McLaren's treatment of Jenson Button has been "disgusting", according to former grand prix driver Derek Warwick.

McLaren have been unable to choose whether to retain Button, 34, or Dane Kevin Magnussen, 22, to partner two-time champion Fernando Alonso in 2015.
Warwick, who competed at 162 grands prix between 1981 and 1993, added: "Button deserves to stay."
The 60-year-old Englishman also felt that Alonso and Button would make "a great combination".
Warwick, chairman of the British Racing Drivers' Club, said it was a "difficult situation" for McLaren because Magnussen had risen through the ranks and had impressed the team in his debut season in 2014,
"They've invested heavily in Kevin Magnussen," Warwick told BBC Radio 5 live. "He's obviously someone for the future, so I think it's a difficult situation for them."
He added that Button's continued presence at McLaren was important for the British Racing Drivers' Club, which owns Silverstone.
"Our fingers are crossed for Jenson because he brings a lot of people to the British Grand Prix," said Warwick. "That's important for us."
McLaren, who are starting a new engine partnership with Honda next season, have completed a deal for Alonso to re-join the team but will not make it official until they have decided on the identity of the second driver.
The decision is solely that of McLaren chairman Ron Dennis, according to sources.
A McLaren board meeting on Thursday broke up without the team deciding on their driver line-up.
Asked what was causing the delay, a spokesman said: "The team declines to add further details."
He added McLaren would be making "no driver selection announcements until next week at the earliest".
Button, the 2009 world champion, was at a sponsor's event with Magnussen in Scotland on Thursday.
"There are options, but nothing set in stone yet," said the Englishman.
"What I can say is I'll definitely be racing next year - and in a series I'll be very excited to race in - so there's no worry of me not racing next year.
"If it's a new challenge, it will be exciting. If it's in Formula 1, it will be very exciting as well because that will be a new challenge with Honda.
"But I just want to get it done. I want to hear the decision - as we all do - so we can all move on in whatever direction."
Button is keen to stay in F1 and test himself against Alonso, who many observers regard as the best driver in the world.
But he has to decide whether to hang on for a decision from Dennis - which could take weeks - and risk losing his other options, among which is a move to the world endurance championship, with the Le Mans 24 Hours as its centrepiece.
Button added: "It's been an important week, but a really good week. Whatever happens, I will have a great year next year."
Writing on Twitter, Magnussen said of Button: "He is an awesome guy and, no matter what happens next year, I'm cheering for him."


Saudi Arabia has shot down a Scud missile fired from across the border by Yemen's Houthi rebels and its allies, the state Saudi Press Agency says.

It was intercepted by a Patriot missile battery near the south-western city of Khamis Mushait in the morning.
On Friday, four Saudi soldiers and many Yemeni rebels died in fighting on the border, the Saudi-led coalition says.
It says forces loyal to Yemen's former president, backed by the Houthis, attacked several Saudi positions.
In a separate development, the Houthis have agreed to attend peace talks in Geneva.
The UN-brokered meeting on 14 June in Switzerland is aimed at ending weeks of war that has claimed more than 2,000 lives.
Scud: 'Entry level' ballistic missile
"We accepted the invitation of the United Nations to go to the negotiating table in Geneva without preconditions," Daifallah al-Shami, a senior member of the rebels' political wing told AFP.
Yemen's government, which is operating from Riyadh, also said it would attend.
A Saudi-led coalition has been bombing rebel positions in Yemen for 10 weeks, in support of the country's exiled president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.
The Houthis overran the capital Sanaa last September and have gone on to seize most of the country.
Although there have been previous border skirmishes and deadly rebel fire against Saudi Arabia, Friday's battle is only the second major ground attack reported against Saudi territory.
The rebels "aimed to penetrate our borders", and were eventually repelled, the Saudi statement added.
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen has been described as "catastrophic" by the UN with 20 million civilians - 80% of the population - in need of aid.
At least 21 people have died during violence since Thursday in the Aden area, while there were intense coalition air raids against Daleh and Shabwa provinces.


Former MotoGP champion Nicky Hayden has died aged 35, five days after being involved in a crash while cycling.

The American suffered "serious cerebral damage" after colliding with a car on the Rimini coastline in Italy on Wednesday, 17 May.
The 2006 MotoGP championship winner had been in the intensive care unit of Cesena's Maurizio Bufalini Hospital.
"We would like everyone to remember Nicky at his happiest - riding a motorcycle," his brother Tommy said.
A hospital statement issued on Thursday said Hayden had suffered "a serious polytrauma", which is a medical term to describe the condition of a person who has multiple traumatic injuries.
Hayden, who was nicknamed the Kentucky Kid, had competed for Red Bull Honda in the World Superbike Championship in Italy on 14 May.
Older brother Tommy, who was also a motorcycle racer, said the family had many "great and happy memories" of Hayden.
"He dreamed as a kid of being a pro-rider and not only achieved that but also managed to reach the pinnacle of his chosen sport," he said.
"We are all so proud of that. We will all miss him terribly."
Sister Kathleen added: "Today I not only lost my big brother, but I lost a best friend."
Red Bull Honda World Superbike said that the racing world had said goodbye to "one of its dearest sons."
"The 'Kentucky Kid' will be sorely missed by all that ever had the pleasure of meeting him or the privilege to see him race a motorcycle around a track, be it dirt or asphalt," a statement read.
The Kentucky-born racer first competed in MotoGP in 2003 and finished third in the standings two years later. He ended Valentino Rossi's five-year winning streak in 2006 following a dramatic final race in Valencia.
Hayden had been eight points adrift of Rossi heading into the decider, but saw the Italian slide out on lap five and eventually finish in 13th place. Hayden's third-place finish allowed him to take the title by five points.
He remains the last American to win the premier class of motorcycle road racing.
At the time, BBC commentator Steve Parrish described the season as "the most entertaining I have ever seen".
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BBC's Azi Farni
Nicky was a real gentleman. He came from a wonderful family, a big racing family. His two brothers raced, his two sisters raced when they were younger, his father raced.
This was a dirt track family. They come from Kentucky and had a race track at their house. Racing was something that they all did together.
His family were such a huge part of who he was. If you look at his Twitter handle it says "bikes and family".
He was so loving and this is going to be such a great loss for them.


A woman who started a petition against convicted rapist Ched Evans's proposed move to Oldham Athletic says the player "doesn't know what rape is".

The blogger, who uses the pseudonym Jean Hatchet, said: "He was convicted of rape and he still doesn't acknowledge it was rape. And that's the incredibly dangerous message."
Her petition to push the club to refuse to sign Evans has gained more than 45,000 supporters since Sunday.
Oldham are still mulling over a deal.
Former Wales international striker Evans, who was found guilty of raping a 19-year-old woman at a Rhyl, Denbighshire hotel in 2011, was freed from prison in October.
The now 26-year-old served half of his five-year sentence and is currently on licence under the supervision of the probation service.
Speaking to BBC News, the blogger said: "Crucially he hasn't served his time, he's served half of his time, he's still on licence.
"He's also not, as far as I can see, reformed or rehabilitated - he doesn't acknowledge his crime. And that's the key thing here - he doesn't know what rape is."
She added: "It's time that the Football Association [and] the Professional Footballers' Association realised that accepting players back into a high-profile role that have committed such an atrocious crime is wrong. They've got to take a stand on this."
After his release from prison, Jean Hatchet also started a petition - which gained about 169,000 supporters - designed to dissuade Evans's former club Sheffield United from reinstating him.
He was offered the use of their training facilities before the League One side backtracked amid heavy criticism from supporters and club patrons including Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill.
Evans maintains his innocence, and an investigation into his conviction by the Criminal Cases Review Commission is under way.


A report has suggested that a UK departure from the EU would leave Britain's environment "in a more vulnerable and uncertain position."

The study has been prepared by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP).
According to the analysis, membership has had "a significant positive impact" on the environment.
But pro-Brexit campaigners dismissed the report as "complete tosh".
The report says that EU rules have led to a substantial decline in most industrial sources of air and water pollution, a fall in greenhouse gas emissions and the rapid recent growth of renewable energy.
It also credits European policies with bringing about a major increase in recycling rates, along with the establishment of a system for the review of the safety of chemicals.
Leaving Europe entirely would mean that future UK governments could make widespread changes to levels of environmental protection.
"The risks of withdrawing from the EU are significant for nature," says the report.
The Birds and Habitats Directives - policies that are the backbone of conservation in the EU and both of which have generated significant improvement for species and habitats - would no longer apply.
Instead, the UK government would be at liberty to change this legislation.
Judging by the UK government's responses to a range of environmental proposals from the European Commission in recent years, it seems more likely that the current government and possibly its successors would opt for a "less ambitious approach than that adopted by the EU".
It cites the example of the debate over the expansion of Heathrow airport: "With no requirement to implement EU law, the approval of these kinds of developments could leave populations at risk of increased exposure in the future."
The report argues that the UK would be excluded from decision-making on EU law and this would be "an unequivocal drawback of departure".
Separating UK, EU and international environmental law, built up over four decades, "would be a considerable challenge and a source of significant uncertainty".
The report also says that there are drawbacks to remaining within Europe.
It can take a long time to get agreements and it does not always produce clear policy: for example, the EU definition of "waste", which can be interpreted in many different ways.
It says that the Common Agricultural Policy has been responsible for the mass industrialisation of agriculture.
The relatively recent "greening" elements of the Common Agricultural Policy - designed to support practices beneficial to the climate and the environment - are overly bureaucratic and some farmers and NGOs question whether they will have any effect.
The report also argues that the Common Fisheries Policy has been complicated and controversial and has failed to effectively protect the marine environment.
But former Environment Secretary Owen Paterson dismissed the principal conclusion of the report as "complete tosh".
"It's not true that leaving the EU would harm the environment," he said.
"We would do a much better job if we were outside. We would be able to interpret the legislation - such as the Bern Convention (on the Conservation of European and Wildlife Habitats) to our own flora and fauna, while also being an active participant in other bodies."
The UK's leading conservation bodies - WWF, the RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts are calling for clarity from both the "in" and "out" camps to say what they will do for the environment.
WWF-UK's Director of Advocacy Trevor Hutchings said, "Not everything that comes from Europe has been good for the natural world, but on balance membership of the EU has delivered benefits for our environment that would be hard to replicate in the event of the UK leaving."
Commenting on the IEEP report, Friends of the Earth campaigner Sam Lowe said:
"This welcome report by the IEEP is yet further evidence that the UK's environmental interests are better served inside the EU. It is not possible to address the challenges of the future - such as climate change and the destruction of the natural world - alone. We should be working together, not pulling apart."
Follow Claire on Twitter @BBCMarshall.


