Cereal company Weetabix has become the latest company to warn of price rises sparked by the lower pound.

Although the company takes its wheat from within 50 miles of its processing plants in Northampton, wheat is priced in dollars and the weaker pound means it takes more pounds to buy dollar-listed items.
The warning came as the company announced it was investing Â£30m in its UK manufacturing sites.
These are at Burton Latimer and Corby.
A range of companies, including Next, have warned of higher prices thanks to sterling's fall since June's vote to leave the European Union.
Last year, a row over prices between Tesco and supplier Unilever meant Marmite and a number of other well-known brands were temporarily unavailable on the supermarket giant's website.
Last week, official figures showed the rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rose to 1.6% last month, up from 1.2% in November, while higher costs for imported materials and fuels pushed up producer prices.
Giles Turrell, the chief executive of Weetabix, told the BBC price rises would be a last resort and would be in the low single digits.
Weetabix has been made in the UK since 1932. The business is widely reported to be up for sale by its Chinese owners Bright Food, which bought its 60% stake in 2012.
Many of the world's biggest names in food processing, including the UK's Associated British Foods, the US's Post Holdings and Italy's Barilla, have been named as possible suitors.


Australian shares are off to a positive start on Thursday, boosted by a commodities-led rally in US stocks overnight.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is up by a little over 1% and hovering around 5,200 points.
If the gains continue, Australian shares are headed for their seventh straight day of gains.
Shares of major oil and gas producer BHP nudged up by nearly 5% in early Thursday trade.
But Australia's largest trading partner - China is missing out on the rally. The benchmark Shanghai Composite has started the Thursday session down by 0.3% at around 3,622.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index is up by 0.06% to 22,184.
In South Korea the benchmark Kospi is up, holding on to early morning gains, up by 0.45% to 2,007 points.
Shares of Hyundai Motor are also higher, up by 0.6%, on hopes that the car maker's union will be able to reach a deal with management over pay.
Union members will reportedly cast their vote on Monday, on a 4% rise in pay. Workers have gone on partial strike since the middle of December.
Meanwhile in Japan the Nikkei 225 index returns to trade with a jump by 0.85% to 19,050 points. The market there was shut on Wednesday for a public holiday.
The Bank of Japan has released the minutes from its November meeting on monetary policy. The minutes showed that policymakers at the central bank are confident the Japanese economy has continued to "recover moderately, although exports and production have been affected by the slowdown in emerging economies".
Overnight in the US, stocks rallied on Wall Street, led by energy stocks. A rebound in oil prices led to renewed appetite for shares of oil and gas companies.
The oil producers' group Opec has said it expects oil prices to recover to $70 a barrel by 2020. Prices are currently around $37 a barrel due to oversupply and slowing demand.
Elsewhere in Asia, financial markets in Manila, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia are closed on Thursday for public holidays.


On the day Anthony Martial's status exploded as the teenager became a luxury-priced prospect for Manchester United, and Arsenal's vain summer search for an elite striker ended in disappointment, it was easy to reach the conclusion that the pool of established, talented forwards at the north London club was worryingly dry.

Both clubs had an easy £50m or so to spend on central strikers, and the best they could apparently come up with between them was a kid with a handful of goals to his name so far.
While Martial has been a revelation for United, a turbo-charged and cool-headed game-changer in terms of his impact on the team so far, Arsene Wenger was left examining internal solutions.
For Arsenal, who spent most of the transfer window like a teenager agonisingly watching the telephone to see if Karim Benzema's number would flash up, this was particularly frustrating.
Ever since the most prolific striker in their history, Thierry Henry, opined last April that Arsenal couldn't win the Premier League title without an upgrade in that department, the pressure to improve cranked up. "I'm afraid they need a top, top quality striker to win this league again," he said.
It was pretty clear, as far as Henry was concerned, that his compatriot Olivier Giroud was not in that "top, top quality" bracket.
It is telling that Theo Walcott was not really a major part of that conversation. At the time he was kicking his heels, mostly on the bench, trying to maintain the right mixture of patience and determination to take a chance when it came having spent a year recovering from a cruciate ligament injury.
More or less all of 2014 was spent rehabilitating, and changing his perspective as he became a father. Arsenal's first choice centre-forward? It was his ambition but it felt like a long shot.
Right now, ahead of a compelling challenge between Arsenal and Manchester United this weekend at the Emirates, the position feels like Walcott's for the taking. He has had to wait a long time to press his case. As he says: "I'll play anywhere, but the manager started playing me up front slowly."
Opportunities are now knocking. Wenger's inability to sign anyone in the last transfer window pushed Walcott up the pecking order, which appears to have been advanced even more by Giroud having a difficult time of it lately.
The Frenchman was jeered when he missed some chances for the national team, and sent off in Arsenal's defeat by Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, and Walcott looks to have eased in front. Giroud was the starter for the first two games of the Premier League campaign. But since then Walcott has started five of the last six Premier League and Champions League fixtures.
Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright recently called for Walcott to be given "a genuine run of games up there… let him prove he can do it".
He has responded by chipping in with regular goals and assists. His chance conversion still needs to improve, but 12 from 13 Premier League starts is not to be sniffed at. Once he got that unexpected berth to lead the line at the FA Cup final, in which he opened the scoring against Aston Villa, this was always going to be a key season.
His confident body language suggests he feels he belongs up front now and welcomes the responsibility. He also possesses a coolness of character which means he doesn't look affected if he misses a chance, and just concentrates on waiting for the next one.
Can he be the answer? It is still too early to say, but one thing that is clearly different about this campaign is Wenger's attitude towards a player he has worked on for almost a decade. For the first time the manager regards Walcott purely as a central striker.
Every minute of this season he has played so far has been in that role, not at all on the right flank he occupied for a long time, where he could sometimes get lost.
His performance against Leicester last weekend was full of the kind of movement to stretch defences, sharp runs, and strong interplay with team-mates that outline his case well.
The unconvinced point out that Leicester, with their high defensive line and cavalier style, are dream opponents for a speedy player like Walcott to whizz around on the counter-attack. The question of whether he can be as effective in tight home games where buses are parked and spaces squeezed remains in the balance.
If during that sequence of games Wright called for, he can learn to be effective, and make the difference, in those situations Arsenal really might be on to something.
Walcott mentioned Wright's style as an inspiration. "He obviously scored so many goals and caused havoc for defenders. He wasn't the tallest man in the world but the amount of pressure he would put on defenders just scared them," Walcott explained in an interview with Arsenal Player.
"I can learn from the runs he made, the pace he had in his game and his finishing. When he was in the box he didn't panic."
A connection with Alexis Sanchez is forming. As well as enjoying the space to dash into at Leicester, they created a goal for each other in the Champions League defeat by Olympiakos. It was a bright spot on a dark night for Arsenal, and a positive for Wenger to cling to as they prepare for United's visit.
It seems extraordinary that the England forward will have been at Arsenal long enough to qualify for a testimonial soon. In January he will have been at the club for 10 years.
The manager sees a difference in the 26-year-old these days, and the influence he hopes he can bring. "When he arrived here he was a boy, a little boy who discovered a world where he did not know anything about it. He has become very mature, he has gone through difficult periods so he is a very strong man today. He can become a prolific goalscorer."
Henry, who spends so much time around Arsenal these days as he works on his coaching badges, will cast his eye over both Walcott and Martial with considerable interest this weekend.


Protesters in the southern Indian city of Bangalore in Karnataka state have attacked shops and set fire to vehicles in a long-running dispute about water.

They were angry at a Supreme Court ruling ordering Karnataka to share more water with neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka must release 12,000 cubic feet of water per second from the Cauvery river until 20 September.
Both states say they urgently need the water for irrigation and a battle about access to it has raged for decades.
The violence in the technology hub closed many offices and much of the public transport system.
Police have imposed an emergency law that prohibits public gatherings, and more than 15,000 officers have been deployed.
Reuters reported that Tamil Nadu registered vehicles were being singled out by protesters and pelted with stones.


A video has emerged apparently showing an armed man using a decoy bird to attract a rare hen harrier on land owned by the National Trust.

The film was shot on land leased for grouse shooting in the Derbyshire Peak District in February.
Conservation group Raptor Persecution, who published the footage on Tuesday, has called for action to be taken.
Derbyshire Police investigated the footage but have decided not to take any further action.
However, the National Trust said it was taking the incident "very seriously" and has started an investigation.
The footage was captured by birdwatchers with a digiscope about a kilometre away and was released after police had investigated.
A spokeswoman for Raptor Persecution said, while nothing illegal happened, it appeared the decoy bird had been made to look like a male hen harrier, possibly in order to attract another of the birds.
She said: "Male hen harriers are notoriously territorial and will attack what they think is an intruder.
"While the bird is distracted with mobbing the decoy, [the] gamekeeper takes aim from his hiding place nearby."
The RSPB said while decoy hawks and owls could be used for the lawful control of crows, it was "worried" the footage may have shown an "illegal attempt to target [hen harriers] or other birds of prey".
The Peak District National Park's chief executive Sarah Fowler described the video as "alarming and suspicious" and said she would support the investigation.
The Moorland Association condemns all acts of wildlife crime but said no crime had been committed in this instance.
A spokeswoman said: "Making judgements based on assumptions of the content of this clip, or indeed the intentions of those who have produced it, would be pure supposition and not something we are going to enter into."
Derbyshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Charles said: "A recent sighting of a man with a gun and a plastic model of a hen harrier bird on a Peak District grouse moor is a sharp reminder of the continuing efforts needed to protect our wildlife.
"Although the man was caught on camera by two observers, they were, unfortunately, too far away to obtain film evidence of sufficient quality to enable a prosecution."
According to the RSPB, hen harriers are the most "intensively persecuted" birds of prey in the UK and its predation of grouse is a source of conflict on moors used for shooting.
In 2015, five male hen harriers disappeared from sites across England leading to the collapse of nests.
It is still not clear what happened to the birds.


