The son of a Pakistani governor killed for criticising the country's blasphemy laws may face charges under the same laws after posting a video labelled "offensive" by religious groups.

Shaan Taseer used social media to call on people to pray for those held under Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws.
Some of those charged in the country are facing the death penalty.
His father, Salman Taseer, was murdered in 2011 after speaking in favour of law reform.
"In my Christmas message, I asked all my countryman to make a special prayer for everyone who has suffered religious persecution in Pakistan," Shaan Taseer told the BBC.
He said it was time to raise the "very basic question" of whether Pakistani citizens should be able to talk about the country's "unjust" laws on blasphemy.
"This issue has been shut down at the barrel of a gun after my father's death," he said, adding: "The law of the land states very clearly that every citizen has the right to talk about not just the blasphemy law but every law."
One of those charged under the law and mentioned in Shaan Taseer's message is Asia Bibi, a Christian woman facing the death penalty for on allegations of verbally insulting the Prophet Mohammed.
His appeal for prayers for those accused of blasphemy led to calls by an Islamic group for the state to bring charges against him under the same law. He said that he had also since received death threats.
Police in the city of Lahore said they accept the contents of the message could cause offence and are now investigating whether the video is authentic.
Members of the religious group which raised concerns over Shaan Taseer's social media post have arranged to meet government officials to discuss the case.
Shaan Taseer's father, Salman, was shot and killed by his bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri on 4 January 2011 after speaking out in favour of reform of Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws.
He was the governor of Punjab province at the time but angered Islamic hardliners by showing support for Asia Bibi, who remains on death row pending an appeal.
Qadri was later sentenced to death for the crime. Thousands of Pakistanis turned out for his funeral and he was hailed as a hero by Islamists.
Pakistan has never executed anyone for blasphemy but some of those accused have been murdered or lynched by crowds.
Most of those prosecuted under the blasphemy laws are Muslims. Some have alleged that charges against them are fabricated to settle personal scores.


Companies employing over 14,000 people in Wales have called for the UK to remain part of the European Union.

Airbus, BT and Ford are among those who have told BBC Wales that jobs and growth will be better served by being in the EU.
It comes on the day almost 200 business people signed a letter to The Times supporting membership.
But those campaigning to leave the EU say the move would save money and trade would continue.
BBC Wales asked the Welsh government's so-called anchor companies for their position on the EU referendum.
Those are defined as global businesses with a Welsh headquarters or significant corporate presence in Wales.
The UK's EU vote: All you need to know
Airbus employs 6,000 people at Broughton on Deeside making the wings for the company's planes.
BT has 3,000 workers in Wales, Ford employs 1,900 while Toyota has 540 workers on Deeside.
The letter to The Times was signed by the boss of Centrica, owners of British Gas which employs 2,200.
The pharmaceutical company, Norgine, which is based in Hengoed, has 340.
HSBC would not release figures for the number employees it has in Wales.
Billionaire Welsh businessman Sir Terry Matthews was another signatory of the letter which said an EU exit would deter investment in the UK.
Three firms from Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan have also signed the letter.
They say the UK needs access to the European market, but Leave.EU said leaving would cut regulation and costs.
Smaller Welsh firms which signed it included Cathy Owens, director of political consultancy Deryn Consulting in Cardiff; Kasim Ali, director of Waterloo Tea Limited in Penarth; and Daniel Williams, managing director of The Bottle Shop (Penarth).
The letter read: "Business needs unrestricted access to the European market of 500 million people in order to continue to grow, invest and create jobs.
"Britain will be strong, safer and better off remaining a member of the EU," it added.
But Richard Tice, co-founder of Leave.EU which is campaigning to leave, said Downing Street had admitted using taxpayers' money and "applying pressure" on FTSE chairmen and chief executives to sign the letter.
"Brexit will reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens and cost on business, which can be used to invest in more jobs, not less," he added.


Birmingham Repertory Theatre (REP) says it is facing a 62% cut in council funding leaving bosses struggling to cover its upkeep and overheads.

The proposed cut of £325,000 for 2017-18, would see investment drop to £200,000, the "lowest received by any other comparable theatre".
While accepting the difficult position the council is in, the theatre said it has "done all it can" to absorb cuts.
The council is facing a budget overspend of £49m.
A further £78m of savings are required to balance the 2017-18 council budget, it was revealed last month.
The theatre said it was being asked to operate with £900,000 less per year than it had in 2010.
Stuart Rogers, executive director, said: "The REP has worked hard to absorb the ongoing cuts with great success, however there is a limit to what we can do.
"A cut of this magnitude means that Birmingham City Council is now giving The REP less than we have to spend on the basic overheads and upkeep of the theatre - a building that is owned by the city council."
Since 2010 the theatre has increased its income by 54% and received grants from Arts Council England and raised money from private trusts, a spokesman said.
Gary Topp, director of Culture Central, which represents Birmingham's arts organisations, said a "radical new proposition for cultural investment" in Birmingham was needed but he was disappointed by the council's response to these calls.
The council said it faced "unprecedented cuts" and must make savings of £180m over the next few years - on top of around £590m in cuts since 2010.
The authority was still investing more than £3.2m into Birmingham's arts and was willing to engage to consider new approaches.


Charlton Athletic youngster Ademola Lookman has signed a new long-term contract with the Championship club.

The 18-year-old forward, who came through the club's academy, has scored four goals in 13 appearances since making his senior debut in November.
Ademola's new deal at the The Valley will run until the summer of 2020.
"I am so pleased for Ademola. He's a terrific talent who has worked hard to achieve this," Addicks head coach Jose Riga told the club website.


The number of patients waiting over 12 hours at emergency departments in Northern Ireland has more than doubled in a year.

The Department of Health statistics show that 288 people waited more than 12 hours for a bed, compared with 125 in November 2014.
The figures vary widely between hospitals in Northern Ireland.
At the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) in Belfast, figures improved significantly.
Only three people were recorded as waiting more than 12 hours, compared with 79 the year before.
However, the numbers show that Antrim Area Hospital's waiting times have deteriorated, from 13 last year to 170 in 2015.
At the Ulster Hospital in Belfast, numbers jumped from three in 2014, to 93 last month.
The total number of patients attending hospitals has also increased, rising from 55,000 in November 2014 to 60,000 this year.
Special report page: For the latest news, analysis and video
Analysis: The lost beds problem
Winter across the UK:  A guide to how the NHS is coping
Video: Why hospitals are under so much pressure
Video: How a hospital can grind to a halt
The Health and Social Care Board said it was working with the trusts to provide better emergency care services over winter.
The board said it has invested more than Â£10m pounds to improve patient flow, as well as the development of minor injury streams in all emergency departments in Northern Ireland.
It said that while it was unacceptable that anyone had to wait more than 12 hours, steady progress had been made to reduce waiting times since 2011/12 when over 10,000 people waited more than 12 hours.
The board added that individual trusts, including the Belfast trust, had made improvements to waiting times.
Patients waiting over 12 hours at emergency departments


A man whose body was found in a flat in one of Edinburgh's most expensive streets had been murdered, police have said.

The body was found in "suspicious circumstances" in Scotland Street at about 05:30. Detectives revealed the man sustained "significant injuries".
Another man in the flat is being treated as a "significant witness" and is helping police with their inquiry.
Two cars parked outside the property have been taped off.
One car has a sign lying on the backseat asking for donations for someone who is homeless.
The note in the car reads: "Please can you spare some change, I'm homeless or even something to eat, I'm really desperate. Any donations would be appreciated. Thank you and God Bless. Merry Xmas"
A second car containing a bag full of medical prescriptions has also been taped off by police.
Police said they were seizing the cars as they were "connected to the flat".
Police broke the door down of the flat after receiving several calls from neighbours about a "significant disturbance".
There were only two men, in their 20s, in the flat at the time of the disturbance, one of who is now dead.
Det Ch Insp Keith Hardie, of Police Scotland, said a weapon was possibly used.
He said: "We have found a body in suspicious circumstances, which has sustained significant injuries."
He added: "With this in mind it is imperative that we trace those involved in this incident as soon as possible.
"I would urge anyone who was in the Scotland Street area on the morning of Friday 2 December to get in touch with us immediately."


