Israel has revoked the residency rights of the widow of one of the two Palestinian men who killed five people at a synagogue in Jerusalem last week.

Interior Minister Gilad Erdan said those involved in such an attack had to realise that there were likely to be repercussions for their families.
A human rights group condemned the move, saying Mr Erdan was inflicting a form of collective punishment.
The attack came at a time of rising political tensions in Jerusalem.
The two Palestinians, who were shot dead at the Kehilat Bnai Torah synagogue after killing four rabbis and a police officer, were cousins from occupied Arab East Jerusalem.
Uday and Ghassan Abu Jamal were therefore entitled under Israeli government regulations to residency rights, although not to citizenship, says the BBC's Kevin Connolly.
The right to apply for citizenship exists but is rarely exercised and rarely granted.
Under what is known as a "family reunification" rule, Palestinians elsewhere can apply for the right to live with a husband or wife in East Jerusalem once they are married.
That is the right that Israel said it was revoking in the case of Nadia Abu Jamal, who is believed to have been married to Ghassan Abu Jamal.
In a statement, Mr Erdan said: "Anyone who is involved in terror has to take into account that there will be consequences for their family members too."
Our correspondent says Israel has used the same argument to reintroduce the practice of blowing up the houses of Palestinians linked to other recent killings.
The Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem, said Mrs Abu Jamal was being banished from her home.
"We object to this measure. It's abuse of a minister's authority and a form of collective punishment," spokeswoman Sarit Michaeli told the AFP news agency.
"Residency and social benefits... aren't gifts or favours the authorities bestow and can then take away. They're essential aspects of people's existence," she added.
On Sunday, Israel revoked the residency rights of a Palestinian man convicted of driving a suicide bomber to a nightclub in Tel Aviv in 2001, where he killed 21 people.
Mahmoud Nadi had served a 10-year prison sentence for his role in the attack.


A motorcyclist who died after he crashed with a van and a car in York has been named as David Hart.

Mr Hart, 40, from Bishopthorpe, York, suffered fatal injuries when the vehicles collided on the B1224 at Rufforth at about 13:00 GMT on Monday.
The drivers of the van and car were taken to hospital for treatment suffering from shock.
Mr Hart had been riding a Ducati 900M bike. A post mortem examination found he died from a head injury.


Y gantores Alys Williams sy'n Ateb y Galw yr wythnos hon, wedi iddi gael ei henwebu gan Catrin Mara yr wythnos diwethaf.

Coginio sgons i fy nhad pan o'n i tua tair oed. O'n i'n gwneud nhw bob dydd bron, ac o'n i yn taflu bob dim mewn powlen . Odd o'n gorfod smalio bod o'n licio nhw ac odd o'n rhoi nhw yn ei focs bwyd ar gyfer gwaith. Nath o ddeud tha fi blynyddoedd wedyn bo nhw'n afiach.
Ofnadwy o embarrassing i ddweud, ond Peter Andre. Hefyd Morgan o'dd yn fy nosbarth i yn yr ysgol - dwi dal yn ffrindia' efo fo.
O'n i allan efo criw o ffrindia, ac rywsut nes i ffeindio'n hun mewn dance-off efo'r hogyn 'ma o'n i'n nabod. Oddo'n fy nghuro i, ac oedd 'na gylch rownd a ni yn gweiddi. O'n i ddim yn meddwl be o'n i'n neud, ond o'n i isho curo fo yn y dawnsio.
Felly 'nes i neidio fyny yn yr awyr a gwneud y splits! Do'n i heb wneud y splits ers oni tua 9 oed, ac o'n i'n gorfod mynd yn syth i'r 'sbyty. Nes i rili brifo a rhwygo cyhur yn fy nghoes, ond nes i ennill y dance off!
Neithiwr. Roedd Rhys Meirion yn ffilmio yma, mi ddaeth y criw draw ata i am bryd o fwyd. 'Nath Rhys ganu Myfanwy i fi, a honno oedd hoff gân fy nhaid.
Dwi mor amhendant, yn cymryd oesodd i 'neud penderfyniad. Weithia nai newid be dwi'n wisgo deg o weithiau cyn gig ac dwi'n cal job gwneud penderfyniad ar le i fynd allan am fwyd neu unrhywbeth fel 'na.
Dwi'n meddwl Ynys Llanddwyn. Mae o mor hyfryd yna, golygfeydd arbennig yno a dwi'n mwynhau mynd yno i gerdded.
Mae 'na amryw o nosweithiau mewn gwahanol ffyrdd- a dyma fi'n bod yn amhendant eto. Yn amlwg roedd pan ges i fy efeilliad, oedd hynny'n arbennig iawn. Hefyd nosweithiau efo teulu a ffrindiau, neu rhyw barti plu efo fy ffrindiau goaru i i gyd efo'i gilydd, mae nhw yn arbennig am resymau gwahanol.
Noson arall a oedd yn briliant oedd sesh ges i yn Llundain efo Tom Jones, mae o'n ddyn lyfli ac mi roedd hynny yn lot o hwyl.
Siaradus, cariadus ac amhendant.
Dwi'n meddwl, am resymau nostalgic, 'Un nos ola leuad'.  Mae'r nofel hefyd wedi cael ei leoli ym Mhethesda sydd yn agos i'r ardal dwi'n dod.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Roedd hi'n canu'r blues ac fe 'nath hi ddechrau arddull newydd o chwarae'r gitâr a ddylanwadodd ar fobl fel Chuck Berry. Roedd hi'n ddynes anhygoel ac o flaen ei hamser, a dwi ddim yn meddwl y cafodd hi ddigon o glôd am beth wnaeth hi gyflawni.
Whiplash, ac o'n i'n meddwl fod o reit dda.
Coginio bwyd i fy nheulu a ffrindiau i gyd ac yna cael parti. Dwi'n hoffi cwcio i lot o bobl- mae hynny'n un o fy hoff bethau i wneud.
Mae'n dibynnu ar ba mood dwi ynddo fo ar y pryd, felly bydd rhaid mi roi mwy nag un. Les Indispensables gan Bill Withers, Clandestino gan Manu Chao, a'r albwm Tres Tres Fort gan Staff Benda Bilili.
Eto, ma'n dibynu sut hwyliau sy arnai ar y pryd.
Byswn i'n dweud rhywbeth eitha syml efo madarch a garlleg i ddechrau. Dwi'n hoffi bwyd reit rich felly ella cyri neud bwyd Mecsicanaidd. I bwdin dwi'n meddwl fyswn i'n dewis cheescake fegan dwi'n ei wneud.
Dyn cyffredin am y diwrnod, i weld sut beth ydi o i fod gyda corff ac ymenydd dyn.
Osian Williams


Oldham Athletic have confirmed that they have had their transfer embargo lifted and can now sign players again.

The League One team had the embargo placed on them in November because of a £300,000 bill from HM Revenue & Customs and fees owed to other clubs.
The Latics won their first league game since 18 October on Saturday as they beat Gillingham 1-0 in boss John Sheridan's first game since returning.
Sheridan replaced Stephen Robinson, who was sacked after six months in charge.
"We'll have three or possibly four players in next week," Sheridan, 52, told BBC Radio Manchester after beating Gillingham..
"We need them and they can only add to what we've got and make us stronger."


Some university students receive so little tuition they pay the equivalent of £1,000 an hour for contact with academic staff, researchers say.

On average, economics undergraduates receive the equivalent of just 26 hours of one-to-one teaching over a three-year course, research published by the journal Fiscal Studies suggests.
Physics students receive almost three times as much for the same fees.
"It seems a bit bizarre," report author Dr Mike Peacey told the BBC.
"It certainly seems like humanities students are subsidising Stem [science, technology, engineering and maths] students," said Dr Peacey, an economics lecturer at the New College of the Humanities, in London.
"Really, students are paying a kind of university tax rather than tuition fees.
"Maybe that's what you want, but we should be a bit more upfront and honest about this."
10 charts that show the effect of tuition fees
Leading universities rated 'bronze'
Many English universities now charge UK and EU students the maximum, £9,250 for the vast majority of undergraduate courses.
Using Freedom of Information law, researchers from Bristol University and the New College of the Humanities obtained data from 67 UK universities.
To compare teaching received, for example, by history students in small group tutorials with that received by physics students in a mixture of lectures, seminars and laboratories, they then came up with a measure - total equivalent adjusted contact hours (Teach) - to convert teaching time and class size into the equivalent number of hours of one-to-one contact.
They found that on average over three years:
There were also wide variations within subjects. For example, economics students at the top 10% of universities received almost five times as much teaching as those in the lowest 10%.
"How much students must pay in tuition fees makes no difference to how much teaching they receive," the report says.
"Clearly, some students are receiving much better value for money than others.
"For a market to function properly, participants must be able to compare what is offered by different providers."
The authors suggest their Teach measure could inform the government's new Teaching Excellence Framework, which assesses teaching quality at UK universities by subject.
Students studying Stem subjects have always had more contact hours, they add, and increasing the amount of teaching "may not be beneficial for all students - for example, if the cost of extra contact is lower teacher quality".
"Even when quality is held constant, some students may be better off working on their own."
Dr Peacey said: "Lots of people have suspected that there are cross-subsidies between subjects.
"If physics students are receiving much more tuition than history students, it could be that both are paying more than the tuition costs but the physics students are being less ripped off than the history students.
"I think if this measure got taken up and universities were asked to provide this information to students, it might be that different universities might offer differential rates for tuition.
"Maybe universities offering more contact time would charge more in fees."


You call the police in your moment of need and they don't turn up until it's too late.

