British paedophiles are paying to watch the abuse of children in the Philippines via webcams, a BBC investigation has found.

In one case, a British man organised the sexual abuse of five children from the same family.
Charities believe tens of thousands of children are victims of the trade.
On Thursday, Britain's National Crime Agency will reveal how it is working with the American, Australian and Philippine police to target abusers.
A BBC team travelled to the slum of Ibabao, near Cebu City in the south of the country.
Local charities call it the "epicentre" of the trade.
For our own safety, we had a police escort; one of the officers carried an assault rifle.
Officer Denis Comunay, who regularly patrols the slum, said: "You can get easy money from the cybersex."
He showed us a small house, with a corrugated iron roof.
It was almost empty inside apart from a dirty mattress on the floor and electric sockets hanging from the ceiling.
It was what he calls a cybersex den.
"Fathers and mothers would bring their children here to show, and would get paid by the owner of the house," he said.
He explained the property owner forced her own children to "perform" for foreigners using a webcam.
Other people in the community who heard there was money to be made then brought their children too.
At a house nearby there were family photos on the walls, washing still hanging on the line, but it was deserted.
It too was raided by police - a child of two was taken into care.
All of the neighbours said they were shocked to hear about the cases but denied they knew what was going on.
One said: "How can I know when the house is closed and I did not get inside and see what they are doing?"
But a recent survey indicated that 80 houses in the area were involved in the trade.
Noemi Truya-Abarientos, who works for the Children's Legal Bureau aiming to provide judicial help for abuse victims, said: "It has become a cottage industry."
She blamed poverty and a breakdown in public morality for the rise in the trade, explaining that local businessmen rented out laptops and USB internet connections, so it was easy for families to start.
Parents use internet chatrooms to find "clients" and receive payment through international money transfers.
They justify what they do by claiming that foreign paedophiles do not actually touch the children.
Noemi said this was a myth. "The client gives the instruction to touch this and touch that.
"They even send sex toys to these children."
In Angeles City in the north of the country  there were two houses in a slum area raided in 2012 by police from the UK, the Philippines, Australia and the US, showing that law enforcement around the world is starting to tackle the problem.
One neighbour said: "They arrest this person and put them in a van and they take the children away."
Twelve children aged between five and 15 were rescued and several of their relatives were arrested.
The operation followed the arrest of British man Timothy Ford, from Kettering, in Northamptonshire, the same year. He is now serving an eight-and-a-half year sentence in a UK prison.
When detectives analysed his laptop, they found obscene images and records of money transfers to the parents - he had paid to watch the abuse of five of the children.
He paid as little as Â£13 to watch what he called "a show".
Officers found he planned to buy property in the area and set up an internet cafe.
Father Shay Cullen, who runs the Preda Foundation - a charity that rescues victims in the nearby city of Olongapo - said: "More and more parents are pushing their children to get involved in this, to make big money.
"There's a huge growing demand and there's a growing supply."
The Philippine government estimates that between 60,000 and 100,000 children are victims of sexual exploitation, many of them in cybersex.
While some children are forced to take part by their own family, others are made to work in cybersex dens by pimps.
This is what happened to Lani when she was 15. "The cybersex den is an evil kind of profession," she told us.
Her aunt promised her a job as a nanny, but when she got to the house she was told she had to "chat" to foreigners.
The "chat" soon turned into demands for her to take off her clothes and "perform" for the men watching on the webcam.
"Perhaps when people hear about cybersex they think it doesn't have any physical effect," she said.
"But it can do things to your core. It can take things from you, your dignity and your purity."
Father Cullen warns that men in the West who pay to watch abuse in poor countries may go on to commit other offences.
"It's the warm-up for a sexual assault on a child," he said.
"And next time it's going to be a child in the UK."


The chairman and vice-chairwoman of troubled quango Sport Wales have been sacked by the Welsh Government.

Paul Thomas and Adele Baumgardt were suspended in November, along with the entire Sport Wales board, over concerns the organisation was dysfunctional.
Public Health Minister Rebecca Evans said there was "an irretrievable breakdown in relationships" in the board's leadership.
But Mr Thomas has hit out for being "hung out to dry" as a whistle-blower.
Ms Baumgardt accused Mr Thomas of not being fit to hold senior public office, an allegation he rejected.
Welsh Tories accused ministers of picking "a fine day to bury bad news" with statement released at the same time as the triggering of Article 50.
In February, Welsh ministers re-instated the Sport Wales board, but the chairman and vice-chairwoman remained suspended.
Ms Evans said: "My overriding objective is the effectiveness of Sport Wales and its contribution to the wellbeing of the nation through its focus on sport and physical recreation, hence my decision.
"I have asked the interim chair, Lawrence Conway, to remain in post for the remainder of 2017 at least, and to take this forward with the remaining board members."
Sport Wales, originally called the Sports Council for Wales, was created in 1972 to promote elite and grassroots sport. It has an annual budget of Â£22m.
Over the last six months it has become embroiled in a series of rows over the operation of the board and the way it awards contracts.
Mr Thomas told BBC Wales the Welsh Government has been "appalling" in its dealings with him and felt he had been "hung out to dry" as a whistle-blower, highlighting issues which needed to be resolved within the organisation.
He said he was appointed to change the way Sport Wales works but had not been given the support needed by the Welsh Government which "turned its back" on him.
"How do they expect to attract people like me, from the business community, to work with them if this is how they treat people", he said.
He was also surprised and disappointed that nobody from the Welsh Government had contacted him to tell him he was being sacked.
Paul Thomas told BBC Wales he found out when a friend sent him a text message.
Ms Baumgardt said that the board minutes of Sport Wales since the appointment of Mr Thomas in April 2016 "quickly evidenced that he was not, in my opinion, fit to hold senior public office".
"On behalf of the board, my actions sought to mitigate his behaviour and to instigate proper principles and practice for good governance," said the former vice-chairwoman, who worked at the organisation for more than 10 years.
"The Board had correctly challenged him to account for his behaviour which, ultimately, led to the unanimous vote of no confidence in November 2016."
Mr Thomas said he "absolutely" rejected the allegation that he was unfit for public office. "I went through two public appointments. On both occasions I came first in terms of the candidate to be picked," he said.
In February, Ms Evans said a review of Sport Wales had been completed, but a number of new complaints had subsequently been received about the board and its members.
BBC Wales is currently challenging the Welsh Government's decision not to release the review under the Freedom of Information Act, with a decision on the appeal due next week.
But the Welsh Conservatives' sport spokesman, Russell George, said the dismissals "leave us none-the-wiser as to what went so spectacularly wrong in the board of Sport Wales".
"With the triggering of Article 50 underway, it seems the Welsh Government picked a fine day to bury bad news," he said.
Plaid Cymru spokesman Rhun ap Iorwerth said: "There are serious questions to be answered by the minister following her statement today on the original recruitment process and on the assurance review which was conducted."
He said he would be seeking "clarification" on what led to the breakdown in relationships at Sport Wales.
For UKIP, Gareth Bennett said: "We will be looking for the Welsh Government to make the findings of their review public.
"We need to have confidence that the significant amount of public funds invested in Sport Wales are used wisely, and that any lessons from this unwelcome saga are learned."
In the Senedd chamber Ms Evans denied that the Welsh Government was seeking to bury bad news by making the sackings public less than an hour after the UK government triggered Article 50.
She told UKIP AM Gareth Bennett: "I have to say I didn't want the process to take any longer than it had to, and I didn't want it to drag on, for the benefit of all those people concerned."
A spokesman for Sport Wales said: "This has been a challenging time for Sport Wales but following the statement today by the Minister for Social Services & Public Health we can now look to move forward as an organisation."
He added that the minister was "very clear that Sport Wales is a fundamentally well run organisation and that it is now functioning very well under the leadership of the Interim Chair and reinstated board".


The chancellor said he wanted to build an economy that "works for everyone".

