These days it is not enough just to be a millionaire to count yourself as one of the super-rich - you need to be worth between $50-100m (£33m-£66m).

While $50m is the starting point for serious wealth, "in reality your spending power and investing power really gets to the next level when you get to around $100m", says Catherine Tillotson.
Ms Tillotson is joint managing partner of Scorpio Partnership, a London-based firm which advises the super-rich on how to manage their assets, and she says there is a reason for this dividing line between the wealthy elite and the rest of us.
"This is the point at which families will start to think about employing people purely to help them manage their financial affairs," she says.
There may now be more multi-millionaires and billionaires than ever before in the world, but since the 2008 global financial crisis the wealth gap between the world's top 1% and the rest of us has grown.
This increasingly stark division between haves and have-nots is leading to increasing rancour towards the very wealthy, say many social commentators.
Robert Kuhn is better placed than many to understand this hostility - a former investment banker and corporate strategist, he is himself among the world's wealthy elite.
The world is getting wealthier - we live longer, eat better, are better educated and fewer people live in extreme poverty.
But with the gap between rich and poor feeling bigger than ever, the BBC is investigating the winners and losers of this richer world in 2015.
A Richer World 2015
"I think much of it is justified," he says, perhaps surprisingly, "and I think we should describe why that's the case."
One of the main reasons for this, he says, is the web. "We have a very highly wired world with the internet, people are more aware of things - and I think that's a good thing."
Mr Kuhn is coy about his own net worth. When asked if it is "tens of millions" of dollars, he replies, "I would not like to be too specific, but I wouldn't contradict what you just said."
Trained as a neuroscientist, Mr Kuhn became an investment banker and then in the early 1990s sold his mergers and acquisitions firm "at the right time".
He says he worked hard, "but if I don't acknowledge there was a lot of luck involved I would be fooling myself".
He wants to encourage more and more people to become wealthy, but also to place limits on the amount of wealth that can be passed on to the next generation.
"That gives each generation a chance to have higher social mobility."
But given that the gap between rich and poor has reached its widest level for 30 years in most developed countries, according to says the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) group of developed nations - that social mobility is getting harder for many.
In the 1980s, the richest 10% had incomes seven times greater than the poorest 10% in the average industrialised country.
Now, in those same countries, the richest have incomes nine-and-a half times greater than the poorest, on average. The actual figures vary widely across the 34 OECD's member states.
In Denmark the top 10% earn about five times more than the bottom 10% - in Mexico they earn 30 times as much.
How much more do the top 10% earn than the bottom 10%?
Source: OECD (2011)
Other organisations, too, are highlighting this discrepancy between rich and poor. A report this month from the charity Oxfam says the world's wealthiest 1% will own more than 50% of the world's wealth by 2016.
"This is something that we should be very worried about," says Mark Pearson, the OECD's deputy director of employment, labour and social affairs.
If countries want to boost their economic growth, then they need to take steps to narrow this wealth gap, says the OECD.
This goes against the longstanding free market argument that rising wealth at the top will trickle down to everybody else.
But, the OECD research suggest that the reverse is true. "Our finding is that by reducing income inequality, you can boost economic growth," Mr Pearson told BBC World Service's Business Daily programme.
An increasing wealth gap hinders economic growth because it limits investment in a country's labour force, argues the OECD.
Poorer people cannot afford to spend as much as the rich can on their children's education.
And that lack of investment in education means a less educated and less flexible workforce in the long run, says the group in its research.
It is not just the super-rich that are doing well - those whose business is dealing with super-rich customers are profiting too.
Alex Cheatle is chief executive of Ten Group, a lifestyle concierge service that can helps its clients get that exclusive restaurant table, sell-out theatre ticket - or finds that vintage sports car in a particular colour.
Ten will even do your window-shopping for you, if you are too rich or famous to be able to do it yourself.
"Very often they will want us to take a picture of the window and get it to them, so they do their window shopping as and when they want to," says Mr Cheatle.
"There hasn't really been a crisis for many of our members. Business is booming for us, we've grown every year since 2008 - growing at an average rate of 25-30% a year."
When you consider how much the super-rich spend, that growth is perhaps not surprising.
Over the course of a year, it's reckoned the world's top 1% spend a staggering $45bn (£30bn) on travel and hospitality, $40bn (£26bn) on cars, and $25bn (£16bn) each on art, jewellery and watches.
Or course, the ultimate statement of wealth is to have your own super-yacht - complete with helicopter pad, speedboat tenders and even a submarine or two.
The world's biggest such boat is currently the Azzam, 180m (590ft) long, launched in 2013 at a reported cost of up to $600m (£400m) - and the sector has certainly weathered the global slowdown better than many others.
Source: Boat International
So with the wealth gap rising should the rich pay more tax, and if so would that help?
Robert Kuhn - now business and financial commentator - argues that countries that decide to increase taxes on the rich may not see any benefit.
He believes increasing income taxes to too high a level would "inhibit the creation of new wealth which is detrimental to society".
"I'm just worried about the behaviour and implications if you put too high a tax rate, what that will do to current generations in their energy and focus to create new wealth," says Mr Kuhn.
At Scipio Partnership, Catherine Tillotson says that focussing on tax misses out the contributions made by many rich patrons to philanthropic and charitable causes.
"The tax question is hugely complicated," she says.
"Most families that I've met will say that it is absolutely critical to them that they pay the right amount of tax according to the rules."
However, "in many ways those dollars spent on philanthropic passions may be doing more good than they would have done in the tax system", she says.
Yet ever since the financial crisis of 2008, and subsequent global economic slowdown, politicians have come under increasing pressure to increase tax contributions from the richest in their societies.
Protest movements such as Occupy Wall Street, which started in 2011 and has since spread to many other countries, have highlighted concern over social and economic inequality worldwide.
For his part, Robert Kuhn is not convinced that a widening wealth gap matters in economic terms, but "it matters in social stability for sure", he agrees.
"It matters in terms of social mobility of subsequent generations."
"To me that's the biggest problem, for any country," he says. "And many countries are facing that."
Click here for more from BBC's A Richer World, a season exploring the world's wealth, poverty and inequality


Samsung has announced a system to link together a household's various gadgets, appliances, and utility controls.

It said one way the Smart Home service could be used would be to turn off a home's lights and TV if the owner said "going out" into a smartwatch app.
Samsung said the service would initially be limited to its own products, but added it planned to support third parties' devices in time.
However, one expert doubted the firm's rivals would support the idea.
"Samsung is the most aggressive competitor that exists," said Martin Garner, who covers connected homes technologies for the consultancy CCS Insight.
"So, why would another manufacturer want to use its platform?"
The South Korean firm will show off the technology at its booth at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) when it opens in Las Vegas on Tuesday,
Other companies are expected to demonstrate competing visions at the event.
Archos has already said it will show off an Android-powered Smart Home Tablet designed to control and access information from other connected devices.
LG will also show off its HomeChat system, announced last year, which allows owners to control devices by sending them SMS-based text messages.
Samsung said its new service would initially offer three features:
The firm said its Smart Home app would initially run on selected Samsung TVs, smartphones, tablets and its Galaxy Gear smartwatch.
It will work by sending messages to remote computer servers that in turn send data to Samsung's range of internet connected air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, robot vacuum cleaners, LED lights and digital cameras.
The company added that it intended to expand the platform to support healthcare products, door locks and unspecified "eco-home applications" at a later date, and would also release a software protocol to enable other device-makers to link up their machines.
However, bearing in mind doubts over whether competitors would co-operate, CCS Insight suggested the firm would struggle to realise its goal.
"Samsung have had the same connected home vision for a while, but their implementation of it was a bit ragged," said Mr Garner.
"In the past they had different apps for different appliances and they didn't all join up. It sounds like they've tidied that up quite nicely now.
"But the thing we worry about is that brand loyalty across appliance categories isn't strong - research suggests if you buy a Samsung TV you don't become more likely to buy a Samsung fridge rather than one from another manufacturer.
"So, just having a grand vision like this doesn't mean people will go for it."


A protest has been held in a bid to secure free parking in a Ceredigion market town.

Around 40 traders and shoppers marched through the centre of Cardigan on Wednesday calling for two hours of free parking for visitors.
Local shops said their trade increased by up to 20% last year when parking machines in the town's four car parks were vandalised and out of use.
Ceredigion council said parking charges must be "consistent" in all towns.
The march was led by the chairman of Cardigan Traders, Martyn Radley, who has called on Ceredigion council to give local traders "a level playing field" with out-of-town businesses.
Ceredigion council said the matter had been discussed and the view is that "parking charges must be applied consistently across all towns within Ceredigion".
The council added the charges are necessary both in terms of covering the cost of providing car parking facilities and helping to meet the "extraordinary financial pressures" facing the authority.
Traders have vowed to continue their campaign for free parking.


When it emerged that government adviser and former Dragon's Den judge James Caan had given his daughter a leg-up with an internship in his own company, accusations of hypocrisy followed, as Mr Caan was meant to be championing social equality.

