Two men have appeared in court accused of the murder of off-duty police officer Neil Doyle.

PC Doyle, 36, was allegedly attacked on a Christmas night out near the Aloha Club in Liverpool early on Friday.
Andrew Taylor, 28, of Cherry Tree Road, Huyton and Christopher Spendlove, 30, of Brandearth Hey, Stockbridge Village appeared at Liverpool Crown Court.
They were remanded in custody until 6 January when they will appear via videolink at the same court.
The pair also face a charge of grievous bodily harm with intent against two other police officers, Michael Steventon and Robert Marsh, who were were allegedly assaulted in the same incident on Colquitt Street.
The officers were treated in hospital for facial injuries.
No applications for bail were made as the Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Clement Goldstone QC, adjourned the proceedings and said a trial date would be set at the next preliminary hearing.
It is understood both defendants, believed to be close friends, played football together while studying at Oklahoma City University in the United States.
They were team-mates at US soccer league outfit Austin Aztex who were managed at the time by former Everton player Adrian Heath.
Mr Taylor returned to the UK to sign for non-league team Forest Green Rovers in 2009 before later moves to Burscough FC and Vauxhall Motors.
Mr Spendlove stayed in the US and went on to play for Portland Phoenix, Wilmington Hammerheads and Oklahoma City Energy, where he was appointed assistant coach in January.
The general manager of Oklahoma Energy, Jason Hawkins, said in a statement: "Given the seriousness of the charges, we have made the decision to dismiss Chris from the organization.
"That said, we are deeply saddened by the news of the incident and our hearts go out to the family of the police officer who lost his life."
PC Doyle died of bleeding around the brain, a post-mortem examination revealed.
He married in July and was due to go on honeymoon next month.


A sculpture of the late jazz musician Sir John Dankworth has been unveiled at the Buckinghamshire venue he founded.

The bronze figure by Scottish sculptor David Annand stands at the entrance to The Stables Theatre in Wavendon, Milton Keynes.
It was commissioned by trustees of the Wavendon Allmusic Plan (WAP), which he set up with his wife Cleo Laine to oversee the theatre's work.
She said it was a "fitting" honour.
Born in 1927, Sir John's career as a performer, composer and conductor spanned more than 50 years and earned him a CBE as well as a knighthood. He died in 2010.
He was 1949 Musician of the Year in Britain and worked as a leader of both small and big bands.
His hit records included Experiments with Mice in 1956 and African Waltz 1960, while his movie scores included those for Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Modesty Blaise.
Sir John also served as musical director for artists including Nat "King" Cole and Ella Fitzgerald.
Together with Dame Cleo, he turned outbuildings at their home into a venue for concerts and educational music activities and founded a charity to run it in 1969.
The current Stables Theatre opened its doors in 2000.
WAP chairman Stephen Clarke said: "He established the trust 45 years ago with the vision of making all music genres accessible to all people.
"That vision lives on and the current trustees hope that David Annand's wonderful sculpture will serve as a fitting tribute to their legacy, as well as bringing much pleasure to all our visitors."
Dame Cleo said: "It's fitting that John's contribution to music and music education has been honoured by the charity we established 45 years ago."


Last month we met Evie, a 25-year old trans girl who contacted us because she wanted to share her story.

Media playback is not supported on this device
In the last couple of years, Evie has gone through a long process in order to become female which included prescribed hormones and surgery.
Now, she is transgender and she is proud of it!
However, it wasn't always easy. In her first of a series of  video diaries, Evie opens up about what life was like when she first transitioned and how opening up and telling her story has helped her to become bodypositive.
If you want to share your story, email us bodypositive@bbc.co.uk.


Vieux Lion Rouge boosted his Aintree credentials with victory over Blaklion in the Grand National Trial Handicap Chase at Haydock.

The pair could hardly be separated going into the final two fences but jockey Tom Scudamore guided Vieux Lion Rouge home.
The eight-year-old was seventh in last year's Grand National.
Cue Card continued on his way towards the Gold Cup at Ascot with his ninth Grade One triumph in the Ascot Chase.
BBC racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght
Vieux Lion Rouge is the new favourite for the Grand National after success over fellow big-race hopeful Blaklion.
The win means that Tom Scudamore is now due to ride the favourite for both the Aintree feature and for jump racing's number one prize, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, in which he rides Thistlecrack on 17 March.
Blaklion also advertised his National credentials as - for the first time in 20-odd years - ground conditions were decent (good to soft) for this fixture, so it was not the usual gut-wrenching slog.
The best two horses, both of whom have attractive weights in the 10 stones at Aintree, excelled, showing off their jumping ability and stamina in style. They will be big players on 8 April.


A Cardiff man who faces deportation to Afghanistan "could be removed at any time", his solicitor has said.

Bashir Naderi, 20, has lived in Wales for 10 years, after his mother paid traffickers to bring him to the UK.
But he learned on Wednesday that the Home Office had not granted him leave.
His solicitor Vinita Templeton said "steps are being taken to challenge the decision."
Speaking on BBC Radio Wales, Ms Templeton said the evidence they put forward to the Home Office to keep Mr Naderi in Wales was "very extensive and compelling."
She said he should not be sent back to Afghanistan as he had become "very westernised and was no longer fluent in his native language."
His deportation was temporarily halted by a judge hours before he was due to board the plane in October and a 14,000-signature petition was handed into the Home Office in January.
Ms Templeton said they will be allowing the Home Office 14 days to reconsider its decision.
"If we don't get a decision or a review of a decision that we consider acceptable, then we would take steps to challenge further by judicial review," she said.
She added that Mr Naderi had not "taken it very well", but that he has a "very strong support network."
"The family has faith that we will do what we can to prevent him from being removed."


Latin graffiti daubed across luxury homes in Cambridge will cost at least £4,000 to clean, the developer said.

Four new five-bedroom river-front houses were painted with the words Locus in Domos Loci Populum on Tuesday.
It is thought the vandals intended the phrase, splashed on the £1.25m homes to mean "local homes for local people".
Cleaning will take two days and the £4,000 bill could rise "substantially" if it does not come off straight away, developer HC Moss (Builders) Ltd said.
The graffiti, believed to be white gloss paint, appeared overnight on the brand new properties overlooking the River Cam in Water Street, Chesterton.
More on this and other news from Cambridgeshire
People living nearby have said the classically-inspired messages, which appear to be a protest against the development, could "only happen" in the university city.
Social media was awash with arguments about the meaning of the phrase and jokes about elitist vandals.
Even Cambridge University's Professor of Classics, Mary Beard, admitted the graffiti was "a bit hard to translate... but I think what they're trying to say is that a lovely place has been turned into houses", she concluded.
In Google Translate, the phrase locus in domos means "room in the house", and loci populum means "local people". It was suggested the vandals may have typed in the phrase "local homes for local people" to come up with their graffiti tags.
"This is the most Cambridge thing ever" and "it's a different class of graffiti in Cambridge", were just some of the additional comments on social media.
However, Paul Ursell, who is tasked with cleaning it and footing the bill, said it was "vandalism - they've damaged our property".
The managing director of the development company said he has had to bring in a specialist contactor who is expected to take two days to repair the damage, at a cost of £4,000.
Mr Ursell said the bill could rise if it takes longer or the task is not straightforward.
Three of the £1.25m houses which were targeted had already been sold, he said.
Cambridgeshire Police are continuing to investigate the graffiti, but no-one has been arrested yet.


David Cameron says he wants to offer more patients the chance to visit a GP in the evening or at weekends.

Under a scheme to be piloted in nine areas of England, surgeries will be able to bid for funding to open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week.
The prime minister said the £50m project would mean doctors "fit in with work and family life".
Mr Cameron has also denied his plan for a budget surplus in the next Parliament will lead to further spending cuts.
The prime minister said the 2008 banking crisis had brought the UK economy "to the brink" and it would be irresponsible not to put money aside for a "rainy day" when the economy improved.
In other developments on the penultimate day of the Conservative Party's annual conference in Manchester:
Manchester is already piloting an extended-hours scheme for GPs, with family doctors grouping together to offer extra care, in what is being billed as an attempt to prevent "unnecessary" visits to hospital A&E wards.
The wider scheme will see practices applying for a share of a £50m "Challenge Fund", with surgeries becoming "pioneers" in each of nine regions, starting in 2014/15.
By Nick TriggleHealth correspondent
Extended opening hours for GPs. Sounds familiar? It should.
The Labour government encouraged practices to open later in the evening and on weekends - offering them extra money if they did so.
Most GPs gave it a go. But the problem was that in many places there was just not the demand and so the funding was reduced and hours cut.
There are still plenty of surgeries that offer out-of-hours appointments, particularly in large urban areas.
But the truth is that the people who are most likely to make use of the service - those of working age - are the least likely to need a GP.
Whereas, the elderly and children who are the most frequent users tend not to have a problem attending appointments during regular hours.
Mr Cameron is also promising more "flexible access", including email, Skype and telephone consultations for patients who prefer this to face-to-face contact.
He told the BBC: "Many hard working people find it difficult to take time off to get that GP appointment, so having these pilot schemes... is, I think, a very positive step forward.
"It also links to the problems we have seen in our accident and emergency departments because the number of people going to A&E departments is up by four million since the changes to the GP contract that Labour put in in 2004.
"What we need to do is enable the right people with the right ailments, as it were, to either go to a GP or to accident and emergency."
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "We live in a 24/7 society, and we need GPs to find new ways of working so they can offer appointments at times that suit hard-working people."
The Royal College of GPs said doctors were keen to do more, but were already struggling with their workload.
"We now need the government to go much further and give general practice its fair share of the NHS budget so that GPs can deliver more care and better access to services for their patients in the community," it said.
But Labour said an extended opening scheme introduced by the last government had been scrapped.
"Under the Tories, hundreds of GP surgeries are shutting their doors earlier," said its health spokesman Andy Burnham.
"Patients are also finding it harder to get appointments, and turning to A&E instead, after he removed Labour's guarantee of an appointment within 48 hours."
In his speech to conference, Mr Hunt also pledged to legislate to give the Care Quality Commission statutory independence from government.
This would end "political meddling" and ensure the interests of patients were always put first, he said.
The Conservatives say they would continue the coalition's policy of fiscal restraint throughout the next parliament - if they form the next government - with the aim of achieving a budget surplus.
Mr Cameron said this would require tough decisions for the next six or seven years but did not "necessarily mean" there would have to be more cuts on top of those announced up to 2016.
"What it definitely means once those years are over you cannot sort of plan another spending splurge. We are going to have to be responsible in our country for very many, many years into the future."
The government was right to focus on containing spending, he added.
"I don't think you tax your way to a strong recovery and we need to recognise that hard working people need more money in their pockets to spend as they choose."
The prime minister also insisted that the government would find the money to freeze fuel duty until 2015, describing help for motorists as a "real priority".


