A patient who took a doctor hostage in a row over a prescription has been jailed for three years.

Bradford Crown Court heard how 48-year-old arthritis sufferer Ray Thompson barged into Dr Usman Hanif's room at the Shipley Health Centre and demanded his prescription for painkillers.
He then locked the door and barricaded it with an examination couch until he got his medicine.
Thompson of Dirkhill Road, Bradford, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment.
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Prosecutor Laura McBride told the court the incident, which took place in February, started when Thompson entered the office as Dr Hanif was talking to another patient on the phone.
Ms McBride said Thompson disconnected the call and said he would "deal with" the doctor if he didn't get his painkillers.
The doctor asked a nurse to call the police.
The court heard that during the 15-minute ordeal Thompson made racist remarks towards the GP and  threatened to physically hurt him if he did not get the prescription.
After the GP printed out the prescription Thompson pulled the furniture away from the door and went to a nearby pharmacy, where he placed chairs by the entrance while he went behind the counter to get the painkillers.
He was arrested by police about an hour later.
In a victim impact statement Dr Hanif said he had not experienced anything on that scale before and he described Thompson as being aggressive, abusive and extremely violent in his nature.


US lawmakers have reached a deal to avert a federal government shutdown after the White House backed off a threat to withhold Obamacare subsidies.

The stop-gap bill announced late on Wednesday allows Congress an extra week to reach a final deal to fund the government through September.
Congress had until Friday to negotiate a bill to keep the government running.
Democrats declared a victory after the White House agreed to continue paying the so-called cost-sharing reductions.
They refused to support the bill unless it allowed for an Obamacare provision that paid health insurance companies to help keep medical costs down for low-income Americans.
The concession comes after President Donald Trump had earlier dropped a demand to include funding for his controversial border wall in the spending bill.
"The fundamental issue is keeping the government open, that's our focus," said North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry, a top member of the vote-counting team in the House.
A vote on the short-term bill, which funds the government until 5 May, could come as early as Thursday.
The Republican-controlled Congress wants to avoid an unpopular government shutdown, which would close national parks and monuments, lay off federal employees and delay tax refund payments.
Democrats may be in the minority in Congress, but they aren't totally powerless.
They have enough votes to block any budget agreement, thereby causing a government shutdown on the eve of Donald Trump's 100th day in office.
That's an outcome the president and his fellow Republicans want to avoid if at all possible.
The prospect that, even with control of all the levers of power in Washington, they can't even keep government functioning normally would be too much of a political embarrassment to bear.
Consequently, on two key issues - providing funding for a US-Mexico border wall and cutting an Obamacare-provided insurance subsidy for low-income people - the White House has backed away from earlier demands in order to win some Democratic support and keep the budget ball rolling along.
Fights over Obamacare and border security will eventually erupt again, of course.
But every time Mr Trump takes what appears to be a firm stand, accompanied by a string of aggressive tweets, and then quietly backs down, it gives his opponents a bit more confidence that they can go toe-to-toe with the president and prevail.
The challenges to Mr Trump's negotiating skills will only get tougher from here.
Congressional Republicans said they were nearing a deal to fully fund the government for the 2017 fiscal year, but needed more time to "finalise" the package before the midnight deadline on Friday night to keep the lights on in government.
"I am optimistic that a final funding package will be completed soon," House Appropriations chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen said.
The resolution also extends healthcare benefits for retired union coal miners through 5 May. Those benefits would have expired on Friday as well.
The sweeping spending package would combine 11 unfinished spending bills into a single "omnibus" bill, becoming the first bipartisan legislation under Mr Trump's presidency.
Democrats, who are needed to pass the measure, have warned they would not support any bill that included funding for Mr Trump's wall along the US-Mexican border and eliminated cost-sharing reductions.
Meanwhile, Republicans have revived their health care bill after the key conservative group, the House Freedom Caucus, announced it would support a revised version of the measure.
Mr Trump and his party, which controls both chambers of Congress, suffered a huge blow last month when the Freedom Caucus helped derail the Republican health bill.
Republicans have vowed for several years to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama's signature Affordable Care Act.
It is unclear if moderate Republicans will back the new revisions.


The disability market is worth billions of pounds - and companies are coming up with ever more "disruptive" ways to break into it.

Last summer was one of those rare occasions on Dragons' Den when someone pitches, nails the numbers and watches the Dragons try and outbid each other.
Then in a twist, the business owner rejected an offer of £70,000 for 35% of the company. The deal collapsed and she walked away with nothing.
Ellen Green from Blue Badge Company, which makes stylish accessories for disabled people, forged ahead anyway and now plans to expand internationally.
"It started because my friend, who was in her 30s and very stylish, had just received her first blue badge for the car.
"She was looking for a wallet to keep it in but all she could find was a blue one with a white wheelchair on it - it was just like many disability products, clinical and dull and difficult to use - so she made herself one with polka dots on."
The friends started selling them online, celebrating even if one was bought in a week, and slowly it evolved into a company which continues to challenge perceptions, including the way it operates.
Green says: "My first employee used to be a pattern cutter. My second employee was disabled."
And so it expanded to a team of 16, offering jobs and training to those with disabilities or those who were carers. Green herself is not disabled.
"The majority of our employees are doing assembly, which they can do from home, and it became really apparent to me that this was crucially important - because so many have barriers to accessing employment, and we're keen to break that cycle of unemployment."
The mixed workforce are often the originators of new products, designing items they want, as well as need, including stylish walking-stick bags.
The company's turnover has increased from £64,000 to £325,000 in three years, with its products aimed at disabled people being sold by retailers including Argos, Boots and Halfords.
"I think more retailers are coming to realise they have to offer products," she says. "A fifth of the population has a disability and those people aren't being particularly well served at the moment."
Her appearance on Dragon's Den helped highlight the strength of the so-called Purple Pound - the collective spending power of the nation's disabled people, their friends and family, currently valued at £212bn.
The figure refers to the money spent on everything they want or need, be it clothes, holidays or necessary apparatus, and incorporates 20% of all consumers - a rather large niche market.
"Our products are as sexy as disability gets," Green says. "We're cheeky and recognise this gap for practical solutions with bright designs which say more about someone's personality than their disability."
But she says selling the concept has not been easy.
"If you're starting as a disruptive company and challenging the status quo, which we are, it's certainly very hard work and I've learned to react as positively as I can.
"There is some resistance, but I hope we're going to start breaking down those stigmas and preconceptions."
She describes her company as "disruptive" because she says it actively challenges retail companies and what they consider the norm, as well as insisting their products get equal promotion.
Matt Wadsworth from London is the director of Good Food Talks, an app which enables restaurants to create audible menus.
"I've been blind since birth so I've always been entrepreneurial, it's about solving problems," he said.
"I think in some ways as an entrepreneur you're in a good position if you've had to deal with a disability, as business is tough."
The app is free for users, with companies paying an annual subscription, and it is currently available in 1,000 venues including Carluccio's, Nando's and Pret A Manger, with the ambition to expand into America.
"We found that people want to use their own device and access their menu with their iPhone or iPad, and restaurant websites are really inaccessible... so there was an opportunity to bridge the gap."
Wadsworth says his app is mainly used by visually impaired people but can help people with dyslexia and those who need more light too.
"We've got access to over 100,000 users and Nando's are seeing about 1,000 hits a month and we can keep menus up to date in real time."
But there were challenges to overcome.
"You've always got to explain the need for it and at the beginning that was quite difficult, but you've got to be very confident and believe in your idea."
Wadsworth said he believes many businesses just don't think about accessibility, but he is positive that they can be educated.
"We just need to plug away, and now we live in a time where entrepreneurs are seeing the opportunity and using and developing technology to help with accessibility issues."
Lloyd's Pharmacy is one retailer which has reacted to a "growing demand" for accessibility products, opening six stores called Betterlife which only sell items to support independent living - from scooters to kettle tippers.
They say they are accessible stores created with "usability and comfort in mind" and that they work with those "who have first-hand knowledge and experience" of what is needed.
For Blue Badge Company, Ellen Green has her sights set on expanding into Europe, which recognises the parking scheme, but the company's ongoing objectives remain closer to home.
"We're going to continue innovating to improve people's experience of everyday life and be the first brand to transcend the high end, and give traditionally dull and clinical products centre stage.
"That would be an amazing step towards creating social change."
Blue Badge Company will feature on Dragons' Den: Pitches To Riches on Sunday 28 February at 20:00 GMT on BBC Two - catch up on BBC iPlayer.


Israeli police are investigating after a video emerged showing an Israeli policeman beating up a Palestinian lorry driver.

In the footage, which has been widely shared on social media, the policeman headbutts, slaps and kicks the driver as they quarrel beside the lorry.
The incident happened at Wadi Joz, an Arab area in occupied East Jerusalem.
Police said the officer involved had shown "severe and unusual behaviour" and had been placed on forced leave.
The video, which was recorded by a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem, has been passed to the police investigation unit.
Apparently filmed on a dashcam of another vehicle, it shows the officer remonstrating with the lorry driver.
The Jerusalem Post newspaper said the incident reportedly arose over an issue with the parking of the lorry.
The Palestinian appears to be explaining something and emphasising a point, whereupon the officer headbutts him and slaps him back and forth across the head.
As the driver clutches his head and bends over, the policeman knees him in the stomach then punches him on the back of the head.
At this point, two more individuals arrive and start remonstrating with the policeman, who shoves one of them backwards. He pushes back at the policeman, who then kicks out at him.
The edited video then cuts to a moment where the second man apparently strikes the policeman on the side of the face, before a third man steps in and tries to calm the policeman down.
The footage drew outrage from Israeli Arab politicians. Member of the Knesset Ahmad Tibi called for the officer to be arrested and prosecuted.
"It is brutal behaviour of mafia and gang members, not people who are responsible for law and order," he said.
Israel's Public Security Minister, Gilad Erdan, condemned the officer's actions.
"There is no place for such behaviour in the [police] force and I hope that the police investigation unit will prosecute him to the full extent of the law," he said.