But while you may want to drag them through the courts, your chances of winning - for now - are probably nil.
That's the result of an important Supreme Court judgement which has underlined the long-standing legal principle that police cannot be sued for negligence because they have a special position in public service and under the law.
If a barrister bungles your case, you can sue. If a firefighter turns off a building's sprinklers amid an inferno, you might have a case for damages.
But you can't take on the police in the same way - which is just what the family of Joanna Michael have tried and failed to do.
Ms Michael was 25 when she was murdered by her former boyfriend in her home in St Mellons, Cardiff.
In August 2009, Cyron Williams broke into her home after learning she had a new man in her life. Williams bit her ear, threatened to kill her and took the other man into his car.
She dialled 999 from her mobile - but her call went through to the wrong control room - Gwent rather than South Wales Police.
She said Williams had threatened to kill her - but by the time patrolling officers from South Wales Police were on the case, the call had been downgraded, giving them an hour to get to the scene.
Around 15 minutes later, Joanna Michael was dead. When Williams returned to her home, she made a second 999 call. Gwent's control room heard her screams. Williams stabbed the mother-of-two to death and he is now serving a life sentence for murder.
Since then, the two police forces have apologised for their mistakes - but they can't be sued for negligence damages which could go towards supporting Ms Michael's children.
And it all comes down to a long-standing legal shield that was created for the police in the wake of allegations of blunders and bungling by detectives on the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.
The last woman to be killed by Peter Sutcliffe before his 1981 arrest was Jacqueline Hill, a student at Leeds University.
Her mother sued West Yorkshire Police, arguing that her daughter would have still been alive if the investigation had followed up the existing clues leading to the serial killer.
But in a 1988 ruling, the Law Lords said that the police could not be held liable because the public interest lay in protecting the police from negligence claims.
Why? Because, quite simply, they wouldn't be able to police properly if they were constantly looking over their shoulder waiting for the next writ to be thrown at them.
Chief constables would shift all of their resources into tactics designed to avoid ending up in court, rather than trying the best for the whole of the community.
The principle that the police owe no duty of care to specific people remained largely untouched until 1998, when the European Court of Human Rights intervened in a case called Osman.
An obsessive teacher had stalked his former pupil, Ahmet Osman, and eventually killed his father, Ali.
The family argued successfully that the Metropolitan Police had breached Mr Osman's right to life because the force had all the information it could ever have needed to deal with the threat.
That ruling had a profound impact on the police. Chiefs have since developed a complex methodology for assessing risks. They even send formal letters known as "Osman warnings" to people who they suspect may face a risk to their life. Here's a model Osman letter.
Stephen Lennon, the former leader of the English Defence League, is one such recent recipient.
But the law around Osman only goes so far - and Wednesday's Supreme Court judgement underlines that.
In the lead judgement, Lord Toulson said the law is clear that the only person who is to blame for harm is the person who caused it.
He ruled that even if the police could be reasonably aware of a threat to life, that does not mean they have an immediate duty of care to that specific individual which overrides everything else they must do.
Does the door remain open for another challenge? Two of the seven Supreme Court judges ruled in the family's favour. Lord Kerr and Lady Hale said that if any case crossed a high bar for suing the police for negligence, then it would be the death of Joanna Michael.
That means that in the past decade three of our most senior judges - the other being the late Lord Bingham - have argued that the police should, sometimes, face the music. So the pendulum may be on the turn towards making the police liable.
Nicholas Bowen QC, represented the family in the challenge. He said: "There is now a fundamental disagreement at the highest level as to whether it is in the public interest for the police to retain their long standing protection from legal liability when they know of an imminent threat to a particular individual and have the means to protect them but unreasonably fail to safeguard someone from the risk of serious harm or death.
"As the two dissenting [Supreme Court] justices found, it does seem anomalous and arbitrary to find that if the call handler uses positive language and expressly promises a prompt attendance there is liability - but if it is implicit in the interchange but not spelt out that the police are coming rapidly, there is no remedy.
"We will consider taking the case to Strasbourg and feel strongly that the correct approach is in Lord Kerr and Lady Hale's powerful dissenting judgments."
There has however been a legal victory of sorts for Joanna Michael's family. The Supreme Court says they can still sue under human rights law for a breach of a right to life. That won't lead to a great deal of compensation - that's not how the system works. Refuge, the campaign group against domestic abuse, also hopes this secondary victory will give hope to other bereaved families.
But for now, Strasbourg or not, anyone else who thinks the police must pay for letting them down should know this: finding the police liable for negligence is the legal line that still can't be crossed.


England were stunned on the opening day of the Women's World Cup, losing by 35 runs to India in Derby.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Openers Smriti Mandhana (90) and Punam Raut (86) took advantage of some poor England bowling, before Mithali Raj (71) lifted India to 281-3.
England stumbled to 67-3 in reply and though Fran Wilson made 81, she was run out brilliantly by Ekta Bisht and the hosts were bowled out for 246.
England next play on Tuesday, against Pakistan in Leicester.
That will represent a good opportunity to register a first victory, in an eight-team tournament where each side play each other before the semi-finals.
However, an England defeat in that game, or the matches against Sri Lanka and South Africa that follow, would be a huge setback, with sterner tests against Australia, New Zealand and West Indies to follow.
The Kiwis began their campaign with a routine nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka.
Media playback is not supported on this device
On this evidence, England will have to improve if they are to end a global trophy drought that dates back to 2009.
They came unstuck against an inspired India side who are two places below them in the world rankings, in fourth, but showed more intent with the bat, more discipline with the ball and some electricity in the field.
On an overcast morning, England looked to have gained an advantage by bowling first, but Mandhana and Raut, who was dropped three times, seized the initiative.
England struggled with the bat as India took pace off the ball, playing ineffective sweeps until the hitting of Wilson and Katherine Brunt provided belated hope.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Elegant left-hander Mandhana set the tone for India's brilliant day, scoring freely off the back foot as Brunt bowled too short with the new ball.
Right-hander Raut favoured the front foot and survived what was a tough chance for Nat Sciver when on 20, a skier to Tammy Beaumont on 21 and a straightforward opportunity for Anya Shrubsole on 77.
The openers ran well in a stand of 144 that was only ended when Mandhana hit Heather Knight's off-spin to mid-wicket.
Classy captain Raj arrived to share 78 for the second wicket with Raut, who eventually holed out on the leg-side boundary off Danielle Hazell.
It was the spinners who gave England more control, but when Harmanpreet Kaur arrived, both she and Raj used their feet to add 52 from the final seven overs.
Wilson, in only her seventh one-day international, may not have been playing but for Lauren Winfield being ruled out with a wrist injury.
She joined Knight to rebuild after the England top order failed - among them Sarah Taylor, returning to an international cricket after a year away with an anxiety-related issue, who made 22.
It was Knight who first raised the tempo, hitting two straight sixes before attempting a run to bowler Kaur and failing to beat the direct hit.
When Wilson was joined by Brunt, they continued to show more willingness to hit the ball, building a stand of 62 in only seven overs.
Sixty-eight runs were needed from the final nine overs, but Brunt was run out by Deepti Sharma's direct hit from point, then Wilson fell to bowler Bisht's incredible flick back on to the non-striker's stumps and the game was up.
Media playback is not supported on this device
England captain Heather Knight: "It's not the way we wanted to start, but Pakistan started in a similar way in the Champions Trophy and they did pretty well.
"We didn't start well with the ball, we didn't get our lengths right and they punished us. I don't think it's anything to do with freezing. We didn't bowl the way we wanted to and India put the pressure on us."
India captain Mithali Raj: "It was a brilliant partnership between our openers. I realised the wicket isn't much of an assistance to the bowlers so I knew it would be challenging for England."
Ex-England captain Charlotte Edwards on Test Match Special: "We all wanted India to come to the party - and they set the tone right from the first over, showing they mean business.
"After a disappointing 2013 World Cup at home, they've backed themselves and played with confidence, and Mithali Raj has clearly done her homework on England."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Meanwhile, New Zealand thrashed Sri Lanka by nine wickets in Bristol in the other opening game.
Sri Lanka collapsed from 141-1 to 188-9 after seamer Holly Huddleston took 5-35.
The White Ferns then took charge as captain Suzie Bates (106 not out) and Amy Satterthwaite (78 not out) shared an unbroken second-wicket stand of 170 as eight Sri Lanka bowlers failed to separate them.
Bates, top scorer at the 2013 World Cup, is the early leader for 2017 - and earlier, she had also used eight bowlers after Sri Lanka started well.
After the top three players - Nipuni Hansika (31), Chamari Polgampola (49) and Chamari Atapattu (53) - departed, only one Sri Lankan made double figures as Huddleston ripped through the tail.


The English Football Association plans to put together a British women's team for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

Great Britain did not field a team in Rio last summer because the four home nation football associations could not come to an agreement.
But FA chief executive Martin Glenn says talks have taken place about entering a team in three years' time.
"They're not going to actively support us, but they're not going to stand in the way," he told BBC Sport.
"We've worked really hard with the other home nations to get them behind the idea that a British team would be good for football both in England but also in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
"We were very disappointed that for the Brazil Olympics we couldn't put in a British team because, for women's football, Olympic tournaments are disproportionately important compared to men's football."
England's FA had put forward the idea of sending Great Britain teams to the 2016 Olympics, but Fifa said it would need the agreement of all the ruling bodies.
Stewart Regan, the Scottish FA's chief executive, was among those to voice concerns that a Great Britain team could impact the home nations at future international tournaments such as World Cups.
A spokesman for the Scottish FA told BBC Sport: "Our position remains that the Scottish FA does not support the playing of Olympic football under the Team GB banner, preferring all organised international football involving Scottish players to be played in the name of Scotland."
In April, chief executive of the Football Association of Wales, Jonathan Ford, said he could now see the "merits" of a GB women's football team.
In a statement to BBC Sport, the Irish Football Association said it "would not be in favour of sending players to a GB Olympic team. This is to protect our independent status within Fifa."
England's women, led by Mark Sampson, won a bronze medal at the 2015 World Cup and earlier this month reached the semi-finals of Euro 2017.
Glenn says the strength in depth through the nations could be key to further success.
"We would want to pick from the best of British talent and there's a number from nations outside of England and we know that would be good for the game."
Team GB entered men's and women's sides at London 2012, organised by the English FA.
Stuart Pearce took charge of the men and Hope Powell coached the women, with both teams being knocked out in the quarter-finals.
Scotland midfielder Kim Little, who represented Great Britain at London 2012
I am Scottish and British and am proud to represent either.
It is a great opportunity for individual players and women's football in general. It is a great platform to raise the game and London 2012 certainly did that. It was a great shame not to have a team at Rio. To show backing for a team at 2020 is great for the women's game in general.
I was grateful and proud to be one of two Scots in the team at London. I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences I have had as a professional footballer. For the other three nations it provides an incentive for players, another platform to perform on at a major tournament.
Since 2012 Olympics, the England team went to the World Cup and were the best European team and they did well at the recent European Championship. I think getting together a GB team with other players from the home nations added to the England team, then whatever team comes together will have a real chance of doing something great.
I love playing football, so to be able to do that as a Team GB athlete and a Scottish athlete, I would be more than happy to do that.


