Bangladeshi police say they have stormed a hideout near Dhaka and killed the suspected planner of a cafe attack last month that left 22 people dead.

"Tamim Chowdhury is dead," said senior police officer Sanwar Hossain, referring to the Bangladeshi-Canadian suspected mastermind.
Three other suspected militants were killed by police during the raid.
The cafe attack began on 1 July when the militants entered the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka.
They held hostages for 12 hours before police stormed the cafe, rescuing 13, killing six gunmen and arresting another.
Twenty hostages and two police officers were killed in the attack, the worst in the country's history.
The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, but the government dismissed the group's claim, saying it was the work of domestic militants from a banned Islamist group, Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
"Tamim Chowdhury is dead," Mr Hossain said. "He is the... attack mastermind and the leader of JMB".
Police earlier engaged in an hour-long gun battle with extremists at Paikpara in Narayanganj, 25km (16 miles) south of Dhaka, he added.
Chowdhury returned to Bangladesh from Canada in 2013.


David Cameron is to allow ministers to campaign for either side in the referendum once a deal is reached on the UK's relationship with the EU.

He said the UK government would make a recommendation to the British people on which way to vote in the referendum.
But he told MPs "it will be open to individual ministers to take a different, personal decision while remaining part of the government".
The referendum on whether the UK stays in the EU will be held before 2018.
A number of cabinet ministers are thought to favour an out vote, with Mr Cameron expected to campaign for Britain to remain in the EU, although he has said he rules nothing out if he does not get what he wants from his renegotiations.
If the PM had decided to insist on collective cabinet responsibility, he would have been forced to sack ministers who disagreed with him.
Mr Cameron told MPs: "Ultimately, it will be for the British people to decide this country's future by voting In or Out of a reformed European Union in the referendum that only we promised and that only a Conservative-majority government was able to deliver."
Asked by Labour MP Emma Reynolds why it was not possible for him to persuade his own ministers to back him, he said: "The entire government is signed up to the position of having a successful renegotiation and having a referendum and everybody backs that plan."
But he added: "There are people who have longstanding views about the European issue and... it's never been my intention to strongarm people into voting for a position that they don't agree with".
Analysis by the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg
Much of the running here, and perhaps all along, has been made by Eurosceptics in the Conservative Party.
In the words of one minister "they are framing it all", and David Cameron's reversal of his position from 12 months ago when he ruled out a free vote has been forced by pressure from those who want to leave the EU.
Read Laura's full blog
"We don't yet know what the government's recommendation will be - we don't know when the deal will be done. I hope February but it could take considerably longer."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Mr Cameron had "never wanted to hold" a referendum and other European leaders could see that his negotiating demands were "a bluff, a fig leaf for Conservative Party politics".
The SNP's leader at Westminster, Angus Robertson, demanded a guarantee that the people of Scotland would not be "taken out of the EU against their will".
Mr Cameron said Scotland had voted to remain part of the UK.
Former Chancellor and veteran Europhile Ken Clarke told BBC Radio 4's The World at One Mr Cameron had been forced into a "most unfortunate" decision and any ministers that disagreed with the PM's position should resign and argue for withdrawal from the backbenches.
Former deputy PM Lord Heseltine - who last month warned of a Tory "civil war" if ministers were allowed to openly defy the prime minister and suggested Mr Cameron would be seen as a global "laughing stock" if he allowed it - declined to comment on the PM's decision.
But the move was welcomed by those campaigning to get Britain out of the EU.
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of Vote Leave, said: "The referendum could be as little as 170 days away, so ministers should be allowed to campaign openly as soon as the renegotiation is complete - and certainly no later than the end of the European Council in February.
"The British people deserve to hear where their elected representatives stand on this vitally important issue. We've had lots of useful meetings with government ministers and look forward to working with them much more closely now."
Brian Monteith, of Leave.EU, said: "We welcome the news that ministers will be allowed to campaign with their conscience in the referendum.
"However, this is not about them. It will be ordinary people such as nurses, taxi drivers and small business owners that need to have their voices heard in this debate."
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said the PM's decision was a short term solution to "hold together" the Conservative Party but as the referendum approached cabinet differences could become "irreconcilable."
He said David Cameron would be "surprised" at the number of Conservatives who will campaign with UKIP to leave the EU.
Will Straw, executive director of Britain Stronger In Europe, said: "We are confident that after the prime minister's successful renegotiation, the majority of Conservative ministers will continue to make the case that the benefits of being inside Europe... clearly outweigh the costs."
Alan Johnson, who chairs the Labour In For Britain campaign, said: "While the Tories are divided on Europe, Labour is clear that Britain's national interest is best served by campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU."
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, who is campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU, accused Mr Cameron of "putting his own internal party strife above what's best for Britain".
"The government should take a collective position on this issue, and if ministers disagree with the prime minister they should resign."
Speaking before news of Mr Cameron's decision emerged, London Mayor Boris Johnson told LBC radio: "I think we've got to be prepared to walk away, but at the moment I am backing the prime minister to get a great deal for this country and for Europe."
He rejected the idea that Mr Cameron would have to stand down as prime minister if he lost the referendum and denied Tory MPs were at war over Europe.
"We're not. Glutinous harmony prevails. We are backing David Cameron. I think he's doing a brilliant job," he added.
Q&A: What Britain wants from Europe
Guide to the UK's planned in-out EU referendum
BBC News EU referendum special report


Sheffield United moved to within a point of the play-off places after a hard-fought draw at lowly Blackpool.

Blades striker Conor Sammon came closest to a first-half goal, shooting on the turn and forcing a fantastic one-handed stop from Colin Doyle.
Chances were few and far between for Blackpool, though sub Uche Ikpeazu scooped over from just outside the box.
The visitors were denied all three points late on when Jamal Campbell-Ryce's curling effort was parried away.
Blackpool have now conceded only one goal in their last five home games and are two points clear of the drop-zone.


Police in south Wales are working with officers in Ireland to extradite a man they want to speak to over the murder of a landlord from Swansea.

Retired telecoms engineer Alec Warburton, 59, has not been seen since 31 July.
His lodger David Ellis, 40, was arrested in Galway on Friday and is in custody, Garda officers have confirmed.
The arrest comes after police in Wales launched an appeal for information after Mr Warburton disappeared.
Police said Mr Ellis, who had lived with Mr Warburton in Sketty, had stepped off a ferry in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 6 August.
This prompted a fresh appeal for information which led to Welsh officers being sent across the Irish Sea.
South Wales Police said Mr Warburton's body has not been found but detectives are treating the incident as murder.


A specialised white blood cell found in birds can destroy an infection thought to cause hundreds of thousands of human deaths a year, scientists claim.

Cryptococcus neoformans is a fungus that can cause a fatal infection in people with weakened immune systems - particularly those with advanced HIV.
Birds are known to carry the fungus, with experts puzzled why the birds themselves do not appear to become ill.
Research has found a blood cell called a macrophage can block its growth.
The fungus, found in bird's droppings, mostly infects the lungs or the central nervous system.
Scientists at the University of Sheffield and the University of Birmingham found it can grow slowly within the bird's digestive tract, but if it tries to invade the bird's body the immune system immediately destroys it.
Dr Simon Johnston, who led the research, said: "Birds have a higher body temperature than humans, but this alone is not enough to fully stop the fungus.
"By studying bird cells under the microscope, we have seen that macrophage cells have the ability to completely block the growth of the fungus, which can be fatal in humans.
He added: "If we can learn how some animals are able to resist infection we might be able to gain insights into how we can improve the human immune response to this fungus."
The universities said the work was part of a larger international effort to help fight cryptococcosis.
The findings are reported in the journal Scientific Reports.


Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage is to present a daily chat show on the London radio station LBC.

The Nigel Farage Show will air from 19:00 to 20:00, Mondays to Thursdays, with the host describing it as "full of opinions, callers and reaction".
He tweeted: "I invite listeners to agree with me, challenge me & together we can lead Britain's conversation."
Mr Farage, a friend of US President-elect Donald Trump, is an MEP for South East England.
He resigned as UKIP leader last summer, but returned on an interim basis after his successor, Diane James, resigned only 18 days into the job.
Mr Farage's former deputy, Paul Nuttall, won the second leadership contest of the year.
Mr Trump has said Mr Farage - among the first politicians to visit the president-elect after his victory last year - would make a "great" UK ambassador to the US, but Downing Street responded that there was "no vacancy".
The former UKIP leader has previously taken part in occasional Phone Farage shows on LBC. The new regular slot begins next Monday.


Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness, Northern Ireland's former deputy first minister, has died aged 66.