A contract to provide additional electricity capacity in Northern Ireland will add about £5 a year to household bills, the enterprise minister has said.

System Operator Northern Ireland (SONI), the firm responsible for the reliability of electricity system, awarded the contract last week.
SONI said it was necessary to provide additional capacity to meet a projected shortfall over the coming years.
The three year contract went to AES.
The firm operates the Ballylumford and Kilroot power stations.
The minister, Arlene Foster, said: "There will be some cost impacts, that has never been hidden, on consumer bills.
"But the costs have been minimised through the competitive tendering process and will be around £5 per annum on average to the domestic bill."
It is understood the contract will involve modernising part of Ballylumford.
Under the deal, AES will provide an extra 250 megawatts (MW) to the system, enough to power 160,000 homes
It is estimated that from January 2016, the margin of spare generating capacity in Northern Ireland's electricity system will fall from 600 MW to 200 MW.
The amount of spare capacity in the system is falling for a number of reasons.
The main issue is that EU pollution rules mean that part of Ballylumford power station will have to be shut down.
Additionally, the undersea Moyle interconnector has suffered a series of faults and is currently running at 50% capacity.
It is due to be fixed by the end of 2015, before the cables are completely replaced in 2017.
SONI considers that 200MW is not enough spare capacity to guarantee security of supply, if there was a prolonged fault at a power station.


Team Sky said they would not "risk cheating" after claims their jerseys were illegally designed for the opening time trial of the Tour de France.

The British team had four riders in the top eight on Saturday, with Geraint Thomas taking the yellow jersey.
'Bubble pads' - small raised dots - featured on the upper arms of several Sky riders' jerseys.
Race jury president Philippe Marien said: "It is an actual part of the jersey."
International Cycling Union (UCI) regulations state that garments must not be adapted in any way beyond their use purely as clothing. The addition of any non-essential element or device to clothing is prohibited.
Team Sky sports director Nicolas Portal said they "abide by rules", adding: "Other big teams have been using it.
"It's legal. Everybody knows the rules. It does not give you a big advantage but it's those little things, so why not use them?
"Everything has been validated. We would not take the risk to cheat and lose everything on the first day."
Among the Team Sky riders to finish in the top 10 was defending champion Chris Froome.
"It's enhanced aerodynamics and the regulations forbid it," said Frederic Grappe, performance director at the FDJ team.
"According to studies, the estimated gain is about four to seven percent. It's huge."
Italian Marco Pinotti, a coach at BMC Racing, told Reuters: "It seems to me this 'equipment' is on the borderline with the rules but if it's judged compliant with the rules then I accept it."


Former Aberdeen hero Alex McLeish is heartened by the Pittodrie side's start to the season but thinks Celtic will pick up their fifth consecutive title.

The Dons lead Celtic by five points at the top the Premiership after winning their first eight fixtures.
"Aberdeen have needed a good team for a long time and [manager] Derek McInnes has done some sterling work over the last couple of years," said McLeish.
"Will they win the title? I would say it will still be Celtic."
Aberdeen finished runners-up last season, 17 points behind the champions - losing all four league meetings with Celtic.
However, they beat Celtic earlier this month, coming from behind to win 2-1 at Pittodrie.
"I don't think it's going to be as big a margin as it has been in recent years," McLeish told BBC Radio 5 live. "If Aberdeen can keep the nucleus of their team fit, it could be closer than many people think."
Former Scotland manager McLeish, 56, spent 16 years with Aberdeen, winning 12 major honours, including three titles under manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
"It's a fantastic run that Derek has got the team on," he added. "I think it even beats our stats in the days of Sir Alex, so I'm a little bit jealous."


Wales must prepare for coastal erosion such as the landslip that left 15 caravans teetering on the edge of cliff near Barry, a minister says.

Environment Minister John Griffiths is launching a new strategy aimed at managing and reducing the risks and fall out of flooding and erosion.
It aims to raise awareness, improve responses and prioritise investment in the areas most at risk.
One expert says people must accept saving all the coastline is too costly.
The Welsh government estimates one in six properties in Wales is at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or surface water.
Mr Griffiths is launching a new national strategy at Borth in Ceredigion where £12m is being spent on a coastal flood defence scheme to protect 422 homes and businesses.
He referred to the "significant flooding" in 1990, which saw around 2,800 properties flooded and thousands evacuated when defences were breached in Towyn and Kinmel Bay areas in north Wales.
Mr Griffiths said this month's rock fall at the Porthkerry, near Barry, which left 15 caravans teetering on a cliff edge had been a stark reminder of the dangers faced.
"The evidence suggests that in future we may see more events like these, with higher sea levels, increases in the intensity of rainfall and more frequent flooding," he said.
"The consequence of that flooding will include greater risks to life, the economy and the environment.
"Coastal erosion will increase, with more coastal communities facing the loss of land, properties and resources."
But he said with proper planning the risks could be managed and the consequences reduced.
He said the Welsh government would continue to invest in flood and coast protection and a successful bid for £50m of European money had offset any reduction in the government's budget.
Prof Mike Phillips, head of the school of built and natural environment at Swansea Metropolitan University, said there were already a lot of good partnerships in Wales but the work needed to be built on.
"What is changing now and where I think we are starting to make great advances is in realising some times it's too expensive to defend the coastline," he explained.
He said areas of high economic importance would continue to be protected but in other parts a "managed retreat" was a better option.
And he said experts were now much better at predicting areas that may be at risk.
"Modelling is a lot better and the predictions are a lot better."
He said there had been a lot of work recently in understanding the different factors at work around the beaches at Tenby in Pembrokeshire.
And he welcomed the fact every local authority would have to produce its own strategy based on the national one.
"We have to make sure that where we are developing near the shore line we get people who understand the coastal processes in that area to respond," he added.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) manages a database with the records of over 180 landslides around Wales and says they can be hard to predict.
Dr Helen Reeves, a senior engineering geologist with the BGS said: "It's a natural process and it's very difficult to stop but there are ways we can mitigate against it and there are certain engineering solutions that you can put in place."


League One side Fleetwood Town have appointed Steven Pressley as manager.

The 41-year-old replaces former Scotland team-mate Graham Alexander, who was dismissed on 30 September.
Pressley was sacked by Coventry City in February after almost two years in charge, following a seven-game winless run that left them in the relegation zone.
He recently rejected the chance to talk to Scottish side Dundee United about their vacant managerial position.
Pressley has been working as a coaching for the Scottish Football Association and had just agreed to look after the Scotland Under-17 team on a one-off basis for a three-match round of qualifiers.
In a recent interview with BBC Radio Scotland, after being linked to the role at Dundee United, Pressley said: "I have built up a very good reputation in England and I have a burning desire to manage at the elite level.
"That's not an arrogance. That's a belief. In order to do that, I think you have to manage in a country like England."
The former Hearts and Rangers centre-back started his coaching career at Falkirk in 2010, leaving the Bairns three years later to take charge of Coventry.
He kept the Sky Blues in League One in his first full season in charge despite serious financial difficulties which resulted in the club being docked 10 points for going into administration.
He was fired the following year with Coventry 21st in the table, in a season when they were beaten at home in the first round of the FA Cup by non-league Worcester City.
Meanwhile, Fleetwood have confirmed that assistant manager Chris Lucketti will remain in his role, while Pressley's former Coventry assistant Neil MacFarlane has joined the coaching staff.


When you think of waterfalls, you tend to picture stuff going down...

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30 January 2015 Last updated at 11:48 GMT
But visitors to Niagara Falls in North America got a shock when they saw adventurer Will Gadd climbing UP a frozen section.
Niagara Falls is actually a collection of three waterfalls - he made it up an icy part of Horseshoe Falls, the biggest one.
Will said: "I've been ice climbing for 30 years now and this is the coolest thing I've ever done."
Watch Hayley's clip to see Will in action.


Undefeated British and Commonwealth super-welterweight Champion Liam Williams has been ruled out of his title defence against Nav Mansouri.

Williams was scheduled to defend his titles in Liverpool on 13 February.
But the 23-year-old has been struck down with a viral infection and no new date has been announced for the fight
Williams claimed the vacant British light-middleweight title with a stunning second-round win over Kris Carslaw in December.
The Clydach Vale fighter was fighting for the first time in 13 months after recovering from two hand operations.


A number of gorse fires have been burning on a hillside just outside Londonderry.

About six separate blazes broke out at Altaghadherry, at about 13:00 BST on Sunday.
Joe Canning and his family were eating dinner when they noticed clouds of smoke behind their property.
"We smelled smoke and we closed the windows and it raged into an inferno thereafter. It's been burning ever since," he said.
"It'll probably go on for days because there is no access to it. The fire department won't be able to get up near it, so it'll probably burn and burn until it does go out, until it rains."
Mr Canning said he was not concerned for his own safety or that of his property, but was worried about the local wildlife.
"There's a lot of wildlife around here, pheasants and badgers and foxes and young birds at this time of year," he said.


People may be able to contract Alzheimer's during certain medical procedures in the same way as the brain disease CJD, say researchers.

