everyone in the world to enjoy, but we are the caretakers," says Leroy Lester, whose father, Yami, a celebrated land rights activist, officiated at the ceremony where Uluru was handed back to its Aboriginal owners in 1985.
Mr Lester told the BBC: "The climb is dangerous and the people going up there leave a snail trail (of erosion marks) on the rock. It also goes against the spiritual beliefs of the oldest living culture on the planet."
A tourism draw since the mid-20th Century, Ayers Rock gained international notoriety in 1980, when Azaria Chamberlain disappeared from an adjacent campsite. Her mother Lindy was found guilty of murdering her, but the conviction was overturned in 1988 and in 2012 a coroner ruled that a dingo took the baby.
After regaining ownership of Uluru - a move bitterly opposed by the Northern Territory, which had previously controlled it - Aboriginal elders leased it to the federal government for 99 years, with the land to be jointly managed by them and the national parks service.
Although traditional owners receive a portion of the entry fees, hopes that jobs would be created for locals in the park and at the resort in nearby Yulara have largely been dashed. The Aboriginal community of Mutitjulu, at the foot of the rock, is one of Australia's poorest.
The sight of tourists climbing Uluru - the site of an important ancestral story - rubs salt in the wound. "This is a very special place to us and we want to protect it for the next generation, and the generation after," says Alison Hunt, an elder and former member of the board which manages the park.
She adds: "The chief minister should consult the custodians of the land before issuing his public statements. We're getting tired of people making a political issue out of this."
With the Northern Territory still enviously eyeing Uluru, some suspect Mr Giles of a hidden agenda. He told parliament that the question of whether the rock should be climbed was "a decision for Territorians, not bureaucrats in Canberra".
The chief minister recently visited Uluru with the Australian golfing legend Greg Norman, who wants to open a golf course at Yulara. That idea is anathema to Mr Lester. "The place is going the way of a theme park," he says. "It seems to be all about making money these days."
Last year, an opponent of climbing on the rock - which the parks service already bans when it is too wet, windy or hot - cut the safety chain which runs along the ascent.
Earlier in the year, a Taiwanese tourist had to be airlifted off Uluru after falling 20m into a crevice and suffering head injuries, earlier in the year.
Aboriginal people are keen to develop small-scale tourism ventures which could offer an alternative to the climb. "Visitors can sit down with us around a campfire and learn about the rock and our culture, hear the stories and history of ourselves and the land," says Ms Hunt.
"They should do more than just race in, climb the rock, go back to the resort and then fly out," says Donald Fraser, a former chairman of the board of management.
Local people, Mr Fraser adds, "only get a bit of money from the (park) gate... It's like we've got a hole in the pocket instead of money going into the bank."


The public can expect "good news" about NHS waiting times by the end of 2016, the new health secretary has said.

Vaughan Gething said one of his priorities would be to "maintain the progress"  made recently in reducing long delays for treatment.
The Welsh Government has faced consistent criticism about lengthening hospital waiting times.
The proportion of patients waiting more than nine months to start  treatment has risen threefold in five years.
It has increased from 2% of patients in December 2011 to 6% of patients in December 2015.
But during three months of this year the figure dropped to 4%.
The target, however, is that no patient should wait that long.
But Mr Gething told BBC Wales that NHS Wales is likely, once again this year, to face a difficult winter as a result of increasing demand for emergency care from an ageing population.
"It's a really difficult challenge not just in Wales but in every part of the UK - I won't tell you winter won't be difficult," he said.
"But I think when you see the end of year waiting times there'll be good news for people in Wales. Part of our challenge is how to maintain the progress we've made in the second half of last year and continue to improve."
Health board still faces 'challenges'
Mr Gething went on to claim that the health service in Wales was in a better financial shape than in England.
But he confirmed that two Welsh health boards -  Betsi Cadwaldr in north Wales and Hywel Dda in west Wales - had overspent during the past financial year.
Mr Gething said though that the Welsh NHS as a whole had succeeded in balancing its books.
"Within the whole [health] department we lived within our means and that's really important when you look at the comparison with England - where the internal health department in the UK government overspent and the equivalent health bodies in England significantly overspent compared to ours here."
The new health secretary also confirmed that he would like to see cross-party discussions about developing a long-term vision and strategy for NHS Wales.
As part of an agreement with Plaid Cymru, the first minister announced that he would move to establish  a "parliamentary commission" to discuss the NHS's future.
Mr Gething said he hoped parties across the political divide in the Welsh Assembly would engage in that process - to inform the development of  of a new 10-year health strategy.
On the EU referendum,  Mr Gething dismissed claims made by those campaigning for a leave vote about the impact migration will have on the NHS's ability to cope if the UK stays within the EU.
David Davies MP claimed the Welsh NHS would need an additional Â£246m a year by 2030 to cope with EU migration.
But Mr Gething added: "I think the claims that have been made are outrageously misleading - deliberately designed to cause fear and anxiety and ignore the facts.
"We rely on European citizens to staff our health service - doctors, nurses and other professionals. If we took all of those out we wouldn't be able to run the service as we know it and as we want it to be."
He also said figures by the Vote Leave campaign ignored the fact that almost all EU migration were young work-active people.
"They are not net-detractors - they are net-contributors in the taxes they pay," Mr Gething added.