The body of a British man who died in Barcelona was found in a stream after leaving his friends on a night out, an inquest has heard.

Sam Alger, 25, originally from Norfolk, died after a night out in June.
He was last seen outside the Spanish city's Elrow club before his body was found on farmland the next day.
An inquest heard there was no indication drugs he had taken caused his death. The coroner recorded a narrative verdict.
For more on this story and other news from Norfolk
The inquest at Norwich Coroner's Court heard how he had been on a night out with his brother and friends.
His friend, Daniel Sale, said in a written statement they had spent the day at the Elrow festival and Mr Alger had been "fun-loving and happy".
At about 20:00, Mr Sale said, Mr Alger insisted on leaving on his own and, when he saw he was being followed by two friends "decided to run".
Post-mortem examinations found traces of ketamine and other drugs in his body "consistent with recreational use", the court heard.
In a statement, Spanish police said: "During the day of the party, he took a pill, a drug he had bought... he got nervous as if he was crazy."
However, the precise cause of Mr Alger's death was "unascertained", the inquest heard.
Assistant Norfolk coroner Yvonne Blake said his body was found "in a prone position, partially submerged", and showed changes consistent with drowning.
She said she was "satisfied that something prevented him from breathing, either the water or the plant matter in his airways".
Paying tribute to Mr Alger, his family said in a statement: "Sam's passing is a terrible, heartbreaking tragedy and we are so thankful for everyone's love, care and support.
"We will now endeavour to focus on what a wonderful, inspiring, healthy and loved filled life Sam enjoyed in his all too few years."


A rare example of one of the world's most iconic aircraft, a Mark 1 Spitfire that was painstakingly restored after being shot down during World War Two will be sold at Christie's.

While 22,500 Spitfires were originally built, just 56 are still airworthy, and most of these are later versions of the aircraft. There are only four Mark 1s still flying.
Christie's Nic McElhatton says interest in the aircraft has been incredible: "The plane we're selling is very special."
The aircraft is expected to fetch up to Â£2.5m ($3.9m) but could easily go for more. "We've had a number of clients who've expressed serious interest. Anything is possible," says Nic.
The sale on 9 July has thrown the spotlight on Britain's burgeoning vintage aviation restoration scene. Air displays are increasingly popular - the demand to see examples of rare and often unique aircraft seems never to have been higher.
There are now around 80 air shows a year in the UK from small locally-run events to big displays such as the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford.
Flying Legends at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, specialises in piston-engined aircraft, mainly from World War Two.
"People do make really significant journeys from all over the world," says Jane Larcombe of The Fighter Collection, which runs Flying Legends.
"There is a very big industry in the UK, building World War One and World War Two aircraft," says aviation historian Andy Saunders.
"Hidden away all round the country there are craftsmen, beavering away building remarkable aeroplanes."
Back in May 1940, Spitfire P9374 was being flown by Flying Officer Peter Cazenove when he was shot-down. Successfully crash-landing on Calais beach he radioed: "Tell mother I'll be home for tea."
Sadly getting back home for tea took longer than he hoped. He was captured and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner. His Spitfire sank into the sands and was forgotten about.
Then in 1980, winds and tides uncovered it again. Andy Saunders remembers getting an unexpected call from the manager of Calais hover port.
"He telephoned me out of the blue and I thought it was complete rubbish. But then he sent me the photos to prove it - it was pretty much intact when it emerged from the sand."
After languishing in storage, it was eventually bought by US billionaire and philanthropist Thomas Kaplan.
"I have always been a student of military history, it was a great passion from an early age - and in particular aviation history and the Battle of Britain," he says.
More pictures: rebuilding a Spitfire step-by-step
When he found the wrecks of two Mark 1 Spitfires, he decided to restore them both to flight - and to exactly as they had been when they crashed - with no compromises.
One was Peter Cazenove's Spitfire that is now being auctioned for the RAF Benevolent Fund and the big cat charity, Panthera.
The other was flown by Geoffrey Stephenson, the commanding officer of 19 Squadron - based at Duxford  - the first unit to be equipped with Spitfires.
Mr Kaplan is giving this second plane to the aviation branch of the Imperial War Museum, which is now based at the same airfield.
"For me it is a thank you to the UK - this thin red line separating us from barbarism - at a time when the United States was not in the war."
In 1940 it seemed that after the British army's evacuation from Dunkirk, and the fall of France, all that stood in the way of a German invasion was the RAF.
The Spitfire, designed by RJ Mitchell of Supermarine even as he was dying of cancer, came into frontline service just in time.
Intense air battles raged as the German air force, the Luftwaffe, tried to defeat the RAF as precursor to a possible landing.
Eventually the Luftwaffe gave up and Hitler turned his attention towards Russia. So how close did Britain come to defeat?
In popular myth, the RAF airfields were only spared because the Germans suddenly stopped bombing them and started attacking London instead.
Yet historian Stephen Bungay, author of The Most Dangerous Enemy, says in reality the Germans never came close to victory. The Luftwaffe was not trained for the low-level, hit-and-run attacks which might have worn down Britain's defences.
"We were out-producing Germany in fighters by more than two-to-one, and we had a repair organisation that was turning around damaged fighters faster than they were."
RAF Fighter Command's strength actually grew during the battle, and even had it been defeated, the Germans would have had to get past the Royal Navy.
The true significance of the battle, says Stephen Bungay, is that it ensured Britain stayed in the war and helped shape the peace.
"If we'd gone out in 1940, the war would have been fought between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union - and the Red Army would have likely won.
"Europe would have become part of a Soviet-dominated East, with Britain a marginalised satellite state and the US having far less influence and power in the world than it did."
Find out more about the Battle of Britain
Both of Robert Kaplan's Spitfires ended up at one of Europe's biggest aviation restoration specialists, The Aircraft Restoration Company (ARC) at Duxford.
The hardest challenge was working out exactly what a Mark 1 Spitfire looked like, as records weren't often kept, says ARC engineer Martin Overall.
"They changed so rapidly and you'd find aircraft three or four months older that were completely different, because they'd been modified just to keep pace with German development.
"We investigated several crash sites and gained a snapshot of what the aircraft would have been like."
It took 12 engineers three years to restore it at a cost of several millions, though exactly how much nobody will say - but eventually Spitfire P9374 flew again.
"It was just a breath-taking moment," says Andy Saunders.
"Having seen the wreck when it came off the beach, I never dreamed it would be recreated and fly."
Besides restoring Spitfires, ARC regularly works on up to eight major restoration projects for clients. Manager John Romain says companies like his are helping preserve vital engineering skills.
"There's a lot of old skill-sets in our industry, from sheet metalworkers to the electricians. There's a lot of interest in working with us now, so we have our own apprenticeship scheme which gives us our engineers of the future."
ARC is not the only company in the business. In Sussex a team of engineers at Retrotec specialise in restoring biplanes.
Over the past 28 years, the firm has restored a string of rare World War One and 1930s era aircraft.
"We started off maintaining old aircraft, moved to restoration and repair, and now we are basically re-manufacturing aircraft," says owner Guy Black.
"The silver biplanes of the Thirties are a very romantic and important stage of aircraft development.
"They are also extremely beautiful aircraft, representing an era that will probably never happen again."
Silver machines - step inside a modern biplane factory
The company is now in effect an aircraft manufacturer in miniature: in its workshops its engineers carry out design work, metal work, airframe manufacturing, engine rebuilds, as well as woodwork and fabric covering.
Currently Guy's team is working on a World War One DH9 bomber, one of a pair were in an elephant stables in India and brought back to the UK for restoration.
Nobody's ever restored such a plane to flight before, and Retrotec hopes to have it flying this year.
But when it comes to the aircraft engineers of the future, he says the lack of training in schools is a concern.
"There is very little training in practical engineering or practical woodwork," says Mr Black. "There seems to be a drive to ensure everyone has a degree in engineering, but there's very few people interested in doing hands-on work."
Back at Duxford, Thomas Kaplan plans to officially hand over Geoffrey Stephenson's Spitfire to the Imperial War Museum on 9 July, and then head down to London to watch Peter Cazenove's aircraft being auctioned off.
"To me it is all about 'The Few' who stood up and said - this is the line beyond which we won't be pushed."
Rightly or wrongly the Spitfire, thank perhaps to those elliptical wings, easily outshines many other aircraft in people's affections.
Says Christie's Nic McElhatton: "You look at the silhouette of a Spitfire and you recognize it instantly.
"It's timeless, it is the most perfect piece of engineering - a work of art."


A retired academic who was killed when he leapt in front of a train to save his friend "may have sacrificed himself", an inquest has heard.

David Ashworth, 74, from Canterbury, jumped on to the tracks to save 38-year-old Ella Akehurst near Chartham station in Kent last year.
Unable to push Ms Akehurst clear, it is believed Dr Ashworth positioned her so she would not be hurt.
The train passed over Ms Akehurst but killed the father-of-two.
Dr Ashworth was a family friend and "unofficial carer" for Ms Akehurst, who suffered from bipolar disorder, the inquest heard.
He had attended a doctor's appointment with her on the morning of the tragedy after she had woken up feeling tearful, the inquest heard.
Ms Akehurst told officers the pair returned to her parents' home but "the next thing I know I was running down the road" with an urge to "jump from a height".
One witness, Norman Vaughan-Cubitt, saw Ms Akehurst rushing to a footbridge where he said she jumped "without hesitation".
His wife Thelma told the inquest she saw Dr Ashworth arrive in his car as the train got closer, blaring its horn and with its brakes screeching.
Another witness, Michael Kember, described how after the impact, Ms Akehurst said: "How's David? He was trying to help me."
A post-mortem examination found Dr Ashworth died from multiple injuries.
Ms Akehurst, who did not attend the inquest at Margate Magistrates' Court, was in hospital for three months.
Recording a narrative verdict, assistant coroner James Dillon said: "Dr Ashworth had placed himself in a perilous position."
"He may have sacrificed the opportunity of getting himself out of harm's way and, as a result, was hit and killed by the train."
University of Manchester graduate Dr Ashworth - who retired from the University of Kent in 2003 - has been nominated for a posthumous civilian gallantry award from the Cabinet Office.