It is understood he had been suffering from a rare heart condition. His funeral will be in Derry on Thursday.
The former IRA leader turned peacemaker worked at the heart of the power-sharing government following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
The Queen is sending a private message to Mr McGuinness' widow, Buckingham Palace confirmed.
Among the seismic moments in his time in government was the famous handshake with the Queen in 2012 and a toast to her Majesty at Windsor Castle.
The meeting was particularly symbolic as the IRA murdered the Queen's cousin, Lord Mountbatten, while he was on holiday in the Republic of Ireland in 1979.
Colin Parry, whose 12-year-old son, Tim, died in an IRA bomb in Warrington in 1993, said that although he did not forgive the IRA or Martin McGuinness, he found him a man who was "sincere in his desire for peace".
Mr McGuinness became deputy first minister in 2007, standing alongside Democratic Unionist Party leaders Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster.
He died in the early hours of Tuesday in a Londonderry hospital with his family by his side.
The Northern Ireland Assembly will be recalled on Wednesday due to Mr McGuinness' death.
A visibly ailing Mr McGuinness stood down from his post in January to protest against the DUP's handling of an energy scandal, in a move that triggered a snap election.
"Bogside Republicans never retire," a defiant but tearful Martin McGuinness told his supporters on the night he called time on his political career.
He never travelled far from his roots but his political journey took him far beyond the comfort of Derry's Bogside.
But Sinn Féin's one-time chief negotiator always found his toughest negotiation was with his own people, especially in his home city where he faced threats from dissident republicans.
Read more here.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said: "Throughout his life Martin showed great determination, dignity and humility and it was no different during his short illness.
"He was a passionate republican who worked tirelessly for peace and reconciliation and for the re-unification of his country.
"But above all he loved his family and the people of Derry and he was immensely proud of both."
Sinn Féin's northern leader Michelle O'Neill said: "I have known him since I was a child but I am honoured to have worked alongside him. He inspired me and many others."
Prime Minister Theresa May said although she could never "condone the path he took in the earlier part of his life, Martin McGuinness ultimately played a defining role in leading the republican movement away from violence".
"In doing so, he made an essential and historic contribution to the extraordinary journey of Northern Ireland from conflict to peace," she added.
Former US president Bill Clinton said that as Sinn Féin's chief negotiator, Mr McGuinness' "integrity and willingness to engage in principled compromise were invaluable in reaching the Good Friday Agreement".
Former Conservative cabinet minister Lord Tebbit, who was injured and whose wife was paralysed by an IRA bomb in Brighton's Grand Hotel in 1984, described Mr McGuinness as "a coward".
"The reason he suddenly became a man of peace, was that he was desperately afraid that he was going to be arrested and charged with a number of murders."
Julie Hambleton, whose sister, Maxine, was one of the 21 people killed in the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974, said "with his death, the truth is buried".
"Mr McGuinness was very fortunate because he was able to live a full life unlike my sister, unlike 20 other victims and unlike so many other thousands of people who were murdered."
No-one knows how many people Martin McGuinness killed, directly or indirectly.
As a senior commander in the Provisional IRA for many years, there is no doubt there was blood on his hands.
Security sources say he went on to become chief of staff of the organisation from the early 1980s, right through until the end of the IRA's campaign of violence.
Nothing happened in Derry without him knowing.
Read more here:
Northern Ireland's Chief Constable George Hamilton said: "Martin's journey in life challenges all of us who care about the future; to be prepared to change; to demonstrate leadership; and to work to understand the world, not just from our own perspective, but from the perspectives of everyone in our community."
Northern Ireland's former first minister Arlene Foster called him "first and foremost, a much loved husband, father and grandfather."
Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Enda Kenny said his passing represented a "significant loss, not only to politics in Northern Ireland, but to the wider political landscape on this island and beyond".
DUP MP Nigel Dodds, who survived an IRA gun attack in Belfast in 1996 as he was visiting his sick child in hospital, said: "We can't forget his past.... This will also be a difficult day for victims. But he did help move people forward when it comes to the peace process."
Martin McGuinness grew up in Derry's Bogside, radicalised, he said, by discrimination and murder on the streets of his city.
He had a leading role in the IRA during a time when the paramilitary organisation was bombing his home city.
He was convicted by the Republic of Ireland's Special Criminal Court after being arrested near a car containing explosives and ammunition. He served two prison sentences - he was also convicted of IRA membership.
But his leadership potential was spotted early and he was just 22 when he and Gerry Adams were flown to London for secret talks with the British government: MI5 considered him serious officer material with strategic vision.
The shift to politics came slowly. Martin McGuinness was chief negotiator in the blossoming peace process and took on the post of education minister.
By 2007, he was Northern Ireland's deputy first minister standing alongside First Minister Ian Paisley. The two forged an unlikely alliance - but they were working together for the same goal.
He worked alongside DUP first minister Peter Robinson and, until January, was in office with Arlene Foster.
In recent years, he said: "My war is over. My job as a political leader is to prevent that war and I feel very passionate about it."
Mr McGuinness' funeral will leave his home on Thursday at 13:20 GMT ahead of Requiem Mass at St Columba's Church Longtower at 14::00 GMT. He will be buried in the City Cemetery.


A mining company has been convicted of desecrating an Aboriginal site in Australia's Northern Territory.

Mining firm OM Manganese was found guilty on Friday - the first time a company has been successfully prosecuted in Australia for desecration of a sacred site.
The site is known as Two Women Sitting Down and is at Bootu Creek, north of Tennant Creek.
OM Manganese was fined A$150,000 ($134,000; Â£88,000).
Peter Toth, CEO of OM Holdings, which owns OM Manganese, said: "The company never intended to harm, damage or disrespect the sacred site."
"We sincerely regret the damage and the hurt caused and I unreservedly apologise to the site's custodians and traditional owners," he said.
Two Women Sitting Down is associated with Australia's Kunapa people.
OM Manganese was accused of causing the collapse of part of the site, including a distinctive rocky outcrop known as the Horse's Head, in July 2011.
Prosecutors told the Darwin Magistrates Court that the company performed explosive blasting close to the site to break up ground, Australian broadcaster ABC reported.
The company was permitted to mine in the area, but was advised to steer clear of sacred sites, and was warned in early 2011 that cracks were appearing in rocks at the Bootu Creek site, the broadcaster said.
Dr Ben Scambary, chief executive officer of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority, said that the site was of great significance to Australia's indigenous people.
"This site... relates to a dreaming story about a marsupial rat and a bandicoot who had a fight over bush tucker [native Australian bush food]," he said.
"As the creation ancestors fought, their blood spilled out, turning the rock a dark-red colour that is now associated with manganese."
Kunapa community representative Gina Smith said: "It will always remain a sacred site to us, but it has been ruined and we don't know what to do because this has never happened to the old people.
"It has been there for thousands of years as part of our culture and our story."
Indigenous Australians believe the land is the mother of creation, and is a living, breathing mass full of secrets and wisdom, the BBC's Phil Mercer in Sydney reports.


Sepp Blatter could be open to the possibility of standing for re-election as Fifa president, the BBC understands.

The 79-year-old said he was standing down as the head of world football's governing body less than two weeks ago, just four days into his fifth term.
A new president was expected to be elected, probably in mid-December.
But a source close to Blatter has told the BBC the Swiss could make an audacious bid to stay on if no suitable alternative candidate emerges.
"Everything is open," said the source.
Blatter will hold meetings over the coming days when he will gauge whether he still retains enough support to seek an astonishing sixth term as president.
Fifa has officially referred inquiries over Blatter's intentions to his resignation speech on 2 July, in which he promised to start work on new reforms and said "I shall not be a candidate" in the next election.
However, in 2011 Blatter also claimed his fourth term would be his last, only to renege on the pledge. It is now possible he could attempt a similar, but even more controversial U-turn.
Any attempt by Blatter to cling to power will be met with fierce opposition in the wake of the FBI-led corruption investigation that has plunged Fifa into turmoil and seen the arrest of several senior football officials.
Many critics have demanded that Blatter steps down immediately, rather than wait until an extraordinary meeting of the Fifa Congress in the winter.
Many feared he would use his remaining months in charge to try to ensure the election of a favoured successor. Now it appears he may choose to sensationally stand himself.
Tellingly, the man entrusted to lead Fifa out of its latest crisis has appeared to warn Blatter not to rethink his resignation.
Domenico Scala, chairman of Fifa's audit and compliance committee, said it was "indispensable to follow with the initiated process of the president's change as has been announced".
The statement was in response to a report in Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag that Blatter had not ruled out remaining in office after receiving support from football officials in Africa and Asia.
But Scala, who has been given the task of overseeing the election of Blatter's successor, said: "For me, the reforms are the central topic."
His statement is the first sign of potential tension between the pair.
One of the reforms Scala has recommended, as well as greater financial transparency and a new governance structure, is three terms of a maximum 12 years in total for both the president and Fifa executive committee members.
Blatter has already served 17 years as the sport's most powerful figure.
Campaign group New Fifa Now has insisted an independent reform commission is the only means of ensuring meaningful changes to the way football is run.
Ever since he announced his resignation, those vying to replace Blatter have been considering when to make their move.
If he does stand again, he may look to present himself as the best means of avoiding  one confederation - such as Uefa - gaining excessive power.


It was early evening on Monday 22 August when the men came for former Brig Gen Abdulahail Amaan Azmi.

