Shooting for the new Trainspotting sequel in Edinburgh helped lift the value of film and TV productions to the capital to a new high, figures show.

Latest numbers from Film Edinburgh reveal the screen industry injected Â£7.7m into the local economy last year.
The figure was boosted by filming for T2 Trainspotting, which took place over three months in the capital in the spring and summer of 2016.
The follow-up to director Danny Boyle's 1996 classic is released on Friday.
Film Edinburgh manager Rosie Ellison described the overall total as "terrific" and said it represents the most successful year in the local film commission's 26-year history.
She said: "It's more than we've ever had. In 2015 it was Â£6.9m and that was the highest-ever. It's going up and up, and long may that last."
Filming for the Trainspotting sequel took place in more than 50 locations across Edinburgh and the Lothians, ranging from Arthur's Seat, the Forth Bridge and Princes Street to Leith and Craigmillar.
Boyle said: "The good will from local individuals and organisations towards the production made it an absolute pleasure to be back filming in the city."
The specific economic impact of individual shoots is confidential and has not been disclosed.
The overall figures mean 2016 is up by 11.5% when compared to the previous year, which saw filming across the city for time-travel drama Outlander.
The Â£7.7m is described as "direct spend" from film productions working in the city and the wider region, which includes East Lothian and the Scottish Borders.
It takes into account money spent on accommodation, crew fees, kit hire, catering, location fees, support services and permits.
Since it does not include additional spending that is not a core part of production - such as cash spent by crews in bars and restaurants - the total economic impact is thought to be greater than the total officially recorded.
About 83% of the economic impact came from around 10 high-value feature films and TV dramas.
Other productions that helped 2016 to a record-breaking year for the region included BBC Three's university drama Clique due to broadcast in spring, and feature film Churchill, starring Brian Cox and Miranda Richardson.
Overall, 321 productions - including factual programmes and commercials - were shot in the city in 2016 and added to the final total.
Ms Ellison said: "These are just as valuable to the city and we work just as hard to support that level of production as we do the high-end production, albeit over a much shorter period of time."


As the chairman of the US Federal Reserve during the crash and Great Recession, Ben Bernanke is the most influential central banker of our age, blogs the BBC's economics editor Robert Peston after an interview with him.

26 October 2015 Last updated at 18:27 GMT
So it matters when he says western politicians expected too much of central bankers over the past few years, and that governments were too obsessed with making budget cuts.


A massive video game burial site has been discovered in New Mexico, USA.

Media playback is unsupported on your device
28 April 2014 Last updated at 17:26 BST
The site is believed to contain thousands of copies of a video game called ET The Extra-Terrestrial.
A company called Atari made the game in 1982 but it was a flop and is famously thought of as one of the worst video games ever made.


Homes have been damaged in east Belfast, during a third night of disturbances.

Windows of two houses in the Short Strand area were broken at about 18:05 GMT on Tuesday.
A woman in her 70s was treated for shock after the attack at her home. Police believe the windows were smashed by youths throwing stones at them.
Ch Insp David Moore has asked parents to ensure they are aware of the whereabouts of their children.
Sinn Féin councillor Niall Ó Donnghaile called for calm.
"This is yet more evidence of the fallout from the ongoing orchestrated attacks taking place in east Belfast," he said.
"I want to repeat that all incidents at the interface in east Belfast should end now and residents there should be left to live in peace."
On Monday, a teenage boy was treated in hospital after suffering head injuries near the Albertbridge Road.
Police said petrol bombs and missiles were thrown in disturbances throughout the evening in the Castlereagh Street area. A police officer sustained an arm injury in the disorder.
On Sunday, an officer was injured after police were attacked by about 60 youths near Castlereagh Street.


A Scotland Office minister has said claims he was involved in bringing the poll tax to Scotland are a "complete myth".