A woman and her seven-month-old baby were forced to vacate their home for more than three days after hundreds of tropical spiders were found in a banana.

Gemma Price, 30, was mid-mouthful of the banana when she made the discovery.
Pest controllers, called in by Asda where the fruit was bought from, told Ms Price they were possibly Brazilian wandering spiders.
Gemma's baby boy was sleeping next to her when the spiders appeared.
Wildlife expert Geoff Grewcock, of Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, said a bite from this type of spider "could kill you".
"I had brought a banana up to my bedroom and opened it and I think I must have broken an egg sack because hundreds of these tiny spiders went everywhere," Ms Price said.
"They landed on my arm and I just started thrashing. They went all over the bed and some on Leo's cot.
"I called the police and they said I should evacuate the property straight away. Luckily my mam lives across the road."
The mother added she had yet to feel "settled" after moving back home.
The banana was bought at the Stanley branch of Asda. The store said such incidents were "extremely rare" and checks on stock were regularly undertaken.
The company said it organised a specialist team of pest controllers to attend the Price family home.


Nine railway workers were within seconds of being hit by a train travelling at 98mph, a safety investigation has found.

The Rail Accident Investigation Board (RAIB) report blamed the near miss at Hest Bank, Lancashire, last September on the lack of warning from a lookout.
Four of the group working at the bridge had to cling to its parapet to keep clear of the train, said the report.
Network Rail said: "Our railway is the safest in Europe."
"We are always looking at ways to improve safety for the benefit of those who work on the railway and those who travel on it," a spokesman added.
The RAIB report said the party, who were working on repairing a sleeper, should have received a warning from a lookout.
Instead the controller of site safety had to shout an urgent warning after spotting the train, travelling from Edinburgh to Manchester Airport, when it was just three seconds away.
"Staff took rapid evasive action, but some members of the workgroup were on the bridge and were unable to reach the designated position of safety, instead pressing themselves against the bridge parapet," said the report.
"The last member of the workgroup was not clear of the line until about one second before the train passed."
The report said the lookout might have pushed the wrong switch on the electronic system to warn colleagues, might have forgotten to send a warning or their "vigilance had degraded" because it was near the end of the recommended two-hour shift for a lookout.


A teenager is in a critical condition after being stabbed in a Shrewsbury street in a "targeted attack".

An attempted murder investigation has been launched after the 16-year-old was found in Wayford Close in Meole Brace.
Police want to trace a group of up to four men, including one in a green t-shirt, who were seen running away from the area at 21:45 BST on Monday.
The teenager is being treated in hospital while Wayford Close and Stapleton Road remain cordoned off.
More on this and other stories from Shropshire
DCI Paul Moxley said: "This is thought to be a targeted attack and we have no reason to believe there is any wider threat to the community."
"A concerned member of the public found the boy on the floor, they called the ambulance service who called us," he said.
"The individual's family are at the hospital - they're a large family," he added.


A man forced his way into a Scottish SPCA rehoming centre after learning his dog had been put down, a court heard.

Nicky Syratt signed his two dogs over to the centre  in Aberdeenshire in June, but became upset when he discovered one had been put to sleep.
Police arrived to find him holding the other dog, and with a pair of scissors in his hand.
Syratt, 31, from Ellon, admitted threatening or abusive behaviour when he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
The animal charity said the dog was put to sleep because it had an incurable disease.
Depute fiscal Katie Begg told the court that one of the rescue centre employees had been tasked with keeping Syratt informed about the progress of his dogs.
She said: "She did this by telephone and was in regular contact with him. One of the dogs had to be put down due to an incurable illness."
She said the employee contacted Syratt to let him know and he began to shout and swear at her, stating: "I'm coming down and nothing will stop me" and said he threatened to "do in staff".
Some of the staff were then sent home and the building was locked up as a result of the call.
One of the employees returned to her house opposite the rescue centre in Drumoak and saw Syratt arrive at the building later in the day.
Ms Begg said: "She then saw him tying a rope to the rear of his car to the door handle of the locus and he then accelerated forward in an attempt to remove the door."
After realising he had pulled the door handles off, Syratt then wandered into the building and forced his way into the cattery and kennels.
Two police officers who arrived at the scene shortly afterwards found him in a central courtyard with his dog, and holding scissors.
Ms Begg added: "One of the police officers asked the accused if the dog was dangerous, to which he replied, 'No but I am'."
He later dropped the scissors, as requested.
Defence lawyer Chris Maitland said his client denied threatening staff during the phone call.
He said Syratt suffered a head injury in a road accident 10 years ago which may have changed his personality.
He had a condition called Dissocial Personality Disorder for which there was no cure, he said.
The sheriff ordered Syratt to carry 80 hours of unpaid work.


A north Wales health board has urged patients to buy cheaper medicines themselves, rather than use free prescriptions, to save the NHS money.

Betsi Cadwaladr health board said many medicines could be bought at "minimum cost" and often "much more cheaply" than it would cost the health service.
The Conservatives said it demonstrated free prescriptions were "unaffordable".
The Welsh government said deciding who needed prescriptions was a matter for doctors and other prescribers.
The health board's clinical director of pharmacy and medicines management, Dr Berwyn Owen, said a 2% reduction in its spending on over-the-counter items such as vitamins, simple painkillers and hay fever treatments could save the board Â£80,000 a year.
"Alongside other health boards in Wales, we have asked GPs to reduce unnecessary prescribing of these simple medications. However, be reassured that if your GP considers it essential that you take the medication for your condition, it will be prescribed for you," he said.
Conservative shadow health minister Darren Millar seized on Dr Owen's comments as "recognition that Labour's universal free prescriptions policy is unaffordable and wastes vital funds which could be spent improving patient care".
A Welsh government spokesman said it was for doctors and other prescribers to decide if patients need prescriptions and "our decision to remove charges has not changed this".
The spokesman added: "However, we encourage the public to make better use of their local pharmacy and  seek advice on common ailments.
"This frees up GPs to deal with more complex cases."
Analysis: Owain Clarke, BBC Wales health correspondent
Besti Cadwladr health board says the advice it has issued today on medicines does not indicate any change in policy.
It says it is merely urging patients to use "common sense" - and not book GP appointments, for example, just to get a supply of over-the-counter medicines such as paracetamol and ibuprofen .
The health minister has also in recent years, as part of his "prudent healthcare" agenda, urged patients  and doctors to be sensible in relation to how medicines are prescribed.
For example, under a new GP contract  in Wales agreed some weeks ago, GPs will need to routinely review the drugs given to elderly patients over 85 years old who are on several medications.
The NHS and Welsh government have for many years urged patients to make more use of community pharmacists in relation to minor injuries and ailments -  and not always turn to the GP surgery.
Betsi Cadwaladr health board estimate that 10-20% of GP appointments are taken up by patients with minor illnesses or ailments, which could potentially be dealt with by the patients themselves or by pharmacists.


To lose one finance minister may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness, and President Jacob Zuma's decision to get rid of two finance ministers in less than a week has been a colossal blunder.

He sacked the respected Nhlanhla Nene in a surprise move on Wednesday evening and replaced him with the little-known David van Rooyen.
Not only was this seen as a blunder by opposition parties, who called for his resignation, but also by the general public and the financial markets
The president acknowledged his initial mistake, hence the change of mind and the appointment of the experienced Pravin Gordhan.
But why in the first place did the president fire the seemingly competent Nhlanhla Nene?
The presidency issued a statement saying that Mr Nene was being moved because he was being put forward as a candidate to run the newly established development bank for the Brics nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
But many believe that Mr Nene was sacked for being critical of the way state companies were run - in particular his apparent refusal to bail out the national carrier South African Airways, which is run by Dudu Myeni a close associate of President Zuma.
Mr Zuma was forced to issue a statement over the weekend denying that he was in anyway romantically involved with Ms Myeni, who is also chairman of his charitable foundation.
This can all be seen as a mistake by an individual - the president - but it is also symptomatic of an ANC that is increasingly lethargic.
The question is: "What is happening with the governing African National Congress, once led by giants like Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu?"
The ANC leadership was not consulted over the recent sackings and seemed to be hearing about the dramatic appointments at the same time as the rest of us.
There is no doubt that the continent's oldest liberation movement is in disarray.
Its president has been described by observers as "a wrecking ball".
We have always been led to believe that the ANC works as a collective, and the party is known to have what it calls a deployments committee.
This is a group of people who sit down and carefully select members of the organisation who have the skills to deliver on specific tasks that will ultimately give ordinary South Africans a better life.
Granted, ministers are appointed to cabinet by the president alone but there is an accepted understanding that the deployments committee would have put names forward for the president to consider.
There is no sign that this is what happened this time around.
Barbara Hogan, a former cabinet minister and anti-apartheid stalwart, openly criticised the president's decision to fire Mr Nene.
She said if the ANC does "not want to recall [Mr Zuma], then it must hold him accountable".
Ms Hogan, whose spouse Ahmed Kathrada was in prison with Nelson Mandela for 27 years, also said: "This is the final straw. If the president is now intent on dismantling the treasury, anyone who has been in government knows that a lot of government revolves around a treasury."
And she was not alone.
Another senior ANC member Mavuso Msimang was a signatory to a scathing open letter written to Mr Zuma about the latest fiasco.
It said: "We write to you with the sole intention of making you aware that we are gravely concerned about the manner in which you are governing us. We find many of your decisions detrimental to the interests of the people."
And it concluded: "We do not understand your authority to appoint or dismiss ministers as a licence for you to act against national interests."
In a comment more sympathetic to the president, Mzwanele Manyi, leader of the ANC-aligned Progressive Professionals Forum, said: "Clearly our president is not an arrogant man. He is a listening and a receptive person."
And the ANC's Zizi Kodwa echoed Mr Manyi's views: "President Zuma's decision to appoint Comrade Gordhan is an explicit demonstration of a responsive and accountable government."
This row has also got caught up in the battle to see who will lead the ANC from 2017, and lines have already been drawn based on which candidate people support.
The race is between the former wife of President Zuma, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is currently African Union commission chairperson, and deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa.
These divisions are pitting brother against brother, just as they did in 2007, when Mr Zuma ousted then President Thabo Mbeki as ANC leader.
There are many who believe that part of the reason why the ANC seems to have its eyes off the ball, not just in the appointment of finance ministers but in the running of the country as well, is because of the race which has already begun even before the starting gun has been fired.
President Zuma's reputation will emerge weaker from this - though he is likely to survive despite the #ZumaMustStillFall hashtag, as the vast majority of South Africans are very loyal to the party, if not the individual in the shape of the president.
Unless the party decides to recall him first.