Plans for a Humber Bridge visitor centre and glass lift are likely to be shelved by council officials.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council has raised a "particular concern" over a 60,000 sq ft office block, which is part of the proposal.
Officers said the application, which is due to be discussed at the authority's planning committee later this month, "will be recommended for refusal".
The Humber Bridge Board said it would be pursuing the plans at the meeting.
Under the proposed scheme, which also includes a hotel and a restaurant overlooking the water, visitors can travel under the bridge at Hessle in a glass gondola before changing to the lift, which raises them 510 ft (155m) to the top of the north tower.
In a letter to the board, Alan Menzies, director of planning and economic regeneration, said: "The advice of officers at the pre-application stage was clear in expressing concerns that it would be difficult to justify new large scale office development in the open countryside, contrary to the town centre first approach advocated by national planning policy."
Mr Menzies went on to suggest: "If the large office building was to be withdrawn from the application then officers would then be in a position to support (in principle) the remaining elements of the scheme."
Board chairman Rob Waltham said: "When it goes to the planning committee, we will be presenting the strongest possible case to say that the plans are right for the Humber Bridge and its development."
If approved the new centre could be open at the end of 2017.
Construction began in July 1972, taking eight years to complete
It is held up by 44,117 miles (71,000km) of steel wire, almost enough to travel twice around the world
The bridge is 7,283 ft (2,220 m) long from shore to shore
It weighs more than 500,000 tonnes
With a central span of 4,626 ft (1,410m), it is the seventh longest suspension bridge in the world
It was officially opened by HM the Queen on 17 July 1981
Source: Humber Bridge Board


Members of the Irish army have shot dead five cattle on a farm in County Monaghan.

The cattle were shot on Tuesday at a farm in Carrickmacross, which is the subject of bankruptcy proceedings.
An official from the Insolvency Service of Ireland confirmed in a statement that the shootings took place.
Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny has called for an explanation of the role of the defence forces in the shooting of the cattle.
Chris Lehane, from Insolvency Service of Ireland, said they were carried out by trained army personnel in the interests of the animals and public safety.
He added that the aim was to prevent the spread of TB in local livestock following consultations between himself, Department of Agriculture officials, An Garda Síochána (Irish police) and the Irish army.
"In the interests of the cattle, public safety of the local community and to prevent the spread of TB in local livestock, the decision was very reluctantly made by me following consultation with and approval of, the Department of Agricultural Officials and cooperation of An Garda Síochána and the defence forces," he said.
"As official assignee in bankruptcy, I have a duty to recover value from assets of bankruptcy estates and it is clearly not in my interests to kill cattle, nor would I do it, without firstly having exhausted every other possible avenue open to me to resolve the problem."
Mr Kenny, an Irish parliament member' said he had received "many calls from horrified people, some from Monaghan, and others who had seen reports on social media about what happened".
"This is wrong on so many levels that it is hard to know where to start. It is a cruel irony that such an action should occur during Farm Safety Week."


Australia's Scott Hend eagled the 18th hole for the second successive day to take a one-shot lead over England's Tyrrell Hatton at the PGA Championship.

Hend, 43, carded a one-over-par 73 to finish on nine under after the third round at Wentworth.
Hatton, 24, birdied five of his last eight holes to shoot a six-under 66.
England's Lee Westwood (68) and YE Yang (75) are tied for third on seven under, while Masters champion Danny Willett (76) is a shot further back.
Hend complained after his round about the behaviour of some spectators towards him over the closing holes, as he played in the final match with Willett.
The Australian said: "Danny was getting all the crowd support and I had no problem with that. But there were a couple of guys out there who were really over the top and it wasn't very nice what they were saying.
"It was quite rude and personal and if it was up to me I would have had them thrown out.
"Danny and I are mates. I've played with him before and he wants me to do well and I want him to do well. But when you get hecklers in the crowd saying pretty rude things as they were, I was ready to punch them."
Willett again struggled on the back nine. Having coming home in 39 after a tournament record first-nine of 29 in his second round, Willett took 41 strokes on Saturday.
The 28-year-old Englishman said: "It's disappointing to be somewhere there or thereabouts and then to play poorly on the back nine like we did yesterday.
"We had everything under control nicely and then a couple of loose shots, a couple of bad decisions, a couple of missed putts and very quickly it kind of slipped away."
Hatton, who has finished fifth, 13th and 12th in his last three events, set the clubhouse target more than two hours before the leaders finished after firing the day's lowest score.
He said: "I've been walking around this place since (I was) a five-year-old and I was in awe of the guys inside of the rope.
"For me now, playing my third BMW PGA, it's great. I love this event."
England's Westwood is playing the event for a 23rd year in a row and is targeting a first win after a second-place finish in 2000 and losing a play-off to Luke Donald in 2011.
Westwood, who finished second to Willett at the Masters in April, maintained his ever-present run after taking painkillers to help overcome a foot ligament injury sustained while running on Tuesday.
He said: "For a pro to win the PGA at any stage in their career is special. But to do it at 43 years old, in my 23rd appearance and having been in contention a lot before, would be great.
"I've played well here in the past and having finished second in the Masters and 10th in the Irish Open, I was surprised to be 33-1 going into this week.
"I haven't played a lot at the start of the year, so I'm pretty fresh coming into this part of the season. Normally I would have played 15 events and I've only played six. I'm looking forward to a run of golf now."
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Luka Modric scored a sensational long-range volley as Croatia deservedly opened their Euro 2016 campaign with victory over Turkey in Paris.