A company headed by Bear Grylls faces opposition over its plan to build 25 beach huts in a Gwynedd beauty spot.

The adventurer is the co-director of a consortium behind the proposal for Llanbedrog headland, alongside "tourism-related schemes".
But people in the area said the scheme would "ruin an idyllic beach".
The planning agent for Grylls' business partner, who has submitted the plan to Gwynedd council, had "no comment" to make.
However, Grylls tweeted on Friday: "We would never do anything negative there. We bought it to protect the land. Owners simply want to discuss local beach options."
The headland - a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - overlooks St Tudwal's island, which Mr Grylls bought for Â£95,000 in 2001.
The applicant on the plan is James Nichols, who along with Mr Grylls and two others are directors of the Cheshire-registered Llanbedrog Headland Company.
It has proposed building six metre (20ft)-long huts at Quarry beach, which is on one side of the headland. The National Trust owns the beach on the other side.
"We welcome tourism projects. But not on this beach," said councillor John Jones of Llanbedrog community council.
"There are already beach huts in Llanbedrog and Abersoch. We want this area to remain beautiful and untouched."
The plan adds that the proposal is at a "very early stage of formulation" and they "wish to meet with the council to understand its aspirations for the area".
In October 2015, Mr Grylls was given planning permission to construct a 39m (129ft) slipway on St Tudwal's, despite fears it would visually impact on the area.
Prior to that, he had to remove a slide that ran into the sea in 2013 after facing a planning investigation.
A Gwynedd council spokesman confirmed it had received "an application for pre-application advice regarding beach huts in the Mynydd Tir y Cwmwd, Llanbedrog area".
He added: "Planning officers will usually respond by referring to the relevant designations, relevant local and national planning policies and provide advice regarding the information that would be required if a decision was taken to submit a full planning application."
The company's planning agents, Manchester-based Peter Brett Associates, would not comment.


Thai police have forced two suspects to re-enact their alleged role in bombing the Erawan Shrine in the capital Bangkok.

Such re-enactments are standard police procedure in Thailand.
Earlier police said one of the men, named as Adem Karadag, was suspected of planting the bomb in the attack on 17 August, contradicting what they had previously said.
The motive for the bombing, which killed 20 people, remains unclear.
Fourteen foreigners were among those killed.
The other suspect who appeared in the re-enactment was identified as Yusufu Mieraili. Authorities now say they have enough evidence to prosecute the two men and say that Mr Karadag has confessed.
This contradicts earlier statements from police that neither of two men were the main suspects for the attack.
Mr Karadag, who has also been named as Bilal Mohammed, was arrested in late August in a raid on a flat on the eastern outskirts of Bangkok. His lawyer says he was not in Thailand at the time of the attack.
Police have released warrants for a total of 17 people over charges stemming from the attack.
The suspects are believed to carrying Chinese, Thai, Turkish and Pakistani passports, though their exact origins are unclear as some are thought to be using fake documents.
Many of the suspects named by Thai police have Muslim-sounding names, prompting speculation that they may be linked to jihadist networks or to Uighur separatist militants from China.
However, the police have not suggested that the attack was politically motivated.
The Erawan shrine - with its four-faced golden statue of the Hindu god Brahma - is considered sacred by Thai Buddhists, and attracts many foreign visitors.


Derby County manager Nigel Pearson has been suspended by the club and will not be in charge of the team for Tuesday's Championship match at Cardiff City.

BBC Radio Derby reports the decision was taken pending a club investigation into Pearson's behaviour and he is not expected to return as boss.
The Rams have not won in six league matches and are third from bottom, having scored just three goals.
Assistant manager Chris Powell will take control of the side in Wales.
A statement on Derby's website read: "Nigel Pearson will not be carrying out his duties at Tuesday's game at the request of the club.
"The club will make no further comment at this time."
Former Leicester City manager Pearson only took over in the summer - an appointment chairman Mel Morris described as "perfect" - but Derby have won just once from nine Championship matches so far this season.
Pearson openly criticised the players following Saturday's 2-1 home defeat by fellow strugglers Blackburn Rovers, saying his side were "paralysed with fear".
Morris told the players of the decision at 16:30 BST, just over three hours before the scheduled kick-off at the Cardiff City Stadium.
BBC Radio Derby's Owen Bradley
"It is my understanding that Pearson has been suspended pending a club investigation into his behaviour.
"What exactly that behaviour is we are not sure - but I would be amazed if he manages Derby County again.
"I was with Derby's owner and chairman Morris on Friday when he told me here emphatically that Pearson was the man for the job and he told me repeatedly that he would be given time to change things at Derby.
"He made it clear Pearson was his man.
"The situation has changed very quickly indeed over the weekend. It appears something drastic has happened over the past 48 hours or so.
"That included that pretty horrendous defeat at home to Blackburn on Saturday, when Derby took the lead but then wilted and threw it away in the second half."


McLaren's Fernando Alonso will start Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix from the back of the grid because he is to test an updated Honda engine.

The two-time champion will get a 30-place grid penalty for using more than the permitted number of engine parts.
Reliability problems mean Alonso needed the engine to complete the season, but it also has upgraded parts.
The new power unit has a lighter engine block for better reliability and a redesigned exhaust to boost efficiency.
Alonso, 35, will run the new engine in first practice on Friday before Honda decides whether to keep it in the car for the second session.
"We had a plan at the middle of the season which races were the best ones to pay the penalties," said Alonso.
"This one was one of the best because the conditions change here and the rain may come, and also Suzuka is the next one and we want to do a good job there because it is the home grand prix.
"So it was one of the best races to go for the rest of the season with a little more confidence. And the last time I started last in Spa I was fifth or fourth after five laps, so maybe in this weekend I am lucky as well."
At this stage, Honda is planning to run the engine only on Friday, with Alonso switching back to the same specification as team-mate Jenson Button for the rest of the weekend. But it is not impossible the Spaniard will run the new engine for qualifying and the race as well.
The new parts mean Alonso will be using his eighth internal combustion engine, turbocharger, and MGU-H - the part of the hybrid system that recovers energy from the turbo - and his seventh control electronics, and energy store (battery).
The only part of his engine carried over from previous races is the MGU-K, which recovers energy from the rear axle.
If everything goes to plan, Alonso will use the new engine for the entire Japanese Grand Prix meeting next weekend.
At this stage, Honda is not planning for Button to use it in Suzuka because it does not want any grid penalties at its home race.
Drivers are permitted to use only five of the six constituent parts of the engine without incurring a penalty.


Juventus celebrated a fifth straight league title in Italy and Bayern Munich edged closer to their fourth in a row in Germany.