Shane Williams scored with the last move of the match to cap his final Wales appearance with a 58th Test try.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Australia spoiled the occasion by winning, as they ran in three tries following Leigh Halfpenny's second half sin-binning.
Will Genia, Lachie Turner and Berrick Barnes exploited the space to cross in quick succession.
But Rhys Priestland went over for Wales before Williams signed off in typical style.
Wales had hoped to gain some revenge for their World Cup bronze medal defeat to the Wallabies last October.
But Warren Gatland's side were without six players unavailable at French and English clubs, while injury claimed key forwards Adam Jones, Alun Wyn Jones and Luke Charteris, plus centre Jon Davies.
Australia in contrast were almost at full strength, but continued with the experiment of playing goal-kicking wing James O'Connor at fly-half, after a successful outing against the Barbarians a week earlier.
Williams choked back tears during the Welsh anthem in a stadium that was already full of emotion after a minute's applause for the late Wales football manager Gary Speed.
Priestland drew first blood for Wales with a 40m kick, after Wallabies captain James Horwill infringed.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Priestland blotted his copy-book soon after when the fly-half's attempted clearance was charged down, only for Australia to go offside in their eagerness to get over the try line.
After 12 minutes the crowd got what they had been baying for as the ball reached Williams on the left wing, only for the man of the moment to knock-on as he eyed the space in front of him.
O'Connor missed what for him was a regulation penalty, as his kick just faded across the front of the posts, but the visitors then almost took the lead.
Barnes spotted space on his right and dinked a pin-point chip over the shoulder of wing Williams.
Turner gathered and pelted for the corner, but Williams did superbly to get back and just drag his rival into touch at the corner.
When Australia tried to breach Wales head-on, their defence showed it had picked up from where it left off in the World Cup.
Wallaby players were regularly knocked back in the tackle, including one eye-catching hit by Jamie Roberts on Barnes, although the notable exception was Digby Ioane who came off his wing to great effect.
Wales pounded upfield, helped by charging lock Ian Evans who was back in a Wales shirt after a three-year absence, and Priestland took advantage of another offside to kick his second penalty.
But after Wales conceded a penalty as they struggled to contain a counter-attack, O'Connor made no mistake to pass 200 Test points and reduce Wales' lead to 6-3 at the break.
Australia took control and the lead soon after the restart when Wales had Halfpenny sin-binned.
O'Connor showed all his winger's pace to chase a kick through and the Wales full-back tackled the charging Aussie just before he gathered the ball.
Halfpenny's intervention probably saved a try but referee Jonathan Kaplan decided a yellow card and a penalty were sufficient punishment.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Australia opted to take a quick tap and stretched Wales before scrum-half Genia sniped over for a try which O'Connor converted.
O'Connor then missed a penalty from in front of the sticks, his kick cannoning back off the left-hand post.
But Australia kept up their stranglehold to send wing Turner over on the left, with O'Connor finding his kicking range from tight on the touchline to give his side a 17-6 lead.
A third try soon followed as replacement Radike Samo - on for open-side David Pocock - delayed his pass to send Barnes over.
Wales, now back up to full strength and with hooker Matthew Rees off the bench as well, hit back almost immediately.
Giant young winger George North again punched some hard yards and the ball was recycled quickly for Priestland to go over, although the fly-half mirrored O'Connor by hitting the post with his conversion.
There was still time for Williams to produce some dazzle to remind the game's fans of what will be missing from the Test arena.
And the fairytale try arrived for the 34-year-old with the last attack of the game, as Williams popped up in midfield to skip past Barnes and go over with a somersault flourish.
Dan Biggar's conversion still meant Australia had won 24-18, but the crowd hardly cared as Williams was treated to a standing ovation at the final whistle.
Wales: Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues); George North (Scarlets), Scott Williams (Scarlets), Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues), Shane Williams (Ospreys); Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Lloyd Williams (Blues); Gethin Jenkins (Blues), Huw Bennett (Ospreys), Scott Andrews (Blues), Bradley Davies (Blues), Ian Evans (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Newport Gwent Dragons), Sam Warburton (Blues, capt), Toby Faletau (Dragons).
Replacements: Matthew Rees (Scarlets, for Bennett 59), Ryan Bevington (Ospreys, for Andrews 59), Ryan Jones (Ospreys, for Lydiate 65), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys, for Evans 65), Tavis Knoyle (Scarlets, for L Williams 74), Dan Biggar (Ospreys, for Priestland 74), Alex Cuthbert (Blues, for North 69).
Yellow card: Halfpenny, 50.
Australia: Adam Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs); Lachie Turner (NSW Waratahs), Anthony Fainga'a (Queensland Reds), Berrick Barnes (NSW Waratahs), Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds); James O'Connor (Melbourne Rebels), Will Genia (Queensland Reds); James Slipper (Queensland Reds), Tatafu Polota Nau (NSW Waratahs), Salesi Ma'afu (Western Force), James Horwill (Queensland Reds, capt), Rob Simmons (Queensland Reds), Scott Higginbotham (Queensland Reds), David Pocock (Western Force), Ben McCalman (Western Force).
Replacements: Stephen Moore (Brumbies, for Polota-Nau 52), Ben Alexander (Brumbies, for Ma'afu, 52), Nathan Sharpe (Western Force, for Simmons, 67), Radike Samo (Queensland Reds, for Pocock 41), Ben Tapuai (Queensland Reds, for Ashley-Cooper, 77), Nick Phipps (Melbourne Rebels).
Not Used: Nick Phipps (Melbourne Rebels), Ben Lucas (Queensland Reds).
Att: 69,537
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa).
Assistant referees: Dave Pearson (England) and Jerome Garces (France).


Kilmarnock have announced the signing of Northern Ireland striker Josh Magennis on a three-year deal.

The 23-year-old had been training with the Ayrshire club after being released by Aberdeen in the summer.
He spent the second half of last season on loan at fellow Scottish Premiership side St Mirren, making 13 appearances.
Kilmarnock manager Allan Johnston has also added former England youth international Tope Obadeyi on a three-year deal after he left Bury.
Magennis has been capped three times by Northern Ireland and was recently in the squad for the matches against Uruguay and Chile in South America.
Tope is a left winger and started his career at Bolton Wanderers, but only made three appearances in his four seasons at the Reebok Stadium.
Capped by England at under-19 and under-20 level, he has had loan spells at Swindon Town, Rochdale, Shrewsbury Town, Chesterfield and two spells at Plymouth Argyle last season, as well as a year in Portugal with Rio Ave.
The duo take Johnston's summer signings up to six, with Magennis set to play up front with another former Aberdeen striker, Lee Miller.
Irish defender Mark Connelly also penned a three-year contract on Friday, joining fellow new signings Jamie Hamill and Paul Cairney at Rugby Park.


Mae Prif Weinidog Cymru, Carwyn Jones yn dweud bod gan y blaid Lafur "fynydd i'w ddringo" yn yr etholiad cyffredinol.

Hwn oedd ymddangosiad cyntaf Mr Jones ers y cyhoeddiad annisgwyl yn gynharach yr wythnos hon o'r bwriad i gynnal y bleidlais ar 8 Mehefin.
Ddydd Mercher, pleidleisiodd dwy ran o dair o ASau dros gynnal etholiad ar 8 Mehefin.
Mewn cyfweliad gyda BBC Cymru wrth ymgyrchu ym Mhen-y-bont, dywedodd Mr Jones fod angen i'r blaid "deilwra ein neges" yn dibynnu ar ba y wlad y mae'n ymgyrchu ynddi.
"Mae'r Torïaid yn cynnig yr un hen bethau, ond rydyn ni'n cynnig dewis amgen."
Awgrymodd arolwg barn YouGov UK ym mhapur newydd y Times ddydd Iau fod 48% o gefnogaeth i'r Ceidwadwyr, gyda Llafur ar 24%.
Cyn hyn, mae'r prif weinidog wedi dweud y byddai'n anodd i Lafur golli seddi.
Dywedodd Mr Jones ei bod hi'n ymddangos fod Theresa May yn trin yr ymgyrch hon fel un am Brexit, ond ei fod e'n credu mai cyflwr gwasanaethau cyhoeddus yn Lloegr oedd dan y chwyddwydr mewn gwirionedd.
"Mae yna fynydd i'w ddringo, does dim amheuaeth am hynny," meddai.
"Rydyn ni'n gwybod fod pobl eisiau gweld dewisiadau eraill," meddai.
"Dewis gwleidyddol yw cynilo'n ariannol, nid angen economaidd."
Dywedodd nad oedd pethau'n hawdd i Lafur, ond bod y blaid wedi wynebu "anhawsterau mawr yn y gorffennol".
Ychwanegodd: "Jeremy [Corbyn] sy'n arwain yr ymgyrch, ac fe fydda i gydag e pan ddaw e i Gymru."
Pan ofynnwyd iddo a fyddai yna ddŵr coch clir rhwng Llafur Cymru a Llafur y DU, dywedodd: "Na, dwi'n credu mai cwestiwn o deilwra'r neges yn ôl y wlad ry chi'n ymgyrchu ynddi sydd ei angen.
"Fy mhryder i yw y bydd y Toriaid yn ein defnyddio ni fel ffordd o wasgu'r cenhedloedd Celtaidd.
"Maen nhw'n farus am rym. Maen nhw'n benderfynol o ganoli pŵer yn San Steffan.
"Rhaid i bobl Cymru anfon neges iddyn nhw, neges nad ydyn nhw'n fodlon i bobl gerdded drostyn nhw."


A 16-year-old youth has appeared in court in Edinburgh charged with attempted murder following an alleged attack on two men from Aberdeen.

Bradley Frail made no plea or declaration and the case was continued for further inquiry.
He was remanded in custody.
The court appearance follows an alleged incident in which two brothers from Aberdeen were said to have been stabbed in Wardieburn Street West in the Pilton area of the capital on 8 April.
The men told police they had travelled from Aberdeen to Edinburgh to buy a car.


Police have released an E-fit image of a man they want to speak to in connection with a rape near a speedway racetrack in West Lothian.

It comes as officers prepare to revisit the scene of the attack on a 32-year-old woman in Armadale one week on.
The woman was punched in the face and knocked to the ground before being sexually assaulted at about 21:00 on Tuesday 25 April.
Detectives will return to the scene between 20:00 and 22:00.
Vehicles and pedestrians on the Bathgate Road (A89) will be stopped at the junction with Armadale racetrack.
Police will also be stopping cars and people at Lower Bathville Road near its junction with Mallace Avenue and in the wooded area to the east of Armadale racetrack.
The rapist a white man, about 40 years old, with large ears and dark or black wavy hair.
He was wearing a black woollen jacket, black jeans and royal blue navy trainers. He is believed to speak with a Scottish accent.
Det Supt Pat Campbell, of Police Scotland, said: "One week on from this horrific sexual assault, we will be in the area to capture any information members of the public can provide with a view to identifying the individual responsible.
"The area is popular with dog walkers and joggers and so we are hopeful that someone may have information relevant to our investigation."


Scotland Women will play three warm-up friendlies ahead of this summer's Euro 2017 tournament in the Netherlands.

Anna Signeul's team have lined up home games with Romania and Republic of Ireland either side of a trip to meet fellow finalists Sweden.
Euro 2017 runs from 16 July - 6 August, with the Scots making their debut at a major finals.
Scotland open the competition against England on 19 July, with Spain and Portugal also in Group D.
Friendly dates:
Scotland v Romania (Falkirk, 9 June)
Sweden v Scotland (Vaxjo, 13 June)
Scotland v Republic of Ireland (TBC, 7 July)


A 23-year-old man has been charged with murder after a teenager was fatally shot in a Liverpool street.

Vincent Waddington, 18, was found with serious gunshot wounds after a crash between a car and a scrambler bike in Banks Road, Garston, on 14 July.
He was taken to hospital where his death was confirmed.
Ryan Bate has also been charged with attempted wounding. He is being held in custody and is due to appear before Liverpool Magistrates' Court on Monday.
Merseyside Police have made a number of arrests as part of their investigation.


Flanker Sion Bennett has agreed a long-term contract with Cardiff Blues.