But for those young people whose parents let them "find their own way" in their careers, as Mr Caan advocated, what is the chance of getting such prized work experience?
Competition has never been so fierce for internships, it seems. Westminster School recently ran into controversy with an auction where work placements at top companies, Coutts Bank among them, were on offer to the highest bidder.
"You can't leave university now without some work experience," says Ollie Sidwell, founder of ratemyplacement.co.uk, who recently had one desperate father call him offering to pay for his daughter to do a placement with the site.
"So many people get degrees, you have to stand out. And now 61% of graduates end up working for the company they have interned for. It's how it works now."
"Competition has grown massively," agrees Simon Pullin of milkround.com, a website specialising in opportunities for young people. He estimates that for the most popular sectors - IT, marketing, and business - there are at least 100 applicants per internship.
"The company gets a chance to vet the intern during their time there, and see if they might fit in permanently."
It is especially important in the current climate, Mr Pullin adds, where there is competition for graduate-entry jobs "from people with more experience who may have been made redundant".
So it is no surprise then that some parents want to help pull strings for their children.
For Gus Baker, head of Intern Aware, it is "pointless to moralise about parents wanting to give their children the best chance".
"We're never going to be able to stop that, it's a natural instinct," he says. "But the big businesses need to get a grip, and make sure that they are hiring the best person for the job, not just the person who happens to have connections.
"And they need to pay them properly too," he adds. "It's bad for business to rely on people from a narrow pool - it leads to 'group think.'"
Many major institutions and businesses are tightening up their policies to root out nepotism, it seems.
Rhiannon, 17, from near Swansea did work experience at a publishing company after meeting its staff at a writing workshop.
"I tried to get one with the local newspaper. It is not a very big one, but the waiting list was just ridiculous. I was told they had absolutely no space for the next three years - even to shadow someone for a week. It was insane.
"Work experience is a huge part of my personal statement for applying for university. I need to show that I have an outside interest in the subject I want to study and to show I have real world experience in it, not just an academic interest.
"If parents have a business, then they take on their child or their child's friends. It is really hard because you might have the enthusiasm and the qualifications for it, but if someone else is related to them or knows them, they will have the upper hand on you.
"You have to really put yourself out there. I am going to see if I can work in the Welsh Assembly next year.  I am going to start emailing people this summer to try to organise something. It is always good to have talked to people beforehand so that you have got contacts for next year."
As Mr Sidwell puts it: "Banks, law firms, the whole market is changing. It used to be who you know, but that's not the case any more."
Now internships are a core part of recruitment policies, he says. "It's a pipeline for candidates coming in, and each line manager will now have an intern as part of their team."
An internship with financial services organisation Deloitte is a particularly hot ticket. It has won awards and topped surveys for its recruitment schemes.
For every 350 second-year student placements, they receive 10,000 applications, which need to be sent a year in advance.
Rob Fryer, its head of student recruitment, says the system guarantees fairness.
"Every candidate goes through the same application process regardless of their background," he says. In other words, there's no back way in.
Interns are not left making the tea or standing about aimlessly, he says. "They'll go to client sites with their team, do stock takes, in some cases deliver presentations and partner pitches. That way they get an insight into what we do, and we can gauge their potential. In a sense it's like an elongated job interview."
Top employers talk of "rigorous" assessment programmes. For Barclays, another top-rated employer, the process can begin almost a year ahead of the start of the internship.
Websites open for applications in August or September for the following year's graduate intake.
"In an effort to beat their competition to the best talent, firms are reviewing applications earlier and earlier and on a rolling basis, so waiting until the deadline can sometimes be too late," says Jane Clark, head of campus recruitment at Barclays Investment Bank.
By Ollie Sidwell, founder, Ratemyplacement.co.uk
In the end, says Yara Silva, 22, an MA student of magazine journalism at City University, it comes down to determination. "I applied incessantly to every magazine or newspaper I could think of, dozens of them," she says.
Source: ratemyplacement.co.uk
"Some never replied but some did. During my time at university I've done nine internships - around 18 weeks of work - as well as working as an editor on the uni paper, and I'm lucky I could live at home and do that.
"I learned so much, and wouldn't have felt ready to start my career if I'd not done that. Now I just need to find a job."
Corinna Pyke, the marketing director of Borough Wines, recruits most of her interns from a wine institute. "They come with an existing passion and knowledge about wine," she says.
She avoids taking on the children of friends as a favour, as they are not as motivated.
"It's like having another job, finding their kids projects and explaining everything. They end up being annoying."
The need for motivation and perseverance is underlined by Heather Finlay, director of Sainted, a PR business in the highly competitive music industry sector.
She receives many requests for work placements and some of the successful ones have gone on to full-time jobs at the company.
"I would rather hire someone as an intern who has had the initiative to research the industry and send me an email themselves, rather than someone who's been touted out by a parent.
"When people come through that way, it's not the same. They have been handed it on a plate and they don't have that hunger, that fire in their belly."
Source: Laura Smith, milkround.com
Additional reporting by Catherine Wynne


So what did we learn from Alun Cairns's Commons debut as secretary of state for Wales?

As expected, the half-hour question time was dominated by the crisis in the steel industry. And as expected, Mr Cairns defended the UK government's handling of that crisis.
He told MPs ministers had been in close dialogue with Tata Steel for many months and the government's action had averted the immediate closure of the Port Talbot plant, Britain's biggest steelworks.
"It is due to the government intervention that Tata have agreed to a sales process rather than an immediate closure of its operations in Wales," he added.
But Mr Cairns was criticised by Plaid Cymru's parliamentary leader, Hywel Williams, for not attending last month's crucial Tata Steel board meeting in India, at which the decision to sell off its UK assets was taken.
Mr Williams asked: "What stopped you? Was it the Cabinet pecking order? Was it indolence? Or was it just plain ignorance?"
But Mr Cairns told him: "Surely what the steelworkers want to see is where the government and the opposition work together, where the company and the unions work together in order to secure that long-term future."
Shadow Welsh Secretary Nia Griffith demanded assurances that Tata Steel wouldn't syphon off its most profitable lines to its plants abroad.
Mr Cairns said a "positive engagement" between the government and Tata had led to the decision to sell off the assets as a whole rather than to dispose of some of the more profitable assets. He also managed to mention the fact that his father was a welder at Port Talbot.
Ms Griffith revealed some news of her own in calling for the scrapping of tolls on the Severn Crossings once they revert to public ownership.
This is now apparently official Labour policy, with maintenance of the bridges to be paid for, I understand, "from general taxation". Current government policy is to halve them from (approximately) 2018.
Mr Cairns is a relative veteran of question time, having been Stephen Crabb's deputy for more than a year. But it was the first appearance at the despatch box for the new junior Minister, Guto Bebb.
The Aberconwy MP got to field the most unusual question - from Michael "My Mam's from Aberavon" Fabricant. He wanted to pay tribute to Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies and his former chief of staff, Anthony Pickles, who apparently came up with the idea of bringing the Prince of Wales's regalia - the Welsh "crown jewels" to Wales.
Mr Bebb agreed. "I would say that bringing the regalia back to Wales would be the right thing to do and I'm quite certain that my constituent in the castle of Conwy would be delighted to host the regalia."
The plan is for the regalia to go on display at a new heritage centre in Llandovery.


A kitten had to be cut free from a plastic pot after his head became trapped eating peanut butter.

The RSPCA was called when the six-month-old cat was found with his head entirely encased within the tub after raiding a bin in Oxford on Saturday.
Frost covered the fur of the black and white stray which could not move, the charity said.
Inspectors used scissors to cut the jar away from the kitten's head who was unhurt by the ordeal.
For more stories about rescued animals follow BBC England's Pinterest board
"Once I managed to lever the cat out, I had a good check over his head and neck to check for injuries. Thankfully the cat was unhurt," RSPCA inspector Jaime Godfrey said.
"As soon as the cat was free, he ran away very fast. He was obviously shaken up by his experience.
"The cat is a known stray on nearby farmland and was probably scavenging for food when he got his head stuck."


More than 100 people with acute mental health needs deemed fit to leave hospital could not go because of the lack of support services.

The patients had been due to be discharged between January and August 2016.
However, a shortage of housing or lack of community support services meant they could not leave hospital wards.
The former chief executive of NHS England, Lord Nigel Crisp, described the situation as "appalling".
The information was released under a BBC NI freedom of information request.
"It is not purely in Northern Ireland,  but it is worse than elsewhere. Too many people are being cared for in hospitals when actually they should be in the community," he said.
"This isn't just about health services - one of the things we found again in Northern Ireland and elsewhere was the issue about housing.
"If you end up in a visit to a mental health hospital you may well lose your tenancy, there is nowhere for you to go back to.
"So here we are, keeping people in facilities where they may be being cared for by very good staff,  but it is not the right place for them and it is not going to help them to get better".
Total: 121
Figures from 1 January - 30 August 2016
The Health and Social Care Board said that the information released used a "much broader" definition than the one it used and it "currently measures only those patients who have been declared medically fit for discharge by a health professional at month end".
The board also said it was "developing a new acute care pathway to enhance the range of intensive support services available to reduce the likelihood of admission to hospital".
"This would also address the issues highlighted in the Lord Crisp report, to consider more specialist provision for a small number of people with complex needs." it said.


A man who had part of his home destroyed after a tornado hit a town in Derbyshire said it has resulted in the happiest period of his life.