Contaminated surgical instruments or injections, such as human growth hormone, may pose a rare but potential risk, they speculate in Nature.
The theoretical hunch comes from post-mortem brain studies in eight patients.
The UK experts stress that their findings are inconclusive and do not mean Alzheimer's is infectious.
People cannot catch Alzheimer's from coming into contact with other people with the condition.
Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that is more common with increasing age. People with a family history of the condition are also at increased risk of developing it.
In Alzheimer's, brain cells die off and, over time, the brain shrinks, affecting many of its functions.
Scientists can also see the effects of the disease under the microscope.
There are two telltale signs - abnormal clusters of protein fragments, called amyloid plaques, and tangles of another protein known as tau.
It was when Dr John Collinge and colleagues from University College London were studying the brains of recently deceased CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) patients that they stumbled across one of these Alzheimer-like signs.
Seven of the eight patients they studied had amyloid deposits in the brain, which was surprising given their relatively young ages (between 31 and 51) and the fact that they had no family history of Alzheimer's.
All of the deceased had caught their CJD from contaminated human growth hormone injections, given to them as children.
This treatment was withdrawn in the UK in 1985 once the risk of CJD infection became clear. Extra checks and measures, such as using disposable surgical instruments, are now carried out in NHS hospitals to minimise the risk.
Dr Collinge believes amyloid could be spread accidentally during medical and surgical procedures in the same way as CJD, via contaminating protein "seeds" or prions that grow in the brain.
Animal studies support this idea, but caution is needed.
None of the eight autopsy patients had full-blown Alzheimer's disease and it is not clear if they would ever have developed dementia.
There is no proof that the growth hormone injections were the cause of the amyloid.
Perhaps research papers like this one should come with their own health warning: "may cause unnecessary alarm".
That's not to discredit their scientific worth, the findings are interesting and important for furthering understanding.
But they must be interpreted with caution.
There are too many 'ifs' to draw any firm conclusions.
The observations are from a small number of deceased patients who had a treatment that hasn't been used for years.
Although it's still not clear exactly why some people develop Alzheimer's while others do not, experts agree that you can't "catch it" like a cold.
Dr Collinge says more research is needed. He has already contacted the Department of Health to see if it has any old stocks of human growth hormone that he can check for the presence of amyloid "seeds".
He said: "I do not think there is any cause for alarm.  No-one should delay or not go for surgery because of this."
The chief medical officer for England, Prof Dame Sally Davies, added:  "I can reassure people that the NHS has extremely stringent procedures in place to minimise infection risk from surgical equipment, and patients are very well protected."
Dr Eric Karran, director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "While the findings sound concerning, it's important to remember that human-derived hormone injections are no longer used and were replaced with synthetic forms since the link to CJD was discovered in the 1980s."
"Current measures in place to limit contamination with the prion protein and minimise CJD risk from hospital procedures are very rigorous and the risk of developing CJD from surgical contamination is extremely low.
"The biggest risk factor for Alzheimer's is age, along with genetic and lifestyle factors. If further research was to confirm a link between historical tissue contamination and Alzheimer's, it would only likely be relevant to a tiny proportion of the total number of people affected."


The gym hall where an Edinburgh schoolgirl died when a wall collapsed is to be demolished this summer.

Â£2.5m is being invested in new facilities at Liberton High where 12-year-old Keane Wallis Bennett died after the "modesty" wall fell on her.
Edinburgh City Council said a permanent memorial was planned as well as a new extension to the PE block.
The Health and Safety Executive is continuing its investigation into the tragedy, which happened on 1 April.
Paul Godzik, Edinburgh City Council's education convener, said: "The overwhelming view from staff at the school, parents and the local community is that the gym should be demolished as soon as possible.
"The proposal is that this will happen at the earliest opportunity, and assuming that the necessary consents are in place, we hope this will be able to take place over the summer break to minimise disruption to the school.
"The tragic incident two months ago has obviously had a devastating effect on the local community and we are determined to work with them and other partners to ensure nothing similar can ever happen again.
"Discussions about a suitable memorial at the school for Keane are continuing and we hope to make an announcement in the near future."


Lawmakers in Arizona are weighing a law requiring transgender people to use public toilets of the gender listed on their birth certificate.

Transgender protesters forced a halt to debate on the bill on Wednesday.
Last month, the state approved a human rights measure banning gender identity discrimination at public facilities.
In recent weeks, two other states passed laws ensuring equal access to gender-segregated facilities for transgender students.
The bill in Arizona's Republican-dominated legislature would make it a misdemeanour offence to use a public toilet, bathroom, shower, bath, dressing room or changing room associated with a gender other than what is on one's birth certificate.
Penalties could include six months in prison.
"If you look like a man and you live your life like a man, you should be able to use a man's bathroom," said Dru Levasseur, a transgender rights lawyer for the advocacy group Lambda Legal.
But John Kavanagh, the Republican lawmaker who sponsored the bill, said he feared criminals might take advantage of the situation and expose themselves to children of the opposite gender.
"This law simply restores the law of society: men are men and women are women," Mr Kavanagh said, according to the Associated Press.
"For a handful of people to make everyone else uncomfortable just makes no sense."
But, Mr Kavanagh added, police would be allowed to use their discretion over whether to press charges if women used the men's room to avoid a long queue.
On Wednesday, Mr Kavanagh agreed to postpone a vote on the bill at the start of a hearing filled with dozens of transgender activists.
The bill's opponents say it would force transgender people to reveal themselves and risk harassment,
"Most transgender people try to slip through public places without being noticed,'' activist Erica Keppler said.
"This will turn us into criminals."
And advocates say transgender people can find it difficult to change gender on their birth certificates because many states require proof of gender treatment surgery.
Meanwhile, other states such as Idaho and Ohio do not allow such changes at all, the American Civil Liberties Union said.
It is already illegal to discriminate against transgender people in 16 US states, although the extent of protections can vary, the group added.
In an ongoing case, a Colorado family has filed a complaint against the state after their six-year-old, who was born a boy, was banned from using the girl's bathroom at her primary school.


It may not be unusual for six-year-olds to spend time on their computers, but when Humza Shahzad does it, he is not playing games.

Humza, from south London, has just passed three professional exams normally taken by adults and says he found them easy.
His father bought him a laptop when he was two and a half and taught him basic computing skills.
His case is not unique but has sparked a debate on how far to push children.
Humza's father, Asim, an IT consultant, said: "I didn't want him to waste time playing games on the computer so I focused his energy towards learning the computer."
Although both parents helped the Croydon youngster prepare for the first exam, Microsoft Word 2013, his mother, Seemab, says her son managed to teach himself for the subsequent papers.
He has since passed the tests for Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 and Excel 2013 - and is the youngest in the world to pass all three categories.
Mrs Shahzad says she is proud of her son's achievement.
"We had to put considerable effort to teach him in the first exam, but then he learned everything himself," she added.
Last year, five-year-old Ayan Qureshi also became a Microsoft Certified Professional after passing the tech giant's exam.
In the same year, Haris Khan, from the Republic of Ireland, became the youngest app developer in the world at the age of 10.
The list goes on, but raises questions over how far children should be pushed.
Child psychologist Laverne Antrobus says there should not be a problem as long as a balanced upbringing is provided.
"It's only one aspect of the child's life and other skills like sociability or emotional robustness should also be developed," she said.
The BBC spoke to a number of child psychologists who all said there was nothing wrong with tapping into a child's potential because children are good learners - but that there were caveats.
Ruth Coppard, a child psychologist from Sheffield, says: "It's fine to give the child the opportunity and help develop their interest if they want it, but if children are pushed too hard, that can lead to depression later in life."
Another, Mamta Saha, said: "Pushing a child who has potential within boundaries can help them achieve great heights, but anything done in excess can have [an] adverse effect on the child - it might disengage them or they may go the other way."
Humza sat the exams at Best Training London South, in Streatham, south London.  Those at the institute are amazed by the little boy's abilities, especially with his skills in MS Excel.
Kamil Krzysztof Procyszyn, head of ICT at the institute, said: "Microsoft's exams require really good understanding of their software and technologies." Candidates need to really put a lot of effort into preparation and practice in order to pass the exam."
He said the tests were usually taken by professionals who wanted to improve their job prospects.
Participants are provided with a virtual environment in which the capabilities of each individual are established through a series of problems and tasks.
Other Microsoft exams differ in that they are focused on memorising answers and filling out check boxes.
Humza has already been dubbed a "superstar" at his local primary school, the Ark Oval Academy, in Croydon.
Teachers at the school have praised the six-year-old and attributed most of his success to the support of his family.
They say he is a good role model for other children.
"Every child can make their dreams into reality and Humza has definitely shown you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it," said head teacher Sonia Rutherford.
Humza is already clear about his future.  He wants to be like Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft.
"I want to use my wealth to help poor people around the world to improve their lives," he said.


Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone would be labelled "boring" if he were managing in the Premier League, says Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce.

A sound defensive display helped Atletico earn a 1-0 first-leg advantage over Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday.
Atletico, the 2014 Spanish champions, knocked out La Liga title rivals Barcelona in the last eight.
Allardyce said: "'He defends too much' - that's what he'd get here."
Bundesliga leaders Bayern dominated the second half after Saul Niguez's sublime solo goal had given the La Liga side an early lead, but Atletico's defence blunted their attack.
Allardyce, whose own methods have been labelled as dour in the past, added: "It's an art, defending - everybody has forgotten that. It's a tactical art to be able to sense danger and block people's crosses and get your toe in without fouling them now and they are very, very good at it indeed.
"The whole team buys into it. You see Fernando Torres on the edge of his own box defending. You never saw that at Liverpool or Chelsea.
"That's how good the manager is and that's why they are successful. They are successful because they concede fewer goals than everybody else and only need one to win.
"Now, everybody can say 'well, that's not entertaining', but everybody is eulogising Simeone's tactics now. I wouldn't think they would do that in the Premier League so much."
Atletico are only behind Barca in La Liga on head-to-head record with three games left.
Sunderland have collected three clean sheets in their last four games and the manager said extending that defensive record over the four remaining league matches was key to relegation survival.
The Black Cats - who moved out of the relegation zone last weekend but only on goal difference - play Stoke on Saturday.
"At the moment, if we keep those clean sheet ratios going in the next four games, I am convinced we will stay up," added the 61-year-old.