Spain's leading three sides all won to keep the thrilling race for La Liga going while the top two in the Netherlands are separated by goal difference heading into the final week.
And Zlatan Ibrahimovic starred again as Paris St-Germain maintained their stunning Ligue 1 form.
But what else happened around Europe? BBC Sport rounds up the stories you might have missed.
If Bayern Munich's domination of the Bundesliga and Juventus's run of titles in Italy are impressive, then FC Basel have taken superiority a stage further.
Basel clinched their seventh successive Swiss title on Saturday with five games to spare by beating FC Sion 2-1.
Unbeaten in the league since November, Basel took an unassailable 16-point lead over Young Boys, whose 2-1 win at Grasshoppers was in vain.
Basel have had five different coaches since their seven-title run began and this triumph is the first for Urs Fischer, who replaced Paulo Sousa at the end of last season.
However, Grasshoppers remain Switzerland's most successful club domestically with 27 league titles, followed by Basel on 19.
While Liverpool were warming up for their Europa League semi-final, second leg by losing 3-1 at Swansea with a much-changed team, their opponents were busy boosting their chances of Champions League football next season.
Villarreal will visit Anfield on Thursday looking to cash in on their 1-0 victory in the first leg in Spain by booking a place in the final at the Reds' expense.
But, while the semi-final winners will be just one win away from clinching a Champions League spot through the Europa League, Villarreal made themselves clear favourites to do so anyway by claiming fourth place in La Liga.
They beat local rivals Valencia 2-0 thanks to goals from Samu and Adrian and now lead fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao by six points with two games to play.
Borussia Dortmund captain Mats Hummels is used to adulation from the club's supporters, but requesting a move to Bayern Munich is an act that some fans simply cannot forgive.
So the Germany international centre-back was jeered and whistled by fans during Dortmund's 5-1 win against Wolfsburg after his club announced he wanted to leave for Bayern.
Hummels appeared unaffected by the reaction from a minority of fans and he was praised for his performance and applauded by other members of the crowd at the Westfalenstadion.
"They were not the real fans," said the 27-year-old.
"They were just a group of about 300 who never really loved me in the first place, and they just used this as a stage to vent their anger. I could see who it was coming from."
Bayer Leverkusen have secured another season of Champions League football with a 2-1 win against Hertha Berlin.
And Julian Brandt, their teenage star, continued to push his claims for a late call-up to Germany's squad for Euro 2016.
The 19-year-old opened the scoring against Hertha and has now found the net in six successive Bundesliga matches, just one behind the club record of seven set by team mate Stefan Kiessling in 2013.
He is the first teenager since the legendary Gerd Muller to score in six Bundesliga games in a row. Without his goals and assists, Leverkusen would be 12 points worse off.
The club have won seven straight games to secure third place.
He has hardly set the world alight in his one season in charge of Sampdoria, but his struggles in Serie A have not stopped former Italy striker Vincenzo Montella from throwing his hat into the ring to manage the national team.
Despite his side still being threatened with relegation, the 41-year-old has been touted as a possible replacement for Antonio Conte when the current Italy coach leaves to join Chelsea after Euro 2016.
And after seeing his side lose 2-0 at Palermo on Sunday, Montella did nothing to dampen the speculation, although club president Massimo Ferrero later insisted his manager would stay.
"The national team is the highest possible achievement for a coach and I've already said that if I got an offer I would consider it," said Montella.
Bologna boss Roberto Donadoni - who coached the national side from 2006 to 2008 - has been linked with a second stint in the role but the former Italy midfield said: "My contract is with Bologna and I intend to stay here."


Who would have thought your bed could end up providing a soft landing for show-jumping horses?

That is what is happening to thousands of mattresses diverted from landfill by an innovative project in Belfast.
As many as 800 mattresses a week are being processed at the warehouse off the Shankill Road in Belfast.
They come from council recycling centres and bed shops which dispose of customers' used mattresses.
At the warehouse, the mattresses are stripped down to their component parts.
Polyester is sent off to make socks and fleeces.
Foam is sent to make carpet underlay and a felt layer over the springs is used in equestrian centre flooring, as well as for acoustic dampening in cars.
The steel springs are chopped up and the metal sent off for reuse.
A small amount of fabric is sent to produce energy from waste in an incinerator.
The project, run by Ulster Supported Employment and Learning (USEL), started 18 months ago and provides nine full-time jobs for people with health conditions.
Manager Scott Jackson says more than 13,000 mattresses have been processed this year - diverting 400 tonnes from landfill.
"Mattress recycling has become a big thing because they clog up landfill and wreck landfill machinery," he said.
The project is not-for-profit so all the income is ploughed back in to the venture.
It is estimated that there are about 215,000 mattresses in UK landfills.
For every 100 mattresses in Northern Ireland, it is estimated that only one is recycled.
They are difficult to compact and can cause fires by absorbing hazardous materials.
USEL was established in 1962 with the aim of providing supported paid employment for people with disabilities.


When Claire Turnham tried to buy Ed Sheeran tickets for her son's 16th birthday, she thought it was going to be an "amazing" family trip.

Instead, she says she was overcharged by £1,150, and the episode has led her to take up a campaign against Viagogo, the secondary ticket website she used.
She set up the Victims of Viagogo group on Facebook to seek refunds for others who feel they have been "ripped off".
"It's affecting people worldwide and it's growing all the time," she said.
Ms Turnham gave her experiences to a House of Commons select committee hearing about ticket abuse on Tuesday.
She said she's been contacted by 425 people from 26 countries in the past six weeks who were charged more than they expected and have had "very frustrating" experiences trying to get refunds.
Ms Turnham tried to buy four tickets to see Ed Sheeran in Dublin on 12 April - her son's 16th birthday.
"I have four children - three of them are massive Ed Sheeran fans," she said. "As their mother I thought it would be an amazing experience for us to be able to go to Ed Sheeran together.
"So I thought, as a surprise for them, that I would try and get tickets. The last time I bought tickets was 10 years ago to Rod Stewart. I'm not familiar with the secondary market - or I wasn't until six weeks ago."
She looked for tickets on 31 January, when pre-sale tickets for the gig were made available, but had no joy going through Sheeran's official site and Ticketmaster.
"I went back onto Google and I found Viagogo at the top of the listings, which said, 'We have tickets today, official site', and I just went with that."
Viagogo offers tickets for resale, often at inflated prices. The company declined to send a representative to the select committee hearing and hasn't responded to requests for comment from BBC News.
Ms Turnham continued: "I knew from the research I'd done that the face value of the ticket was likely to be between £50-£75, so when I saw four tickets for £263 I did a quick mental calculation and thought that sounded about right and I pushed 'buy'.
"I didn't know through any of that process that that price was actually going to be per ticket, and that there were going to be fees on top of that. So actually what it ended up costing was £1,421.
"The day after this, my rent was due and I knew I didn't have £1,421 in my account."
The first transaction failed - but Ms Turnham says Viagogo then processed the transaction a different way and she was charged the full amount.
She received a refund after much persistence and taking her story to the media. "When I was offered my refund I was very glad of it," she said.
"But I started to become aware that other people had become affected and weren't receiving refunds so I started trying to help them... People are contacting me all the time and they're very, very distressed."
She has posted photos on social media of people who have had similar experiences of being charged more than they expected when buying tickets to see stars like Craig David, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga and Adele.
Many people don't have the energy to keep chasing refunds, she said.
"You have to be able to be incredibly strong to be able to do this because like any other form of abuse it relies on people being silenced and it relies on people being isolated."
Viagogo had a seat at the select committee hearing - but it remained empty.
Nigel Huddleston MP said Viagogo had written to the committee explaining their absence by saying "we do not sell tickets", but instead is a platform for handling tickets.
But the company was roundly criticised by MPs and other expert witnesses for its practises, with Nigel Adams MP saying it made "Stan Flashman look like Mother Theresa".
Ed Sheeran's manager Stuart Camp and gig promoter Stuart Galbraith did give evidence and talked about a Sheeran show at the O2 arena in London in June.
They said they had written to the four main secondary ticket websites - Viagogo, Seatwave, GetMeIn and StubHub - in advance, asking them not to list any tickets for the show because they would cancel any that were found to have been resold, and fans would not be let in.
"All four sites ignored our requests and all four sites listed tickets at inflated prices, knowing that it's our intention to cancel those tickets and not admit their customers."
Ms Turnham said the threat of not getting in added extra stress to fans who already paid over the odds.
"It's causing not only financial effects but serious emotional and physical effects too," she said.
"As well as all the money issues and how they're actually going to pay for that, it's whether or not their ticket is actually going to be valid. As we've heard today, these people who've paid for Ed Sheeran tickets, at these excessive prices, actually may not be able to get in."
Mr Galbraith offered advice for fans looking for tickets: "Go to the source. If you're buying an Ed Sheeran ticket, go to edsheeran.com because from there you will only be directed to official outlets. The worst thing you could do would be to Google search."
He also pointed fans toward a new guide to ticket-buying published by the Fair Fan Alliance.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.


A leading Islamic organisation has called for a "serious national response" from the government to attacks against Muslims and mosques.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said there had been an "unprecedented escalation of violence" since Fusilier Lee Rigby's killing in May.
The organisation's leader, Farooq Murad, said people were living in fear.
A Home Office minister is expected to visit the West Midlands on Tuesday after mosque attacks in the region.
West Midlands Police have until Saturday to question a 25-year-old Ukrainian man who was arrested on suspicion of being involved in incidents in Walsall, Wolverhampton and Tipton.
Pavlo Lapshyn has been separately charged with the murder in April of Birmingham pensioner Mohammed Saleem, a death that occurred before the killing of Fusilier Rigby in Woolwich, south-east London.
The MCB said an increase in attacks nationwide since the death of Fusilier Rigby must be met by "an urgent, coordinated national response by politicians, police and domestic security services."
Mr Murad, the MCB's secretary general, said: "Following the events in Woolwich there has been a significant increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes across the UK.
"The community has patiently borne the brunt of these attacks despite condemning, in the strongest possible terms, the tragic murder of Drummer Lee Rigby. Despite this spike in incidents, there has yet to be a coordinated national effort to ensure that these sorts of attacks never happen again.
"It cannot be right that a minority community is allowed to be targeted in this manner."
Mr Murad said the suspected bomb attacks on mosques marked "the crossing of a red line".
"Had these bombs exploded, people would have been killed," he said. "There is an urgent need for the government and police to respond with a coordinated national strategy so as to prevent further attacks.
"For many Muslim communities across this country, there is a palpable sense of fear. While the local police are doing all they could to investigate these incidents, the national response has been far from satisfactory."
Earlier, Home Secretary Theresa May said she was "shocked and sickened" by the incidents in the West Midlands.
"The West Midlands Police have my full support in their on-going investigation. I have spoken with Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale and I have asked that I am kept up-to-date with the latest developments.
"The Security Minister James Brokenshire will also be visiting Birmingham on Tuesday to meet those who have been directly affected.
"What happened in the West Midlands is a reminder that terrorism affects people of all backgrounds. Just as we saw people coming together to denounce Woolwich, so we must come together and stand firm against extremism whatever form it takes," Mrs May said.


Ellan Vannin have booked their place in next year's ConIFA World Cup after winning the Niamh's Challenge Cup at the Bowl in Douglas.