Two South Korean soldiers have been seriously injured in a suspected mine blast at the border with North Korea, state media report.

The Yonhap news agency said the explosion happened as the soldiers were on a search mission in the heavily fortified demilitarised zone (DMZ).
The soldiers sustained serious leg wounds but were not in a critical condition, it said.
An army official ruled out North Korean involvement.
The 4km (2.5 mile)-wide DMZ is one of the world's most protected borders, separating the two Koreas which remain technically at war.


Treble-chasing Juventus have exercised the option to make defender Medhi Benatia's loan move from Bayern Munich permanent for £14.4m (17m euros).

The 30-year-old Morocco international, who has made 18 appearances during his loan, has signed a deal until 2020.
They will seal a sixth consecutive Serie A title if they win at second-placed Roma on Sunday (19:45 BST).
Juventus face Lazio in the Italian Cup final on Wednesday and Real Madrid in the Champions League on 3 June.


TV illusionist Uri Geller has unveiled a giant spoon statue as a parting gift to the Berkshire village where he has lived for 35 years.

Geller, 68, who became famous for bending spoons, said he planned to leave the UK to return to his native Israel.
The red steel statue in the shape of a bent spoon has been placed on a large tree stump in Sonning.
Uri Geller said: "It will be photographed a million times."
The statue, made by artist-blacksmith Paul Wells, is sited opposite the home of actor George Clooney and his wife Amal, who recently moved to Sonning.


A senior member of the Qatar royal family has warned that Muslims are being "dehumanised" by the coverage of violent extremism in the Middle East.

"Why do Muslim lives seem to matter less than the lives of others?" asked Sheikha Moza bint Nasser in a speech at Oxford University on Tuesday.
The division between East and West was creating a "fear and suspicion of all things Islamic", she said.
Sheikha Moza also warned against "violent repression" in the Arab world.
Widely seen as one of the most influential women in the Middle East, Sheikha Moza warned an audience at Oxford University of the dangers of negative stereotypes in the West.
And the failure of progressive politics in the Middle East was fuelling "distorted and perverted" interpretations of Islam, she added.
Speaking at the opening of a new building at the Middle East Centre at St Antony's College, Sheikha Moza warned that while there was an "intellectual curiosity" in the West about Islamic culture, individual "real, living Muslims" faced growing distrust.
She described this as being "Muslim-phobia", as distinct from claims of "Islamophobia".
And she questioned whether globalisation was really achieving more "pluralistic" societies.
"A Muslim is first and foremost identified as a Muslim, rather than simply a human being.
"Whether they are Pakistani, Malaysian, Senegalese, or even British born, their multiple identities are levelled under a constructed monolith of Islam," she said.
This collective identity was seen as something "fearful and unknowable", said Sheikha Moza, mother of the current emir of Qatar and wife of the previous ruler.
The consequence was "double standards" in the reaction to the casualties of conflict, said Sheikha Moza, a senior political figure in the oil and gas-rich Gulf state.
"Only silence follows when innocent Yemeni and Pakistani children and civilians," are killed by drones, she said.
She challenged the increasing use of the word "medieval" to describe the actions of radicals in the Middle East.
"Global media, both Western and Arab, often claim that Islam does not believe in freedom of expression and is stuck in medieval times," said Sheikha Moza.
But she said it was a failure of "our collective responsibility" not to admit that the violence of groups such as the so-called Islamic State were the result of our own modern era.
"[IS] is as modern as Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. They are all products of our age."
But she also challenged the political culture in Muslim countries that had produced radical militants whose interpretation of Islam is "nothing more than a violent political slogan".
The wave of upheavals of the Arab Spring had "planted the seeds of freedom", but she said these ideals had been "crushed underfoot" and such "dreams might find another, more aggressive channel of expression".
"This is the price we are paying today for our lack of courage when it mattered. Every act has a consequence but so does every inaction.
"Activism can quickly change to militancy when there is no recourse to democratic change."
She argued that such a failure to dismantle violent autocracies in the Middle East could be a reason why Muslims have "lost confidence" in being able to apply positive, peaceful Islamic traditions.
The Gulf state has itself faced criticism over the working and living conditions of migrant workers on construction projects for the 2022 World Cup.
Sheikha Moza told her audience that young Muslims needed to be able find a "new modernity" showing their religion as a "rich, living moral tradition".


UK police are to examine video footage in a bid to identify Chelsea football fans who appeared to stop a black man from boarding a Paris train.

The amateur video shows a man being repeatedly pushed from the train while a group chants, "we're racist, we're racist and that's the way we like it".
Scotland Yard said it was taking the incident "very seriously".
Chelsea condemned the incident and issued an appeal for witnesses, saying any fans involved faced a ban.
The incident was filmed by a British man ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League match, which the London club drew 1-1 with Paris St Germain.
The Metropolitan Police said it would help French authorities investigate and would support them in any action they chose to take.
"We will examine the footage with a view to seeing if we can apply for football banning orders, preventing people from travelling for future matches," a spokesman said.
The footage was obtained by the Guardian, which reported that the incident had happened at Richelieu-Drouot station in the centre of the French capital on Tuesday evening.
British expatriate Paul Nolan, who filmed the incident on his phone, told the BBC it had been an "ugly scene" and "very aggressive".
In a statement, Chelsea condemned the behaviour as "abhorrent" and said the fans' actions had "no place in football or society".
The Premier League leaders vowed to support any criminal action and appealed for witnesses to contact the club.
"Should evidence point to the involvement of Chelsea season ticket holders or members of the club, we will take the strongest possible action against them," the statement said.
This could include banning them from future matches, it added.
Prime Minister David Cameron told LBC Radio the footage looked "extremely disturbing and very worrying".
"It's obviously potentially a criminal offence and so I'm sure the French police will be looking at it very seriously."
The abuse has drawn widespread condemnation from the world of football.
Uefa, which runs the Champions League, said it was "appalled" by the incident but it would not be investigating.
"As it occurred away from the stadium, it is outside Uefa's remit to act," it said in a statement.
English football's governing body, the Football Association, said it "fully supports Chelsea's position in seeking to ban any of the club's season-ticket holders or members who face criminal action in relation to these abhorrent scenes".
Sepp Blatter, president of world football's governing body Fifa, tweeted that there was "no place for racism in football".
Lord Ouseley, chairman of Kick It Out, which campaigns against racism in football, said the fact the incident involved an assault on the man was "even more shocking".
The Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) said the overwhelming majority of Chelsea fans would be "disgusted" by the incident.
"There's no place in society for this type of behaviour, and we back Chelsea FC's strong stance," the FSF said.
Paul Canoville - the first black footballer to play for Chelsea - told the BBC he was saddened by what had happened.
"For me as a black player, and other black players, it would hurt, most definitely.
"It is haunting. It wasn't nice seeing it, hearing it, at all," he said.
Frank Sinclair, a black footballer who played for Chelsea more than 150 times, said the men in the video had nothing to do with his former club.
"They tend to move from club to club, they drift and they look at an opportunity where they might have got tickets on the black market, decided to go to this game to cause problems," he said.
"Certainly, they're not represented by Chelsea Football Club."
Former England captain and BBC football pundit Gary Lineker tweeted: "Just saw the video of the Chelsea mob's deplorable behaviour and racist chants.
"Sickening, embarrassing, moronic, disgraceful."


All the match reports from Sunday's nine Premier League games, as Manchester City all but assured a fourth-place finish and Champions League qualification, Arsenal leapfrogged Tottenham to finish second and Southampton qualify for the Europa League.

Manchester United v Bournemouth is still to be played after Sunday's game at Old Trafford was called off after a suspect package was found at the stadium.
Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa
Chelsea 1-1 Leicester
Everton 3-0 Norwich
Newcastle 5-1 Tottenham
Southampton 4-1 Crystal Palace
Stoke 2-1 West Ham
Swansea 1-1 Manchester City
Watford 2-2 Sunderland
West Brom 1-1 Liverpool


People prescribed anti-depressants should be aware they could be at increased risk of type 2 diabetes, say UK researchers.

The University of Southampton team looked at available medical studies and found evidence the two were linked.
But there was no proof that one necessarily caused the other.
It may be that people taking anti-depressants put on weight which, in turn, increases their diabetes risk, the team told Diabetes Care journal.
Or the drugs themselves may interfere with blood sugar control.
Their analysis of 22 studies involving thousands of patients on anti-depressants could not single out any class of drug or type of person as high risk.
Prof Richard Holt and colleagues say more research is needed to investigate what factors lie behind the findings.
And they say doctors should keep a closer check for early warning signs of diabetes in patients who have been prescribed these drugs.
With 46 million anti-depressant prescriptions a year in the UK, this potential increased risk is worrying, they say.
Prof Holt said: "Some of this may be coincidence but there's a signal that people who are being treated with anti-depressants then have an increased risk of going on to develop diabetes.
"We need to think about screening and look at means to reduce that risk."
Diabetes is easy to diagnose with a blood test, and Prof Holt says this ought to be part of a doctor's consultation.
"Diabetes is potentially preventable by changing your diet and being more physically active.
"Physical activity is also good for your mental health so there's a double reason to be thinking about lifestyle changes."
Around three million people in the UK are thought to have diabetes, with most cases being type 2.
Dr Matthew Hobbs of Diabetes UK, said: "These findings fall short of being strong evidence that taking anti-depressants directly increases risk of type 2 diabetes. In this review, even the studies that did suggest a link showed only a small effect and just because two things tend to occur together, it doesn't necessarily mean that one is causing the other.
"But what is clear is that some anti-depressants lead to weight gain and that putting on weight increases risk of type 2 diabetes. Anyone who is currently taking, or considering taking, anti-depressants and is concerned about this should discuss their concerns with their GP."


There are an awful lot of alarmist headlines about this weekend in Europe - screeching headlines about the far right swooping into Austria's presidential palace, and painting Italy as poised to crash into financial, banking and political oblivion if Prime Minister Matteo Renzi loses a referendum on constitutional reform.