Scientists have identified a completely new type of meteorite.

The 8cm space rock is said to be chemically distinct from any of the 50,000 other such objects held in collections.
Called Österplana 65, it was found in a limestone quarry in Thorsberg, Sweden, that produces floor tiles.
Dating suggests the meteorite's parent body was involved in a huge collision in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter some 470 million years ago.
This would have been the same smash-up that produced a large class of other rocks known as L chondrites, Birger Schmitz and colleagues tell the journal Nature Communications.
The L chondrites are picked up in significant quantities in the Thorsberg sediments of Ordovician age - a period in Earth history when the Northern Hemisphere was largely under water and marine lifeforms such as the trilobites were flourishing.
Dr Schmitz' team has recovered more than a hundred of these "fossil" objects in the quarry. But the new meteorite stands out because geochemically its oxygen and chromium signatures are distinct.
"We've been hunting these Ordovician meteorites for 25 years. We found 50, then 60, then 70 - and it was getting boring," he told BBC News.
"Then in 2011, we found one meteorite that was entirely different. For a long time we called it 'the mysterious object' because it didn't resemble anything. For five years, we have done all types of analysis and now we're certain of what it is."
The hypothesis is that Öst 65 comes from the "second asteroid" in the collision.
The scientists can make this claim because of the results of so-called cosmogenic dating.
This is a technique that will reveal how long the fresh surface of a broken object has been exposed to space radiation.
Impacts from high energy particles generate particular types, or isotopes, of atoms in the rock - in this case, it is forms of helium and neon.
The more of these isotopes that are present, the greater the time since the fragmentation event.
When this dating is done for the L chondrites and Öst 65, the exposure times line up.
"We show that Öst 65 was liberated from its parent body at the same time as the L chondrites were released from their parent body, and that's very strong empirical evidence that this new meteorite comes from the same impact," said Dr Schmitz.
The discovery reinforces the idea that different types of meteorite have fallen to Earth through geological time; that the space rocks we find on the surface of our planet today reflect a somewhat different Solar System to the one that existed 500 million years ago.
Dr Schmitz refers to Öst 65 as an "extinct meteorite". Just as the trilobites eventually died out, so other members of the Öst 65 family are likely only to be found in fossil sediments like those at Thorsberg.
Dr Schmitz' meteorite hunt in the quarry is certainly more interesting now: "It used to be that they threw away the floor tiles that had ugly black dots in them. One of my co-authors on the paper, Mario Tassinari, contacted the quarry owners to ask them not to do that. The very first fossil meteorite we found was in one of their dumps."
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


Jonathan Sexton is fully fit to start Ireland's Six Nations campaign after another head injury scare, coach Joe Schmidt said on Wednesday.

Sexton, 30, was taken off in Leinster's European Champions Cup loss to Wasps last Saturday, but has passed the required tests to return to training.
"Johnny trained really well yesterday, he is ready to go," said Schmidt.
Ireland and Leinster confirmed that Sexton did not suffer a concussion against Wasps.
The Irish start their attempt to win a third successive championship with a home match against Wales on 7 February.
Sexton missed Ireland's Six Nations opener against Italy last year after being stood down from all rugby for 12 weeks after a series of concussions in a short space of time.
Coach Schmidt has responded to suggestions influential playmaker Sexton should consider quitting the sport to preserve his long-term health.
Schmidt branded those calls "a disappointment", frustrated that observers outside the Ireland camp had questioned expert medical opinion.
"It was this time last year that the problem really arose and he had the break," added Schmidt. "Since that time he hasn't really had too many problems.
"As we're concerned and as far as Johnny's concerned, he is very keen to be ready to go in 11 days' time.
"All we can do is go on the medical opinion, and he had two of the best guys that are around, who made some decisions for him last year and have followed up since then," said Schmidt.
"When they give him the all-clear we've got a lot of trust in them."
Praising Leinster for withdrawing Sexton as a precaution in the weekend's heavy defeat at Wasps, Schmidt said Ireland took head injuries extremely seriously.


Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian say they have not made contact with Chelsea striker Diego Costa or his agent "during the past six months".

Costa, 28, was heavily linked with a move to the club in the January transfer window.
But Tianjin said: "We have no intention of becoming involved in any unhealthy competition and, consequently, paying a premium price."
Costa's 20 top-flight goals this season helped Chelsea win the league title.
Tianjin were promoted to the Super League last season and have Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro as their manager.
The club's owner, Shu Yuhui, said in January that a bid to sign Costa had been scuppered by new rules in the Chinese Super League which mean only three foreign players can be fielded per game.


An agreement that brought Aer Lingus to Belfast International Airport (BIA) in 2007 did not oblige the airline to remain there for a 10-year term, the High Court has ruled.

Aer Lingus switched to Belfast City Airport in 2012 saying the operation at BIA was no longer financially viable.
BIA claimed it had a binding 10-year contract with the Irish airline.
But the judge ruled that a letter that formed the basis of the agreement did not "adopt the language of obligation".
BIA was suing for Â£20m in damages.
Aer Lingus and BIA never signed a formal contract, instead relying on a letter that was sent by the airport in June 2007.
The judge said that if an agreement had been drawn up in proper legal terms it may have achieved what the letter had not.
He said the letter had described a pricing obligation, if Aer Lingus had remained for 10 years, but did not provide for a 10-year flying obligation.
The question of whether Aer Lingus was entitled to terminate the arrangement in the way it did is still to be determined by the judge.
A further hearing in September is expected to focus on the amount of notice given.
The judge was critical of some of the evidence given by Aer Lingus, describing it as "elusive".
He said it had added to the case's time and expense, and that as a result he was "minded" to order the airline to pay half of BIA's costs.
BIA said in a statement that it "welcomes the finding of the High Court that it did have a contract with Aer Lingus on the document the airport contended as forming the contractual relationship".


Wales' largest dairy farm has been fined £36,000 after cattle slurry waste polluted a nearby stream.

Part of a brook in Carmarthenshire was "80 to 90% covered in sewage fungus", according to officials.
Llanelli Magistrates' Court was told the foaming effluent in Fernhill Brook was near to two farms operated by Cwrt Malle Ltd.
Owners Howell and Susan Richards run the "super-dairy" with a herd of 1,900 cows.
The court heard that tests were carried out by Natural Resources Wales downstream from Cwrt Malle farm, where the stream was "discoloured and foaming, with a strong odour present".
Analysis discovered pollution was well above levels safe levels for oxygen in the water, known as the 'Biochemical Oxygen Demand' or BOD.
Prosecutor John Tarrant said the accepted BOD set by the European Union was a reading of three.
The BOD levels at Fernhill Brook were 5,178.
But while he said while the levels were high, the leaks had not killed any fish nor caused admitted any long term damage.
Mr Tarrant also told the court that Cwrt Malle had previously been fined £5,000 for a similar offence in 2013.
The court heard pollution of the stream happened when a "slurry lagoon" of animal waste overspilled.
Defending solicitor Aled Owen also blamed extremely heavy rainfall.
"It had been the highest rainfall recorded in 100 years," he said.
"This is a very well run and modern farm."
Cwrt Malle Ltd admitted six offences of breaching environmental regulations.
Five of the offences occurred between December 2015 and September 2016 at Cwrt Malle.
The remaining breach happened at Wernolau Farm in January 2016.
As well as a £36,000 fine, the farm firm must also pay £8,500 in prosecution costs.


Israel's prime minister says Iranians "deserve better" than their current government and that their lives could get worse if it gains nuclear weapons.

In an interview with BBC Persian, Benjamin Netanyahu warned: "If they get nuclear weapons this brutal regime will be immortal, like North Korea."
He also said the new President, Hassan Rouhani, could not "change the real decisions" made by the Supreme Leader.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Mr Rouhani have said they reject nuclear weapons.
They insist Iran's nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes, but world powers suspect they are not being truthful.
There has nevertheless been a recent thaw in relations between Iran and the United States, with Mr Rouhani and President Barack Obama recently discussing the issue - the first top-level conversation between the two countries for more than 30 years.
On Tuesday, Iranian diplomats at the United Nations reacted angrily after Mr Netanyahu described their president as a "wolf in sheep's clothing" in a speech to the General Assembly.
In his interview - his first with an international Persian-language media organisation - the Israeli leader said Mr Rouhani did not "represent the Iranian people".
"He represents a desire for change, but it wasn't expressed in a free open election."
"I don't think he has the mandate to change the real decisions that are made by Khamenei.  Khamenei wants nuclear weapons for Iran."
Mr Rouhani has said he has "full power and complete authority" to strike a nuclear deal. However, ultimate power lies with the Supreme Leader.
Mr Netanyahu told BBC Persian that people, himself included, wanted to see "a diplomatic solution to end Iran's quest for nuclear weapons".
"But I want to see a real solution. Not a fake one."
That would involve the "complete dismantling of Iran's ability to make nuclear weapons", he added.
"If they want civilian energy, they don't need enrichment. Uranium enrichment is necessary only if you want nuclear weapons."
"If they get nuclear weapons this brutal regime will be immortal, like North Korea. It will go on repressing the people of Iran, who deserve better. They are a great people."
The UN Security Council has adopted a series of resolutions requiring Iran to stop enriching uranium, which can be used for civilian nuclear purposes, but also to build nuclear bombs.
But Iran says it is simply doing what it has a "right" to do under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and is enriching uranium for power station fuel or other peaceful purposes.


Mobile phone coverage across Wales is set for big improvements over the next few years.