He promised help for small businesses hit by the change in business rates, including a discount for pubs with a rateable value of less than £100,000.
Mr Hammond also pledged extra money for adult social care in England, and announced a rise in national insurance contributions for the self-employed.
So, how are people from around the UK reacting to his speech?
Mike Wells runs Uptomen Menswear and Accessories, at Leigh-on-Sea, in Essex.
He feels that some retailers are still going to lose out from the change in business rates in England, despite the promise of a cap on rises for those set to lose existing relief.
"I'm sure he's got reasons for particularly helping out the good old British pub but it's not really helped to tackle the retailers out there, it's not really done anything for us," said Mr Wells.
The government has already committed itself to a transitional relief scheme as the changes to rates come in, and in his speech the chancellor also announced a £300m discretionary fund to be administered by local authorities. But Mr Wells said he would like more clarity.
"The really small guys with a really small rateable value are doing OK out of this rates re-jig, but there are people [with] not quite as small rateable values who are really being kicked by it, and we need some sort of help.
"Hopefully this transitional relief that they haven't detailed will help, but again we still just don't know yet, which is not really helpful," he said.
In his speech, Mr Hammond said £90m would go to the Northern Powerhouse for transport improvements.
It will come as welcome news to many in the region. However, Thomas Martin, joint managing director of Hull-based safety products distribution company, Arco, said he had wanted the chancellor to go further.
"It's a start but it's only one mention. A number of companies in Hull are working really hard, we're making our own luck. In Arco shareholders have invested £55m over the next three years [but] we can't do it on our own.
"I really hoped to hear more about transport infrastructure, getting rid of some bottlenecks and evidence that the chancellor was taking the Northern Powerhouse as seriously as he should do."
Mr Martin, whose family have run the company for four generations, said that he wanted the chancellor to have been more specific about the government's industrial strategy.
"There's about seven times as much money being spent in the South as there is in the North. I understand that for historical reasons, but for a chancellor trying to balance the books and get value for money, I think a pound spent in the North can go a whole lot further.
"I think he's trying, I think he could have been a little bit more direct with a more overt industrial strategy. I heard some tactics, I didn't hear an overall vision for UK Plc."
Seventeen-year-old Dan Manvell is at college studying for his A-levels. He recently led a successful campaign to reverse cuts to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme, proposed by East Sussex County Council.
Pauline Jackson is a trustee of Age UK in East Sussex and also sits on the Sussex Elders' Commission which represents the views of older people on policing and crime.
The BBC got them together to watch the Budget.
Dan was enthusiastic about the chancellor's proposal to introduce a new set of exams focusing on technical education.
"I really like the changes that are proposed for T-levels... I think that's a really good step. If they're successful with the £500m they've been allocated, I think they'll bring much greater parity between vocational subjects and academic subjects.
He was, however, disappointed that the age range for the National Living Wage hadn't been extended to include younger people.
"I wasn't expecting it, but I would have liked it if the chancellor had introduced the same minimum wage for 18-24 year-olds as 25-plus year-olds, because there's no reason for this discrimination of age."
Pauline approved of the promised increase to funding for adult social care in England:  "He did cover the important parts that I hoped he would on social care", she said, "although when he announced £2bn in three years, I was hoping that was going to be in one year."
And Pauline shared Dan's view of the introduction of T-Levels.
"It's important for young people, this new T-Level, to ensure that technical qualifications are given the same level as university qualifications and that they're both felt to be as good, because we need technical people as well as academic people, because our future, the older people's future, is in the younger people's hands."
Lawrence Jones, chief executive of Manchester-based business-to-business hosting company UKFast, says that the chancellor was wrong to say that online businesses were able to escape paying business rates.
"I'd take exception to Hammond pointing to digital businesses as somehow being exempt from business rates.
"Online companies still need offices, warehouses and data centres. In reality this is another move from Westminster that stifles growth for innovative businesses across the whole economy."
Mr Jones said that the move to reduce taxes for the self-employed would reduce the incentive for risk-takers.
"It's these small entrepreneurs that drive the economy and often become the ones who build the SMEs and fast-growing start-ups we all want to see thriving."
He added: "It's grossly unfair to claim they're levelling out the tax to balance with employees, when employees get so many extra rights like sick pay, holiday, pensions and maternity pay. How much is that worth? I'd be thinking 'why take the risk?'"


Michael Dunlop won the 1000cc race on the opening night of racing at the Southern 100 on the Isle of Man.

The Hawk Racing BMW rider finished more than 12 seconds ahead of runner-up, Lincolnshire's Ivan Lintin, on the RC Express Kawasaki.
Manxman Dan Kneen was third for the Mar-Train Yamaha team on his return to action after injury.
The race was initially red-flagged on the first lap when Dean Harrison crashed out unhurt at Ballakeighan.
The Bradford rider did not compete in the re-start which was run over a reduced distance of six laps of the 4.25-mile Billown circuit, near Castletown.
For 27-year old Dunlop the victory represented a repeat of his success in the same race last year.
"We'd been having some trouble with the bike for a couple of days but the boys worked really hard to sort it," said Dunlop after his triumph.
"I pushed on early in the race but was able to back off on the last couple of laps."
Jamie Coward, Dan Hegarty and debutant Alan Bonner made up the top six, with James Cowton best of the 600s.
Another newcomer, Darryl Tweed from Ballymoney romped to victory in the 400cc/125cc race.
The pole position man led throughout and won by 17.6 seconds from Manxman Dan Sayle, who was riding a Moto3 machine.
Sayle came home just 0.03 seconds ahead of Adrian Kershaw, who completed the podium positions.
Adam McLean from Magherafelt was the first 125cc finisher.
Racing continues on Wednesday evening, followed by a busy programme on Thursday morning and afternoon.
Guy Martin, Solo Champion for the past three years, is missing this week's event.
The Lincolnshire rider informed the organising club last weekend that he had not sufficiently recovered after completing the gruelling Tour Divide cycle race in the United States.
William Dunlop is also absent as he awaits the birth of his first child, due this week.


Eleven sport governing bodies are demanding an overhaul of the way Britain invests in the pursuit of Olympic and Paralympic medals.

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In an unprecedented challenge to elite performance funding agency UK Sport, the group have joined forces to call for an urgent review of what they call "a two-class system that runs counter to Olympic ideals".
National Lottery money is currently allocated on the basis of medal potential, helping to transform the country's sporting fortunes.
But amid an athlete welfare crisis and various governance problems, UK Sport has faced mounting criticism over its approach.
The 11 sports - archery, badminton, baseball/softball, basketball, fencing, handball, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, wheelchair rugby and table tennis - were all left without funding when UK Sport announced its £345m plan last December.
This was despite badminton meeting its medal target at Rio 2016 and table tennis and weightlifting showing signs of progress.
Instead of UK Sport's "no compromise" approach to picking winners, the unfunded sports want a "tiered support structure" that would guarantee every Olympic and Paralympic sport a base level of funding.
Incoming UK Sport chair Dame Katherine Grainger told BBC Sport she understood why the sports had taken a stand, but said: "It's not fair to say we're narrowly focusing on a few sports."
The unfunded sports believe they can all be backed if UK Sport cuts the amount it spends on bringing major events to this country, its budget for getting British administrators into international federations and the £67.4m it gives to the English Institute of Sport (EIS), the organisation that provides sports-science services to most Olympic and Paralympic sports.
The EIS's headcount has been growing and will top 300 next year, but it has taken on more responsibilities, works with the vast majority of British athletes and is considered to be a world-leading service.
In a joint manifesto calling for "a new approach" to investment, the 11 sports - which include Archery GB, British Basketball, British Weightlifting, Badminton England, GB Wheelchair Rugby and Table Tennis England - all of which have suffered funding cuts - said the existing approach to National Lottery investment "has been conspicuously successful in winning medals, but has disenfranchised many of the country's elite sportsmen and women, creating a two-class system that runs counter to Olympic ideals.
"Providing opportunities for elite British athletes in all relevant sports to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics need not run counter to the pursuit of medals, and will make the nation even prouder of TeamGB's and ParaGB's triumphs.
"We call on Dame Katherine Grainger to recognise the dangers inherent in the current direction of travel. We urge UK Sport to recognise that medal targets alone should not be the sole criteria for its funding.
"We believe UK Sport should adopt a revised investment model that embraces every Olympic and Paralympic sport, with a tiered support structure".
The sports say their new approach is "readily affordable from economies within UK Sport's support costs, and from within the English Institute of Sport. Time is pressing and debate must begin now".
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Adrian Christy, the chief executive of Badminton England - which lost all of its £5.74m funding from UK Sport this year in the wake of Rio 2016 - told BBC Sport: "We have a very clear view that every sport in this country matters.
"We've seen lots of sports that have lost their funding, we're one of those. And as a consequence of that it's really difficult to see how your long-term development of athletes can continue to inspire a nation. We've made a third of our staff redundant in the last several months, we've cut our performance programme in half.
"This is a demand for UK Sport to take a long hard look and say 'are medals and medallists the only metric which investments into sports can be made?' We don't believe it is."
With Team GB winning 67 medals in Rio, and Para GB then claiming 147 medals, many are reluctant to change a system that has transformed British success since 1996 when the country finished 36th in the medal table.
But Christy disagrees.
"We are not for one second asking to take money away from sports," he said. "The target around medals would still be the same. We believe there are opportunities for UK Sport to look within their own budgets and save money elsewhere. We've been thrown under a bus.
"We don't believe the cost of funding the sports is more than 4% of the overall total pots of money of UK sport. 4% to say another 11 sports, the maths of that is about another 100 athletes in a position to represent Great Britain - and who knows, add to the medal table that we won in Rio."
Former rower Dame Katherine Grainger, who takes up her new role as chair of UK Sport on Saturday, said: "If I were in their shoes I'd be doing the same. In any organisation, you do everything you can to protect the athletes. So when that funding is cut you'd do anything to get that back.
"So calling for a review is a very realistic and credible thing to do and I'm not surprised they've done it now.
"There will be a review, there is every four years. Obviously, things change, the climate changes, sports change, pressure of resources changes, so that's why it's always worth looking at again and I'm very confident to see that it will be reviewed again, it just won't happen instantly."
However, Britain's most decorated female Olympian added: "If you look at the success of Rio, then we got more medals across more sports than we've done before. Our actual breadth of success is growing all the time, so it's not fair to say that we're narrowly focusing on a few sports.
"What is fair to say is that our money is finite and it's not stretching. As more sports are more successful, the irony is that the money can't go as far.
"If there is anything that can be cut, but not at the expense of success, then it will be. But right now that's the situation we're in.
"People I've met in my short time here so far are really passionate about improving things, so actually if 11 sports do come and say 'we want things done differently, is there a better way to do this?' then actually let's look at it."
Ed Warner, who recently stepped down after a decade as chair of UK Athletics, said: "Winning medals is important, but more important still is winning them in the right way.
"Katherine Grainger's arrival at UK Sport is a wonderful opportunity for her to challenge the groupthink that constrains the current system and to put in place a new funding structure that embraces all Olympic and Paralympic sports, because every one of them matters."
But Grainger also added a cautionary tale from her own experience.
"I started rowing at a time when we kept our boats on scaffolding poles under a bridge - we didn't have the set-up we have now. The facilities have been transformed," she said.
"So you look not just at the medal success but at the level of support we have, the coaches, the training camps. I don't think many athletes would like that to slip back to a stage where we just wouldn't be competitive internationally."
A British Olympic Association spokesperson said: "We fully understand the anxiety of those sports as they face the reality of current funding decisions.
"We are constantly looking at ways to support unfunded sports within our membership, including through the allocation of Olympic Solidarity funds to athletes where possible.
"If we are to increase third party funding of sport then we must work to protect our country's stellar performances in the medal table, and in doing so the work of our colleagues at UK Sport in developing an acclaimed World Class Programme."
A British Paralympic Association spokesperson said: "We are very proud of the success of the ParalympicsGB team - second in the medal table at Rio 2016 and winning medals across more sports than ever before - which has provided the inspiration not only to get more people engaged in sport but fundamentally to challenge and change attitudes to disability in society.
"We must look at the overall public funding system for sport at all levels and at what alternative streams can be developed to ensure that sports can continue to maximise their opportunity and impact."