There were about 30 of them, according to the caretaker in the apartment block where he lived.
Abul Kalam Azad says they were in plain clothes but had an air of confident authority. Some carried pistols.
Gen Azmi hid in an empty flat on the fifth floor.
He is the son of Ghulam Azam, a former leader of one of Bangladesh's main opposition parties, Jamaat-e-Islami, and would have known that the sons of two other senior Bangladeshi politicians had been kidnapped earlier in the month.
The United Nations and human rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have been warning for years that forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings are common in Bangladesh. But this year, there has been an alarming rise in the number of cases.
The men who came for Gen Azmi did not produce any identification documents.
They demanded to know where the control room for the CCTV cameras was, and took the discs from the system.
When Mr Azad, the caretaker, told them he did not know where the former brigadier general was, they dragged him into a side room off the garage and beat him.
He kept silent, so they began searching flat by flat, working their way slowly up through the building.
The Bangladeshi human rights organisations Odhikar and Ain-o-Salish Kendra keep a running tally of the number of people who have been taken.
They believe some 60 people have gone missing in similar circumstances this year alone, and about 300 over the seven years since the government has been in power.
Bangladesh-based journalist David Bergman has been tracking what happens to the disappeared.
According to his figures, about half of those taken this year eventually reappeared.
The lucky ones - a small minority - were simply released, with threats of dire consequences if they ever talked about what had happened to them.
Another 30 or so turned up in police custody or in court charged with some offence.
This is what happened to two men who were at a Dhaka cafe when it was attacked by Islamist militants on 1 July.
They went missing after the commando raid that ended the siege, only to be formally arrested a month later.
The fate of the other secret detainees is even more sinister. Fifteen are dead, most killed in alleged shootouts with law enforcement agencies. Nineteen people remain missing.
The human rights groups allege the Bangladeshi government is using the security forces to target rival politicians and activists, a claim it denies.
"We can safely say there haven't been incidents of disappearances or kidnap with law enforcement agencies in the last two or three years," Bangladesh's Law Minister Anisul Huq tells me.
"Whenever there is even one complaint that is found to be true, then we investigate."
Mr Huq says the disappearance claims are part of a plot by opposition parties to discredit the government.
"There are many frivolous complaints, and they are trying to get mileage from that by complaining to the human rights activists or to journalists so that it can be fanned up," he says.
"If they have a list I would like to look into it, and I am saying I will look into it."
But the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances says it has repeatedly asked Bangladesh to investigate the role of law enforcement agencies in disappearances and killings over the past five years.
And, like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, it says it has requested information on named individuals.
Yet despite reminders, the UN says, it has received no response from the government.
The men did eventually find Gen Azmi.
They smashed down the door of the flat in which he was hiding and dragged him out into the hallway.
Mr Azad saw what happened next.
"They tied a blindfold around his eyes," he says, "and took him downstairs and pushed him into a mini-van.
"Then, they drove away."
"We haven't heard anything since," the former brigadier general's 83-year-old mother, Syeda Afifa Azam, tells me.
"We don't who took him or what has happened to him," she says, breaking down in tears.
Meenakshi Ganguly, of Human Rights Watch, says the impact of forced disappearances on families is terrible.
"In all the human rights work I do, this is the worst abuse because people just never know what has happened, they just keep waiting for people to come back home," he says.
"At least with extra-judicial killings, there is some sort of closure.
"With disappearances, families just keep waiting."
Gen Azmi's family say they asked the police to investigate, but the police told the BBC they had no knowledge of the case.
"How can a mother suffer this?" asks Mrs Azam.


The government is planning a new high-speed rail network, from London to Birmingham and to Manchester and Leeds, known as HS2.

Ministers say it will improve the transport network and boost the economy, but there has been controversy about the exact route of the line and its effect on those living near it. Here are the key points that we know so far.
The initial plan is for a new railway line between London and the West Midlands carrying 400m-long (1,300ft) trains with as many as 1,100 seats per train.
They would operate at speeds of up to 250mph - faster than any current operating speed in Europe - and would run as often as 14 times per hour in each direction.
This would be followed by a V-shaped second phase taking services from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds.
The Department for Transport says there will be almost 15,000 seats an hour on trains between London and the cities of Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds - treble the current capacity.
In November 2016, the government confirmed the route for the second phase - from Crewe to Manchester and the West Midlands to Leeds.
A new HS2 station will be built next to Manchester Piccadilly, with a spur to take HS2 to another new station at Manchester Airport.
The decision on how to run the line to Sheffield has been delayed. The government's preferred option is for the main HS2 route to run east of Sheffield but for a spur to take passengers to Sheffield city centre.
The first phase of the £56bn railway is due to open in December 2026, with trains to travel at high speed between London and Birmingham before continuing on the existing West Coast Main Line.
But earlier this year, the Public Accounts Committee cast doubts on this deadline. calling it "overly ambitious".
The onward legs to Manchester and Leeds could start being built in the middle of the next decade, with the line open by 2032-33.
In June 2013 the government revised the cost of the project upwards, due to an increase in the amount of tunnelling required on the route. This took the estimated budget from £32.7bn to £42.6bn at present values - with the cost of phase one increasing from £16bn to £22bn.
The scheme's chairman, Sir David Higgins, said building work on the northern section should be accelerated to reach as far as Crewe by 2027, instead of aiming for Birmingham by 2026.
In a report for the government, called HS2 Plus, he said the second phase of HS2 could then be completed by 2030 instead of 2033.
Sir David also called for a more comprehensive development of HS2's London hub, Euston station.
The Department for Transport says the project will cut Birmingham-London journey times from 1hr 21min to 49min.
Once the second phase is complete, Manchester-London journeys would take 1hr 8min (down from 2hr 8min), and Birmingham-Leeds 57min (down from 2hr). This would effectively reduce journey times between London and Edinburgh and Glasgow by an hour to 3hr 30min.
The government believes its creation will free up capacity on overcrowded commuter routes. It also estimates the new line could transfer 4.5 million journeys a year from the air and nine million from the roads, reducing the number of lorries on busy routes.
There has been no announcement on ticket prices. The government says its proposals "assume a fares structure in line with that of the existing railway" and that HS2 could generate sufficient demand and revenue without needing to charge premium fares. It estimates total fare revenues of up to £34bn over a 60-year period.
The government argues that Britain's rail network is reaching capacity, while infrastructure owner Network Rail says the southern section of the West Coast Main Line - currently the quickest rail route between London and Birmingham - will be "effectively full" by 2024.
Ministers claim the London-West Midlands section alone will create around 40,000 jobs.
Groups such as the Campaign for High Speed Rail say there will be added knock-on benefits, while some MPs believe it could be a catalyst for economic growth and help rebalance the economy between the North and South.
HS2 will pass through around 70 parliamentary constituencies, and local groups opposed to the scheme are lobbying their MPs to vote against the plans.
There is political pressure on some Conservative MPs in particular, who will see the route pass through their constituencies, and some have indicated that they may vote against the government's bill when it reaches Parliament.
Pressure group Stop HS2 argues that England's north and Midlands will actually lose out to London, rather than benefit, and that projections for its success do not take into account competition from conventional rail.
Stop HS2 believes that once the high-speed railway is operating, existing intercity services to London will be reduced by up to two trains an hour.
HS2 Action Alliance claim more than 70% of the 30,000 jobs created around HS2 stations in phase one will be in London rather than the West Midlands.
Others object on the grounds that it will cut through picturesque countryside, impacting areas of natural beauty and the ecosystems they support.


Ultra-conservative writer Milo Yiannopoulos will no longer speak at a US conservative conference and his book deal has been cancelled after videos surfaced in which he appeared to condone paedophilia.

The footage showed him discussing the merits of gay relationships between adults and boys as young as 13.
On Facebook, Mr Yiannopoulos denied ever endorsing paedophilia.
He said one video had been edited to give a misleading impression.
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However, the American Conservative Union, which runs the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) where President Trump is due to speak on Friday, said the apology was not enough.
"We urge him to immediately further address these disturbing comments," Matt Schlapp said in a statement.
Book publisher Simon & Schuster said it had cancelled the publication of Mr Yiannopoulos's book Dangerous, which was due out in June, after "careful consideration".
In the footage, Mr Yiannopoulos - a passionate supporter of Donald Trump and an editor at right-wing website Breitbart - seems to suggest the determining factor for paedophilia is whether the younger partner has gone through puberty.
However at another point in the video he says the US age of consent, which is 16 to 18 years old depending on location, is "about right".
In his Facebook statement, Mr Yiannopoulos said: "I find those crimes to be absolutely disgusting. I find those people to be disgusting."
Mr Yiannopoulos, who is openly gay, said he regretted using the word "boys" instead of young men while discussing gay relationships with large age gaps.
He blamed "sloppy editing" and "usual blend of British sarcasm, provocation and gallows humour" for creating the wrong impression.
He also claimed that he himself had been a victim of child abuse.
Mr Yiannopoulos is regularly associated with the alt-right, a disparate nationalistic group that is outspoken against so-called political correctness and feminism. It includes neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites.
He says he does not consider himself part of the alt-right, although he has called it "energising and exciting".
He revels in courting controversy, and has written columns titled "Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy" and "Would You Rather Your Child Had Feminism or Cancer?"
Earlier this month the University of California at Berkeley cancelled Mr Yiannopoulos' speaking engagement there after violent protests broke out.
President Trump - whom Mr Yiannopoulos refers to as "daddy" - threatened to cut the university's federal funding in response.
He was also banned from Twitter last year after leading a campaign of abuse against black Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones.


The number of fraudulent insurance claims rose to 2,500 a week last year, according to industry figures.

In total there were 130,000 fraudulent claims, up 6% on 2014, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said.
Dishonest motor claims remained the most common crime, accounting for over half the total.
But fraudulent claims for injury, supposedly as a result of negligence,  such as so-called "slip and trip" claims, was the fastest-growing crime
False claims in this area were up by over a third compared to 2014, the ABI said.
In one case, a chef claimed for neck, shoulder, leg, wrist, back and teeth injuries following an alleged fall on a wet canteen floor.
But CCTV footage used in evidence by the police helped to prove she had deliberately staged the fall.
In another case, a man claimed Â£5,000 for compensation for neck, back and arm injuries, saying he was injured in a car accident in a retail car park.
However CCTV footage used by the police showed he was not in the vehicle at the time of the collision.
The ABI said fraudsters were now more likely than ever before to get caught.
"The chances of getting caught have never been greater, and the consequences, such as a prison sentence and difficulty in getting future insurance and other financial products, have never been more severe and long-lasting," said James Dalton, the ABI's director of general insurance policy.


Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has been arrested as part of a money-laundering investigation.

A number of other people were also held as police raided nine offices and homes in north-eastern Catalonia.
The arrests are part of an investigation into rights sales relating to Brazil, police sources say.
Rosell was Barca president from 2010 to 2014, when he resigned following a Spanish court's decision to investigate the 2013 signing of Brazilian Neymar.
In June 2016, Barcelona paid a fine of 5.5m euros (£4.7m) over the 25-year-old's move from Santos. The club was accused of tax fraud, which it denied.
Rosell's wife was among those also arrested on Tuesday.
Spanish newspaper El Confidencial reports the arrests are part of a joint operation between the Spanish police and the FBI, related to the United States-led investigation into corruption at Fifa.
The investigations into alleged corruption at football's governing body began two years ago, and Swiss authorities raided a Zurich hotel where Fifa delegates were staying for their annual conference.
Seven people were arrested in the raid, which was carried out on behalf of the United States Department of Justice.
More arrests and indictments on corruption charges followed in subsequent days and scores of Fifa officials and associates have since been arrested in connection with the investigation.
In March, Fifa passed on evidence from its internal inquiry to Swiss and US authorities.