Goals from Ciaran McNulty, Sam Caine and Conor Doyle helped the Isle of Man side to a 3-1 victory in the final over Felvidek of Hungary.
A team spokesman said it was a "golden chance which they took".
Last year, Ellan Vannin finished second at the inaugural World Cup for nations and regions outside FIFA.
A team spokesman said it had been a "tough test" and "ideal preparation" for the forthcoming ConIFA European Football Cup in Hungary.


A port in Teesside is investing more than £3m in a new rail terminal, with hopes it will boost the local economy.

The Teesport terminal will create new connections to Suffolk and Southampton and could lead to more links with other areas, the port's operator said.
Rail haulier Freightliner, which will move to the terminal when it is complete, said it would make the port "more attractive" to business.
The new terminal is expected to be finished by the end of the year.
PD Ports, which runs Teesport, said it expected opportunities for new routes to Scotland, the Midlands and north-west England to arise as a result of the development.
Freightliner said it would reduce its staff from 17 to nine when it moves to Teesport, which is near Middlesbrough, from its current base in Wilton, in Teesside.
But the company said the move was necessary to stay competitive.
Freightliner's commercial director Keith Grey said: "I think it'll make Teesport more attractive, having a rail provider in a rail terminal within the site.
"One of our trains will take, on a round-trip basis, 70 lorries off the road. It's not difficult to see where those benefits will come from."
The Road Haulage Association said, while rail freight had the benefit of easing congestion on the roads, lorries would always play an important role in getting goods to their final destination.
Work on the terminal is due to start later in July.


Favourite Un De Sceaux romped to a five-lengths victory over former champion chaser Sire De Grugy in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot.

The Willie Mullins-trained eight-year-old endorsed his claims to be a leading contenders at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Ridden by Ruby Walsh, the 1-2 chance was never headed and remains unbeaten in the 14 races he has completed.
Sire De Grugy (11-2) held on for second from stablemate Traffic Fluide (33-1).
Five out it looked like 2014 winner Sire De Grugy might have the answer, but Un De Sceaux hit top gear between the last two fences and jumped immaculately to power away from the field.
Gary Moore, Sire De Grugy's trainer, said: "Obviously he's not good enough to beat Un De Sceaux. The winner had run the finish out of him and just took the edge out of what he normally finds. The winner is obviously a very good horse."
BBC racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght
Hopes Un De Sceaux might meet his match in Sire De Grugy, and provide a welcome boost for the British contingent at March's Cheltenham Festival, which Willie Mullins is set to dominate again, were swept aside here.
Having fallen last time out, UDS jumped brilliantly, putting himself right when needed. I'm afraid Sire De Grugy, an outstanding performer, was simply humbled.
Such is Mullins' strength ahead of Cheltenham, he's being backed to become the first Irish trainer to be champion in Britain since Vincent O'Brien in the 1953-54 season.


Daniel Day-Lewis is set to reunite with There Will Be Blood director Paul Thomas Anderson for his first film role since 2012's Lincoln.

Indie label Focus Features has bought the worldwide rights to the new drama, it was confirmed at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The currently untitled new film will focus on the 1950s fashion scene.
The pair last worked together on 2007's There Will Be Blood, which won Day-Lewis an Oscar for best actor.
He won the same award in 2013 for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in his last big screen appearance.
Thomas Anderson last directed Inherent Vice, which was released in 2015.
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Swansea University will celebrate its achievements and research by holding a new science festival in September.

After hosting the British Science Festival last year the university wants to capitalise on its success.
Visitors will be able to see demonstrations and workshops based on everyday science through to the latest cutting-edge innovations.
"We continue to inspire the next generation of scientists," said Professor Hilary Lappin-Scott.
The university's senior pro-vice-chancellor added hosting the British Science Festival was an "enormous success" and she wants it to create a "science legacy for Swansea".
It brought tens of thousands of people to the city to celebrate developments and talk about issues affecting our culture and society.
The new festival will be held at the city's National Waterfront Museum from 8-10 September.


A former drug cartel's pilot has been jailed for trying to kill his unwanted lodger with an axe as he slept.

Andrew Barnes, 61, hit Luke Down with four heavy axe blows to his head, leaving him with brain injuries and close to death.
Barnes, from Topsham, Devon, admitted attempted murder and was jailed for 15 and a half years at Exeter Crown Court.
The judge described the axe attack as an "impetuous moment of madness".
More on Andrew Barnes, and other Devon news
Mr Down, 29, had been staying at Barnes's flat for free when he was attacked with the long-handled axe as he slept in the lounge.
He had been paying his way by bringing round alcohol and food, but Barnes claimed he had become violent and abusive towards him, the court heard.
The trigger for the attack was Mr Down's threat to claim squatter's rights and barricade himself in the flat.
The court heard how the injuries would have been fatal if Barnes had removed the protective cover over the blade.
Jailed Andrew Barnes was once a drug cartel pilot, flying cocaine from Colombia to the United States.
Public school educated at Blundells in Tiverton, Barnes moved to America where he ran his own freight airline in the late 1970s.
But his business ran into financial trouble and in the early 1980s Barnes was employed by the Medellin cartel, flying their cocaine to remote US airstrips and Caribbean islands.
The planes left Colombia loaded with cocaine and returned crammed with so many dollar bills that drug lords such as Pablo Escobar built apartments with millions hidden in the cavity walls.
Barnes worked mainly for Carlos Lehder, who he testified against at his trial in Jacksonville in 1988.
He was jailed for eight years in the US after admitting drug smuggling, before being moved to a witness protection scheme.
He returned to Britain in the late 1990s and descended into a spiral of alcohol abuse.
He moved into a flat owned by his family in Topsham and worked for 18 months at the SPCK religious bookshop on Cathedral Green.
In July 2001 he set light to the 15th century building housing the bookshop, causing Â£200,000 damage and forcing the evacuation of the neighbouring Ship Inn.
He also set light to a boat on the banks of the River Exe after the owner refused to sell it to him, and was jailed for four years.
He was a well-known figure in Exeter, Exmouth and Topsham, regaling people with tall stories of his exploits as a drug-smuggling pilot.
Source: SnowBird: The Rise and Fall of a Medellin Drug Pilot
Sentencing Barnes over the axe attack, Judge Mr Justice Dingemans told him: "You acted impetuously and on the spur of the moment.
"While he [Mr Down] has made a remarkable physical recovery, he is going to have very serious long term health consequences.
"This was an spontaneous attempt to kill because you were fed up with Mr Down saying he was going to claim squatter's rights and also lying on your bed
"There is significant mitigation in the fact that he undoubtedly provoked you, although that is not to say there was any justification for this moment of madness."


Former England international Gareth Southgate says players would accept a gay team-mate in the dressing room.

But Southgate claims some fans would not be so tolerant towards homosexual players open about their sexuality.
He was speaking after Manchester United keeper Anders Lindegaard said "homosexuals are in need of a hero".
Southgate told BBC Sport: "I'm sure there might be some reaction from crowds, but within dressing rooms I think it would be accepted."
The son of former Liverpool player Glenn Hysen, Anton came out as gay in an interview with a Swedish football magazine. The 21-year-old plays for Swedish lower league side Utsiktens BK.
Despite a number of high-profile male and female athletes choosing to go public with their sexuality in recent years, the only footballer to come out as a homosexual since the late Justin Fashanu in 1990 is Anton Hysen, a Swedish lower league player.
"It will take someone who is brave enough to be open and honest," added former Middlesbrough manager Southgate in an interview with BBC's Richard Conway at a charity event for the England Footballers Foundation, which was set up in 2007 with players donating their England match fees to good causes.
"Players mix with players of different nationalities, races and religions so I don't see it being an issue in the dressing room.
"We can't control the reaction of all supporters, so unfortunately there will always be a adverse reaction to parts of society. But the honest answer is that we don't know until somebody steps forward."
Earlier this week, Lindegaard wrote in a blog that the nature of supporters on the terraces does little to encourage homosexual players to be open about their sexuality.
"Homosexuals are in need of a hero," he said.
"They are in need of someone who dares to stand up for their sexuality. But homosexuality in football is a taboo subject and the atmosphere on the pitch and in the stands is tough.
"As a footballer, I think a homosexual colleague would be afraid of the reception he could get from the fans, but my impression is that the players would not have a problem accepting a homosexual.
"The problem for me is that a lot of football fans are stuck in a time of intolerance that does not deserve to be compared with modern society's development in the last decades.
"While the rest of the world has been more liberal, civilised and less prejudiced, the world of football remains stuck in the past when it comes to tolerance."


Neil Lennon is still looking to add "two or three" new faces to his Hibernian squad despite opening with a 4-0 League Cup win over Montrose.