The 23-year-old joined from Northampton as short-term injury cover in January 2017, and has impressed with three tries in eight matches.
"It great to bring Sion back to Wales. He has worked hard since arriving at Cardiff Blues and has performed well on the field when selected," said head coach Danny Wilson.
"He adds depth to a position that will be very competitive."
Bennett came through the ranks at the Scarlets while Wilson was forwards coach at the west Wales region before moving to England.
"I came here to play rugby and it could not have gone any better.
"Looking ahead I just want a massive pre-season and next year I want that starting spot. That's what everyone wants, I will do whatever the team needs but that's what I am striving for."


Barry Hawkins says he is lucky to still be in the UK Championship after winning a final-frame decider against veteran amateur Andy Hicks in the first round.

Hawkins, the 2013 World Championship runner-up, was 3-1 and 5-4 down but came through 6-5 against the 122nd seed and one-time world number 17.
"He completely outplayed me at the start," said Hawkins, the seventh seed.
Hicks, 42, said: "It was nip and tuck all the way but I had some unbelievable bad luck in the final frame."
Devon-born Hicks, who now lives in Falmouth, reached the World Championship semi-final in 1995 and was a top-32 player as recently as 2007.
He turned professional in 1991 but lost his professional tour card in 2013 and now combines playing as an amateur with coaching. He was knocked out in York after losing the deciding frame 55-49.
"In all the years I have been playing I don't think I have had such bad luck in the last frame, I really haven't," Hicks said.
"Everything went awkward, or I had a kick, and it summed it up at the end when I potted a yellow and went in off on what was probably game ball. It's unbelievable.
"I always felt like I was in control in the last frame and when you are playing a top player you feel like you deserve a bit of the run of the ball and I just didn't get it.
"I played really well to go 3-1 up. I missed a few in the second half. I wanted to fall over the line and feel like I am in the tournament."
Kent's Hawkins, a two-time ranking event winner and former quarter-finalist at the York Barbican, added: "I cant believe I won. Andy was desperately unlucky.
"He potted a few balls, didn't land on things and snookered himself.
"It was like I was destined to win it. I am just delighted to get through. It was a tough game and Andy is so dangerous.
"At the start of the match, he wasn't missing anything.
"I would have been devastated to go out. But I managed to claw my way back in to it and I had to pot some good balls in the end to get through."


An appeal court has cut a drink driver's ban after ruling he presented "no greater risk" under Scotland's new limit than he did under the old one.

Peter Jenkins was fined Â£1,400 and banned for 34 months after being caught on Wigtown Road in Newton Stewart.
It was based on his reading of 87 micrograms in 100 millilitres of breath being nearly four times the 22 limit.
However, the sheriff appeal court said that approach was "erroneous" and cut the ban to 22 months and fine to Â£900.
The limit in Scotland used to be 35 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath - as it remains in England and Wales - but was cut to 22 micrograms in December 2014.
Jenkins was stopped by officers on mobile patrol in Newton Stewart on 29 September 2015 after they saw a vehicle swerving about on the A714.
He later admitted a drink driving charge at Stranraer Sheriff Court and was fined and banned.
The case was taken to appeal on the grounds that the length of the ban and the scale of the fine were "grossly excessive".
In a written judgement, the appeal court ruled the sheriff had been wrong to consider the seriousness of the offence in relation to the new limit.
"The gravity of the drink driving offence should be measured in objective, absolute terms rather than by considering the number of times by which a driver exceeds the limit," it said.
"It is fallacious to equate a reading of 87 in Scotland with one of 138 in England and Wales, when one driver is likely to be considerably more impaired than the other.
"The fallacy of the sheriff's approach can perhaps also be seen by considering what the approach would be were the limit to be reduced to zero (as some would advocate)."
It concluded that would make it "mathematically impossible" to view any offence as being a certain number of times more than the limit.
"A driver who has a reading of 87 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath is clearly guilty of an offence and also poses a risk to public safety," it added.
"But that risk is no greater than it was when the prescribed limit was the previous higher breath alcohol limit of 35."
It reduced the original sentence and the ban could be reduced by a further five months if the driver completes a drink driving rehabilitation course.


A former Southampton footballer who ran and cycled to every Premier League and Championship stadium in two weeks has been granted the freedom of the city.

Francis Benali, who made more than 300 appearances for Southampton FC, ran a marathon and cycled 75 miles (120km) each day for a fortnight in October.
The city council unanimously approved a motion giving him honorary freedom of the city at a special meeting earlier.
Benali, 47, described receiving the honour as "a complete surprise".
"It's just wonderful to be thought of," he added.
The honour was awarded in recognition of Benali's fund raising achievements for charitable causes, as well those as a player and coach at Saints, the authority said.
It confers no rights or privileges, such as driving sheep through the city, and is "purely ceremonial", it added.
The 1,000-mile (1,600km) route linking 44 football clubs took him to south Wales, the Midlands and the North-West, before crossing the country and returning via East Anglia and London.
He raised more than Â£390,000 for Cancer Research.
Benali received a standing ovation from fans when he arrived at St Mary's Stadium at half-time during a home match against Burnley on 16 October.
It followed another challenge in 2014 which saw him running between 20 Premier League stadiums and raising more than Â£265,000 for charity.
As a result he was presented with the Barclays Spirit of the Game award in December 2014, acknowledged as the Cancer Research UK Flame of Hope Award Winner 2015, Fundraising Volunteer of the Year and also the Just Giving Celebrity Fundraiser of the Year 2015.
Other individuals to have been given the honour in Southampton include former Saints managers Ted Bates and Lawrie McMenemy, former player Matthew Le Tissier, and World War One prime minister David Lloyd George.


A film adaptation of one of Scotland's best-loved novels - Sunset Song - will be released in the UK in December.

Peter Mullan and former model Agyness Deyn star in Lewis Grassic Gibbon's tale, which was shot on location in Aberdeenshire, New Zealand and Luxembourg.
Published in 1932, Sunset Song follows a farming family struggling to make a living in north east Scotland leading up to World War One.
The release will be on 4 December.
What's happening in Scotland today? Keep in touch through our live page.
The film, directed by Terence Davies, will get its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival later this month.
In 2005 Sunset Song was named the "Best Scottish Book of All Time" at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The BBC turned the book into a TV series in 1971.


Exeter boss Rob Baxter says Tomas Francis should not have been given the ban he received for making contact with Dan Cole's eyes in the Six Nations.

Media playback is not supported on this device
The Wales and Exeter prop has been suspended for eight weeks, but Baxter says he did not mean to make contact with the England front-rower's face.
"I'm very confident there is no intent there," Baxter told BBC Sport.
"Should you get lengthy bans for incidents with absolutely no intent? It's hard to say you should, isn't it?"
The suspension means Francis will miss the rest of the regular Premiership season as second-placed Exeter try to make the play-offs for the first time in their history.
"I feel a bit sorry for him," said Baxter.
"I feel a bit annoyed for us as a club because these charges of reckless behaviour are all well and good, but the reality is if someone is entering a ruck and trying to hit with the shoulder, they've got to make contact with something, with their hands and with their arms.
He added: "If it's someone's face with no intent, then it's a ban. If it's someone's leg or shoulder or arm with exactly the same intent, it's nothing.
"As much as we've got to be mindful of player welfare, which is hugely important, I do think when we talk about some of these things that we need to be careful that two people can commit exactly the same action and one means nothing and is just clearing out a ruck, and another is an eight-week ban, and the intent to do things is exactly the same."


Snap, the company behind messaging app Snapchat, says it has established its non-US office in London.

It will pay taxes on UK and some international sales through the hub.
The move is unusual for a US technology company, many of which set up international headquarters in Ireland or other European countries due to tax breaks.
However, the European Commission has been cracking down on some of the tech companies' tax deals.
In addition, the OECD has has been pushing for G20 measures on corporate tax avoidance.
Claire Valoti, general manager of Snap Group in the UK, said: "We believe in the UK creative industries. The UK is where our advertising clients are, where more than 10 million daily Snapchatters are, and where we've already begun to hire talent."
The messaging app parent company already had a UK office in London, but as of Tuesday, the office will operate as its international hub.
Revenue from sales made to UK customers will be booked in the UK. Sales staff in the UK will also handle clients in countries outside the US which do not have a Snap sales force, and those revenues will also be recorded in the UK.
Analysis: Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC technology correspondent
It's a great boost for London's global reputation as a hub for creative industries  - but the economic impact of Snap Inc's decision to base its international hub in the UK may be limited.
At the moment, the firm's UK workforce is just 75 strong, and although that will expand, it's hardly the equivalent of a car plant in Sunderland - though baristas in Soho will be grateful for the opportunity to sell a lot more decaf skinny lattes.
But this does signal that post Brexit London, with its skilled workforce, its strength in advertising and its relatively low tax rates will remain a very attractive location for tech firms, especially those that aren't moving physical goods across borders.
And, as the EU cracks down on sweetheart tax deals in Ireland and Luxembourg, the UK may look even more attractive.
But there is one clear message from today's announcement - it really is time for ageing technology correspondents to get to grips with how Snapchat works.
The messaging app has been expanding its London operations, growing its office in the city from around six staff last year to more than 75.
The company says it has 150 million daily active users around the world, with 50 million in Europe.
Many US technology companies, including Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter, have set up international headquarters in countries with lower corporate tax rates than the UK, such as Ireland.
However, a number of authorities, including the European Commission, have been investigating those deals.
In August last year, the European Commission said that Apple should pay Ireland â‚¬13bn (Â£11bn) in back taxes, a ruling Apple is appealing against.


A 15-year-old boy is to stand trial accused of leading police on a 15-mile high-speed car chase through Dundee.

The teenager is alleged to have driven at excessive speeds for the road conditions and failed to slow down or give way at junctions on 30 July.
He is also accused of driving on the wrong side of the road and failing to stop when told by a marked police car.
His solicitor entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. The boy cannot be named for legal reasons.
At Dundee Sheriff Court, prosecutors said the chase went on for 15 miles from Liff, on the western outskirts of Dundee, through the Charleston, Lochee, Technology Park and Riverside areas of the city.
The teenager, who is from Dundee, faces charges of dangerous driving, driving without a licence, driving without insurance and driving a car without a valid MOT certificate.
Sheriff Alistair Carmichael set a trial date in February.


"Significant concerns" have been raised over restoration plans for a mine which is being mothballed in Powys.