BBC Scotland's senior football reporter, Chris McLaughlin, analyses a talking point from the weekend's action, asking what's behind the words.

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As soon as Jon Daly started talking to me after his side's defeat to Celtic, I knew he was angry. This was a different kind of anger, though.
Usually, a manager's fury is directed at the referee or his assistant for a decision deemed dodgy. This was something else. The interim Hearts boss' rage was simmering away as he gave his assessment of the match - then he let rip.
He, and others within the Hearts hierarchy, had taken exception to Brendan Rodgers' comments about their signing policy. The Celtic manager basically said the players recruited didn't fit Ian Cathro's playing style. The point was made as he gave his support to the man who had been shown the door at Tynecastle just days before.
Little riles a football club more than a counterpart looking over the fence and pointing out what is going wrong - especially when it comes to off-field matters.
There has always been an unwritten rule that it simply doesn't happen. The perception of this rule being broken is what prompted the former striker to hit out at a man who has enjoyed nothing but universal praise since his arrival in Glasgow.
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Daly and Hearts believe Rodgers overstepped the mark and decided, very publicly, to let him and the rest of Scottish football know. Some believe Craig Levein should have stepped in, given the apparent criticism appeared to be levelled at him in particular.
There was never a chance of that happening. Hearts' director of football is keen to work away in the background and enjoys being away from questions and microphones.
The outburst in general has been welcomed by some who see the situation akin to an under-resourced David firing one into the eye of the over-resourced and arrogant Goliath, but like most things in football, the truth and the tale rarely collide.
In true tactical style, when Rodgers came to the microphone, his response to Daly's outburst was a combination of defence and attack. As ever, he chose his words wisely and attempted to defuse the situation but was barbed when asked about the possibility of breaking managerial omerta.
"Well, he's not a manager yet," Rodgers retorted - a brief, yet clear glimpse of a side to the Celtic manager rarely seen. Always statesmanlike in his approach to interviews and media conferences, there are some members of the media who have found themselves on the wrong end of some sharp words.
The steel is never far from the smile, but underpinning it all is a pure fixation with football.
The former Liverpool boss is a man whose eyes light up when talking about the game. Yes, he's polite and articulate when being asked the obvious, but when talking tactics and discussing footballing methodology, he comes alive.
Ask anyone who spends time in his company and they will tell you he lives for football. Could it be, then, that in offering his support to a fellow manager, his desire to talk about the intricacies of the game became his trap door into what was perceived to be arrogance?
What we can probably say with some degree of certainty is that openness and passion were the winners of the opening day ding-dong.
As journalists, we crave a look behind the curtain of cliches. Rodgers says he'll continue to provide honest answers to questions asked and, like Jon Daly's passionate defence of his club, that is just fine with me.


Leicester City delivered a new entry into their list of unlikely success stories with a stunning victory over Sevilla at the King Power Stadium that takes them into the Champions League quarter-finals.

The club and team that makes a habit of turning logic on its head did it again as high-flying La Liga side's 2-1 advantage from the first leg was overturned amid an atmosphere of passion and emotion that evoked memories of last season's Premier League title win.
It was made all the more remarkable by the fact that three weeks ago, after that first game in Spain, Leicester sacked Claudio Ranieri, the man who masterminded that title triumph, amid tales of dressing-room discontent and fears of relegation.
How have they undertaken this transformation? And how far can they now go in the Champions League?
When Leicester sacked Ranieri on 23 February, the Champions League was an afterthought set alongside fears the Foxes were on course to drop into the Championship.
They had dredged a creditable 2-1 loss out of a performance that was the final curtain for the popular Italian - but it was wider concerns that led to his dismissal.
The club's Thai owners needed someone to rediscover the element that had been lost in the nine months since Leicester lifted the Premier League trophy in one of the greatest sporting stories ever told. They needed someone to keep them up, with any success in the Champions League falling into the category of added bonus.
They turned to Craig Shakespeare, who came to the club with Nigel Pearson and stayed on to ride shotgun to Ranieri in that dream season.
And, in an instant, the dial has been turned back. Shakespeare has restored this Leicester team to default, title-winning settings - and the transformation has been remarkable.
Shakespeare, in charge until the end of the season, has won three out of three. Impressive wins against Liverpool and Hull have soothed relegation fears but this win over Sevilla is the most compelling vindication of his methods. It was the kind of victory on which reputations are made and, in the case of Leicester's players, revived.
He effectively restored the title team, with the obvious exception of Wilfred Ndidi for the departed N'Golo Kante, and ordered them to play in the same intense, counter-attacking manner - using the pace of Jamie Vardy and the creativity of Riyad Mahrez - that brought that success.
It was a move that now has self-belief sweeping through the club, players and supporters, like a tidal wave. To watch the Foxes hurry Sevilla out of their stride was the equivalent of being transported back to last season.
Shakespeare has gone back to improve the future. Leicester have returned to the uncomplicated success of last season, banishing the mediocrity and lacklustre performances of the early months of a season that threatened to be the biggest anti-climax of all.
When they lost 2-0 at relegation rivals Swansea on 12 February, a result that helped to seal Ranieri's fate, they were in 17th place with 21 points from 25 Premier League games. This was a club in freefall.
Shakespeare's approach has been simple but very specific. Leicester have returned to what they do best and what opponents dislike most.
And in doing so, the King Power Stadium is back to the imposing arena it was last term.
Tuesday's win was driven by passion, noise and raw emotion. When the board went up to signal four minutes of stoppage time, a huge roar rippled around the stadium - a roar of inspiration, not fear.
Those closing stages were pure theatre as the clock ticked down in an electric atmosphere. All the ingredients that made Leicester such a success story last year were back.
There was still plenty of criticism of the club's players on social media on Tuesday from those who believed they downed tools under Ranieri only to pick them up once he was gone, but no-one seemed to care inside a thunderous King Power Stadium.
This beating of Sevilla was the most emphatic justification of the events of the past few weeks.
Leicester's Thai owners were painted as heartless, ruthless and almost the enemies of decency and manners when the dignified Ranieri was shown off the premises nine months after bringing them riches they could only have dreamed of.
It was significant that when Leicester made their post-Ranieri return with a 3-1 win at home to Liverpool on 27 February, there was a march of thanks to the departed manager and many banners of appreciation, but little acrimony or open criticism of the club's hierarchy.
This may have been a signal suggesting that, while their fans may have found the decision to remove the Italian uncomfortable, particularly given his obvious warmth and decency, they had been watching a floundering team and realised emergency action was needed.
The club's decision-makers made the move with a heavy heart but without sentiment. Relegation was the fear and it needed to be avoided - and it is unlikely supporters would have thanked them for being sentimental all the way into the Championship.
They have not looked for vindication or justification - remaining silent for the most part - but the performance against Sevilla and the securing of a place in the last eight of the Champions League is evidence that, no matter how unpalatable their sacking of Ranieri may have been to some, it was the right move.
Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, a former Leicester and England striker, tweeted that the decision was "inexplicable, unforgiveable and gut-wrenchingly sad". And there were many who shared his view.
Results since, and the celebrations at the final whistle on Tuesday after another moment of Foxes history, give further credence to what many regarded as a cruel move.
The Foxes' owners have a track record of taking the right decisions - and they look to have done so again.
They kept faith with former manager Nigel Pearson through a period of struggle and he mounted an unlikely survival campaign to stay in the Premier League. And when he was sacked, the appointment of Ranieri - greeted with widespread scepticism - was a masterstroke.
Former England defender Danny Mills, watching as a BBC Radio 5 live analyst on Tuesday, offered his support to the club's owners as he said: "It's just a different Leicester from what we have seen this season.
"All those fans who thought it was a disgrace that Ranieri was sacked have got to eat some humble pie."
It still would have tasted sweet to those who questioned that decision as they made their way out into the streets around the stadium amid scenes of wild celebration.
It is surely stretching the credibility of even Leicester's scriptwriters to suggest they can win the Champions League - but who is to say they cannot make even more waves after Sevilla, Europa League winners three seasons in succession and third in La Liga, were beaten?
This was a fully deserved win against a side rated as potential dark horses in the competition and comes on the heels of an impressive dismissal of Liverpool.
The Foxes will be rank outsiders against Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus - or anyone who is pitted against them in the last eight.
However, they will not shy away from any challenge, especially not at home and especially not if this arena is the stage for the second leg.
There was a real air of intimidation, noise and theatre in the stadium against Sevilla and Leicester's fans are starting to dream again after the dark months between August and February.
Under Shakespeare, they are playing in a manner designed to unsettle any side who takes the measured approach - and they will do it backed by a 90-minute wall of sound.
All the odds suggest this latest great adventure should end at the next stage - but since when did the odds or logic come into this club's calculations?


The UN Security Council will vote on a controversial UK-drafted resolution on Tuesday that refers to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre as genocide.