Tottenham are close to a deal to play home games at Wembley in the 2017-18 season, says Football Association chairman Greg Dyke.

Spurs, who are having a new £400m stadium built next to their existing home White Hart Lane, could also play next season's home Champions League games at the national stadium.
They aim to move into their new 61,000-seat home before the 2018-19 season.
"We're a long way down the path on reaching an agreement," Dyke said.
"I think there's some discussion about whether they'll play their Champions League games there at Wembley next year but I don't know much about that."
Tottenham's north-London rivals Arsenal hosted Champions League games at Wembley in 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
Dyke also said Chelsea could play home games at Wembley in the near future.
The Blues have plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge, which could leave them needing a temporary home for several seasons.
"I think Chelsea might come for a longer period," he told Sky Sports News HQ. "Chelsea have got really exciting plans for their stadium. They're going to demolish the whole thing and build a whole new stadium on the existing site.
"If they came to Wembley, that would mean them coming for three years."


Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has selected Tim Kaine, a centrist senator from Virginia, as her running mate.

Mrs Clinton broke the news in a tweet late on Friday. She plans a formal announcement on Saturday.
Mrs Clinton passed over more left-leaning candidates in favour of the 58-year-old senator, who is a strong supporter of free-trade agreements.
His home state of Virginia is a major battleground in the coming election.
Who is Tim Kaine?
Mr Kaine speaks fluent Spanish and could help the Clinton campaign maintain its support among Hispanic Americans - a growing voting bloc.
An experienced politician who has been toughly vetted, he is considered a "safe" choice for the vice-president slot.  He personally opposes abortion but supports abortion rights.
Clinton went for substance not sizzle, a safe choice rather than a firebrand who could excite the party faithful.
She felt confident perhaps that she could keep left-leaning Democrats on her side while broadening her appeal with a centrist running mate, reach out to those independents and even moderate Republicans turned off by their party's candidate Donald Trump.
Most of all her aides had told me she wanted someone she felt comfortable working with for the next four, even eight years, someone who knew how to get things done, and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine's record as a former mayor and governor fits that description. He's also never lost an election.
He will disappoint some liberals namely because of his pro-trade position, which he will have to temper now.
The Republican National Committee dismissed the ticket as the ''failed Democratic status quo". But even some Republicans, like Arizona senator Jeff Flake, said Mr Kaine was an all around nice guy.
Mrs Clinton says her running mate has a relentless optimism, a much-needed attribute in an election season often described as dark because of the rhetoric of Donald Trump.
Mr Kaine was a finalist to be Barack Obama's running mate in 2008 and served as Virginia governor before his time in the Senate.
Mrs Clinton also reportedly interviewed liberal firebrand Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senator Cory Booker, an African-American senator from New Jersey.  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was said to have been on her shortlist.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, in a text to his supporters, described President Obama, Mrs Clinton and Mr Kaine as "the ultimate insiders" and appealed to voters to not "let Obama have a third term".
Republican Party chief Reince Priebus tweeted scornfully: "Hillary Clinton's choice of Tim Kaine does nothing to unify a fractured Democrat base repelled by her dishonesty and cronyism."


Police in Egypt have clashed with hundreds of Coptic Christians over the construction of a new church.

One protester was killed and dozens of people were injured as police fired tear gas and the Christians threw stones and petrol bombs.
The Christians said they had permission to build the church, in Cairo's Giza district, but officials said they did not have the proper permit.
Protests on this scale are rare from Egypt's Christians.
They make up about 10% of the country's 85 million population.
There has been friction in the past between the majority Muslims and Christians, who complain they do not have the same freedom to build places of worship.
The interior ministry said more than 100 people had been arrested.
A ring of police surrounded the church in order to prevent construction of the church and security was tight in the Giza suburb.
"People here feel very discriminated against. We can't build the church - why are they stopping us?" said Samih Rashid.
"Every street has a mosque, every church has a mosque next to it," he told AFP news agency.
Some reports said the builders were trying to convert a Christian social centre into a church without the proper permit - something the Christians denied.
"When we noticed indications that it was turning into a church, we told the church authorities to halt construction because a church would require a different licence," Giza governor Sayyed Abdel-Aziz was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.


The first women to be admitted on a degree programme at any British University have been commemorated in Edinburgh.

A plaque was unveiled at Edinburgh University, where the women matriculated to study medicine in 1869.
They are known collectively as 'The Edinburgh Seven'.
They are one of eight historical groups or figures to be recognised by the Historic Scotland commemorative plaques scheme, now in its fourth year.
The Edinburgh Seven were Sophia Jex-Blake, Isabel Thorne, Edith Pechey, Matilda Chaplin, Helen Evans, Mary Anderson, and Emily Bovell.
In one incident, they were barred from attending an anatomy class by a large crowd and pelted with rubbish in what became known as the Surgeon's Hall Riot.
The plaque was unveiled by Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop at a ceremony in Edinburgh University's anatomical museum.
Ms Hyslop said: "Their determination to simply attend university and study medicine is an endeavour we take for granted these days, but at the time their actions were extraordinary enough to attract widespread criticism from all areas of society, even inciting a riot on the streets of Edinburgh.
"Their situation put women's right to study on the national political agenda, and helped lead to women being admitted to universities in Britain for the first time.
"It would be difficult to overstate how important this development was, as it gave the opportunity for women to participate in professions which were previously unattainable and determine their own career paths."
Professor Jane Norman, Vice Principal of People and Culture at Edinburgh  University, said: "The Surgeons' Hall Riot marked a turning point in the campaign for women's right to a university education - attracting widespread publicity and winning greater political support.
"I am delighted that the Edinburgh Seven are being recognised for their role in this important historical moment and the drive for equality in education."
The Historic Scotland scheme celebrates the life and achievements of significant historic figures through the erection of a plaque on the home where they lived or a building synonymous with their achievements.
A Christian missionary who died at Auschwitz concentration camp is among the others who will have a plaque unveiled in recognition of their work.
Jane Haining was killed at the Nazi death camp in 1944 after dedicating her life to working with Jewish children in Budapest.
Read the full list of recipients here.
Nominations are submitted by the public before an independent panel of experts reviews and selects the final winners.
Martin Ross, policy and projects manager at Historic Scotland said: "In the last four years the number of nominations to the scheme has grown rapidly, and this latest round produced a wide range of potential recipients, from a broad spectrum of society.
"The end result is eight recipients who have undoubtedly contributed significantly to the advancement of their particular field, both in Scotland and in many cases further afield."
The plaque is due to be mounted on one of the gateposts of the Royal College of Surgeons on Nicholson Street in Edinburgh as soon as maintenance work to that building is complete.


League One side Bradford City have extended West Ham midfielder Josh Cullen's loan spell at the club until the end of the season.

Cullen has made 23 appearances for the Bantams since signing on an initial five-month deal in August.
The 20-year-old also played in 17 games for the club last season after joining them on loan in February.
"Everything about the club - the staff, the players, the fans - they have all been brilliant with me," he said.


Kyle Lafferty trained with the Northern Ireland team on Friday morning, easing fears about his fitness ahead of Sunday's Euro 2016 opener with Poland.

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Lafferty picked up a groin injury in training on Tuesday and sat out Wednesday's session as a precaution.
He jogged onto the training pitch at Saint-Georges-de-Reneins and said afterwards that he was "feeling good".
"I did a few runs and a few twists and turns and it feels great. I've never felt better," said Lafferty, 28.
The Norwich striker acknowledged that he "feared the worst" after picking up the injury on Tuesday.
"When it happened, I had the sharpest pain in my groin. But as that day went on, it started feeling better and better.
"I came through it and then got the scan results which were all clear."
Friday morning's session was the squad's last before heading to Nice for the Group C opener.
The players were given Thursday off by manager Michael O'Neill but were back on the training pitch on Friday morning and Lafferty, whose seven goals were instrumental in getting Northern Ireland to Euro 2016, looked to be in good spirits as he took part in stretches and the warm-up.
Former Northern Ireland manager Sammy McIlroy has questioned Lafferty's temperament and says he must not react to opponents' attempts to unsettle him.
Lafferty has only played four domestic games all season and while match fitness is a concern for McIlroy, he is more worried about how the 28-year-old might react to provocation in the physical exchanges.
"He is our main man and defences know that," he told BBC Five Live.
"I think they can wind him up, get into him, and he will react.
"He's that type of fellow and I just hope Michael can keep him under control because if we lose him with retaliation or something off the ball that he can get involved in, that could be a big blow.
"So I hope he keeps his head and does what he has done throughout the campaign and that's score goals."
McIlroy, capped 88 times for Northern Ireland, managed his country between 2000 and 2003 in lean years for the international team.
He admires the job Michael O'Neill has done in leading the side to a first appearance at the European finals and suggested the players could go one step further and reach the knockout stages.
"It's a tough group, but teams are going to have to play well to beat us.
"The spirit among the boys is fantastic. It reminds me of our 1982 and 1986 [World Cup] teams and they are also very well organised.
"If we can get a point against Poland in the first game, then the team to beat is Ukraine. If we can win that I could see us sneak third place."