And both those hypothetical events would be hugely significant if they came to pass: Europe's first far-right head of state since World War Two in Austria, and uncertainty and instability in the eurozone's third-largest economy - Italy - spoken of in hushed, nervous whispers in EU corridors as "too big to fail".
There are fears of a tsunami of nativist populism sweeping through Europe in 2017 - in France, Italy, the Netherlands and beyond.
But the UK's June Brexit vote and Donald Trump's US election success do not make victories for Europe's far right or nationalist-minded, anti-establishment parties inevitable.
The so-called populists are growing in influence and strength because there's a yawning gap in the political market.
They are able to say to voters "We will actually listen to you".
Voter anger, resentment and distrust of the Establishment is widespread, as we know.
But traditional politics is not dead in the water.
The more than two million Austrians who voted for the Freedom Party (FPOe) in the first round of their presidential election in October are not all a screaming mob of far-right extremists.
Marine Le Pen hasn't made the French National Front (FN) the success it is today by continuing with her father's rabid anti-Semitism and xenophobia.
She changed the party to make it appear more mainstream. Young Frenchmen with a North African background hold visible positions in the FN.
Italy's Five Star Movement says - as do many of these political groupings in Europe - that it is neither of the right nor the left, but of the people.
Bingo.
So will 2017 in fact be the year traditional politics wakes up?
France's Hollande won't seek re-election
Italy referendum: Renzi risks populist wave
Austria far-right hopeful eyes EU vote
Referendum adds to Italian banks' woes
If you're worrying about Italy this weekend, take comfort from the fact that the financial markets have wobbled in advance of the referendum, which suggests they won't take a startled nose-dive if Prime Minister Renzi loses as predicted.
Italy has had 63 governments since 1945. It's a country well versed in political instability.
Not good for the country or the wider EU and eurozone, but if Mr Renzi steps down, you can bet the Italian president already has in mind the technocrat government he will try to form until elections are held.
And the vote in Austria?
It's not "just" a presidential vote.
The resonance in Austria of having of a far-right figure as head of state cannot be overplayed. But it might serve to galvanise the bloated, self-entitlement-oozing parties of the centre in Austria (and elsewhere in Europe) to understand why they are failing, while "populists" are so popular, and perhaps work on serving their electorate far better.
And, of course, we don't yet know what Sunday will bring.
Polls suggest PM Renzi will lose in Italy and the far right will win in Austria.
But who dares trust polls these days?


Greece has denied reports it is preparing to default on its loans if it cannot reach agreement on its bailout terms with international creditors.

A government spokesman said negotiations were proceeding swiftly towards a solution.
Greece negotiated a three-month extension to its €240bn (£176bn; $272bn) bailout at the end of February.
The Greek government is due to pay the International Monetary Fund (IMF) €203m on 1 May and €770m on 12 May.
But reports suggest the government is rapidly running out of money. It needs to find €2.4bn to pay civil service salaries and pensions this month.
The Greek government has also dismissed media reports that it was considering calling early elections if it failed to negotiate a settlement with its international creditors.
Last week, eurozone officials said Greece only had six working days left to come up with a revised list of reforms to seal a deal on its next rescue bailout.
Eurozone deputy finance ministers want an agreement on the €7.2bn loan in time for a Eurogroup meeting on 24 April.
Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has said that Athens will not be able to service its debt without financial help from the European Union


Australian Open junior champion Oliver Anderson has been provisionally suspended over claims of match-fixing in his native Australia.

Anderson, 18, has not been found guilty but will be suspended from professional tennis until the conclusion of the Tennis Integrity Unit's investigation.
Victoria Police says the charges relate to a match at the Traralgon Challenger tournament in Victoria last October.
He will also appear before magistrates on 2 March.
Anderson, now ranked 1083 in the world, beat Uzbekistan's Jurabek Karimov to claim the Australian Open boys' singles title in January 2016.
During his suspension, which the TIU says is not a determination of the player's guilt or innocence of corruption, Anderson will not be allowed to compete or attend any tournament or event organised or sanctioned by the tennis governing bodies.
Anderson, who is from Brisbane, was first named by the Age newspaper in Melbourne in January 2017.
A statement from Victoria Police at the time said: "Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit detectives and bookmakers assisted with the investigation.
"The Queensland man was charged with engaging in conduct that corrupts a betting outcome."
In the match at the centre of the allegations, Anderson lost the first set against Harrison Lombe after being broken at 4-4 before going on to win the next two sets.
Anderson then lost to John-Patrick Smith in the second round of the second-tier event in Latrobe City.
Last year, an investigation by the BBC and BuzzFeed alleged that the TIU failed to act on suspicions that 16 players, who over the last decade have been ranked in the world's top 50, had been involved in match-fixing.


Four members of a family are being treated in hospital after being trapped upstairs in their home while their kitchen was on fire.

It happened at Dundonald on the outskirts of east Belfast in the early hours of Tuesday.
The family called the fire service after being alerted to the blaze by their pet dog, Bella.
Firefighters using breathing apparatus put out the fire in the kitchen and led the family out down the stairs.
They were treated at the scene by ambulance staff and then taken to hospital.


The family of a teenager who died in a crash in Cumbria have paid tribute to a "kind, caring girl" who "made the world a better place".

Skye Olivia Mitchell was driving a Toyota Yaris when it was in a crash with a Ford Transit van on the A595 near Bootle at 19:55 BST on Friday.
She and front seat passenger Caitlin Lydia Huddleston, both 18 and from Millom, died at the scene.
A third 18-year-old woman is in a critical condition in hospital.
She was travelling in the back seat and was flown by air ambulance to Royal Preston Hospital.
The 51-year-old man driving the van was also flown to hospital, where he is in a serious but stable condition.
In a tribute, Ms Mitchell's family said: "Skye was a popular, kind, caring girl who raised money for various charities. She made the most of her 18 years, embracing every opportunity that came her way.
"Skye made the world a better place and Skye's world was a wonderful world to be in."
The teenager had recently completed her A-levels and was due to study broadcast journalism at the University of Salford later this year.
Ms Mitchell had won a number of competitions, including Millom Carnival Queen in 2012 and Junior Miss South Lakes.
She came third in the Junior Miss Great Britain contest before winning the Junior Miss North West title in 2014.
A year later she launched an anti-bullying campaign, which her family said she was passionate about and had featured in national media.
Cumbria Police, which is appealing for witnesses to the collision, said specially trained officers were supporting both the families.
Following the crash, the road was closed for six hours while the vehicles were examined and then removed.


Mali twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Uganda while Zambia edged out neighbours Zimbabwe 1-0 in the opening Group D games at the African Nations Championship.

Uganda captain Farouk Miya set-up and scored a goal before going off injured at half-time.
While Isaac Chansa scored the only goal of the game to give Zambia their win.
The next Group D games are on Saturday as Zimbabwe play Mali and Uganda face Zambia.
Uganda opened the scoring after just 11 minutes against Mali in the Rwandan city of Rubavu when Joseph Ochaya headed home a freekick from Miya.
Miya has impressed for Uganda in recent months in World Cup qualifying and at the regional Cecafa tournament.
Mali dew level 12 minutes later through Sekou Koita, whose control in the area took him past a defender before he fired past Ismail Watenga in the Ugandan goal.
Then four minutes before half-time Miya scored from the penalty spot for Uganda after Erisa Ssekisambu was fouled in the area.
However there was bad news for Uganda coach Milutin 'Micho' Sredojevic at half-time when injury forced Miya to be replaced by Muzamiru Mutyaba.
There was another injury blow for Uganda shortly after the break when goalkeeper Watenga pulled a muscle while taking a goal kick, with Mathias Kigonya coming on in his place.
Mali equalised on the hour mark through striker Hamidou Sinayoko as he managed to get his foot on the ball and divert it into the net from a Mamadou Coulibaly pass.
Two players who helped Zambia win the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012 combined for their win over Zimbabwe earlier on Tuesday.
Veteran midfielder Chansa broke the deadlock just before the hour, stretching to convert Chris Katongo's free-kick to the back post.
Although Zambia had more possession, Zimbabwe spurned a chance to equalise.
Edmore Chirambadare was through one-on-one with the keeper just before half-time, but shot wide from eight yards.
It was a first defeat for  coach Kalisto Pasuwa with the Zimbabwe team, having a record of three wins and three draws going into the match.
And Zambia's experience told in the end, with Chansa and Katongo combining to strike the decisive blow.
The pair will have boosted their chances of a recall to the full senior team.
Before the match Zambia Football Association president Klausha Bwalya told BBC Sport he believes the pair still have a lot to contribute to the team.
He said a good showing from them  at CHAN - the tournament for locally-based players - could revive their international careers.


Bookmaker Ladbrokes has reported a sharp fall in profit, despite saying it had had a "good World Cup" performance.

Pre-tax profit fell 49.7% to Â£27.7m in the first half of the year ending 30th June,
The firm said its focus for the period had been operational improvements, which meant its "financial performance would inevitably lag behind".
Ladbrokes boss Richard Glynn said it was now "well positioned for growth".
"We have made substantial progress. We now have the products, the platforms, the people and the brand in place to deliver," he added.
Ladbrokes formed a tie-up with software developer Playtech last year and as a result switched its gaming products to a new system.
The firm admitted the switch over had caused more disruption than expected, but said it was now complete.
Ladbrokes said it had also completed the replacement of 9,000 of its gaming machines with more sophisticated models.
It also closed 46 of its "under performing" shops in the first half, nearing its target of 50 for the year. It said further shop closures beyond this were "inevitable", but it was too early to specify the number.
The firm said its performance in the UK was hit by "industry-wide customer friendly results" in both the January football and horse racing in June.
And it said its adherence to the The Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) voluntary industry code of conduct had also had "a clear impact on revenues".
The code, which enables players to set spend and time limits on gaming machines, aims to promote responsible gambling.
However, it said its World Cup performance had been "strong" with bets on mobiles up 1,100%.
"The board remains confident of the outlook for the business and in delivering a result in line with its expectations for the current year," it added.
Shares in Ladbrokes rose 3% in early trading. Peel Hunt analyst Nick Batram said the fall in profit was in line with expectations.
"The results are unquestionably poor but they are in line with forecasts. It's also a positive narrative from Ladbrokes in that it has focused on all the things it is implementing to put it right," he added.


Great Britain rounded off their World League Final campaign with a 5-1 defeat of South Korea in Argentina.