The roof of William Sitch's house in Catherine Street, Alfreton, was ripped off when the whirlwind wreaked havoc on 8 October 2014.
With nowhere to live, he moved in with a childhood friend and in February they were engaged to be married.
His partner's son said the twister "had been a blessing" for the couple.
Oli Constable, 20, said Mr Sitch, 51, and his mother, Sandra, aged 51, had already been reunited before the high winds but were living separately.
He said following the tornado, which the Met Office said was caused by "volatile and unstable air", the pair moved in together.
Mr Constable said after the initial shock, Mr Sitch was pragmatic about the damage to his house.
He said: "Nothing really fazes him, he was a bit like 'let's move on'.
"It's been the best thing that ever happened to him... [He and my mother] are now together and they're happy."
Mr Sitch told BBC Radio Derby: "We ended up spending so much time together we [now] don't want to be parted.
"[On the day of the tornado] I slowly walked towards [the scene] and realised it was my house that was roofless. [I had feelings of] disbelief and panic, did I renew my insurance?"
Along with Mr Sitch's house, a number of homes and vehicles were damaged by flying bricks and debris.
Witnesses described a "film scene" as the tornado ripped down lampposts and trees in Mansfield Road and Catherine Street.
Mr Sitch's roof and supporting wall have since been repaired but he is now living in Chesterfield.


Oscars head Cheryl Boone Isaacs is taking action to "alter the make-up" of their membership, after Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith's refusal to attend because of the mostly white nominees.

In an article, first published in 2012, the Los Angeles Times found Oscar voters are nearly 94% Caucasian and 77% male. Black members make up about 2% of the Academy, and Latino members less than 2%.
Oscar voters have a median age of 62 and people younger than age 50 constitute just 14% of the membership.
So just how do you become a member of the prestigious organisation?
Well, unsurprisingly, you have to work in the film industry.
The Academy has 17 branches, including actors, writers, directors and producers, and two categories, members-at-large and associates, to accommodate those who work in film production but do not fit into one of the branches.
Each branch has its own requirements that have to be met before you can be considered.
For example, actors have to have a minimum of three theatrical feature film credits, one of which has been released in the past five years, and "all of which are of a calibre that reflect the high standards of the Academy".
And all the roles have to be scripted (sorry, no walk-on parts).
Directors need to have a minimum of two directorial credits, at least one of which is from the last 10 years and, again, the films have to be "of a calibre which, in the opinion of the executive committee, reflect the high standards of the Academy".
You can't apply to be a member - you have to be sponsored by two Academy members from the branch which you wish to join.
Potential sponsors are warned that "sponsoring a candidate for membership in the Academy is a serious commitment.  Please make sure you are confident the candidate has truly 'demonstrated exceptional achievement in the field of theatrical motion pictures' before you agree to sponsor them".
But if you're an Academy Award nominee, you are automatically considered for membership and do not require sponsors.
Nominees and sponsored candidates are then reviewed by branch committees and recommendations for membership are considered by the Academy's board of governors.
The board ultimately decides who will be invited to join the elite group. Once you're in, you're in for life.
Membership review takes place once a year, in the spring. The current deadline is 24 March.


A new version of a folding stretcher used by mountain rescue teams, the military and the emergency services since the 1960s is being developed.

The MacInnes Stretcher, invented by mountaineer Hamish MacInnes, is being made at a workshop in Inverness.
However, 85-year-old Dr MacInnes' and engineer Richard Glanville's work on the mark 8 (Mk 8) has been affected by ill-health and family losses.
Development has restarted but with dwindling finances to fund it.
Mountain rescue teams, including Glencoe MRT which Dumfries and Galloway-born Dr MacInnes helped to set up in 1961, have been highlighting an appeal for funds for the project.
The Mk 8 is being designed to be lighter and tougher than previous versions by using a composite, a product made with two or more materials such as carbon fibres.
Mr Glanville is leading the active production of the stretcher because of Dr MacInnes' health. The veteran mountaineer continues to supervise the project.
But over the past two-and-half years, Mr Glanville work on the new stretcher has been affected by his treatment for cancer, his father's death and then becoming the main carer of his mother before she too died.
Production is now under way again at the engineer's workshop in the Highlands, but not without continuing challenges, including Mr Glanville selling his house to raise funds for the project.
The engineer said: "The switch to composites has forced a fundamental rethink of the way the Mk 7's components worked.
"Armed with the experience gained from the Mk 7 and the properties of the advanced composite material, many of the fittings have been total redesigned.
"The end result will be a greatly improved stretcher but inevitably this work has extended the development time."
He added: "The benefits to the rescue teams from the new MacInnes Mk8 rescue stretcher will make the sacrifice well worthwhile."


Viridor has been selected as preferred bidder for a £700m contract to process household waste for a consortium of Scottish councils.

The 25-year contract was awarded by the Clyde Valley Residual Waste Partners.
They include East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire councils.
The deal will see Viridor process about 190,000 tonnes of residual waste per year, serving a population of more than 845,000 people.
The project follows a review by former NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde chairman Sir John Arbuthnott of the potential for sharing council services across the Clyde Valley.
Under the contract, Viridor will transport waste collected by each council to its primary treatment facility in Bargeddie, North Lanarkshire.
Primary treatment will remove recyclable material from the waste and prepare a refuse-derived fuel, which will be handled by Viridor's planned energy recovery facility in Dunbar.
Jim Smith, depute leader of North Lanarkshire Council, said: "The development is very good news for residents and businesses within the partner council areas as the project will see Viridor investing to deliver community benefits.
"This is an excellent example of shared service which will see an end to domestic waste being dumped in landfill and deliver savings and service improvements.
"Importantly, it will offer best value for money to taxpayers in the five council areas."


The US-led coalition against so-called Islamic State (IS) has denied it was behind an attack on a Syrian town that reportedly killed dozens of civilians.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 42 people, including 11 children, died on Monday when warplanes bombed Al-Bukamal, near the border with Iraq.
IS news agency Amaq put the death toll at 25 and released video of the strike.
The coalition said it had not targeted the area on Sunday or Monday, but added that unnamed countries had done so.
"We did not conduct strikes during the time period of alleged civilian casualties," US Army spokesman Col Ryan Dillion told Reuters news agency.
Coalition warplanes had hit only oil production facilities more than 50km (30 miles) outside Al-Bukamal on those two days, he said.
Late last month, the coalition announced that its 20,200 air strikes in Syria and Iraq since 2014 had unintentionally killed at least 396 civilians. However, human rights groups believe the true figure is far higher.
Airwars, an organisation that tracks allegations of civilian deaths, estimates that between 3,290 and 5,280 civilians are likely to have died.
The Syrian Observatory, a UK-based monitoring group, said the aircraft were seen approaching from Iraq so were unlikely to have been Syrian or Russian.
They struck near a residential area and a mosque, killing 23 civilians along with 20 IS militants gathered in one building, it added.
The activist group Deir Ezzor 24 reported that the attack destroyed 15 homes and killed at least 35 civilians. It said the warplanes were believed to be Iraqi.
Also on Tuesday, the UK Ministry of Defence said an RAF Reaper drone had stopped IS militants from carrying out summary killings in Al-Bukamal on 9 May.
The drone's pilot observed a large crowd of civilians in one of the main streets and then a van unloading two shackled prisoners in front of them, a statement said.
The militants beside the crowd could not be targeted, so the drone fired a Hellfire missile at two stationed as sentries on a nearby roof, it added. Afterwards, the militants fled the scene and the crowd dispersed.
In a separate development, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said the blister agent sulphur mustard had been used in an apparent attack in Aleppo province on 16 September last year.
The watchdog told the UN Security Council that as a result of interviews and analysis of blood samples taken by the Syrian government and Russia, it could confirm that two female casualties reportedly involved in the incident in the Kurdish village of Um Hosh had been exposed.
A mortar shell recovered by Russian investigators also contained sulphur mustard.
The OPCW's fact-finding mission is not tasked by the Security Council with determining who was behind the attack, but Kurdish officials blamed IS militants.
The mission has previously concluded that IS used sulphur mustard in an attack in August 2015, and that Syrian government forces used chlorine as a weapon at least three times between 2014 and 2015.
It also says the nerve agent Sarin was used in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun on 4 April. More than 80 people were killed in a suspected Syrian government air strike - an incident President Bashar al-Assad says was fabricated.


Carlisle United have signed midfielder John O'Sullivan on an 18-month deal following his release by Blackburn Rovers.

O'Sullivan, 23, was allowed to leave Rovers after returning from a loan spell at Accrington where he played 25 games, scoring twice.
The Republic of Ireland Under-21 player made six appearances in seven and a half years at Ewood Park.
"He's got good pedigree," assistant boss Lee Dykes said.
"John has had some good loan spells where he's been tested in different ways."
Those loan moves took in stints with Southport, Accrington, Barnsley, Rochdale and Bury.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page or visit our Premier League tracker here.


A soldier who has denied breaking into his ex-girlfriend's flat and cutting her throat from ear to ear has offered to undergo a lie detector test.

Lance Corporal Trimaan "Harry" Dhillon is accused of murdering Alice Ruggles in her Gateshead flat last October.
Giving evidence at Newcastle Crown Court earlier, the Edinburgh-based signaller asked prosecutor Richard Wright, QC, to give him the test.
Mr Dhillon said Miss Ruggles fell on the knife during a row.
The 26-year-old claims he drove from his barracks near Edinburgh to retrieve clothes from the flat when Miss Ruggles, 24, attacked him with a carving knife.
He told the court he tried to get the knife off her and that she accidentally stabbed herself in the neck.
Mr Wright challenged the version of events and claimed Miss Ruggles died after the knife was drawn against her neck six times.
But the accused said: "If you are that confident, why not give me a lie detector then, sir?"
Mr Wright replied: "Lie detectors are the stuff of television programmes.
"Who knows? Maybe the defendant is so deluded he believes some of this himself."
Mr Wright told the hearing the defendant did not ring 999 to get help.
But Mr Dhillon claimed he tried to ring an ambulance, but panicked.
Mr Wright said Miss Ruggles suffered 24 injuries, while the defendant did not have any knife wounds.
Mr Wright said: "Alice wanted to live and she fought for her life that afternoon and you killed her."
Mr Dhillon replied: "No, I did not kill her."
The trial continues.