A special church service is being held to mark the first anniversary of the Glasgow bin lorry crash which left six people dead and 17 others injured.

Candles of remembrance are being lit at Glasgow Cathedral for each of those who lost their lives in the tragedy.
Bereaved families, survivors, emergency services staff and politicians are attending the ecumenical service.
The bin lorry veered out of control on Queen Street after the driver, Harry Clarke, blacked out at the wheel.
A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) later found that the tragedy could have been avoided if Mr Clarke, 58, had not lied about his history of blackouts in order to obtain and keep driving jobs.
Those who died in the crash were Erin McQuade, 18, her grandparents Jack Sweeney, 68, and his 69-year-old wife Lorraine, from Dumbarton, Stephenie Tait, 29, and Jacqueline Morton, 51, both from Glasgow, and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh.
Prayers for all six are being offered at the service, titled "Glasgow Remembers - The Queen Street Tragedy".
The name of each victim will be read out and a candle lit and placed with a flower in the cathedral. A seventh candle will be lit for those who were injured.
There will also be a two-minute silence and the Christmas lights on all the trees in the cathedral will be turned off.
The event, which got under way at 12:00, has been organised by ecumenical body, Glasgow Churches Together (GCT).
GCT chairman, Father David Wallace, said: "In many ways, the people of Glasgow look out for and support one another.
"This service is an expression of that care and concern we have for each other.
"Glasgow Churches Together seeks to bring people together in unity. Our service on 22 December is simply the opportunity to do so in remembrance of the tragedy."
22 December 2014: Lorry driven by Harry Clarke crashes, killing six people and injuring 17 others;
7 January: Harry Clarke leaves hospital;
25 February: Crown Office announces no-one will be prosecuted over crash;
22 July: FAI begins at Glasgow Sheriff Court;
28 August: FAI adjourned by Sheriff John Beckett after Mr Clarke gives evidence;
30 October:  Mr Clarke resigns from Glasgow City Council;
3 November: Mr Clarke tells BBC documentary he "apologises unreservedly" for his role in the crash;
7 December: FAI report states crash was avoidable if Mr Clarke had not lied about his medical history;
7 December: Family announces intention to pursue private prosecution against Mr Clarke.
The service is being attended by Archbishop Philip Tartaglia from the Roman Catholic Church.
Prayers and reflections are being led by the Right Rev Dr Gregor Duncan Scottish, Episcopal Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway.
The families of people affected by the tragedy have been invited, although some have said they will mark the anniversary in private.
Representatives of the emergency services, people who helped at the scene, including local businesses, are also attending, as is First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Glasgow's Lord Provost Sadie Docherty.
Provost Docherty said: "I am acutely aware that for the families and friends of those who lost their lives, and others caught up in this terrible tragedy, that Christmas will be a very difficult time.
"This service has been arranged to allow those affected, to gather together and remember those now gone, and support those still coping with the aftermath.
"I hope it helps them and brings them some comfort. My prayers and the prayers of this city and beyond are with them."
Glasgow City Council has already said bin lorries will not use Queen Street on the day of the anniversary as people may return to the scene to lay flowers.
In George Square, bookings for the Christmas ice rink will not be taken between 14:00 and 15:00, while fairground rides will be shut down between 14:15 and 14:45, covering the time when the crash occurred.
The tragedy unfolded in one of Glasgow city centre's busiest streets, which was packed with shoppers days before Christmas.
The FAI, which concluded in August, heard that Mr Clarke was driving the lorry with two other crew members.
As he turned on to Queen Street, Mr Clarke suffered an episode of neurocardiogenic syncope, causing him to pass out.
The lorry carried on, however, and in the space of 19 seconds it ploughed through pedestrians on Queen Street before coming to rest against the Millennium Hotel in George Square.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Crown Office said it would not prosecute anyone over the crash.
That decision paved the way for the FAI which was held over five weeks at Glasgow Sheriff Court, before Sheriff John Beckett.
Earlier this month, Sheriff Beckett published his determination which concluded that Mr Clarke, who had a history of blackouts and poor health, had "repeatedly lied in order to gain and retain jobs and licences".
This included not fully disclosing the details of a blackout he suffered at the wheel of a stationary bus in April 2010 to his own doctors and in employment applications and medical assessments for later jobs at Glasgow City Council.
In the aftermath of the FAI report, relatives of Erin McQuade and Jack and Lorraine Sweeney announced that they would attempt to take forward a private prosecution of Mr Clarke as, in their view, the Crown's decision not to was "wrong".


Actor Charlie Sheen has been fired from the hit US sitcom Two and a Half Men by Warner Bros Television.

The studio said it had acted after "careful consideration". The news comes amid a frenzy of US media reports on Sheen's controversial personal life.
No decision has been made on the future of the television series, a spokesman for Warner Bros said on Monday.
Sheen, the highest paid actor on US television, has also appeared in films including Wall Street and Platoon.
Production of Two and a Half Men had been suspended since late January after Sheen, the son of Hollywood actor Martin Sheen, entered rehabilitation for reported drug and alcohol abuse.
The sitcom is the most popular series on the CBS television network.
"After careful consideration, Warner Bros Television has terminated Charlie Sheen's services on Two and a Half Men effective immediately," Warner Bros said in a statement.
When asked by the Associated Press news agency if he would sue, Sheen replied via text message with the word "big". He added his next move would be a "big one".
"This is very good news," he said in a statement obtained by celebrity website TMZ.
Production on Two and a Half Men was officially halted in late February after the 45-year-old actor insulted Chuck Lorre, the show's producer and co-creator, in several interviews.
The actor had a contract with Warner Bros that ran to the end of the 2012 television season, providing him with $2m (Â£1.2m) per episode.
Sheen said last week he was being paid too little and demanded an increase to $3m per show.
Over the past few weeks, Sheen has given a series of often angry, rambling media interviews. He insists he is drug-free after undergoing rehabilitation in January.
The actor was taken to hospital in Los Angeles in January with severe abdominal pains before entering rehab.
He filed for divorce from his third wife, Brooke Mueller, in November, citing irreconcilable differences.
Meanwhile, Sheen posted a message on the micro-blogging website Twitter early on Monday, searching for an intern to assist him in his work.
The tweet, posted prior to Warner Bros's announcement, was a paid-for endorsement from the website Internships.com.
"I'm looking to hire a winning INTERN with TigerBlood," Sheen's message said.
The actor has used social media websites to comment on the dispute between himself and the show's producers.
It took him roughly 24 hours to reach 1 million followers on Twitter - a record for the website.


Pro12 officials have held talks that could lead to north American teams joining the competition in the future.

Four teams each from Ireland and Wales plus two each from Scotland and Italy make up the current format.
The possibility of the Six Nations moving to a spring start has encouraged hopes of Pro12 expansion.
"We've had really early discussions, with USA Rugby, broadcasters, sponsors," said Pro12 managing director Martin Anayi.
He wants the annual tournament involving England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Wales and Italy moved in the calendar and expects international governing body World Rugby to help that happen.
Speaking at the launch of the 2016-17 Pro12 season in Dublin, Anayi underlined the desire for north American teams to be included, with Houston and Vancouver having been earmarked as possible host cities.
He said: "Everyone's saying the same things, that if it's good for the tournament across a whole range of areas, player welfare, if it's good commercially, for the fans, and does it form part of their strategic plan too, then we should explore how far we can take it.
"They believe in the same things we do, which is the only way for a tier-two nation to become a tier-one nation is through professional club rugby.
"Because there is no scope to expand the international calendar, for the USA to play more games."
However, Anayi accepts that a long-talked-about global season has to be implemented for any Pro12 revamp to take place.
"You've got to talk about why it is that we're losing a huge proportion of international players not week in and week out, but in big chunks of the season," said Anayi.
"Intersperse that with European club rugby as well and you get quite a disjointed season.
"We think there's a simple solution, which is to push the Six Nations back and finish the club season before the Six Nations.
"We'll be really, really sure about our future and how successful club rugby can be globally if we can just get to the point where we get our international players playing in a consistent fashion."


Scottish war veteran William McLaughlin has received the highest French military honour, in recognition of his role in the Normandy Landings in 1944.

Mr McLaughlin, who is 92, was given the Ordre National Legion d'honneur by the French Consul at a ceremony in Tullibody, Clackmannanshire.
He first made a symbolic journey from the town's war memorial to the care home where he lives.
He said: "I feel so honoured. I don't deserve it - I was just doing my job."
His daughter Sandra McLaughlin said the family was "bursting with pride."
The Ordre National Legion d'honneur, known in English as the National Order of the Legion of Honour or Legion of Honour Award, was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803.
The Government of France offers the award to all surviving veterans of the D-Day landings.
About 30 naval cadets and a military piper accompanied Mr McLaughlin in a procession from the war memorial in Tullibody to the ceremony at the Orchard Care Home where he lives.
He travelled in a vintage Armstrong Siddeley car loaned for the occasion.
Staff at the home decorated it with bunting and flags. About 80 people were expected to attend.
Ms McLaughlin said: "Dad is a very humble man but he is just so proud to be getting his honour.
"We're bursting with pride for what he did, and for everyone who played their part in World War Two.
"He's also been an excellent father to us."
Mr McLaughlin was a Royal Navy visual signal man during World War Two and was just 20 years old when the Allied fleet landed in German occupied France.
As radio signals could have alerted the enemy, his role was to stand on the open deck in the line of fire and pass visual messages between crafts using flags, morse code, and lights.
He served on a Landing Craft Tank taking Canadian tanks and troops onto Juno beach on 6 June 1944.  It was among the first wave of vessels to land. Many of the boats and troops were lost.
After the war, he went on to marry shop assistant May Murdoch in 1949, and worked as a joiner.
The couple were married for 65 years, before her death last year, and lived in Bannockburn, Stirling.
They had three children and four grandchildren. Mr McLaughlin is now also a great-grandfather.