Ex-Tottenham captain Gary Mabbutt has revealed he cannot kick a ball or run again after surgery to save his leg.

Mabbutt, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a teenager, underwent a five-hour operation to replace the main artery in his left leg in 2013.
The 53-year-old's diabetes triggered peripheral arterial disease, which blocked the blood vessels in his leg.
"I can no longer do any sport or go running, and my life is now a lot more sedentary," he told BBC Radio 5 live.
"It is frustrating that I cannot kick a ball ever again, but I still have my leg, which is the most important thing."
The former England international, who played for Tottenham for 16 years between 1982 and 1998, says he sought treatment after he woke in the middle of the night with leg pain.
"I was getting terrible pains in my left leg, which was freezing cold. I stayed up all night and called the specialist at 6 o'clock in the morning, and I was rushed to King's College Hospital in London," he said.
Mabbutt, who needed 112 staples in the leg to heal the 30-inch wound, says he is speaking about his situation to raise awareness for Diabetes UK's "Putting Feet First" campaign.
"In this country, there are 120 amputations on diabetics every week, of which 80% are avoidable if there is early identification and treatment is given," he said.


The manager of a mine where four workers drowned checked three times for any signs of water or danger the day before it flooded, a court has heard.

Malcolm Fyfield has suffered severe post traumatic stress disorder since surviving the flooded Gleision drift mine in September 2011.
He told Swansea Crown Court the only sign of water near the point being mined was "ponding" on the ground.
Mr Fyfield and owners MNS Mining Ltd deny manslaughter charges.
David Powell, 50, Charles Breslin, 62, Philip Hill, 44, and Garry Jenkins, 39, died when 650,000 gallons of water rushed into the area they were working in after they blasted into a flooded old section of the pit.
Mr Fyfield managed to escape and spent 12 days in hospital recovering from a broken hand and bruising and swelling as a result of a "near-drowning experience".
The former mine manager insisted he had not inspected the wrong part of the mine and said he was sure he was not mistaken because of the angle and gradient of the underground road.
The jury was told Mr Fyfield also suffers from "survivor guilt" and certain words used to describe the flooded mine trigger a feeling of being back in the pit.
Elwen Evans, QC, defending, told the court that "ponding" water found in the area before the controlled explosion was not unusual and Mr Fyfield did not think it was particularly significant.
Miss Evans reminded the jury Mr Fyfield was working alongside the men, adding: "It would have been incredibly reckless to make the breakthrough at a location he had not inspected, putting at risk the lives of four men as well as his own.
"We are dealing with someone whose reputation was as sky high as it comes.
"Year after year he did everything by the book. He knew how to do it, but this time he did not? It does not make sense."
Miss Evans asked the jury to decide the case according to the facts and to not base their verdicts on emotion.
The trial continues.


A prison officer has been arrested and seven others suspended following a police investigation.

A 28-year-old man was arrested by Nottinghamshire Police on suspicion of conspiracy to cause actual bodily harm and has since been bailed.
The suspensions follow an investigation into a suspected plot to harm someone.
National newspapers said the prison officers allegedly goaded Muslim inmates until they needed to be restrained as part of a racist game.
The Prison Service confirmed eight people had been suspended from HMP Nottingham but said it would be "inappropriate to comment further."
More on this story and other news in Nottinghamshire
A police spokesman said: "The 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause actual bodily harm and has been bailed pending further inquiries.
"A further seven members of staff have been suspended from duty while an investigation is carried out."
He said the alleged incidents happened "some time ago".
Nottingham Prison is a category B local prison with a maximum capacity of 1,060 men.
It takes prisoners from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.


Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader in Myanmar (also known as Burma), has told the BBC that the international community must do more to aid reform.

Speaking to the Today programme in Yangon, she said that the world had "really lost interest in reform".
She also called for the constitution to be amended to allow her to stand for the presidency.
The 66-year-old spent almost two decades under house arrest because of her efforts to introduce democracy.
A clause in the new constitution states that anyone whose spouse or children are foreign citizens cannot run for the top job.
Ms Suu Kyi's late husband was British and her two sons are British citizens. Elections will be held in late 2015.
Aung San Suu Kyi said she believed that the majority of the people of Myanmar were in favour of changing the law in order for her to stand.
"We believe absolutely that the constitution will be amended in the right way, sooner or later. And the sooner the better. I do believe in the influence of the people over a so-called democratic form of government."
Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won a landslide victory in the by-elections in 2012.
It did not contest the November 2010 general election because of laws it said were unfair.
Ms Suu Kyi is the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, Gen Aung San, who was assassinated in 1947.
She was born in Myanmar but lived in the UK after studying at Oxford University where she met her husband Michael Aris.
She returned to Myanmar in 1988 as the country was experiencing a period of political upheaval. She took part and eventually led the revolt against then-dictator, General Ne Win.
The protests were brutally suppressed by the army who seized power in a coup that year, calling elections in May 1990.
But the junta refused to hand over control after the NLD won a majority vote despite the fact that Ms Suu Kyi was under house arrest and disqualified from standing.
A process of reform has been under way in Myanmar since November 2010, when military rule was replaced by a new military-backed civilian government.


Opportunities were missed to spot the radicalisation of two teenage British Muslim brothers who died fighting in Syria in 2014, a report has found.

Agencies had insufficient knowledge and understanding of minority and faith groups, a serious case review said.
Abdullah and Jaffar Deghayes were in a child protection plan before 2010, the report by a senior social worker said.
But the review found their radicalisation was a "total shock and surprise" to authorities in Brighton.
Abdullah, 18, and Jaffar, 17, were both killed having followed their older brother, Amer, to Syria to fight for an Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist group.
Both boys had suffered bullying and racism, and had reported physical abuse by their father.
Who are Britain's jihadists?
Live: More on this story and other news from Sussex
The report by Edi Carmi said the brothers were taken out of the child protection plan in 2010 because there was professional "helplessness" among social workers about what else to do.
The report said this was expressed by some workers as having "no tools in the toolbox".
It concluded that professionals often lack "effective ways to intervene in families who have suffered long-standing trauma".
In the years that followed the end of the protection plan, Abdullah, Jaffar and Amer showed signs of radicalisation.
In early 2013, a school reported concerns about some young people including Jaffar.
One of the brothers further came to the attention of social workers over an "emotional" comment he made about "Americans" after he returned from a trip to his family's home country of Libya.
This led to a referral to the "Channel panel" - a de-radicalisation process - but it was decided he was "not at risk of being drawn into terror-related activities".
Graham Bartlett, independent chair of the Brighton and Hove Local Safeguarding Children Board, said: "The system as a whole let these young boys down. It's a wake up call.
"This case has had a major impact on our understanding of the risks posed to children of exploitation through radicalisation."
The report identified 13 key findings, including that professional responsibilities springing from the government's counter-terrorism strategy were not fully understood by all staff.
It also said professionals had no effective ways to intervene in families who have suffered long-standing trauma, and local statutory agencies had "insufficient knowledge about, and understanding of, local minority ethnic and faith community groups and how best to work together to safeguard children".
The Safeguarding Children Board said it fully accepted the report's findings.


As a pro-coal president strides into the White House, the rest of the world is rallying in defence of the climate.