Celtic Energy was granted planning permission in 2012 to restore the Nant Helen site in Coelbren to grassland with an enclosed farm.
But Natural Resources Wales said there were "inconsistencies" with what was expected, and not enough information.
Powys councillors are recommended to approve the report, with officers saying it meets requirements.
It was announced last August the 345 hectares (853 acres) mine would be mothballed for two years with the loss of 75 jobs.
In 2012, Celtic Energy was asked to meet 65 conditions including providing a detailed restoration plan.
But Natural Resources Wales said it has "significant concerns" over what has now been submitted to the council and it has requested a site meeting.
It questioned why an area of conifers was no longer due to be replanted with broadleaf trees, why proposed water routes had been changed and whether there would be enough water to keep the grassland hydrated.
It also claimed proposed contours for the grassland appeared too steep and it questioned what species it could support which would distinguish the area from surrounding land.
Powys council's planning committee is due to discuss the report on Thursday.


Raising interest rates to deal with housing market problems would hit the rest of the economy too hard, Bank of England deputy governor Dame Nemat (Minouche) Shafik has told the BBC.

"We should use other tools, and fortunately we have other tools," she told Radio 5 live's Wake Up to Money.
On Thursday, the Bank's inflation report prompted economists to postpone when they expect UK rates to rise.
She also said the Bank could cut interest rates even lower, if needed.
Dame Nemat pointed to research carried out at the Bank, suggesting that if it had raised interest rates by two percentage points before the financial crisis, it would have reduced household debt by 2%, but cut economic growth by 2.6%.
She said this analysis supported the use of other tools to control the housing market.
"We have an FPC [Financial Policy Committee], which works alongside the MPC [Monetary Policy Committee]. It has tools to do things like put limits on the amount of indebtedness that households can take on, it can reduce banks' ability to lend very risky loans, so for us we need to use the right tools for the right problem."
Asked about household debt levels, she said they were still high, but had come down a lot as a share of income.
"It used to be about 155% at the time of the crisis, and it's come down to 135%. It's plateaued recently, but we do think it has improved."
On Thursday, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), on which Dame Nemat sits, voted 8-1 to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.5%, where they have been for six and a half years.
Dame Nemat told the BBC: "Just last month, we looked at this again and we said that actually we do have room to lower interest rates if we had to and we could do more quantitative easing if we had to and in fact the governor's letter to the chancellor this month explains precisely that.
"But the fact of the matter is: at the moment we don't need any more ammo, because the economy is growing above trend. But what we have said is that we have it there if we need it."
"My children... tease me relentlessly: you meet all the time, you work so hard, you read all those papers, you look at all that data and then you decide to do nothing," she said.
"My response to that is every month we meet we pore over the data and we argue and we analyse and it's a big decision and we make that decision with huge amounts of care and thoughtfulness and making a decision to keep rates steady is just as difficult a decision to raise or lower rates."


Mae nifer y plant o Gymru sy'n cael eu cyfeirio i uned ar drawsrywedd wedi bron â dyblu mewn blwyddyn, yn ôl ffigyrau o glinic Tavistock y gwasanaeth iechyd yn Llundain.

Dyma'r unig glinig trwy Gymru a Lloegr sy'n cynnig cymorth a thriniaeth i blant.
Mae person trawsryweddol yn teimlo bod ei rywedd (gender) yn wahanol i'w ryw corfforol.
Ymhlith y rhai a gafodd eu cyfeirio i'r clinig y llynedd, roedd plentyn pum mlwydd oed.
Cafodd 75 o blant o dan 18 oed o Gymru eu cyfeirio i ganolfan Tavistock y llynedd - bron i ddwywaith cymaint â'r flwyddyn flaenorol.
Saith mlynedd yn ôl, un plentyn yn unig a gafodd ei gyfeirio yno drwy'r Gwasanaeth Iechyd.
Eisoes, mae rhai yn galw am sefydlu clinig yng Nghymru.
Yn ôl arbenigwyr, gwell ymwybyddiaeth o faterion yn ymwneud â hunaniaeth rhywedd sydd y tu ôl i'r cynnydd yng Nghymru.
Dywedodd y Dr Polly Carmichael o ganolfan Tavistock: "Does yna ddim un esboniad unigol dros y cynnydd yn yr achos sy'n cael eu cyfeirio atom ni, ond rydym yn gwybod, yn y blynyddoedd diwethaf, bod yna ddatblygiad sylweddol wedi bod wrth dderbyn a chydnabod yr amrywiaeth o bobl drawsryweddol sydd yn bodoli yn ein cymdeithas.
"Mae yna hefyd well gwybodaeth am glinigau arbenigol ar rywedd, a'r ffyrdd o'u cyrraedd, ac mae yna well ymwybyddiaeth o'r posibliadau yn ymwneud â thriniaeth i bobl ifanc.
"Dydy'r rhan fwyaf ddim yn cael triniaeth gorfforol drwy ein gwasanaeth ni, a rhaid caniatáu amser ac ystyriaeth cyn penderfynu ar driniaeth hormonol.
"Iechyd hirdymor a lles seicolegol a chymdeithasol pobl ifanc yw'n blaenoriaeth bob tro."


Aston Villa have named former Hull City and Birmingham City boss Steve Bruce as their new manager.

Former Manchester United captain Bruce, 55, who left Hull in July, succeeds Roberto di Matteo, who was sacked on 3 October, at Villa Park.
Bruce, who has lived in the Midlands since first joining Birmingham as a player in 1996, takes over with Villa 19th in the Championship table.
His first game in charge is at home to local rivals Wolves on Saturday.
Bruce will become the sixth man to pick the Villa team inside the last 12 months.
He then has matches against Reading and Fulham before returning to St Andrew's for the Blues-Villa derby on Sunday, 30 October in only his second away match.
"They're one of the big clubs in this country," said Bruce. "To be given the opportunity to manage them is terrific.
"I relish the challenge of trying to take the club where it wants to go and needs to be - and try to turn around the misfortune we seem to have had over the past few years."
Villa will begin life under Bruce 10 points behind Birmingham, the team occupying the last of the four play-off places in sixth.
Northumberland-born Bruce is into his 19th season in management, in which he has taken charge of 784 matches with eight clubs, winning promotion in each of his last four seasons at this level.
That followed a 20-year playing career at Gillingham, Norwich City, Manchester United and Birmingham before finishing as player-manager at Sheffield United.
After his first season in management at Bramall Lane, he spent 17 months with Huddersfield, and had short spells in charge of Wigan and Crystal Palace before becoming Birmingham manager in December 2001.
Taking over a Blues side in 10th position, he led them up via the play-offs that season to reach the Premier League for the first time. And, although relegated in their fourth season, he took them straight back up in 2007.
He returned to Wigan after leaving St Andrew's in November 2007, then had two and a half years at Sunderland, before joining Hull in 2012.
Bruce, who led Hull to the FA Cup final in 2014, twice won promotion with the Tigers to the Premier League, the second time via the Championship play-offs in May - his fourth promotion to English football's top flight.
He was interviewed for the England job before the appointment of Sam Allardyce in July.
Villa turned to former Champions League winner Di Matteo after being relegated from the Premier League last season.
However, the ex-West Bromwich Albion and Chelsea boss was sacked after 124 days in charge following a run of one win in 11 Championship matches.
Steve Clarke, who served as Di Matteo's assistant and as caretaker following his sacking, was on the club's short list of candidates.
Pat Murphy, BBC Radio 5 live
"Villa caretaker boss Clarke was highly rated by the recruitment team of Keith Wyness, Villa's chief executive, former Villa manager Brian Little and technical director Steve Round.
"But Round has known Bruce for a long time, admired him for a long time and has always wanted to work with him.
"He has massive experience - four promotions from the Championship to the Premier League. A safe pair of hands. Also, he has that personality, that affability.
"He is just the man they need at the moment compared with the aloof Di Matteo.
"And how interesting it is going to be on 30 October when Bruce takes Villa to his former side Birmingham City?"
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.


Semesa Rokoduguni and Marland Yarde have been retained in England's 25-man squad to prepare for Saturday's match against Australia at Twickenham.

The pair are competing for the wing spot vacated by Elliot Daly, who has been banned for three weeks.
Yarde is thought to be the favourite to replace Daly, while Nathan Hughes is the likely option at number eight with Billy Vunipola injured.
Head coach Eddie Jones will name his matchday squad of 23 on Thursday.
Daly was banned after being sent off in last weekend's victory over Argentina.
Hughes spent much of Tuesday's training session in England's first-choice back row, alongside Chris Robshaw and Tom Wood.
The Fiji-born Wasps forward has won two caps this autumn as a replacement, but has yet to make a first international start.
Elsewhere in the back row, Teimana Harrison has also been retained, but Jack Clifford has returned to Harlequins.
Yarde started on the wing against South Africa, but has not featured since, while Rokoduguni made a try-scoring return to Test rugby against Fiji, before being dropped from the squad to face the Pumas.
Regular full-back Mike Brown and prop Joe Marler both missed training on Tuesday, but neither have a serious injury.
Forwards: Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), Jamie George (Saracens), Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), George Kruis (Saracens), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints).
Backs: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath Rugby), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby), Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath Rugby), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Te'o (Worcester Warriors), Marland Yarde (Harlequins), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).


The biggest survey of Native American DNA has concluded that the New World was settled in three major waves.