Investigators in Switzerland and Sweden are probing alleged links between a leading European telecommunications company and a high-level multi-million dollar fraud and corruption scandal in Uzbekistan.

The allegations stretch all the way to businesswoman, pop diva and one-time UN ambassador Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov.
She has so far not commented on the claims and the BBC's efforts for her to do so have remained unanswered.
Swedish-based TeliaSonera, which is partly state-owned, has been at the centre of a huge political storm since Swedish TV broadcast a report accusing it of making a $300m payment to an intermediary company for the rights to operate a 3G mobile phone service in the Central Asian republic.
Those payments seem to have disappeared.
TeliaSonera strongly denies any wrongdoing, but the case, which is now the subject of a major Swedish prosecutor's investigation, has been discussed in parliament and continues to make headlines in Sweden.
The case against TeliaSonera centres on a small company called Takilant, which is registered in Gibraltar and owned by an Uzbek national called Gayane Avakyan.
Little is known about Ms Avakyan - and how at the age of 29 she has ended up running a company negotiating mobile phone licences on behalf of the Uzbek government.
However, in a photograph taken of her recently at a Paris Fashion show, she is sitting next to Ms Karimova.
It is this connection which has given the TeliaSonera allegations an explosive extra edge.
Gulnara Karimova is believed to have major commercial interests in Uzbekistan - including in the telecoms sector.
But until now there has been little if any evidence linking her directly to any specific businesses or corroborating any of the allegations of fraud frequently levelled against her.
The TeliaSonera story might just change that.
The company first hit the headlines in April when it acknowledged that it had given security services in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Belarus access to its computer systems - in effect enabling them to spy on mobile phone users. TeliaSonera runs telecom services in all three countries.
Subsequent investigations by Swedish public television revealed that the $300m which TeliaSonera said it had paid to intermediary company Takilant for a 3G licence in Uzbekistan never appeared in the company's books.
Swedish journalists travelled to Gibraltar, where Takilant is registered to see if they could find out more. Although they were able to obtain copies of the company's annual accounts, they discovered no offices or staff.
Meanwhile, the BBC's Uzbek service in London found the same story when they went to the registered address of a Takilant affiliate company in the UK.
As a result of the Swedish TV report,  state prosecutors in Stockholm opened an investigation and ordered that Takilant's Swedish account with Nordea Bank - containing $30m - should be frozen.
At the same time as the Swedish investigation, Takilant had also caught the attention of the Money Laundering Reporting Office in Switzerland.
The development came after bank officials at the exclusive Lombard Odier Bank in Geneva became concerned in June when their client, Uzbek telecoms tycoon Bekzod Ahmedov, appeared on the Interpol wanted list, accused of massive fraud in Uzbekistan.
Mr Ahmedov used to be general director of a mobile phone company called Uzdunrobita. According to documents obtained by the Financial Times newspaper in 2003, this company was owned by Gulnara Karimova.
In a further twist to this complex sequence of events, two Uzbek men were arrested in Geneva in July after allegedly trying to get access to the Takilant accounts using documents which, according to banking sources, had been forged abroad.
Immediately afterwards Swiss prosecutors launched a major investigation into money-laundering and froze a series of Takilant accounts containing hundreds of millions of US dollars.
One of the men was Alisher Ergashev - a named holder of the Takilant account frozen in Sweden.
Interestingly, Mr Ergashev's name and signature also appear on recently-revealed company documents in France as the director of two property firms.
The main shareholder of the companies is Gulnara Karimova, whose signature appears on the documents.
Alisher Ergashev and his co-detainee are currently on bail while the investigation into Takilant continues.
Swiss prosecutors office told the BBC that they are investigating two other Uzbeks in relation to the case.
They have not been named, but a Swiss investigative journalist with knowledge of the story told the BBC that, according to his sources, one of them was Takilant owner Gayane Avakyan. The other is believed to be Mr Ahmedov, the former telecoms tycoon.
A former Swiss public prosecutor, Bernard Bertossa, told the BBC he did not expect the Uzbek authorities would co-operate.
"It is difficult when such an investigation concerns... people close to members of the governmentâ€¦ in countries like Uzbekistan," he said. "The judiciary [there] is not independent."
Meanwhile, in Sweden the investigation into Takilant and TeliaSonera continues.
The company's chief executive, Lars Nyberg has offered to resign if there is any evidence of corruption. He has instigated an independent inquiry into TeliaSonera's activities in Uzbekistan which will report its findings by the end of the year.
And in Uzbekistan itself Ms Karimova's mind appears to have been far away from corruption rows.  She has been busy promoting her new pop single and video as well as her fashion brand.


Liverpool is marking the 50th birthday of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper album by asking a dizzying array of performers to reinterpret the songs in the city.

From choirs to cabaret performers and musicians to artists, each will stage an event inspired by a different track.
The album - released on 1 June 1967 - regularly comes towards the top of lists of the greatest albums ever made.
The Liverpool festival takes place in May and June and is split into two halves - one for each side of the LP.
The first event - based on the first track -will act as an "overture" and will take place from 25-27 May, with the rest of side one being staged from 1-5 June.
Side two will take place from 8-11 June - except A Day in the Life, which will be the finale on 16 June.
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said the festival would be "thought-provoking, sometimes cheeky and always entertaining".
At the event's launch on Wednesday, he said: "We're not about wrapping The Beatles' heritage in aspic or, if you like, turning The Beatles into a Disney-style theme park.
"But we have to celebrate the place, the city, that gave them their inspiration and helped them write their fantastic work."
Jeremy Deller said one of his works will be about Brian Epstein in the year of the 50th anniversary of The Beatles manager's death. Details of his second work are under wraps.
"Every project has its own challenges but it's a record I've lived with and I know The Beatles inside out - or I feel I do. I've studied them," Deller said.
"It's almost like a religion, isn't it, popular music, and The Beatles are at the apex of that. So I feel I have an inside take on it."
He added: "I think it's important it doesn't become a big nostalgia festival really. I don't mind nostalgia, but the festival has to be about more than just The Beatles - it has to be about Liverpool as it is now and the future of Liverpool to have any meaning for the public."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.


India's Supreme Court has ordered an inquiry into allegations of extra-judicial executions by security forces in the north-eastern state of Manipur.

The court on Friday asked federal investigators to examine multiple civilian deaths between 1979 and 2012
Activists say that troops have killed more than 1,500 people in the state in the past four decades.
Officials deny the claim and blame the deaths on insurgent groups which have been fighting for independence.
The court's order follows its landmark decision last year to ask rights groups and the families of the victims to gather evidence against security forces.
The government and security forces opposed any investigation into the civilian deaths.
But the court accepted the evidence presented by rights groups, who accuse security forces of misusing a controversial anti-insurgency law to commit rights abuses.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) gives the security forces the powers of search and seizure. It also protects soldiers who may kill a civilian by mistake or in unavoidable circumstances during an operation.
The law has been blamed for "fake killings" in Manipur and Indian-administered Kashmir.
A former police commando told the BBC last month that he had killed more than 100 people in Manipur, and had kept a "tally of his kills" in notebooks.
"I was simply doing my duty and following the orders of my seniors. I confessed because I thought it was important to tell the truth," Herojit Singh told the BBC.
Activists say the court's decision to order an investigation into the killings could give some peace to the family members of the victims.
Neena Ningombam vividly remembers the day her husband disappeared - and ended up a corpse on cable news.
It was a bright, sunny November day in 2008, and 32-year-old Michael was visiting a friend's house in Imphal, the non-descript, mountain-ringed valley capital of Manipur.
At home, Ms Ningombam was doing her chores. Her two boys were fast asleep. At half past three in the afternoon, her mobile phone rang.
Michael was on the line saying that he had been picked up by police commandos on his way home, and that she should quickly pass on the news of his arrest to a senior policeman who was known to the family so that he could help secure his release.
The call disconnected abruptly. Two hours later, a man finally picked up the phone and told Ms Ningombam that her husband was "in the toilet". He said he would inform him that she had called.
Michael never called. When she tried calling again, his phone was switched off.
Read more from Soutik Biswas in Manipur here


Somali security forces have retaken control of a popular beachside restaurant in Mogadishu after a deadly attack there by Islamist militants.