Donald Trump has called climate change "a hoax" and filled his cabinet with representatives of fossil fuel industries.
One of the world's leading climate scientists told me she was positively scared about his potential impact on the planet.
But so far the leaders who joined with President Barack Obama in Paris in 2015 to sign the global climate deal are standing firm.
As Mr Trump ponders pulling out of the UN climate deal, China, India, Germany, the EU and the UK have all reaffirmed their promise to curb CO2 emissions.
And in the USA itself, moves have already been made to consolidate the low-carbon economy in a sign that fossil fuel companies will still face a battle over CO2 emissions, even with support from the White House.
Only this week, China's President, Xi Jin Ping, warned Mr Trump that walking away from the Paris deal would endanger future generations.
As Mr Trump promises to boost jobs by scrapping President Obama's clean energy plans, China is pushing on with a $361bn (Â£293bn) investment in renewable energy by 2020.
China's green aspirations are undermined by its expansion of coal-fired power stations, but this week it also suspended plans for 104 new coal plants.
Xie Zhenhua, the veteran climate negotiator who forged a close partnership on clean energy between the two mega-powers, told China Daily that the global momentum behind low-carbon technology was unstoppable.
He was quoted as saying: "Industrial upgrades aiming for more sustainable growth is a global trendâ€¦ it is not something that can be reversed by a single political leader.
"The international community and US citizens will pressure the Trump administration to continue clean energy policies."
The State Department may not dismiss this flippantly: while US-Chinese relations may be increasingly frosty in many areas, climate change and clean energy remain a valuable sphere of co-operation.
American politicians may also be wary of watching China seize the moral heights as world leader in tackling climate change.
India is also standing firm.
Its energy minister, Piyush Goyal, said this week: "We respect the fact that America has chosen its leader.
"However, clean energy is not something that we are working on because somebody else wants us to do it - it's a matter of faith and the faith of the leadership in India.
"Nothing on Earth is going to stop us from doing that."
Solar energy prices are now on a par with coal in India, which boasts the world's biggest solar farm and the first chemical plant to eat its own CO2 emissions.
It will continue to expand coal-fired generation for the next few years, but its National Electricity Plan projects no further increase in coal-based capacity after 2022 - much earlier than previously suggested.
Dollars, technology and jobs will pour into clean energy in these countries, and the USA will surely be keen not to miss out.
Meanwhile, moves are being made to consolidate President Obama's climate legacy.
The US previously pledged $3bn to the UN's green fund to help poor countries adapt to climate change and get clean technology.
Mr Trump won support among some voters for promising to stop payments and spend the cash on American citizens instead.
But this week President Obama slipped the fund a further $500m.
And it won't just be on the international stage that Mr Trump's team will face fossil fuel battles.
Some early skirmishes on American soil are already under way.
This week, the Environmental Protection Agency cemented stricter efficiency standards for cars.
Republicans will try to reverse this - but when carmakers previously resisted efficiency rules, they ended up producing such uncompetitive gas-guzzlers that the industry had to be bailed out.
Even Republican plans to boost extraction of fossil fuels, while popular in some states because the industries create jobs, will provoke local resistance from people who don't want oil pipelines, or don't want the tops blown off their mountains to get to coal.
It may be hard to persuade investors to put cash into coal anyway.
Many states will resist fossil fuels, too.
California has long led the way on car emissions and recently insisted it will keep its right to set its own tighter regulations for cars.
Mr Trump's team may try to rescind this.
There are already CO2 trading schemes between states on the east and west coasts, and last week New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans to build enough offshore wind capacity by 2030 to power 1.25 million homes.
Here's the big picture: as the world moves together to tackle climate change, it is clearly problematic if the biggest historic polluter threatens to pull in the opposite direction.
Will Angela Merkel, for instance, be so sanguine about Germany's controversial switch to renewables if the US forces its already-low energy prices even lower, triggering protests from German industry?
In the words of Jo Haigh, professor of atmospheric physics at Imperial College, London: "If Trump does what he said he'd do, and others follow suit, my gut feeling is that I'm scared. Very scared."
But he may not. And they may not.
Follow Roger on Twitter @rharrabin


The boss of Admiral insurance is to stand down as chief executive, the Cardiff-based company has announced.

Henry Engelhardt, who has been in his role since the company was founded in 1991, will leave his post in a year's time.
Admiral employs more than 7,000 people and has four million customers. It is Wales' only FTSE 100 company.
Mr Engelhardt will be replaced by co-founder and current chief operating officer David Stevens.


Wolves forward Eusebio Bancessi has joined Cheltenham on a month-long loan, while striker Terry Gornell has asked to be placed on the transfer list.

Portuguese Bancessi, 19, signed for his parent club from Benfica in 2013 but has yet to play a first-team game.
He could feature against Shrewsbury in League Two on Saturday.
Gornell's request comes after he scored in Wednesday's 3-1 Johnstone's Paint Trophy defeat by Bristol City, his first goal in almost a year.
The club have confirmed they have received interest for the 24-year-old striker from another club but the player has rejected the move.
Manager Mark Yates told the club website: "Terry wants to go on the list, so we'll see what happens, but I don't have any problems with him.
"He is a great lad and no bother around the place, but I understand why he wants to go out and play because it's not quite happened for him here.
"At this moment in time, maybe it will take a change of scenery to spark something to maybe he can come back here and do well again."


A patient died while waiting nearly a year for heart surgery because of unacceptable waiting times for tests, a watchdog has said.

Gareth Lewis Jones, from Neath Port Talbot, who had adult congenital heart disease (ACHD), died in March 2013 shortly before his operation was due.
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board also failed to warn him about symptoms of deterioration to watch out for.
The health board said several important changes had since been put in place.
Following Mr Jones' death, his sister Sadie complained to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales about the time he waited for tests and said the board failed to properly advise her on symptoms, which indicated his condition was getting worse.
The ombudsman found Mr Jones had waited nearly twice the recommended time for surgery and the health board failed to warn the family of symptoms which would have alerted them to the fact he needed urgent medical treatment in the days before his death.
He also found there had been previous near misses with patients waiting for this type of surgery which should have prompted the health board to ensure every possible action was taken to minimise the risk of harm to ACHD patients.
There was an apparent lack of urgency for treatment for ACHD patients within the health board as a whole, the investigation found.
Ombudsman Nick Bennett said: "On the balance of probabilities, had Mr X [Gareth Lewis Jones] received treatment earlier, it would have saved his life. The Welsh Government Referral to Treatment (RTT) target is 26 weeks.
"It is completely unacceptable that he waited nearly twice this time.
"I am pleased that the health board has agreed to my recommendations and I welcome steps that it is taking to address waiting times for patients with ACHD; however it is sadly too late for Mr X to benefit from any such improvements."
ABMU health board said: "We would like to take this opportunity to apologise once more to the family of Mr X and offer our sincere condolences for their loss.
"We fully accept the recommendations made by the ombudsman, and can give assurances that several important changes have been put in place over the last three years."
The statement said surgery continued to be offered at a Bristol hospital, as had been the case with Mr Jones, but added: "The management and processes supporting these patients have now been considerably tightened, and access to pre-surgical tests within Wales much improved."


A "hopeless romantic" has put an advert in the window of a railway ticket office in an attempt to track down a man she "exchanged smiles and eye contact with".

The poster, headed "searching for you" is on display at Stafford station.
If the tall man who was wearing a grey suit recognises himself, he is urged to contact staff at the counter.
A Virgin Trains spokesman said the love-struck woman had contacted them to help find the man she saw on 6 August.
A hopeless romantic is looking for the man she exchanged lots of smiles and eye contact with here on Thursday 6th August between 5:50-7pm.
Was it you? Tall, silver/grey hair, wearing a grey suit, black shoes and with a black wheeled case.
If so you will recognise the lady in question... slim, blonde hair, luggage, black leather jacket, black boots, 44yrs old.
Her train arrived at platform 1 at 6:56pm and you went over to watch her board. She was too shy to speak but would really like to get in touch.
If this was you & you would like to make contact, please see a member of ticket office staff.
The Virgin Trains spokesman said: "Being the soppy, romantic souls we are we're hoping this brief encounter will lead to a fairytale ending.
"So if the mystery man is out there please do get in touch."
The notice, a picture of which has been posted on Facebook by BBC Radio Stoke, has attracted comments including "hope all goes well", "I hope she finds him", "he could be married but good luck" and "he was just perving. You won't be the only one".


Wales manager Chris Coleman is to be offered the freedom of his home city, Swansea.

Coleman, 46, led Wales to their first major tournament in 58 years when they reached Euro 2016 in France.
During the competition, they made it to their first semi-final before losing to eventual winners Portugal.
Coleman played for Swansea City, Crystal Palace, Blackburn and Fulham but his career was cut short following a car accident.
He later had spells as manager of Fulham, Coventry and Spanish side Real Sociedad.
He was appointed Wales manager following the death of his good friend Gary Speed in 2012 and after a difficult start, turned things around on the pitch to reach Euro 2016.
Swansea lord mayor, councillor David Hopkins, said: "Freedom of the city is the highest honour the people of Swansea can confer on one of its own.
"And after the amazing, incredible exploits of the last month in France, I think I can safely say everyone in Swansea believes it's richly-deserved."


A Sinn Féin MLA who was ordered to pay nearly £50,000 damages for posting a defamatory tweet about a political rival is taking legal action against the insurance firm used by the assembly.

Phil Flanagan says he was unaware his tweet posted about Ulster Unionist MP Tom Elliott was libellous and claims it took the form of a question.
Mr Flanagan is taking legal action against an insurance firm over its refusal to provide cover for the libel award against him.
Last week, a judge awarded Mr Elliott £48,750 compensation following a tweet by Mr Flanagan.
The Fermanagh MLA posted the message after Mr Elliott appeared on a BBC radio programme in May 2014.
Mr Elliott served in the UDR for 10 years, between 1982 and 1992. He is now the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone.
Mr Flanagan's tweet read: "Tom Elliott talks to @StephenNolan about the past.
"I wonder if he will reveal how many people he harassed or shot as a member of the UDR."
The tweet was taken down from Mr Flanagan's Twitter account within an hour being posted.
However, Mr Elliot said that, despite the tweet being removed, it remained accessible on the internet, social media sites and political blogs.
The judge that Mr Flanagan's tweet was grossly defamatory.
Legal action culminated in the acceptance of an offer to make amends.
That involved Mr Flanagan recognising the defamatory and baseless allegations, formally apologising and agreeing to pay compensation and costs.
In an agreed statement he accepted his tweet was untrue, wholly without foundation and apologising for all offence caused.
A High Court judge has put a stay on any payout until Mr Flanagan resolves his legal action with insurers used by assembly members over a refusal to indemnify him.
The court heard on Thursday that cover provided for libel and slander claims, capped at £1m annually, excludes any cases where MLAs know their comments are defamatory.
Mr Flanagan told how he sent his tweet from Stormont's car park after listening to the radio show on his journey to parliament buildings.
Asked by his barrister if he intended to defame Mr Elliott, the Sinn Féin MLA replied: "Certainly not."
He told the judge that it was only after taking legal advice that he realised the seriousness of the situation.
During cross examination counsel for AIG Europe Ltd put it to him that he knew his tweet was "outrageously defamatory".
But Mr Flanagan insisted: "I framed it in the form of a question, thinking I wasn't making an allegation."
The case continues.


Two people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a baby was seriously injured in Gloucester.

A three-month-old boy was brought to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital on Saturday at 11:00 BST, police said.
He was taken to Bristol Children's Hospital where he remains in a critical but stable condition.
A 20-year-old woman and 26-year-old man have been arrested and remain in police custody .
Police said a "scene guard" was in place on Archdeacon Street in Gloucester and said it was thought to be "an isolated incident with no wider risk to the public".