But the majority of today's indigenous Americans descend from a single group of migrants that crossed from Asia to Alaska 15,000 years ago or more.
Previous genetic data have lent support to the idea that America was colonised by a single migrant wave.
An international team of researchers have published their findings in the journal Nature.
"For years it has been contentious whether the settlement of the Americas occurred by means of a single or multiple migrations from Siberia," said co-author Prof Andres Ruiz-Linares from University College London (UCL).
"But our research settles this debate: Native Americans do not stem from a single migration. Our study also begins to cast light on patterns of human dispersal within the Americas."
The team analysed data from 52 Native American and 17 Siberian groups, studying more than 300,000 variations in their DNA known as Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, or SNPs.
This allowed them to examine patterns of genetic similarities and differences between the population groups.
The second and third migrations have left an impact only in Arctic populations whose languages belong to the Eskimo-Aleut family and in the Canadian Chipewyan who speak a language that belongs to the Na-Dene family.
However, even these populations have inherited most of their genome (the DNA sequence contained in the nuclei of cells) from the earliest migration.
Eskimo-Aleut speakers derive more than 50% of their DNA from what the researchers call "First Americans", and the Chipewyan around 90%. This reflects the fact that the two later streams of migration from Asia mixed with the populations descended from the first wave.
"There are at least three deep lineages in Native American populations," said co-author David Reich, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School.
"The Asian lineage leading to First Americans is the most anciently diverged, whereas the Asian lineages that contributed some of the DNA to Eskimo-Aleut speakers and the Na-Dene-speaking Chipewyan from Canada are more closely related to present-day East Asian populations."
Evidence from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), the genetic information in the mitochondria that power cells, supports descent from a single founding group of colonisers, who crossed from Siberia into America across the Bering land bridge.
This natural bridge appeared during the last Ice Age when sea levels were lower, allowing hunters to trek between the two continents.
But a three-stage migration has been proposed before, based on a controversial interpretation of language relationships and physical features of the teeth of Native American groups.
The team also found that once in the Americas, people expanded southward along a route that hugged the coast, with populations splitting off along the way.
After their divergence, there was little gene flow among Native American groups, especially in South America.
Two glaring exceptions to this simple dispersal were also discovered. First, Central American Chibchan-speakers have ancestry from both North and South America, reflecting a migration back from South America to Central America.
Second, the Naukan and coastal Chukchi from north-eastern Siberia carry distinctive "First American" DNA. Thus, Eskimo-Aleut speakers migrated back to Asia, bringing Native American genes.
The team's analysis was complicated by the influx into the hemisphere of European and African immigrants since 1492 and the 500 years of genetic mixing that followed.
To address this, the authors developed methods that allowed them to focus on the sections of peoples' genomes that were of entirely Native American origin.


Holywood golfer Rory McIlroy will marry his American fiancée Erica Stoll at Ashford Castle in County Mayo later.

It is expected to be one of the celebrity weddings of the year with many well-known faces and rumours that Stevie Wonder will be performing.
The golfer was previously engaged to tennis player Caroline Wozniacki but the couple broke up in May 2014.
It is thought he began his relationship with Erica Stoll later that year. The couple became engaged in December 2015.


Darth Vader and Star Wars stormtroopers have been seen sailing the dark tide on the River Severn.

The Force was strong as the boat took the Sith Lord up the Severn Estuary, under the Severn Bridge and came ashore at the lifeboat station in Beachley.
Scenes from the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens were filmed at nearby Puzzlewood, in the Forest of Dean.
The lifeboat stunt was to publicise productions filmed in the region.
Last week Stormtroopers were spotted surfing the Severn Bore.
Mark Terry-Lush, director of Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism, said: "The region's reputation for hospitality has clearly travelled throughout the galaxy and we are delighted to welcome all visitors from the Galactic Empire."
Other productions to have filmed scenes at Puzzlewood in recent years include BBC TV shows Merlin, Atlantis and Doctor Who, and the Hollywood movie Jack the Giant Slayer.


Haiti is set to vote in legislative elections that have been repeatedly delayed since 2011, in a test of stability for the impoverished nation.

Thousands of police have been deployed as voters are choosing two-thirds of the senate and the chamber of deputies. A presidential poll is set for October.
President Michel Martelly, who is barred from running again by the constitution, has ruled by decree.
The opposition has accused him of abusing his powers.
Polling stations across Haiti are due to open at 06:00 local time (10:00 GMT) and will close at 16:00.
Nearly six million eligible voters are choosing 119 deputies and 20 senators from more than 1,800 candidates registered from different political parties.
The run-off round will be held on 25 October - the same day as the presidential election.
Several people have been killed since campaigning for Sunday's poll opened in July.
Haiti's police are being helped by UN police and peacekeepers to ensure safety during the voting.
"These elections will be a major test for October," said Pierre Esperance, who heads the National Human Rights Defence Network.
Haiti's parliament was dissolved in January over its failure to hold elections, leaving Haiti without a functioning government.
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world, and is still struggling with the legacy of the devastating 2010 earthquake.


Facebook has created an artificial intelligence system that is "getting close" to beating the best human players at the Chinese board game Go, Mark Zuckerberg has revealed.

The social network's founder added that the work was being done close to his desk, signalling the importance he is giving to the task.
One expert said the challenge could result in far-reaching benefits.
It is the second time Mr Zuckerberg has highlighted work on AI this month.
Facebook is far from the only tech firm to have used computers to play Go - a game with trillions of possible moves.
Microsoft's research division began developing AI software to tackle the issue in 2004, and ended up releasing an Xbox video game six years later that made use of its techniques.
Google's AI chief Demis Hassabis has also indicated that his DeepMind team is working on the game.
Go is thought to have first been played more than 2,500 years ago in ancient China.
Two people take turns to place black or white stones on to a grid, with the goal being to dominate the board by surrounding the opponent's pieces.
Once placed, the stones cannot be moved unless they are surrounded and captured by the other person's pieces.
It has been estimated that there are 10 to the power of 700 (10 multiplied by itself 699 times) possible ways a Go game could be played.
By contrast, chess - a game at which AIs can already play at grandmaster level - has about 10 to the power of 60 possible scenarios.
"Scientists have been trying to teach computers to win at Go for 20 years," wrote Mr Zuckerberg on his Facebook page.
"We're getting close, and in the past six months we've built an AI that can make moves in as fast as 0.1 secs and still be as good as previous systems that took years to build.
"Our AI combines a search-based approach that models every possible move as the game progresses along with a pattern matching system built by our computer vision team.
"The researcher who works on this, Yuandong Tian, sits about 20ft from my desk. I love having our AI team right near me so I can learn from what they're working on."
Facebook's Go AI system is codenamed Darkforest, according to a paper submitted in November by Mr Tian to the International Conference on Learning Representations.
He wrote that it had achieved a "stable" five dan level in the game, representing an advanced amateur but below the "professional levels".
However, he acknowledged the software still had flaws.
"Sometimes the bot plays tenuki ("move elsewhere") pointlessly when a tight local battle is needed," Mr Tian wrote.
"When the bot is losing, it shows the typical behaviour of MCTS [a machine learning technique known as Monte Carlo Tree Search], that plays bad moves and loses more. We will improve these in the future."
Facebook is currently trying to use other AI systems to answer questions and carry out tasks on its Messenger chat platform.
Mr Zuckerberg has also made public his desire to build a "simple AI" to power his home and help him at work this year.
One independent researcher said the firm's work on Go could have knock-on benefits.
"Go is vastly harder than chess using any of the standard techniques for game-playing, and for some time it's been the case that people have regarded that you would need something fundamentally new in order to crack it," explained Dr Sean Holden from the University of Cambridge's computer laboratory.
"Playing games like this is essentially a search problem. The AI has to search for a sequence of actions that will get you from the start of the game to a winning position.
"And that general search problem is potentially usable in all manner of different AI scenarios.
"Because, what AI essentially comes down to is that if you have a robot and you want it to achieve a task, you want it to find a sequence of moves from where it is to where you want it to be."


Net migration to the UK has dropped to 273,000 in the year to September, down 49,000 from the previous year.

The Office for National Statistics said it was the first time in two years the balance of people arriving and leaving the UK had dipped below 300,000.
But it is short of the government's aim of an annual figure below 100,000.
Immigration was estimated to be 596,000 - comprising 268,000 EU citizens, 257,000 non-EU citizens and 71,000 British citizens.
This included the highest level ever recorded of Romanians and Bulgarians - 74,000.
Some 323,000 people are thought to have left the UK in the year to September, up by 26,000 on the 12 months to September 2015.
Of these, 128,000 were British citizens, along with 103,000 EU citizens and 93,000 non-EU citizens.
Net migration is down. But while the net decrease looks substantial, nobody can say for sure what's triggered the change because these quarterly figures could have been influenced by a string of short-term factors.
For a start, there appears to have been a rise in emigration - and when that goes up, net migration can come down.
Secondly, some of the change could be down to seasonal fluctuations in student numbers.
Thirdly, although there were significant departures by people from some parts of Eastern Europe, the number coming from poorer Romania and Bulgaria went up.
The upshot is the overall number of people arriving for a job is broadly the same. What does it all amount to? Immigration statistics are an inexact science - and at the moment it's very difficult to know for sure what's going on.
The figures are the first to include migration estimates following the EU referendum in June.
Nicola White, head of international migration statistics at the ONS, said it was "too early" to say what effect the referendum has had on long-term migration.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd accepted the government was still far from reaching its net migration target, but said the figures demonstrated "we can reduce immigration where we can control it".
She denied a rise in people going back to countries such as Poland reflected an uncertainty among EU citizens living in the UK over their futures.
Ms Rudd said: "At the moment we have open immigration with the EU members, freedom of movement, so they can come and go as they want.
"I don't see any particularly significant change within EU migration. The real change will be when we leave the EU, and then we will be able to make the choices ourselves what level of immigration we want to have."
And she said that Britain remained open to EU citizens already living here and contributing to the economy, saying: "Let's not be in any doubt that the UK will always be a welcoming place for people who want to come here, work here and contribute to our economy."
Sunder Katwala, director of the think-tank British Future, said the figures showed the immigration debate will "have to move on" in the light of Brexit.
He said: "A one-size-fits-all approach to immigration can't help us make the post-Brexit choices that the government and the public now face."
Meanwhile, separate figures from the Home Office show that a near-record number of EU nationals were granted British citizenship last year.
Citizenship was given to 16,754 people from EU countries, the second highest since records were first compiled, behind the 17,645 in 2013.
Some 6,498 members of the EU 14 countries - older member states such as France, Spain and Germany - were granted UK citizenship in 2016, up 50% on the previous 12 months and the highest ever for a single year.
A further 6,813 people from the EU 8 countries, which include Poland, gained British citizenship, a rise of 18%, surpassed only by figures for 2013.
Citizenship was given to 3,215 Romanians and Bulgarians, up 20% on 2015 and again only topped by 2013 figures.
Other points within the ONS statistics were:


A planned appearance of three bear cubs at an annual show in Oxfordshire will go ahead despite calls from an animal welfare group for it to be dropped.