The resolution - tabled ahead of the 20th anniversary of the massacre - has angered Serbia, which rejects the term.
The killing of 8,000 Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serb troops at Srebrenica was the worst massacre in Europe since World War Two.
Western nations disagree with Russia on whether it should be called genocide.
The draft resolution says that "acceptance of the tragic events at Srebrenica as genocide is a prerequisite for reconciliation".
But Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik accused the UK of making "false declarations... that a genocide was committed against Muslims".
Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting that Russia veto the resolution, according to Serbian media.
Serbia does not have its own seat on the UN Security Council and so will rely on Russia to object to the language of the draft.
Last week, Russia's deputy ambassador to the UN, Petr Iliichev, called the UK draft "divisive" and said it focused too heavily on the Srebrenica massacre.
"It focuses on only one aspect," said Mr Iliichev. "It was only one part of the conflict."
Russia, which has close ties to Serbia, circulated a rival draft resolution described by Mr Iliichev as "more general, more reconciling", which does not use the word genocide.
But it was not clear ahead of the vote on Tuesday whether Russia would veto the draft resolution or simply abstain from the vote.
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday that the UK draft would have an impact on his country regardless of the outcome of the vote.
"If the resolution is not passed, that will be good news for Serbia and the region. If it wins a majority of votes, this will be tough news," he said.
In a letter to Mladen Ivanic, the Serb chairman of the Bosnian presidency, UK permanent representative to the UN Matthew Rycroft said: "Genocide is a crime, and those who committed it are criminals who should be punished as such."
"To say so is not 'anti-Serbian', as some have alleged."
The UN vote will foreshadow sombre national commemorations in Bosnia on Saturday to mark the 20th anniversary of the massacre.
Bakir Izetbegovic, the president of Bosnia-Herzegovina, has praised the UK for "leading the way" in commemorating Srebrenica.
The atrocity came amid the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia into independent states. Serbia backed Bosnian Serb forces fighting the Muslim-led Bosnian government during the conflict.
A few months before the end of the war, 20,000 refugees fled to Srebrenica, an enclave protected by UN Dutch soldiers. The enclave was overrun by paramilitary troops led by the Bosnian Serb commander, Ratko Mladic, in July 1995.
The soldiers rounded up and killed the men and boys and buried them in mass graves.
The UK-drafted resolution condemns the massacre and calls for better prevention of genocide. Speaking at a memorial service in London on Monday, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "We must reaffirm our determination to act to prevent genocide in the future."
Gen Mladic, who was in charge of the Bosnian Serb troops at the time of the massacre, was on the run for 16 years before being arrested in 2011 in northern Serbia.
He is still on trial for war crimes at the UN tribunal in The Hague.
The international tribunal at The Hague has already convicted numerous people of genocide in relation to the Srebrenica killings.


Britain's Johanna Konta and Andy Murray are through to the semi-finals of the Australian open.

It's the first time Britain have two Grand Slam singles semi-finalists since 1977.
Konta played well in a 6-4 6-1 win over China's Zhang Shuai in the quarter-finals. She will face German seventh seed Angelique Kerber next.
Andy Murray saw off Spain's David Ferrer 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3 to reach his sixth Melbourne semi-final.
It was tough match for Andy that lasted three hours and 49 minutes.
The Scot, seeded second, will play Gael Monfils or Milos Raonic on Friday.
"I'm just so happy that I'm enjoying what I'm doing," said Konta after her straight-set win over Zhang. "That is me living my dream."
"When I was a little girl, I dreamt of winning grand slams and being number one in the world," she added. "That dream stays the same, I think, as long as you're doing the career that you're on."


Police in Mexico have found the bodies of 14 people in an abandoned van outside the city of San Luis Potosi.

The authorities say the victims, who were all male, had been kidnapped in neighbouring Coahuila state.
The vehicle was found early on Wednesday near a petrol station.
Police say the 14 people were probably killed by one of Mexico's violent drug-trafficking gangs operating in the area.
"According to the initial information, everything indicates that it was the work of organised crime," Gabriela Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Mexico's Prosecutor's Office told the AFP news agency.
A statement from the prosecutor's office says that the victims were "kidnapped in Coahuila state, they made a stop in Zacatecas and were killed on their way to the city of San Luis Potosi," which is the state capital.
This is the latest in a series of recent massacres in northern Mexico, but the first in San Luis Potosi state. The motive is unclear.
Mexican police have blamed several previous atrocities on conflict between rival drugs gangs.
The Zetas criminal gang has been fighting the Gulf and Sinaloa cartels for control of smuggling routes into the US.
But there have been cases when the victims were poor people trying to cross illegally into the United States who had been targeted by criminal organisations.
President Felipe Calderon - who leaves office later this year - deployed the army in 2006 to combat the cartels with mixed results.
Critics say the confrontation cost the lives of thousands of innocent people.


David Oliver Joyce won his box-off in the European Olympic qualifiers to earn a Rio spot while 2012 gold medalist Katie Taylor finished third in Turkey.

Irish lightweight Joyce defeated Turkey's Volkan Gokcek on a split decision to clinch an Olympic berth.
Taylor bounced back from her shock semi-final loss by beating Bulgaria's Svetlana Staneva to secure third place.
Only the finalists qualified for Rio but Taylor can still make the Games through the World Championships.
The Bray fighter needs to reach the semi-finals in Kazakstan next month to ensure she will defend her Olympic title in Brazil.
Irish team-mate Joyce also lost his semi-final but a third Rio place was available in his box-off.
Joyce edged the opening round in Samsun but Gokcek took the second round.
All three judges gave the final round to Joyce and he joins Belfast flyweight Brendan Irvine, who won his box-off on Saturday, in earning a first Olympic appearance.


Six inflatable Darth Vaders, a Star Trek Klingon gun and Doctor Who sonic screwdrivers are among items stolen from a charity ahead of a special event for people with disabilities.

The toys were stolen from the 1st Sensory Legion Charity, which was storing them in a Peterborough garage.
They were to be used to raise funds for its Feel the Force Day event, an annual sensory sci-fi convention for people with disabilities.
The items were worth about Â£1,000.
The Feel the Force Day event started in Peterborough in 2013 with 20 deafblind adults who wanted to learn about Star Wars.
More news from Cambridgeshire
The charity which runs it now holds three events each year, attracting 32,000 people from across the UK.
However, plans have hit a setback after the break-in at the garage in Westwood between 7 and 11 August, where the toys were being temporarily stored.
"Thieves not only made off with all the items we had planned on using for fundraising to help cover the costs of the next event, but also took various items we were looking to add to our sensory touch tables," co-founder Simon Howard said.
The six inflatable radio-controlled Darth Vaders were worth about Â£50 each, and other items taken include "beanie" toys, Doctor Who and Hot Wheels toys, an interactive DeLorean Back to the Future car and a "pair of googley eyes in a white and green box".
But they did leave a 5ft-tall Dalek behind.
"The stolen items may not have a high financial value, but they are of enormous value to this organisation in supporting people," Mr Howard added.
Feel the Force Day uses toys and props, tactile costumes and smell jars to help include those with disabilities, additional needs and sensory impairments in film and TV culture.
Cambridgeshire Police has confirmed it is investigating the theft.


Rafael Nadal fell to a shock defeat by 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

Wildcard Shapovalov came from a set down to beat top seed Nadal 3-6 6-4 7-6 (6-4) and become the youngest player to reach a Masters 1000 quarter-final.
Nadal's loss means Andy Murray remains world number one, but only until next week's Cincinnati Masters, where Nadal or Roger Federer will replace him.
Federer also progressed to the last eight, with victory over David Ferrer.
The Swiss world number three, 36, came from a set behind to beat the Spaniard 4-6 6-4 6-2 and next faces Roberto Bautista Agut, also of Spain, who defeated Frenchman Gael Monfils 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (6-2).
World number 143 Shapovalov, the 2016 Wimbledon junior champion, next plays 29-year-old Frenchman Adrian Mannarino after his stunning win over Nadal.
"He's honestly the best player I've ever played in my life," said Shapovalov, the youngest man to beat a top-two player since the 17-year-old Nadal beat Federer in 2004.
"You could tell why he's won so many Grand Slams. His ball was just so heavy. He's such a warrior out there. So it's honestly, like a dream come true for me to beat a player like that."
Nadal, 30, must wait until Cincinnati next week to see if he can regain the number one ranking
"It is probably my worst loss of the year because I lost against a player with a lower ranking," said the Spaniard.
"At the same time, because of the opportunity I had here to come back to number one. Always tough, but the draw was not that impossible after all the matches that were happening. So it was an important mistake from me."
In the other quarter-finals, Germany's Alexander Zverev, who beat Australian Nick Kyrgios 6-4 6-3, will play South African Kevin Anderson, who saw off American Sam Querrey 6-4 6-1 in the last 16.
And Argentina's Diego Schwartzman will face Robin Haase of the Netherlands. Haase beat Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (6-3) 4-6 6-1, while Schwartzman defeated American Jared Donaldson 0-6 7-5 7-5.


It's carnival season in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and huge crowds of people have paraded through the streets in colourful costumes.

13 February 2015 Last updated at 07:16 GMT
Around this time of year hundreds of street parades take place all over the city, with many of the people involved wearing giant stilts.
This is all part of the build up to the official Rio parades, which take place over two days in the Sambadrome.
BBC reporter Julia Carneiro spoke to one of the stilt walkers to find out why they have taken part.


More than £55,000 has been raised for two victims of an acid attack left with life-changing injuries.