Simon Murray scored a double, while Fraser Murray and a Brian Graham penalty secured the win.
"The squad is thin so we need to bring two or three in," said head coach Lennon. "It's a slow process sometimes, but we'll see what this week brings."
In the other Group D game, Ross County were 2-0 winners over Alloa Athletic.
Marcus Fraser and Craig Curran scored either side of half-time for the Premiership side, who host Hibs on Friday night, against their League One visitors.
Hibs had announced the signing of Steven Whittaker before kick-off, but the former Norwich City right-back was not registered to face their League Two visitors.
"We were without him, Efe Ambrose, Paul Hanlon and we gave Marvin Bartley a break, so we're very strong at the minute," said Lennon, who says an additional striker is now his priority.
Hibs are preparing for their return to the top flight and Lennon said he "got everything that I wanted from my players".
"It was excellent considering where we are in terms of our start to the season," he added.
"It was a good game for them in terms of working on their fitness going forward.
"Even though it was a competitive game, in my mind it was a pre-season game.
"We weren't going to learn much from it, but the important thing was to get the win and win well.
"The lads will get the benefit from the game today."
Match ends, Hibernian 4, Montrose 0.
Second Half ends, Hibernian 4, Montrose 0.
Corner,  Hibernian. Conceded by Craig Johnston.
Corner,  Hibernian. Conceded by Graham Webster.
Goal!  Hibernian 4, Montrose 0. Brian Graham (Hibernian) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Penalty conceded by Graham Webster (Montrose) with a hand ball in the penalty area.
Attempt missed. Oli Shaw (Hibernian) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right.
Attempt missed. Graham Webster (Montrose) header from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right following a corner.
Corner,  Montrose. Conceded by Ryan Porteous.
Foul by Ryan Porteous (Hibernian).
Craig Johnston (Montrose) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. John McGinn (Hibernian) left footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Kieran Thomson (Montrose) is shown the yellow card.
Dylan McGeouch (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Kieran Thomson (Montrose).
Fraser Murray (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Liam Callaghan (Montrose).
Substitution, Hibernian. Oli Shaw replaces Simon Murray.
Attempt missed. Brian Graham (Hibernian) header from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right.
Foul by Ryan Porteous (Hibernian).
Craig Johnston (Montrose) wins a free kick on the left wing.
David Gray (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Gary Fraser (Montrose).
Attempt missed. John McGinn (Hibernian) left footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Fraser Murray (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Liam Callaghan (Montrose).
Attempt missed. Graham Webster (Montrose) header from the left side of the box misses to the left.
Corner,  Montrose. Conceded by John McGinn.
Foul by John McGinn (Hibernian).
Kyle Willox (Montrose) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Montrose. Kyle Willox replaces Paul Watson.
Attempt missed. Paul Watson (Montrose) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left from a direct free kick.
Foul by John McGinn (Hibernian).
Kerr Hay (Montrose) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Darren McGregor (Hibernian).
Kerr Hay (Montrose) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Hibernian. Brian Graham replaces Liam Fontaine.
Foul by John McGinn (Hibernian).
Liam Callaghan (Montrose) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Montrose. Kieran Thomson replaces Martyn Fotheringham.


Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr has described comments made by Baroness Thatcher as "unabashedly racist".

In a conversation with her "in her retirement", Mr Carr said the former UK prime minister had warned Australia against Asian immigration.
She said "if we allowed too much of it we'd see the natives of the land, the European settlers, overtaken by migrants", he said.
Lady Thatcher, 87, died on Monday after suffering a series of strokes.
Mr Carr made his comments on the Australian broadcaster ABC's Lateline programme.
He said he had been "astonished" at the comments by Lady Thatcher, which were made while his Malaysian-born wife Helena was "standing not far away" but was "fortunately out of earshot".
But he said he retained respect for the "boldness of her political leadership".
Mr Carr prefaced his comments by saying Lady Thatcher had been "the most significant" leader since Winston Churchill, forcing social democratic parties to "think more deeply about the function of the state". She had been "right in joining [former US President Ronald] Reagan and denouncing the old Soviet Union as an evil dictatorship", he said.
"On 100 other things I would pick arguments with her and I recall one conversation I had with her in her retirement where she said something that was unabashedly racist, where she warned Australia - talking to me with Helena standing not far away - against Asian immigration, saying that if we allowed too much of it we'd see the natives of the land, the European settlers, overtaken by migrants.
"I couldn't believe it. It reminded me that despite, yes, her greatness on those big questions, the role of the state, the evil nature of the Communist totalitarianism, there was an old-fashioned quality to her that was entirely out of touch and probably explained why her party removed her in the early 90s."
He went on to recall: "I remember one thing she said as part of that conversation, she said: 'You will end up like Fiji.' She said: 'I like Sydney but you can't allow the migrants' - and in context she meant Asian migration - 'to take over, otherwise you will end up like Fiji where the Indian migrants have taken over.'
"I was so astonished I don't think I could think of an appropriate reply."
Lady Thatcher will be buried with full military honours at London's St Paul's Cathedral on Wednesday 17 April.


Four women are set to sue Rotherham Council for "systematic failures to protect them from sexual abuse by predatory men" when they were children.

The legal action is being taken after MPs said in July the authority had "failed in its duty of care".
The announcement comes as The Times published one of the women's account of being allowed contact with a suspected child abuser while in care.
South Yorkshire Police said the article could "undermine" ongoing inquiries.
Lawyer David Greenwood, who is acting for some of the alleged victims, said:  "It is very likely that my clients will be taking legal action against Rotherham Council and potentially the police for failing to protect them over a long period of time.
"Inaction by social services and the police has left hundreds of young women, or teenagers, open to child sexual exploitation.
"It is important to remember that at the time of the abuse they were children under the age of 16 and could not legally consent.
"The [Home Affairs Committee] report noted part of the problem is that adults may misunderstand the grooming process and assume that the young person was a willing participant in a relationship, rather than the victim of sexual abuse."
Speaking to The Times, one of the women, now in her 20s, said she began a relationship with a 24-year-old man, who had served two prison sentences for violent offences, in 1999, when she was 14.
It is understood the man twice made the girl pregnant.
The newspaper said social services became aware before the relationship ended that the man was part of a ring of men suspected of abusing more than 40 young teenagers in Rotherham.
The article states that by June 2000, both police and social services knew the teenager, who had been placed in emergency foster care, was in a sexual relationship with the man.
However, despite this knowledge the authorities continued to allow contact between the pair, it said.
Speaking to the newspaper, the woman said: "My parents tried everything to keep [the man] away from me, but I thought I was in love with him.
"When I went into care I stopped running away because I didn't need to any more. Social services let me see him all the time."
The force's Police and Crime Commissioner Shaun Wright said he was "deeply concerned" by the story.
South Yorkshire Police criticised The Times for publishing the article, saying: "South Yorkshire Police deeply regrets the decision by The Times newspaper to publish an article about an on-going, complex and highly sensitive investigation into matters of historic child sexual exploitation.
"The Times newspaper contacted South Yorkshire Police on Monday, 19 August, announcing its intention to publish an article about these issues. In response, the force informed the newspaper that any such publication could seriously undermine and, at worst, cause fatal damage to this inquiry."
My daughter was horrifically sexually exploited and groomed.
I am talking on behalf of other parents in the Rotherham area who feel the same as we do, that we have been lied to and let down by various services.
We feel it's about time these services were called to account.
Although Rotherham Council have said sorry in a statement, we feel as parents that individual apologies should be sent out to the families and their children.
The inaction by the authorities compounded the crime and allowed the abusers to continue carrying out their horrific crimes.
The Times said it published the story despite South Yorkshire Police's request because it "wants to see justice for child sex exploitation victims".
It said it chose to tell the girl's story after she contacted one of its reporters, in the hope it would encourage others to come forward and because it felt "not enough has yet been done" by police.
Rotherham MP Sarah Champion described the allegations in the article as "serious and distressing".
She said she would be carrying out a cross-party inquiry in Parliament in the autumn in order to "make sure current legislation protects children from abuse as fully as possible".
Mr Wright, who was cabinet member for children's and young persons' services in Rotherham between 2005 and 2010, said: "The allegations made in The Times newspaper about the way in which various agencies failed to adequately combat child sexual exploitation and protect vulnerable victims 14 years ago concern me deeply.
"I will be seeking assurances from the chief constable and other agencies that all allegations of such crimes are thoroughly investigated, that victims are fully supported and that this process is underpinned by the most robust and thorough processes and policies."
Rotherham Council said: "The council wishes to support South Yorkshire Police and not potentially compromise this process.
"As such we will not be making further comments on the article without further consultation with our police colleagues."
Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said he planned to write to Rotherham Council's leader Roger Stone and chief executive Martin Kimber to ask what progress had been made since the committee's report was published in June.
He said: "What I hope [the article] has done and I hope what our recommendations have done is that they have woken up local authorities to the importance of acting on information they receive.
"It's very simple, if a 24-year-old man is in a relationship with a girl under the age of 16 this is a criminal act and they need to report it.
"They do not need to stand by and just accept it because in their view it is being done willingly. The law is the law and therefore it needs to be enforced."


The US state department has raised no major environmental objections to the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, according to a new report.