13 November 2015 Last updated at 20:53 GMT
OFCOM, the telecommunications regulator, says phone companies should deliver call coverage to 90% of the country by 2017.
But people in rural parts of Wales are calling for government intervention, as they are concerned that their areas might get left behind.
Representatives of the big four mobile phone operators have been in Newtown, to hear the concerns of people from across mid Wales.
Roger Pinney reports.


The Bank of England has made another dramatic rise in its growth forecast for this year.

It expects the economy to grow 2% in 2017, up from a November forecast of 1.4%, which was itself an upgrade from the 0.8% forecast made in August.
The Bank also made a striking forecast about the savings rate, which it expects to fall to 4%, the lowest rate since the early 1960s.
As expected the Bank kept interest rates on hold at 0.25%.
The raised growth forecast follows much criticism levelled at the Bank for being too gloomy when it drastically cut its growth forecast after June's vote in favour of Brexit.
Kamal Ahmed: Has the "Brexit effect" disappeared?
"Domestic demand has been stronger than expected in the past few months, and there have been relatively few signs of the slowdown in consumer spending that the committee had anticipated following the referendum," the Bank said in its latest Quarterly Inflation Report.
The Bank said the latest, improved forecast was partly the result of higher spending and investment contained in Chancellor Philip Hammond's Autumn Statement.
It also credited stronger growth in the US and Europe, rising stock markets and the greater availability of credit for households, for its more optimistic outlook for the UK economy.
However, the Bank still sees the economy slowing in 2018, when it expects growth of 1.6%.
It blames that deceleration on an expected slowdown in spending by households as they adjust to higher inflation. The Bank thinks that income growth, when adjusted for inflation, will stall in 2017.
It predicts "a significant fall in the saving ratio over the next three years as consumers take time to adjust spending growth to weaker income flows". The savings rate is expected to fall to 4%, the lowest rate since records began in the early 1960s.
The erosion in consumer spending power is partly down to higher consumer price inflation, which the Bank forecasts running at 2% this year, slightly higher than its previous forecast of 1.8% made in November.
Much of that inflation is the result of the weaker pound, which is making imported goods more expensive.
The pound is still about 16% below the level seen before the referendum. In recent months it has fallen below $1.21 against the dollar, but has bounced off those lows.
The Bank expects the weakness in the pound to propel inflation higher and it expects inflation of 2.7% next year, which is well above its target rate of 2%.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said the Bank is prepared to tolerate inflation running above its target, but in the minutes from their latest meeting, members of the Monetary Policy Committee said they had moved "a little closer" to the limit of that toleration.
Sterling fell sharply after the release of the Bank's inflation report. The pound dropped nearly a cent against the US dollar to below $1.26 as the markets interpreted the report as indicating that the Bank was in no rush to raise interest rates.
The Bank has also been surprised by the modest rises in wage growth.
"Pay growth, although edging up, has remained persistently subdued by historical standards - strikingly so in light of the decline in the rate of unemployment to below 5%," the Bank said in its report.
Economic theory says that wages should be driven up when unemployment is low, but the Bank now thinks there is more slack in the economy than it previously thought and estimates the economy can run with unemployment at 4.5%, without sparking wage inflation.
The Bank says it will be closely watching spending growth, if it slows more abruptly than expected "there is scope for monetary policy to be loosened".
However, it warns that if pay growth picks up more than anticipated interest rates may have to be raised more sharply "than the gently rising path" implied by the financial markets.
The financial markets are forecasting a 50% chance of a rise in interest rates this year and see a rise as almost certain before the end of 2018.
During a press conference after publication of the report, Mr Carney said that Brexit issues would continue to hang over the economy.
"The Brexit journey is really just beginning. While the direction of travel is clear, there will be twists and turns along the way," he said.
"Consumers have not been affected by the uncertainty around Brexit."
However, he added that although the Bank had raised its growth forecast, this "doesn't mean the referendum is without consequence".
"Uncertainty over future arrangements is weighing on business investment, which has been flat since the end of 2015," he told reporters.
Mr Carney did, however, acknowledge that the Bank misjudged consumer confidence immediately after June's referendum.
"The thing that we missed is the strength of consumer spending and consumer confidence associated with that," he said. "After an initial wobble in terms of consumer surveys... it bounced back pretty quickly."


A military aircraft has made a six-hour journey to its new home at a museum.

The 93ft (28m) long VC10 fuselage left Bruntingthorpe in Leicestershire for RAF Museum Cosford, Shropshire, at about 07:00 BST. It will be on permanent display in the autumn.
The VC10 has been one of the RAF's most significant assets for nearly 50 years, the museum said.
A lorry took the fuselage on the M69, M6 and the M54 and through Shifnal in Shropshire.
The VC10 entered service with the RAF in 1966 and had the ability to carry up to 124 troops at a time with nine crew members or a freight load of up to 20,400 kg (44,974 lbs). It completed its final mission in 2013.
It will be positioned on the airfield at RAF Cosford for about five to six weeks and partially reassembled, before being moved on to the museum site in August.
It is scheduled to be placed on permanent display next to the Hercules in October.
The museum's head of collections, Ian Thirsk, said: "For one aircraft type to have been in service for such a long period is remarkable in itself.
"However, when this is added to the variety of roles and worldwide scope of operations, it is clear this is a unique aircraft."


David Cameron has called for "more action" from web companies to rid the internet of images of child sex abuse.

It "twists minds and is... a danger to children", the PM said in a statement.
Ahead of a government meeting with internet companies later this month, he said: "The time for excuses and blame is over - we must all work together."
In two recent murder trials, the killers of five-year-old April Jones and Tia Sharp, 12, were revealed to have viewed abusive images of children.
Research by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) on a sample group of people investigated by police for viewing indecent images of children online found that more than half had committed "contact" child sexual offences.
Mr Cameron's statement said he was "sickened by the proliferation of child pornography".
"Internet companies and search engines make their living by trawling and categorising the web. So I call on them to use their extraordinary technical abilities to do more to root out these disgusting images."
He said there were "encouraging signs that the industry is willing to step up, increasing funding and technical support for organisations combating child sexual abuse imagery online.
"But I want more action," he said. "The safety of our children is at stake - and nothing matters more than that."
Some campaigners want web search engines to default to the safest option - blocking access to legal as well as illegal sexual images.
This would force people to register to access such material, likely deterring many from doing so, it is argued.
But it has been suggested that some internet companies are reluctant to change their search settings, fearing a competitive disadvantage as users are driven to sites unwilling to change their policy.
One of the biggest internet companies, Google, says it has a zero-tolerance attitude on child sexual abuse images.
It says it always removes them when it is made aware, and reports the incident to the relevant authorities.
The PM's intervention comes amid a debate over how best to ensure that school sex education keeps pace with the proliferation of online pornography.
A report commissioned by the Office of the Children's Commissioner, and published last month, suggested that some children are exposed to pornography while still at primary school.
It argued that urgent action is needed to develop children's resilience to extremely graphic types of porn and lessons on relationships should start in primary school.
The government has said its curriculum changes will teach children from the age of five to stay safe online.
Google and other internet companies, such as BT, have been summoned to a meeting with the Culture Secretary Maria Miller and the prime minister's adviser, Tory MP Claire Perry, on 17 June.


It's the part of government we don't see - the engine room some say.

But now you can get a chance to get a glimpse inside the whips' offices - or at least a recreation of them.
The National Theatre's This House takes place largely in the government and opposition whips' inner sanctums as we follow the political machinations of the 1970s.
This was a time when the whips - the MPs in charge of maintaining party discipline and winning parliamentary votes - certainly earned their salaries.
Between 1974 and 1979, Labour was in government, but for much of the time it had no majority.
That gives playwright James Graham a surprising amount of drama to work with.
Indeed, the very survival of the Labour government depends on the whips delivering. Fail and they know Margaret Thatcher is ready to banish them from office.
But just how real is this drama? To find out I invited someone with inside knowledge to see it on stage.
Newcastle East's Labour MP Nick Brown did not enter the Commons until 1983, but he knows a thing or two about the whips' office.
He was Tony Blair's first Chief Whip in 1997 and Gordon Brown's last in 2010.
His challenge was rather different to that facing his 1970s counterparts though.
He had a whacking Labour majority to work with in 1997, and it was still a secure one even at the end of New Labour's terms in office.
But when he entered the engine room the tales of the Wilson and Callaghan whips were already legendary.
In This House we see Labour MPs literally dragged off their death beds to maintain the government's majority.
Seventeen Labour MPs - including one whip - died during the period, and the play suggests some at least were victims of the need to turn out at all costs.
At one point, ministers are flown back from Northern Ireland in atrocious weather to prevent defeat.
Nick Brown said: "All that is true. In the case of the two ministers, all civilian flights had been stopped. But they were flown back for the vote through a ferocious storm even though it put them and the military personnel who flew them back in great danger."
The play also highlights the class divide between Labour and Tory whips.
Labour's are largely working class with little education beyond school. The Conservatives are ex-public school, ex-Oxbridge and ex-military.
And even in his time, Nick Brown says that divide was still there.
He said: "The only difference was that our whips had started going to university by then, but there was still a very different atmosphere between the two camps - with the opposition often from more privileged backgrounds. It was a rivalry, but there was respect there too."
Crucial to Labour efforts to stay in power were the whips' relations with the "odds and sods" - the Liberals, and the nationalist and unionist parties in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Unlike today there was no formal coalition, but bar-room deals had to be done to secure their votes.
Nick Brown had no need to cultivate such alliances. Labour's 1997 majority was 179 and even by the end of Gordon Brown's time it was over 60.
But he still liked to meet the smaller parties to gauge their views and keep them as potential voting allies so recognises the need to build relationships across the house.
In This House though, the Labour whips have as much trouble with their own side.
As well as dealing with the mentally-unstable John Stonehouse - who disappears, reappears and then resigns - there are serial rebels who threaten to bring the government down.
That was something Nick Brown could certainly relate to. As we watched, he joked that dealing with MPs as Chief Whip wasn't too far removed from dealing with livestock in one of his other roles as agriculture minister.
He said: "Whips are really the government's business managers, and the real challenge is to get legislation through in the face of adversity. Your crucial relationship is with the Prime Minister who has to trust you to deliver."
And in This House the Labour whips do deliver almost to the end.
Only in the dying days of office in 1979 does Labour lose the vote of confidence that ushers in a general election and 18 years of opposition.
But it's in the twists and turns of the previous five years, and the pitting of wits between the rival offices that makes the play edge-of-the-seat entertaining.
It's creatively staged and also very funny, and avoids getting bogged down in the rather rarefied gentlemen's agreements between the rival offices.
Playwright James Graham interviewed many of the participants during his research and that shows.
And unlike the monstrous Francis Urquhart in House of Cards, these whips are real people who want to win but not ultimately at all costs.
In the end it's an act of compassion by a Labour whip towards an ailing colleague that the play suggests caused the loss of the crucial vote.
Nick Brown said: "It works as a terrifically-entertaining piece of theatre. It takes a very complex and taut political situation and breaks it down, and makes it understandable even 40 years on.
"The human side comes across very strongly. Everything in it may not literally be true, but it has a sense of truth about what it's like to be in the whips' offices, and what it must have been like then."
And of course This House throws the spotlight onto the politicians we as the public should never see. The whips who have to get things done.
But would Nick Brown have liked or loathed the challenge of governing without a majority?
He thinks for a second, and then with a hint of relish, he says: "Absolutely everything they did, we would have done I'm sure.
"Yes, I think I would have enjoyed it."
This House runs at the National Theatre in London until 15 May, and a performance will be shown at cinemas around the UK on 16 May.