Modric struck towards the end of the first half and his team created numerous chances to extend their lead as they dominated after the interval.
Darijo Srna and Ivan Perisic struck the woodwork while Turkey keeper Volkan Babacan made several good saves as Croatia won the first match of a tough group that includes Spain and the Czech Republic.
Turkey's best chance came in the opening half, when Ozan Tufan saw his header saved - but despite being roared on by their passionate fans inside the Parc des Princes, they were second best on Sunday.
They did produce one scare for the Croatian defence right at the end but there was a timely block from Vedran Corluka, who was wearing a white bandage that evoked shades of former England defender Terry Butcher after suffering a cut to his head from a stray elbow in the first half.
Just minutes before Modric broke the deadlock with his sensational volley, the Real Madrid playmaker had thrown his arms out in a gesture of frustration at a team-mate, indicating how he had wanted to receive the ball.
The match was turning out to be a contest more about balls into the box from wide areas than defence-splitting passes. That was despite an abundance of talented midfielders on display, including Modric, Barcelona pair Ivan Rakitic and Arda Turan, plus Besiktas' highly-rated but disappointing Oguzhan Ozyakup, who was withdrawn at the break.
Veteran right-back Srna had delivered several telling crosses into the Turkey area, as did Ivan Perisic from the left side, although Marcelo Brozovic in particular was guilty of failing to make the most of the openings.
That all changed shortly before the break when Modric showed superb technique to strike crisply from 25 yards after a clearance from Selcuk Inan had looped high into the cloudy Paris sky.
As the 30-year-old slid on his knees towards his team's fans - one of whom invaded the pitch to joint the celebrations - Turkey keeper Babacan might have wondered if he should have done better with the dipping shot.
Croatia coach Ante Cacic said before Euro 2016 started that he hoped his team could be one of the surprises of the tournament, while several prominent Croatians think this might just be their most talented group of players.
There was certainly much to admire as Sunday's match wore on, with Rakitic finally starting to punch holes in the Turkish defence and Croatia repeatedly threatening to score a decisive second.
The superb Srna skimmed the crossbar with a free-kick and Perisic headed against the woodwork as Cacic's side looked to score a decisive second.
Brozovic also went close with an acrobatic volley and a header that was tipped over as his side showed they have the ability to open up the opposition.
What they do lack is a mobile forward, with the battering ram that is Mario Manduzic not ideally suited to the style espoused by the playmakers behind him.
Turkey reached the semi-finals at Euro 2008 after beating Croatia on penalties, but will have to show a vast improvement if they are to make the last four here.
Fatih Terim is in his third spell in charge of Turkey and his side showed plenty of resilience to qualify for Euro 2016 after a terrible start to their qualifying campaign.
But they were second best against Croatia, with a defence that was opened up repeatedly after the break and an attack that offered little.
Barcelona midfielder Turan, Terim's captain and key player, was a peripheral presence and was withdrawn with 25 minutes remaining, while free-kick specialist Hakan Calhanoglu, who has been compared to Mesut Ozil, was also disappointing.
It was telling that the introduction of Emre Mor after 69 minutes was greeted by a huge roar from the Turkey fans.
Mor is regarded as a huge talent but the playmaker is just 18 and if Terim is turning to him to bail out his team, then they clearly have problems.
Croatia coach Ante Cacic: "Luka really deserves to be talked about, especially after this match. It was one of his best matches in Croatia's history. He played really well and he was our leader.
"He scored a magical goal and at the end it was the only goal. We need Luka in this form. All the team looks better and more aggressive when he plays like that."
Croatia face Czech Republic on Friday in St Etienne, with Turkey up against reigning champions Spain later the same evening in Nice.
Match ends, Turkey 0, Croatia 1.
Second Half ends, Turkey 0, Croatia 1.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Vedran Corluka (Croatia) because of an injury.
Substitution, Croatia. Marko Pjaca replaces Mario Mandzukic.
Hakan Balta (Turkey) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Mario Mandzukic (Croatia).
Volkan Sen (Turkey) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Volkan Sen (Turkey).
Darijo Srna (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Emre Mor (Turkey) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Selcuk Inan.
Gökhan Gönül (Turkey) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Andrej Kramaric (Croatia).
Substitution, Croatia. Gordon Schildenfeld replaces Ivan Rakitic.
Substitution, Croatia. Andrej Kramaric replaces Ivan Perisic.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Ivan Perisic (Croatia) because of an injury.
Attempt saved. Ivan Perisic (Croatia) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ivan Rakitic with a through ball.
Attempt saved. Caner Erkin (Turkey) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner.
Ivan Strinic (Croatia) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Ivan Strinic (Croatia).
Volkan Sen (Turkey) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Milan Badelj (Croatia) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Ivan Rakitic with a cross following a corner.
Corner,  Croatia. Conceded by Volkan Babacan.
Attempt saved. Marcelo Brozovic (Croatia) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Ivan Strinic.
Domagoj Vida (Croatia) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Burak Yilmaz (Turkey).
Ivan Rakitic (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Volkan Sen (Turkey).
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Vedran Corluka (Croatia) because of an injury.
Ivan Perisic (Croatia) hits the bar with a header from very close range. Assisted by Mario Mandzukic with a cross.
Attempt missed. Hakan Calhanoglu (Turkey) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Ozan Tufan.
Substitution, Turkey. Emre Mor replaces Cenk Tosun.
Attempt missed. Mario Mandzukic (Croatia) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Luka Modric with a cross.
Attempt missed. Marcelo Brozovic (Croatia) right footed shot from very close range misses to the right. Assisted by Ivan Perisic with a cross.
Offside, Turkey. Burak Yilmaz tries a through ball, but Cenk Tosun is caught offside.
Substitution, Turkey. Burak Yilmaz replaces Arda Turan.
Offside, Croatia. Ivan Rakitic tries a through ball, but Mario Mandzukic is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Marcelo Brozovic (Croatia) left footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the left.