The gunmen had approached the restaurant from Lido beach on Thursday evening, firing on diners.
Twenty people were killed. Militants also detonated two car bombs nearby.
Al-Shabab said it was behind the attack. The group has carried out frequent assaults on the Somali capital.
Who are al-Shabab?
Al-Shabab divided by IS call
Lido beach: Sun, surf and... grenades?
Troops then besieged the attackers at the restaurant for eight hours. It was not immediately clear how many of the militants were killed or captured.
The Somali authorities said the leader of the attack had been arrested.
Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke condemned the killings as "barbaric".
There are varying reports about how the attack started but it appears that as the first car bomb went off, at around 19:30 local time (16:30 GMT) on Thursday, the gunmen stormed the area.
"They randomly fired at the people sitting near the beach before entering the restaurant,'' witness Ahmed Nur told Associated Press.
Twenty people were injured in addition to those killed, police said.
After the evening prayer, I went to Lido beach, in particular Beach View restaurant. When I was there about 30 minutes, and I was spending time with my friends including journalists, we saw bullets raining on us.
A good number of people were seated around me, there was a wedding ceremony at the hall of the restaurant. We started running towards the door, but before I reached it we heard a loud explosion.
I saw some people jumping from the second floor. Bullets were flying all over the place, and there was another explosion. Then everyone got confused. I personally saw three wounded people. I did not see those who have been harmed by the explosions. I think the car was parked near the main door of the restaurant.
Lido beach, on the northern edge of Mogadishu, attracts thousands of mostly young Somalis who come to relax and enjoy the beach and the surf.
Several restaurants have opened up along the beach front in recent years, and people would have been sitting out in front of them when the attacks began.
Al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda, was ousted from Mogadishu in August 2011, but still has a presence in large areas of southern Somalia.
The group stormed an African Union military base last week in southern Somalia, killing dozens of Kenyan troops.


There has been a slowdown in the British economy, driven by weaker construction, manufacturing and energy production - although it would be premature to see this as an end to the recovery.

GDP, or national income, grew 0.5% in the fourth quarter of the year, compared with 0.7% in the third and a recent peak of 0.8% in the second. That looks like a trend.
That said, annual growth in the last three months of the year was still a healthy 2.7%. In 2014 as a whole the economy expanded 2.6%.
The recovery is real. And it still has momentum, if less than before.
The deceleration is not surprising, in view of the flatlining of the UK's main trading partner, the eurozone.
And two of the negative influences, a fall in energy supply of 2.8% and in construction of 1.8%, are in industries that tend to be volatile.
That said, it does give pause for thought that growth is now apparently being driven to a large extent by retail and consumer spending.
This is potentially troubling, given that many would argue that the flaw in Britain's economy in the boom years before the crash and Great Recession of 2008 was that it was too reliant on debt-fuelled consumer spending.
There is some evidence from consumer debt figures that households are borrowing a bit more again. But there hasn't been a dramatic dip in the savings ratio. And it is arguable that consumers are spending the early windfalls from lower petrol prices.
But we were supposed to be rebalancing, towards manufacturing and investment. And although there has been a bit of that over the past couple of year, it appears to be petering out.
So in the latest period, all UK growth (and in fact a bit more than all) came from services, which rose 0.8%, identical to its growth in the previous quarter; manufacturing was just 0.1% higher, following a rise of 0.3% in the previous quarter.
What's the outlook for the months before the election?
Well the fall in gas and petrol prices, which puts money in our pockets, should continue to power household spending - and maintain the recovery at the kind of pace we enjoyed in 2014.
But one big uncertainty is what this does to our unsustainably large current account deficit, the gap between our earnings from and payments to the rest of the world, of 6% of GDP.
All that household consumption will suck in imports, but that may be offset by the lower price we are paying for oil.
So the economy retains structural weaknesses. And when I interview the chancellor later today, if he doesn't say that is all the more reason for the country to stick to his "long term economic plan" - including attempts to mend the public finances - then I may have reason to question my sanity.
And George Osborne will insist that Britain continues to grow significantly faster than most other developed economies - especially those across the Channel, but not America.
But as the election looms, there is an important question about who has paid most for the recovery, the rich or the poor?
The Treasury's position, repeated today, is that "the richest 20% of households will contribute more to reducing the deficit than the remaining 80% put together" and that the "richest 10% of households have made the largest contribution to reducing the deficit".
But that is not desperately surprising in a country which has a progressive income tax system - and in which the highest rate of income tax was initially increased (and then partly reversed).
And what may fuel an important debate between now and polling day is a series of detailed reports, written by academics from the London School of Economics and the Universities of York and Manchester, showing how certain poorer and vulnerable groups have been disproportionately hurt by austerity and budget cuts.
Perhaps the most damaging claim made in the reports is that cuts to tax credits and cash benefits took more away from those in the bottom half of the income spectrum than these poorer people gained from the significant increases to tax allowances.
And they say that whatever savings were made from this rebalancing of benefits and tax allowances were wiped out by cuts in income tax for the better off.
The Treasury's response is to criticise the authors for not taking into account "the effects of changes to the vital public services on which so many rely" - including the protection given to schools and health budgets.
But this may be to compare apples with pears. Because what LSE, Manchester and York have tried to do is look at different elements of tax and social policy, and examine its impact on specific groups - rather than come up with one simple number that shows that inequality had widened or narrowed (although they do say that poverty probably increased after 2012-13 and may get worse).
And they make two particularly resonant claims.
First, that families with children under five suffered significant cuts to services, as inflation-adjusted spending per child on childcare, Sure Start and early education services fell 25% between 2009-10 and 2012-13. They also say that benefit and tax reforms hit these families harder than other households.
Second, that users of adult social care fell 7% per year, at a time when there was 10% rise in the population aged over 65, with care-at-home services especially hard hit.
The point, of course, is that hard decisions had to be taken to fix the public finances. What will now, presumably, be the important debate between now and the election in May is whether the fairest and right decisions were made.


Gunmen have killed a Yemeni soldier and wounded a Frenchman working for the oil company Total, officials say.

The attack took place near the town of Sayun, in the eastern province of Hadramawt, as the men travelled by car from an oil field to a local airport.
Five masked gunmen reportedly pulled up alongside their vehicle and opened fire before fleeing. A second Yemeni inside the car was seriously wounded.
Security officials said they believed the assailants were linked to al-Qaeda.
A Total official told the Reuters news agency that the soldier who died had been sitting in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.
The Frenchman, who was in the back, was shot in the leg, he added.
It is not yet clear whether the second injured man was another soldier or a Total employee, but the Total official said he was in a critical condition in hospital after being shot three times in the chest.


The Wales Coast Path attracted nearly three million visitors and brought £32m to the economy over 12 months, figures suggest.

Tourism bosses said it had added "another dimension" to the attraction of walking in Wales.
The coastal path stretches 870 miles (1,400km) from the River Dee in Flintshire to Chepstow in the south.
Work on the path, the world's first round an entire country, began in 2007 with the formal opening in May 2012.
A study commissioned by Natural Resources Wales estimated there were 2.82 million visits to the path in the 12 months up to September 2013,
Three Golden Cups pub, Southerndown, Vale of Glamorgan
Landlady Elizabeth Williams says the path has had a "dramatic effect" on business.
She said: "It's possible that we may have had to close the business without it.
"With the pub being so close to the beach, it's very weather dependent.
"Casual walkers are more resilient - if you get a cold day with drizzle, they will still come out and walk.
"It has enabled us to take on an apprentice chef and a part-timer from the village."
Bridgend had the greatest number of visitors at 666,000 followed by Flintshire at 419,000.
The overwhelming majority of the visits (94%) were walking for leisure, with 38% of them using it as part of a longer holiday.
Cyclists made up 4% of people using the path.
Carole Startin, of Tourism Partnership North Wales, told BBC Wales the creation of the path had greatly boosted walking as an attraction to the area.
She said: "Walking has always been an important part of tourism in north Wales.
"You have the Clwydian range, Anglesey, the Llyn Peninsula - all have areas of outstanding natural beauty, and then there's the national parks.
"All those are big draws for people coming here for walking or on holiday.
"The coast path has added a new dimension to that and how we can promote north Wales.
"It is helping to put Wales on the map, not just for the walking but because it's such a unique thing."
The survey, published by Beaufort Research and Cardiff Business School, found average daily spending by people while in the local area (excluding accommodation) was £21.05 per party per day.
Those staying overnight spent an average of £57.20 on accommodation.
Chris Osborne, a Tenby hotelier who chairs the Wales Tourism Alliance, said the path was boosting business all year round.
"The fact you have something that goes right around Wales, I think, is an opportunity for a huge number of businesses," he said.
"What is evident too is that people walk throughout the year, regardless almost of the weather."
The study identified 5,400 tourism-related businesses within 2km (one-and-a-quarter miles) of the route.
It estimated the extra business had led to the creation of the equivalent of 112 jobs by firms along the route, though much of that would be comprised of part-time or temporary work.
The researchers concluded: "The Wales Coast Path has added a significant new product to the tourism assets of Wales, and its launch and promotion have raised the profile of Wales and its coastline as well as the path itself."
Culture Minister John Griffiths welcomed the report, telling BBC Radio Wales the path had created a lot of interest both in Wales and abroad.
"It's a great asset for Wales and demonstrates the value of the path to the economy but also the benefits for people who enjoy the coastline," he said.
"A lot of people are using it for its health benefits and we want to continue to improve the path and make it as accessible as possible," he added.


Senior figures in India's ruling party will be tried for criminal conspiracy over the destruction of a 16th Century mosque, the Supreme Court has ruled.