Animal Defenders International (ADI) said it received a complaint about the Enstone Show, to be held on Saturday.
It posted a Facebook message on Thursday calling on supporters to email organiser Kate Farquhar-Thomson.
She said she had been bombarded with hundreds of protest messages but vowed the show would still go on.
Ms Farquhar-Thomson said the emails had generally been polite but she has contacted police, who said they are aware of the situation, about abuse on Twitter and Facebook.
The European brown bear cubs are being provided by Amazing Animals, based at Heythrop Zoological Gardens.
Ms Farquhar-Thomson said the company had provided animals for the show over a number of years, including lion cubs, camels and tarantulas.
She said: "The bear cubs are not for entertainment they are for education.
"Some of the messages have been abusive but I'm trying not to take it personally.
"We have had a lot of support and the bear show will go ahead as planned."
ADI president Jan Creamer said the group had not raised the issue at previous events as this was the first time it had received a complaint from a member of the public in advance.
She added: "...we would urge people to be polite and let the facts speak for themselves.
"Using wild animals for entertainment compromises their welfare, denying them of the normal, social and mental stimulation they would enjoy in their natural habitat. It is unnecessary and unethical."
Jim Clubb, from Heythrop Zoological Gardens, said its premises were licensed by West Oxfordshire council and its animals regularly inspected.
He said: "There will be three young bears who at no time are to be touched or petted by members of the public."


Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko is poised to join Serie A side Roma after the clubs agreed a £14m fee.

The 29-year-old Bosnia-Hercegovina international joined City from Wolfsburg in January 2011 for £27m.
He signed a new four-year contract at Etihad Stadium last summer.
However, manager Manuel Pellegrini recently admitted Dzeko was likely to leave following the £49m capture of Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling.
Dzeko was City's leading scorer with 15 goals in 2012-13 and hit 26 more in all competitions as they won the Premier League the following season, but he managed only six goals in 32 appearances last season.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Last month, a young lion named Michael was found hanged in his cage at Surabaya zoo.

The 18-month-old got his neck tangled in a cable used by keepers to open and close his cage.
An official claimed the lion got himself caught as he jumped around.
However, by the time the police arrived, the lion's carcass had been removed from the cage, complicating any investigation into whether negligence contributed to his death.
Zoo director Ratna Achjuningrum said keepers did not realise they should wait for police.
"They did not think that it was potentially a crime scene that needed to be sealed off," she said.
Surabaya zoo, on the island of Java, is Indonesia's oldest - and home to thousands of animals, birds and other creatures.
In recent months, however, it has been dubbed "the zoo of death" because of the number of animals dying from malnutrition, disease and neglect.
A few days before Michael's death, a wildebeest was found dead in its cage. A few days later, a young mountain goat died of neck injuries. Zoo officials said it was attacked by an adult goat.
And in March 2012, 20kg (44 pounds) of plastic were found in the stomach of a dead giraffe.
In the 1970s the zoo was South East Asia's largest, with more species than anywhere else in the region.
Today it has a total of 3,465 animals from 201 species living within its walls.
But far from being a statistic it should be proud of, activists say overpopulation - along with lack of funding and expertise - are urgent problems for management to address.
Entering the park, crowds of noisy black-furred gibbons known as siamang play, sleep and eat on an island. Nearby, pelicans and herons are crammed into an aviary measuring about 180 sq m (1,940 sq ft).
Veterinarian Liang Kaspe, the zoo's head of operations, says the cage is big enough for the 86 pelicans inside.
"There is no overpopulation here," she said. "They need to live in big groups in order to breed."
"We have a plan to expand this cage," she added.
In a row of enclosures surrounded by a moat, dozens of long-tailed macaques roamed around in packs. At least 10 of them had babies attached to their stomachs like marsupials.
Dr Liang acknowledged that there was a surplus of macaques, but said the zoo could not reduce the population because it could not find any place to take them.
"It's not that easy to move these animals, because we need to think about their lives when they're out of this zoo," she said.
"It's not like having a cow or a cat that you can sell or give to other people if you don't want them anymore."
But other experts say urgent action is needed.
The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (Waza), a group that includes 300 leading zoos and aquariums as its members, deems the animal welfare conditions in Surabaya so appalling that its leader has written two letters to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the past two months.
In one of the letters, Waza Executive Director Gerald Dick said the situation in Surabaya was "becoming more than a single zoo issue".
He suggested that the conditions in Surabaya could threaten the reputation of all zoos, which often face criticism from groups that oppose keeping animals in captivity.
Last month Mr Yudhoyono finally stepped in. In front of journalists, the Indonesian leader said that his wife "never slept" because of the barrage of messages on social media that she received about the zoo.
After he met officials, the central government formally gave Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini full authority to manage the zoo.
The move is expected to put a stop to the infighting and frequent changes in management that have taken place in recent years.
In 2010, as conditions deteriorated, the central government asked experienced zookeeper Tony Sumampau to temporarily run the zoo - then funded by admission fees and external fundraising.
Ms Rismaharini took it over last year, amid deepening problems, but zoo management has not been part of the city budget until now.
Mr Sumampau said he doubted whether the city government would succeed on its own in improving the animals' welfare.
"As long as they change most of the staff and the management, and they have a professional to help them run the zoo, I think it can happen," he said.
"But this is a very difficult political decision. If the mayor wants to spend money, she can rebuild the zoo. But she is not going to be a mayor forever, and that is why most government zoos in Indonesia are not in good condition."
Back at the zoo, Director Ratna Achjuningrum rejected the notion that the Surabaya zoo had become a national shame.
"We have many successes, for example we've been successful in breeding Komodos, and in providing a place for proboscis monkeys that resembles their natural habitat."
The endangered primates she referred to came from the mangrove, riverine and swamp forests in the island of Kalimantan, also known as Borneo.
I pointed out that the island where the proboscis monkeys lived in the zoo had several dead trees.
"Of course there are still shortcomings, but we will improve them," Ms Ratna said.


Around half of the world's critically endangered Saiga antelope have died suddenly in Kazakhstan since 10 May.

An unknown environmental trigger is thought to have caused two types of normally benign bacteria found in the antelopes' gut to turn deadly.
The animals die within hours of showing symptoms, which include depression, diarrhoea and frothing at the mouth.
Because it is calving season, entire herds of female antelope and their new-born calves have been wiped out.
"They get into respiratory problems, they can't breathe easily. They stop eating and are extremely depressed; the mothers die and then the calves are very distressed and then they die maybe one or two days later," said Richard Kock from the Royal Veterinary College in London.
Prof Kock spoke to the BBC's Science in Action programme after joining an international team in Kazakhstan studying the causes of the die-off.
The Saiga antelope is a species adapted to cope with the extremes of temperature found on the central Asian steppes of Kazakhstan. They are about the size of a large sheep and once roamed in their millions from Great Britain to northern China.
Populations have fallen repeatedly due to hunting, reaching a low of around 50,000 individuals after the fall of the Soviet Union. This rendered the species critically endangered.
Conservationists have made great progress with Saiga in recent years, due to international efforts to reduce poaching and monitor their populations.
This die-off is a severe setback to the conservation effort because it has wiped out four of the six calving herds in the largest remaining - and best protected - "Betpak-dala" population, in central Kazakhstan.
Steffen Zuther, head of the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity in Kazakhstan (ACBK), was monitoring calving in one of the herds containing thousands of affected animals.
"Over two days [in the herd I was studying] 80% of the calving population died," he told the BBC.
The whole herd then died within two weeks.
About 120,000 individual antelope have died, from a global population of approximately 250,000. Fortunately, mortality rates are now dropping, although the deaths continue in some populations.
"What we're seeing is sort of a perfect storm of different factors," Prof Kock explained.
Two different bacteria, pasteurelosis and clostridia, have been found in every dead animal studied. These bacteria are naturally found in the animals' respiratory and gut systems, so something must have reduced the immunity of the animals.
One possible trigger is climatic. This year a very cold winter was followed by a wet spring, and this may have affected the immune competence of the animals, making them more vulnerable to the bacteria.
This, or some other trigger, pushed the animals past a threshold at which the bacteria overcame Saiga immune defences and became deadly enough to transmit to their calves.
"There's no infectious disease that can work like this," said Prof Kock. He added that the wave of Saiga deaths was not unprecedented. "[This] die-off syndrome has occurred on a number of occasions."
In 1984, 2010 and 2012 there were massive die-offs, but none of these claimed such a massive proportion of the population.
Despite these huge losses, Saiga antelope are surprisingly well adapted to recover quickly from population crashes.
"Its strategy for survival is based on a high reproductive rate, so [the Saiga] produce triplets and have the highest foetal biomass of any mammal.  It's built, in a sense, to recover from collapse," Prof Kock said.
The Saiga's natural habitat has dramatic temperature fluctuations. "In a very severe winterâ€¦ you could lose 90% of the population."
But losing 100% percent of some populations within two weeks "doesn't make any sense" from a biological or evolutionary perspective, Prof Kock said.
Saiga antelope have been a conservation success story after recovering from their critical low in the 1990s. The animals now exist in five locations across central Asia, but all individuals affected by the sudden die-off are from the largest remaining Betpak-dala population in Kazakhstan.
This population consists of six major herds, of which four have been completely wiped out.
Steffen Zuther is going back into the field to investigate more remote populations. He hopes to identify what triggered this population collapse, so he can work to stop it happening again.


Northampton have signed Crystal Palace midfielder Hiram Boateng and Millwall winger Gregg Wylde on loan for the rest of the season.

Boateng, 20, made his Premier League debut for Palace as a substitute in a 1-1 draw with Swansea in February.
Ex-Rangers player Wylde, 25, joined Millwall in the summer but has only made five appearances in League One.
Meanwhile, Northampton have terminated the contract of 30-year-old midfielder Joel Byrom, who has joined Mansfield.
"He (Boateng) is a player we have tracked for a while and we tried to bring him in last summer. He has impressed at both Plymouth and Bristol Rovers and we have done well to get him," said Cobblers boss Rob Page.
"Gregg has pace to burn and that is a quality that frightens defenders. He can also deliver a ball with quality, and with the strikers we have they will benefit from that service."
Wylde and Boateng will be available for Northampton's League One match against Bradford on 2 January.


Federico Fernandez feels Swansea can finally relax in their battle against the drop after a tense 1-0 victory over Aston Villa.