South-east Asian leaders have been in the US this week for high-level talks on tensions in the South China Sea, terrorism and climate change.

The two-day meeting, which ended on Thursday, was the first time the Asean group of nations have met in the US with President Barack Obama
But while they were boosting co-operation, there was time for a walk around the Sunnylands estate in California where the meeting took place, and the odd selfie.
Cambodia's PM Hun Sen, who has faced criticism for threatening to punish those who insult him on social media, showed us his official side...
And his more off duty side...


A Georgian seaside villa in Dorset, where author John Fowles lived, will open its doors after a £1.8m revamp.

Belmont, a Grade II* listed building in Lyme Regis, has been restored following eight years of research and two years of restoration work by the Landmark Trust charity.
It was owned in the 18th Century by Eleanor Coade, who built up a successful artificial stone business.
The building will open to the public on Saturday and Sunday.
Dr Anna Keay, director of the Landmark Trust, said the rejuvenated building was "a fitting monument to the genius of Eleanor Coade".
She added: "Visitors will now be able to stay in her Georgian architectural gem and in so doing experience the beauty and peace that inspired one of our greatest modern writers, John Fowles."
Belmont was Fowles's home for almost four decades from 1968, and it was where he completed his classic novel The French Lieutenant's Woman.
The Landmark Trust's craftspeople have recreated any damaged or missing items at their studio in the Cotswolds, such as fireplaces, architraves, shutters and skirting boards.
Coade stone was a ceramic, synthetic stone that was first produced during the 18th Century.
Like the trust's other 195 buildings, Belmont will be let out for short breaks.


China's ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang has been jailed for life - the most senior politician to face corruption charges under Communist rule.

He was found guilty of bribery, abuse of power and "intentionally disclosing national secrets", China's official Xinhua news agency reports.
Until his retirement in 2012, Zhou was one of China's most powerful men.
He was put under investigation one year later as part of President Xi Jinping's major anti-corruption campaign.
State TV showed a clip of Zhou, 72, pleading guilty at a closed-door trial in the northern city of Tianjin. When responding to the judge, he said he would not launch an appeal.
"I've realised the harm I've caused to the party and the people. I plead guilty and I regret my crimes," he said.
BBC China editor Carrie Gracie: Power politics exposed by fall of security boss
How China is reacting
The verdict caught many people off guard.
It was expected that Zhou Yongkang's trial would be played out for the Chinese public; his failings strung out for every citizen to see.
In similar high-profile cases, like that of Zhou's protege, Bo Xilai, the foreign and Chinese media were given 48 hours' notice that Bo's trial would begin. Reporters camped outside the courthouse for days, breathlessly waiting for updates.
In March, the head of China's Supreme People's Court had promised that Zhou Yongkang's trial would be "open in accordance with the law". The trial was set to take place in the eastern port city of Tianjin. It seemed Zhou was set to follow Bo's pattern. Like other senior officials convicted of serious crimes, it was expected he would receive a suspended death sentence.
Months passed without any word. Some guessed that Zhou Yongkang was not co-operating with prosecutors. Others believed that his crimes were too much of an embarrassment for the government.
After all, Zhou Yongkang had held a seat at the very top of the Chinese government pyramid. If he was thoroughly corrupt, some in China might ask whether others at the top were rotten too.
In the end, the decision to keep Zhou Yongkang's trial secret matches the case surrounding him, and Zhou's own public persona: inaccessible and secretive.
The news agency said Zhou was tried behind closed doors on 22 May because the case involved state secrets. There was no public announcement until the conviction was reported on Thursday.
In a breakdown of the ruling, Xinhua reports that Zhou received a life sentence for directly accepting bribes worth 731,000 yuan ($117,000; Â£76,000), seven years for abuse of power and four years for "deliberately releasing state secrets".  His family was said to have received bribes of 129 million yuan.
All political rights have been stripped and his property confiscated, it added.
Reaction on Chinese social media platforms has been welcoming of the conviction, with one user commenting: "Haha! Put the old tiger in the cage!"
The jibe is a reference to President Xi Jinping's promise to crack down on both "tigers and flies" - meaning officials at all levels - in his fight against corruption.
Zhou was charged in April, nine months after a formal investigation was announced. He has since been expelled from the Communist Party.
He was once head of the Ministry of Public Security, as well as a member of China's top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee.
It is the first time such a senior Chinese figure has been convicted of corruption since the Communist Party came to power in 1949.
Mr Xi vowed to end endemic corruption when he came to power in 2012.
Since then, a number of Zhou's former associates from his time working in the oil industry and as Communist Party chief in Sichuan province have been investigated or prosecuted as part of Mr Xi's corruption crackdown.
The Xinhua report did not refer to Bo Xilai, a former protege of Zhou's and former Chongqing Communist Party chief, who is currently in prison on charges linked to his wife's murder of a UK businessman.
Correction 15 June: This story was amended to say that Zhou's family was reported to have received a bribe of 129 million yuan, not Zhou himself. Zhou was formally convicted of being responsible for the bribes he accepted, and those accepted on his behalf.


Photographer Simon Brann Thorpe's pictures from the Western Sahara explore a conflict that has been forgotten, yet has lasted for 40 years, with no sign of a resolution.

20 May 2015 Last updated at 16:54 BST
Although under the de facto administrative control of Morocco, the status and sovereignty of Western Sahara remains unresolved, with the Algerian-backed Polisario Front in exile. Here Brann Thorpe talks about the work he produced in collaboration with a military commander.
Photographer Simon Brann Thorpe


World champions England will defend their title against New Zealand after a powerful second-half display saw them overcome France to reach the final.

A tight first half saw the sides reach the interval at 3-3 after Shannon Izar cancelled out Emily Scarratt's penalty.
England upped their game in the second period and Scarratt edged them back in front with her second penalty.
Prop Sarah Bern drove over for a converted score to move England clear before Megan Jones' last-gasp try.
They will now play New Zealand on Saturday at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast, kick-off 19:45 BST, in a bid to retain the title they won against Canada in 2014.
Four-time champions the Black Ferns were far too good for the USA, running out 45-12 victors in the first semi-final.
England were under the cosh for long periods in the first half and the fact they had made over 50 tackles in the first 15 minutes showed just how hard France came at them.
However, the Red Roses' white wall was unbreakable and when they finally lifted the siege, the psychological victory was probably as important as keeping the French scoreless.
In the second half England were much the better side and kept France pinned back for long periods, but even then it took two brilliant tackles to keep France out at a time when the champions only led by 10 points.
First Bern somehow held up Julie Annery as she stepped inside a yard from the line, and a minute later a desperate tackle from Jones saw the flanker just put a foot in touch as she dived over the line.
Despite France's pressure, England were level at the break and they looked like a side who never thought they could lose.
After the interval they turned up the power and, with front-foot ball to play with, the backs began to enjoy much more possession.
Even then the champions only led by three points entering the final quarter, before the relentless pressure they were applying finally told.
Bern was superb in both attack and defence and she popped up to dive over from close range.
As the game entered the final minutes England looked the fitter side and their suffocating defensive pressure saw Jones seize on a loose French pass to score with the clock deep in the red.
The Red Roses were totally dominant in the line-out, stealing half a dozen French throws, which prevented Les Bleues from building momentum at crucial moments.
Goal-kicker Scarratt was her old self from the tee, landing two conversions and two penalties in another classy all-round performance.
One gliding break lifted the first-half siege and took England into French territory, before she popped up at the next phase to give winger Lydia Thompson the chance to attack with a crisp, first-time pass.
Katy Mclean's kicking helped pin France back and although not every tackle was made, the total commitment in defence was key to subduing France - and is likely to be crucial once more against free-scoring New Zealand on Saturday.
Tight-head prop Bern has been in superb form all tournament, and the 20-year-old was once again a force of nature in Belfast.
The England scrum went into reverse on occasion against France, but at other times Bern and co shoved Les Bleues back at a rate of knots.
And around the park Bern was sensational, one moment smashing the French back in defence, the next powering forward with ball in hand.
Saturday's World Cup final could be the first of three or four for the Bristol front-rower.
England captain Sarah Hunter speaking to ITV: "It's fantastic that we've come and done the job that we wanted to do. Our defence won that game. France came at us and they've given us the greatest test we've had so far in this tournament.
"We knew we had the mindset. Both defences stood up and the tackle count shows that, but we had a white wall and there was no way they were getting across our try line tonight.
"One try and France would have been back in the game but we pride ourselves on our defence and Megan Jones made a fantastic tackle [to deny Julie Annery]."
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England: Danielle Waterman (Bristol); Lydia Thompson (Worcester Valkyries), Emily Scarratt (Lichfield), Rachael Burford (Harlequins Ladies), Kay Wilson (Richmond); Katy Mclean (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), Natasha Hunt (Lichfield); Vickii Cornborough (Harlequins Ladies), Amy Cokayne (Lichfield), Sarah Bern (Bristol), Abbie Scott (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), Alex Matthews (Richmond), Marlie Packer (Bristol), Sarah Hunter (Bristol, captain)
Replacements: Vicky Fleetwood (Saracens), Rochelle Clark (Worcester Valkyries), Justine Lucas (Lichfield), Harriet Millar-Mills (Lichfield), Izzy Noel-Smith (Bristol), La Toya Mason (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), Amber Reed (Bristol), Megan Jones (Bristol)
France: Amedee; Guiglion, Ladagnous, Poublan, Izar; Drouin, Rivoalen; Deshayes, Mignot (capt), Duval, Corson, Forlani, Mayans, Annery, N'Diaye.
Replacements: Thomas, Arricastre, Carricaburu, André, Diallo, Le Pesq, Neisen, Pelle


Four members of a child sex grooming gang have lost a legal battle to maintain British citizenship.