Environmentalists say the pipeline will lead to increased carbon emissions, contribute to global warming, and risk spills on its route.
President Barack Obama has yet to decide whether he will permit it.
The 1,179-mile (1,897km) pipeline would carry tar sand oil from Alberta in Canada to Nebraska.
The oil would then be transported on existing pipes to refineries in Texas. The southern section of the project was finished last year.
The Keystone XL project aims to carry some 830,000 barrels of heavy crude a day from the fields in Alberta.
The US still needs to approve 875 miles of the route across American land.
On Friday, a spokesman said the White House was still awaiting further review from other government agencies and the public.
By David WillisBBC News, Washington
The Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement is as dry as its name implies. An 11-volume tome which reaches no firm conclusions, it's being seized upon not so much for what it says as for what it doesn't say.
With a heavy dose of pragmatism, the report points out that oil reserves in this particular part of northern Alberta are likely to be developed whether the Keystone XL pipeline is approved or not. It makes the point that alternative methods of conveying oil from Canada to America's Gulf coast - for example by rail or barge - would probably have as great an impact on the environment as a pipe beneath the ground.
But it doesn't explicitly say that the long-delayed project would lead to an increase in greenhouse gases - and supporters are seizing on that as a sign that the Obama administration will eventually back it, despite the consternation that would cause among environmentalists.
"The president has clearly stated that the project will be in the national interest only if it does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution," Matt Lehrich said.
In an environmental impact statement released on Friday, the state department said that approval was "unlikely to significantly impact the rate of extraction in the oil sands or the continued demand for heavy crude oil at refineries in the United States".
The report does not directly recommend approval of the 875-mile section. Rather, it is described as a technical assessment of the project's environmental impact.
The pipeline would be built by TransCanada Corp, which first applied for a permit from the US government in 2008.
TransCanada chief executive Russ Girling said on Friday he was "very pleased" with the report's findings.
The project, estimated at $7bn (Â£4.26bn), has become a source of significant debate, with environmental groups saying it would contribute to global warming.
The opposition Republicans have long supported the initiative, saying it will boost the US economy, create jobs, and reduce North America's dependence on foreign oil.
"This report from the Obama administration once again confirms that there is no reason for the White House to continue stalling construction of the Keystone XL pipeline," Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement.
"So, Mr President, no more stalling- no more excuses. Please pick up that pen you've been talking so much about and make this happen. Americans need these jobs."
Environmental groups condemned the report. The National Resources Defense Council said it was "absolutely not in our national interest" to allow its construction.
"Piping the dirtiest oil on the planet through the heart of America would endanger our farms, our communities, our fresh water and our climate," the council's international programme director, Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, said.
Other US agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, have 90 days to comment before the state department issues its final recommendation to Mr Obama.


The three bewigged government lawyers looked glum as the clock ticked towards 10 in Court Four in the Royal Courts of Justice.

They had good reason to. The High Court chucked out the government's argument that they had the power to start the process of leaving the EU without consulting MPs.
That's a serious problem for Theresa May, who wanted to be able to start the legal machinations of Article 50 without the hassle and political risk of going through Parliament.
MPs have already shown they are willing to be difficult over Brexit, or flex every muscle of scrutiny (depending which way you look at it).
And with a tiny majority in Parliament and most MPs having argued Remain, this judgement spells real trouble for ministers.
An emboldened Parliament is the last thing Mrs May needs when faced with the enormous complexities of taking us out of the EU. But sovereignty is what the country voted for in the referendum.
The High Court says that Parliament's sovereignty is what we've got.
The legal process will now grind on. The government is appealing at the Supreme Court.
But the machinations could well delay the government's plans and, with a braver Parliament able to make life more difficult, might the temptation of an early election become too much to resist?
The only way of making this headache go away could be a general election.


Dick Costolo is stepping down as chief executive of Twitter, the company has announced.

The social messaging service's co-founder Jack Dorsey will take over as interim chief on 1 July and stay until a replacement can be found.
Mr Costolo had been under pressure from investors unhappy with the firm's user growth.
In a statement, he said he was "tremendously proud of the Twitter team".
Twitter said that its board had formed a committee to undertake the task of finding a successor.
Following the announcement, shares in the company jumped by more than 7% in trading after US markets had closed.
Twitter debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in 2013 but has not been adding users as fast as investors had hoped.
In April, the firm missed Wall Street's forecasts for revenue growth and posted a net loss of $162m (Â£104m).
Its share price has declined nearly 30% since then, and is currently trading below the price it debuted at in 2013.
Analysts remain pessimistic about the firm's ability to grow.
The research consultancy eMarketer estimates that Twitter's monthly user base will grow just 14.1% this year, slowing from more than 30% two years ago.
By 2019, eMarketer says Twitter's user growth rate will be just 6% worldwide.
In announcing his resignation, Mr Costolo said in a statement: "I am tremendously proud of the Twitter team and all that the team has accomplished together during my six years with the company.
On a conference call to discuss the move, he added that he had decided to go now because he felt the continued scrutiny if he remained would be a "distraction" and of "no help to the company".
Questioned on what the board was looking for in its next chief executive, Mr Dorsey said the search team would take as long as necessary and the candidate could come from inside or outside the company. But he added that they knew one thing for sure: he or she should be a Twitter user.
Mr Dorsey said the most important attribute was that they "really use and love the product in every single way".
The problem Costolo couldn't solve was how to attract new users.
Or, at least, enough new users to keep growth-hungry Wall Street investors happy.
And of the people that did sign up, analysts say they weren't being given enough reasons to stick around for very long.
Why did Twitter boss stand down?
Nate Elliott, an analyst at Forrester research, said the news of his departure wasn't surprising.
"Twitter has never been great at giving its users reasons to come back," said Mr Elliott.
"While other social sites have introduced new features and functionality the past few years, Twitter has mostly stood still. The result has been excruciatingly slow user growth."
However, some have cautioned that lofty investor expectations regarding Twitter's ability to turn in to the next Facebook might be overblown.
Technology blogger John Gruber wrote on the site Daring Fireball: "I think what Wall Street wants is a pipe dream: for Twitter to turn into another Facebook.
"No [chief executive] is going to make that happen."
Mr Costolo will remain on the board of the company. He has been a director since September 2009 and became chief executive in October 2010.


The Chinese government has issued new regulations tightening its control over online news content.

Companies that publish, share or edit news will need a government licence, and senior editors must be approved by the authorities.
Other staff will be required to undergo government training and assessment, and receive official accreditation.
The legislation will bring online news providers into line with traditional news media operating in the country.
From 1 June, when the rules come into force, they will be expected to follow "information security protocols", including "emergency response" measures such as increased vetting following disasters, according to the state news agency Xinhua.
In a statement published online, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said the new rules would "strengthen management of information" and "promote the healthy and orderly development of internet news, in accordance to law".
The list of providers and platforms covered includes "websites, applications, forums, blogs, microblogs, public accounts, instant messaging tools and internet broadcasts".
Organisations that do not have a licence will not be allowed to post news or commentary about the government, economy, military, foreign affairs, or "other areas of public interest".
Editorial and business operations must be kept separate.
Only publicly funded organisations will be able to carry out their own reporting.
This most recent regulation from the Chinese state will make it more difficult for business media in the mainland to stay competitive.
Many outlets are independent and operate online.
It has already been problematic for staff from such organisations to obtain press cards to events - but financial websites such as Caijing and Caixin Online have traditionally been able to secure strong followings online because of their credible investigative journalism, and their articles are often shared through popular news portals.
But in recent months, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has made increased efforts to tighten online media regulation - particularly as live streaming and video blogging becomes a popular means of telling news.
In July 2016, it fined and disciplined a number of news portals for sharing independent news stories.
The following month, the CAC introduced rules for users of live streaming platforms to be monitored full-time, and in December of the same year, the CAC announced that all live streaming users needed a permit.
Chinese outlets will not be allowed to enter joint ventures with foreign partners, or accept foreign funding, until they have a passed a security assessment carried out by the government's State Council Information Office.
Companies that fail to comply will have their licences withdrawn and face fines of up to 30,000 yuan ($4,350: Â£3,370).
Google, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and many foreign news websites are banned in China.


The successor to the Hubble Space Telescope is reaching some key milestones in its preparation for launch in 2018.

Engineers are about to complete the assembly of the primary mirror surface on the James Webb Space Telescope.
They are also winding up the final deep-chill calibration tests on the observatory's four instruments.
The US space agency-led project is now on track to make rapid progress in the coming months.
The major components of JWST, which have been years in the design and fabrication phase, will at last be integrated into their flight configuration.
With margin still in the programme to cope with any unexpected problems, everything currently remains on course for an October 2018 lift-off atop a European Ariane rocket.
"We keep our fingers crossed, but things have been going tremendously well," said Nasa's JWST deputy project manager John Durning.
"We have eight months of reserve; we've consumed about a month with various activities," he told BBC News.
"But I think we've really befitted from the 'pathfinder' work we've done in the last year or so where we practised activities, and that's allowed us to run like a well-oiled machine."
Webb is a joint venture between Nasa and its European and Canadian counterparts.
It will go in search of the very first stars to shine in the Universe.
To achieve this ambition, it will deploy a 6.5m-wide mirror, giving the observatory roughly seven times the light-collecting area of Hubble.  And allied to instruments that are sensitive in the infrared, Webb will be tuned to detect the faint, "stretched" glow of objects that originally shone more than 13.5 billion years ago.
Recent weeks have seen engineers gluing the beryllium segments of the main mirror into their supporting backplane structure.
In the next few days, the last two of 18 hexagons will be lowered into position for secure attachment.
Meanwhile, down the corridor from the Webb cleanroom at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the instruments are about to emerge from their latest "cryo-vac" campaign.
Since October, the quartet -  NIRCam from the US, NIRSpec and MIRI from Europe, and the Canadian FGS/NIRISS - have been sealed in an airless chamber and taken down to the temperatures at which they must operate in space. This is in the realm of 40 kelvins, or -233C.
US, European and Canadian teams have been working around the clock, putting the instruments through their paces, presenting them with "artificial stars" that simulate the kinds of objects they will eventually get to probe on the sky.
The oversight continued through the blizzard that hit the American East Coast over the weekend.
Calibration data has been acquired that will be critical to the proper operation of JWST when it starts peering deep into space for real in two-and-a-half-years' time.
The cryo-vac session has also permitted a number of modifications made to underperforming parts of instruments to be thoroughly checked out.
Before going into the chamber, some degraded detectors and electronics were replaced; so too was a troublesome micro-shutter array in NIRSpec intended to help tease apart the colours of stars and galaxies.
Some of the array's 250,000 tiny "doors" had the annoying habit of sticking open or closed when subjected to the simulated noise of an Ariane launch.
The replacement hardware also suffers from this behaviour when put in an extreme acoustic environment, but the overall performance is much improved and well within the threshold demanded. And, certainly, the situation has not worsened during the cryo-vac testing.
The European Space Agency's JWST project scientist Pierre Ferruit explained: "One of the strong points of NIRSpec is to be able to view multiple objects at the same time, and, of course, the more operable shutters we have, the more objects we can observe at once. And right now we can meet our scientific objectives.  Right now, we have just under 90% operable shutters, and that's OK."
If sticky shutters are no longer the issue of concern they once were, there remains some anxiety over a cryocooler needed to take MIRI to even lower temperatures than its three siblings. This active chilling system is late and threatens to eat into those eight months of margin that project managers must defend or risk missing the 2018 launch date.
The latest iteration of the cryocooler is in test at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in California, and is reported to be doing well. The good news from the Goddard cryo-vac campaign is that the forward "plumbing" of this system works exactly to its specification.
"The piece of the cooler that attaches to MIRI and makes us cold was in this latest cryo-vac campaign, and that was an important step forward for us," said Gillian Wright, MIRI's British principal investigator.
"So part of the flight cooler is now integrated with MIRI. But, yes, some of the flight cooler has to be integrated with the spacecraft part of JWST, and so the two halves won't actually get connected until just before launch.  That's a risk that will have to be managed.
"But the JPL tests are going well, so I don't think we're quite the concern we once were."
Engineers and scientists agreed on Friday that there was no need to extend the cryo-vac campaign any further. They will not immediately lift the lid on Goddard's vacuum chamber; they will bring it up slowly to ambient temperature, a process that will take until the second week of February.
The instruments can then be wheeled back down the corridor to begin the complex task of being joined to the mirror and its support system. This should happen around May.
Optical, vibration and acoustic tests will follow.
The whole train - mirror and instruments - will then ship to Nasa's Johnson Space Center for a further cryo-vac campaign in the chamber built to test the 1960s Apollo hardware. This is likely to start in a year from now.
And at some point beyond that, the attachment will take place of the spacecraft bus, which incorporates elements such as the flight computers and communications system, as well as the main part of MIRI's cryocooler.
Finally, Webb will get its giant deployable visor - the structure that will shield its delicate observations from the Sun's light and heat.
October 2018 is really not that far away.