The order is seen as a huge setback for former BJP chief Lal Krishna Advani and his colleagues. The court said the trial must conclude within two years.
They deny making inflammatory speeches that encouraged Hindu mobs to tear down the Babri mosque at Ayodhya in 1992.
The riots that followed killed nearly 2,000 people.
Hindus claim the mosque was the birthplace of one of their most revered deities, Lord Ram, and that it was built after the destruction of a Hindu temple by a Muslim invader in the 16th Century.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has always said the destruction of the mosque was a planned event.
Those accused along with Mr Advani, a former deputy prime minister, include senior BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, who is in the current Indian cabinet. They have all denied any wrongdoing.
In its order on Wednesday morning, the two-judge Supreme Court bench said that the trial must be completed in two years, that it would be held on "a day-to-day basis" and that "on no grounds, will it be adjourned".
Since the court order, there has been no comment from Mr Advani or Mr Joshi, but Ms Bharti told reporters that there had been no conspiracy and that it was her dream to see the temple built.
"I want to tell the country it's time for the Ram temple to be built. There is no conspiracy. Yes, I was there in Ayodhya on 6 December [when the mosque was demolished]," she said.
"Why should I regret it. I was involved in the Ayodhya incident. I remain unrepentant."
Meanwhile BJP party spokesman Narasimha Rao told the BBC's Newshour programme that there was a "political subtext" to the charges.
"The charges may be criminal in nature, but there was a complete political conspiracy hatched by our political rivals to try to frame many of our leaders without any basis," he said.
The Supreme Court has been hearing the case since 2011 after setting aside a high court judgement which allocated two-thirds of the disputed site to Hindu groups, and the remainder to Muslims.
The Allahabad High Court ruling in 2010 addressed three major issues. It said the disputed spot was Lord Ram's birthplace, that the mosque had been built after the demolition of a temple and that it was not built in accordance with the tenets of Islam.
For the first time in a judicial ruling, it also said that the disputed site was the birthplace of the Hindu god.
Hindus want a temple built at the site, while Muslims want a new mosque.
Last month, Chief Justice JS Khehar urged the two communities to settle the bitter dispute through negotiations and even offered to act as a mediator between the parties.
The case has already languished in India's famously sluggish legal system for so long that most of the original petitioners have died.


A man who says he has lost 19 friends to suicide over three decades has spoken out so that other people might think twice about killing themselves.

Filmmaker Andrew Jenkins, 52, from Blaenau Gwent, plans to make an educational film about the issue.
This comes as the latest figures show a sharp rise in suicide rates in Wales, particularly among men.
In 2013, 393 suicides were recorded in Wales, up from 334 in 2012.
The number of men taking their own lives has risen from 21.4 in 2012 to 26.1 per 100,000 population in 2013, which is the highest figure since 1981.
The rate for women in Wales is 5.8, down from 5.9 in 2012.
The Welsh rate of suicide is higher than the UK figure of 11.9 deaths in 2013.
Meanwhile, a health watchdog is concerned about waits for mental health services after a Cardiff man's suicide before he could get counselling.
Mr Jenkins now lives in Monmouthshire but has spoken about 19 people he knew and grew up who took their own life in Blaenau Gwent over a 30 year period.
"Through the early '80s there seemed to be one every other month.
"You think of them individually quite regularly, especially when you see their family, but when you sit down and write the list, it frightened me to be honest."
He said he wishes they could look at the whole picture and the pain it leaves with the family.
Mr Jenkins plans to make an educational film on the topic with award winner director Peter Watkins-Hughes based on their own personal experiences later this year.
Stephen Habgood, chairman of charity Papyrus which is concerned with young people's suicides, said 75% of people who took their own lives were young men and he expected to see an increase in suicides among middle aged men in the latest Office for National Statistics figures.
"It's all caught up with men unwilling to admit they can't cope and are struggling. The recession raises concerns at the pressures it places on men, when their jobs or relationships are at risk as a consequence.
"There needs to be more support. We believe we should be asking young people not waiting for them to say. There's a myth that if you raise the subject of suicide you put the idea in their head. That's not the case at all, you just give them permission to say how they feel."
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The government is considering how best to proceed on this issue."
The man in his early 30s had a history of self harm, alcohol and drug abuse and had taken overdoses.
Two weeks before his death in January 2013 he took an overdose but was discharged from hospital and remained on a waiting list for counselling. His widow received an appointment letter two months after his death.
An inquest concluded that "there was a failure by those treating him to identify his suicidal intent."
Now the public services ombudsman Nick Bennett has found "lost opportunities" by Cardiff and Vale health board to properly evaluate the unnamed man's mental health and to comprehensively assess him.
He said his GP practice in Rumney continued prescribing benzodiazepines, contrary to national guidance - which says they should be for short term "crisis" use.
The practice apologised to his widow for the appointment letter being sent, while saying there was a two year wait for psychotherapy appointments in Cardiff and up to eight months for practice-based counselling.
"It is possible that if the waiting list for counselling had been shorter, or if there had been better services for stress-related issues within the NHS, this tragic outcome may have been avoided," said the practice.
Mr Bennett said he would be drawing a number of concerns about the waits for mental health services to the Welsh government.
All GPs in Wales are to be reminded about taking properly recorded suicide risk assessments and the "inadvisability" of prescribing benzodiazepine in the long term.
The ombudsman has told the health board and GP practice to both apologise for failings and to pay the widow Â£3,000.


Plymouth Argyle striker Jimmy Spencer will miss at least three months after breaking and dislocating his ankle.

The 24-year-old summer signing injured himself in training on Friday as he went to take a shot and will see a consultant this week.
He joins Ryan Brunt and left-back Gary Sawyer as long-term absentees.
"It's a huge blow, any players we have in the squad that are injured is very disappointing for us," manager Derek Adams told BBC Radio Devon.
Spencer had become first choice in the central striking role of the League Two leaders following an injury to on-loan Bristol City forward Paul-Arnold Garita, who has just returned to fitness.
"He and Garita have played in that area this season and held the ball up and performed well for us," Adams added following Saturday's 3-0 home loss to Grimsby.
"It's hard to take as a manager because you feel that you're getting somewhere and then something happens, it's like a roadblock, it's very difficult to overcome these things, so it's hard to take."


The two rivals in the disputed leadership contest for France's conservative opposition have been called to face-to-face talks.

Jean-Francois Cope officially won the UMP election on Sunday but Francois Fillon demanded a recount after it emerged 1,300 votes had been omitted.
UMP mediator Alain Juppe has asked the two to meet him by Sunday evening.
He also demanded an end to the name-calling which has marked the very public dispute.
Mr Fillon, who was prime minister under President Nicolas Sarkozy until his electoral defeat in May, has likened Mr Cope's allies to "a mafia" while his rival has described him as a "sore loser".
As a result, leftist French bloggers were mocking the UMP on Twitter on Friday with the hashtag "mafia".
Adding to the party's woes, Mr Sarkozy, who has stayed out of the dispute in public, was questioned for 12 hours on Thursday by an examining magistrate over alleged illegal party donations during his 2007 presidential campaign.
Mr Juppe, a former foreign minister, announced his initiative to journalists on Friday in Bordeaux, the south-western city of which he is mayor.
Both Mr Fillon and Mr Cope accepted the call to the meeting but the latter rejected a request to remove allegedly partisan members of the UMP appeals commission which is due to hear Mr Fillon's complaint.
If the two men accepted his conditions, Mr Juppe said, he expected the dispute to be resolved within a fortnight "at most".
The "mafia" controversy arose when Mr Fillon told RTL radio: "A political party is not a mafia. It's not a place where you can suppress matters and refuse to tell the truth."
Mr Cope, a former UMP secretary general, later responded that the term mafia was "deeply shocking, totally unworthy and unacceptable".
Mr Fillon says votes from three overseas French territories, omitted from the original count, would hand him victory by 26 votes.
He lost Sunday's ballot of the party membership by just 98 votes amid scenes of chaos and rancour.
Without a solution, there are questions over what kind of party Mr Cope will lead, the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Paris.
Under his leadership - and in mind of the insults flying - unity looks impossible, our correspondent says.
He flirts with the rhetoric of the far right and is supported by many in the party, but centrist voters who follow Mr Fillon will not back him and a split now looks a dangerous possibility, our correspondent says.


Two Indian students accused of sedition for helping organise a protest at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University have been suspended.

Umar Khalid has been suspended for one semester and Anirban Bhattacharya has been barred from campus for five years.
Both students, and student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who was also charged with sedition, have also been fined.
The three students were involved in a protest, on 9 February, over the hanging of a Kashmiri man, Afzal Guru.
Afzal Guru was convicted of a 2001 plot to attack India's parliament, charges he always denied. The attack, in which 14 people died, was carried out by Kashmiri militants.
His hanging in 2013 sparked protests in Kashmir, and he was seen as a martyr and a symbol of perceived injustice.
On 9 February, students at JNU held a demonstration to mark his execution. There were allegations that anti-India slogans were chanted at the protest.
Mr Kumar was arrested, while Mr Khalid and Mr Bhattacharya went missing but later handed themselves over to the police. All three were accused of sedition.
The arrests of the students led to protests and clashes across India.
Critics condemned the charges as an assault on freedom of expression, but government ministers refused to back down, vowing to punish what they described as "anti-national elements".
In addition to being suspended from classes, Mr Khalid and Mr Bhattacharya have been fined 20,000 rupees ($299; Â£206) each.
Mr Kumar has been fined 10,000 rupees.
Reports say that Mr Khalid and Mr Bhattacharya have been blamed for "triggering communal violence" and "disrupting" harmony on the campus. Mr Kumar was found guilty of indiscipline and misconduct.
Mr Bhattacharya said the punishment was "unacceptable", and described it as a "fascist witch-hunt of student activists by the administration".


Mae'r hediadau rhwng Caerdydd ac Ynys Môn wedi dod i ben ar ôl i'r cwmni sy'n rhedeg y gwasanaeth gael ei ddirwyn i ben.