Chelsea have announced that Antonio Conte will take charge of Chelsea this summer on a three year deal.

The 46 year-old Italian will join up with the London club after completing his role as Italy coach at the European Championships in France.
Guus Hiddink, who replaced Jose Mourinho, will remain in charge of the Blues until the end of the season.
Chelsea are currently 10th in the Premier League and will not feature in Europe next season.
Conte is a former Italy midfielder who made more than 400 appearances for Juventus, winning five league titles and a Champions League.
He will be the fifth Italian in charge at Stamford Bridge.


The biggest trade deal in decades was struck on Monday.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) cuts trade tariffs and sets common standards in trade for 12 Pacific rim countries, including the US and Japan.
It marks the end of five years of often bitter and tense negotiations.
Supporters say it could be worth billions of dollars to the countries involved but critics say it was negotiated in secret and is biased towards corporations.
The deal covers about 40% of the world economy and was signed after five days of talks in Atlanta in the US.
Despite the success of the negotiations, the deal still has to be ratified by lawmakers in each country.
How did it start? With a trade agreement signed 10 years ago between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore.
How big is it? Pretty big. The 12 countries have a population of about 800 million and are responsible for 40% of world trade.
What are the criticisms? That negotiations have been conducted in secret, and that it favours big corporations.
Who benefits most? Japan stands to reap huge economic benefits from the deal, while for the US it is an important strategic move.
What happens next? The agreement will need to be ratified by each of the individual member countries.
More: What is the TPP and why does it matter?
For President Barack Obama, the trade deal is a major victory.
He said: "This partnership levels the playing field for our farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers by eliminating more than 18,000 taxes that various countries put on our products."
But US Senator Bernie Sanders, a US Democratic presidential candidate, said: "Wall Street and other big corporations have won again."
He said the deal would cost US jobs and hurt consumers and that he would "do all that I can to defeat this agreement" in Congress.
China was not involved in the agreement, and the Obama administration is hoping it will be forced to accept most of the standards laid down by TPP.
He said: "When more than 95% of our potential customers live outside our borders, we can't let countries like China write the rules of the global economy.
"We should write those rules, opening new markets to American products while setting high standards for protecting workers and preserving our environment."
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters the deal was a "major outcome not just for Japan but also for the future of the Asia-Pacific" region.
The final round of talks were delayed by negotiations over how long pharmaceutical corporations should be allowed to keep a monopoly period on their drugs.
The US wanted 12 years of protection, saying that by guaranteeing revenues over a long period it encouraged companies to invest in new research.
Australia, New Zealand and several public health groups argued for five years before allowing cheaper generic or "copy-cat" into the market.
They said a shorter patent would bring down drug costs for health services and bring lifesaving medicine to poorer patients.
Even though a compromise was reached, no definitive protection period was confirmed.
Speaking at a press conference following the deal, US Trade Representative Michael Froman hailed the deal as the first to set a period of protection for patents on new drugs, which he said would "incentivise" drug producers.
But the Washington-based Biotechnology Industry Association said it was "very disappointed" by the reports that the agreement fell short of the 12-year protections sought by the US.
The car industry was another area of intense negotiation with countries agonising over how much of a vehicle had to be manufactured within the TPP countries in order to qualify for duty-free status.
Agriculture proved another sticking point with countries like New Zealand wanting more access to markets in Canada, Mexico, Japan and the United States.
Canada meanwhile fought to keep access to its domestic dairy and poultry markets strictly limited. The issue and its impact on rural voters is particularly sensitive ahead of the federal election in two weeks time.
Asked about potential job losses - a criticism of the deal - Canada's trade minister Ed Fast said: "We don't anticipate that there will be job losses. Obviously there will be industries that have to adapt."
The agreement was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" for Canada to shape outcomes and rules in the Asia Pacific region, Mr Fast added.