Plenty of Manchester United fans will wish they had played computer games rather than watch the club's dismal 2-1 Europa League defeat at FC Midtjylland on Thursday.

But for a player on their books, that's exactly what happened - he was unaware that his club were even playing.
Nick Powell played for Manchester United in their previous European game, the 3-2 defeat by Wolfsburg which eliminated them from the Champions League in December.
But the 21-year-old, who has not lived up to expectations following his move to United from Crewe, is now on loan at Hull - and seemingly has put his parent club out of his thoughts.
When asked if had watched the game in Denmark, he said: "No, I completely forgot - I was playing Fifa, if I am honest.
"I did read the reports and, I don't know, it's hard. They're under pressure because the gaffer has come out and said it's the best way to qualify for the Champions League next year.
"There's no excuse - they should have have won, but that's just the way it is."
Check out the BBC's video games index.


A project, backed by a Â£10,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant, is compiling and digitising photos of 70 years of Polish community life in Birmingham to preserve them for future generations.

After London, Birmingham has the largest number of Polish-born residents - 17,000 of them in 2015, according to Office of National Statistics estimates.
Many others of Polish origin have been born in the UK - some the children and grandchildren of those shipped to the country in the aftermath of World War Two.
Others, like pilot Jan Maslonka (pictured above), served with British forces after the fall of Poland and remained in Britain.
After the war, some soldiers and their families were resettled in former barracks buildings. For some, there was no home to return to, with eastern Poland becoming part of the Soviet Union.
For others, returning to their homeland would have been practically "suicide", according to David Weber, one of the organisers of events in Birmingham to mark the last 70 years.
Only five years old at the time, Mr Weber was shipped to the UK in 1948 - hundreds of thousands of others would make the same journey in the decade that followed the war.
Mr Weber said life in Britain was initially strange, especially for children who were growing up surrounded by British culture and friends, but also experiencing discrimination.
In the end, he said this generation enjoyed the two cultures "in parallel", both celebrating their roots and enjoying a Britain starting to recover in the 1950s and '60s.
In the 1960s, the Polish community in Birmingham built Millennium House on Bordesley Street to celebrate their culture.
Mr Weber said this generation of Poles saw themselves very differently to those who would follow decades later.
Rather than political migrants, those who arrived after 2004 when Poland joined the EU saw themselves as economic migrants, he said, who largely separated themselves from the established community.
Most of those who arrived post-2004 thought they would make a quick return to Poland, but had found themselves setting down roots, Mr Weber said.
Many worried about their place in a post-Brexit Britain, he said, but some had started to join in Polish cultural events for the first time.
The Polish ambassador and Lord Mayor of Birmingham are guests of honour at a series of events on Sunday. An exhibition is ongoing at Millennium House.


US actress Amy Adams has been cast as Lois Lane in the latest Superman film, its producers have confirmed.

Director Zack Snyder said the three-time Oscar nominee has "the talent to capture all of the qualities we love about Lois: smart, tough, funny, warm, ambitious and, of course, beautiful".
Adams will star alongside Britain's Henry Cavill in the as yet untitled film, set for release in December 2012.
The 36-year-old actress was recently seen in boxing drama The Fighter.
She was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar for her role but the award went to her co-star Melissa Leo.
In the four Superman films starring Christopher Reeve, Daily Planet reporter Lois was played by Margot Kidder.
Kate Bosworth took over the part when the Man of Steel was revived in 2006 in Superman Returns.
Diane Lane and Kevin Costner have also landed roles in Snyder's film, in which they will play Superman's adoptive father and mother.
Snyder's latest movie Sucker Punch is released in the UK on Friday.


The suspected gunman in the killing of nine people at a historic African-American church in South Carolina has been arrested, Attorney General Loretta Lynch says.

Officials earlier named 21-year-old Dylann Roof as the man they were looking for after the shooting in Charleston.
The gunman sat in a bible study meeting for up to an hour before firing.
Six women and three men including the church pastor were killed.
Officials have called it a hate crime.
The justice department earlier said it would open a federal hate crimes investigation.
Ms Lynch said the Justice Department would look at all the facts and motivations to determine the best way to proceed with any prosecution.
Police said the suspect was arrested at a traffic stop in Shelby, North Carolina.
The arrest came just a few hours after the release of surveillance images of what police described as a young white man arriving at the church an hour before shooting occurred on Wednesday evening.
The killings have sent shockwaves through a community that has already experienced heightened racial tension in recent months.
The shooting two months ago of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man by a white police officer in North Charleston, prompted angry protests. The officer has since been charged with murder.
At the scene: The BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan
The streets close to the church are deserted, save for a few uniformed police officers. A trickle of people arrive to lay flowers for the victims.
"Peace for the church, the family and their loved ones," reads one handwritten note, tucked into a bouquet of bright flowers. A short drive away mourners have arrived for a vigil in memory of the deceased.
Rev Vanessa Johnson is from a nearby church but knew one of the reported victims, the Reverend Clementa Pinckney.
"All of us are in shock,. We are at a loss for words," she says. Rev Johnson says the Emmanuel church holds a special place in this city's hearts, making the events of Wednesday night so difficult to digest.
The weekly bible study meeting was under way in the Emanuel AME Church on Calhoun Street when the gunman opened fire at about 21:00 local time (01:00 GMT Thursday).
Charleston police chief Gregory Mullen said that when police arrived at the scene eight people were already dead in the church and that one other person died later in hospital. There were three survivors, he added.
Among the dead was the 42-year-old pastor of the church Clementa Pinckney, a father of two who was also a Democratic state Senator in South Carolina.
He had recently sponsored a bill to make body cameras mandatory for all police officers in South Carolina in response to the death of Walter Scott.
Charleston church's important role
Profile: Pastor Clementa Pinckney


Thousands of ceramic poppies used in the Tower of London installation have gone on display in Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield will host the arch segment, also known as "Wave", until January.
The installation in London last year marked 100 years since the start of World War One and drew more than five million visitors.
Each poppy represents a British and Commonwealth death during the war.
The Yorkshire Regiment raised 24 Battalions served by 65,000 men, of whom 9,000 died.


A plaque honouring Sir Terry Pratchett has been unveiled at the library he credited with his "education".

The Discworld author was a Saturday boy at the site in Beaconsfield, where he borrowed and read countless books.
Fans of the writer came from as far as Leeds and Swansea dressed as their favourite characters from his novels.
His daughter, Rhianna, said the plaque - commissioned by the town council - was a "perfect tribute" to her late father.
She added: "Terry Pratchett the author was born at Beaconsfield Library."
Sir Terry, who sold 85 million books worldwide, died in 2015 from Alzheimer's disease, aged 66.
Councillor Philip Bastiman said it was "only right" there was a permanent tribute to the author in his Buckinghamshire hometown.


The number of kestrels in Scotland has declined significantly in recent years, according to conservationists.

RSPB Scotland said the population of the birds of prey dropped by 65% between 1995 and 2012.
Changes in farming practices have been blamed for the decline. The charity is carrying out urgent research aimed at identifying other causes.
The drinks company behind the Kestrel Lager brand has provided funding for the conservation work.
RSPB Scotland's figures come from the latest Breeding Bird Survey which is carried out each year by over 2,800 volunteers across the UK.
In Scotland, 471 sites were monitored in 2013, with kestrels only observed in about 35 of them.
Studies by the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science suggested the intensification of agriculture could be the main reason for the significant drop in numbers.
Kestrel numbers were found to have fallen at times when there was a change from spring-sown barley to autumn-sown wheat and oil seed rape.
This meant there was less food available in the winter for prey species such as voles and seed-eating songbirds, which in turn meant less food for kestrels.
Staffan Roos, senior conservation scientist at RSPB Scotland, said: "It's really sad to see kestrels suffering such large drops in numbers in recent years.
"Research into what is causing the decline is vital because once we know what factors are having an impact we can offer advice on how to increase the populations of this charismatic bird of prey. For example, we can speak with farmers about increasing field margins to boost vole numbers, which would give kestrels a more abundant food source."
He added: "We are already supporting practical steps that we believe will help us to understand the population decline better.
"We support the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme, which recently has increased the monitoring of kestrels and ringing of kestrel chicks throughout Scotland. This will provide useful information on the survival and movements of kestrels. We also provide nest boxes, including on some of our reserves, to reduce the risk of competition for suitable nest sites.
Other factors being investigated as possible contributors to the decline include: climate change, increased competition for nest sites, a rise in the use of rat poisons and intra-guild predation (which is the negative effects on kestrels from larger predators like goshawks and peregrines).
Brookfield Drinks, the owner of Kestrel Lager, has provided funding which is being used for the research programme, for increased monitoring of kestrels as part of the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme and to advise landowners, land managers, crofters and farmers on wildlife friendly practices.


Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says Michael Carrick is "the best English player" around.

Louis van Gaal's side have won six out of seven games since Carrick, 33, came back from an ankle injury in November.
"I think Michael's the best central midfielder in English football," Ferguson told BT Sport. "I think he's the best English player in the game."
Ferguson also said to "watch United go" once Van Gaal's squad - third in the Premier League - is fully fit.
Carrick - named United vice-captain on Friday - won a recall to the England squad shortly after his return to fitness in November, but had to pull out with a minor groin problem.
His early-season absence has been one of a number of injury problems to trouble Van Gaal since he began work as United's manager in July.
Argentine winger Angel Di Maria returned from injury as a substitute during Saturday's 1-1 draw at Aston Villa, yet Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini, Marcos Rojo, Chris Smalling, Luke Shaw and Daley Blind all remain sidelined.
"I don't know how Louis van Gaal can expect to get the best results with the injuries he's had," Ferguson added.
"When he gets the best players back, you watch United go - because he's a great coach, he will do well.
"I'm not interested with what is happening with the players he's brought in, as that will take time.
"When I brought in Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic in the January of the same year, they were all over the place. They took five months to get used to playing for Manchester United - the culture and the history of the club.
"These new players will be exactly same."
Ferguson said he had been particularly thrilled with the form shown this season by Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea, whom he signed in 2011.
"They have still got great players," added Ferguson, who remains a director at Old Trafford after retiring as manager in 2013.
"The World Cup has maybe taken a little bit out of Robin van Persie, but you watch him in the second half of the season. He will be fine.
"Rooney is back flying and he will always get you a goal. Having a goalscorer in your team is always an advantage.
"The one that is most pleasing to me is David De Gea. When we bought him as a kid he was really skinny but he had ability. He has special talents and he is showing that now and I'm really pleased for the kid.
"When we get those players back, we will be fine."


An MP has called for an investigation after a reporter recorded a 111 call centre worker saying staff had all "killed someone indirectly".

Daily Telegraph journalist Lyndsey Telford recorded staff after securing a job at the South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) centre in Bicester.
Rob Wilson MP is asking the Care Quality Commission to investigate if patients were put at risk.
The ambulance service said it has launched its own inquiry.
Ms Telford successfully applied for a job at the non-emergency 111 call centre and recorded conversations with staff during a one-month training course.
She was trained to use the service's Pathways computer system, which uses a series of questions to assess the seriousness of the patient's condition.
At one point her mentor said: "One way or another, everyone in this room has killed someone indirectly because of what we've done but we're covered because it's all recorded."
Reading East MP Mr Wilson said: "These are clearly very serious allegations that have been made and they must be investigated fully and fairly.
"I will be writing to the Care Quality Commission to ask them to investigate whether my constituents were placed at risk and, if so, why this was allowed to happen and how they will ensure that it never happens again."
In response to article the SCAS director of strategy James Underhay said an investigation had been launched.
"With regard to our NHS 111 services, we would like to reassure members of the public that [we] use a safe and nationally prescribed call-taking and clinical assessment system, NHS Pathways, which assists us in ensuring that patients in a life-threatening or serious condition are treated as a priority."
The call centre handles calls from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire.


Federico Fernandez says Swansea need to replace midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson but believes the return of striker Fernando Llorente to fitness is also crucial.

Swansea are thought to want to sign two or three more players, with Hull's Sam Clucas a major transfer target.
Last season's top scorer Llorente is not yet fit and sat out Saturday's 4-0 home loss to Manchester United.
"If we can service Fernando up front with crosses, he is a different type of player for us," Fernandez said.
"If he's ready and he can join us he can help... we need to score to take points, to win games."
Swansea have failed to find the net in the Premier League so far this season, after beginning their campaign with a 0-0 draw at Southampton.
Llorente, who scored 15 goals last season, could play some part in the trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday, 26 August, having broken his arm during a family holiday in the summer.
Midfielder Ki Sung-yueng is also sidelined after having knee surgery in July and is expected to be out for at least another two months.
But following fellow midfielder Sigurdsson's £45m sale to Everton, Swansea have the funds to strengthen before the transfer window closes.
"We need to work hard and hope players come in or recover from injury and can help to make a better squad," added Fernandez, who captained Swansea against United.
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"We expect two or three new players to come in. We need to better, to create more chances, to play more football. We need to work in the training ground.
"Of course Gylfi is a great player, who last season scored nine goals and 13 assists - those are high numbers - so we need to find a player in that position who can do the same."
Swansea had hit United's crossbar early and with 10 minutes remaining only trailed to Eric Bailly's 45th-minute opener.
But as the Welsh side went in search of an equaliser they conceded three goals in just three minutes and 41 seconds, as the visitors exploited the space to devastating effect.
"I think the result was harsh on us," Fernandez added.
"They were very good on the counter-attack and took advantage of our changes in the second half.
"There are no excuses for us, we need to continue to work hard. But I think we played well in large parts and we should take positives from that."
Before next weekend's trip to Selhurst Park, Swansea go to MK Dons on Tuesday night in the EFL Cup second round.


Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho still retains the support of Blues owner Roman Abramovich and his position is not under immediate threat.

The Blues lost at Stoke on Saturday with Mourinho absent as he served a one-game stadium ban.
The defeat was Chelsea's seventh in 12 Premier League games and leaves them three points above the relegation zone in 16th place.
Mourinho's side face Norwich at Stamford Bridge on 21 November.
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The last time Chelsea lost seven of their opening 12 games in a top-flight season was in 1978-79 when they were relegated.
Mourinho, who signed a new four-year contract in August, thanked Abramovich for his support in October following a defeat at home by Southampton.
However, since then Chelsea have continued to struggle as they have lost three of their four top flight games and been knocked out of the League Cup on penalties, also at Stoke.
Mourinho, who has said the club will have to sack him if they want to get rid of him as he will not resign, has also had his disciplinary problems.
The 52-year-old was given a one game stadium ban and fine for his behaviour towards the match officials during Chelsea's 2-1 defeat at West Ham on 24 October.
Mourinho also had his appeal against a £50,000 fine and a suspended one-game stadium ban dismissed by the Football Association.
The Portuguese received the charge for comments made after his team's defeat by Southampton where he said officials were afraid to award Chelsea a penalty.
In addition to his disciplinary problems with the FA, the Portuguese has been criticised for his treatment of former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro.
Carneiro was dropped from first-team duties after Mourinho said she was "naive" for treating Eden Hazard during the opening-day draw at home to Swansea.
She has since left Chelsea and Mourinho is to be the subject of individual legal action from Carneiro, who is also suing the Stamford Bridge club for constructive dismissal.


A man who raped and sexually abused three teenagers more than 30 years ago has been jailed.

Paul Drinkwater, 52, carried out the attacks including one at knifepoint in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, in November and December 1984.
Drinkwater, of Berkshire, was jailed for 29 years after being found guilty of two rapes, indecent assault and robbery at St Albans Crown Court.
Judge Marie Catterson told him "these were horrific and dreadful crimes".
She said the attacks "had a profound and continuing harmful effect" on his victims.
The former landscape gardener and driveway layer was convicted of the rape and robbery of a 15-year-old girl in Durrants Lane on 25 November. He wore a mask and was carrying a knife.
He also raped an 18-year-old woman and indecently assaulting another woman aged 18 on 16 December in Bullbeggers Lane.
Prosecutor Ann Evans said on 14 January 2014 a DNA profile from Drinkwater, from Maidenhead, was provided to a forensic scientist.
A swab from the 15-year-old victim was matched as "seven million more times likely to come from Paul Drinkwater, rather than a person unrelated to him," she said.
Samples taken from the trousers worn by the 18-year-old rape victim matched Drinkwater.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman attacked aged 15, said: "I still have a frightening image of the mask and his eyes."
Following the sentencing, one of the victims, now in her late 40s, told the court: "I feel like I have finally been let out of prison today.  I can get my life back."


Whoever ends up as president one thing is certain: the fakers will keep faking it.