Plans to redevelop Istanbul's Gezi Park into a complex with new mosque and shopping centre have sparked a wave of protests in the Turkish city and beyond.

But what began as a demonstration against urban redevelopment has turned into a wider expression of anger against government policies. The excessive use of force by riot police has escalated tensions.
Gezi Park - an area inside Taksim Square, filled with sycamore trees - is one of the few green spaces left in central Istanbul.
It has been compared with Cairo's Tahrir Square - the focus of the demonstrations which toppled President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 - and protesters' banners claim that redeveloping the park is akin to the commercial takeover of Central Park in New York, or Hyde Park in London.
Under the redevelopment plans, the government wants to pedestrianise and ease traffic around Taksim Square, which effectively means much of Gezi Park will be replaced by concrete.
Protesters are angry about the removal of green space. They also claim that access to the square will become increasingly controlled, giving pedestrians only two entry points.
The redevelopment plans include the construction of a shopping centre, which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists will not be "a traditional mall" but will include cultural centres, an opera house and a mosque.
An Ottoman-era military barracks will be rebuilt near the site, and the historic Ataturk Cultural Centre will be demolished.
But critics say the decision to go ahead with the redevelopment was made too fast and without proper public and media debate.
There are also questions over the choice of Kalyon Group, a company which has close ties with the governing Justice and Development (AK) Party, as the project's main contractor.
For some Turks, the proposed reconstruction of the barracks has a symbolic significance. According to some accounts, it was at the barracks that a (failed) mutiny by Islamic-minded soldiers was initiated in 1909 intent on bringing in Sharia law.
The barracks were demolished in 1940, and attempts to rebuild them are seen by opponents to have the ring of Islamism.
This protest has now become about more than just Gezi Park.
It has broadened into a wider expression of anger at what protesters see as the government's increasing authoritarianism - and also the heavy-handed tactics of police who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse a peaceful rally, resulting in scores of injuries.
Taksim Square has seen several other demonstrations this year, including one on May Day in which police also fired tear gas at protesters.


Two community hospitals could close and minor injury accident departments may shut at others under a major health service shake-up in north Wales.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has met to discuss the changes, some of which will be put out to consultation.
Among the areas under scrutiny are older people's mental health services, neonatal intensive care and vascular and major arterial surgery.
The board is the first in Wales to outline plans for balancing the books.
It predicts a gap of £64.6m, the second highest in Wales.
Meanwhile, plans for 10 so-called hospital hubs were supported, with the aim of providing more services in the community.
The proposals were discussed by the health board on Thursday.
As part of the plan:
But maternity and paediatric services will remain largely unchanged after the plans proved controversial when suggested by BCUHB.
Community services will also be looked at by the consultation process.
It said its proposed changes were designed to improve patient care.
This follows an extended review process, led by clinicians, with important contributions from staff, the public and colleagues from partner agencies.
BCUHB said the feedback and views through this process helped to shape the proposals that had been put forward.
Health board chief executive Mary Burrows said: "The role of our senior clinicians in leading this process and the involvement of stakeholders has been crucial.
"The work has been carried out to see how we can improve the quality and standard of care we provide as well as improving the health of the population.
"The health board is clear that we cannot afford to stand still. The status quo is not an option."
Speaking before the meeting at St Asaph, Christine Evans, chair of patient watchdog Betsi Cadwaladr Community Health Council, said: "The local communities will be very upset."
But she added that the minor injuries units were not well used and there were not enough staff to sit across all services.
"It has got to be decided the best way for the most number of people," she told BBC Radio Wales.
Politicians have expressed concerns about the plans.
In 2009 a series of reviews began across north Wales looking at all health services, and it has been feared for some time that community hospitals could close as a result.
It has now emerged that Blaenau Ffestiniog and Flint community hospitals have been earmarked for possible closure.
But the buildings would be refurbished, according to the report, "to provide enhanced community services… and a base for community staff".
Bed care would be would be transferred to neighbouring hospitals.
Ten hospitals "hubs" for local  communities were supported at:
The board also proposes a replacement of services currently provided from Llangollen Community Hospital, which would be developed into an extended primary care resource centre with bed care at Chirk.
Minor injury units would close at a number of locations, including Flint, Mold, Colwyn Bay and Ruthin
A report says that their closure will help to strengthen the provision at 10 hospital hubs across the region which will be the focal point for communities.
They include the three main hospitals, Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, Glan Clwyd in Bodelwyddan and Wrexham Maelor, but also smaller ones like Dolgellau Community Hospital, Llandudno and Deeside hospitals.
One idea first raised was to move neo-natal care from Wrexham to Glan Clwyd.
However, it seems the services will remain across the three main hospital sites although the report says the current system is not sustainable.


First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called for "cast iron assurances" jobs will not be lost at Clyde shipyards because of contract delays.

Unions at BAE Systems have warned of possible delays to funding for the Royal Navy's new frigates.
But Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson insisted there was no change to the timetable.
Labour said it was vital that promises were kept while the Lib Dems called for an end to uncertainty.
The UK government confirmed in its Strategic Defence and Security Review last November that eight Type 26 frigates would be built on the Clyde, although the total number was scaled back from 13.
In the meantime, the yards are being sustained by Ministry of Defence orders for new offshore patrol vessels.
But after briefings with management, the GMB union said last week that work on the new frigates would not begin until 2017 and raised concerns that up to 800 jobs could be lost if there was any backsliding on commitments.
SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was "gravely concerned" by the developments.
She said: "The future of both Govan and Scotstoun depend on these orders. Solemn promises were made in the run-up to the referendum and if those promises are broken, it will be seriously damaging for the shipyards but I think people across Scotland will feel very let down by the parties that made those promises."
She added: "I think the government has the responsibility to make cast iron assurances here."
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said she had held discussions with shipyard workers and BAE management  about the need to protect jobs.
She said: "It's my deep regret that Labour didn't win the general election - so the Tories have to fulfil their promise to the workers in the yards, and I'll be making that case every step of the way."
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie also expressed frustration about the uncertainty.
"There are serious concerns about the future of orders at the yards and it's important that the Conservative government gives an absolute commitment. We've got to end this feast and famine of orders at the yards," he said.
The Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, however, said she had been given assurances by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon that nothing had changed.
She said: "He confirmed there had been no change to the orders that were set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review last year.
"That means all eight Type 26 anti-submarine frigates that are coming, plus the light frigate order on top of that, and the two offshore patrol vessels. They are coming to the Clyde, as discussed last year, to the same timetable and the same number."
A spokesperson for BAE Systems said: "Following the Strategic Defence and Security Review, we are working with the Ministry of Defence to agree a revised baseline for the Type 26 ships and a production schedule for the two additional offshore patrol vessels in Glasgow.
"We are engaging our trades unions as we work through this process. Our focus is to deliver the capability the Royal Navy needs, while ensuring the best value for UK taxpayers."


Chesterfield striker Ched Evans has signed a 12-month contract extension with the League One club.

The 28-year-old joined the Spireites on a one-year deal in June and has scored seven goals in 24 appearances.
In October Evans was found not guilty, following a retrial, of raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel room in 2011.
He was initially found guilty in 2012 and served two-and-a-half years of a five-year prison sentence, but his conviction was quashed in April 2016.
Wales international Evans told the club website: "I'm really pleased to have got this sorted out.
"I want to play well and score as many goals as I can between now and the end of the season to help us get out of the relegation zone."
Chesterfield, who are set to appoint former Coventry City manager Tony Mowbray as their new boss, are in the League One relegation zone on goal difference.