Former Scotland and British and Irish Lions centre Alan Tait says the Scots called up by head coach Warren Gatland will be "wondering why they are there".

Fly-half Finn Russell and prop Allan Dell were drafted in last Saturday, but have played a combined total of 15 minutes from the bench.
"I don't understand why he called those guys in if he's not going to use them," said Tait.
"What was the point in bringing those guys in?"
Tait questioned why Dell was not introduced while Joe Marler was seemingly carrying an injury during Tuesday's draw with the Hurricanes.
"If the players are there, and the game's in the balance, the boys were tired, at least put those boys on," Tait told BBC Scotland.
Russell replaced Welshman Dan Biggar for a head injury assessment in Wellington, while Dell's sole on-field contribution came in last week's win over the Chiefs, when he replaced James Haskell with England loose-head Marler sin-binned.
Gatland said after Tuesday's match: "So much was made about devaluing the jersey, so we made a decision we would try and get through the game with as many of the starting XV as we could."
The Lions, who lost the first Test in Auckland, face New Zealand in the second Test in Wellington on Saturday and the final Test in Auckland on 8 July.
Tait, part of the series-winning Lions squad that toured South Africa in 1997, fears a backlash if the Lions cannot turn the series around.
"Those guys know they're not going to be involved in the next two Test matches," Tait told BBC Scotland.
"They're just going to be there to hold shields and run against the opposition in team runs.
"The guys will just deal with what they're there to do, but they'll be pretty disappointed and wondering why they're there.
"They'll keep doing their jobs, but I think at the end of the tour, they might ask themselves, will they be judged on that until the end of their days? You were a Lion, but you didn't actually play.
"A lot of guys sit on the fence on this because it all depends on what Gatland does in the next two Tests.
"If they win on Saturday and the week after there'll be nothing said and he'll be this great coach again.
"But this time if they do lose the Test series, it will probably erupt."


The wife of a Swansea man who says police officers stole £30,000 during a house raid has claimed an officer asked for the code to a safe.

Victoria Luben told Cardiff Crown Court she heard an officer say: "We're in."
Det Sgt Stephen Phillips, 47, of Swansea, Det Con Christopher Evans, 38, of Llangennech, Carmarthenshire, and Michael Stokes, 35, from Glynneath, Neath Port Talbot, deny theft.
Mrs Luben said she was "scared" during the Penlan raid on 1 April 2011.
Under cross-examination she denied her husband had encouraged her to give a "false statement" about giving the code.
She told the court she had not known about her husband's savings.
Mr Phillips is accused of four counts of theft while Mr Evans and Mr Stokes both face two charges.
The case continues.


England number eight Billy Vunipola is set for a shock early return to action for his club Saracens against Newcastle on Sunday, boosting his hopes of a 2017 Six Nations call-up.

The 24-year-old, capped 32 times by England, has been out of action since November with a knee injury.
However, it is understood his recovery has progressed quicker than expected.
Vunipola could now be in contention to face Scotland on 11 March, or Ireland a week later.
He was one of England's outstanding performers throughout their unbeaten year of 2016, and his ball-carrying and dynamism has been missed by Eddie Jones' side.
There were initial fears Vunipola would miss the whole of England's Six Nations title defence, but it is understood he has looked sharp on his return to full training this week, and is targeting a quick return to international rugby.
Vunipola's older brother, Mako, recently made his own comeback from a knee problem, and came off the bench in the win over Italy.


Worcester will not give up the current boundaries of their Academy network "without a fight", says the Premiership club's director of rugby Dean Ryan.

Reports claim the boundaries may be under threat when Wasps complete their relocation to Coventry this summer.
Two of Warriors' six Academy centres are based close to Wasps' matchday home at the Ricoh Arena - at Barkers Butts, in Coventry, and at Warwick School.
But Ryan insists: "There's nothing been decided on Academy boundaries."
Warriors first publicly expressed their concerns over this emotive issue in September 2014, when reports first surfaced about Wasps' initially denied move to the Midlands.
That was when Warriors were a Championship club, following their one-season relegation from the Premiership - four months after their expensive Academy expansion project had commenced.
Since then, Warriors have spent over £1m further investing in their six Academy centres across the Midlands - and Ryan is adamant that the club will be continuing dialogue with the ruling bodies, the Premiership and the Rugby Football Union.
"Anything that has been said is premature," he told BBC Hereford & Worcester. "The club won't give up their Academy boundaries without a fight, just because somebody has taken a commercial decision to sit themselves in the Midlands.
"There seems to be a view that it can be moved around and the boundaries rejigged but it's not the view of the club. We will be fighting hard to maintain our boundaries. People just go and make decisions and expect clubs like Worcester to sit by the wayside. That's stopped.
"We've no idea where it's going to end up, but I can give everyone reassurance that we'll fight for all the work and investment we've already put in."
Apart from their own central Academy at Sixways, Worcester Warriors have six further regional academies outside the Worcestershire border, to help attract and nurture young talent into the professional rugby union ranks.
Two are in Herefordshire, at the Hereford Cathedral School, Hereford and at Luctonians Rugby Club, Leominster.
Two are in Warwickshire, at Barkers Butts Rugby Club and Warwick School.
One is in Shropshire, at Telford College of Arts and Technology, and the other is at King Edward's School in Birmingham.
Prior to Wasps' move to play their matches at the Ricoh in December 2014, Worcester housed the only professional rugby union side in the west side of the Midlands. The Premiership club's catchment areas currently extend to the boundaries with Sale in the north-west, Gloucester in the south-west and in the East Midlands with Leicester and Northampton.
Meanwhile, Worcester winger Sam Smith has joined London Scottish on loan for the rest of the season, where his Warriors team-mate Alex Grove is already on loan.


Payments processing firm Worldpay has listed on the London Stock Exchange in a sale raising more than £2bn.

The company's flotation is the largest on the London market so far this year. Its shares were initially offered at 240p each, after its private equity owners sold a 51% stake in it.
Worldpay processes more than 30 million mobile, online and in-store transactions every day.
The company employs about 4,500 staff, mostly in the UK and the US.
Company chief executive Philip Jansen described Worldpay's listing as "a significant milestone".
He added that more than £1bn had been invested in the company, "helping [it] become an advanced technology-led organisation".
Worldpay was sold by the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2010 to its current owners, Advent International and Bain Capital. In terms of money raised, the flotation also means it is Europe's largest private equity-backed listing.
In a statement, the London Stock Exchange Group said Worldpay's decision to list in the UK "confirms London's position as [a] leading global financial centre" and "highlights [an] exceptional investor appetite".


Northern Ireland's victims commissioner has said the government, like others in Northern Ireland, have not been open about their activities in the past.

Judith Thompson also told a committee of MPs at Westminister that national security should not be used to hide uncomfortable facts.
Ms Thompson was giving evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
She testified about the issues affecting victims of the Troubles.
She also addressed the efforts to secure a political agreement on how best to deal with the past.
One of the hurdles surrounds the government's use of national security when it comes to deciding what information can be made public.
The victims commissioner described the controversy around national security as the "elephant in the corner" which needs to be addressed.
Ms Thompson told the committee that 500,000 people in Northern Ireland- equivalent to about one third of the population - have been affected by the Troubles
She said about 200,000 of those have mental health issues, while 40,000 have suffered injuries
The victims commissioner said that only 18,000 people have come forward for help
She was challenged  by DUP MP Gavin Robinson about remarks she made in March about government hiding behind national security. Mr Robinson asked her whether she thought such language was helpful.
"Do you believe that government is using national security issues as a rock of convenience to hide uncomfortable truths?" Mr Robinson asked Ms Thompson.
Ms Thompson replied: "I believe that there has not yet been full openness and disclosure on anyone's part about the past and yes government, as other players, would be part of that."
However, she said she believed a way could be found to break the deadlock.
"It should be possible to find a mechanism that is seen as sufficiently impartial to determine if something is a matter for national security or personal safety and to do so without compromising the government's right to be in control of that," she said.
"That is the conversation which needs to be happening right now.
"One of the big issues for many on both parts of the community is a loss of trust in each other and in government.
"Re-establishing trust is essential and so therefore having an oversight mechanism which people can accept as being impartial so that national security and people's safety can be preserved, but people know it's not something anyone can use to hide uncomfortable facts."
The commissioner said the package of measures for dealing with the past in the Stormont House Agreement should be implemented as soon as possible. But she warned that the financial resources may not be in place to fully implement the package.
It also emerged during Wednesday morning's session that 30 UDR widows have lost their pensions after remarrying. Ms Thompson said this needed to addressed in the interest of equality.


Police are investigating after almost two tonnes of lead was stolen from a house under renovation in Balquhidder.

The lead was taken from a container outside the house sometime between 14:00 on Tuesday and 08:00 on Wednesday, along with some power tools.
Police said a sizeable vehicle would have been needed to remove the "huge" quantity of lead from the site.
A white Ford Transit van was seen near the scene at 17:00 on Tuesday, driven by a man aged between 30 and 40.
Officers have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.


Irish quartet Kodaline are among the hardest-working bands in rock, playing 106 shows in the last six months.