Shabir Ahmed, Adil Khan, Abdul Rauf and Abdul Aziz, all from Rochdale, challenged a government move that could pave the way for them to be deported to Pakistan.
Ringleader Ahmed, 63, previously claimed his convictions were a conspiracy to "scapegoat" Muslims.
Rochdale's MP called for the men to now be deported "as soon as possible".
Simon Danczuk said: "We welcome many people coming to the UK to contribute, but if they break the law they should lose their right to live here.
"Foreign-born criminals should not be able to hide behind human rights laws to avoid deportation."
The four were among nine men from Rochdale and Oldham who were jailed in 2012 for exploiting girls as young as 13.
Ahmed was convicted of two rapes, trafficking, conspiracy and sexual assault.
Described by a judge as a "violent, hypocritical bully", he led a group of men who plied girls with drink and drugs before "passing them around" for sex.
Ahmed's crimes included giving a 15-year-old girl he had raped on several occasions to a young man he referred to as his nephew, who also raped her.
He is currently serving a maximum imprisonment of 22 years.
Khan, Rauf and Aziz were found guilty of conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
They were given jail sentences of between six and nine years but have since been released on licence.
All the men are of Pakistani nationality who acquired British citizenship by naturalisation.
The case centred on a proposal by then Home Secretary Theresa May to deprive them of British citizenship on the grounds that it would be "conducive to the public good".
Immigration minister Robert Goodwill said: "This was an appalling case - which is why we took action to deprive these criminals of their UK citizenship.
"We welcome the court's finding and will now seek their deportation.
"Citizenship is a privilege, not a right, and it is right that the Home Secretary can deprive an individual of their citizenship where it is believed it is conducive to the public good to do so."
At an earlier hearing, Ahmed, who came to the UK in 1967 aged 14, said he had four children in the country and Â£83,000 in a bank account.
He said he was convicted by "11 white jurors" and said: "It's become fashionable to blame everything on Muslims these days."
Handing down the judgment on Thursday, Mr Justice McCloskey, described the men's crimes as "shocking, brutal and repulsive".
He dismissed five different grounds of appeal, including an argument by three of the men that the government had failed in a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of their children.
The ruling also dismissed a complaint of a "disproportionate interference" with the men's rights as EU citizens and rejected claims concerning human rights laws.
Despite the ruling, the legal battle to deport the men could continue as there are further steps the Home Office must complete.
The four men could also appeal on legal grounds, although permission to appeal is granted in fewer than 10% of cases.
Mr Justice McCloskey had previously criticised the men's lawyers for "frankly shameful" behaviour, saying they had failed to submit the necessary papers to the court and had repeatedly asked for adjournments.
Thursday's ruling said the tribunal had since received apologies and explanations.


A lawyer for Hillary Clinton's campaign says it will participate in a recount of US election votes in Wisconsin.

The recount was initiated by Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein, who is also seeking recounts in Michigan and Pennsylvania, citing "statistical anomalies".
Results would need to be overturned in all three states to alter the outcome of the election.
Donald Trump, who narrowly won Wisconsin, called the move a "scam".
The president-elect said it was a way for Dr Stein - who is funding the recount through public donations - to "fill her coffers with money".
"The results of this election should be respected instead of being challenged and abused," he said.
The Clinton campaign's general counsel, Marc Elias, said the Clinton team and outside experts had been "conducting an extensive review of election results, searching for any signs that the voting process had been tampered with".
He said there was no evidence to conclude the election was sabotaged, but "we have an obligation to the more than 64 million Americans who cast ballots for Hillary Clinton to participate in ongoing proceedings to ensure that an accurate vote count will be reported".
Mr Elias noted that the number of votes separating Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton in the closest of the three states  - Michigan -  "well exceeds the largest margin ever overcome in a recount".
However, he said the campaign would join in "on principle" in the Midwestern states if Dr Stein follows through on her promise.
The Green Party nominee reportedly wants to be sure computer hackers did not skew the poll in favour of Mr Trump.
Concerns over possible Russian interference had been expressed in the run-up to the vote.
The US government has said Russian state actors were behind hacks on the Democratic National Committee.
In a statement on Friday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission said it had received two recount petitions from the Jill Stein campaign and from Rocky Roque De La Fuente, a businessman who ran unsuccessfully to be the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.
Administrator Michael Haas said the count would begin in the week after Dr Stein's campaign paid the fee, which the commission was still calculating.
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US election results
Dr Stein's campaign needs to raise millions of dollars to cover the fees for the vote recount in all three states.
Her website says over $5.8m (£4.65m) has already been raised toward a $7m target. It says this is enough to fund the recounts in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
John Bonifaz and J Alex Halderman, voting rights lawyers who urged candidates to request recounts, have said the "physical evidence" that could signal a cyber-attack needs to be closely analysed.
But Mr Halderman said the fact that the results in the three states were different from what polls predicted was "probably not" down to hacking.
The deadline for the petition for the recount in Wisconsin was Friday, while Pennsylvania's deadline is Monday, and Michigan's is Wednesday.
Michigan is yet to declare its final results.
Wisconsin provides only 10 votes in the crucial electoral college that gave Mr Trump victory in the 8 November election.
Wins there for Mrs Clinton, as well as in Michigan (16 electoral votes) and Pennsylvania (20 electoral votes), would have clinched the presidency for the Democrat.


Plastic rubbish dumped in the sea causes big problems for sea life, and can pollute the water we drink.

But a new invention could provide the answer to cleaning up the ocean - by sifting off all the rubbish.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a massive area of ocean in America between California and Hawaii, where loads of plastic waste gathers.
But now a Dutch company hope they've come up with an idea that will make cleaning up the rubbish here a much quicker and easier job.
Millions of tonnes of rubbish ends up in the oceans every year, and most of it comes from the land.
For example litter gets swept into drains, and ends up in rivers - so that plastic straw or cup lid you dropped could all end up in the sea.
And because most plastic isn't biodegradable - meaning they can't easily be broken down - they may be stuck there for many years.
The plastic is carried by currents and goes into one of the world's five revolving water systems.
These water systems are called gyres, and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the most famous one - half way between Hawaii and California.
It also has another name - the Pacific Trash Vortex.
Not everyone agrees on it's size, but it has been called the largest rubbish dump on Earth.
The main idea behind The Ocean Cleanup is to let the ocean's currents do the work.
U-shaped floating barriers are attached to the ocean floor by anchors, but fish and animals can still swim underneath it without getting trapped.
The barriers will move more slowly than the plastic and act as "artificial coastlines," picking up rubbish as they go.
Then the floating plastic is forced to a collection point, where it can be taken out and shipped to shore for recycling, into things like sunglasses and car bumpers.
The idea came from Boyan Slat, a 22-year-old from the Netherlands, who created The Ocean Cleanup back in 2014.
Back then he said he hoped to clean up 42% of the ocean's rubbish in 10 years.
Since then he's developed his original idea into this one, which he says will cost less and make the clean up much faster.
His new aim to is to remove 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just 5 years.


A legal dispute faces the band Led Zeppelin over the song Stairway to Heaven, widely seen as one of the greatest rock compositions of all time.

The copyright infringement action is being taken on behalf of late guitarist Randy California, who played on the same bill as Led Zeppelin in the 1960s.
His lawyers say that he should be given a writing credit on the 1971 track.
Bloomberg Businessweek said that the eight-minute song had earned $562m (??334m) as of 2008.
The magazine says that the song was so profitable in part because Led Zeppelin did not release it as a single, leaving fans with no option but to buy the entire album, which is untitled but known as Led Zeppelin IV.
Both Led Zeppelin and Warner Music have said they will not comment on the allegations.
Media reports say that the court case is likely to be based on allegations that the famous Stairway to Heaven opening guitar riff loosely resembles guitar work on an instrumental called Taurus.
Taurus was written by Randy California's Los Angeles-based psychedelic band, Spirit, in 1968.
The plaintiffs include Spirit's founding bassist Mark Andes and a trust that manages royalties for Randy California, who died in 1997 trying to save his son from drowning.
Mr California is quoted by Bloomberg Businessweek as describing Stairway to Heaven as a "rip-off" shortly before he died.
'It is fairly blatant, and note for note," Mr Andes told Bloomberg Businessweek. "It would just be nice if the Led Zeppelin guys gave Randy a little nod. That would be lovely."
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is reputed to have begun writing Stairway  to Heaven in 1970 in a remote cottage in Wales.
Earlier this month the band unveiled two previously unheard recordings ahead of the re-issue in June of its first three albums.
Jimmy Page, now 70, meanwhile has scotched rumours of a reunion concert.
For a band that broke up in 1980, following the death of the drummer John Bonham, interest in Led Zeppelin remains intense.
The surviving members reunited seven years ago for a concert at London's O2 arena.


The Royal Shakespeare Company has staged a new type of drama with hundreds of emergency services workers involved in an exercise at the famous theatre complex in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Planned for three months, Exercise Titus tested the response to a mock firearms incident at the RSC in Shakespeare's home town.
It was "not in response to any threat," police said.
The operation was contained within the grounds of the RSC.
RSC executive director Catherine Mallyon said: "We are continuously updating our own major incident plan and we train our staff to deal with a whole range of possible events from the impact of severe weather to technology failures.
"Having the chance to take part in this multi-agency exercise allows us to observe and ask questions about the appropriate management of serious incidents, which will help us with our own future planning."
Staff and officers from Warwickshire fire service, the Warwickshire and West Mercia police forces and West Midlands Ambulance Service took part.


Liverpool have signed Celta Vigo striker Iago Aspas for £7m.

The club agreed a deal in principle last week and were just waiting for documentation before confirming the "long-term contract".
The uncapped Spaniard, 25, scored 12 goals in 35 league games for Celta this season as they avoided relegation from La Liga on the final day.
Aspas was a target for Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers's old club Swansea.
He becomes Liverpool's second Spanish signing of the weekend, 20, who has joined for a fee believed to be £6.8m.
They are set to be joined at Anfield by Simon Mignolet, with Liverpool expected to complete a £9m move for the Sunderland goalkeeper next week.
Earlier in the summer, Manchester City defender Kolo Toure, 32, agreed to join Liverpool on a free transfer.