The SNP had claimed that Lord Dunlop, who was an adviser to Margaret Thatcher, had played a "leading role" in the introduction of the charge.
But he said the charge had been "signed, sealed and delivered" before he ever got to Downing Street.
Lord Dunlop was speaking to ITV's Representing Border programme.
Andrew Dunlop was given a peerage after the general election which allowed him to take on a role as a junior minister in the Scotland Office as part of the Conservative government.
At the time, the SNP's leader at Westminster, Angus Robertson, described the appointment as a "scandal".
Mr Robertson added: "If one thing demonstrates how out of touch the Tories are, it's the appointment as a government minister for Scotland of an unelected lord who played a leading role in the imposition of the hated poll tax on Scotland."
But Lord Dunlop told the programme: "I don't want to be a killjoy, but I think that is a complete myth. It is a complete myth, don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.
"The poll tax was signed, sealed and delivered before I ever got to Downing Street and my policy areas were very different - defence procurement, employment and training.
"Indeed one of the policies I was very associated with was the creation of Scottish Enterprise, which is still doing great work in Scotland today."


A rape victim has met her attacker in prison to tell him she has forgiven him - and called it a "great" experience to seek "peace and forgiveness together".

Katja Rosenberg, 40, from London, said she felt she could forgive soon after the 2006 rape, believing things must have gone wrong in her attacker's life.
"You wouldn't ever do that if you felt happy," she told BBC Radio 5 live.
Of their meeting last year, she said he was "completely" remorseful and "so focused" on no longer being violent.
Ms Rosenberg was cycling home from a drink after work when she was attacked by a 16-year-old stranger.
He was jailed for 14 years after admitting that attack and another rape of a 51-year-old woman shortly afterwards.
"I realised very much straight away or after the incident, it hadn't really or would not traumatise me the way it usually traumatises people," Ms Rosenberg told 5 live's Victoria Derbyshire.
"It had a very strong impact on my life but not so much in the way that I couldn't make peace with that having been done to me, strangely more about life being very sad or things going wrong in life.
"I felt very, very sad, but I didn't feel attacked."
She continued: "Life deals very different cards to all of us, and why somebody does something which is not applaudable - it was more about thinking, something's wrong with society.
"Some of us don't know where to go. You wouldn't ever do that if you felt happy."
Ms Rosenberg, who was also punched in the face, chest and stomach before being raped, said she had always felt in the years since that she should meet her attacker.
She finally visited him in prison last September, for a meeting arranged through the restorative justice scheme with the support of the Probation Service.
Partly, this was motivated by a wish to assure him "life's not hopeless, that he knows he's got a future", she said.
"I just felt I could give that. I also thought the exchange would be good for me to somehow get some kind of closure - I mean, I didn't really need a 'Sorry', but it was somehow just good to see that you walk into the same direction of peace and forgiveness together."
She added: "He was in no way looking for excuses or explanations. He was very, very self-effacing - and I thought that was fantastic in itself.
"He just really is very, very upset about his past."
A spokeswoman for the Restorative Justice Council (RJC) said rape was a particularly sensitive and complex offence to handle with restorative justice, and that it was quite rare for rape victims to meet their attackers.
"In a rape case, it's vital that the victim doesn't get revictimised by meeting the offender," she said. "Similarly, if there's any danger that a rapist - or other sexual offender - is going to achieve sexual gratification from the meeting, it's likely to be inappropriate."
She added: "It sounds like Katja Rosenberg had a very unique response to her attack."
In the Daily Mirror newspaper, columnist Alison Phillips said Ms Rosenberg's story was "incredibly inspirational" and that she had "taken control of what happened to her that day".
The RJC spokeswoman said restorative justice "meets victims' needs in a way that a court process alone can't, by giving them the chance to tell offenders the real impact of their crime, to get answers to their questions, and an apology".
"Hearing from the victim they've harmed holds the offender to account, helps them understand the real impact of what they've done, to take responsibility and make amends," she said. "Many victims want to see the offender turn their life around and stop offending, because they don't want anyone else to go through what they have been through."
While Ms Rosenberg has waived her own right as a victim of rape to anonymity for life, she has insisted that her attacker not be identified in media coverage to allow him to start to build a new life.
She told 5 live: "It's just great to go to a healthy place together. It's just great to go to a place that overrides or reaches beyond what happened."