Resham Khan was celebrating her 21st birthday with her cousin Jameel Muhktar when acid was thrown at them through their car window in Beckton, east London, on 21 June.
A total of £55,953 has been raised and Ms Khan has backed a petition due to be sent to the home secretary calling for acid sales to be restricted by licence.
John Tomlin, 24, has been charged.
A GoFundMe page was set up in the wake of the attack with the aim of reaching £30,000.
Ms Khan, a business management student, has also received messages of support on Twitter, with some calling her an "inspiration".
End of Twitter post  by @angie_vredeveld
In a letter, she explained why she supported the petition, which has gained more than 360,000 signatures, calling for a change in the law.
"My plans are in pieces, my pain is unbearable and I write this letter in hospital whilst I patiently wait for the return of my face," she wrote.
"Currently, I have two main priorities: to make a full recovery and to make sure no-one ever goes through the living nightmare I have endured.
"I refuse to allow the country I grew up in simply to get used to corrosive substance attacks.
"I can't dwell on the past but what I can do is help build a better future, one without attacks like these."
Assaults involving corrosive substances have more than doubled in England since 2012.
On Monday, East Ham Labour MP Stephen Timms is leading a Parliamentary debate on acid attacks.
He said: "I will press ministers to consider licensing the sale of corrosive liquids to combat the surge in acid attacks."
London has seen the biggest increase in attacks, with a quarter taking place in the borough of Newham, he added.
The Met Police said it was aware of a growing trend in assaults using corrosive liquids.
The force advises retailers and parents to question why young people are buying these substances over the counter.
Personal trainer Sarmad Ismail started the change.org petition calling for corrosive substances to be purchased under licence only in England.
He said: "I really empathise with the victims and their families. What if it happened to me or my friends and family? I couldn't stand that. It has got to stop.
"I think there's a chance now because of political momentum, that if we come together we can get something done about this."
208
Violence against the person
38
caused serious injuries, 1 was fatal
118 robberies
10 of which left victims with serious injuries
2 sexual offences, including 1 rape
He said there were legitimate reasons for buying acid but there should be tighter controls.
The Met said it was working with retailers to raise awareness that people might be buying corrosive substances to use as weapons.
Jaf Shah, of the charity Acid Survivors Trust International, said he wanted the government to go further and make it compulsory when purchasing corrosive chemicals to pay by card that was traceable to an individual and to make acid available only under licence.


Prince William carried out a dramatic helicopter rescue just 48 hours after announcing he is to marry Kate Middleton next year, it has emerged.

The prince, 28, helped a walker who had collapsed on Snowdon in north Wales with chest pains in stormy weather.
The search and rescue pilot, who is based at RAF Valley in North Wales, was called into action at 13.30 GMT on Thursday.
The royal engagement was announced by Clarence House on Tuesday.
The rescue saw an RAF Sea King with a four-man crew on board scrambled to help Greg Watkins who was stuck 3,000ft (914m) up Wales' highest peak.
Mr Watkins had to be winched onto the helicopter and was flown to hospital in Bangor.
It is thought he suffered a heart attack and he has since undergone an operation.
Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Mr Watkins, a gym worker of Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, said the prince's actions and those of his crew had saved his life.
"If it wasn't for him and the rest of his crew, I'd be dead.
"Hearing his helicopter getting nearer and nearer was the best sound I've ever heard. He and his crew saved my life.
"I didn't know Prince William was flying the helicopter until we landed at the hospital. Even then, I felt too unwell for it to register much.
"The winchman helped me out and on to a stretcher and whispered 'Prince William's just flown you here'. I looked up at him and just said 'Oh. Tell him thank you'.
Prince William was called out on the rescue mission within five hours of returning to RAF Valley after announcing his engagement to his long-term girlfriend.
Gas rig
For the last six months, William and Kate have been renting a cottage on Anglesey, close to the RAF base.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Flt Lt Wales was called out, as part of a four-man RAF search and rescue crew, to assist a man suffering from chest pains on Snowdon.
"The man was subsequently flown to a local hospital for treatment."
In October, during his first shift on duty after qualifying, the prince helped in the rescue of a 52-year-old man taken seriously ill on a gas rig in Morecambe Bay.


Tributes have been paid to a Caerphilly man who died in a road accident in Monmouthshire.

Gavin Horne, 37, died after an incident on the A4042 at Llanellen Bridge, near Abergavenny, on 12 October.
His Children Kurtis and Megan said "we are going to miss you", while partner Jane Good called Mr Horne her "soul mate".
Police have appealed for witnesses to the accident involving pedestrian Mr Horne that happened at 11:50 BST.
Ms Good said: "He had many friends who will miss him dearly and his great sense of humour but he was my wonderful Gavin, my soul mate."


South Sudan will make its international debut at this year's East and Central African regional championship, the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup.

Before that the world's newest country will send a side to next month's East and Central Africa Club championship in Dar es Salaam, according to Nicolas Musonye, the secretary general of the regional governing body.
"They have confirmed their participation; they will send a team called Wau Salaam FC," Musonye told BBC sport.
"We are glad to welcome them as our new members and they have also assured us that their national team will participate in this year's Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup as well."
South Sudan, which only became a member of football's world governing body - Fifa - last month, already has its own league.
Their national side will be made up of players from both the local league and the one in neighbouring Sudan.
This year's club championship will kick off on 14 July in Dar es Salaam and will be sponsored by Rwanda President Paul Kagame for a 10th year.
Under Kagame's sponsorship, the prize money for the event totals US$600,000.


Fog has caused flights to and from Cardiff Airport to be delayed or cancelled.

The airport's departures board showed the 08:00 GMT FlyBe flight to London City was cancelled.
Two flights arriving at the airport from Dublin have also been cancelled, and other departures and arrivals are delayed.
All departures on Thursday night were cancelled due to freezing fog and several planes were unable to land.
The airport said Friday morning's disruption was a knock-on effect of that fog and the airport now anticipated slight delays.
The latest live flight information is available on the Cardiff Airport website.
Check if this is affecting your journey


A woman who died after being found seriously injured in Leeds, sparking a murder inquiry, has been named by police.

Polish national Daria Pionko, 21, was found in Springwell Road, Holbeck, at about 01:30 GMT on Wednesday.
Police said Miss Pionko, who had been living in Leeds, was a sex worker. She was taken to hospital for treatment, but died a short time later.
A 38-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident.
Miss Pionko had been found unconscious with injuries consistent with an assault, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers found her in a defined managed area where sex workers operate during set hours, the force said.
The force appealed for witnesses to come forward and in particular anyone who was in the Springwell Road area between 20:00 Tuesday and about 01:30 Wednesday.


After school some of you might like to play musical instruments, but can you imagine coming from a home where everyone is a top musician?

23 January 2017 Last updated at 07:17 GMT
Well, the Kanneh-Mason family are very special - they all play an instrument to a very high level.
Their house can get pretty loud with all six bothers and sisters practicing at once.
Why are all the siblings so into playing musical instruments?
Ayshah has been to meet them.


Manager Jim McIntyre insists Ross County are not looking to sell top scorer Liam Boyce this summer.

The 26-year-old has one year left on his contract and is second top scorer in the Premiership with 20 goals.
"It's his job to score goals and when you score lots of goals teams may show an interest in you," McIntyre said.
"We're not looking to move Liam on. We are delighted with what he is doing here and we want him to stay as long as he possibly can."
Boyce, who scored 20 last season, is in a rich vein of form, having scored 15 goals in his last 23 games, including all four in last weekend's 4-0 win over Highland rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle, although he is suspended for Saturday's game against Motherwell.
His Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill said this week that there was a "huge amount of interest in him in Scotland and England".
McIntyre pointed out the role of Boyce's team-mates in his form this season, and said the side's focus is moving up the table rather than trying to stay out of the bottom two. Victory at Fir Park would take County seven points clear of the relegation play-off place with three games remaining.
"Liam has been fantastic this season and he will be the first to salute his team-mates as well," McIntyre said.
"I thought Craig Curran the other night was fantastic also beside Liam and back to his best, and had a major part in what Liam was doing.
"We just want to make sure we keep our unbeaten run going. That's four unbeaten and we want to try to finish the season as strong as we can.
"We want to try to be the best of the rest and not get dragged into a play-off position,
"Of course, we have one eye on that as well, but our focus is firmly trying to win the next game and see where it takes us."


A three-year-old boy suffered a head injury when a plasterboard wall fell on him in a carpet shop.

He had trouble breathing when emergency services were called to Frank's Flooring Store in Darlington on Sunday.
It was thought the boy was trying to climb the plasterboard wall when it fell on top of him, Durham Police said.
The force said his injuries were not life-threatening and he was in a stable condition. He was kept in hospital overnight as a precaution.
The boy was treated at the scene by paramedics before being flown to Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital.
Frank's Flooring Store could not be reached for comment.


Wolves have taken up the one-year options on the deals of midfielders Jack Price and George Saville.

Price, 24, and Saville, 23, were due to be out of contract on 30 June.
Defender Mike Williamson and winger James Henry, who spent the 2016-17 season on loan at Bolton, have been released by the Championship club.
Discussions are ongoing with full-back Silvio, who is also out of contract, while Wolves will not make an offer for on-loan centre-back Richard Stearman.
Stearman, 29, returned to the club on a season-long loan from Fulham in August 2016, a year after leaving Molineux for Craven Cottage.
He made 19 appearances in his second spell and scored one goal - the opener in Wolves' 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup fourth round.
Williamson impressed in an initial loan spell at Wolves but injuries limited the 33-year-old to only six appearances after joining on a full-time basis from Newcastle in January 2016.
Henry, 27, was part of the team that helped Wolves to the League One title in 2013-14, but played just four times for Wanderers last term before joining Bolton.
Talks are continuing regarding the future of forward Andreas Weimann, who ended the season on loan at Wolves from Derby.


A new treatment for pancreatic cancer could significantly increase survival rates, Ulster University has claimed.

It said the treatment could lead to a five-fold reduction in tumour size.
It involves injecting tumours with oxygen micro bubbles that are coated with a drug which is then activated by ultrasound.
Pancreatic surgeon Mark Taylor said the researchers' work  was "a very exciting development".
"If this local treatment can actually allow us to operate, then we have a five-fold increase in survival," he told BBC Northern Ireland's Good Morning Ulster.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest tumours to detect and treat.
Just under 9,000 people are diagnosed with it in the UK every year. It has the lowest five-year survival rate of any common cancer and one that has barely improved in 40 years.
Mr Taylor said pancreatic cancer survival rates were low because it is a disease that tends to have few symptoms and, when these present, it is at a very late stage.
Also, many of the symptoms are vague - simple heartburn, indigestion, unexplained weight loss. This can make it difficult for doctors in general to diagnose it at an early stage.
The new treatment offered fresh hope to patients.
"The potential is that we can reduce the size of these tumours by this type of targeted local therapy which would then allow resectional surgery to take place to remove the tumour," Mr Taylor said.
"Eighty per cent of people have unresectable tumours and if you are able to give a targeted treatment without the side effects of that treatment in the rest of the body, then that helps prolong survival and that is an excellent chance."
The university said it was a "major breakthrough that can open up more treatment options, even for advanced forms of the disease".
Prof John Callan, who led the research at the university's biomedical laboratories in Coleraine said this was "a highly novel and targeted technique" and "one of the most promising advances in pancreatic cancer research for decades".
"We can selectively target the tumour and spare healthy tissue making this a highly targeted therapy with reduced side-effects," he said.
"This really is a groundbreaking development and one of the most promising advances in pancreatic cancer research for decades."
"We are hopeful that within the next one to two years we can start to begin clinical trials with this technology."