(Close): Markets largely shrugged off Prime Minister Theresa May's announcement that the government would be publishing a White Paper setting out its plans for leaving the EU.

By the close, the benchmark FTSE 100 share index was up 14 points or 0.2% at 7,164.43.
Sterling was up 0.78% against the dollar at $1.2619 and 0.65% higher against the euro at 1.1742 euros.
Miner Antofagasta was the top gainer on the FTSE, up 4%.


Police are investigating after newly laid turf was stolen from a number of graves at Camelon cemetery.

Thieves struck after maintenance workers laid new turf on 10 graves in an older part of the cemetery.
Officers believe the most recent of the thefts happened between 16:00 on Thursday and 11:00 on Friday and have appealed for information.
Insp Derek Easton, of Police Scotland, said thieves had shown a "lack of respect" for the dead.
He said: "Although the turf was only worth around Â£40, we are treating it as a serious matter given the location of the crime and the lack of respect shown for those buried in the cemetery."


Viewers in their millions deserted Doctor Who as it returned to BBC One for a new series, according to overnight figures.

An average 4.6m watched Peter Capaldi back for his second series playing the Time Lord, compared with 6.8m for his full debut last year.
It was roundly beaten by ITV's X Factor, which had 7.3 million viewers.
But reviewers were enthusiastic about the Doctor's return, with the Radio Times giving it five stars.
"We're now in the ninth series in 11 years since Doctor Who's revival, and it shows no sign of fatigue. The first episode rattles along with barely a bum note," wrote Patrick Mulkern in his review.
The Mirror said Michelle Gomez as Missy "steals the episode as the demented Time Lady who kills for fun and prances around in the face of greater evil".
And Catherine Gee in The Telegraph described the opening episodes as "packed full of jaw-droppers, one whopper of a cliffhanger and nerdy nods that date back to the time of Tom Baker."
Doctor Who was the most watched BBC programme of the evening, and ratings will rise once figures for catch-up and iPlayer requests are consolidated.
Jenna Coleman, who plays the Doctor's assistant Clara Oswald, revealed this week that she would be leaving the show, having joined in 2012 when Matt Smith was serving as the Time Lord.
Speaking about her departure, she said: "It's been in the works for a very long time.
"[Writer] Steven [Moffat] and I sat down a year and a half ago and tried to work out the best place to do it and tell a really good story.
"We're not going to give any details but it will happen at some point this season... We worked out a really good story arc out so hopefully people will love it."


Sixty Conservative MPs, including seven ex-cabinet ministers, are calling for Britain to quit the single market and customs union when it leaves the EU.

Writing in the Telegraph, Suella Fernandes MP said only in leaving would the UK "truly be a beacon of international free trade".
Michael Gove, Iain Duncan Smith and Theresa Villier are among her backers.
The government said it would not give a "running commentary" before talks but would aim for the "best possible deal".
It comes as other senior Tories are urging the PM to drop an appeal against a ruling that MPs must vote on Brexit before the process can begin.
The group of 60 Tories - out of a total of 328 Conservative MPs - want Britain to pull out of both the European single market and the customs union, which allows its members to trade without tariffs but imposes common duties on goods imported from outside the bloc.
Ms Fernandes said the 23 June vote to leave the EU had been "an instruction to untie ourselves from EU shackles and freely embrace the rest of the world".
"As was made clear in the referendum campaign, remaining in the EU's internal market like Norway, or in a customs union like Turkey, is not compatible with either of these commitments and doing so would frustrate the will of the electorate."
A government spokeswoman said it was committed to getting a unique deal for Britain, "not an 'off the shelf' solution".
She said: "The government is painstakingly analysing the challenges and opportunities for all the different sectors of our economy.
"The prime minister has been clear that she wants UK companies to have the maximum freedom to trade with and operate in the single market - and to let European businesses do the same here.
"Beyond that, it's not in the UK's interest to give a running commentary on our thinking that could undermine our negotiating position."
Meanwhile, Sir Oliver Letwin, former head of the government's Brexit preparations, and two former law officers said the appeal against a court ruling that means MPs must vote on the UK leaving the EU should not go to the Supreme Court.
Instead, they want ministers to bring a bill to Parliament to start the process of Brexit as soon as possible.
Former minister Sir Oliver told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the Supreme Court hearing could see ministers' powers outside Parliament curbed.
He said that bringing a bill to Parliament would give the government the ability to trigger Brexit without any constraints on its negotiating power.
Former Solicitor General Sir Edward Garnier said Mrs May should drop the appeal to avoid expense and a row about judges' powers, while former Attorney General Dominic Grieve said he could not see the point of continuing with the case.
The government said it would robustly defend its position at the appeal and said: "As the prime minister made clear [on Friday], our work is on track and we remain committed to triggering Article 50 by the end of March next year."
A final judgement from the Supreme Court is not expected until January.