A campaign to tackle increasing levels of weed-killing pesticide in mid and west Wales rivers has been launched.

Growing levels of grassland herbicide MCPA have been detected in watercourses across the country.
Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales have launched a scheme to reduce MCPA in the Teifi and Upper Wye rivers.
On Thursday, free hire of weed wipers - which reduce spray drift and the amount of chemicals used - was offered to farmers in Talsarn, Ceredigion.
Weed wipers use sponges to apply chemicals directly to target weeds as opposed to the more scattered approach of spraying.


Police are treating two arson attacks on vehicles in Ballymena, County Antrim, as hate crimes.

A car was set alight in Dunclug Gardens at about 3:30 GMT on Sunday.
The other car was set on fire in Dunclug Park shortly before 05:00 GMT.
It is understood the vehicles belong to two men from eastern Europe.
Police have appealed for information.
Sinn FÃ©in MLA DaithÃ McKay said the attacks were "totally wrong and must be condemned outright".
The North Antrim representative added: "It is those behind these attacks who are not welcome in our society - not those who they targeted."


US firm Liberty Media has confirmed it is buying the racing business Formula 1 for $4.4bn (Â£3.3bn).

The move ends years of speculation about the ownership of the company.
Bernie Ecclestone will remain as chief executive but Chase Carey, vice-chairman of 21st Century Fox, will become the new chairman.
Liberty Media has stakes in several sports and entertainment businesses, including the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball club.
Owned by the billionaire John Malone, Liberty will initially purchase a minority stake in the world's leading motor-racing championship. A full takeover is planned if regulators approve the deal.
The total transaction values the firm at $8bn but includes $4.1bn worth of F1's debt.
Liberty Media is buying the stake from the private equity firm CVC Capital.
CVC has held a stake for the past decade but sold some of its holding in 2012.
It has been criticised for taking considerable profits from the sport, which has suffered from falling TV ratings in recent years.
This is one of the biggest deals in sports history and one of the most important moments in the history of F1.
Under overlord Bernie Ecclestone's long command - and the last decade of ownership by private equity group CVC - the motorsport series has enjoyed remarkable growth in terms of global popularity, profits and new races.
Liberty Media will hope to build on these strengths, helping the sport gain new fans, especially in the Americas, and to capitalise on new opportunities around marketing, promotion, digital rights and social media.
However, assuming European regulators approve the takeover, there are issues that the new US owners will need to address - the decline in appeal among younger audiences in an ultra-competitive sporting landscape, the rising costs to teams, fans and circuits, and the predictability of races.
Many inside the sport will be relieved to see the back of CVC, which has done very well out of its investment, and excited by the future. But this is also the beginning of the end of Mr Ecclestone's remarkable reign. Inevitably there will be uncertainty.
Ecclestone to stay for 'three more years'
Beginning of the end for Ecclestone?
Ecclestone: The man, the myths and the motors
"We are excited to become part of Formula 1," said Greg Maffei, chief executive of Liberty Media.
"We think our long-term perspective and expertise with media and sports assets will allow us to be good stewards of Formula 1 and benefit fans, teams and our shareholders."
Mr Ecclestone said: "I would like to welcome Liberty Media and Chase Carey to Formula 1 and I look forward to working with them."
Earlier, he said in an interview with Reuters that he had been asked to stay on for three years and would miss the Singapore Grand Prix on 18 September as he needed be in London for the negotiations.
The 85-year-old British businessman has run the sport for 40 years.


The Michigan sports doctor Larry Nassar, who treated elite female US gymnasts, has been charged with sexually assaulting nine girls.