"We gig relentlessly," says frontman Steve Garrigan. "Even when we have days off we'll find a place to play."
The band are ostensibly promoting their second album, Coming Up For Air - but admit that touring keeps them afloat.
"We've never really had a big hit worldwide, but we have a big fanbase," Garrigan says. "At the moment, our live shows are what's driving us."
After racking up 222,137 miles on the road in 2015 alone, Garrigan shares the highlights and horror stories of their world tour.
I was out in Brisbane in a place called Lone Pine - which is actually a koala sanctuary. I got to hold a koala and feed the kangaroos, which was amazing, one of the things on my bucket list, but I didn't wear any sun cream.
Now, I have very pale and pasty Irish skin, so I ended up getting sun stroke. Before I went on stage that night, I could barely stand up. I was so dehydrated. My legs were shaking the whole time.
The only thing that got me through that gig was adrenalin but, even so, I dropped a few songs from the set, went straight to the hotel and spent the next day in darkness covered in after-sun and drinking buckets and buckets of water.
Our first time playing Glastonbury, two years ago, we were playing the John Peel tent and we were super-excited. The tent was packed, people were trying to get in and they couldn't make it. For us, it was a career-defining moment.
But when we play, we use these things called in-ear monitors, so we can hear everything we're playing. They were working perfectly and we were rocking out - but the crowd started chanting "off, off, off".
We were like, "Oh my God. That was our 30 seconds on stage at Glastonbury and we were terrible. I guess we'll go back to our day jobs and give up the dream."
But it turned out the PA system wasn't working and the crowd couldn't hear anything. They were actually chanting "up, up, up".
It worked out for the better in the end, because the crowd felt for us and they got back on our side.
We get a lot of presents from fans in Japan and America. Lots of cup cakes - I don't know why.
But I once said I'd like it if fans brought us socks. I've run out of socks before and when you're on a tour bus and you're wearing socks that are two or three days old, it can smell like a festival gone wrong.
So I put a tweet out and then fans started turning up and giving me socks. I haven't had to buy a pair of socks in ages. I've had them thrown at me on stage. Tom Jones gets knickers and I get socks.
Any time we have off, we'll spend in the studio. We wrote and recorded our last album in eight weeks. This next one, we're going to take a little more time. We're experimenting a bit with different sounds but it's still my voice, we're the same musicians. It'll still sound like Kodaline.
We're very aware that bands come and go. Every album could be our last, but our dream is to have a career that could span the rest of our lives. But you can't tell the future.
If you can do a good gig at a festival and hold a good crowd, I think it makes you better musicians and performers.
If we got to a stadium, that would be the dream. We got a taste of it, actually, when Ed Sheeran invited us on stage in Croke Park in Dublin. We played one of our songs, called All I Want, and the whole stadium sang every word back to us. It was 80,000 [people] and I almost fainted with the nerves.
Festival food is hit and miss. If you get there after everybody's gone in and they're running out of food, you get the stuff that's been sitting out all day.
The best catering I've had so far was at a festival in Poland. It was a sit-down thing with waiters - all very fancy, and we're not very fancy people. I had a carbonara, which is pretty standard, but do you ever eat something and they do something tiny, like add an extra spice, and it makes the whole dish taste a million times better?
I don't know what it was, but it was the best carbonara I've ever had.
At V Festival this year, it was my birthday so the lads brought a cake on stage - but they forgot to light the candles!
One of the crew just handed me the cake and I was like, "what am I supposed to do with this?" I had 20,000 people singing Happy Birthday to me, which was a bizarre experience. I was kind of embarrassed.
We were over in LA and we got the opportunity to go into the studio with Johnny McDaid - who used to be in Snow Patrol. Somebody told us he was engaged to Courtney Cox, which we didn't really know about, but we went over to her house, stayed a few days and we ended up writing Love Will Set You Free.
After that, we were hanging out and Courtney said she'd love to direct the video for it. We didn't really take her seriously but then she kept asking and we ended up shooting it in her house. We had some of our friends over from Dublin - girlfriends and fiancees - and I think she did a really good job capturing our personalities.
We are huge fans of Friends. We've all got the box sets at home, and we were quite nervous about meeting her at first. But she's very chilled out and very cool and she puts you at ease.
Luckily, we didn't call her Monica - but we were very, very aware of that.
Kodaline begin a 10-date UK tour in December, culminating with four nights at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.


A project to create a full-size replica of the Titanic at a theme park in China has upset relatives of victims and survivors of the 1912 disaster.

The project at the £1.2bn Romandisea resort has been condemned as in "bad taste" by members of the British Titanic Society.
The resort's American designer said plans for a simulated iceberg crash experience had now been abandoned.
The Chinese firm said the attraction would be "respectful".
Shaojun Su, chief executive of Yongle Seven Star Cultural Tourism Development Company, said the Titanic had "many Chinese fans" thanks to the 1997 film starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Speaking through an interpreter at the British Titanic Society convention, he said the full-size replica would "respect history and the universal love" of those who died.
The convention - a gathering of Titanic enthusiasts and relatives of those on board the ill-fated liner - was held between Friday and Sunday in Southampton.
One participant, Jean Legg, whose father was a steward on the ship, said: "They are using the Titanic because of the tragedy - it's upsetting."
Ms Legg said: "My dad lived to be nearly 90 and the sights and sounds of people fighting for their lives stayed with him to the end of his days.
"If he knew this was being replicated, I think he'd be turning in his grave.
"I find it very upsetting, I feel they could have replicated another liner - it's in poor taste."
Robert Burr, the grandson of a steward who lost his life, had the same objection. "It doesn't suit the situation," he added.
But the society's president, Commodore Ron Warwick, said the replica would "perpetuate the memory of those who lost their lives".
Bruce Beverage, whose American firm is helping to design the theme park, said he had convinced Mr Su to drop plans for a simulated iceberg crash as part of a "6D holiday experience".
He said: "When they hired me I said, 'No, it would be in poor taste'."
The original liner, built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, sank when it hit an iceberg on 15 April 1912 on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.
The replica is set to form the centrepiece of the theme park in Sichuan province, which is due to admit its first visitors in August.
Work on the ship began in May 2014 and is due to be completed by early 2019.


A council which installed Braille paving stones branded "gobbledygook" has said the slabs were only intended to be "creative".

Hull City Council had hoped the decorative stones would help raise the profile of those in the city who were visually impaired.
They were supposed to spell out the poem, The City Speaks, by Shane Rhodes.
But Braille teacher Barry Wheatley said it made no sense as the Braille is too big and lacks spaces between words.
The council said it was only intended to be "creative" tactile paving.
Read more about this and other stories from East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire
Mr Wheatley said he initially thought the stones along Jameson Street and King Edward Street were a great idea but soon realised they were pointless.
"Braille is the size of your fingertips and to get down on your knees and feel this, well it is meaningless," he said.
"Even if you are a sighted Braille reader then it is like reading a sentence in print without any spaces in it.
"It is just gobbledygook."
He also said it did not work to guide blind or partially sighted people down the street, as it ran into street furniture.
Councillor Martin Mancey said he did not believe anything had "gone wrong" with the paving, which had only recently been installed.
"It was never intended to be a clearly legible form of the poem, it was an artistic interpretation.
"It has already achieved one of its purposes which was to raise the awareness of the needs of blind and partially sighted people in the city centre."
He said he was not aware of any obstacles that prevented it being used as a navigational guide.


Scotland's politicians have outlined pledges on childcare and the economy as campaigning continues ahead of May's Holyrood election.

The political importance of folk music and "social prescribing" for doctors were also raised on the day Scottish Labour launched their election manifesto.
Nicola Sturgeon highlighted her proposals for childcare while campaigning in Edinburgh.
Visiting a sweet shop in Portobello, the SNP leader said she was targeting a "transformation" of childcare.
She said: "We've put investment in children and families at the heart of our manifesto for government - our childcare proposals will help parents back into work, save families money and help give children the best start in life."
Ms Sturgeon also said it was unacceptable for anywhere in Scotland to be off-limits to women, after it emerged the Royal Troon golf course, which is hosting the Open Championship in July, is considering scrapping its men-only membership rule.
Ruth Davidson called for fresh focus on growing Scotland's economy while campaigning in Edinburgh, warning the country is on a "knife-edge".
In between pulling pints while campaigning at a pub in Stockbridge, the Scottish Conservative leader voiced fears that Scotland could be tipped back into recession.
She said: "My opponents in this campaign are only focusing on how much extra they can take out of workers' pay packets. They have given us no answers at all on how we grow the economy and increase the revenue base available for schools and hospitals."
Ms Davidson also said she would boycott the Open at Troon if the course continued its men-only membership policy.
Willie Rennie called for GPs to be given the power to prescribe gym memberships and other physical activities to boost fitness and sport in Scotland.
Scaling a climbing wall while campaigning in Fife, the Scottish Lib Dem leader said he wanted to "give doctors the tools they need to help people who are struggling to exercise or try new things".
He said: "Social prescribing not only allows doctors to prescribe things like gym memberships and other activities that get people moving. It can also see health spending used to improve heat insulation in the homes of people at risk of respiratory illness.
"Liberal Democrats will also ensure that the full proceeds of the new sugar tax are used to boost participation in sport and physical activity."
Maggie Chapman highlighted the political importance of the tradition of folk music at an event in Edinburgh.
The Scottish Greens co-convenor visited the launch of TradFest, a traditional music festival.
Ms Chapman said the folk scene had played an important role in keeping Green values like equality, social justice and fairness alive.
The Greens also advocate a tourist tax, with money raised being invested in culture.
Kezia Dugdale launched Scottish Labour's manifesto for May's Holyrood elections, promising a "return to the party's roots".
The manifesto leads with anti-austerity pledges to stop cuts and increase public spending on services, paid for with increases in income tax and a replacement of the council tax.
The party's key priorities are education, the NHS and protecting public services.


A seven-month old baby died after being refused access to Stafford Hospital because its A&E department is shut at night and the children's ward was full.