A woman who murdered a man in his own home before stealing money from him has been jailed for life.

The body of Jeremy Dickinson, 57, was found at his house on Albemarle Road in Seacombe, Merseyside in March.
A post-mortem examination revealed he died after being hit over the head.
Lyndsey McCool, 37, of Whetstone Lane, Birkenhead admitted murder and was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court to life in prison. She was told she would serve a minimum of 17-and-a-half years.
Det Insp Paul Lamb of Merseyside Police said: "This was a horrific attack carried out by McCool on Mr Dickinson in his own home, where he had every right to feel safest."


The number of people in Scotland assessed as homeless or under the threat of being homeless went down by 5% in 2015/16, official figures showed.

Scotland's chief statistician said there had also been a 4% reduction in homelessness applications compared to the previous year.
However, there was a rise in the number of children in temporary accommodation.
The Scottish government said it wanted to work to reduce homelessness even further.
The Homelessness and Housing Options Statistics report found there were 28,000 cases in Scotland assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness.
Of these, 25,000 cases were judged to be "unintentionally homeless" and therefore with a right to settled accommodation. About two-thirds secured this accommodation, mainly through the social or private rented sector.
Scottish local authorities said they received about 35,000 homelessness applications during 2015/16.
There has been no change in the number of households in temporary accommodation.
Shelter Scotland said the statistics showed 591 more children were homeless and living in temporary accommodation in 2015/16 than the year before.
The organisation's head of communications and policy, Adam Lang, called the figures "worrying" and said they should set "alarm bells ringing" when combined with the 220,000 children living in poverty in Scotland.
He added: "The impact of poverty and homelessness on children's health and life chances can be devastating. Children living in temporary accommodation can miss up to 55 school days a year, that's a quarter of the school year.
"If Scotland is serious about tackling child poverty and closing the educational attainment gap, then ministers must act now to ensure that all children in Scotland have access to a safe, secure and affordable home."
Shelter Scotland also said Scotland needed a "major step change in the supply of new affordable homes".
Scottish Housing Minister Kevin Stewart welcomed the decrease in homelessness and said the government was doing all it could to make sure everyone had access to a "warm and safe place to stay".
"It is, however, our aim to stop people becoming homeless in the first place which is much better for our people and our communities, and of course our homelessness services," he said.
"While there are many reasons for families staying in temporary accommodation, I am disappointed in the increase in the number of children in temporary accommodation.
"Although the majority of temporary accommodation is good quality, well managed social housing which is of the exact same standard as permanent accommodation, I am keen to see these numbers decrease and people to have a settled home."


Michael Chamberlain, who fought for years to clear his family's name after his baby daughter Azaria was killed by a dingo, has died at the age of 72.

He died in Gosford hospital on Monday after complications from leukaemia.
The case of Mr Chamberlain and his wife, Lindy, attracted huge attention in Australia.
Prosecutors believed that the couple had killed their daughter. It was years before they were exonerated and the cause of death formally established.
At a trial in 1982, Lindy was found guilty of murdering Azaria and sentenced to life in jail. Michael was convicted as an accessory after the fact - until a chance discovery in 1986 overturned both verdicts.
Speaking in 2012, when the Northern Territory coroner finally ruled that Azaria had been taken by a dingo, Mr Chamberlain said that the battle to get to the legal truth had taken too long.
"However, I am here to tell you that you can get justice even when you think that all is lost," he said.
Actor Sam Neill, who portrayed Michael in the film A Cry in the Dark, said: "Throughout their cruel ordeal and the years of injustice, Michael Chamberlain maintained that quiet unassuming dignity - an impressive man. Rest in peace."
On 17 August 1980, the Chamberlain family were on a camping trip to Uluru, then called Ayer's Rock, when baby Azaria was taken from their tent by a dingo.
Lindy reportedly cried out: "my God, my God, the dingo's got my baby!" but a frantic search by the camping group and local guides discovered nothing. Azaria's body was never found.
In the aftermath, an inquest accepted Lindy and Michael's version of events, but law enforcement officials decided they did not.
At the time, dingoes were not generally seen as dangerous, and the Chamberlains' story was not widely believed.
A second inquest a year later led to allegations that the baby's throat had been cut and her body disposed of later. Chemical evidence of infant blood in the family car - which would later be widely discredited - was a key part of the prosecution.
Lindy was charged with murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Michael was charged with being an accessory after the fact and received an 18-month suspended sentence.
Lindy said her baby had been wearing a jacket, but there was no evidence of one among the baby's other clothes, found near the campsite.
She was still in prison in early 1986, having exhausted her legal options all the way to a High Court appeal, when a chance discovery revealed new evidence to support her story.
David Brett, an English backpacker, fell to his death while attempting to climb Uluru. The team searching for Mr Brett found a baby's jacket - matching exactly the brand and description Lindy gave in her testimony - in an area littered with dingo dens.
The revelation prompted authorities to order a fresh investigation and to release Lindy from prison.
It would be another two years before the pair were fully cleared, following a royal commission investigation.
Lindy and Michael's story split the nation, and the court case was covered in sensational fashion by the media.
Their religion, as Seventh Day Adventists, was not widely understood, leading to suspicion and even accusations of cult-like activity. It was one of the biggest legal and media events of the 1980s.
After the miscarriage of justice emerged, the case became a prime example of media influence in court cases.
Outside Australia, the story would find worldwide fame when turned into a film, A Cry in the Dark, starring Meryl Streep as Lindy and Sam Neill as Michael.
Despite Lindy's release, the official cause of death remained the subject of debate for decades. Many people in Australia still believed there was more to the case.
Lindy and Michael divorced a few years after they were exonerated in the late 1980s, and Lindy began a campaign to have dingoes acknowledged as dangerous to humans.
In 2012, 32 years after Azaria's death, a coroner issued the final report in the case, formally stating that Azaria was attacked and taken by a dingo, as her parents had always maintained.
Speaking after the verdict, Michael Chamberlain said "the truth is out" - and it was time for "some healing and a chance to put our daughter's spirit to rest".


Any Currency could be stripped of his win in the Glenfarclas Chase at March's Cheltenham Festival after traces of a prohibited substance were found in a urine sample taken after the race.

The 13-year-old, trained by Martin Keighley, had Triamcinolone Acetonide (TCA) in his system.
The cortisone substance can be used legally to treat horses, but must have cleared their system by racedays.
Keighley faces a disciplinary hearing with the British Horseracing Authority.
Should Any Currency be disqualified, the runner-up - and 15-8 pre-race favourite - Josies Orders would be retrospectively awarded victory.
Bless The Wings finished third in a race that delivered trainer Keighley's first success at this year's famous jumps meeting.
The date for the disciplinary hearing has yet to be confirmed.
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A former BBC Persian journalist has reportedly been detained in Iran.

Bahman Daroshafaei was arrested at his home in Tehran on Wednesday, according to the opposition website Kaleme.com.
Mr Daroshafaei, who has dual British and Iranian citizenship, has been working as a translator since leaving BBC Persian about two years ago.
Officials have so far given no reason for his arrest, which came on the eve of a visit to the UK by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
In November, two prominent journalists were arrested as part of what appeared to be a crackdown on writers, artists and other cultural figures in Iran.
A lawyer for Isa Saharkhiz and Ehsun Mazandarani said earlier this week that they had been accused of acting against national security.
Mr Saharkhiz's son linked his arrest to this months' elections for Iran's parliament and Assembly of Experts, in which reformists are hoping to make a comeback.
In October, poets Fatemeh Ekhtesari and Mehdi Mousavi and a filmmaker Keywan Karimi were handed lengthy prison terms by a court after being convicted of charges including "insulting sanctities and propaganda against the state".


Plans to devolve the Wales and Borders rail franchise will include existing cross-border services, the Welsh Government has said.

The UK government said in 2015 some services that primarily serve England could be given to other firms.
But the Welsh Government has now said it has reached an understanding the current franchise map will remain intact.
Four companies are bidding to run the network.
The UK government agreed in 2014 to devolve the Wales and Borders franchise.
But the 2015 St David's Day command paper - a document which paved the way for the Wales Bill currently passing through parliament - said it was "likely" services primarily for English markets would be put in franchises under the authority of the UK transport secretary.
This prompted concerns services such as Aberystwyth to Birmingham and Milford Haven to Manchester would be split at the border, with passengers potentially having to change trains.
The Welsh Government said it had "reached an understanding" with the UK Department for Transport that the current Wales and Borders franchise map "will remain intact".
Its spokesman added there were also opportunities for operating new routes to Bristol and Liverpool "if train paths can be secured".
John Rogers, a committee member of railway campaigning group Rail Future, described the idea of splitting up cross-border services as "completely stupid".
"Common sense has surfaced at last," he said.


Teenage Worcestershire seamer Josh Tongue took 5-45 on his County Championship debut to help beat Glamorgan by eight wickets in Cardiff.

Resuming on 141-3, Glamorgan collapsed to 223 all out, only Aneurin Donald (57) offering any real resistance.
Openers Daryl Mitchell and Brett D'Oliveira fell cheaply, but Tom Fell's 15 not out saw the visitors to 28-2.
Glamorgan were beaten in under two-and-a-half days, having failed to last two days in their opener with Northants.
Six ft 5 in paceman Tongue, 19, was making only his second Worcestershire appearance, having taken four wickets in the match in his first-class debut against Oxford MCCU earlier in April.
Glamorgan coach Robert Croft told BBC Wales Sport:
"It is frustrating to everybody. There is a group of players that are very disappointed. As support staff we are, and I am sure every supporter that followers Glamorgan is.
"It is certainly not the start that we envisaged or imagine or hoped for, but it is where we find ourselves. The crucial thing is as a squad, and I include support staff and players in that, is we work our way out of it. And when we work our way out of it we remember how it feels so we don't go back here.
"It is inevitable that confidence gets dented when you have got hurt badly in the first innings in Northampton and the same happened here. We've been very much behind the eight ball from the first session of the game."
Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes told BBC Hereford & Worcester:
"I'm really proud of the boys. It was a terrific effort. The toss was important, and we soon had them in trouble in helpful conditions.
"It was so good to see the young players such as Josh Tongue and Tom Kohler- Cadmore perform so well. It bodes well for the remainder of the summer.
"There's more to come from Josh Tongue. He's certainly got some pace in him. We saw that when he hit Donald on the helmet. However, he still has two screws in his back, following a stress fracture, and it's very important that we do things right for him."