On Wednesday, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed 22 counts of criminal sexual conduct, some involving girls younger than 13.
He described Dr Nassar, accused of molesting gymnasts as he treated back and hip injuries, as "a monster".
The doctor has denied allegations of abuse in the past.
Dr Nassar has said he was carrying out legitimate procedures.
He is already being held on a charge of possessing child pornography and faces trial over accusations he abused a girl repeatedly at her family home.
The 53-year-old doctor, who has treated Olympic gymnasts, is accused by more than 60 former patients and athletes of sexual abuse during pelvic procedures.
He was stripped of his medical licence last month, amid at least six criminal and civil lawsuits.
Dr Nassar was fired in September after working for decades as a doctor for gymnasts at Michigan State University, as well as USA Gymnastics - the sport's governing body.
The new charges relate to work he did at Michigan State University's Sports medicine clinic and at a gymnastics club called Geddert's Twistars in Eaton County.
Parents were either asked to leave the room while the abuse took place or Dr Nassar used a sheet or stood in a position to block any view, police said.
A girl identified as Victim B, now 21, said she was sexually assaulted by Dr Nassar "more times than she could count," Det Sgt Andrea Munford wrote in an affidavit.
Victim B said "all the gymnasts trusted Nassar and that he was like a god to the gymnasts", she added.
"This guy is disgusting. This guy is despicable,'' said Mr Schuette. "Dr Nassar used his status and authority to engage in horrid sexual assaults under the guise of medical procedures."
Dr Nassar's lawyers declined media requests for comment on Wednesday, but he has previously denied abuse.
Police say allegations against him continue to increase almost daily. Three former members of the US gymnastics team described their experiences on CBS's "60 Minutes" show on Sunday.
"He would put his fingers inside of me, move my leg around,'" said Olympian Jamie Dantzscher, a member of the bronze-medal-winning American team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
"He would tell me I was going to feel a pop and that that would put my hips back and help my back pain.''
Allegations of sexual assault were first revealed by the Indianapolis Star newspaper in September 2016 when he was accused by two former gymnasts.
Since then, more than 60 women have accused him, and at least 40 have filed lawsuits.
Several of those suits name USA Gymnastics as a co-defendant, claiming they had not done enough to prevent the abuse.


Swindon have signed defender Fankaty Dabo, midfielder Charlie Colkett and striker Islam Feruz on loan from Premier League leaders Chelsea.

England Under-20 international Dabo, 21, is yet to make his professional debut.
Feruz, 21 has had loan spells with Blackpool and Hibernian while Colkett, 20, was recently recalled from a loan at Bristol Rovers.
The trio could feature against Bolton in League One on Saturday.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page or visit our Premier League tracker here.


Josh Scowen scored a 90th-minute winner as Barnsley ended QPR's winning start to the Championship season.