Holly Waters was pronounced dead on arrival at University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS) after a 22-mile (35km) journey by ambulance on 28 June.
She lived 2.5 miles (4km) from Stafford Hospital.
A hospital spokesman said the paediatric ward had been full and handling an emergency at the time.
Holly, who up until that point had been a normal, healthy baby, was found unconscious in her cot by her mother, Charlotte Waters.
The family called 999 and a paramedic arrived four minutes later at 22:46 BST.
It was at 23:37 BST that the baby reached the Stoke-on-Trent hospital.
Stafford Hospital's A&E has been shut from 22:00 to 08:00 since December, as Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust needs to recruit additional staff.
Holly's father Sean Birch said this - and an already full children's ward - had led to up to a 20-minute delay.
Mr Birch said: "We were actually told that she died two minutes away from North Staffordshire, but if she had gone to Stafford Hospital and they had managed to put a drip in and stabilise her, then send her to North Staffordshire, she would still be here today."
Both West Midlands Ambulance Service and the Mid Staffordshire trust said it was impossible to say whether admitting Holly to Stafford Hospital would have made a difference.
According to the ambulance service, both the officer at the scene and ambulance control contacted Stafford's A&E department but were told the unit could not accept Holly.
Requests to take the baby to the children's ward at Stafford were also refused, the ambulance service said.
Colin Ovington, director of nursing and midwifery at Stafford Hospital, claimed it would have been unsafe for the paediatric unit to have accepted Holly.
"The staff were already treating a very seriously ill child who had been brought in as an emergency and they were also caring for a number of other emergency admissions and sick children," he said.
"The staff correctly followed the joint protocol between the hospital and West Midlands Ambulance Service for these circumstances."
In a statement, Mid Staffordshire trust said: "When contacted by the West Midlands ambulance crew, our paediatric ward told the crew that they were unable to accept the baby because they did not have the capacity in the ward and were already dealing with an emergency.
"As per the agreed protocol, the ambulance crew were directed to take the baby to UHNS.
"The ambulance crew also contacted our A&E department, who repeated the instruction that the baby should be taken to UHNS.
"Following an internal investigation, this was not reported as a serious incident.
"There was no reason to discipline or suspend any member of staff."
A spokeswoman for NHS Midlands and East, the strategic health authority, said it had not been informed about the incident.
"It is disappointing that this incident was not formally reported and we are now seeking assurances from the NHS organisations that this is being investigated, in order to fully understand what took place," she said.
An initial post-mortem examination was unable to find the cause of death.
An inquest will be held in due course.


Lions head coach Warren Gatland is bullish about the strength of his squad after a bruising semi-finals weekend in the English Premiership and Pro12.

England flanker James Haskell has been called up to replace Saracens number eight Billy Vunipola, who had to withdraw because of a shoulder injury.
However, Johnny Sexton, Jack McGrath, Sean O'Brien, Ken Owens and Rhys Webb have been given the all clear.
Sexton and McGrath suffered injuries during Leinster's loss to the Scarlets.
Fly-half Sexton underwent a head injury assessment following his side's 27-15 defeat at the RDS but will be able to train with the rest of the Lions squad on Tuesday.
McGrath, who lasted just nine minutes of the match last Friday, was able to take part in Monday's training session at Carton House in the Republic of Ireland after an X-ray on his arm injury showed no major damage.
Scarlets hooker Owens (ankle), Leinster flanker Sean O'Brien (calf) and Ospreys scrum-half Rhys Webb (groin) all missed last weekend's Pro12 play-offs but their places in the Lions squad are not in jeopardy.
"I think we are pretty good," Gatland said. "The guys are making good progress."
"We spend a lot of time going through the process of picking players, and trying to plan and prepare, so to lose someone is disappointing," the Lions head coach added. "You have just got to move on. The decision has been made, and we look forward."
Gatland has already indicated that Munster's CJ Stander will now come into selection contention as a number eight, having played for Ireland as a blind-side flanker during the Six Nations.
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Team captain Sam Warburton was another player who returned to full contact training on Monday after recovering from a knee injury.
The Wales open-side flanker has praised the impact defence coach Andy Farrell has already had on the playing group.
The Ireland defence coach, who was also an assistant coach to Gatland in 2013, has impressed Warburton with how he has set the tone in defensive training sessions.
Warburton is also hoping to gain some insight from Ireland's win over the All Blacks in Chicago last November ahead of the first Test in New Zealand on 24 June.
"It's good to have those boys around and that they've got that experience," Warburton said.
"I think as we get closer to those Test matches, I think you'll tap into the Irish boys, perhaps, a little bit more and I'm sure they'll share a bit of insight on their success over New Zealand as well."


Salomon Rondon's injury-time equaliser earned West Brom a point at Stoke to deny the Potters their first league win of the season.

Stoke took the lead through Joe Allen when he poked home after West Brom's Jonny Evans nodded the ball down.
But Rondon headed a corner beyond keeper Lee Grant to thwart Stoke, who still move off the foot of the table.
In Tony Pulis' 1,000th game as a manager, his West Brom side created few chances before Rondon rescued them.
Erik Pieters had a penalty claim denied for Stoke in the second half, while Grant saved superbly from a header from the Baggies' James McClean.
Substitute Peter Crouch had gone close for the hosts before Allen's goal, but the dramatic finish means more frustration for boss Mark Hughes, whose side were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Hull in injury time on Wednesday.
Having just one point before kick-off and languishing at the foot of the table, it was hardly surprising Stoke looked tentative to begin with.
West Brom are a side who appear content to sit back away from home, and a lack of concerted threat from Stoke in the final third of the pitch added to the hosts' worries.
But Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri, Stoke's main creative forces, gradually asserted themselves as the game wore on.
The replacement of the mostly ineffective Wilfried Bony by Crouch went down well with the home fans, and brought greater urgency from Stoke, culminating in Allen's prodded finish from the six-yard line.
The Potters were much improved on their display in last week's 4-1 defeat at Crystal Palace, making Rondon's dramatic leveller from substitute Jonathan Leko's corner all the more galling.
West Brom's display in their manager's landmark game bore many of the hallmarks the Welshman, 58, has instilled in his sides in 24 years of management.
Defensive discipline, tenacity and the willingness to take what few chances fall their way are all traits of Pulis teams, and resulted here in what will be a satisfying point.
Crouch's arrival threatened to shake Evans' solid partnership with Gareth McAuley, but the way West Brom responded to that and Allen's goal will have delighted their boss.
Illness meant he did not have Saido Berahino to throw on from the bench, so Rondon's third goal of the season means Pulis can look forward to game 1,001 from a solid, mid-table position.
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes: "We feel deflated but it was a good performance from us.
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"We're trying to be progressive and we fully deserved the three points. We got one and we have to take it.
"I was encouraged by the performance and we asked questions of them. It's another point on the board. We didn't do too much wrong. I can't complain about our play, they put everything into it.
"Points are like gold dust, so we've got something for our efforts."
West Brom manager Tony Pulis: "That was a deserved point. We conceded a scrappy goal but the reaction of the players was absolutely first class. In the last 20 minutes we really pressed and we got the point we deserved.
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"I'm pleased because if we had lost I'd have been disappointed. We haven't got the array of talent like they have but the work-rate they put in was fantastic.
"We've got a fit group who never give up. We had to respond from going a goal down. I was so pleased with the attitude."
West Brom play the bottom-of-the-table side for the second week in a row when they visit Sunderland on Saturday, 1 October at 15:00 BST. And Hughes will be the manager revisiting old haunts when Stoke play Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, 2 October at 12:00 BST.
Match ends, Stoke City 1, West Bromwich Albion 1.
Second Half ends, Stoke City 1, West Bromwich Albion 1.
Corner,  West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by Marko Arnautovic.
Charlie Adam (Stoke City) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Charlie Adam (Stoke City).
James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Peter Crouch (Stoke City).
Nyom (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal!  Stoke City 1, West Bromwich Albion 1. Salomón Rondón (West Bromwich Albion) header from a difficult angle on the left to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jonathan Leko with a cross following a corner.
Corner,  West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by Bruno Martins Indi.
Substitution, Stoke City. Mame Biram Diouf replaces Xherdan Shaqiri.
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Jonathan Leko replaces Matt Phillips.
Substitution, Stoke City. Charlie Adam replaces Joe Allen.
Corner,  West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by Glen Johnson.
Attempt blocked. Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Peter Crouch.
Corner,  Stoke City. Conceded by Nacer Chadli.
Peter Crouch (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Gareth McAuley (West Bromwich Albion).
Attempt blocked. Nyom (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Nacer Chadli.
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. James Morrison replaces Claudio Yacob.
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Hal Robson-Kanu replaces James McClean.
Attempt saved. James McClean (West Bromwich Albion) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Claudio Yacob.
Foul by Marko Arnautovic (Stoke City).
Craig Dawson (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Goal!  Stoke City 1, West Bromwich Albion 0. Joe Allen (Stoke City) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner.
Nyom (West Bromwich Albion) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Joe Allen (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Nyom (West Bromwich Albion).
Geoff Cameron (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by James McClean (West Bromwich Albion).
Attempt missed. Peter Crouch (Stoke City) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Xherdan Shaqiri following a set piece situation.
Joe Allen (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Claudio Yacob (West Bromwich Albion).
Attempt saved. Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Salomón Rondón.
Foul by Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City).
Nyom (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Xherdan Shaqiri with a cross.
Substitution, Stoke City. Peter Crouch replaces Wilfried Bony.
Corner,  Stoke City. Conceded by Nyom.
Craig Dawson (West Bromwich Albion) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.


A baby elephant has been discovered dead on a Malaysian highway after it was apparently killed by a vehicle.