This campaign has been a vector for a whole array of fake news - from the demonstrably false to the misrepresented truth. Here is the best of the worst.
We have previously written about how to spot a fake US Election report in the case of fraudulent claims about voter fraud in the Democratic primaries. It covers the use of simulacra sites to propagate false news.
These fake sites, which deliberately imitate a genuine news platform, are increasingly common and can go largely unchecked by large social media platforms where they prosper, as investigated by BBC Trending.
The most recent example to challenge this fakery comes from The Denver Post's "there's no such thing as The Denver Guardian", which calls out an entirely false claim about leaked Clinton emails.
Not only is it a false claim, it is a completely fabricated newspaper.
It also points to one of the key players in the spread of fake news during the campaign: the social media platform Facebook and its news feed algorithm.
Some sites such as Vox have called on Facebook to accept its part in the spread of fake news.
For its part, the social media giant continues to see itself as a neutral platform while tinkering with its editorial functions.
At its most basic, fake and misleading news is propaganda designed to influence an audience into a particular decision.
That could be which way to cast its vote or part of a more complicated political game.
A report in The Sun claims social media bots - automated accounts - on Twitter could sway the election.
It cites research which claims that up to 20% of US Election related tweets could be from automated accounts and that "they can negatively affect democratic political discussion rather than improving it".
While this may have been easily disproved, it is more difficult to deal with events recast as something else, even when presented with evidence.
The best example we've seen explaining this phenomena in the campaign is from Now This Election, who juxtaposed Donald Trump's account of President Obama dealing with a Trump supporter with video of the actual event.
It has been viewed more than 38 million times and shared in excess of 577,000.
Closer to home, media outlet The Canary misleads with claims that "a major media outlet just revealed who won the US election… a week in advance".
It further claims that "in October, the BBC and The Guardian both ran stories questioning the veracity of the election results".
Except the BBC story does not. In fact it assesses the validity of claims that the US election is rigged, finding that there's "no justification for concern about widespread voter fraud".
Two strikes on our fake news checklist: headline fails to deliver in the story and evidence from an original source which contradicts and is misrepresented.
Analysis by Buzzfeed News of this new generation of hyper-partisan news sites found that "three big right-wing Facebook pages published false or misleading information 38% of the time during the period analysed and three large left-wing pages did so in nearly 20% of posts."
That is not a margin of error, that is just plain wrong.
Fake news is no longer just about catching someone out with a prank site. It is lucrative.
The scale and size is now industrial. Meta and The Guardian have reported on a Macedonian connection, which Buzzfeed has since expanded, demonstrating the lucractive potential of tapping into the high volume of traffic generated from the combination of pro-Trump fabrications and Facebook's market dominance.
That article quoted one student who said that his friend could earn $5,000 (£4,035) per month, or sometimes $3,000 (£2,400) per day when he gets a hit on Facebook.
When NPR committed to the task of fact checking the presidential debates to change people's opinions, it asked whether fact checks matter and concluded that it works sometimes but is difficult to change a stubborn mind.
Brendan Nyhan, a professor of government at Dartmouth University, reviewing the evidence in the election campaign found that it is "mostly true" that fact-checking can change people's views.
A bleaker assessment by the New York Times' Farhad Manjoo is that "... the dynamics of how information moves online today, pretty much everything conspires against truth."
By Alex Murray, BBC Social News and UGC Team


His departure from the presidential race was met with widespread dismay from the Irish electorate - but David Norris could be on the verge of a come-back.

The civil rights campaigner abandoned his bid for Aras an Uachtarain in July, amid controversy over a clemency letter he wrote to Israeli authorities for his former partner Ezra Nawi, who had been convicted of having sex with a 15-year-old boy.
Last weekend, the Sunday Independent claimed that Mr Norris was about to put himself forward once again, following an "consistent outpouring" of public support.
The newspaper said the senator would use an appearance on RTE's Late, Late Show this Friday to publicly state his intention to re-start his Aras campaign.
If so, Mr Norris has just over two weeks to secure the 20 political nominations he needs to get his name on to the presidential ballot paper.
With the 28 September deadline for nominations looming, time is not on his side.
Many independent TDs, who had previously backed the senator have now withdrawn their support, leaving Mr Norris with little other option than to turn to Fianna Fail for help.
However, party sources have indicated they are unlikely to support the former front-runner.
Although they are not running a candidate, many Fianna Fail members believe Mr Norris does not deserve their backing after he turned down their support earlier in the summer.
Unless he can change their minds his latest Aras bid could fall at the first hurdle.
An alternate route would be to secure the support of four county councils, but time is running out.
Despite facing numerous difficulties, Mr Norris does have one ace up his sleeve.
Although, the clemency controversy cost Mr Norris a number of political allies, it did not hamper the public's fascination with the openly-gay, Joycean scholar.
When the letter to the Isreali authorities was released back in July, Mr Norris admitted he made a "human error", but insisted it was borne solely from a sense of love and concern for his former partner.
He bowed out of the race, taking with him much of the public's interest in October's election.
What followed was weeks of speculation about who could fill his shoes.
The electorate's appetite for an equally colourful and charismatic replacement lead to calls for a celebrity to enter the field.
Broadcasters, Gay Byrne and Micheal O'Muircheartaigh considered the idea, before they both backed out and once again quelled the fire of interest in the presidential election.
The re-emergence of David Norris has stoked those flames. Now, the big question is, can he keep them burning?


Striker Djibril Cisse has left QPR by mutual consent and will become a free agent on 1 July.

The 31-year-old scored four goals in 21 appearances last season before spending the second half of the campaign on loan at Qatari outfit Al-Gharafa.
The France international joined QPR from Lazio in January 2012 and made 29 appearances in total, scoring 10 goals.
"We would like to thank Djibril for his contribution and wish him all the best for the future," a club statement said.
Meanwhile Rangers forward Tom Hitchcock has signed a new one-year deal.
The 20-year-old is yet to make a senior appearance for the Championship club but scored three goals in 17 appearances while on loan at Bristol Rovers last season.


A memorial service has been held for a man and woman who died when their car plunged into an estuary.

The elderly pair, who have not been formally identified, were killed after their car came off the road and fell into Hooe Lake in Plymouth on Thursday.
About 60 people attended the service in Hooe near the spot where the crash happened.
The chairman of the residents association said the turnout showed the community's "solidarity to the family".
The death of the local man and woman was a "tragic loss", John Wheeler from the Mountbatten & Turnchapel Residents Association said.
"Terrible accident but it's not that anyone round here had not thought of it and said 'it's just an accident waiting happen'", he said.
Plymouth City Council has said it is looking into how safety can be improved at Hooe Lake after local residents called for some form of barrier to be erected to stop a similar incident happening again.


Armagh are set to replay their All-Ireland qualifier Round 1A game after Laois were found to have used too many substitutes in their victory over the Orchard County on Saturday.

The tie will be played on Saturday 2 July at 15:00 BST in Portlaoise.
Laois brought on seven replacements at O'Moore Park, one more than permitted.
The Central Competitions Control Committee released a statement on Tuesday night, adding that Laois had accepted the proposal.
Shane Murphy came on as the seventh substitute in added time as Laois took a 1-10 to 0-10 win in Portlaoise.
Conor Meredith scored the decisive goal and Laois were subsequently drawn to face Clare in the second round of the qualifiers.
However, Murphy's introduction as a black card sub for Brendan Quigley could prove costly for the Leinster side if Armagh were to triumph in the re-playing of the game.
Saturday 2 July
Round 1A All-Ireland SFC qualifier refixture
Laois v Armagh, 15:00 BST, O'Moore Park, Portlaoise
Round 2A
Sligo v Leitrim, 18:00 BST, Markievicz Park, Sligo
Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 July
Round 2A
Clare v Laois/Armagh, Cusack Park, Ennis, Time tbc.
Derry v Dublin/Meath, Details tbc.
Cavan or Tyrone v Carlow, Details tbc.


Burton Albion comfortably beat Bradford City to extend their lead at the top of League One.

The Brewers opened the scoring through former Bradford loanee Mason Bennett's deflected shot from 12 yards before James Hanson shot wide for the Bantams.
Burton took control as Tom Naylor turned in Damien McCrory's cross to double the lead before Mark Duffy headed in from close range.
Rory McArdle's headed consolation goal reduced the deficit in added time.
Burton's win extended their lead at the top of League One to four points after Walsall lost 3-0 at home to Millwall.
Burton boss Nigel Clough told BBC Radio Derby:
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"We were extremely relieved when the second goal went in because Bradford came out in the second half an put us under an immense amount of pressure.
"There was nothing we could do about it, it was just them playing very well.
"It was a case of hanging on in there and taking the chance when you get one the other end."


The first Tour de Yorkshire cycle race saw spectators spend almost £50m, according to research commissioned by organisers Welcome to Yorkshire.

The race was held over three days in May, with starts or finishes at Bridlington, Leeds, Scarborough, Selby, York and Wakefield.
The tourism body said the event was seen by more than 1.2 million people.
In 2016, the three-day men's race is to start on 29 April, with a women's race on 30 April.
More on this story and other news from Leeds and West Yorkshire
There were one million spectators at the race with about one in five from outside Yorkshire, said Welcome to Yorkshire. Some of those attended more than one day of the event, boosting the overall figure.
The new race was set up after the successful Tour de France Grand Depart was held in Yorkshire during 2014.
Those scenes prompted the tour's race director Christian Prudhomme to describe 2014 as the "grandest Grand Depart".
Spending by all spectators at the Tour de Yorkshire amounted to £49,711,436 and the average stay for visitors from outside the county was two and half nights, according to the survey of the race.
The total included accommodation costs and spending on items such as food, drink, transport and souvenirs.
The survey was conducted by independent research agency GRASP, using 1,500 respondents who were questioned at a race stage or online.
The data was analysed by Leeds Beckett University.


Two people have been arrested after police raids across England in connection with sex trafficking.

Properties in Nantwich, Crewe, London, Bristol, Stoke and Preston were targeted by more than 100 officers.
Eight women, believed to be originally from Eastern Europe, were found at several of them, Cheshire Police said.
A 49-year-old man from Nantwich and a 37-year-old woman from Crewe were arrested in connection with the investigation.
They are currently being questioned on suspicion of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
The raids involved officers from the Metropolitan Police, Avon and Somerset Police, Staffordshire Police and Lancashire Police, along with the National Crime Agency.
Det Insp David Brown, who has led the operation for Cheshire Police, said the warrants were executed after "months of hard work" and formed part of a larger inquiry.
He said human trafficking and sexual exploitation stemmed from "organised crime" and targeted "some of the most vulnerable people in our society".
Det Insp Brown said the women found at the addresses were being offered support.