More than 5,000 Irish dancers from around the world are in Belfast this week with the aim of becoming world champions.

The 2017 An ComhdhÃ¡il World Irish Dance Championships are taking place at the Waterfront Hall.
The event, which began on Sunday, features 42 competitions over six days, with dancers aged from nine to 21.
It is the first time the event has been staged in Belfast.
Competitors from the US, Scotland, England, Europe, Japan, the UAE, Australia and all over Ireland are taking part.
Some 25,000 spectators are expected at the championships, said Matthew Donohoe, the event's chairman.
"The An ComhdhÃ¡il World Irish Dance Championships is the premier event for our organisation," he said.
"The dancers that will compete here have been preparing for many months to showcase their exceptional talent."
This year's championships have a record number of entries both in solo and figure dancing, said Mr Donohoe.
"The Waterfront Hall really suits the championships we're running this year, we're running two major stages and the extension to the Waterfront allowed us to do that," he said.
Among the dancers who have already been crowned world champions is 10-year-old Eva Jane Muldoon, from the Quinn School in County Tyrone.
"It was really exciting," said Eva Jane, who has been dancing for five years.
"We had to do a dance with two other people, then we did another dance with two other people.
"If you got a recall for your championship, then you did a set dance on your own."
Coming from further afield, Florida dancer Stephanie Lovetere, who is performing in the under-18 category, said she had started as a ballet dancer.
"But I found an Irish dancing school and I've always loved watching Lord of the Dance and Riverdance," she said.
"I really just wanted to get involved, especially since I'm part Irish, so I wanted to do sort of a heritage thing and I just got reeled into the competitive world.
"Quite a lot of people in the United States are involved in Irish dance."
Four hundred teams are competing in the championships, with events running every day until Friday.


Prof Sir Paul Nurse has said that UK research would suffer if the country were to leave the EU.

A British exit would make it harder to get funding for science and sell "future generations short", the Nobel Prize winner added.
But a group of scientists arguing to leave the EU counters that UK research would not be adversely affected.
They say British institutions would receive similar amounts of European funding as they do now.
A national referendum on the UK's participation in the European Union is set for 23 June.
Prof Nurse, who is director of The Francis Crick Institute and the former president of the Royal Society, believes those who campaign for a "Brexit" are jeopardising "the long-term future of the UK for short-term political advantage".
"We need a vision for our future that is ambitious and not to run away and bury our heads in the sand, and we can best do this by staying in the EU. We should not be side-tracked by short-term political opportunism."
Prof Nurse was speaking at a news briefing about the impact of a withdrawal on UK science. He was joined by other research leaders who also want Britain to remain inside the EU.
"Being in the EU gives us access to ideas, people and to investment in science," Prof Nurse said.
"That, combined with mobility (of EU scientists), gives us increased collaboration, increased transfer of people, ideas and science - all of which history has shown us drives science."
Prof Nurse added that as part of the EU, the UK has influence in directing research among nations that collectively have become a "powerhouse" of science on a par with the US and China.
The flows of European science funding
The UK is a net contributor overall to the EU budget
However, it is a net receiver of EU funding for research
In 2007-2013, the UK gave a total of 78bn euros to the EU
Of this, 5.4bn was specified to go to the EU's R&D programme
But in return, 8.8bn euros came back to the UK for R&D
In 2007-2013, funding from EU sources more than doubled
In this period, UK research council spending increased by 7%
Source: ONS, CASE
Prof Angus Dalgleish, of St George's Hospital, University of London, is a spokesman for "Scientists For Britain". This is a group of researchers arguing the case for an EU exit.
Prof Dalgleish told BBC News that he believed Britain would be no worse off on the outside.
"We are standing up against what is a very large body of people who feel that if we leave the EU it will be a disaster for funding and collaboration - and we completely refute that," he said.
"The bottom line is that we put far more into Europe than we get out. Any difference we can more than easily make up with the money we would save."
Prof Dalgleish's organisation claims to have 150 members who are involved in science. He is the organisation's only spokesman, he says, because arguing the case for a British exit is unfashionable in research circles, and individuals who do so, especially if they are junior, find themselves "belittled" by their superiors.
"Many of the more junior people, post docs, are beginning to ask questions to people like me who are (senior enough to be) able to express these views."
Prof Dalgleish says that arguments in favour of the UK remaining are motivated by the "narrow self-interest" of large scientific institutions and universities that receive millions of pounds of funding from the European Union. But he says that 13 countries outside the European Union successfully apply for and receive EU funds.
He also argues that some of the largest and most successful European collaborations the UK has, such as Cern and the European Space Agency, are not run by the EU.
Prof Dalgleish says that from his experience of reviewing EU grant applications, he believes that political factors such as promoting collaboration are placed ahead of scientific excellence when awarding funds.
"I have been an external referee reviewing grant applications to the EU Framework Programme, and come under extreme pressure to come up with a scientific rational to agree with what has already been decided by the bureaucrats," he claims.
But James Wilsdon, who is a professor of research policy at Sheffield University, and an advisor to "Scientists For EU", believes it would be "highly unlikely" for UK research organisations to secure the same level of funding if they were to leave the EU.
"We don't know the terms under which we would participate (in applying for funding if we were to leave the EU), so I think there is a lot of wishful thinking from the Leave camp in terms of having our cake and eating it - by pulling out all our money and still being able to participate in the kind of levels of engagement we have hitherto enjoyed.
"At a time when science is getting more collaborative, more international in scale and more tightly focussed on the big societal challenges we face - the EU is a brilliant mechanism for doing science at that scale and we would be mad to turn our backs on a mechanism for collaboration that we have painstakingly built up over 25 years or more, to return to a pre-collaborative mode in which we are doing it on our own."
Stephen Bates, who is the CEO of UK Bioindustry Association, whose members include British bioscience and pharmaceutical companies, said that such firms would think twice about locating in the UK if the country did not have a voice in regulating the way in which research was carried out.
"It is vital to stay in Europe," he said. "Withdrawal would pose significant risks for inward investment because we would be cut off from influencing the regulatory environment."
However, Prof Dalgleish argues that leaving the EU would make UK researchers more open to collaborations with scientists in other countries.
"We are the fifth largest economy in the world without having anything to do with the EU. By being part of the EU, we lose out on being a tremendous force, with all our links with America and the Commonwealth.  We are diluted by the EU and much stronger outside it, and I think that goes for all kinds of scientific endeavour as well."
Last month, the Science Minister Jo Johnson said he believed that an EU exit would be damaging to UK science.
"No-one doubts Britain could stay a science player outside of the EU. Indeed, some of our universities have been successful for longer than many of its member states have even existed. But the risks to valuable institutional partnerships, to flows of bright students and to a rich source of science funding mean the Leave campaign has serious questions to answer.
"While there is nothing in our EU membership that limits our ability to work with other countries, the onus is now on those who want to leave the EU to come and explain how they would sustain current levels of investment and collaboration under very different circumstances."
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Cyprus peace talks will soon continue at the expert level, the Greek and Turkish foreign ministers say.

Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders have been making progress on key issues since talks in Geneva began on Monday.
Earlier, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said a deal on reunifying the island was "very close" but cautioned against hopes of a "quick" fix.
The island's communities have been split since 1974.
Key stumbling blocks to reaching a deal include the return of property to tens of thousands of Cypriots who fled their homes in 1974, and the question of whether any Turkish troops will remain in northern Cyprus after reunification.
Turkey still has 30,000 troops stationed in the island's north, whose presence Greece opposes.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said discussions were "at a critical juncture" and that technical experts would now hold talks.
Reports say the plan is for their meetings to begin on 18 January, with a focus on thorny security issues.
Property: What should happen to the properties that Greek Cypriots had to abandon in 1974? Should they get the right to take their old homes back, or be compensated - and if so by how much?
Security: How can the security of the Turkish Cypriots be guaranteed if Turkey's estimated 30,000 troops leave? Greek Cypriots see them as an occupying force, so should some stay or should Turkey retain the right to intervene? Who would act as a guarantor of the deal? The EU, of which Cyprus is already a member, or the UK, which has two military bases on the island?
Power and the role of the EU: There is talk of a rotating presidency, but how would that work? And could a Turkish Cypriot president really represent the country from time-to-time at EU summits?
Territory: How much more territory should Greek Cypriots gain to reflect the fact that they make up the majority of the island's population? UN peacekeeping forces estimate that 165,000 Greek Cypriots fled or were expelled from the north, and 45,000 Turkish Cypriots from the south, although the parties to the conflict say the figures are higher.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said himself, Mr Cavusoglu and UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson - who represent Cyprus's security guarantors - could meet again on 23 January.
The end goal is for the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to share power in a two-state federation. Any deal would have to win the support of both Cypriot communities in separate referendums.
The talks look set to continue for some weeks, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Landale, who is in Geneva.


Fans of BBC hit television crime drama Hinterland are being given the chance to go on set in a free exhibition.