The hosts took the lead through Marley Watkins' free header at the back post.
QPR turned the game around with two penalties, as Tjaronn Chery fired down the middle and Sebastian Polter placed his strike into the corner.
Conor Hourihane's spectacular free-kick levelled and Scowen finished on the half-volley to snatch a dramatic win before Rangers had Grant Hall sent off.
The defender was shown a second yellow card within half an hour in injury time for pulling down Stefan Payne.
Barnsley move up to seventh in the table with their second win of their season, while QPR are fifth on goal difference.
The hosts were unchanged from their victory over Derby on Saturday and a good start saw them take the lead when Alfie Mawson headed the ball across the box for Watkins to nod in from three yards.
Scowen glanced a header wide but QPR grew in strength as the game went on and Chery's free-kick came back off the crossbar.
Just 30 seconds into the second half, Chery made it 1-1 from the spot after Polter was brought down by Marc Roberts.
Polter then netted a penalty himself when James Bree clipped the heels of Yeni Ngbakoto.
But Barnsley won it with a dramatic turnaround as Hourihane's free-kick flew into the top corner and the winner arrived when Scowen pounced after Payne's nod down.
Barnsley head coach Paul Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Sheffield:
"I'm delighted with the result. Adam Davies didn't have a shot to save, apart from the two penalties.
"We watched a lot of QPR in the first few games and they really dominated teams with the aggression, organisation and running power, but we more than matched them.
"We got what we deserved and the pleasing thing is we can get better."
QPR manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink:
"Barnsley were the better side in the first half, but we got ourselves together in the second half and played better and got the two goals from deserved penalties.
"But if the referee is going to give one of those soft free-kicks for their second goal, that he hasn't been giving all game, I think that is painful.
"And then the third goal, what is the difference between the second goal? The player is in the air, trying to win the ball, he gets a nudge, what is the difference? I don't understand it.
"Referees need to make decisions and it looked like the wild west out there. They could do what they wanted, there was no authority."
Match ends, Barnsley 3, Queens Park Rangers 2.
Second Half ends, Barnsley 3, Queens Park Rangers 2.
Second yellow card to Grant Hall (Queens Park Rangers) for a bad foul.
Foul by Grant Hall (Queens Park Rangers).
Stefan Payne (Barnsley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Nedum Onuoha (Queens Park Rangers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Nedum Onuoha (Queens Park Rangers).
Conor Hourihane (Barnsley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Tjaronn Chery (Queens Park Rangers) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Karl Henry.
Substitution, Queens Park Rangers. Conor Washington replaces Jordan Cousins.
Goal!  Barnsley 3, Queens Park Rangers 2. Josh Scowen (Barnsley) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Stefan Payne.
Foul by Karl Henry (Queens Park Rangers).
Josh Scowen (Barnsley) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt saved. Grant Hall (Queens Park Rangers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Sebastian Polter.
Jordan Cousins (Queens Park Rangers) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Aidan White (Barnsley).
Substitution, Queens Park Rangers. Abdenasser El Khayati replaces Yeni N'Gbakoto.
Offside, Barnsley. Alfie Mawson tries a through ball, but Stefan Payne is caught offside.
Substitution, Barnsley. Sessi D'Almeida replaces Marley Watkins.
Yeni N'Gbakoto (Queens Park Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ryan Kent (Barnsley).
Attempt missed. Tjaronn Chery (Queens Park Rangers) left footed shot from the left side of the box is too high. Assisted by Sebastian Polter with a headed pass.
Goal!  Barnsley 2, Queens Park Rangers 2. Conor Hourihane (Barnsley) from a free kick with a left footed shot to the top right corner.
Foul by Massimo Luongo (Queens Park Rangers).
Conor Hourihane (Barnsley) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt blocked. Adam Hammill (Barnsley) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Goal!  Barnsley 1, Queens Park Rangers 2. Sebastian Polter (Queens Park Rangers) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Penalty Queens Park Rangers. Yeni N'Gbakoto draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by James Bree (Barnsley) after a foul in the penalty area.
Nedum Onuoha (Queens Park Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Josh Scowen (Barnsley).
Offside, Barnsley. Josh Scowen tries a through ball, but Ryan Kent is caught offside.
Foul by Sebastian Polter (Queens Park Rangers).
Alfie Mawson (Barnsley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Jordan Cousins (Queens Park Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Sebastian Polter.
Substitution, Barnsley. Stefan Payne replaces Tom Bradshaw.
Grant Hall (Queens Park Rangers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Grant Hall (Queens Park Rangers).
Conor Hourihane (Barnsley) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt missed. Conor Hourihane (Barnsley) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Ryan Kent.


Arrested Olympic official Pat Hickey has been released from hospital to be questioned at a Rio police station.