The result means Britain finish seventh in the eight-strong competition after a 2-1 quarter-final loss to New Zealand eliminated them on Thursday.
Nicola White scored twice, with other goals coming from Ellie Watton, Hannah Macleod and Helen Richardson-Walsh.
Britain's women had already secured their place at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the summer.
Before the match, a minute's silence was held for young player Tom Wilson, who died after a freak accident in training in the UK earlier in the week.
Britain had expected to challenge for a medal in Rosario after securing Olympic qualification and then winning European gold - as England - in August.
But although clearly disappointed by their early exit, GB played with freedom and never looked under any real threat from South Korea.
White drove GB into the lead in the first quarter, striking the ball between the keeper's legs following impressive build-up play from Hollie Webb and Watton.
Alex Danson, who won her 250th international cap earlier in the tournament, produced a dazzling dribble before the break to create an open goal for Watton - who doubled GB's advantage.
Danson was instrumental in Britain's third with Macleod's nifty flick guiding the ball over the line early in the third quarter.
White grabbed her second by deflecting captain Kate Richardson-Walsh's penalty corner in the final quarter.
Helen Richardson-Walsh then completed GB's scoring with a penalty stroke before Korea grabbed a consolation.
Germany play New Zealand and Argentina face China in the semi-finals later on Saturday.
Two-goal hero Nicola White told BBC Sport: "We were so disappointed not to win that quarter-final, but we re-grouped really well and were dominant out there which is exactly what we wanted.
"It is important going into next year that we really review what's happened here and hopefully put things right at our next tournament."
Crista Cullen, who made her GB return at the tournament after retiring three years ago, added: "It was important to go out there and show people what we're truly about.
"South Korea are a counter-attacking team so you have to be resilient throughout the 60 minutes and testament to the girls they did that and got the 5-1 scoreline."
Media playback is not supported on this device


Experts have warned the public to keep their distance from bats after a woman was bitten by one on a visit to Loch Lomond.

Joanna Perrens is now receiving a course of post-exposure vaccinations.
She was bitten at the weekend as she approached an injured Daubenton's bat on Inchconnachan island.
Bats are known to carry the rabies virus. In 2002 a man from Angus died from contracting rabies as a result of a bat bite.
Ms Perrens was bitten on her thumb as she tried to remove the injured animal after it flew up onto her shirt.
She said: "I really didn't think anything of it - it was a tiny pin-prick of a bite with a tiny bit of blood and we just put antiseptic on it."
She said it was only after talking to a doctor friend that she got in touch with NHS 24 who sent her to A&E. Doctors there established the rabies risk and she was started on treatment.
"It's a low risk that I would have had rabies, but if I did have it then this is obviously 100% effective, so I'm not worried," Ms Perrens added.
"The worrying thing is if I'd gone along as I was - thinking nothing was wrong, it was a tiny wound, and nothing to worry about."
Daubenton's is a common species in Scotland and some of the bats are known to carry the rabies virus.
In 2002 David Macrae, a conservation worker from Angus, died after contracting rabies from a bat.
Since then tests have revealed that 3% of Daubenton's bats have been exposed to the rabies virus.
Bats are particularly active at this time, as young bats leave the roost to search for insects.
Anne Youngman, from the Bat Conservation Trust, said: "It's unusual for a bat to bite somebody, I expect it flew up from the ground because it was trying to escape.
"We know that some of our bats do carry rabies - it's a tiny, tiny proportion but because it's such a serious disease we advise people not to take any chances."
Ms Youngman said that if anyone comes across a bat which looks injured, take care, try to cover it and phone the trust.
The organisation's bat helpline number is 0845 1300 228.


Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho compared Manchester City to a "Jaguar" car as the Portuguese suggested Manuel Pellegrini's side are favourites for the Premier League title.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Eden Hazard scored a hat-trick as the Blues beat Newcastle 3-0 to move top.
Mourinho said on Monday his side were "the little horse" in the title race.
But on Saturday he said: "It's time to kill the horses," adding, "Manchester City is a Jaguar. You cannot put an 'L' plate on a Jaguar."
Mourinho, who spent almost £48m bringing in new players in the January transfer window, once again played down his side's chances of winning a first Premier League title since 2009-10, despite seeing his side extend their unbeaten run to 10 league games.
They also boast the best defensive record in the division, having conceded only two goals in their previous nine games, and were rarely troubled against Newcastle.
The win meant Chelsea went one point clear at the top of the table after leaders at the start of the day Arsenal lost 5-1 to Liverpool, while Manchester drew at Norwich.
"We were winning 2-0 at half-time but I was not happy with that because I didn't like the way we played in the first half," added Mourinho.
"I was concerned about the details of our game which will be more important in the long term, rather than the result of the game.
"We are happy with what we are doing and at this moment in time we are top. That is great, but we want to play well and improve and that is it.
"I want to secure a Champions League position and the further we are from fifth place, then we can begin to think about other things. For now, my concern is increasing the gap between ourselves and fifth."


South Africa will "come out hard" in the Women's World Cup semi-final to avenge defeat by England in the group stages, says Tammy Beaumont.

The England opener hit 148 as England beat South Africa by 68 runs on 5 July in Bristol, where Tuesday's semi-final will also be played.
Despite victory, England conceded their highest one-day total of 305 runs.
"It is going to be a clean slate on Tuesday with a lot more to play for," said Beaumont, 26.
After an opening defeat by India, England won six consecutive matches to finish top of the group, while South Africa finished fourth.
Defending champions Australia take on India in the other semi-final in Derby on Thursday for a place in the final at Lord's on Sunday.
"We have put the loss to India behind us and we have gone from strength to strength as the tournament has progressed," added Beaumont, who is the tournament's top run-scorer with 372.
"The best part of our squad is that someone different steps up every single game. [captain] Heather Knight was excellent against West Indies with a really crucial knock and Alex Hartley with the ball.
"It is really key that everyone is on song for the semi-final - South Africa have a really good all-round team to suit all sorts of pitches, they have a lot of pace up front and then leg-spinners in the middle and some pretty destructive batters."
England have won 18 of their previous 19 one-day internationals against South Africa, who are playing in their first World Cup semi-final since 2000.
The Proteas have the leading wicket-taker in this year's event, with captain Dane van Niekerk, 24, having claimed 15 wickets in her six matches so far.
"We're excited, we know any team that is in the semi-final are going to be tough to beat so we're going to have to bring our very best," said Van Niekerk.
"I don't think there's any pressure on us at all, I don't think most people thought we would be here - in that sense I'm very proud of the girls.
"I'm really excited to be in this position and the girls are really excited for the challenge ahead."
Media playback is not supported on this device


DUP leader Peter Robinson has said his party could work with either Labour or the Conservatives if there was a hung parliament after the general election.

Mr Robinson told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that in the first instance they would talk to whoever held the most seats.
However, he said a lot would also depend on which party offered the best deal for Northern Ireland.
On Saturday, the DUP released a five-point plan for such negotiations.
Speaking on Sunday, Mr Robinson said: "We are one of those parties that has not determined that we will only speak to one party or the other.
"We're open to speak to whichever party I suppose in the first instance constitutionally we would want to go to the party that has won the most seats, but we wouldn't be adverse to speaking to the party that comes in second place."
He said the party would not simply put forward a sum of money it wanted for Northern Ireland, denying reports that it was seeking Â£1bn.
"After an election we will sit down with any potential government of the United Kingdom and we will see to what extent they can help us deliver our plan for Northern Ireland and how we can help push forward their plans for the United Kingdom as a whole," he said.
"So it's not as vulgar as saying 'here's an amount of money and we want it'."
Mr Robinson also said it would be unwise for either Labour or the Conservatives to seek the support of Scottish or Welsh nationalists in the event of a hung parliament.
"We certainly don't believe that it will be sensible to allow a lever on government by those who are separatists and want to break up the United Kingdom," he said.


It's nearly Christmas and our presenters are getting excited!

20 December 2016 Last updated at 08:42 GMT
Here they are telling us their favourite things about Christmas.


A toucan in Costa Rica which lost the upper part of its beak after being attacked by youths looks set to be fitted with a prosthetic replacement.

Four Costa Rican companies that have volunteered their help say they possess the skills to create a prosthesis for the injured bird.
They say they will use 3D printing to create the first prosthesis of this kind in the region.
In the US, prosthetic beaks have been created for an eagle and a penguin.
The male toucan, named Grecia after the area where it was found, was taken to an animal rescue centre in January.
Pictures of its mutilated beak caused outrage after they were circulated in Costa Rican newspapers and on social media.
A campaign to provide the bird with a prosthetic beak quickly raised thousands of dollars and a number of local companies offered their help.
Four of them, Elementos 3d, Ewa!corps, Publicidad Web and Grupo Sommerus, said on Tuesday that they were confident they could design a suitable prosthetic for Grecia and fit it.
Toucans use their beaks to eat and also to regulate their body temperature.
Veterinarian Carmen Soto, who looks after Grecia at the Zoo Ave rescue centre, said the toucan was recovering well and had even started eating on its own.
"The quantity he manages to eat on his own is very small, so we have to help him," she said.
Designer Nelson Martinez said the priority was to create a prosthesis which would help Grecia eat.
He told newspaper La Nacion that he and his team had been studying toucan beaks to come up with a suitable design for Grecia.
He said they were working on a model that would have "a fixed part and a moveable part so it can be cleaned or replaced as the toucan is still growing".
Ms Soto said Grecia's wound was scarring well and that within the month it would be possible to scan its stump.
This will be key to ensure the prosthesis fits Grecia and will also influence how it is fitted.
"We couldn't use any type of adhesive with chemical components as it could compromise the structure of the beak," Mr Martinez said.
The team is studying if it could be fixed with screws instead.
Ms Soto warned that the prosthesis would have to be both lightweight and hard-wearing to ensure it would not come off or be damaged.
The team said it was planning to create models of Grecia's stump to be able to experiment with different fittings.
Karley Fu, of Grupo Sommerus, told La Nacion that another unknown was whether Grecia would accept the prosthesis.


Nine Sherpa guides have taken advantage of good weather to scale Mount Everest for the first time in two years from the Nepali side, officials say.