Familiar scenes from the bilingual series, broadcast in Welsh on S4C as Y Gwyll, have been recreated at Aberystwyth University's Old College.
The new exhibition includes the police office shared by DCI Tom Mathias, played by Richard Harrington, and Mali Harries' character DI Mared Rhys.
Running alongside the exhibition, which runs until 22 December, are workshops.
The exhibition will also include a bloody murder scene, props used by the cast and a wall dedicated to a busy investigation noticeboard, including a map showing the areas of Ceredigion which have been used during the BAFTA Cymru award-winning series.
Dr Rhodri Llwyd Morgan, Pro Vice-Chancellor at Aberystwyth University, said the exhibition marks the first in a series of exhibitions which form part of an ambitious project to "bring new life to Old College."
"As we prepare to resubmit our funding bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund, we hope it will show the building's potential to be used as a unique exhibition space which will attract both locals and visitors," he said.
The third series of Hinterland has been filmed and will be broadcast on BBC Wales in early 2017. The Welsh language version Y Gwyll is currently being shown on S4C.


A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a crash between a motorcycle and a car which left the rider in hospital.

The blue Peugeot bike was hit by a blue Jaguar X-type at the Carr Lane East and Dwerryhouse Lane junction in Norris Green, Liverpool, on Wednesday 13 January.
The 27-year-old motorcyclist was left with internal injuries and remains in a critical condition in hospital.
A 39-year-old man is in police custody.
An investigation is ongoing and a number of lines of enquiry are being pursued, police said.
Detectives are continuing to appeal for witnesses.
Det Ch Insp Mark Kameen said: "We believe that someone could have information that could help us with our investigation and we would urge anyone who hasn't already contacted us to get in touch. Any information they have could be vital."
Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crimestoppers.


The waves crashing on a wintry, rain-swept Doonbeg beach make it seem a million miles from the sun-drenched southern border of the United States.

But they have more in common than you might think: Donald Trump wants to build a wall at both.
Whereas the Mexican border barrier would stop people getting into the US, the County Clare sea fortification would protect Mr Trump's award-winning golf resort from the sea.
While the presidential hopeful doesn't believe in man-made climate change, the sea is swallowing up an estimated metre of the dunes every year.
The golf resort employs some 250 people in the high season and has 75 properties on the complex, as well as three bars and three restaurants.
The Trump organisation has applied to Clare County Council to place tonnes of limestone boulders - some almost four metres tall - along the three-kilometre strand.
Joe Russell, the resort's general manager, said the proposal was a carefully-considered engineering solution that fits in with the natural landscape.
"Back in the 1940s, people in the local authority from west Clare actually took rock off the beach to build roads," Mr Russell told the BBC.
"What we're seeking to do is to put rock back onto the beach and, hopefully, over the next number of months and years, to protect the vital asset of this business which is the golf course."
Storms two years ago took their toll.
The Trump organisation says the previous owners of the resort also wanted some form of fortifications in line with what is happening all along the wild Atlantic coast.
"Donald Trump has the means to do it," said Mr Russell.
"My concern is that we're going to have another storm.
"It hits the dune face, it takes from the golf course and we end up with a tourist season in a future year that is compromised.
"The jobs, the local economy and people's livelihoods will be affected by a golf course that has essentially been destroyed by the ocean."
But some ecologists oppose the proposal.
Theresa O'Donohoe from the Clare Environmental Network says experience shows sea fortifications are futile against storms and crashing waves.
"I find it very hypocritical for a man who claims that man is not making climate change to want to build what they say is not a wall but is effectively a wall against nature," she told the BBC.
"And it's not going to work against nature. Mother Nature will beat the wall down."
In the village of Doonbeg, most people seem to support the Trump proposal.
"Coastal protection is vitally needed in the area," said Rita McInerney, who runs The Wild Atlantic Break coffee shop.
"It's already been done in various other locations up and down the western sea board.
"It is a sign of the times that it's required."
Gareth Fitzpatrick, a school teacher and surfer, said he could see both sides of the argument.
"Donald Trump wants to protect his investment after losing 38 acres in the last storm, but on the other hand, you can see the environmental impact of it and for surfers," he said.
Tommy Tubridy, a publican and restaurateur, said more than 90% of local people wanted planning permission to be granted for the sea fortification.
"If this wall isn't built, in time from Doonbeg right out to Loop Head will become an island," he said.
"The sea will come in and take over from the golf course right towards Kilrush miles away."
Clare County Council has said it may be several months before a decision is reached on the Doonbeg barrier.
And who knows? By then it could be one of President Trump's two walls.


Several leading newspapers in Indian-administered Kashmir say they have been have been raided by police seeking to end a week of violent protests.

Police seized printing plates and thousands of editions overnight on Friday. Cable television is also reported to have been shut down.
More than 40 people have died in recent clashes in the area.
The crisis was sparked by the killing of a prominent separatist militant, Burhan Wani.
More than 1,500 others have also been injured in fighting between protesters and the security forces.
A curfew remains in place - along with curbs on mobile and internet access.
"The clamp-down was necessitated as Pakistani channels that are beamed here through cable television network have launched a campaign aimed at fomenting trouble here," an unnamed Jammu and Kashmir government minister told the Reuters news agency.
"Some newspapers were also sensationalising the violence... We will take a decision on [their] restoration after 19 July."
The Greater Kashmir, Rising Kashmir and the Kashmir Observer, are among the titles who said they were affected.
Abdul Rashid Mukhdoomi, printer and publisher of the Greater Kashmir, said that there were no orders "under which the printing and circulation of our newspapers were stopped".


Microsoft has released a temporary software fix for a bug in its Internet Explorer web browser.

Cybercriminals used the flaw to install the Poison Ivy trojan on users' computers.
This piece of malware can steal data or take remote control of a PC.
Microsoft said in a blog the Fix It tool was "an easy, one-click solution that will help protect your computer right away" but "not intended to be a replacement for any security update".
Microsoft said there had been an "extremely limited number of attacks".
Before releasing the fix, the company had suggested workarounds such as disabling Active X controls and Active Scripting or downloading its Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit.
Another suggestion had been to change the security-zone settings on the browser to "high" and run IE in a restricted mode.
So-called zero-day, or newly discovered, vulnerabilities are rare. According to security company Symantec, only eight such bugs were spotted in 2011.
Symantec research manager Liam O Murchu said their novelty made them dangerous.
"Any time you see a zero-day like this, it is concerning," he said. "There are no patches available. It is very difficult for people to protect themselves."
The flaw, present in all versions of Internet Explorer except IE 10, was spotted by Luxembourg-based security expert Eric Romang, when his PC was infected by Poison Ivy last week.


A bird that makes its home over 3,500 miles away in Siberia has made a rare visit to Carmarthenshire.

The yellow-browed warbler was tagged at Pembrey Burrows nature reserve, only the fifth ever recorded in the county.
The birds, known for their "strikingly loud" song, are more commonly found on the east coast of England with 600 recorded this autumn.
Easterly winds this autumn are said to be the reason behind the bird's visit to the reserve.
Yellow-browed warblers breed in Siberia and winter in south-east Asia.
Licensed bird ringer and volunteer ranger Paul Aubrey said the visitor was a highlight of an unexpectedly mild and bright autumnal period.


The most northerly battle fought by imperial Rome could be left out of an inventory of Scottish battlefields due to uncertainty over the site.

Mons Graupius in AD 83 or 84 saw the 9th Hispana, its cohorts and Roman cavalry defeat 30,000 Caledonians.
Locations suggested in the past include Dunning in Perthshire, Carpow in Fife, Bennachie in Aberdeenshire and Culloden in the Highlands.
Historic Scotland said an accurate site was needed for inclusion on its list.
The body has commissioned research on Mons Graupius along with a number of other battle sites.
It has already placed several battlefields including Bannockburn in 1314 and Culloden in 1746 on Scotland's Inventory of Historic Battlefields and earlier this month put out 11 other sites for public consultation.
The list, which includes details on the boundaries and armies involved, will act as a guide to planning authorities.
Historic Scotland's Dr Lesley MacInnes, said a decision had still to be made on whether Mons Graupius should be put forward for consideration as an entry on the inventory.
The head of battlefields said: "We have recently commissioned the research for a number of battlefields including Mons Graupius.
"The research will review all available evidence for these sites to establish if they meet the published criteria for inclusion in the inventory.
"Early sites such as Mons Graupius present particular challenges for accurate location which is one of the required criteria for inclusion."
Dr MacInnes added: "Any sites which are considered to be of national importance but cannot be accurately located cannot be included at this stage but will be kept under review should further information emerge to allow their inclusion.
"The research outcome for Mons Graupius will be clarified by the end of the financial year."
Mons Graupius is believed to be wrapped up in the mysterious disappearance of the 9th Hispana in AD 120.
The legion, cohorts of auxiliary light infantrymen from Gaul and Batavia along with cavalry were heavily outnumbered by Caledonians at the battlefield.
However, the tactics of Roman general Gnaeus Julius Agricola left 10,000 tribesmen dead but relatively light casualties among the auxiliaries.
There has been a long running debate on where the battle was fought.
In his book Legions of Rome, historian Stephen Dando-Collins said no location has been "reliably fixed".
Potential sites have been weighed up on the website Roman Scotland.
It rates Dunning the most likely and Culloden among the least.
Sites close to the Grampian mountains have also been suggested in the past.
In his book, Dando-Collins connects Mons Graupius with the disappearance of the 9th after it was later posted to Carlisle.
He said Caledonians had sought revenge for the defeat and ambushed and slaughtered the legion along with its affiliated units.
Mystery surrounding the fate of the 9th inspired Rosemary Sutcliff's children's book Eagle of the Ninth and two recent films - The Eagle and Centurion.
Scenes for The Eagle starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell were shot around Achiltibuie and Old Dornie, near Ullapool, and in the Cairngorms for Centurion.