Mr Hickey complained of heart problems as he was arrested on Wednesday over the alleged illegal sale of tickets.
He has temporarily stepped down from his position as the Olympic Council of Ireland's president, although he denies the allegations.
Mr Hickey was dramatically arrested at his Rio hotel on Wednesday morning.
He was escorted off the premises wearing his dressing gown to face questions about his alleged role in a scheme to sell Olympic tickets for higher than their face value.
The Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) said on Thursday night that Mr Hickey had been "discharged from hospital" and "accompanied to a police station to complete a deposition".
The Republic of Ireland's sports minister has suggested there will be an independent inquiry into the scandal.
Speaking after arriving at Dublin Airport from Brazil on Thursday, Shane Ross said a decision will be taken on Friday regarding the nature of the inquiry, after he has discussed the issue with the Irish attorney general.
Mr Ross said that the situation had moved a long way since his meeting with Mr Hickey on Monday.
He said that then he was "absolutely shattered" by Mr Hickey's attitude.
He said they had felt all along that an independent inquiry was the most important thing to give it credibility.
Asked if the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) would accept that, the minister said that the OCI will not have any option, adding that were going to have an independent inquiry anyway.
But Mr Ross added that his department needed to be very sensitive and they will do nothing to prejudice what is happening in Rio de Janeiro.
William O'Brien, who has temporarily taken over from Mr Hickey as OCI president, visited his former boss in hospital.
Speaking to reporters outside Samaritano Hospital in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday night, Mr O'Brien said OCI officials had been granted "restricted access" during their visit.
He added that Mr Hickey did not discuss the allegations against him. In an interview with Irish broadcaster RTE last week, Mr Hickey denied any wrongdoing in relation to ticket sales.
"He has made no comment because, as you can understand, he is having all sorts of tests inside," said Mr O'Brien.
The interim OCI president said he also could not comment on the ticket sales allegations "while the legal case is going on".
However, he did say the OCI would "defend ourselves to the hilt".
Asked if that included defending Mr Hickey too, Mr O'Brien replied: "Exactly, yes."
Mr Hickey was a senior member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as well as the top Olympic official in Ireland.
The 71-year-old temporarily stood down from all his roles following his arrest, but is now facing a call to resign.
Irish parliamentarian Noel Rock told the BBC that, before his arrest, Mr Hickey had "stonewalled" when he was questioned about the tickets scandal.
"He refused to answer straightforward, basic questions which were perfectly reasonable for the minister, who after all is responsible for the funding of the Olympic Council [of Ireland]," Mr Rock said.


A man accused of murdering a woman in a "perverted sexual assault" with a shampoo bottle went on a cocaine binge the night before she was taken to hospital, a court has heard.

Daniel McBride, 44, of St Denys Road, Southampton, denies the murder of Majella Lynch, 51.
She was taken to hospital in "terrible pain" on 18 April last year.
She died two days after a full 400ml shampoo bottle was removed from her abdomen.
William Mousley QC, prosecuting at Winchester Crown Court, said the death of Ms Lynch, of St Mary's Road, Southampton, was the result of a "perverted sexual assault" which was impossible for her to cause to herself.
Giving evidence Mr McBride said he argued with his girlfriend on 17 April. She threw Viagra at him as he left and went for a night out with friends.
Under prosecution questioning he admitted he left for Yates's pub in Above Bar Street in Southampton with cocaine, the Viagra and about Â£40 in his pocket.
He said he met a woman who turned down the offer of going back to his home, and he left his friends who went on to another club after 03:30 BST.
When questioned by his defence barrister, Oba Nsugbe QC, he said he woke up at Ms Lynch's flat at about 06:00 having "crashed out".
It was light and he could hear music and voices in the room Majella was in, which he thought was her "mumbling to herself".
He described her as upset, and worried people would come to steal from her, but he left with three cans of Special Brew lager she said he could have.
When later arrested, Mr McBride denied any knowledge of Ms Lynch and said he was not at her flat that night.
"I didn't know what was going on - I knew that I never physically hurt her or touched her," he told the court.
"I was probably the last person to see her alive and I panicked. That's why I lied for a day and a half."
William Mousley QC said: "You lied, and lied, and lied again."
Mr McBride also denied he was a "predator" who was interested in sex with "vulnerable" people.
A list of searches on his mobile phone was read out by the prosecution. The word "brutal" was typed into search engines to access sexual material.
"This is normal pornography on normal pornography sites," Mr McBride said in response. "This isn't illegal porn or violent porn, this is browsing on sites."
He added: "I am a bloke, I look at porn on my phone."
The trial continues.