They reached the 8,850m (29,035ft) summit on Wednesday evening.
The Sherpas were hired by expeditions to carry equipment and secure ropes on Everest for about 300 foreign climbers trying to make the ascent.
May is the best month for climbing and more expeditions are expected to reach the top in the next few days.
Climbs from the Nepali side over the last two years have been hit by natural disasters.
An avalanche triggered by a powerful earthquake killed at least 18 climbers in 2015, and 16 Sherpas were also killed by an avalanche in 2014.
The two disasters meant that hardly any climbers were able to scale the peak. Last year's climbing season was cancelled, and nearly all climbers in 2014 similarly were forced to abandon their attempts.
However, one Chinese woman made an ascent in early May 2014, weeks after the deadly avalanche.
Nepal Mountaineering Association President Ang Tshering Sherpa told the BBC's Surendra Phuyal in Kathmandu that Wednesday's climb was no simple feat.
"Although they were planning to reach [the summit] much earlier in the day, difficult climbing conditions near the Hillary Step - a major climbing hurdle around 70 metres below the peak - delayed the Sherpas' plans," he said.
"Because of heavy snow and ice, it took more than four hours for them to cross the Hillary Step."
He said the Sherpas had succeeded in laying down climbing ropes along the trail to the summit for other climbers to use.
The Sherpas were now descending the South Col part of the mountain, he added.
This year, Nepali authorities are encouraging climbers to return to Everest and other peaks by honouring permits issued in the past two years.
Overall, more than 700 foreign climbers belonging to nearly 100 teams are vying to scale several Himalayan peaks from the Nepali side, the Department of Tourism says.
The authorities this year have for the first time allowed helicopters to transport ropes and other climbing gear up part of the mountain so that Sherpas can avoid carrying equipment through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall, which has become much more dangerous after last year's earthquake.
May is also one of the best months for climbing Everest from the Tibet side, with about 550 visits a day to the base camp there at the height of 2015, according to the Xinhua news agency.


Midfielder Leon Britton says Swansea need a better start to the Premier League campaign if they are to avoid the struggles of last season.

Swansea took 12 points from their first 19 games last season and were bottom of the table at the turn of the year.
But four wins in the final five games secured Swansea's survival.
"We need to make sure we have a good pre-season and start the season strong to get some points on the board early," Britton said.
Swansea begin their 2017-18 season at Southampton on Saturday, 12 August.
The Welsh club then hosts Manchester United a week later, before a trip to Crystal Palace follows.
Britton, 34, has signed an improved one-year contract with the Swans, with an option of another year if he plays enough games next season.
His return to the Swansea side towards the tail end of the 2016-17 campaign coincided with a five-match unbeaten run which ultimately secured safety.
Paul Clement became Swansea's third manager of the season in January after replacing Bob Bradley, who had been in charge after Francesco Guidolin was sacked in October.
"Last season was very difficult for the football club, we all know that," Britton added.
"We had a good finish to the season, so confidence when we come back together will be good.
"The main thing is we don't have a repeat of last season... in a relegation fight and being in the bottom three was difficult.
"We can look to have a good season, one where we don't have all the pressure and all the other stuff that goes with a relegation battle."


On an expedition to the far north of Russia to conduct an ecological survey, the BBC's Daniel Sandford reports on how scientists fear the local walrus population may be at risk.

There are two known sub-species of walrus - the Atlantic walrus and Pacific walrus, though scientists are trying to confirm if there is in fact a third sub-species unique to Russia's Laptev Sea. Whether or not the sub-species exists has been a debate among walrus experts for many years. One of the aims of the WWF's 2013 Laptev Expedition is to resolve this question using DNA analysis.
Almost all walruses live inside the Arctic Circle or in seas close by. They feed on mussels and clams, which they suck off the bottom of the sea.
Walruses do not feed much more than 100m (328ft) under the sea, so as the Arctic sea ice retreats into more northerly, deeper waters (the Arctic Ocean is 4,500m deep at the North Pole) the walruses are having to come ashore in the summer in huge numbers.
In Cape Sertsekamen in Russia, an estimated 115,000 come ashore in the autumn - that is almost all the Pacific walrus that there are in the world.
There are concerns that such huge concentrations of walrus could wipe out the mussel and clam populations in some areas. Conservationists also worry that if there were an oil spill close to such a massive Pacific walrus "haul-out", then an entire sub-species would be at risk.
"The areas that have been earmarked for oil and gas exploration around Chukotka in the Russian Arctic are exactly the same places where mothers go with young calves. Drilling there will have unknown consequences," explained Anatoly Kochnev of Chukottinro, the Chukotka branch of Russia's Pacific Research Fishery Centre.
"When the drilling starts we need to have constant monitoring to check what the impact is."
He also said that nobody knows what effect the increase in shipping through the Arctic will have on the walruses. It is not even known exactly where their feeding grounds are.
Walrus calves stay with their mothers for up to three years - an unusually long time for seals. When there was permanent sea ice in large parts of the Arctic, the mother would leave the calves on the ice, where they were relatively safe. But now that so many walruses are having to come ashore, far from the feeding areas, the calves are having to swim exhausting, long distances with their mothers while they dive for food.
Walruses can actually sleep while at sea. They fill their larynxes with air and these act like lifejackets around their neck , keeping their head afloat as they snooze.
When walruses come ashore in mass haul-outs they are easily panicked, and can crush each other to death as they rush into the sea. At one point a haul-out on Russia's Wrangel Island ended up under an aircraft flight path, and lots of walruses were killed in the panic.
Russia has no specific plan to protect the walrus - only wildlife reserves that have been created along parts of the coast - but the walruses do not stay in those reserves.
"It is very important to protect walruses when they are ashore, but that is only part of the protection they need," Anatoly Kochnev said.
"Anyway," he added, "the reserves  - like the one on the Laptev Sea  - are not properly policed."


Alex Neil bears no grudges, but a sense of regret still lingers about his departure from Norwich City.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Five weeks have passed since the 35-year-old was sacked, with the team eighth in the Championship.
Scot Neil believes the squad was good enough to return to the top flight, but with the benefit of hindsight admits his mistake.
"We had a lot of players at the club for longer than five years, and we needed to start afresh," Neil said.
"Thirteen of the 24 players in the first-team squad were over 30, and when we went up the last time they were 28, which is significantly different, it's when you're at your peak.
"We needed to re-build and the one thing I blame myself for is that I re-signed all the players to get us back up because they'd done it in the past. I should have taken more time and looked to alter the squad at that stage."
Neil makes no concession to self-pity. He admits himself that while he was manager of Hamilton Academical in the Scottish Premiership, nobody would have predicted his move to Norwich, or then immediately guiding them to promotion to the Premier League.
At 33, he became the second youngest manager in the Championship, working with some players who were older than him, and plenty who had performed at a higher level. Neil, though, was typically unfazed.
He recalls his first words to the squad being to urge them to do better. The players's recollection is that it was more of a blunt ultimatum - shape up or ship out.
Results were immediate, with 17 wins from the remaining 25 games, including an unbeaten run of 13 away games, and then promotion via the play-offs.
Ipswich were dispatched in the semi-final, after Neil assured his players their opponents would run out of steam in the second leg at Carrow Road because they played at such a high intensity. Norwich scored twice in the second half and then defeated Middlesbrough in the final after Neil told his players that their opponents had only come back from conceding the opening goal once in four years. Norwich scored first.
The reward was a windfall for the club, and a rise in status for the manager, but his job only became more challenging.
"People think you get £130m put in your bank account the next day, but that's not the case," Neil said.
"That money's broken down over the whole season. Norwich are self-sustaining and don't have anybody who invests. So my first signings were the first week in August, because the [play-off] money didn't drop until August."
Neil was capable of moments of audacity, such as guiding his team to a 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, but of the three promoted sides they invested the least amount ahead of the campaign and ended up dropping back down to the Championship, while Bournemouth and Watford remained in the Premier League.
Neil believed he could return Norwich to the top flight and won eight of the opening 12 games this season. He suffered a run of six league games without a win in October and another run of five games without a victory in the run-up to his departure.
"It was a strange and difficult time for us," Neil told BBC Scotland.
"The away form was always poor, but our home form was relatively good. We beat Nottingham Forest by five, Brentford by five - they've just beaten Reading by seven - so they were always capable.
"We didn't have enough consistency. This group has more technical quality than the last group, but I'm not sure it's as resilient.
"I wouldn't say I was harshly treated. When you don't win games, your position is going to come under question. Looking at the squad, were we good enough to get ourselves up? Yeah, I would say we were.
"[Major shareholder] Delia [Smith] wasn't the one who told me I was no longer required. I spoke to [chairman] Ed Balls and Steve Stone, and I requested to go and speak to Delia in the boardroom upstairs, and I thanked her for everything she'd done and the opportunity, because it was a gamble.
"I've got no ill feelings towards anybody. I had plans to take it forward and my only frustration is that I've not had the opportunity to see that through."
Neil won two promotions in four years, at Hamilton then Norwich, and believes his achievements are worthy of another opportunity in England. He has no plans to return to Scottish football, and admits the game he left behind is not highly thought of in England.
"It was like that when I was a player and it's just as bad now," Neil said.
"Even talking about scouting Scotland, they say, 'don't even bother', they won't come up and look at the talent. The English game regards itself as far and away beyond the Scottish game.
"It might be right in a sense off the field, but there are players in Scotland who can go down to England and do really well. Two of the lads I played with are a case in point - [James] McCarthy and [James] McArthur have done exceptionally well.
"There's no reason, given the right backing that some other kids could do the same."


A man who had to be Tasered by police officers trying to rescue his victim as he attempted to rape her, has been detained for nearly six years.