Grime artist Skepta has won this year's Hyundai Mercury Prize for his debut album Konnichiwa.

He beat off competition from David's Bowie's final album Blackstar, Laura Mvula, Michael Kiwanuka, The 1975 and Radiohead.
"I'm just so thankful. I've been trying to do this music stuff and work it out for so long... I was like 'let's do it for ourselves'" he said.
Read more by TAPPING HERE.


Is the new head of Ofsted going to come from the United States?

It has been confirmed, although still unofficially, that ministers are seriously looking in that direction for the next education watchdog for England.
Sir Michael Wilshaw's term of office will end this year and the government - it's up to them rather than Ofsted - is casting its recruitment net overseas.
In particular, they are considering candidates who have been involved in the charter school movement, state-funded independent schools, with a similar ideological DNA to academies and free schools in England.
The big impact of charter schools has been in the most deprived urban areas, credited with re-energising schools that had been in a state of chronic decline.
It's a claim rejected by their opponents, particularly in US teachers' unions, who say that the successful glitz and PR around charter schools is not backed up by any significant long-term advantage.
Some charter schools do well, some do badly... like any other type of school, they argue. The current mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, has been accused by charter school groups of putting up "roadblocks" to their expansion.
But what kind of candidates are likely to emerge?
The names in the frame so far include Dave Levin, co-founder of the Knowledge Is Power Program, which runs more than 180 schools.
Another name is Doug Lemov, who runs Uncommon Schools - and for anyone reading the tea leaves in such things, he tweeted about Arsenal's game after being mentioned by the Sunday Times as a possible candidate for this London-based job.
Eva Moskowitz of Success Academy is also mentioned, a deeply controversial figure in US education, whose school chain is currently firefighting a viral video of a teacher ripping up an infant pupil's homework in front of them.
A much stronger candidate, so far not mentioned, might be Geoffrey Canada, president of the Harlem Children's Zone.
Also suggested by other insiders has been Michelle Rhee, who runs an education reform group and is a former head of state schools in Washington DC.
But there are also informed opinions arguing that the idea of a US watchdog might be a smokescreen and there are a lot of practical complications that might make such a transatlantic transfer unlikely.
For instance, the salary might be a barrier. It has to be enough to tempt someone over - but if it's too much it's going to be a constant source of complaints.
It's categorised as one of those "sounds great on paper" ideas.
And a candidate closer to home might be the frontrunner, such as the national schools commissioner, Sir David Carter.
There are also some big differences between the US and England's school systems. First of all, there is no US school system - it's organised at state and city level, with all the variability in standards and resourcing that come with that.
In terms of international education rankings, the US is a pretty unimpressive performer. In the Pisa tests, run by the OECD, the United States is behind the UK on every measure.
This mediocre average conceals an even more depressingly polarised underlying picture.
Academics at Harvard and Stanford have looked at Pisa results for individual US states, comparing them to other countries. It found that some, such as Massachusetts, have standards that would match most other places in the world.
But there were other states, particularly in the south, which had some of the worst results in the developed world.
In individual cities there are also some calamitous problems.
In Detroit, according to the results of US tests, only 4% of 13- to 14-year-olds in the city's state schools are proficient or better at maths. This is a city where teachers have been banned from striking and are closing schools by calling in sick on the same day.
These kind of extremes do not really have a parallel in England.
Another big difference is that much of the talk around charter schools is about rescuing failing schools in places such as New York.
But in England's school system, London is the jewel in the crown, outperforming the more comfortably quilted shires.
The narrative of evangelical educators working in the bleakest urban, violent wastelands doesn't really translate.
An American in Ofsted would be more likely to have to take on the rusting arcades of a rainy seaside town, counting the bookies and pound shops rather than the gang victims.
National Association of Head Teachers' leader Russell Hobby was not enthused by the idea of a US import, saying that "seeking home-grown talent might be wiser".
"Quality of leadership is usually considered higher in the UK, so there's a good pool to draw from. Our unions are nothing like the US unions in terms of restrictive practices."
And Christine Blower, leader of the National Union of Teachers, said: "If the government is scouring the world for a new head of Ofsted they should look to Finland.
"It is universally agreed to have an excellent education system characterised by co-operation, collaboration and trust. A far cry from the charter school ethos of the US."
There is another major dimension to this story. As well as talking about who gets the job, perhaps the more important question is about how the job is going to be redefined.
Sir Michael Wilshaw is probably the most influential figure in England's education system, with his views and rulings often overshadowing education ministers.
Although he has faced much criticism from the teachers' unions, Sir Michael has been a powerful force in defending a comprehensive school system, rooted in public service and the public sector.
The teachers' unions have long complained about the Ofsted head, but they might come to regret his departure.
The more free-market advocates of academies have resented the regulatory, interventionist force of Ofsted - and they would not be unhappy to see its power being cut down to size.
Ofsted's willingness to take on academy chains has been intended to raise standards, but will also have raised hackles.
When Sir Michael steps down, it will be the chance for ministers to decide how sharp they want the teeth to be on their new watchdog.


Prince Harry has named Sydney as host of the 2018 Invictus Games for injured, wounded and sick armed forces veterans.

He confirmed the chosen city in a video message, which ended with the backing of pop star Kylie Minogue.
The games are a Paralympic-style multi-sport event ranging from archery and wheelchair rugby to road cycling and swimming.
The event began in London in 2014 and visited Orlando, Florida, in May ahead of Toronto next year.
"We have raised the bar higher with each successive games. I am happy to say the Invictus Games journey won't end there," said Harry.
He said the competition had "shown us what can be achieved when wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women rediscover their fighting spirit through sport".
Prince Harry has been heavily involved in the organisation of the event, after attending the Warrior Games, a similar gathering held in the US.
He himself served 10 years in the Armed Forces and saw action in Afghanistan twice.
The Invictus Games
The announcement video, filmed at the Tourism Australia offices in Australia House, London, shows Harry's mobile phone ringing to the sound of the Kylie Minogue hit I Should Be So Lucky.
The prince, surrounded by members of the Australian military, announces to cheers that the caller is Kylie.
He says: "Hi Kylie, good timing, the 2018 Invictus Games is coming to Sydney, can I guarantee the Aussies are going to bring it?"
In her own video message in reply, she says: "Hey Prince Harry, listen - we're stoked the Invictus Games is coming to Sydney, but you don't need to tell the Aussies to bring it - it's guaranteed, no worries."
The prince, who is patron of the Invictus Games Foundation which oversees the delivery of the tournament, said Sydney was chosen because it is an iconic location with a proud military heritage and a population that is "absolutely sports mad".
The 2018 competition is set to take place in New South Wales from 18-29 October.


India's foreign ministry says it is looking into an alleged attack on a Nigerian student by a local man in the southern city of Hyderabad.

Police said 26-year-old Bamilola Kazim was allegedly assaulted by Mohammed Gafoor after a row on Wednesday
Mr Kazim was treated for wounds at a local hospital and released.
Last week a student from the Democratic Republic of Congo was beaten to death by a group of Indian men after an argument in Delhi.
Two men have been arrested in connection with the killing of the Congolese man.
Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup  tweeted on Friday that Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj "had urgently sought report" on Wednesday's incident from the local government "and is monitoring the case".
Police said Mr Kazim allegedly parked his car in front of Mr Gafoor's house, and was attacked with an iron rod by the latter after an altercation.
"We have arrested the accused and the matter is now in court," Hyderabad police officer K Krishnaiah told BBC Hindi's Imran Qureshi.
Gideon Omodowale of the local Nigerian Students Association said it was a "racial issue".
"If he was a US citizen or an Indian, he wouldn't have been attacked. Later, some community people came and he [Mr Gafoor] apologised. We are ready to drop the case because we don't want it to affect other Africans," he told the BBC.
There are more than 4,000 students from African countries in Hyderabad.
Following last week's killing of an African student in Delhi, a group of African embassies had said they did not want to participate in Africa Day celebrations on Thursday because of repeated attacks on African students in India.
They relented after Ms Swaraj promised to ensure the safety of African students in India.
Mr Swarup said the Indian government had received news from its embassy in Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, that some "Indian establishments and shops were attacked on 23 and 25 May as a reaction perhaps to the killing of the Congolese national" in Delhi.
"It has been reported that by Wednesday, things have calmed down," Mr Swarup was quoted as saying by The Hindu newspaper.
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have not yet commented on the remarks.
In February, a Tanzanian student was assaulted and partially stripped by a mob in the southern city of Bangalore.


The authorities in the US city of Orlando have been giving more details of the gun attack on a gay club in which 49 people were killed.