Dywedodd cyfarwyddwyr Citywing eu bod wedi cymryd y penderfyniad wedi i'r cwmni oedd yn gweithredu'r teithiau, Van Air, gael ei hatal rhag hedfan am resymau diogelwch ddiwedd mis Chwefror.
Mae'r gwasanaeth, sydd wedi bod yn rhedeg ers 2007, yn derbyn £1.2m gan Lywodraeth Cymru pob blwyddyn.
Mae pob taith oedd wedi'u trefnu wedi cael eu canslo.
Roedd y gwasanaeth yn hedfan rhwng Caerdydd a'r Fali ar Ynys Môn o ddydd Llun i ddydd Gwener.
Bydd unrhyw docynnau ar gyfer yr awyrennau yn gymwys i'w defnyddio ar drenau o Gaerdydd ac o orsafoedd rhwng Bangor a Chaergybi.
Roedd Citywing hefyd yn rhedeg awyrennau rhwng Blackpool ac Ynys Manaw, ac o Faes Awyr Sir Gaerloyw.
Dywedodd Llywodraeth Cymru ei fod yn gweithio gyda'r cwmni a'r meysydd awyr i leddfu'r effaith ar deithwyr.
Cafodd awyrennau Van Air - sydd wedi ei gofrestru yn y Weriniaeth Tsiec - eu hatal gan yr Awdurdod Hedfan Sifil ar 28 Chwefror yn dilyn digwyddiad ar Ynys Manaw yn ystod Storm Doris.
Fe wnaeth y cwmni Danaidd, North Flying, gamu i'r bwlch ar fyr rybudd, ond dywedodd Citywing eu bod wedi cael trafferth cynnal y gwasanaeth ers hynny.
Dywedodd Citywing mewn datganiad: "Mae'r cwmni wedi ceisio cynnig gwasanaeth er gwneud colledion sylweddol, ond mae'r rhain yn anffodus wedi profi'n anghynaladwy yn fasnachol.
"Felly, gyda chalon drom, mae'r cyfarwyddwyr wedi gorfod cymryd y penderfyniad anodd i gau'r cwmni a'i ddirwyn i ben."
Ychwanegodd y cwmni eu bod yn ymddiheuro ar yr amhariad ar deithwyr ac yn diolch am y gefnogaeth dros y pedair blynedd diwethaf.


Prisoners are being allowed to smoke e-cigarettes as part of a pilot scheme that could lead to a jail smoking ban.

BBC News has learned that a brand of disposable e-cigarettes has been on sale in three prisons for two months.
The Prison Service said last year it was committed to introducing a smoking ban across the prison estate in England and Wales to reduce health risks.
A spokesman said it was looking into whether disposable e-cigarettes were suitable for use in prisons.
The e-cigarette brand, Bull, is available in prison shops in the women's jail Eastwood Park in Gloucestershire and the men's prisons Preston in Lancashire and Stocken in Rutland.
It is understood about 50 were bought in the men's prisons in the first week and weekly sales are now in single figures.
A ban is also being proposed because of legal action taken by prison officers and inmates who have complained about the effects of passive smoking.
Officials at the National Offender Management Service (Noms), which runs prisons, started the e-cigarette scheme as a way of preparing the ground for what they acknowledge would be a "major change".
An estimated 80% of prisoners currently smoke; which is allowed in prison cells but not in other parts of jails including exercise yards.
Noms is believed to have been impressed with the implementation of a smoking ban in Guernsey's Les Nicolles prison which came into effect last year.
But no date has been set for the ban to be introduced in England and Wales.
A Prison Service spokesman said: "We are looking into whether disposable e-cigarettes are suitable for use in prisons and are currently conducting a trial in three prisons."
The Prison Officers' Association (POA) began campaigning for a smoking ban in all UK prisons in 2007.
The POA had expressed concerns about staff and prisoners "forced to suffer the harmful effects of second-hand smoke".
It came after smoking bans were introduced across the UK, to protect people from the effects of second-hand smoke in workplaces and enclosed public spaces.
A ban came into effect in England in July 2007 following similar legislation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The bans did not apply to prisoners as their cells were defined as "domestic premises", although non-smoking prisoners could not be made to share a cell with a smoker.
Guernsey and the Isle of Man were the first two European jurisdictions to introduce a blanket smoking ban in prison grounds.
A spokesman for the Prison Governors Association said "anything that could protect not only staff but other prisoners and visitors from second-hand smoke inhalation is obviously welcomed.
"We will be watching this trial with interest to see just how successful it is."


A local authority is to introduce a new charge for emptying bins used for recycling garden waste.

Highland Council is to start charging the £30 annual fee from 1 July for the brown wheelie bins, which are emptied fortnightly from spring to late autumn.
About 67,000 households have the bins. They are provided in the Highlands' larger centres of population but not Skye, Sutherland and most of Lochaber.
The charge has been opposed by an online campaign and petition.
Its organisers said it would lead to fly tipping and would discriminate against low income households  because it is charged in addition to council tax.
The online Petition Against The £30 Charge For Collecting Brown Bins has about 120 signatures so far.
Last month, Highland councillors voted unanimously in favour of the £30 annual fee as part of setting the local authority's new budget, and as a way of helping to narrow a £20m gap in funding.
Not everyone in the Highland area, which has a population of about 233,000 people, has a brown bin.
Sutherland and Skye have no green waste collections at all and in Lochaber only residents of Fort William get the service. Other rural areas of the region also do not get the bin collections.
Allan Henderson, chairman of the council's community services committee, said the bins were originally introduced as part of a Scotland-wide initiative to reduce waste going to landfill sites.
While this had been successful, he said the bins have been a "divisive issue" in the Highlands because heavily populated areas were more likely to receive the service and rural areas do not.
Mr Henderson said: "On consulting the public, as the council needs to move towards being more commercial, it was made clear that all householders should be given an option, but with a small charge for the service.
"On budget day this was agreed right across the chamber."
Kate Forbes, SNP MSP Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, said she was aware of concerns about the new annual charge.
She said: "I think we have to be really careful because this could undermine efforts to reduce landfill and potentially increase fly tipping.
"This is firmly and squarely a decision by Highland Council, not the Scottish government - and it isn't the local MSP's responsibility to interfere with that.
"However, I do think households are paying enough for local services with council tax rising 3% for every band, and even more for the bands E, F, G and H."


US President Barack Obama has nominated Alan Krueger, a Princeton University expert on unemployment, as his new chief economist.

The decision comes as the president prepares to unveil a new jobs package in a speech planned for shortly after the Labor Day holiday on 5 September.
High unemployment remains one of the main concerns about the US economy, with the rate standing at 9.1%.
Mr Krueger was previously a Treasury Department economist from 2009-2010.
If confirmed by the Senate, he will become the Obama administration's third chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in as many years.
Christina Romer served in the post from 2009-2010 and was followed by Austan Goolsbee. Both resigned after a year in the job to return to academia.
President Obama said: "As one of this country's leading economists, Alan has been a key voice on a vast array of economic issues for more than two decades.
"Alan understands the difficult challenges our country faces, and I have confidence that he will help us meet those challenges as one of the leaders on my economic team."


A prisoner who went on the run while being treated for a head injury has had two years added to his sentence.

Michel Kisiel, who is serving a five-year sentence at HMP Erlestoke near Devizes, escaped from Salisbury District Hospital on 30 May.
The 30-year-old was arrested the day after in Nunton, Wiltshire. He admitted escaping lawful custody, common assault and making threats with a blade.
Kisiel received a two-year sentence at Salisbury Crown Court.


Lincoln moved up to fourth in the fledgling National League table with an excellent win at Macclesfield.

However it was the Silkmen who harried their opponents from the get-go. David Fitzpatrick and Kingsley James both tested goalkeeper Paul Farman.
James found the breakthrough for John Askey's men on the stroke of half-time. Danny Rowe set up Chris Holroyd to hit a post, and the midfielder was first to the rebound.
The Imps turned it all around in the second half. Harry Anderson got on the end of a swift counter-attack and beat Richie Branagan with a low drive on the hour.
And substitute Adam Marriott then showed Lincoln's goalscoring depth by converting a Luke Waterfall knock down to complete the comeback.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Macclesfield Town 1, Lincoln City 2.
Second Half ends, Macclesfield Town 1, Lincoln City 2.
Substitution, Macclesfield Town. Jack Mackreth replaces Paul Lewis.
Goal!  Macclesfield Town 1, Lincoln City 2. Adam Marriott (Lincoln City).
Substitution, Macclesfield Town. Ollie Norburn replaces Danny Whitaker.
Substitution, Lincoln City. Adam Marriott replaces Matt Rhead.
Substitution, Lincoln City. Alan Power replaces Nathan Arnold.
Goal!  Macclesfield Town 1, Lincoln City 1. Harry Anderson (Lincoln City).
Second Half begins Macclesfield Town 1, Lincoln City 0.
First Half ends, Macclesfield Town 1, Lincoln City 0.
Goal!  Macclesfield Town 1, Lincoln City 0. Kingsley James (Macclesfield Town).
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.


A video has emerged showing pedestrians running across a level crossing in south-west London while the barriers are down.

The double level crossing in Vine Road, Barnes, is operated by Network Rail staff who decide when to raise and close the gates.
Some residents said they had waited up to 45 minutes for the barriers to open.
Network Rail said it was aware of the "extremely dangerous" situation but it was due to engineering works.
More on this story and other news from London
The video sent to the BBC shows a number of people dashing across the track in less than a minute.
In the background people can be heard coaxing others with calls of "there's nothing coming" and cheering once someone reaches the other side.
Martin, who did not give his surname, said: "It's ridiculous. I've personally sat there for 45 minutes once and it gets worse in rush hours obviously.
"It might be true that they have engineering works, but that's not the only factor."
Local councillor Paul Avon, who represents Mortlake and Barnes Common, said he had been campaigning to get a footbridge installed over the track.
He said: "I certainly don't condone that behaviour. But the whole situation... is an absolute nightmare.
"The problem it causes in terms of safety are absolutely appalling because cars build up, pedestrians gather on the narrow walkways...and then when the barriers go up there's absolute chaos."
He said figures he requested in 2012 revealed the barriers had been down for 76 hours during one week that year.
Network Rail said: "There are currently delays of up to 15 minutes at the crossing caused by trains shunting in and out of Barnes station due to engineering works further down the line.
"We are sorry for the inconvenience that this causes and ask that pedestrians bear with us while the work is taking place and to stay safe by waiting for the barrier to rise before crossing the railway."
Insp Becky Warren of British Transport Police said: "While we understand it can be frustrating waiting for long periods of time, it is vital that people do not use crossings when the barriers are down or the lights are flashing."