Sunderland defender Paddy McNair will miss the rest of the season because of a cruciate knee ligament injury.

The 21-year-old, signed from Manchester United in August, has made 12 appearances for a Black Cats side that are 19th in the Premier League.
He was injured during his side's 3-0 win over Hull City on Saturday.
"We won't see him again this season and all we can hope is getting him right for the start of next season," said Sunderland boss David Moyes.
"I think he'd just started to find his way in the Premier League - even though he had experience at Manchester United - and the games he was having were bringing him on and giving him confidence."
The injury means McNair is unlikely to feature in Northern Ireland's World Cup 2018 qualifier against Norway in March.


International Aid volunteer Alan Henning, who was killed by Islamic State extremists, has been given a posthumous degree by the University of Salford.

The taxi driver, 47, was delivering aid to Syria in December 2013 when he was kidnapped and then held hostage.
A video purporting to show Mr Henning being beheaded was posted on the internet in October 2014.
In a ceremony earlier, his two children collected his honorary doctorate.
Mr Henning, from Eccles, was on his fourth mission providing humanitarian relief to the country when he was captured within minutes of arriving.
He had gone there to drive an ambulance for Rochdale Aid 4 Syria, a group which raises money on behalf of humanitarian charity Al-Fatiha Global.
University of Salford Vice Chancellor, Prof Helen Marshall, said: "The values that Alan stood for and embodied in his efforts to help the world's most vulnerable people, are the values of Salford and of our university.
"Today we celebrate Alan's work, he will be remembered with pride by all Salfordians."
Mr Henning's wife, Barbara, said: "On behalf of the family I would like to thank the University of Salford for honouring Alan in this way.
"We are extremely proud of him and hope that he will always be remembered as the kind, caring person he was, who made a decision to go and help those less fortunate, and whose life was taken because of that decision.
"We would like to express our gratitude to the staff and students at the University. Their compassion and support at the time of Alan's death was a great comfort to the family."


A train company has strongly denied claims it increased fares to take advantage of veterans travelling to events in London marking VJ Day.

A summer weekend discount offer on South West Trains (SWT) was unavailable on Saturday.
A veterans' group said the rail firm's stance was an "absolute disgrace".
The firm said weekend promotions were regularly not applied to busy days when they could lead to "serious overcrowding".
Veterans, war widows and members of their families gathered for a memorial event in central London marking the 70th anniversary of VJ Day.
Train passengers on Saturday paid standard charges - up to 60% more than the promotional fare available during other summer weekends.
Tony Hayes, of Veterans' Association UK, said: "They should have had a discount or kept the normal discount.  It's an opportunity to make extra cash.
"They've hit the wrong people - these guys are on a pension and couldn't really afford it."
The train firm said its summer promotion had been launched on 13 July, with some days excluded in advance.
A spokesman said: "It would have been irresponsible of us to encourage even more people on to our network on a day when we knew that trains would be extremely busy.
"We believe it makes more sense to encourage people to take advantage of our offers at slightly less busy times when they will be able to enjoy the experience more."
Other large scale events in the region included the England v France ruby international at Twickenham, which attracted 60,000 fans.
The company also insisted it had initiatives to support military personnel and veterans.
BBC South Transport correspondent Paul Clifton said train operators work the same way as airlines and ferry companies.
"They try to sell most seats on most services. When numbers are down, they use cheap offers to fill seats that would otherwise be empty. When numbers are up, as they were this weekend, they don't need the special deals to fill their trains," he said.


Can you ever be too old to cook up a new career?

Media playback is unsupported on your device
28 August 2015 Last updated at 16:52 BST
According to Harry Fogg who lives in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, the answer is firmly "No!"
The 83-year-old has become a food critic and has written a restaurant guide for older diners.
He catalogues eateries across Tameside, Oldham and Derbyshire - as well as judging the food, Harry lists features he says are important to older diners - including how quiet the venue is and ease of access.
Mark Edwardson reports.


More than 1,000 people attended the funeral of one of two men killed in a steelworks explosion in Cardiff.

Peter O'Brien, 51, of Llanishen, Cardiff, and Mark Sim, 41, of Caldicot, Monmouthshire, died in the blast at Celsa Steel UK last month.
Canon Matthew Jones said at least 1,000 people attended Mr O'Brien's funeral at Christ the King Church, Llanishen, on Thursday.
Mr Sim's funeral will take place at Forest of Dean Crematorium on Tuesday.
Mr O'Brien has been described by his family as a "treasured and respected" man.


Police in France are searching for the driver of a vehicle that tried to crash through a security barrier for the Tour de France, which ends in Paris later.

The incident took place on the Champs-Elysees at about 08:00 local time, as the barriers were being put out.
Officers opened fire on the car but the suspect drove away. The car was later found abandoned nearby.
There is no suggestion of terrorism as a motive, according to the BBC's Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield.
He says the car first hit a parked vehicle in the Place de la Concorde.
The driver then tried to pass through a police cordon that was being put in place ahead of the final stage of the tour.
There was no exchange of fire and our correspondent suggests the driver could have been a reveller returning from a night out.
Two men and two women were reported to have been seen leaving the bullet-riddled car.
Tour de France race director Thierry Gouvenou said he did not foresee any impact on the race, which British cyclist Chris Froome is set to win.
Security in the French capital was heightened in the wake of the jihadist attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine and elsewhere which killed 17 people.