Fighting Carl Froch must have been like being pursued by a boulder, gathering speed through a tunnel.

Most who turned to brace themselves got flattened. Some who ran got splattered as they grasped for the light. The most tenacious reached the exit. But only the fleetest had their hand raised after the trauma.
When fans of Froch - often of an older vintage, men who remembered way back when - called him a "throwback fighter", it was the highest of compliments.
It conjured images of gushing blood in black and white. Tough men administering terrible beatings or admiring their art, splashed across a canvas. Men who fought anyone, anytime, anywhere. And never made it easy. Men who took lickings and kept on ticking. Until time retired them.
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Boxing is timing, in and out of the ring. When to throw and when to feint. When to pour it on and when to rein it in. When to gird your loins for one last shot and when to walk away. In hanging them up now, Froch has timed it right.
Recently stripped of his last remaining world title because of inactivity, Nottingham's finest is also out of viable options. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr held the keys to a dream fight in Las Vegas but the Mexican was knocked out in April - and thus the keys were lost.
British rival James DeGale, who picked up Froch's old IBF title in May, was keen on a match-up. But Froch was smart enough to realise that DeGale might cause him problems and complicate his legacy.
Froch's promoter, Eddie Hearn, said the manager of middleweight king Gennady Golovkin had been phoning every day. But taking on Golovkin, who has 30 knockouts from 33 fights, after more than a year out of the ring would have been risky in the extreme. The smell of crisp sheets and a partner's sweet embrace at 6am can prove surprisingly debilitating.
Froch is an old athlete at 38 but has engaged in only 35 professional fights. However, he was no will-o'-the wisp between the ropes.
If you are good enough to dance around trauma like Floyd Mayweather, why not dance on until you are knocking on 40? But Froch was always more of a grinder than a dancer - and even the most durable grinding wheels turn to dust if they stay grinding for too long.
Between winning the WBC super-middleweight title after a barnstormer against Jean Pascal in 2008 and knocking out George Groves at Wembley Stadium last summer, Froch engaged in the most gruelling sequence of fights of any British boxer in living memory.
Not since Jack 'Kid' Berg was sticking it to New York's finest in the 1930s had a British fighter tried to chew on so much.
There was the last-gasp, come-from-behind knockout of former middleweight king Jermain Taylor, in true Rocky style. There were demolitions of Arthur Abraham and Lucian Bute. There were two ding-dong fights against Mikkel Kessler - the second of which produced fireworks that spelled out 'revenge' over London's O2 Arena.
Only Kessler - in their first encounter - and Andre Ward beat him, although Ward's fellow American Andre Dirrell also gave him fits. All three had fast hands and good lateral movement. Froch preferred opponents to be standing where he wanted - right in front of him.
Fellow Brit Groves thought he had the formula, especially when he had Froch down in round one of their first encounter.
Groves, 10 years younger and appreciably quicker, made Froch creak like an old galleon for eight and a half rounds. But Froch's powers of recovery were even more formidable than his whiskers. And perhaps Groves was only stopped, in controversial fashion, because the referee knew what Froch was capable of down the stretch.
While Froch was rarely in a bad fight, his critics called him basic. True, he was more cave man than 'Cobra', the moniker he gloried in. But why get overly technical when you have a concussive right hand, the strength of a bull and the pain threshold of a brick? Just ask Groves.
But it was less Froch's technical limitations and more his poor promotion that delayed his move into the mainstream. As recently as 2010, Froch was fighting on a fringe satellite channel. His first three fights in the Super Six super-middleweight tournament, in which Froch eventually finished runner-up to Ward, were watched by tens of thousands.
Only when promoter Eddie Hearn plucked him from obscurity, stuck him on Sky and started plugging him from the rooftops did he finally get his due. And even then there were those who didn't take to him.
He was called arrogant - not to mention deluded - when he chased a fight with Joe Calzaghe towards the end of the Welsh legend's career. And he was called the same a few years later, when he suggested his achievements "eclipsed" Calzaghe's, or those other great British super-middleweights of the 1990s, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank.
For the record, most wise observers think Calzaghe would have boxed Froch's head off, just like Ward did. But fights between Froch and Benn or Froch and Eubank would have been sights to behold. Ding-ding, take cover, hold hands and hope you don't have nightmares.
Calzaghe had the superior skills and is thought by many to be Britain's most gifted boxer ever. But Froch provided more bang for the punters' buck than almost any other British boxer of the modern era.
Still, there was a telling moment in Las Vegas, a few days before Mayweather beat Manny Pacquiao (an underwhelming drama, the kind Froch rarely took part in). Froch was in the media centre when the venerable Bernard Hopkins strolled in, bounded over and showered Froch with compliments. Froch was chuffed and wore a look that said: "Look everybody - the great Bernard Hopkins knows me!"
Even after 12 straight world-title fights and starring in some of the most stirring ring battles in recent history, Froch was hungry for validation. And if he is fond of talking about himself, then no wonder, given that he was ignored for so long.
Froch lacked the earthy charm of Ricky Hatton, the showmanship of Eubank, the dark menace of Benn or the conjuring tricks of Naseem Hamed. He came across as a sensible bloke - and in the inverted world of boxing, sensible blokes are marked down as suspicious characters by those who savour the sport's inherent absurdity.
But those who really appreciated boxing appreciated Froch. There might have been boos when he entered the ring before his rematch against Groves last summer. But Froch sent most of the record 80,000 crowd home happy courtesy of an "I was there" knockout, which doubled as a punishment for a lack of gratitude shown by the few.
It was the perfect way to sign off - cause a big crash and slip away from the wreckage. Faculties intact, a beautiful family to go home to, bundles of cash making even more money in bricks and mortar. Not what you would call a stereotypical boxing story - and all the more heartening for it.


A climbing instructor went to the aid of a sheep after it got itself into difficulty on crags above the sea on the north west Highlands coast.

Encouraged by the school pupils from Inverness he was coaching, Paul Calton managed to lasso the animal before helping it to safety.
The ClimbScotland regional development officer was instructing the students at Sheigra near Sandwood Bay.
Dutch holidaymaker Marco Flaman filmed the rescue just north of Kinlochbervie.
Mr Calton said: "The sheep looked like it had been stuck for a few days.
"The school pupils asked if we could help it.
"We saw it again the day after its rescue and it was happily munching grass."


First-half goals from Ollie Clarke and Rory Gaffney were enough to earn Bristol Rovers victory over relegation-threatened Chesterfield.

The home side went in front inside the first minute as Clarke lashed home a low left-foot shot from the edge of the box after Chesterfield failed to clear a Lee Brown cross.
Gaffney doubled the advantage in the 18th minute with a clinical low finish, having been put in on goal by good work from Luke James.
James had the chance to net his first Rovers goal late in the first half when pushed by Tom Anderson inside the box, but his penalty was too straight and impressive Chesterfield goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckmann stuck out a strong left hand to save.
The visitors improved after the break and were rewarded when Sylvan Ebanks-Blake pulled a goal back in the 85th minute with a curling right-foot effort from the left side of the box.
But Rovers were never seriously threatened and it took a fine save from Stuckmann to stop Chris Lines adding a third for Rovers in stoppage time.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Bristol Rovers 2, Chesterfield 1.
Second Half ends, Bristol Rovers 2, Chesterfield 1.
Corner,  Bristol Rovers. Conceded by Sam Hird.
Billy Bodin (Bristol Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by David Faupala (Chesterfield).
Corner,  Bristol Rovers. Conceded by Thorsten Stuckmann.
Attempt saved. Chris Lines (Bristol Rovers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Foul by Billy Bodin (Bristol Rovers).
Dion Donohue (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Goal!  Bristol Rovers 2, Chesterfield 1. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (Chesterfield) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner.
Attempt saved. Billy Bodin (Bristol Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Ryan Sweeney (Bristol Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Ryan Sweeney (Bristol Rovers).
David Faupala (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Bristol Rovers. Lee Mansell replaces Ollie Clarke.
Attempt missed. Rory Gaffney (Bristol Rovers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Substitution, Chesterfield. Dan Gardner replaces Rai Simons.
Substitution, Bristol Rovers. Jermaine Easter replaces Luke James.
Connor Dimaio (Chesterfield) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Daniel Leadbitter (Bristol Rovers) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Connor Dimaio (Chesterfield).
Jon Nolan (Chesterfield) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Byron Moore (Bristol Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jon Nolan (Chesterfield).
Attempt missed. Rai Simons (Chesterfield) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Substitution, Chesterfield. David Faupala replaces Kristian Dennis.
Ollie Clarke (Bristol Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jon Nolan (Chesterfield).
Substitution, Bristol Rovers. Byron Moore replaces Cristian Montaño.
Corner,  Bristol Rovers. Conceded by Tom Anderson.
Attempt saved. Rai Simons (Chesterfield) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the bottom left corner.
Corner,  Chesterfield. Conceded by Ollie Clarke.
Rai Simons (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Tom Lockyer (Bristol Rovers).
Substitution, Chesterfield. Connor Dimaio replaces Osman Kakay.
Attempt missed. Billy Bodin (Bristol Rovers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
Foul by Rory Gaffney (Bristol Rovers).
Jon Nolan (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Corner,  Bristol Rovers. Conceded by Jon Nolan.
Corner,  Bristol Rovers. Conceded by Osman Kakay.