Demolition work has begun on Birmingham's old Central Library.

Once described by the Prince of Wales as looking like "a place where books are incinerated, not kept", the concrete building is being cleared as part of a major redevelopment project.
Built more than 40 years ago, it has been stripped inside, although work is not expected to be finished until next autumn.
Campaigners had wanted it to be given listed status and preserved.
Updates on this story and more from Birmingham
They handed a 2,000-signature petition to the city council earlier this month.
Crowds gathered to watch the city's "important example of brutalist architecture" be slowly taken down.
Designed by local architect John Madin, who was also behind the BBC's Pebble Mill studios and the chamber of commerce building in the city, it was opened in 1973.
A "concrete cruncher" is being used initially to "nibble" at the exterior, but because of the impact of the work the building has been strengthened with about a dozen steel joists, developers said.
Timeline: Birmingham Central Library
The nearby one-way Paradise Circus loop has been closed to enable demolition equipment, including a special excavator used on buildings in tightly constrained places, to be put in place.
While work to clear the site takes place, a walkway through the old Paradise Forum has been closed, along with a large part of Chamberlain Square.
Pedestrians and cyclists are being re-routed through Fletchers Walk.
Developers described the start of the demolition work as a "significant milestone".
Once fully demolished, it will be replaced with office space as part of the Â£500m Paradise regeneration scheme.
The 10-year project will see new offices, shops and walkways created, which will link Chamberlain and Centenary Squares.
A new Â£190m library opened in Centenary Square in 2013.


Israel's president has said Ethiopian Israelis' protests against alleged discrimination "revealed an open and raw wound" at the heart of Israeli society".

Reuven Rivlin said Israel must address the community's grievances, which had been ignored.
It comes after police and protesters clashed in Tel Aviv on Sunday night.
Israel's PM meanwhile has met the Ethiopian Israeli soldier, whose beating by police fuelled tensions.
Benjamin Netanyahu praised Damas Pakedeh and said he was shocked by video which emerged last week showing the soldier being beaten by two police officers in a suburb of Tel Aviv.
One of the policemen involved has been fired and the other suspended from the force, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told the BBC. An investigation into the incident is under way.
The protests on Sunday started peacefully as demonstrators blocked a busy road. Many walked with their hands held together in the air, to signify handcuffs. But the demonstration became more violent as night fell.
Some protesters threw stones, bottles and chairs and tried to enter the municipality building.
Police fired tear gas and stun grenades as protesters threw bottles and bricks.
At least 46 police and seven protesters were hurt, officials said. Dozens of protesters were arrested, police said.
President Rivlin blamed a "handful of violent trouble-makers" for the violence but said Israel must deal with Ethiopian Jews' grievances.
The protests, he added, exposed "the pain of a community crying out over a sense of discrimination, racism, and of being unanswered.
"We must look directly at this open wound."
Israel's President Reuven Rivlin was quick to respond to the weekend's disturbances with calming words - the country hadn't listened to its Ethiopian minority, he said.
It is listening today at least.
The police used considerable force to disperse the rioting crowds in Tel Aviv but the government is seeking to send a simultaneous signal that it recognises the strength of the Ethiopian minority's grievance about racism and discrimination in jobs and education.
It is an awkward twist in what began as a triumphant story for Israel which began with one of Zionism's most exotic initiatives - series of airlifts dating back to the 1980s which brought to Israel members of a religious minority with Jewish roots.
As black migrants from a country with a poorly-developed educational system, though, they have struggled to integrate into Israeli society and they have been left feeling that their treatment has never quite matched the imagination and generosity of the impulse which brought them here.
Ethiopian Jews living in Israel have long complained of discrimination, and similar protests in 2012 followed reports that some Israeli landlords were refusing to rent out their properties to Ethiopian Jews.
Ethiopian Jews' income is considerably lower than the general population, and they are much more likely to face limited educational opportunities and to end up in prison, according to The Ethiopian National Project, a non-governmental organisation which assists Ethiopian Jews in Israel.
Tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel in secret operations in the 1980s and 1990s to escape famine and civil war. There are now around 135,000 Ethiopian Jews living in Israel.


A US court martial has heard a woman who alleges she was raped by a married British Army officer was "too drunk" to consent to sex.

Lt Col Benedict Tomkins, 49, of Defence, Equipment and Support, based at Abbey Wood, near Bristol, denies rape.
The alleged attack happened after a UN event in Uganda in January 2015.
She told the court Col Tomkins came into her room under the pretence of working on a joint presentation.
The attack is said to have taken place at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala after a drink-fuelled function.
The woman told the court that although her memory was hazy, she remembered he approached her and "instantly" unzipped her dress and forced her on to the bed after she spurned his advances.
Col Tomkins maintains the sex was consensual and that it followed kissing and intimate touching.
"I know I was too drunk to consent to any of that, if any of that happened," she added.
Defending, Peter Glesner accused her of "exaggerating" her drunkenness.
He said: "You were sober enough to collaborate with a senior British officer on a presentation but too drunk to consent to sex?"
The trial, being held at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, is the first-ever court martial which will be held in the US and UK to allow more witnesses to testify.
It will head back to the UK in Bulford, Wiltshire, on Monday after the prosecution's witnesses.


Ride-sharing company Uber has agreed to pay $10m (£7m) to settle a dispute over its background checks for drivers.

Uber was sued in 2014 after it claimed its vetting process was better than systems traditional minicab firms used.
But district attorneys in San Francisco and Los Angeles said Uber's very public statement it was "the gold standard" for safety was misleading.
Uber said it had dealt with many of the concerns in the case, and said settling was not an admission of any wrongdoing.
Unlike traditional cab companies, Uber does not require a fingerprint check that could uncover prior convictions.
Instead, Uber uses different criminal databases to vet its drivers, with data going back seven years.
As part of the settlement, Uber has said it would no longer use the terms such as "safest drive on the road" in its advertising.
But the BBC understands the company would not be adding fingerprint checks to its process.
The firm stressed that it felt no driver vetting system could ever be "100% safe".
Prosecutors said Uber had failed to prevent 25 people with criminal convictions from becoming drivers, including several sex offenders and a convicted murderer.
"Accidents and incidents do happen," the company said in a statement on Thursday.
"That's why we need to ensure that the language used to describe safety at Uber is clear and precise."
One of those language changes has included renaming its "safe ride fee" as a "booking fee".
"We're glad to put this case behind us and excited to redouble our efforts serving riders and drivers across the state of California," it added.
The company also agreed it would only operate at Californian airports where it had explicit permission to do so, and make airport surcharges clearer.
Uber will make the $10m payment within 60 days which will be split evenly between authorities in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
If the company fails to keep to the agreement outlined in the settlement it will be forced to pay an additional $15m in two years.
"The result we achieved today goes well beyond its impact on Uber,'' said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón.
"It sends a clear message to all businesses, and to startups in particular, that in the quest to quickly obtain market share, laws designed to protect consumers cannot be ignored.''
Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC and on Facebook


Negotiators meeting in Germany say that questions over cash are the biggest barrier to a new global climate deal.

The Bonn talks are the last chance for delegates to clarify their positions before the Paris conference that aims to seal a new binding treaty.
Developing country delegates said clear guarantees on finance must be a core part of that compact.
Officials said that finance was likely to be the very last issue to be resolved before a deal is struck.
Money has always been at the root of difficulties in solving the climate issue.
Developing countries point out that while they had done least to create the problems associated with more carbon in the atmosphere, they were the ones already feeling the greater impacts of a warming world.
They have long sought significant flows of finance to help them curb their emissions and to cope with the storms and droughts expected to be more common in a changing climate.
In Copenhagen in 2009, as countries tried to put together a comprehensive agreement, the richer nations promised to provide $100bn a year in climate finance from 2020.
That deal ultimately failed, but countries are hoping to conclude a more ambitious agreement in Paris in December.
However, a draft of the deal, released to the negotiators here at the beginning of the week, drew howls of protest from developing countries. They felt many of their key negotiating interests had been ignored, especially on the issue of finance.
After some angry exchanges, the co-chairs of the meeting in Bonn revised their draft and added an extra 14 pages to reflect some of the poorer nations' perspectives.
That row has galvanised the G77 and China group of countries, a body representing more than 130 nations in the negotiations, and accounting for around 80% of the world's population.
According to the group's chairman, climate change for these poorer nations has far greater consequences and is often a matter of life and death.
"It is not a photo opportunity; it is not an instagram or selfie moment. It is a reality we have to deal with on a day-to-day basis," said Ambassador Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko of South Africa.
She said that for this group, the question of finance was the most crucial issue for any new agreement.
"Whether Paris succeeds or not will depend on what we have as part of the core agreement on finance," she told reporters.
The G77 group are looking for increases on the $100b per annum from 2020 that was previously promised.
They have dismissed recent research from the OECD suggesting that richer countries had provided $62bn in 2014-15 as climate finance.
The poorer countries want money to come from new public sources and question the reliability of private finance.
Ambassador Diseko also accused the richer nations of dirty tricks, saying they were keen to exclude observers from civil society groups because they wanted to pass off overseas development aid (ODA) as climate finance.
"Developed countries have not negotiated in the hope that [finance] will be sorted externally of the agreement where we are weakest, and it translates into ODA as opposed to the obligations that must be put here - and the reason why they don't want civil society in, because that's where they hope they will get away with it."
Other members of the G77 group were just as scathing in their analysis of the position of the richer nations.
On the highly contentious issue of loss and damage, where poorer countries are seeking compensation for climate damages, the G77 are standing firm.
Developed countries are wary about including a provision on loss and damage in the Paris agreement, as they feel it will make them legally responsible for storm damage and rising seas in many parts of the world.
"It is deeply concerning for us when we hear the calls not to include this issue in the discussions," said Juan Hoffmaister from Bolivia.
"Because at this stage with the science and the knowledge we have available, to talk about not having loss and damage is the equivalent to climate denial," he said.
Representatives of richer countries were unmoved by the G77's hardening position on finance.
They said that the world had changed significantly since 1992 and that the richer developing countries, including China, should donate more to the least developed nations and island states that were likely to be worst affected as temperatures rise.
Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc.