Fernandez's first goal for the club was impeccably timed, with Swansea moving 10 points clear of the Premier League drop-zone.
"This game was massive for us," Fernandez said after his Liberty Stadium winner.
"This was a very important moment for us, now we are able to relax a little."
Since losing to Sunderland at home, Swansea have accrued 17 points from a possible 30.
"This is a very good step, now we rest and focus on another seven finals," Fernandez explained.
"We are not safe yet, we need maybe a point or three more points and to stay calm in the last weeks."
Fernandez's first goal for the club might have been a case of child's play as the father-to-be celebrated in a pregnant pose with the ball up his shirt.
Fernandez had not scored in his previous 57 Swansea appearances since joining from Napoli in August 2014.
But the Argentina defender got lucky when Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan missed Gylfi Sigurdsson's 53rd-minute free-kick and the ball rolled into the net off his right shoulder.
"I was going to stop but the ball hit me on the shoulder," said Fernandez.
"It was what we needed, it is a goal and you take the chance to score.
"Me and my girlfriend Florence are waiting for our first child in September, so it is a very emotional time.
"I told her I would celebrate like that if I scored. So it was perfect.
"Defending is my job and keeping a clean sheet is what is important.
"But to get a goal like that was a special moment, because what is important is that the club stay another season in the Premier League."


A man who died during a night out with friends in south-east London was attacked by a man as the group spoke to a number of women, police believe.

Oliver Dearlove collapsed on Tranquil Vale, Blackheath at 00:45 BST on Sunday after he was hit while waiting for a pre-booked taxi with friends.
The 30-year-old from Eltham was taken to an east London hospital where he died at 22:30 that evening.
The Met said it had made "significant progress". No arrests have been made.
The force said it had spoken to the four women who were speaking to Mr Dearlove and "witness accounts indicate that a man approached the group and then struck Oliver".
Det Ch Insp Lee Watling has appealed for any witnesses who were in Blackheath to come forward.
"Oliver's family, his girlfriend and friends have been left devastated by his death and deserve to know what happened to him," he said.
Comedian Rob Beckett tweeted that Mr Dearlove was his best friend growing up and urged anyone with information to contact police.
A post-mortem examination gave a provisional cause of death as intracranial haemorrhage (bleeding within the skull), the Met said.


An inquiry into child sex abuse claims involving ex-Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath is exploring a "significant number" of lines, police say.

Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Mike Veale has defended Operation Conifer, insisting it is not a "fishing trip or witch-hunt".
He said officers had received "allegations spanning a significant number of individuals".
It emerged last month that two people had been arrested and bailed.
Former Conservative prime minister Sir Edward died at his home in Salisbury in July 2005, aged 89.
In an open letter, Mr Veale said he would not be "buckling under pressure to not investigate or to conclude the investigation prematurely".
He said he wanted to "set the record straight" amid press reports the inquiry was floundering.
The chief constable described Sir Edward as an "extremely prominent, influential and high profile person".
"The decision to undertake this incredibly complex and challenging investigation was not taken lightly particularly knowing, or at least expecting, that we would be placed under intense scrutiny," he said.
Mr Veale also confirmed reports that satanic ritual sex abuse was a feature of the investigation, although he said it was a small part and did not relate to Sir Edward.
He added that it was "important to ask the question, if the force had received allegations of non-recent child abuse against a former prime minister and done nothing, what would the reaction have been?
"Within the national context of the independent inquiry of exploring allegations of institutional failures in the past, Wiltshire Police was duty bound to record these allegations and launch an impartial and thorough investigation."
Operation Conifer began in 2015 after claims against Sir Edward were raised in an inquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Information from a retired officer had sparked concerns that Wiltshire Police had deliberately caused a criminal prosecution against a suspected brothel keeper to fail in 1994.
Earlier this year the IPCC said it had found no evidence that the case was dropped because the woman threatened to make allegations against Sir Edward.
But Wiltshire Police has said Operation Conifer is also investigating a number of separate allegations made by persons who came forward. It said the inquiry additionally aims to safeguard children and vulnerable adults who may be at risk of abuse today.
The Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation has said it is confident the former prime minister will be cleared of any wrongdoing.


US retail giant Walmart has rejected that it is deliberately stalling a legal action related to a car crash which injured comedian Tracy Morgan.

Morgan's attorneys have accused the retailer of using the truck driver at the centre of the accident to block a resolution to the 30 Rock star's case.
The driver, Kevin Roper, is trying to put Morgan's legal action on hold while he faces separate criminal charges.
Mr Roper was at the wheel of a Walmart truck that crashed into Morgan's bus.
Comedian James McNair died in the crash on the New Jersey Turnpike last June, while Morgan suffered a traumatic brain injury and broken bones.
Mr Roper, who is not named in Morgan's action, has been charged with death by vehicle and four counts of assault by vehicle.
Last month he filed a request to delay the comedian's federal lawsuit while his criminal case proceeds in New Jersey's state court.
Walmart said the accusation that it was "somehow behind Mr Roper's motion in an attempt to delay discovery is simply false".
Its statement followed claims from Morgan's legal team that Walmart was "attempting to gain an unfair advantage" and using Mr Roper's request as "a ploy to further delay this trial".
Morgan's legal team has accused Walmart of being "careless and negligent" in requiring Mr Roper to drive while fatigued.
Walmart have contended that Morgan's injuries and McNair's death were partly their own fault because they were not wearing seatbelts.


French centre-right presidential candidate Francois Fillon has lashed out at his critics amid an investigation into payments he allegedly made to his wife.

Investigators are looking into whether he paid large sums to his wife Penelope for "fake jobs".
Mr Fillon, who denies any wrongdoing, said the accusations were intended "to destroy" him and the Right.
The ex-PM is facing mounting pressure to quit the presidential race.
Prosecutors on Thursday widened the investigation to include payments allegedly made to two of his children.
A French TV channel also screened extracts from an interview with his Welsh-born wife in 2007 in which she told British media that she had never worked as his assistant.
"It's not justice they are seeking, it's to destroy me," he told a political rally in Charleville-Mezieres, in Ardennes in northern France.
"And beyond me, to destroy the Right and its vote," he added.
Penelope Fillon has been accused by satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine of being paid hundreds of thousands of euros for work she may not have done.
The couple have said she was legitimately employed as his parliamentary aide, and her lawyer, Pierre Cornut-Gentille, said she handed over evidence of the work she did.
But on Thursday evening, France Televisions aired an old interview with his wife in 2007 - when Mr Fillon was prime minister - in which she said she had never worked as his assistant.
His lawyer, Antonin Levy, told L'Express newspaper that the remarks had been "taken out of context."
Now, investigators are also expected to look into payments of more than â‚¬80,000 (Â£69,000; $86,000) made to Marie and Charles Fillon, when their father was a senator between 2005 and 2007.
Mr Fillon said his children were paid as lawyers, for specific tasks. But neither was a qualified lawyer at the time. According to Le Canard Enchaine, they drew pay cheques not for assignments, but for two full-time jobs.
Mr Fillon said he would fight the accusations "to the end".
Republican MP Philippe Gosselin said an open letter was being drawn up by some members calling for him to be replaced by his 71-year-old rival Alain Juppe if he decides to stand aside.
Republican lawmakers who support Mr Fillon published their own letter in the Le Figaro newspaper, denouncing what they called an "attempt to kill" his candidacy. The 17 names included stalwarts such as former finance minister Francois Baroin.
Until recently, Mr Fillon was the favourite to win the presidency in elections in April and May. He has now slipped behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron, being defeated in the first round, a poll suggested on Wednesday.
The poll showed Mr Macron easily defeating Ms Le Pen in the run-off.
Support for Mr Fillon is eroding among his own party.
Mr Juppe, who lost to Mr Fillon in the Republican primary race, says he is not a "Plan B", even though his supporters may have other ideas.
According to the lawyer in charge of the centre-right primary, Anne Levade, there is no provision for anyone pulling out. But if it did happen the interested parties would have to make a decision on how to proceed.


The UN mediator in the Syrian conflict, Staffan de Mistura, has told the BBC he believes there is a fresh opportunity to resolve the country's crisis.

He said truce measures may be favourable to moderate rebels and government forces as they face a common threat from Islamic State militants.
The UN has called for "freeze zones" to halt fighting and improve aid.
More than 200,000 people have died in Syria's increasingly fragmented civil war, now in its fourth year.
Rebel groups, including jihadists from Islamic State (IS) and the al-Qaeda-aligned Nusra Front, have been fighting among themselves, as well as against forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
Syria's conflict has broadened this year, with a US-led coalition now carrying out air strikes against IS fighters and positions.
At the scene: Lyse Doucet, BBC News, Homs
The job of Syria's UN envoy has long been called "mission impossible." The task was to be available, with a plan, if and when all sides were ready to listen.
On a visit to Aleppo this week, some observers told us some warring parties might now be willing to consider a way out of this crisis. But Syrian troops are now encircling the last rebel-held areas of eastern Aleppo to cut off supply lines. It is a siege tactic used time and again in this war.
There is infighting among rebel forces. Mr de Mistura boldly chose this "iconic" city for the first "freeze" to send a strong political message to fighters and a message of hope to Syrians.
President Assad's initial response is unusually positive. But all sides will only agree to a "freeze" if they're prepared to accept a status quo, however temporary. And for the government, that means a plan that consolidates their hold.
Separately on Tuesday, the UN refugee agency said it was short of the $58.5m needed to prepare millions of Syrian refugees for the onset of winter.
"I wish that we could keep everybody warm," the UNHCR's Amin Awad told reporters, adding that 11 young children froze to death last winter.
Temperatures can drop as low as minus 16C (3.2F) in some parts of Syria and Iraq.
Speaking to the BBC's Lyse Doucet in the war-torn Syrian city of Homs, Mr de Mistura said the rise of IS was "a new factor which can turn into the possibility of looking at this conflict in a different way".
Mr de Mistura said that rival sides, namely the moderate rebels and government forces, were starting to question why they were engaged in a conflict that was being taken advantage of by IS and Nusra Front jihadists.
The UN plans call on all sides to de-escalate the violence through local truces to allow for the movement of humanitarian aid.
"Saying having a peace plan would be ambitious and delusionary," Mr de Mistura told the BBC. "But I do have an action plan, and the action plan starts from the ground - stop the fighting, reduce the violence.
He said that first it was necessary to organise a freeze on fighting, then provide more humanitarian aid and then encourage local political dialogue.
Regional media round-up
Papers in the region appear unimpressed by Mr de Mistura's "action plan". Some feel his proposal to freeze fighting in Aleppo aims to cover failures of policy on Syria.
Commentator Nasir Munzir, writing in Syria's state-run al-Thawra, condemns the move, saying it was offered "amid continuous US and Western confusion and failure... to bring down the Syrian state". He writes: "The move could be a cover for US attempts to find a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis after its terrorist methods failed."
In an article in the Lebanese liberal daily An-Nahar, Ali Bardi describes the proposal as "ironic", wondering: "Has the international community's aim of changing the Syrian regime become something of the past?"
Saleh al-Qallab, in the Jordanian pro-government daily al-Ra'y, believes the proposal is a "desperate attempt that is doomed to fail".
Earlier, Mr Assad said his government was considering a UN truce plan for Aleppo, which is split into rebel and government-controlled areas.
Mr de Mistura discussed the plans with Mr Assad in Damascus on Monday, during the envoy's second visit to the country since his appointment in July.
Local ceasefires have had some effect in other areas of Syria.
Mr Assad was quoted by state news agency Sana as saying that he "considered the de Mistura initiative worth studying".
Aleppo has seen heavy fighting since July 2012. For the past year it has witnessed almost daily government air force raids, with many civilian casualties.
Map sources: areas of control and border crossings from the Syria Needs Analysis Project; all other geographical detail from humanitarian organisations and Google. Full map.