A German man has been arrested at Athens International Airport after allegedly trying to smuggle nearly half a ton of gold and silver out of Greece, according to airport officials.

The suspect was preparing to board a Lufthansa flight for Germany.
The airline uncovered silver tablets in a cargo container and customs officials then found gold and banknotes.
This follows claims by Greece that Germany still owes it war reparations stemming from the Nazi occupation.
The BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says the timing of the arrest is unfortunate for German-Greek relations.
While the gold, silver and cash seized by the authorities may not quite equal the claims for money plundered 70 years ago, today's news might make for some uncomfortable headlines, our correspondent says.
Greece's state legal council received a secret report this week with details of how much compensation the country would be asking for.
It is thought the amount could be up to 200bn euros (Â£170bn) and includes money taken from the Bank of Greece by German forces.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has been quoted by German media as saying that Greece should focus on reforming its economy. He said the issue of war reparations was resolved years ago.
The man arrested at Athens International Airport was said to be carrying 7kg (15lbs) of gold tablets and almost 300,000 euros (Â£255,000) in cash in his luggage.
Customs officials also believe he attempted to smuggle out another 425kg of silver.
A source within the Greek police told the BBC that their investigation would focus on the man's links to any gang involved in money-laundering.
The financial crime unit will now take over the case.
Officers have been investigating a business address in Athens.


First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled a 10-year flood protection strategy designed to protect more than 10,000 homes.

The announcement was made during a visit to Newton Stewart which was badly affected by winter storms.
The plan is backed by grant funding of £420m and follows agreement between the Scottish government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla).
It will be used to deliver 40 new flood protection projects across Scotland.
The funding will also  support local flood risk management plans.
More than 130 flood protection studies will be carried out to help find potential solutions for another 26,000 residential properties currently at risk.
Ms Sturgeon said: "Earlier this year I saw first hand the devastating effects of mother nature as storms battered our communities.
"Last December is on record as the wettest and saw levels at rivers across Scotland overflow."
She said the Dumfries and Galloway town of Newton Stewart had been particularly badly hit.
Ms Sturgeon said: "When I visited Newton Stewart on New Year's Eve I met local butchers Kenny and Yolanda Owen at John D Owen & Son on what would have been their busiest day.
"Tragically all their stock was knee deep in water which not only has a massive impact on the business but also on the wider community who were relying on them.
"As I walked down the high street what struck me was the resilience of this small community as they supported each other."
She said that seven months later the community had "rallied round" and businesses were "getting back on their feet and returning to normal".
Ms Sturgeon added: "However, the implications of the storm will be felt for a while yet and we need to work together to minimise any potential future disruption.
"This agreement will give local authorities the certainty they need to deliver the actions set out in their local flood risk management plans to help protect individuals, business and communities from the danger of flooding."
Councillor Stephen Hagan, Cosla spokesman for development, economy and sustainability, said protecting communities was at the heart of local government.
He explained: "Climate change, and the associated increase in flooding events, poses a significant national risk.
"This is why investment in flood protection schemes and associated infrastructure is critical to protecting vulnerable householders, businesses and communities, and why the strong working relationship between local and Scottish government is so important."
However, some businesses in the town have criticised the time it has taken to deliver any action.
Linda McClelland, who runs a hairdressers, said she was concerned there had been no action to shore up a large breach in the river wall where the River Cree burst through.
She said: "We are seven months into the year and absolutely nothing has been done to help fix this wall in the town.
"Winter is coming fast and unfortunately we do get a lot of rain round here. So there is every chance it could flood again."
Ross Cunningham, who owns an outdoor clothing firm, was also worried about the lack of action to reduce the flood risk.
"It is 199 days since the flood in Newton Stewart and something needs to happen," he said.
"We have a business in England in the Lake District which was flooded as well about 30 days before this one.
"The difference is quite surprising - they have done a lot more a lot quicker than they have over the border."
Aberdeen City - £967,000
Aberdeenshire - £7.1m
Angus - £2.2m
Argyll & Bute - £194,000
Clackmannanshire - £85,000
Dumfries and Galloway - £1.7m
Dundee City - £5.8m
East Ayrshire - £994,000
East Dunbartonshire - £429,000
East Lothian - £746,000
East Renfrewshire- £100,000
Edinburgh - £242,000
Eilean Siar - £363,000
Falkirk - £2.9m
Fife - £370,000
Glasgow- £1.4m
Highland - £2.5m
Inverclyde - £415,000
Midlothian - £71,000
Moray - £1.5m
North Ayrshire - £1.8m
North Lanarkshire - £85,000
Orkney - £1.4m
Perth & Kinross - £962,000
Renfrewshire - £370,000
Scottish Borders -£1.6m
Shetland - £7,000
South Ayrshire - £64,000
South Lanarkshire- £299,000
Stirling -£1.3m
West Dunbartonshire - £242,000
West Lothian - £114,000