Gunman Omar Mateen opened fire in the early hours of Sunday morning in the deadliest mass shooting in recent US history, which left 53 people injured.
Police chief John Mina said an off-duty officer working at the club had engaged Mateen in a gun battle.
Shortly after, more police officers arrived while the suspect was shooting.
Live updates
How attacks unfolded
Who was Omar Mateen?
Orlando shooting: Special report
They engaged Mateen in a gun battle, forcing him to retreat to the bathroom, Mr Mina said, where he held hostages.
At that time, "dozens and dozens" of people were able to be rescued from the Pulse nightclub, the police chief said.
Mateen was on the phone with police from the bathroom, Mr Mina said, and made a pledge of allegiance to so-called Islamic State while speaking to them.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer praised the "heroic acts" of the city's police department, law enforcement agencies and citizens.
So far, 26 victims have been named: 22 men and four women. They include:
Read more on the victims here
LGBT community under siege
Mateen, a US citizen of Afghan descent who was born in New York and lived in Florida, was not on a terrorism watch list.
However, the FBI interviewed him twice in 2013-14 after he made "inflammatory remarks" to a colleague, before closing its investigation.
Mateen had legally purchased several guns in the days before the attack.
Seddique Mateen, the father of the gunman, said he did not know that his son had a "grudge in his heart" and did not understand why his son had carried out the shooting.
A statement on the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency said an IS "fighter" was responsible and on Monday, the group's al-Bayan radio called Mateen "one of the Caliphate's soldiers in the US".
3.3 million
AR-15s in the US in 2012 (estimated)
45 rounds per minute
26 people killed by AR-15 in Sandy Hook in 2012
0 days' wait needed to obtain one in Florida
A security company that Mateen used to work for said he had been vetted twice.
The checks in 2007 and 2013 did not reveal anything of concern, G4S said, and Mateen had carried a gun as part of his job.
Read more on Omar Mateen
The FBI's admission that it investigated Mateen on a number of occasions will raise questions not just for law enforcement but for the wider US security community.
It has frequently been the case in a number of countries that individuals are assessed as not dangerous at one point and then turn out to be a threat later. In the UK, this led the Security Service to place more emphasis on going back and checking up on previous cases to ensure that the threat assessment made in the past had not changed.
Keeping detailed files and watch on people can be resource-intensive, however, and has raised concerns over civil liberties in the past.
As the concern over home-grown terrorism in the US grows, there may be pressure to do more and there may also be further questions as to whether a previous investigation for possible terrorism should place people not just on No-Fly lists, but also restrict their ability to purchase weapons.
Sitora Yusufiy lived with Mateen for four months in 2009. She said her family had "rescued" her from the relationship when they became aware he was being physically abusive.
He beat her up regularly during their short-lived marriage for trivial things like not doing laundry, she said.
"When he would get in his tempers, he would express hate toward everything. He was mentally unstable and mentally ill: that's the only explanation that I could give."
The death toll means that the Orlando attack surpasses the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech, which left 32 people dead.
According to the crowd-sourced Mass Shooting Tracker, the US suffered 372 mass shootings last year, defined as a single incident that kills or injures four or more people. Some 475 people were killed and 1,870 wounded.
The latest incident came as Orlando was still reeling from the fatal shooting on Friday night of 22-year-old singer Christina Grimmie following a concert in the city.


A woman from Northern Ireland who has taken abortion pills bought online has said she has done nothing to be ashamed of.

On Monday, another woman, a 21-year-old, was given a three month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, after she bought drugs online to induce a miscarriage.
The second woman described the fallout from that court case as a witch hunt.
Speaking to the BBC, the woman insisted she is "not a criminal".
"I have no regrets  I have done nothing wrong," she said.
"I am not afraid for me. I am afraid for this young mother who's been taken through the courts -  that's criminal. This is something like what was going on in the 1880s, like in the dark ages."
The woman said she decided to speak out after hearing some of the criticism of the 21-year-old who was sentenced.
"How that mother has been treated - it's just been a witch hunt," she said.
The 1967 Abortion Act does not apply to Northern Ireland.
Abortion is only permitted in Northern Ireland if a woman's life is at risk or there is a permanent or serious risk to her mental or physical health.
The woman booked into a hotel to have her miscarriage.
"My home circumstances didn't allow me to be at home," she said.
"I didn't want to be a burden. I initially felt relief that I had taken the tablets.
"But I am dyslexic and I didn't read the instructions properly.
"I felt incredible pain. I was passing huge clots of blood. I was haemorrhaging all day - I felt so sick.
"I didn't arrange any kind of pain relief for myself. All I had was paracetamol. I was nearly ready to call an ambulance a few times, but because of the fear about was going to happen to me - you think they are going to come for me.
"The witch hunt, you know."
She said she feels women in Northern Ireland are "at the mercy of the law".
"This is illegal, but I just can't see how people can see this as being criminal.
"I ended up booking into the hotel for another day because I was so sick."
The woman was eventually admitted to hospital bleeding heavily.
"I had to go to the hospital because I was still passing blood.
"I just told them I had a miscarriage, because there is no way they can tell if you have taken abortion pills.
"They scanned me and I still had the foetal sac inside me. They give me more pills - the same as what I had taken and they sent me away so they could work.
"I still didn't pass it. I had to go back to the hospital and, anyway, it was removed. They placed it in a hazard bin.
"I had no counselling. Instead, I got a bit of a lecture from a male gynaecologist about contraception. No counselling."
The woman at the centre of the original case has said, through her solicitor, that she does not want to speak publicly.
Abortion law in Northern Ireland
• The laws covering abortion in Northern Ireland are the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, and the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 1945. In the vast majority of circumstances, is a criminal offence in Northern Ireland to have or perform an abortion.
• The only exceptions are to save a woman's life, or if there is a risk of permanent and serious damage to her mental or physical health.
•  Many women who do not fit in these categories travel from Northern Ireland each year to have an abortion in other parts of the UK.
• In England, Wales and Scotland access to abortion is covered by the 1967 Abortion Act. That permits terminations up to 24 weeks of pregnancy in certain circumstances.
• It is also allowed over 24 weeks if there is a grave risk to the life of the woman, evidence of severe foetal abnormality; or risk of grave physical and mental injury to the woman.
On Tuesday, an abortion group called for this week's case to be brought to the court of appeal.
Bernadette Smyth from Precious Life said she was "very concerned about the judgement" and was "very hopeful that this case will be reviewed".
However, a human rights organisation said it was appalled by the woman's conviction.
Amnesty International's Northern Ireland director, Patrick Corrigan, said: "A woman who needs an abortion is not a criminal - the law should not treat her as such." ,


A murderer and rapist has been given a total of 23 life terms, following new sentences for a sex attack on a woman in her home.

Kenneth Shirley, 42, tied the woman to her bed, gagged her and attacked her with a knife and other objects.
The woman was left so traumatised by the attack in December 2005 that she did not tell police until last year.
Sentencing Shirley to 16 new life sentences, the judge said he would probably never be released from jail.
Mr Justice Astill said: "You must appreciate that the nature of these offences, and the murder and rape convictions that went before them, may well result - and probably should result - in you remaining in custody for the remainder of your life."
Shirley, known by his middle name Mark, is already serving six life sentences imposed for the near-identical sex attack on Helen Stockford in Bristol in 2009.
He had been released on licence from prison in 2003 after serving 16 years of a life sentence for the ritualistic murder of Mary Wainwright, 67, in Cardiff in 1987.
The authorities recalled him in June 2004 but he was released again the following October.
Shirley was recalled to prison in January 2007 for again breaching the terms of his parole.
In September 2008 he was released on licence for a third time.
Jurors at Bristol Crown Court took six hours to find Shirley unanimously guilty of four charges of rape, 12 of sexual assault and a single allegation of wounding. The crimes took place between December 7 and 12, 2005.
The judge told him he would serve a minimum term of 16 years - but would probably never be released.
During Shirley trial at Bristol Crown Court, jurors were told of "peculiar hallmarks" of his behaviour, which linked the murder and the 2009 rape to the offences for which he has now been convicted.
Prosecutors say it was "beyond the realms of coincidence that a different man could have committed such similar offences in such a distinctive way".
William Mousley QC told the court that the woman was the victim of a "brutal and prolonged sexual attack" at the hands of Shirley.
He said the attack was "devastating" for the woman and she has been forced to give up her career and been admitted to a psychiatric unit.
Three weeks before the attack, the woman and her housemate had been out drinking in the Waterfront area of Bristol when they met a man called Mark.
The victim described in detail to Mark where she lived but the conversation turned sour later and she swore at him before leaving.
Three weeks later, a white van pulled up outside her house and a man in a balaclava came into the house through an unlocked door.
He pinned her down and when he took off his balaclava he said: "You recognise me now then... you're going to suffer now."
The woman first confided in a psychologist and finally gave a written statement to police in May 2011. She later picked Shirley out at an identity parade.
Shirley offered no evidence in defence.
Helen Stockford, from Southmead, Bristol, gave up her anonymity when Shirley was jailed for life for attacking her in her home in 2009.
Since then she has battled to ensure that Shirley is never released from prison.
"The main reason at the time for my campaign was because of the fear of him coming out through parole again and killing me," she said.
Following his latest sentencing, Mrs Stockford said she had finally got justice.
"Mistakes have been made all along the way with the handling of Shirley," she said.
"I believe the justice system in this country needs a complete overhaul, particularly with respect to victims of rape and that's what I've been campaigning for, for three long years.
"My last word goes to the current victim, as I want her to know I understand why she didn't come forward as, like me, he said he would come back and kill her.
"I want her to know that, like Mary [Wainwright], she's close to my heart."
The Avon and Somerset Probation Trust said a full investigation had been carried out into the management of the most recent case.
It said: "The Probation Trust extends its sympathy and admiration for the victim in this case who has shown great courage in coming forward and ensuring that justice has been achieved.
"Avon and Somerset Probation Trust managed this case correctly but unfortunately it is never possible to fully eliminate risk where an offender is intent on causing harm.
"The person solely responsible for these horrendous crimes is Kenneth Mark Shirley."