A huge snow storm called Storm Stella has hit the East coast of America, with a state of emergency being called in several states.

15 March 2017 Last updated at 07:55 GMT
People have been asked to stay in their homes.
Some schools are closed and thousands of flights have been cancelled.
Take a look at Storm Stella in numbers.


Two road workers have been seriously hurt in an accident involving a van in mid Devon.

The men were believed to have been working on the northbound carriageway of the A361 at Gornhay Cross, Tiverton, when they were hit.
One was flown to Plymouth's Derriford Hospital, while a second Devon Air Ambulance flew the other man to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
The van driver has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving.
The condition of the two injured men, who are both in their 40s, is not known.
Devon and Cornwall Police said a third man was hurt in the incident, but he is described as the "walking wounded".
The Barnstaple-bound carriageway is expected to remain closed for several hours and diversions have been put in place.


Model toymaker Hornby has said a takeover offer from its largest shareholder, Phoenix Asset Management, "significantly undervalues" the firm.

Phoenix has launched a mandatory bid for Hornby, after offering to buy a stake from another investor that would gave it a 55% holding in the firm.
The offer, of 32.375p per share, values Hornby - which also owns the Scalextric and Airfix brands - at £27.4m.
Hornby has advised investors to take "no action for the time being".
The toymaker also said it had appointed David Adams as its interim chairman, replacing Roger Canham who resigned from Hornby's board on Wednesday. Mr Canham is also the non-executive chairman of Phoenix Asset Management.
On Wednesday, Hornby had reported falling revenues and deepening annual losses.
The company is struggling to revive its fortunes, which has led to it cut back the number of products it sells.
In the year to 31 March, revenues fell to £47.4m from £55.8m, while underlying losses widened to £6.3m from a £5.7m deficit last year.


A 36-year-old man was taken to hospital after being hit by a lorry in Glasgow.

It happened as he crossed Shettleston Road in the east end of the city at about 15:25 on Friday.
He was struck by a Mercedes Benz lorry and was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where medical staff described his condition as stable.
The driver of the lorry was uninjured but was left badly shaken by the incident. Police have urged anyone with dashcam footage to come forward.
The road was closed for several hours as officers investigated at the scene.
Officers are also reviewing CCTV footage and asked any witnesses to contact them.


Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has said the IRA was not involved in the murder of ex-IRA man Kevin McGuigan Sr.

Mr McGuigan Sr died after he was shot at his home in east Belfast last week.
Mr Adams said the killing of the father-of-nine was carried out by "criminals who do not represent republicanism".
The BBC understands that police believe members of the Provisional IRA co-operated with a group called Action Against Drugs to carry out the murder.
Detectives believe it was in revenge for the killing of former IRA commander Gerard 'Jock' Davison in Belfast in May.
Mr Adams said speculation that the IRA played a part in Mr McGuigan's murder was wrong as the organisation had "left the stage" when it ordered an end to its armed campaign in 2005.
Mr Adams criticised those who he said had "opportunistically and cynically seized" on the murder to "undermine Sinn Féin's mandate and the peace process".
First Minister Peter Robinson had earlier said he would discuss the prospect of excluding Sinn Féin from the executive with other Northern Ireland parties.
Mr Adams said: "Those who threaten to take action against Sinn Féin in the assembly and executive have no basis whatsoever for this.
"Sinn Féin's mandate and the rights and entitlements of our electorate deserve exactly the same respect and protection as anyone else's."
Mr Adams said Action Against Drugs was "a mix of criminals and former republicans who have engaged in intimidation and violence in pursuit of their criminal ends".
"The killing of Kevin McGuigan was wrong [and] my thoughts are with the McGuigan family." he added.
"Anyone with any information on this brutal murder should bring it forward to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
"So, too, should anyone with information on the killing of 'Jock' Davison."
A 60-year-old man arrested on Friday in connection with Mr McGuigan's murder was later released.


Armed police responded to reports of a serious assault in Cardiff on Friday night.

The incident took place in Tudor Street at about 19:00 BST, where two men suffered "significant injuries" and were taken to hospital.
South Wales Police said the armed officers were deployed "to ensure the safety of the public and police officers at the scene".
Investigation are continuing.


Planning permission in principle has been approved for a proposed 1,500-home new community in the Cairngorms for a further three years.

The developer, An Camas MÃ²r LLP, submitted a fresh application to vary the wording of a condition involving a landscape and ecology impact review.
This review involves 630 of the planned new homes on the proposed site near Aviemore.
The developer plans to create the community in phases.
The project has been in the planning system for about 10 years and has faced challenges from conservation groups over that time.
It was first given planning permission in principle in 2014.
The planning authority, the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA), has granted planning permission in principle for the further three years.
It has recommended "a suite of conditions and other measures" that will manage the development.
Gavin Miles, head of planning and communities at the park authority, said: "There is a requirement for the applicant to demonstrate that there is not a significant impact on landscape and ecology and to prove there will be no significant adverse effects to capercaillie in Badenoch and Strathspey as a result of the proposals before any development can start."