State park officials who found the carcass said such incidents "do not happen very often".
Environmentalists said increasing habitat destruction has forced wild elephants closer to the East-West Highway, which links north-east Kelantan state to the rest of Malaysia.
Officials have urged drivers to be "extra careful" when using the highway.
"We have already erected signboards to notify motorists that there would be elephant crossings along the stretch of the highway," said Loo Kean Seong, director of the Perak Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
"So they need to be more responsible, especially when they are driving late at night or early in the morning."
Kuala Lumpur-based conservation group, the Management and Ecology of Malaysian Elephants (MEME) group, came across the dead elephant on Friday.
"We believe this baby died very fast, it was hit on its head and its family was no longer there by the time we arrived," said Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz.
He told BBC News that there were other elephant deaths in the forested area in 2010 and 2014.
"Wild elephants have already lost so much of their forests and more of them are coming out to roads to find food like grass, palm trees and bamboo.
"They are also spending more time hanging around roads," he said, adding that lower speed limits should be enforced and more street lights should be installed.
"As Malaysia develops, it needs to compromise. Especially in this landscape which houses one of the most important forests in South East Asia. Elephants need to roam freely and safely."
The incident raised emotions and drew anger on social media.
Many Malaysians expressed sadness for wildlife in their country coming into increasing contact with people, due to loss of forests.
"One of the richest forest diversities in the world and this is how we treat our wildlife," said Kent Chua. "They are losing their homes in the name of development and they are paying the price with their lives."
Others raised concerns about reckless drivers.
"When you see a sign that states [slow] down, just slow down," said Izuni Nia. "It's a simple thing to do. It's still their home so just respect it."
"I want to know how a person can even miss seeing such a big creature," wrote a Facebook user from the capital, Kuala Lumpur, speculating that the driver may have been drunk or speeding.
"No decency whatsoever to even have stopped and stayed with the dying baby or at least report it."


Sony has reported an annual profit for the first time in five years, boosted by asset sales and a weakening yen.

Net profit was 43bn yen ($436m; Â£280m) in the year to 31 March, compared with a 457bn loss a year earlier.
Sony said the yen's recent fall, which makes its goods cheaper for foreign buyers, boosted sales. A weak yen also lifts profits when firms repatriate their foreign earnings back home.
But some analysts said gains from asset sales had skewed the latest numbers.
The firm said it expected its profits to rise to 50bn yen in the current financial year, with the yen forecast to remain weak.
The Japanese currency has fallen more than 20% against the US dollar since November last year, after policymakers unveiled a series of aggressive measures aimed at spurring growth in the economy.
Sony, which was once a market leader in various product categories, has seen its fortunes plummet over the past few years.
Increased competition, falling prices and narrowing profit margins have hurt its business, especially in the TV segment which has been making a loss for the past eight years.
As a result, Sony has been trying to restructure its business model and reduce its costs.
As part of the restructuring process, the firm has sold key assets over the past few months, including its US headquarters in New York and some of its shares in M3, a medical research and marketing firm.
The firm has also offloaded its "Sony City Osaki" building in Tokyo.
Sony said the sale of all these assets had resulted in gains of nearly $2.5bn during the last financial year - and the figure contributed to the rise in its earnings during the period.
Analysts said that given the impact these sales have had on its profit - the numbers were not a true reflection of the firm's success.
Gerhard Fasol of Eurotechnology Japan said that these gains "really need to be subtracted from the results, to understand the regular operating results".
Mr Fasol pointed out that the firm's results indicated that its electronics division continued to struggle and that the unit had not been turned around yet.


Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji, who married film-maker Aditya Chopra last year ending years of speculation about their relationship status, has given birth to a baby girl.

The baby has been named Adira - a combination of the parents' names.
The award-winning actress, 37, has starred in many hit films and worked with Bollywood's biggest names.
Chopra, 43, who has produced and directed several hit films, is the son of legendary film-maker Yash Chopra
Yash Raj Films studio, of which Mr Chopra is the chairman, announced the news of the birth on Twitter:
Congratulatory messages have been coming in from the couple's friends, colleagues and fans:
The couple, who were dating for several years, married in Italy in April 2014.
Mukerji has acted in many hit films, including Saathiya, Hum Tum, Veer Zaara, Bunty aur Babli and Dil Bole Hadippa!.
Chopra directed one of Bollywood's biggest romances - Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge - with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead. He also directed Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Mohabbatein.
Yash Raj Films was established by Chopra's father - Yash Raj Chopra - and the studio has helped establish some of Indian cinema's biggest names, including Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.


A New York City police officer has been convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting an unarmed black man in a darkened stairwell.

Peter Liang could face up to 15 years in prison for killing Akai Gurley.
Advocates for police accountability have closely watched the case because US police officers who injure or kill civilians rarely face criminal charges.
Gurley's death in 2014 came amid several high-profile cases in which officers killed unarmed black men.
The deaths of black men such as Eric Garner of New York and Michael Brown of Missouri sparked protests across the US.
Authorities declined to bring charges against the officers involved in those cases.
The officer's supporters have said Liang, who is Chinese American, is being made a scapegoat for previous injustices. His defence team said the shooting was an accident, not a crime.
However, prosecutors said Liang, a newly recruited officer, handled his weapon recklessly and did little to help Gurley after he was shot.
"Instead of shining a light, he pointed his gun and shot Akai Gurley," prosecutor Joe Alexis said in his closing argument.
Liang, 28, testified that he was patrolling a stairwell inside a public housing complex in Brooklyn when he was startled by a sound and fired his weapon by mistake.
The bullet ricocheted off the wall and hit Gurley, 28, who was standing on a lower floor.
"I was panicking. I was shocked and in disbelief that someone was hit," said Liang who wept during his testimony.


A £3.2m floating bridge has been commissioned to connect Cowes and East Cowes, Isle of Wight Council has said.

The replacement vessel is being built in Wales and is due to be in operation at the end of this year or the start of 2017.
Leader of the council, Jonathan Bacon, said the new floating bridge would be more efficient than the current chain ferry.
He said: "Capacity will be improved to carry more vehicles.
"Having a new vessel will also help to improve reliability."
The council said a funding agreement for the new floating bridge is being finalised with the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership.
It is expected to be in service for the next 25 years and is part of the Solent Gateways project.
A new ticketing system, using self-service machines and pre-paid cards, is also due to start later in the spring.
The floating bridge is being built by Mainstay Marine Solutions Ltd.


Russia's participation in athletics at the Rio Olympics will be decided when the council of world governing body the IAAF meets on 17 June in Vienna.

The IAAF voted to suspend Russia's federation (Araf) on 13 November after the publication of an independent World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) report that alleged "state-sponsored doping".
The IAAF has outlined conditions Araf must meet for the ban to be lifted.
The Olympic athletics programme begins in Brazil on 12 August.
Russia, which said in November it is "fully committed" to reforms, will only be reinstated if it fulfils strict criteria, including compliance with all Wada and IAAF anti-doping rules.
The athletics federation must cut ties with all convicted dopers, resolve current disciplinary cases and investigate potential cases if it is to be readmitted to competition.
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The brother of the main surviving suspect in last November's jihadist attacks in Paris has called on his jailed sibling to speak.

Last week two lawyers said they could no longer represent Saleh Abdeslam, as he was remaining silent and refusing to co-operate with the investigation.
"I ask my brother to speak," Mohamed Abdeslam told France's RTL Radio.
He said he wanted to know "exactly what had happened before and after" the attacks in which 130 people died.
So-called Islamic State said it was behind the co-ordinated assaults on bars, restaurants, a concert hall and the Stade de France.
Salah Abdeslam - described as the sole surviving member of the group - was arrested in Brussels in March and has kept silent since his transfer to France in April.
Mohamed Abdeslam said his brother had withdrawn into himself and he had the impression that he was even more radicalised than before.
"During my visits to Belgium, I really saw a Salah Abdeslam who was ready to talk. A few months later, it feels like I am looking at another person. I can confirm that Salah is more withdrawn, more closed now," the suspect's sibling added.
"His incarceration, the extremely difficult conditions of his detention, his withdrawal into himself; I sometimes have the impression he is more radicalised now, rather than de-radicalised," said Mohamed Abdeslam, who has visited his brother in prison every three months.
He said he was aware that Salah Abdeslam's silence was particularly hard for the families of the victims, and that it would be "a disappointment for us all" if he refused to testify at his trial.
Salah Abdeslam's refusal to co-operate is said in part to stem from anger at the conditions in which he is being held - and particularly being under 24-hour video surveillance, his former lawyers have said.
He is thought to have played a key role in planning the Paris attacks and transporting the attackers, but investigators are yet to determine his specific role.
Another Abdeslam sibling, Brahim, blew himself up in the attacks.


Detectives searching for a Yorkshire terrier wheeled away in a pushchair have released a picture of a mystery woman they wish to speak to.

Gog the dog is a Leicester celebrity, famed for wearing clothes and being wheeled around by owner Monti Shortt.
But last week someone walked off with the buggy when Ms Shortt briefly popped into the Haymarket Shopping Centre.
Leicestershire Police have released an image of a woman with the buggy and appealed for information.
Ms Shortt, 69, who has cancer, said she needs to get her pet back urgently because Gog needs surgery on her knees.
Leicestershire Police said the dog was in a navy blue pushchair taken from outside Cafe Nero in Humberstone Gate at about 15:00 GMT.
"Who is this woman? Do you know where the dog is now? Has anyone offered you a Yorkshire Terrier?" a spokesman asked.
Speaking earlier this week, Ms Shortt said: "I haven't been without her since I've had her. We come into town regularly and she lights everybody's day up."
Ms Shortt's coat, bag and inhalers were also in the stolen buggy but she is only concerned about getting Gog back.


The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have revealed three Christmas photographs of Prince George.

The pictures were taken in late November and show the prince in a courtyard at Kensington Palace.
The young Prince is now almost 17 months old.
The shots of the prince were taken by Ed Lane Fox who works for Prince Harry and is also a photographer.
BBC royal reporter Peter Hunt said one reason Prince William and Catherine have shared the photos is to say thank you to the media.
The couple is pleased that unofficial pictures of Prince George, taken by paparazzi photographers, have not been published.
They want Prince George to grow up without newspapers and television cameras intruding on his life.