The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse has just returned from Yemen, where he had rare access to the scale of the humanitarian crisis.

10 September 2015 Last updated at 21:02 BST
Here he tours a bottle factory that has just been bombed and is still smoking - causing numerous casualties. The Saudi Arabian government claims it was being used as a weapons factory and a training camp for African mercenaries, but the BBC saw no evidence to support that.
Part one of Gabriel Gatehouse's special report is here. Part two is on BBC Newsnight on Friday 11 September at 22:30 BST and on iPlayer.


As part of the BBC World Service's A Richer World season, we're exploring the impact the refrigerator has had on our daily lives and we want you to get involved.

A fridge is one of the first things people buy as they step out of poverty. And as more people escape extreme poverty, we want to hear your stories of how a fridge has affected your life.
Do you remember your first fridge? How did you feel when you bought it? Has having a fridge made you eat more or less healthily?
Or maybe you don't have a fridge at all - and if so, what are the other ways you can keep food chilled? Maybe you share a fridge with neighbours or even your community.
But fridges are not just for food - medicine, bait, film negatives. What else do you use your fridge for?
Send us your stories, photos or videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or upload them directly from your computer using the link to the right and make sure you label them with the subject My fridge.
Upload your photos and video
Please remember to add your name and a caption: who, what, where and when should be enough, though the more details you give, the better your chance of being selected.
Pictures should be sent as Jpeg files. They shouldn't be larger than 5Mb and ideally much smaller: around 1Mb is fine or you can resize your pictures to 1,000 pixels across and then save as a Jpeg.
Please see our terms and conditions.
Finally, when taking photos, please do not endanger yourself or others, take unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.


Fans of Gilmore Girls are gorging on the first new episodes of the US drama for nine years - and the early reviews are broadly positive.

Netflix has revived the show with four new episodes.
Writing in The Sun, Joanne Kavanagh said watching Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life was "like walking back into a giant warm comforting hug."
She added: "Fans will squeal at the nostalgia that is packed into the new reboot."
In the Radio Times, Eleanor Bley Griffiths wrote that Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life did "not disappoint".
"It is a relief to see that the central feel of Gilmore Girls has been preserved with love," she added.
"In a time when the outside world seems bleak and divided and uncertain, sitting down in front of Netflix's Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life is like taking a warm bath or eating your grandma's chicken soup."
In his review, Digital Spy's Tom Eames wrote: "The script is as fresh and slick as ever, and it is somehow both nostalgic yet fits right into the TV landscape of 2016."
He added that the revival was "a treasure trove for all die-hard Gilmore Girls fans who have missed the fast-paced dialogue and pop culture references of the titular mother-and-daughter duo".
But Time's Daniel D'Addario struck a less enthusiastic tone, describing it as "fustily out-of-time".
He wrote: "Because this is not the first revival of a beloved TV property that falls flat and will hardly be the last, I feel compelled to note that the show's very existence bummed me out.
"I think Gilmore Girls fans deserve better than this jaggedly written throwback of a show."
Deadline's Dominic Patten was more positive, writing: "Like the TV comfort food it is this holiday season, Netflix's Gilmore Girls has something to munch on for both the devoted fan and the casual admirer.
"Unlike Amazon's recently debuted The Grand Tour - aka a tired Top Gear redux - the new Gilmore Girls is comfortable with itself and has somewhere to go besides around in circles."
The original Gilmore Girls ran from 2000 to 2007. The four new 90-minute episodes were released on Netflix simultaneously on Friday morning.
Many fans who had seen the opening episode of the revival reacted positively on Twitter, but others were somewhat disappointed.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.


Dundee United moved about Hibs at the top of the Championship as victory over St Mirren extended their unbeaten run to 14 games in all competitions.

Saints went in front when John Sutton pounced on Coll Donaldson's slip, denying United keeper Cammy Bell a new club clean sheet record.
But Scott Fraser smashed home a swift equaliser before his free-kick was glanced home by Simon Murray.
United missed more chances but went top after Hibs could only draw with Raith.
The Tangerines prevailed despite conceding their first goal in 612 minutes, leaving goalkeeper Bell an agonising four minutes short of beating club legend Hamish McAlpine's record of 615 set in September 1977.
But more importantly it was a 12th game unbeaten in the Championship, and they now lead rivals Hibs, who they once trailed by seven points.
Donaldson was on early after Mark Durnan and Saints' Gary MacKenzie were injured and forced off after a sickening clash of heads.
St Mirren full-back Jason Naismith turned Kyle McAllister's cross against the post after 32 minutes before United levelled through Fraser, and Murray's ninth goal of the season put them in front in the final minute of the first half.
The Buddies certainly didn't look like a team stranded at the foot of the table and their new manager Jack Ross is certainly having a positive influence.
Lewis Morgan forced Bell into a brilliant save after 63 minutes and the impressive young midfielder was denied a certain goal by an outstanding William Edjenguele recovery tackle.
Blair Spittal shot over when he should have eased the pressure on United late on, but they will now travel to Dumbarton on Hogmanay in buoyant mood before a summit meeting with Hibs at Easter Road on Friday, 6 January.
Dundee United manager Ray McKinnon: "I'm absolutely delighted with the win even though we made it harder for ourselves than we needed to.
"It was unfortunate for Cammy Bell that he didn't get that club record but I was delighted the way the team responded to going behind to get the win.
"The run we have been on and their attitude to win from my players has been tremendous and it is always good to be sitting top of the league.
"We are still looking to strengthen up front though. It is important that we bring one more player in but it is going to be an enjoyable Christmas for us now."
St Mirren manager Jack Ross: "I'm incredibly frustrated and disappointed by what happened as our performance levels were good and we matched Dundee United, but it's wins we need in the position we are in.
"I don't want them to be happy with losing football matches but we played very well against the team that is at the top of the league and gave them as tough a game as anyone this season.
"We don't look like a bottom-of-the-league team but that is the reality and we still lose too many soft goals.
"Overall I think there is a team there now that reflects how I coach and how I manage, and I am pleased for the players because I see how things are improving by the week."
Match ends, Dundee United 2, St. Mirren 1.
Second Half ends, Dundee United 2, St. Mirren 1.
Attempt missed. Blair Spittal (Dundee United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Corner,  St. Mirren. Conceded by William Edjenguele.
Paul Dixon (Dundee United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Corner,  St. Mirren. Conceded by William Edjenguele.
Substitution, Dundee United. Cameron Smith replaces Simon Murray.
Substitution, St. Mirren. Lawrence Shankland replaces Kyle McAllister.
Attempt missed. Coll Donaldson (Dundee United) header from the centre of the box misses to the right.
Foul by Tony Andreu (Dundee United).
Kyle Magennis (St. Mirren) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt saved. Sean Dillon (Dundee United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner.
Foul by Sean Dillon (Dundee United).
John Sutton (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  St. Mirren. Conceded by Coll Donaldson.
Substitution, Dundee United. Nick van der Velden replaces Charlie Telfer.
Corner,  St. Mirren. Conceded by William Edjenguele.
Attempt missed. Simon Murray (Dundee United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Andy Webster (St. Mirren) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Blair Spittal (Dundee United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Andy Webster (St. Mirren).
David Clarkson (St. Mirren) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Scott Fraser (Dundee United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by David Clarkson (St. Mirren).
Corner,  St. Mirren. Conceded by Cammy Bell.
Attempt saved. Lewis Morgan (St. Mirren) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Substitution, St. Mirren. David Clarkson replaces Rocco Quinn.
Paul Dixon (Dundee United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Kyle McAllister (St. Mirren).
Attempt saved. Simon Murray (Dundee United) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
William Edjenguele (Dundee United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by John Sutton (St. Mirren).
Corner,  Dundee United. Conceded by Andy Webster.
Foul by William Edjenguele (Dundee United).
John Sutton (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Scott Fraser (Dundee United) left footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
Tony Andreu (Dundee United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Rocco Quinn (St. Mirren).
Second Half begins Dundee United 2, St. Mirren 1.
First Half ends, Dundee United 2, St. Mirren 1.


United Airlines is investigating the death of a giant rabbit which was being transported on one of its planes.