Twenty one people have been charged with various offences following a series of early morning raids in Edinburgh by Police Scotland.

The raids in the Liberton, Gilmerton and Craigmillar areas were part of Operation Amyloid, a huge operation targeting organised crime.
Police said 22 residential properties were targeted, involving more than 170 officers.
A kilo of heroin worth Â£100,000 was recovered at a house in Niddrie.
Further dealer quantities of heroin, drug paraphernalia and 250g of cannabis were seized along with about Â£5,000 in cash.
Fourteen men, aged between 21 and 48, and six women, aged from 19 to 44, are expected appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
A 27-year-old woman has also been reported to the procurator fiscal.
Det Ch Insp Kenny Gray said: "This operation has been the culmination of months of intelligence gathering, but I want to make it clear that it isn't over.
"Police Scotland will continue to target those involved in serious and organised crime throughout Edinburgh and to send a message that these sort of offences will not be tolerated."


A man has died in a fire on the first floor of a house in East Sussex.

Firefighters, police and ambulance crews were called to the property in Hollington Old Lane, St Leonards, at 02:00 BST.
The man was recovered from the house but was later pronounced dead, Sussex Police said.
An investigation is being carried out by East Sussex Fire and Rescue and police but the cause of the blaze is not being treated as suspicious.


Microsoft has scored another patent victory over Google's Motorola unit.

A German court ruled that several Motorola tablets and phones had infringed a method for apps to handle different kinds of user input.
Samsung, HTC and others pay a licence to use the technology, but Motorola had resisted.
Google now faces additional sales restrictions on its products in Germany unless it makes significant changes to its Android operating system.
It marks the third lawsuit Microsoft has won over Google in recent months in the country.
"We're pleased this decision builds on previous rulings in Germany that have already found Motorola is broadly infringing Microsoft's intellectual property," said Microsoft's deputy general counsel David Howard.
"We will continue to enforce injunctions against Motorola products in Germany and hope Motorola will join other Android device makers by taking a licence to Microsoft's patented inventions."
A statement from Google said: "We are waiting for the written decision and are evaluating our options, including an appeal."
The patent in the latest case notes that handsets are too small to "accommodate a full character keyboard" leading to a need for different ways for a user to input data.
It describes the use of on-screen letter and numeric keyboards; handwriting and drawing interfaces; and voice recognition.
It then goes on to describe a way a layer of software could sit between these input mechanisms and a device's apps. The software is used to translate the data signals into a single language that the apps can understand.
The advantage is that app developers do not need to write instructions for their products to work out how to interpret the different input mechanisms, making it easier for them to create new programs.
Unlike other claims in other intellectual property lawsuits - such as Apple's allegation that Motorola had copied its bounceback list feature - the technology in this case relates to an underlying feature of Android rather than a visual flourish.
It might therefore be harder for Google to issue a software update to work around the issue rather than to agree to pay a licence.
Microsoft now has the option of pursuing a sales ban or recall for which it must lay down a multi-million euro bond.
It would risk forfeiting the cash if it lost the case on appeal and had to compensate Google for lost sales.
However, any such move would be symbolic in nature since it has already forced Motorola products off German store shelves after winning earlier cases involving file system and text messaging patents.
The legal action has not been one-sided.
In May Google won the right to prevent Germany's stores from selling Microsoft's Xbox 360 games consoles, the Windows 7 operating system, the Internet Explorer browser and Windows Media Player.
However, the search firm has not been able to enforce a ban because a US judge intervened.
He wants to weigh up Microsoft's claim that Google had demanded an unreasonable licence fee for the H.264 video  patents at the heart of the case.
Google is obliged to offer its technologies to everyone in return for a "reasonable" fee after accepting they were critical to the use of the video encoding format.
The case is set to go to trial on 13 November. Microsoft has said it would pay a licence for the technology if a "fair" price was set.


Aldershot chairman Shahid Azeem says the decision to hand players full-year contracts is a "calculated risk" for the National League play-off hopefuls.

Aldershot have previously only been able to offer players deals from the start of July to the end of April.
The Shots, who were in administration for parts of 2013 and 2014, are fifth in the table with five games to play.
"What we're selling is emotion, the club getting the good feel-factor back" chairman Shahid Azeem told BBC Surrey.
"It's a calculated risk, but you've got to have some kind of optimism because if you're too careful you lose all these players and then you end up trying to rebuild the team.
"I think we've got a good group of people on the board, we've got investments coming in and if we're successful more people will get in."
Aldershot's 2-0 win at Solihull Moors on Saturday was their fourth victory in a row and kept them two points clear of Dover, who have a game in hand, in the final play-off place.


Conor McGregor said referee Robert Byrd was wrong to stop his super-fight with Floyd Mayweather in the 10th round.

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The UFC lightweight champion, 29, was beaten in his first professional boxing bout as 40-year-old Mayweather took his perfect career record to 50-0.
Irishman McGregor, who said he will return to the UFC but did not rule out boxing again in the future, said he was "just a little fatigued".
"I thought it was close. I get a little wobbly when I'm tired," he said.
"The referee could have let it keep going, let the man put me down. I am clear-headed.
"Where were the final two rounds? Let me wobble to the corner and make him put me down.
"I thought it was close and I thought it was a bit of an early stoppage."
McGregor said he should have been allowed the chance to find his "second wind".
"I had to experience that 12-round fatigue," he said. "In the spars, there was always those middle rounds where I'd get to six and I couldn't see the finish line.
"Then, when I'd get to 11 or 12, I could dig deep and get the second wind. That's why I would have loved to get to the end of that 10th round."
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McGregor had the best of the early rounds but former five-weight world champion Mayweather said that was part of his "game plan".
"He's not that fast, he's not that powerful, but boy is he composed in there," added McGregor.
"I thought he switched the gameplan three times. I didn't anticipate three game changes in the fight, that's what a true champion does. I have to give respect to that.
"You have to give your hat to Floyd. That's what 50 pro fights will do for you.
"He hides himself well. I believe he was a hurt a few times but he kept his composure. I enjoyed it, I hope he did, it was a fun fight."
McGregor said he has "multiple titles to think about in UFC", but the possibility of another boxing contest looms large.
BBC boxing commentator Mike Costello said McGregor's display against Mayweather means a contest with former two-weight world champion Paulie Malignaggi on St Patrick's Day next March has become "a legitimate fight".
Retired Malignaggi, 36, sparred with McGregor in the build-up to the Mayweather fight but left the role claiming he was being exploited after images appeared on social media of him seemingly being floored.
McGregor did not directly address the prospect of a contest with Malignaggi, but added he has "many options in MMA" and that he is "sure there will be options that present themselves in the boxing ring".
"I am open," he said. "I love competing. But I can't tell you exactly what is next."


Never one to hold back, Bob Geldof seemed relaxed, tired but happily in control of the bunch of artists he'd summoned for Band Aid 30.

They included the likes of One Direction, Rita Ora, Olly Murs, Chris Martin, Sam Smith, Bono and Ellie Goulding.
His one-liners kept coming throughout the day as the musicians recorded the fourth version of Do They Know It's Christmas?
So here are some of Bob's best bits...
On One Direction singing the opening lines to the song: "It's beautiful. I mean seriously. I never expected that from them. It's very moody the start, and they just come sort of whispering in. It's great."
"Ellie (Goulding) and Sam (Smith) and the 1D guys, they grew up having to sing this song at their nativity plays you know."
When we asked Bob about the changed lyrics reflecting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, such as Bono's re-vamped line: "How do you know that? Oh [mumbles and swears] it's supposed to be a [swears] surprise."
"There will be a fight over the Bono line, because it's become a 'thing'. I said to Chris Martin, 'do you want to do the Bono line?' and he said 'no'. And I said 'well come on man you've got to step up' and he said 'I'm not doing that, that belongs to him' and I said 'I've changed it' and he said 'it still belongs to him!'"
And after Bono had recorded 'that' line, how was it? "Mega."
Why the song will get played on The X Factor results show but we won't be able to buy the download until Monday morning: "Because it's technical.
"We'll have a rough edit on The X Factor and we'll have a rough edit of the film. Simon [Cowell], not many people know, but he always joins in on these things.
"He called me and said 'do you want five minutes on The X Factor?' Yes! So it may not be the finished single."
"Tracey Emin was coming down but she saw on the news you lot [the press] and said 'forget it'."
"Bastille gave up two stadium shows in America to fly back and we don't give them a penny. Not an airfare, not a coffee, not a telephone call. They're here because they really want to be here."
Sir Bob had asked Adele to join the track, so how come she's not on it?
"She's not doing anything. It's not this, not a record, it's not writing, it's not interviews, nothing. I put the call in, I didn't speak to her."
And Jake Bugg wanted to sing on Band Aid 30 but: "He said yes, but then couldn't do it because he's got a gig in Rio today."
"They're amazing artists, you may not like them, you might not like the track, it doesn't matter. This thing is an event. You can be part of the event and turn it into an phenomenon."
"Don't do any of the free stuff [music streaming], it's nonsense. Pay for it."
"The truth is, it'll be number one at 8am [on Monday]."
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube


Two people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man died following a stabbing in Cardiff.

South Wales Police said the men, aged 29 and 35, were in custody.
Officers were called to Bryn Fedw at about 19:00 BST on Sunday to reports of a stabbing where they found the injured man, who died at the scene.
Investigations into his death are ongoing.