Adam Salah, of Walmersley Road in Bury, Greater Manchester, sexually assaulted the woman as she walked home before one of his friends tried to drag him off.
The 19-year-old attacked her again when police saw him lying on top of her and used a Taser to restrain him.
Salah earlier admitted attempted sexual assault at Manchester Crown Court.
His 33-year-old victim was walking home along Great Cheetham Street, Salford, from a friend's house in the early hours of 1 April 2014 when Salah and his friend started calling to her, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.
She ignored them but Salah walked over before grabbing her and pushing her up against a wall.
He then sexually assaulted her over her clothing.
After his friend tried to drag him away, the woman rang police and screamed at Salah: "You're not getting away with this."
Det Con Richard Hudd said she "decided to try and bring him to justice by following him until officers showed up".
In a "harrowing" call, police said the woman screamed that a man had tried to rape her and was following her again.
She told them her location before she was heard screaming as the line went dead.
Salah put her in a choke hold while sexually assaulting her.
The victim tried to break free by scratching and biting him.
Two police officers arrived at Albert Park, Salford, where they heard a scream and saw Salah lying on top of the woman.
They tried to pull him away but he resisted to the extent that they were forced to deploy a Taser, police said.
Det Con Hudd said: "Salah was out of control, he could not be restrained by his friend in the first instance and even our trained officers struggled to restrain him when they found him attacking her in the park.
"We must praise the bravery of the victim, who refused to allow Salah to get away with the original assault... Unfortunately in this instance that put her in danger of another attack.
"But thanks to her courage and her determination, Salah is no longer free to subject any other women to the terrible assault he inflicted upon her."
Salah has been ordered to sign the sex offenders' register indefinitely.


Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is ready to provide a loan of about £10m to Rangers but wants security of Ibrox Stadium and the club's Murray Park training ground, BBC Scotland has learned.

The so-called Three Bears consortium, led by the businessman Douglas Park, is believed to have offered a counter loan of about half that amount.
That group wants two seats on the club board and security over Murray Park.
However, it is thought the Rangers board feel the £5m loan is not enough.
In a statement to the Stock Exchange at lunchtime on Thursday, Rangers said: "The directors confirm that they are currently considering various proposals to secure the financial future of the club, however no decision has been made at this time."
The club needs a major injection of cash within the next few weeks just to continue as a going concern.
Rangers released a statement last year assuring fans that the club's stadium would never be used as security.
Negotiations between the board and the Park consortium - comprising Park, George Letham and George Taylor - have been ongoing since they took their shareholding in the company to about 20% at the end of last year.
However, so far, no agreement has been reached.
The board are understood to favour a joint funding package including cash from Ashley, who has already provided a total of £3m in loans.
Rangers have paved the way for the acceptance of Ashley's loan by lodging advance notices of security against Ibrox and Murray Park on behalf of Sports Direct, Ashley's sportswear company.
The notices, lodged with the Register of Scotland on 13 January, mean that only Sports Direct can be granted security on the properties for a 35-day period.
They also have the effect of making it impossible - for the next 35 days - to accept the security condition of the Three Bears' offer.
The group would look to convert their loan funding into equity at a later date, but this avenue is not open to Ashley after the Scottish Football Association rejected the Newcastle United owner's request for permission to raise his stake in the club above 10%.
As well as chairman David Somers' assertion that Ibrox would never be used as security against a loan, a request for it by Sale Sharks owner Brian Kennedy was denied when he offered a £3m emergency loan late last year.
The Ibrox directors instead opted for a £2m loan - later raised to £3m - from Ashley, who owns 8.92% of Rangers.
His long-time associate Derek Llambias has since been appointed chief executive, while Barry Leach left his role as an executive at Sports Direct to become finance director at the club.
"The board has given public assurances that Ibrox would not be used for any type of security," said Chris Graham of the Rangers Supporters Trust.
"We will be liaising with other shareholders to see what legal remedies are available. This is precisely why we campaigned so hard to protect our stadium.
"It is quite clear that Mr Llambias and Mr Leach are only in place to ensure that Mike Ashley retains power.
"This board has to be removed immediately and the fans have to make their feelings known in the strongest possible terms. This is the final straw."


Leinster replaced Irish rivals Munster at the top of the Pro12 - at least overnight - by clinching a bonus-point victory over Edinburgh at the RDS.

Winger Barry Daly and fly-half Joey Carbery scored two tries each for the victors, who have reaped 19 points from their last four Pro12 matches.
Flanker Dan Leavy and hooker Bryan Byrne got further tries for Leinster.
Fly-half Duncan Weir scored all of Edinburgh's points, including a well-taken 70th-minute try.
Munster can reclaim top spot on Saturday when they play Ospreys.
Leinster, losing finalists to Connacht last season, got an early touchdown after a fine break by flanker Leavy, on as an early replacement for Josh van der Flier. When the ball was recycled, Leinster had the numbers out on the left and Daly managed to just get in at the corner.
Edinburgh were having a lot of the possession without making it count on the scoreboard and they fell further behind when fly-half Carbery, who had been short with his conversion attempt, slotted over a straightforward penalty.
Weir quickly replied with a penalty for the visitors, who finished the first half strongly.
They could have been level but for a costly drop by Tom Brown in the last move of the half. The winger just had to collect a brilliant, swooping pass from Chris Dean to be in, but somehow failed to gather.
As the half-time whistle blew, a dejected Brown, who had earlier taken a knock, was consoled by team-mates and Leinster enjoyed an 8-3 interval advantage.
Leinster, unbeaten since Boxing Day, went further ahead as 21-year-old Carbery scored two tries early in the second half.
The Auckland-born fly-half, in his first start since December following ankle surgery, wriggled over from close range in the 48th minute after the home forwards had been held up several times just short of the line.
Then, on 53 minutes, turnover ball saw Leinster break from deep in their own half with Carbery finishing it off and Ross Byrne converting for 20-3.
Leinster, Pro12 winners in 2013 and 2014, clinched the bonus point when winger Daly ran through to score his second try of the evening.
Leavy then got on the end of a drive to get the hosts' fifth try.
Weir grabbed Edinburgh's sole touchdown but Bryan Byrne had the last word with a try which Ross Byrne converted for a 39-10 winning margin.
While interim head coach Duncan Hodge has steered Edinburgh to a home European Challenge Cup quarter-final, this was his eighth defeat from 11 Pro12 fixtures since succeeding Alan Solomons in September.


Paralympic long jump champion Markus Rehm has a dream of competing at both the Rio Olympics and Paralympics later this year.

Media playback is not supported on this device
But the German single-leg amputee is running out of time to prove that his carbon fibre running blade does not give him an unfair advantage over his Olympic rivals.
The 27-year-old set a world record of 8.40m in winning the T44 long jump event at the IPC World Championships in Doha in October - a distance that would have given him gold ahead of Britain's Greg Rutherford at the 2012 London Olympics.
It means the man known as Blade Jumper would be a genuine medal prospect for the Olympics, but he has told BBC Sport that it could cost him up to 300,000 euros (£232,800) to take tests to prove he is eligible to compete on the biggest stage of all.
Rehm, who lost his lower right leg in a boating accident when he was 14, wants athletics' governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), to act quickly with the Olympics less than six months away.
"We have contacted the IAAF and we need to get some information on exactly what they need, what they want to measure and then I can see if there is a possibility of organising it," he explained.
"But it is impossible for me to manage it myself - it's a lot of money.
"We need the information first. It doesn't make any sense to get measurements now and for the IAAF to say that isn't what they want.
"I really would love to have a measurement, to make it certain for everyone. I just want to do it fair, and that's why I've always offered to have measurements to find out what is the right way for us."
Rehm's long jump technique sees him jump off his prosthetic leg and experts have questioned whether the blade gives him an advantage when he plants it down at the point of take-off.
After he won the German National Championships in 2014, he was prevented from competing at the European Championships in Zurich because of concerns over the prosthetic.
The German Athletics Federation said then it had doubts over whether jumps with a prosthetic limb could be compared to those using a natural joint.
Rehm, who was due to compete against Rutherford in Saturday's Glasgow International Grand Prix before the Briton pulled out injured, wants to find a satisfactory solution but says that the prosthesis also limits his performance.
"For sprinting, I would set up my leg a bit different than for long jumping so I am a bit slower in my run-up and also I can't make adjustments when I take off," he explains.
"People don't see the hard work I do in training - if it was so easy to jump with a prosthetic leg more than eight metres, then why can nobody else do it?
"It would be a good sign for our sport if we could do it together, sit together at one table, talk about it, see what we need and how can we manage it.
"Being at the Olympics representing your country would be a special feeling. I can represent Paralympic sport as well and it would be an amazing chance to show what Paralympic athletes are able to achieve."
Analysis
BBC sports correspondent Andy Swiss
Markus Rehm's case has obvious echoes of South African Oscar Pistorius, who became the first amputee athlete to compete at the Olympics in 2012. But this case is arguably more significant because he has genuine medal potential.
When I spoke to him, Rehm came across as anything but a confrontational character. He said he would even be happy to compete at the Olympics without an official ranking - and therefore be unable to win a medal - simply so he can showcase Paralympic sport. Yet his frustration with his situation was obvious.
At the moment, some observers argue his blade must help him on take-off; others disagree, pointing out that it has to balance his left leg during the run-up. The truth is that nobody knows, because there has been no definitive research.
As the standard of Paralympic athletics improves every year, this is unlikely to be the last example of an amputee athlete wanting to prove themselves against able-bodied counterparts.


Twenty-five years of shopping at Cheltenham's Beechwood Shopping Centre ends this weekend as the final tenant - Debenhams - shuts up shop.

The arcade, which opened in 1991, is to be converted into a huge new John Lewis store, due to open next year.
Former town centre manager Martin Quantock said he felt nostalgic about it closing but it was the "beginning of a new era" for Cheltenham.
Debenhams employs 58 permanent staff, some of whom are being made redundant.
John Lewis plans to convert the whole site into one huge department store in a Â£30m deal with site owners BlackRock and Cheltenham Borough Council.
Mr Quantock, town centre manager between 2002 and February 2015, said he had "mixed feelings" about its closure and had fond memories of the staff who had worked there.
"I worked in several towns all over the country and I never came across a shopping centre quite like that one, with a garden set in the middle," he said.
But he said its design had changed little since it opened in 1991 and there had been rumours of a refit for years.
John Lewis was a "massive name" and would be a major draw to Cheltenham, he said.
Debenhams, which has been the centre's biggest tenant, will close on Saturday. It has said it is "disappointed" to lose the site.
In a statement on Friday, it said: "We have consulted with our colleagues and provided them with the necessary support.
"A number of the colleagues from the store have been redeployed within the business and it is with great regret that we have had to make some redundancies."
John Lewis says it will "work directly with Debenhams' HR team to ensure their current employees that are impacted by this have a fair opportunity to gain employment with us".