Wales manager Chris Coleman believes simply reaching Euro 2016 will not be enough for Welsh football.

Coleman will lead Wales at their first major tournament for 58 years in just over 50 days time when the country's European Championship campaign kicks off against Slovakia in Bordeaux.
"Qualification must not be a one-off," said Coleman.  "If it is, then we haven't done our job properly.
"Psychologically we've broken that barrier by qualifying."
Coleman, who is yet to agree a new deal to remain as national team coach beyond the summer, wants the next generation of Welsh player to be inspired by events in France.
"Everyone has dreamt about going to a tournament, but now we're in a place of power we've got to capitalise on it," he explained.
"The next generation is obviously going to come from grass roots, so the key is how do you cut through the levels and produce better coaches and better players."
Wales have not graced a major finals since John Charles and company qualified for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
That long wait will end in France this summer with England, Slovakia and Russia their group opponents, but Coleman insists Euro 2016 must represent the start for Wales and not the end of the process.
"In one way it's a dangerous place where we are," said Coleman.
"Sitting back and saying 'great, we've qualified' is us failing really. What we've got to say is 'Where are we going to take it?'
"We've got a great opportunity to push this forward and really take it on, and rather than us qualifying once every 50 years we should be doing it a lot more.
"What we've got to do from here is achieve back-to-back qualifications, two out of three, three out of five.
"We've got to be up there consistently punching and producing good young players to fit into the system.
"Not doing it for so long has left a mark, but we've got over that now and the challenge in future will be to qualify again."
Coleman also reserved special praise for Gareth Bale, saying his talisman is a role model for children.
"Everybody looks to Gareth Bale and rightly so because he is a great player," he said.
"But it's not just what he does on the pitch, it's how he is as a sportsman.
"He's a role model but we've also tried to create a culture with this Welsh team, a pressure to represent your country properly.
"We challenge them because we know these young children are watching us.
"Gareth Bale is at Real Madrid, but he's a great example of that culture."


Pupils at a school in Lancashire have sent a toy dog 15 miles into the atmosphere as part of a science project.

7 April 2016 Last updated at 11:39 BST
Kids at Morecambe Bay Community Primary school attached Sam to a helium balloon, a GPS tracker and a camera and released him into the sky.
He managed to reach the edge of space, with a maximum height of 15.5 miles above ground, before coming back to Earth.
The school has found the GPS tracker and the balloon - but Sam is nowhere to be found.
He was last seen flying above North Yorkshire, and the school is asking people to look out for him.


The first event of the Olympics has taken place, ending in a win for Team GB in the women's football in Cardiff.

The home team kicked off 18 days of sport with a 1-0 victory over New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium.
But events did not go so smoothly at Glasgow's Hampden Park, where the North Korean team walked off in protest after the South Korean flag was displayed beside players' names on a screen.
Kick-off was delayed by an hour. London 2012 organisers have apologised.
Earlier, an RAF Typhoon was scrambled at about 11:30 BST after a commercial airliner lost contact with air traffic control over airspace in the north of the UK, the Ministry of Defence said.
The fighter was stood down after contact was restored.
The MoD said it was not related to Olympic security and stressed the response was a standard procedure, although the plane flew out of Northolt where some Typhoons are based for the duration of the Games.
Meanwhile, thousands of Games spectators are arriving in London, with Heathrow expected to have had its busiest day ever.
And a public sector strike by border staff, due to take place on the eve of Friday's opening ceremony, has been called off by union officials.
The first event of the Games saw long queues outside the Millennium Stadium, even after kick-off at 16:00 BST, as several hundred spectators had their bags checked.
Stadium manager Gerry Toms apologised but said only spectators who had taken large bags had been delayed. He said every ticket-holder had been in the stadium by 16:04.
Full schedule and results
"The difficulty was that people didn't listen to the advice they were given on their tickets which said do not bring bags," he said.
"There were people bringing rucksacks, people bringing shopping from the city centre and that slowed the process down."
He agreed there had been "teething problems" and urged people to follow advice on what to bring.
Parts of the stadium were empty but Games organisers said the number of tickets available for the event had been reduced from nearly 75,000 to 40,000 last week.
Organisers said attendance across the two games at the stadium totalled 30,847. A spokesman described the attendance as "unprecedented" for women's football in the UK in recent years.
Four other matches in the same competition also took place at Hampden Park and the City of Coventry Stadium.
In other Olympics news:
On Wednesday morning a public sector strike by border staff, due to take place on the eve of the opening ceremony, was called off by union officials.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka announced the suspension after "major progress" in the dispute.
The union had been planning the action in protest at job losses. Immigration and passport workers at Heathrow and other airports had been among those due to take action on Thursday.
Mr Serwotka said 800 new jobs were to be created in the Border Agency and 300 in passport offices.
Recruitment adverts had already been placed for the jobs at sites including Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton airports, the union added.
BBC News has also seen two internal Civil Service documents, each advertising 400 jobs in the Border Force.
But a Home Office spokesman said: "We have made no concessions to the PCS and are not creating any new jobs in response to their threat of strike action."
The spokesman said a recruitment drive for additional staff, which began in May, was part of existing plans to restructure the Border Force.
"Unfortunately, due to an administrative error, a figure of 400 posts was repeated in both adverts by mistake. This will now be corrected," he said.
The BBC's home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said he understood the 800 figure had not been "signed off" by ministers before the adverts were published and the number of vacancies to be filled would be considerably lower.
Mr Serwotka later responded by saying the Home Office's claim it mistakenly advertised 800 border jobs was "shambolic or a deliberate lie".
He called for the advertised jobs to be honoured.
Meanwhile, the
          Olympic Route Network
 (ORN), made up of 175 miles of roads connecting up the main Olympic venues across the country, has come into force.
By Samantha DaltonBBC News
A pathway of Olympic pictograms leads you through the landmarks of the South Bank of the River Thames, as tourists mingle with locals, and Olympic fever grips London.
Families pose for pictures next to statues of the Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville.
Each figure reflects the landmark next to which it is positioned. The most striking is Pirate Wenlock next to the Cutty Sark, or the stained-glasses themed Southwark Wenlock, next to the cathedral.
Street performers ply their trade next to sporting graphics, hoping their tried and tested acts are greeted with new enthusiasm by this fresh audience.
Hospitality centres for competing countries have sprung up around the city.
Switzerland has taken over Glaziers Hall to showcase Swiss culture, offering free chocolate to passers-by.
It is designed to make it easier for athletes and officials to get around the Games and has seen junctions blocked off, bus stops moved and parking bays suspended.
As part of the ORN, designated Games Lanes in London are in operation between 06:00 BST and midnight and only open to VIPs, athletes and accredited media.
Ordinary motorists going into the lanes face fines of Â£130.
But the Games Lanes are intended to be flexible to traffic needs, resulting in confusion among motorists on the A40 in west London on Wednesday morning as electronic signs suggested they could use the lane, alongside fixed signs warning that the lane restriction was being enforced.
Leon Daniels, Transport for London's managing director of surface transport, said people accidentally straying into the lanes would not automatically incur a fine.
He said: "We don't want enforcement, we want compliance. Nobody will be harshly dealt with if the Games lane becomes activated after they pass it."


A Dundee bank manager has been found guilty of embezzling £90,000 from his own branch.

Gordon Irvine, of Broxburn, lifted cash from the back of the ATM at the Lochee branch of Santander before depositing it into his own account.
The 33-year-old spent the money on a car and foreign holidays, and gave £250 to a customer before sleeping with her.
He was found guilty after a trial at Dundee Sheriff Court and will be sentenced next month.
Irvine's lawyer described the crime as "the craziest embezzlement you will ever come across", while prosecutors said he was "living a Walter Mitty lifestyle".
The father-of-two paid for trips to New York, Lanzarote and Rio de Janiero in cash - although he could not go on the trip to Brazil because he could not get the time off work.
He paid £6,900 for a car, fitted his flat with a pool table and three 50-inch televisions, and investigators found £41,000 in his bank account when he was caught.
When one female customer complained about a £25 charge on her account, he credited her £250 before asking to come round to her home that night and sleeping with her.
Irvine's accounts were frozen when he was suspended in June 2013. He resigned the following month.
He denied a charge of embezzling £89,340 from the Lochee High Street bank between November 2010 and June 2011, but the jury returned a majority verdict of guilty.
Sheriff Alistair Carmichael remanded Irvine in custody until his sentencing hearing next month.
He said: "You have been found guilty by the jury of a serious charge of embezzling from a bank where you were in a position of trust.
"Given the nature of what you have been convicted of, I'm not sure I can trust you to turn up and as a result you will be remanded in custody meantime."


Japan's Kei Nishikori is out for the rest of the season after tearing a tendon in his right wrist.

The world number nine joins 12-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka in missing the US Open, which starts on 28 August.
Nishikori, 27, is also one of seven top-10 players to pull out of this week's Cincinnati Masters.
"Kei hit a serve during practice and heard a 'pop' in his wrist," said a statement from his manager.
"At this stage, we have elected not to do surgery and Kei is in a cast. After the swelling comes down in the next weeks, we will evaluate next steps."
Djokovic, Wawrinka, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic are the other top players missing in Cincinnati.
Spain's Rafael Nadal, who is seeded first, will be the new world number one from Monday after Federer's withdrawal.