US retailer Macy's has ended its relationship with Donald Trump after the businessman and presidential candidate made controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants.

The retailer has sold Trump-branded clothes since 2004 and Mr Trump has appeared in the company's commercials.
Macy's is the latest company to distance itself from the businessman.
TV networks NBC and Univision said they would not air the Miss USA pageant, which is co-owned by Mr Trump.
"We have no tolerance for discrimination in any form," Macy's said in a statement. "We welcome all customers, and respect for the dignity of all people is a cornerstone of our culture."
In response, Mr Trump said his principles were more valuable than the clothing line, which he called a "small business in terms of dollar volume".
On Wednesday, Macy's began selling Trump products at a steep discount on its website.
Mr Trump made the comments about immigrants when he launched his campaign for president and has stood by the remark amid the backlash.
"They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some I assume are good people, but I speak to border guards, and they tell us what we are getting," he said in his speech on 16 June.
While the controversy has hurt Mr Trump financially, his comments have not adversely affected his presidential ambitions.
Recent polls show he is performing well in Iowa, one of the first US states to hold a Republican primary contest. One poll put him in second place after former Florida Governor Jeb Bush amid a crowded field of candidates.


The Scottish government has written to UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd urging her to sign protocols on membership of the European crime-fighting agency Europol.

Failure to opt in by the end of 2016, would leave UK police unable to access Europol's resources after May 2017.
Scottish ministers said membership was vital in allowing Police Scotland to fight international crime.
The Home Office said it would make a decision on Europol in due course.
The issue does not arise from the Brexit vote - but the Scottish government fears it is being ignored as British negotiations to leave the EU gather pace.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson visited Europol's headquarters in The Hague on Friday, meeting its director-general Rob Wainwright and an officer from Police Scotland who is seconded to the agency.
He said failure of the UK to opt in to new Europol regulations would mean the UK was no longer a member of Europol before the UK government triggers Article 50.
Mr Matheson said: "The ability to share information quickly and co-ordinate operations with other law enforcement agencies through Europol is key to detecting, disrupting and detaining criminals across borders.
"That is necessary to keep Scotland and the rest of the UK safer from the threats of organised crime, cybercrime and terrorism."
Mr Matheson has written to the Home Secretary pressing for the UK government to end the uncertainty for police and their law enforcement partners by making a decision to sign up to the revised Europol arrangements.
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson, who has responsibility for counter-terrorism and organised crime at Police Scotland, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that Europol was "incredibly important" to the work that the force did.
He said: "It's part of our day-to-day policing now, particularly the work that we do at the Scottish crime campus alongside our partners.
"It enables us to continue to work with our partners across Europe to target those people who would want to commit crimes either in Scotland or people from Scotland who want to commit crimes in Europe.
"Candidly it enables us to mitigate the threats and harm posed by these people on the streets of Scotland."
The Scottish government said, notwithstanding the implications of Brexit and future discussions on these between the Scottish and UK governments, ministers at Holyrood were keen for Westminster to indicate to the European Commission that it intends to opt in to the new Europol Regulation.
A Home Office spokesperson said:  "The UK remains a full member of Europol, and because of our justice and home affairs opt-in, we have the option to seek to opt-in to Europol's new legislative framework.
"This option remains open to us while we are a member of the EU. The government will take a decision on whether to opt-in to the new Europol Regulation in due course.
"The prime minister has stated that law enforcement co-operation will continue when the UK is outside the EU.
"We will do what is necessary to keep our people safe. We are exploring options for cooperation arrangements with Europol once the UK has left the EU but it is too early to speculate at this stage what future arrangements may look like."
Europol is responsible for operating the system of European Arrest Warrants, allowing offenders across the EU to be returned home to face justice.
In July, the Crown Office revealed that more than 500 cases have been heard in Scottish courts as a result of the EAW, while 367 people had been extradited from Scotland to face courts in Europe.
Among those brought to Scotland was Marek Harcar for the murder of Moira Jones. Her body was found in a Glasgow park, and Harcar, who was jailed for life for killing her, was traced to his home in Slovakia before being extradited to Scotland.
In April 2016 co-operation between Police Scotland and Romania's counter-mafia force DIICOT dismantled an organised crime gang trafficking women to Scotland's vice trade.
Europol said it had co-ordinated operations to raid four houses in Glasgow, with two men arrested and eight victims of trafficking handed over to the care of the authorities.
Europol has also helped to co-ordinate action against organised crime's systematic misuse of private individuals' computers to spread viruses or spam.  Thousands of victims were identified across the UK.
A new Europol regulation adopted by Brussels before the June referendum gives the EU a larger role in supervising the agency's activities.
Ms Rudd said: "Europol has played an important role in keeping us safe and we will be having discussions about how to continue some form of involvement within the agencies of the EU that help to keep us safe."