Pop star Taylor Swift has won a sexual assault case against ex-radio DJ David Mueller, who she said had groped her at a 2013 concert.

He assaulted her by grabbing her bottom beneath her skirt as a photo was taken, a jury in Denver, Colorado, found.
She was awarded a symbolic $1 (77p) in damages that she had sought.
Mr Mueller had originally tried to sue the pop star, saying that her claims had cost him his job. But that lawsuit was thrown out by a judge last week.
On Monday, the jury also rejected similar claims Mueller had made against the singer's mother, Andrea Swift, and her radio liaison, Frank Bell.
In a statement following the verdict, Ms Swift said: "I acknowledge the privilege that I benefit from in life, in society and in my ability to shoulder the enormous cost of defending myself in a trial like this.
"My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard. Therefore, I will be making donations in the near future to multiple organizations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves."
The assault took place during a Denver stopover on the singer's Red tour.
Mr Mueller, then a host on the radio station KYGO, had been invited to meet her before the show.
The singer complained to KYGO and the station fired Mr Mueller two days later.
Last Friday, Ms Swift's former bodyguard gave evidence, supporting her sex assault claims by testifying that he saw the DJ reach under her skirt.
Greg Dent told the Colorado court he "did not see his hand touch her physically", but "saw his hand under her skirt".
Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning


Three police staff have been cleared of killing a man in custody.

Thomas Orchard, 32, who had schizophrenia, died in hospital a week after he suffered a cardiac arrest in an Exeter police cell in 2012.
Sgt Jan Kingshott, 45, and detention officers Simon Tansley, 39, and Michael Marsden, 56, denied gross negligence manslaughter.
A jury cleared all three men of the charges following a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
The court previously heard how Mr Orchard suffered a relapse of his mental illness and was arrested in Sidwell Street, Exeter, on 3 October 2012 on suspicion of a public order offence.
He was arrested shortly after 11:00 BST and less than 45 minutes later he was found unconscious at Heavitree Road Police Station.
He died seven days later in hospital.
Mr Orchard had not taken his medication for seven days and told a mental health professional he believed he was a vampire and should stay inside during the day.
Following his arrest he was fully mechanically restrained - with handcuffs and straps around his legs - before being placed in a small police van.
He was driven to the 20-cell Heavitree Road custody unit, where Sgt Kingshott, Mr Tansley and Mr Marsden were on duty.
His legs were in straps for more than four minutes and an emergency response belt was placed around his head for five minutes, the court was told.
Mr Orchard - who appeared to attempt to bite an officer as he was taken through a door into the holding area of the custody suite - was held down while restrained at three points and controlled by three officers, with four others nearby.
A risk assessment of emergency response belts by the force did not identify or refer to any risks to detainees when it was used around the head.
In a statement, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said subsequent disciplinary proceedings are currently under consideration for the police officers and staff involved in the case.
The IPCC also says it is continuing to examine Devon and Cornwall Police's corporate decision-making around the emergency restraint belt.
Responding to the verdict, Thomas' family said they wanted his "needless death" to bring about change.
"The change we want most is in the attitude of the police, particularly towards those with mental health vulnerabilities," the family said in a statement.
Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said there are further consideration remaining  by the IPCC.
"Additionally, there will be further investigation by them and the Health and Safety Executive into corporate matters, with which the force has co-operated," Ch Con Sawyer said.


Ellie Downie has made history at the European Championships.

She became the first British gymnast to win all-around gold at a major international championship on Friday.
Congrats, Ellie, who's won a total of four medals at the competition in Romania.
Here are 10 things you might not know about the 17-year-old superstar...
Her first big success was at the 2012 School Games where she won six gold medals.
A year later, when she was 15 (and already pretty busy with GCSEs), Ellie took bronze at the European Championships in France.
It made her the first female gymnast ever to win an individual all-around medal for Great Britain.
She finished 13th in the all-around final.
...instead of in their boxes. It's so that she can see them all the time!
She's not brilliant at everything! She's said that she's really bad at swimming, and uses a floatie.
Her big sister Becky is another Olympian and European champion in the uneven bars.
Ellie used to watch Becky training. When she was eight, she watched Becky competing in the Beijing Olympics, so it's no wonder she was inspired to do the same!
In a typical day, she does two sessions, each 2-3 hours long.
She's taken time out of education so that she can fully concentrate on gymnastics.
Even though Ellie is seven years younger than Becky, Ellie sometimes gets mistaken for the older sister because she's taller!


Hurling shares elements with lacrosse, hockey, baseball and football.

A 15-a-side game invented and popularised in Ireland, hurling sees players use a wooden stick called a hurley to move a small ball, or sliotar, around the field.
You can catch the ball in your hand or scoop it up off the floor with your stick, and hit the ball with either the stick or your hand. You can also use the stick to block others.
To score, hit the ball between the opponents' goalposts - over the crossbar gets you one point, and into the net below the crossbar scores three.
Hurling prides itself on the fast pace of its action, so you will certainly burn calories, but the sport also rewards dexterity.
One of the skills, for example, is balancing the ball on the stick while running, and you will also develop good hand-eye coordination.
Ireland's Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is the governing body for hurling. The GAA website website offers video guides to the game as well as places to play and contact details.
The Provincial Council of Britain GAA looks after hurling in England, Scotland and Wales and has details of clubs and events.
The GAA claims hurling was already a feature of Gaelic culture in Ireland as the last Ice Age was receding, with references to the game extending back thousands of years.
In the 19th Century the Irish Hurling Union and, later, the GAA produced the first sets of formalised rules.
Hurling has had only one, brief flirtation with Olympic status. At the 1904 St Louis Games, hurling was featured as a demonstration sport alongside basketball and baseball, both of which would later earn berths on the full Olympic programme.
Are you inspired to try Hurling? Or maybe you are a keen enthusiast already? Get in touch and tell us your experience of the activity by tweeting us on @bbcgetinspired or email us on getinspired@bbc.co.uk.
See our full list of activity guides for more inspiration.


Three senior Scotland Yard officers have been cleared over their handling of allegations at the centre of an investigation into VIP paedophile claims, the police watchdog has said.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission said Operation Midland was "extensive and carried out diligently".
There was no evidence to indicate "bad faith, malice or dishonesty" by the officers, the watchdog said.
The much-criticised operation closed last March without a single arrest.
Of five officers referred to the Commission, three were cleared of causing "prolonged and undue stress" to those being investigated.
One of the three - an unnamed detective chief inspector - is being investigated over an alleged failure to present relevant information to a judge when applying for a search warrant.
Former MP Harvey Proctor, who was among those cleared of being part of an alleged Westminster abuse ring, said the "bungled and disastrous" police operation had ruined his life and left him destitute.
He said he believed no police officer would ever be held responsible for it, and accused the IPCC of conducting a "whitewash".
The Â£2.5m Met investigation was launched in 2014 after a man known as "Nick" claimed that boys had been sexually abused and even murdered by a group of powerful men from politics, the military and law enforcement agencies.
The abuse was said to have been carried out at locations across southern England and London in the 1970s and 1980s.
Retired judge Sir Richard Henriques reviewed the investigation and identified 43 serious failings in his report, including that "Nick" had been believed for too long and that search warrants had been applied for with flawed information.
Former Met Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe apologised to those affected by the inquiry, including Mr Proctor, former military chief Lord Bramall, and the wife of the late Lord Brittan, a former home secretary.
The force referred five officers to the IPCC.
The IPCC has now cleared three of them - Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Rodhouse, Detective Superintendant Kenny McDonald and an unnamed detective chief inspector - of causing prolonged and undue stress to those under suspicion by failing to properly investigate "Nick's" claims.
Mr McDonald had, at one stage, publicly described "Nick's" allegations as "credible and true".
In a statement, the IPCC said: "There is no evidence to indicate bad faith, malice or dishonesty and no indication any of the officers may have behaved in a manner which would justify disciplinary proceedings.
"The information available indicates the investigation was extensive and carried out diligently with the majority of the decisions made appropriately recorded."
But the watchdog said there was an indication that the DCI and two other detectives may have failed to accurately present all relevant information to a district judge when applying for search warrants for three properties.
The searches - in March 2015 - resulted in those under suspicion being named in the media.
The IPCC said it was discontinuing its investigation into allegations of irregularities in the seizure of exhibits during the searches.
There will also be no further investigation of Mr Rodhouse for his conduct in relation to a separate inquiry involving Lord Brittan.
IPCC commissioner Carl Gumsley said: "The allegation that incomplete information may have been provided to a district judge when applying for search warrants is serious and the IPCC will thoroughly investigate this matter."