Movie star Robert Carlyle's directorial debut film is to open the Edinburgh International Film Festival, it has been announced.

The Legend of Barney Thomson will open the 69th year of the festival on Wednesday 17 June.
The film, which stars Carlyle alongside Emma Thompson and Ray Winstone, will receive its world premiere at the start of the 12-day festival.
Mark Adams, the new artistic director of EIFF, said he was "thrilled".
Tickets for the film's public screening at Edinburgh's Festival Theatre go on sale on Wednesday.
Starring alongside Carlyle, Thompson and Winstone are Tom Courtenay, Ashley Jensen, Martin Compston, Brian Pettifer, Kevin Guthrie, James Cosmo, Stephen McCole and Samuel Robertson, with a screenplay by Colin McLaren and Richard Cowan.
Mr Carlyle said: "After a career-long association with EIFF it gives me enormous pleasure to have The Legend of Barney Thomson chosen as opening night film.
"It really is such an honour for me to have my first feature as director premiered here in Edinburgh at the festival that has played such a huge part in my life."
Mr Adams said: "We are thrilled to be opening this year's festival with Robert Carlyle's wonderful black comedy.
"It is a marvellously macabre and playful film, impressively directed and with a terrific cast.
"It is the perfect film to kick off what promises to be an exciting festival."
Based on the book "The Long Midnight of Barney Thomson" by Douglas Lindsay, the film is a dark comedy that tells the story of Barney (Carlyle), an awkward barber who inadvertently stumbles into serial murder.


A charity that champions the interests of carers has said many are struggling to cope with spiralling costs and cuts to the support they receive.

Carers Scotland has called for action from the UK and Scottish governments and urgent reform of the financial help available to carers.
The Scottish government said it is providing an additional £9.2m to the Scottish Welfare Fund.
The UK government said it is spending £2bn this year on carer's allowance.
Carers Scotland conducted a year-long investigation into the challenges faced by those looking after loved ones who may be old, disabled or seriously ill.
It found vast numbers of carers were accumulating unmanageable debt, with one in six more than £10,000 in the red.
Carers Scotland director Simon Hodgson said: "Those caring, unpaid, for loved ones save society vast sums, but at huge personal cost - a cost this inquiry shows is pushing families to the brink."
The charity's research, called the Caring & Family Finances Inquiry, found carers were struggling to cope with loss of income, savings and benefits alongside rising everyday food, fuel and care related bills.
Key findings were that almost half, 47%, were in debt as a result of caring. A fifth were relying on overdrafts or credit cards to make ends meet, while a third were said to be more than £20,000 worse off as a result of caring.
Some 44% admitted to cutting back on essentials like food, while 59% of carers were in fuel poverty, the research found.
The charity claimed that government cuts to support were leaving carers across the UK facing a £1bn cut.
Carers Scotland has called for "urgent reform" and urged the UK and Scottish Governments to make a commitment that future policy will not leave carers worse off, by implementing a "carer" test for future benefits and social care proposals.
Mr Hodgson added: "Caring is often a dual blow, with household incomes hit by reduced earnings and bills rising as a result of the extra costs of ill health or disability.
"With an ageing population, more of us will care for loved ones - yet a blizzard of cuts to social care and benefits mean there is less and less support available.
"This is unacceptable and unsustainable."
A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokeswoman said: "We recognise that carers provide an invaluable service to people in some of the most vulnerable circumstances in our communities.
"That's why we're spending around £2bn this year on carer's allowance, and even more in the future."
A Scottish government spokesman said: "Being a full-time carer for a loved one can be a difficult and isolating experience at times and we must ensure that carers receive the support they deserve.
"Despite Westminster's programme of welfare cuts, we are doing all we can, with our limited powers, to alleviate the burden of poverty. This includes providing an additional £9.2m to the Scottish Welfare Fund."


A former oil executive who Germany accuses Vietnam of kidnapping after he applied for asylum in Berlin has appeared on Vietnamese state TV.

Trinh Xuan Thanh said he had turned himself in to the Vietnamese authorities after returning there.
The German foreign ministry said he had been abducted in an "unprecedented" breach of German and international law.
Mr Thanh is accused of causing $150m (Â£114m) in losses at state oil firm PetroVietnam.
"I wasn't thinking maturely and decided to hide, and during that time I realised I need to return to face the truth and... admit my faults and apologise," Mr Thanh, 51, said during his appearance on Vietnam Television.
In what was termed a signed confession dated 31 July, the state broadcaster quoted him as saying: "Because of fear I decided to hide in Germany, where I lived a precarious and anxious life.
"I returned to Vietnam and presented myself at the investigative authority."
Germany has ordered a Vietnamese intelligence officer to leave Germany, and demanded that Mr Thanh should be allowed to return to Germany.
Mr Thanh's lawyer, Petra Schlagenhauf, condemned the Vietnamese authorities.
"This is a forced 'confession'... he was kidnapped. We know it, the German police know it, the German government knows it," she told BBC Vietnamese in an email.
"I fear for the health of my client. He looks very bad."
It is unclear if Mr Thanh has legal representation in Vietnam. Trials on camera are common in Vietnam.
Dissent in the one-party state is not tolerated, but despite that, activists have publicly criticised the government amid the kidnapping allegations.
A Vietnamese foreign ministry spokeswoman said earlier that she felt "great pity" about the German government's stance.
"Vietnam very much respects and wants to develop the strategic partnership relation between Vietnam and Germany," she added.


England will tour Bangladesh in October despite security concerns, the England and Wales Cricket Board has confirmed.

The ECB carried out a security review in the country following a series of deadly attacks and consulted with players and officials on Thursday.
England play two Tests and three one-day internationals between 7 October and 1 November.
The matches will take place in Chittagong and Dhaka, where 20 hostages died when a cafe was attacked in July.
Australia postponed their Test tour of Bangladesh in October 2015 over security concerns.
Following Thursday's meeting, ECB cricket director Andrew Strauss said: "Safety and security of players and management are always paramount.
"We've received a thorough risk assessment, had excellent insight into the current situation and been fully briefed on security commitments.
"We discussed details with the players and management in an open meeting.
"They asked lots of questions, have time to ask more and will clearly want to take it all in - we understand that."
England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan this week said no players would be forced to tour Bangladesh.
Strauss, who said England's touring squad will be named after the current limited-overs series against Pakistan, added that the ECB will "continue to monitor the situation right up to and throughout the tour".
More than 40 people have been killed in Bangladesh by suspected Islamists in the past three years, mostly targeting individuals.
July's cafe attack was on a larger scale than had been seen in the country.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice is that "there is a heightened threat of further terrorist attacks" in Bangladesh, although a similar threat level applies to many European cities, including London.


A Conservative council at the centre of a cuts row involving the prime minister has announced it will close more than half its children's centres.

Twenty-six of Oxfordshire's 44 centres are set to close despite the plans previously being shelved.
David Cameron wrote to the authority last year expressing "disappointment" at cuts to various services.
His mother, Mary, then reportedly signed a petition opposing cuts to children's centres.
The council announced that from spring 2017 there will be 18 centres, with eight providing childcare services. Currently there are 44 children's centres and seven intervention hubs.
Child services bosses blamed government cuts and claimed "financial pressures" and rising demand meant the structure of the service had to be reviewed.
Cabinet member for children, education and families Melinda Tilley said: "I have no choice but to save the money, the government has stopped the money.
"We cannot continue as we are... and that's something I find doesn't seem to get through.
"When you take Â£6m out of services it's going to have consequences."
Save Oxfordshire's Children's Centres has called the proposals an "unforgivable waste of money", claiming cash is being "funnelled" into intervention hubs for vulnerable children rather than to children's centres.
Campaigner Jill Huish said: "It's our young families and children that are going to get cheated.
"What's happening is they're taking money away from prevention and putting it into cure. It's basically plugging one hole to create another.
"That hole is going to mean families falling through the gaps; it means some children will be invisible [to services]."
The council said 30 extra staff will be drafted in to the remaining 18 locations to help identify vulnerable children.
Mrs Tilley added: "What we are proposing is the safest possible system that protects vulnerable families and links effectively with other agencies.
"Our priority is keeping children safe and supporting the most vulnerable families."
The authority has said it is also providing Â£1m to help communities take on the running of current children's centres post-2017.
The full council will consider the new proposals on 24 May.


Four people have been charged in connection with a hammer attack which left a man seriously injured.

Offenders forced their way into a house on Bower Street, Carlisle, early on Saturday evening, Cumbria Police said.
A 39-year-old man was taken to hospital with a serious head injury. A woman, also 39, had her finger broken.
Three men aged 33, 26 and 23 and a 31-year-old woman, all from Carlisle, have been charged with aggravated burglary and are due in court later.
The injured man remains in hospital.


A village road sign believed to have been stolen by Batman fans has been found.