The 90cm-long bunny was found dead in the hold when the flight it was on arrived in Chicago from London Heathrow.
Out of the many animals that travel each year, most are put in with the cargo, where the pressure and temperature is controlled.
In 2016, the Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow Airport handled 17,500 cats and dogs and a whopping 786.6 million invertebrates.
But here are a few examples of pets who have been given first class treatment in the sky.
Earlier this year, 80 falcons boarded a flight to Saudi Arabia.
Turkey-based businessman Ahmet Yasar posted the image on social media and said: "It is quite common for airlines in the Middle East to transport birds for hunting purposes. In this case each falcon is estimated to be worth about $8,000 (Â£6,435)".
Edinburgh Zoo's pandas, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, are on loan from the Ya'an reserve in Chengdu, China.
The pair's nine-hour flight in 2011 required 21 months of planning with three teams in three different countries. They were put in a FedEx Express carrier and settled in very well apart from the jet lag.
Easter the turkey travelled with its owner Jodie Smalley from Seattle, who was flying to Salt Lake City.
She said: "The flight we went on was only an hour and a half long. During the flight she was quiet and well behaved. She had a diaper on from a site that specialises in bird diapers and it works really well!"
Jodie had recently been through a separation and bereavement, she struggled mentally and emotionally but found Easter a source of comfort.
Before getting on the plane, meeting Lilou could calm your nerves.
She is one of the therapy animals at San Francisco International Airport and part of the Wag Brigade. The group, who are mostly dogs, wear vests that read "Pet Me!" and roam the terminals helping anxious passengers have a relaxing flight.


Doncaster pair Mitchell Lund and Gary McSheffrey will be out for several more months because of injuries.

McSheffrey, 34, will miss 16 weeks after having surgery on a knee injury which has prevented him from making a senior appearance this season.
Lund, 20, has been out for a month with a kidney problem which was expected to keep him out until November, but his return has been pushed back to January.
Doncaster are second in League Two after their opening 11 games this term.


A man has been arrested police investigating a £1m internet banking scam.

A firm in Suffolk was phoned and told of a virus on its internet banking facility.
A member of staff was advised to transfer money to a separate holding account while the bank put the matter right on 16 September.
The caller was able to clone the bank's fraud team number and use remote software to steal £1m from the firm.
Suffolk Police arrested a 32-year-old in Chiswick, west London, on Monday.
He has been bailed to return to police on 25 November pending further enquiries.


Human remains which sparked the launch of a murder probe were found wrapped in plastic in the garden of a block of flats, police have revealed.

South Wales Police was called to Trem-Y-Cwm House flats in Beddau, Rhondda Cynon Taff, at about 13:00 GMT on Tuesday.
The man, who has not been identified, was wrapped up but not buried.
Det Supt Paul Hurley said the "priority" was to identify the man.
A post-mortem examination will be carried out on Wednesday to determine the cause of death.
Det Supt Hurley added: "We would appeal for anyone who has concerns for the welfare of a male friend, relative or neighbour who has, uncharacteristically, not been seen or heard from in a number of weeks to get in touch with us."
Police are continuing house-to-house inquiries and a cordon outside flats 54 to 57 remains in place. Forensic officers have been to the scene with a white police tent erected at the side of the flats.
Nearby residents said they were shocked by the news.
Mother-of-two Andrea Phillips, 61, said: "Everyone is stunned to hear there's been a murder. A lot of elderly and disabled people live in those flats. God forbid it's someone from there.
"It's awful news to hear really. It's a shock. I don't think it's quite sunk in yet."
An elderly woman living in a flat nearby, who did not want to be named, said:  "It's awful to look out of my window and to think someone's body has been lying there."


Timetabled services on a world-famous railway line have been powered by steam for the first time in decades.

Tornado, the newest steam locomotive in Britain, will pull 12 Northern services on the Settle-Carlisle line over three consecutive days.
It is part of celebrations to mark the upcoming reopening of the line after landslides closed a long stretch.
The line takes in the Yorkshire Dales and passes over Ribblehead viaduct before entering Cumbria's Eden Valley.
As it happened: Scheduled steam service back on UK rails
The Tornado is the first mainline steam engine to be built in the UK since the 1960s.
The eight-carriage trains will run two return journeys a day between Appleby and Skipton from Tuesday to Thursday (14-16 February).
Northern Rail said tickets were "all but sold out" with no guarantee passengers could board the train without a reservation.
Paul Barnfield, of Northern Rail, said: "We always knew the first timetabled steam services in the UK for 50 years would be extremely popular, but the demand for tickets has been phenomenal."
It took 18 years for a group of enthusiasts in Darlington and Doncaster to build the £3m Tornado 60163. It can achieve speeds of 75mph (120km/h) and it was completed in 2008.
Analysis
Danny Savage, BBC North of England Correspondent
This is more than just a novelty. For over a year the Settle to Carlisle route has been severed in Cumbria by a huge landslide, with Northern wanting to give the route a high-profile boost before the reopening.
Laying on the first timetabled, turn-up-and-go steam services in nearly half a century is just the ticket.
It was on the Settle-Carlisle line that the last steam passenger train ran in August 1968 and rail enthusiasts will see this opportunity as a bargain.
An adult standard day return between Appleby and Skipton costs about £17 and for that you get a ride behind Tornado in "proper" carriages. Expect the services to be hugely popular.
The Appleby to Carlisle stretch of line closed in February 2016 after a 500,000-tonne landslip.
It is due to officially reopen on 31 March.
Settle-Carlisle Railway


A man who beat his mother to death in their County Londonderry family home has been sentenced to a minimum of five years in prison.

Margaret Evans, a 69-year old hairdresser who was known as Margo, was found dead in her house in Knockancor Drive, Portstewart in June 2014.
Alun Kinney Evans was suffering from drug induced psychosis, having taken the psychoactive substance MXP.
Hallucinations caused the 34-year-old to believe his mother was a witch.
Last month, Evans, who lived with his parents, admitted her manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
He had previously denied murder.
Mother-of-three Mrs Evans ran the Madame Margo salon in Portstewart for several decades until she retired in January 2014, just months before she was killed.
The court heard that until her death, Margaret had enjoyed a close relationship with her son. She was said to be "supportive and protective" of him and continually tried to help him despite his problems with drugs and depression.
Evans had been taking MXP and drinking alcohol in the days leading up to his mother's death, while his parents were away visiting his sister in England.
He bought it from a website after researching a drug that had similar effects to ketamine, because he wanted to cure his depression.
The website is UK based and is still trading.
After taking it for the first time, Evans said he "felt like Superman".
But after suffering hallucinations, he told his mother he wanted to get rid of the drug and get help for his addiction issues.
He was a user of herbal cannabis and other drugs.
On 4 June 2014, neighbours saw Alun Evans naked on his patio.
After going to investigate, they found the badly beaten body of Mrs Evans in her back garden and called police.  She had been kicked, punched, stamped upon and struck repeatedly with a piece of wood.
She died as a result of blunt force trauma to the chest and head.
At the scene, Alun Evans told police: "I think I killed her, I think I've killed my mum. I had to kill my mum today - she's a witch."
He told police that before he became "possessed", his mother had been urging him to drink water to flush the drugs from his system.
The court heard Alun Evans had tried to cut his wrists and neck with barbed wire after beating his mother.
When found by police he was naked, covered in cow manure which he was eating, and drinking from a bird bath.
He was conveyed to Hollywell hospital and then Knockbracken, where he received treatment, before being transferred to Maghaberry prison.
At Belfast Crown Court, the judge said Alun Evans posed a significant threat of serious harm to members of the public.
He read a victim impact statement from Alun Evans' sister Samantha Scott, who said: "Sometimes I feel angry and other times I worry about how he is coping with knowing what he has done.
"I feel very grieved for him as I know he wasn't in his right state of mind when he did this awful thing.
"We don't wish to see him rot in a prison cell and then be sent on his way. We would rather see Alun receive the help that he has needed for so long."
The judge said the "brutal and fatal" attack had been triggered "wholly unintentionally" by taking the drug, which Evans did not know would cause this "horrific psychotic episode".
He imposed an indeterminate custodial sentence, with a minimum term of five years.
Reacting to the sentence Samantha Scott, who flew in from England to attend today's sentencing, paid tribute to her mother who she described as "an amazing, wonderful woman".
"She was a wife, mother, grandmother and friend and will be missed by all that knew her.
"It was a great shock to lose her in these tragic circumstances, but my faith in God has provided me the strength to get through this.
"My family, even though they are heartbroken, are glad that Alun will receive the help that he needs."


Hundreds of people have attended a birthday party for terminally-ill Sunderland fan Bradley Lowery.

The event in the youngster's home village of Blackhall in County Durham ends a memorable week in which he was also named a "child of courage".
Bradley, who has struck up a remarkable friendship with England footballer Jermain Defoe, was in hospital on Wednesday when he turned six.
Defoe was one of 250 well-wishers at a marquee at the village cricket club.
At the weekend Defoe carried Bradley onto the pitch as mascot for Sunderland's last home game and on Thursday he was on the red carpet with him as he was named child of courage at the Pride of North East Awards.
Bradley, who has the rare childhood cancer neuroblastoma, has touched millions of people as well as the world of football.
Fans of different clubs have sung his name at matches and held banners for him.
An appeal to send him Christmas cards ended with him receiving 315,000 through the post.
On Wednesday, his family posted a video of Bradley in hospital in which he smiled and put his thumbs up, saying: "Thank you for my birthday messages everyone."
In April, it was confirmed the latest and final round of Bradley's treatment had failed and the family vowed to continue "creating memories".
His mother, Gemma Lowery, said: "I'm absolutely over the moon that we have managed to get this far and celebrate Bradley's sixth birthday with all of our family and friends.
"He is actually a lot better than he has been, he's still obviously poorly and in a lot of pain but he has rested well in bed all day and he was raring to go tonight.
"We are very grateful for Jermain to have taken Bradley in his heart. He is obviously now a friend of the family rather than Bradley's idol - although he is still Bradley's idol.
"He makes Bradley happy and he makes Bradley smile, and it's just lovely to see him with him."