Gotham, which shares its name with the comic book superhero's home city, had its sign stolen for the third time in four years last year.
Police have said the sign - believed to be the most stolen in the county - was found during a raid in Loughborough.
Nottinghamshire County Council, which owns the sign, joked it will "send the Batmobile" to collect it.
Loughborough Police tweeted a picture of one of its officers holding the sign following a search warrant in the town.
The council replied it had "all the hallmarks of the Joker's work".
In reality, a 39-year-old man was arrested after the raid on 16 June on suspicion of possession of class A drugs, theft and abstraction of electricity. He has been bailed pending further enquiries, Leicestershire Police said.
Police suspect it is the village's comic book city's namesake which has caused the sign to be stolen "as a souvenir" so many times.
Chairman of Gotham Parish Council Mike Shepherd said he was "amazed" it had been found.
"We're looking at putting new signs up that aren't so easy to remove," he said.


The last two branches of Britain's only independent savings bank are due to close their doors for the last time.

Airdrie Savings Bank announced in January it was preparing to end all business activities.
The bank was founded in 1835 and ran out of a church and then two Airdrie shops until its first branch was opened in 1883.
But the bank said changes since the 2008 financial crisis had made it too difficult for it to survive.
At its peak, there were eight branches of the bank across North Lanarkshire, but five had closed even before January's announcement.
The Bellshill and Coatbridge branches will close on Friday and the bank will stop operating its current accounts.
The Airdrie HQ will be staffed until September to advise savers who have not already moved their money.
Rod Ashley, who has been the bank's chief executive for four years, told BBC Scotland: "The changes to banking that had happened as a result of the financial crisis back in 2008 have meant that the landscape's completely changed.
"The interest rate environment being particularly low means that savings banks find it very difficult to make the margin in order to survive.
"You really need to be bigger and have a bit of scale in order to generate sufficient revenue in order to survive now and, to an extent, that was a critical challenge that we faced at the bank."
Mr Ashley said the bank had worked through a "number of plans", but now had no option but to close.
Banking historian Prof Charles Munn said the closure of the UK's last independent savings bank represented the "end of an era".
"For people of my generation it was a very clear part of their Scottish culture," he said. "As soon as you were born your father opened an account for you in a Scottish savings bank."
Prof Munn, who has written a book about the bank, said Airdrie managed to resist the temptation to merge with other small banks in the 1970s and remain independent.
"Some fairly courageous decisions were made in the 1970s and 80s to stay away from that," he said.
"At that time... that looked to be the right decision to make because it had kept the bank independent.
"Gradually the few other banks disappeared either through merger or otherwise leaving Airdie really to be the only independent savings bank in the UK."
It it thought that 70 jobs are likely to be lost because of the closures.
Mr Ashley added: "This has been a particularly difficult time for the customers and the staff at the bank.
"It's been sad and that's the overwhelming emotion that's come through - that it's a sadness that the institution is in the case of winding down but understanding of the reasons why we've had to come to that decision."


Strikers Kyle Lafferty, Conor Washington and Will Grigg scored as Northern Ireland saw off Belarus in their last home match before Euro 2016.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Lafferty, lacking game time at club level, got his 17th international goal with a close-range finish.
QPR's Washington pounced on a mistake by keeper Andrei Harbunov to head home the second just before half-time.
Substitute Grigg rifled a late third to cap the convincing win and extend his side's record unbeaten run to 11 games.
Michael O'Neill's men have a final warm-up game away to Slovakia on 4 June before heading to France for a first-ever appearance at the European Championship finals.
O'Neill was keen to keep momentum going by avoiding defeat at Windsor Park.
He will also be relieved that his players appear to have come through this game without any injury problems.
Of course, Northern Ireland will face much tougher opposition in France than what was in front of them here.
Belarus made mistakes which were punished by goals, allowing Northern Ireland to sign off in Belfast on a celebratory note.
Places in O'Neill's Euro 2016 were not up for grabs in this match as the manager made no secret of who the 23 will be when officially announced on Saturday.
Barring accidents, the 22 on duty tonight will be joined by Shane Ferguson after his involvement in Millwall's League One play-off final against Barnsley on Sunday.
The unlucky ones in the original 28-man panel are Liam Boyce, Billy McKay, Daniel Lafferty, Ben Reeves and Michael Smith and they were given the day off from training on Thursday.
After the match, the Northern Ireland players and manager O'Neill came back on to the pitch to loud cheers from the fans who had been asked to stay on to give their heroes a fitting send-off.
Taking the microphone, O'Neill said: "It is easy to support a team when they're doing well, but the true supporters stick by you when things are not going so good and you have always stood by us.
"This team is determined to make you proud. We will do everything in our power to make it a memorable summer for you."
O'Neill gave a special mention to West Brom's Chris Brunt who is missing the tournament because of injury.
A video was then played on the large screen, showing highlights of Northern Ireland's group winning exploits which clinched qualification for France.
Then came a fireworks display - Belfast's Windsor Park had never witnessed such scenes.
The versatile 21-year-old Manchester United defender may not be in Michael O'Neill's first 11, but did his prospects the power of good with an impressive and assured performance.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill: "It was a great performance and a great result. We were able to play about with things a bit and it was a perfect night for us.
"I want players to show some flexibility and show the ability to change when necessary and that's what they showed tonight.
"Paddy McNair was outstanding throughout, while Conor has scored two in three games to make a big statement. It was great to see Will (Grigg) get on the scoresheet too.
"Unfortunately I've had to whittle the squad down to 23 and I've informed the five players who will not be going with us. They have all made a big contribution already and hopefully all of them still have a big international future ahead of them."
Having been a given a rousing send-off by a delighted Belfast support, Northern Ireland will play their final warm-up match away to Slovakia on Saturday, 4 June.
Then it is on to their Euro 2016 base near Lyon to prepare for the opening Group C fixture which is against Poland in Nice on 12 June.
Match ends, Northern Ireland 3, Belarus 0.
Second Half ends, Northern Ireland 3, Belarus 0.
Foul by Denis Polyakov (Belarus).
Niall McGinn (Northern Ireland) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Goal!  Northern Ireland 3, Belarus 0. William Grigg (Northern Ireland) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jamie Ward with a headed pass.
Corner,  Northern Ireland. Conceded by Mikhail Sivakov.
Foul by Nikita Korzun (Belarus).
Patrick McNair (Northern Ireland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Denis Polyakov (Belarus).
Niall McGinn (Northern Ireland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Mikhail Sivakov (Belarus) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Mikhail Sivakov (Belarus).
William Grigg (Northern Ireland) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution, Belarus. Sergei Palitsevich replaces Igor Shitov.
Hand ball by Jamie Ward (Northern Ireland).
Igor Shitov (Belarus) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by William Grigg (Northern Ireland).
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Aaron Hughes replaces Stuart Dallas.
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Niall McGinn replaces Corry Evans.
Substitution, Belarus. Denis Polyakov replaces Nikolay Yanush.
Igor Shitov (Belarus) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jamie Ward (Northern Ireland).
Foul by Nikita Korzun (Belarus).
Jonny Evans (Northern Ireland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Aliaksandr Hleb (Belarus) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Patrick McNair (Northern Ireland).
Attempt saved. William Grigg (Northern Ireland) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Oliver Norwood with a cross.
Foul by Igor Stasevich (Belarus).
Corry Evans (Northern Ireland) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Aleksandr Martynovich (Belarus) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Aleksandr Martynovich (Belarus).
William Grigg (Northern Ireland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Maksim Volodko (Belarus) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Oliver Norwood (Northern Ireland).
Attempt missed. Chris Baird (Northern Ireland) header from the right side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Oliver Norwood following a set piece situation.
Substitution, Northern Ireland. William Grigg replaces Kyle Lafferty.
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Jamie Ward replaces Conor Washington.
Substitution, Belarus. Aliaksandr Hleb replaces Sergei Krivets.
Jonny Evans (Northern Ireland) is shown the yellow card.
Sergei Kislyak (Belarus) is shown the yellow card.


Israel has announced plans to build 2,500 more homes in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they had agreed to the move "in response to housing needs".
Palestinian officials said the plans undermined peace hopes by building on land they want for a future state.
It is the second such announcement by the Israeli authorities since US President Donald Trump took office.
Mr Trump has indicated that he will be more sympathetic to settlement construction than his predecessor, Barack Obama, and has appointed a staunch settlement supporter as his ambassador to Israel.
Last month, he criticised Mr Obama for declining to veto a UN Security Council resolution which demanded Israel immediately cease all settlement activities and warned they were "dangerously imperilling the viability of a two-state solution".
About 500,000 Jews live in about 140 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
Most of the new homes approved on Tuesday will be built in existing West Bank settlement blocs, including 902 in Ariel and 652 in Givat Zeev.
One hundred will be constructed in Beit El, a settlement near Ramallah that reportedly has received funding from a foundation run by the family of Mr Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner.
Following the announcement, Mr Netanyahu declared on Twitter: "We are building - and continuing to build."
Mr Netanyahu says he still supports a two-state solution, but on Sunday he reportedly told ministers that he was lifting restrictions on construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as the city's municipality approved permits for 566 new homes in the settlements of Pisgat Zeev, Ramat Shlomo and Ramot.
The prime minister also discussed the peace process with the Palestinians with Mr Trump in a telephone conversation, during which he was invited to a meeting in Washington in early February.
"The president emphasised that peace between Israel and the Palestinians can only be negotiated directly between the two parties, and that the United States will work closely with Israel to make progress towards that goal," the White House said.
Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi strongly denounced Tuesday's announcement.
"Once again, the Israeli government has proved that it is more committed to land theft and colonialism than to the two-state solution and the requirements for peace and stability," she said in a statement.
"Such a deliberate escalation of Israel's illegal settlement enterprise constitutes a war crime and the flagrant violation of international law and conventions, in particular UN Security Council resolution 2334."
Ms Ashrawi called on the US and the rest of the international community to "undertake serious and concrete measures to bring about a full cessation of all settlement activities and to hold Israel to account for these disastrous plans with punitive measures and sanctions before it completes the destruction of the territorial and demographic contiguity of the West Bank".