Former residents of the Chagos Islands who were forcibly removed from their homeland more than 40 years ago have lost their legal challenge to return.

Families left the Indian Ocean islands in the 1960s and 70s to make way for a US Air Force base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the group of islands.
An Immigration Order preventing anyone from going back was issued in 1971.
The Supreme Court - UK's highest court - upheld a 2008 House of Lords ruling that the exiles could not return.
Olivier Bancoult, the Chagossian leader who has been fighting in the courts on behalf of the islanders, had argued that decision should be set aside.
In the latest challenge, justices were told it relied heavily on a 2002 feasibility study into resettlement, which concluded that the costs of long-term inhabitation of the outer islands would be prohibitive and life there precarious.
Information about the feasibility study was not disclosed before the decision was made, the islanders said.
But the five justices dismissed the islanders' appeal by a majority of three to two - the same numerical split as the Law Lords in 2008.
Sabrina Jean from Crawley, West Sussex, chairs the Chagos Refugees UK group. Her father was originally from Chagos Island and is one of the 3,000-strong Chagossian community who live in the town, which is near Gatwick Airport.
She told BBC Sussex: "We are disappointed about the result but we will never give up. We will continue our fight to find justice for the Chagossian community. All the people have the right to live on the islands."
At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Henry Smith, MP for Crawley asked David Cameron if it would be a good legacy to allow the islanders to return.
Mr Cameron said the National Security Council was considering the case and had looked at the alternative options and costs.
"We will be making an announcement in the coming months," he said.
Stefan Donnelly, of the UK Chagos Support Association, said the decision was "disappointing" after decades of "peaceful and powerful" campaigning but "justice is still within reach though".
"It is ministers' responsibility to conclude their long-running policy review on the resettlement of the Chagos Islands," he said.
"Chagossians are our fellow citizens and we need to stand together and demand ministers get started on a fair return programme now."
TV presenter Ben Fogle has supported the campaign.
He said it was "hard to accept the ruling", but added: "The government's own policy review has already concluded that return is feasible, costs are modest and plenty of Chagossians are ready to go.
"So this fight for justice will continue - and grow."
UKIP's Commonwealth spokesman James Carver MEP said he was "dismayed" by the ruling, saying: "This moral injustice continues to be a stain on our history."
The Supreme Court case was the latest in a long legal battle over the right of the islanders to return.
In 2000, High Court judges ruled that Chagossians could return to 65 of the islands, but not to Diego Garcia.
In 2004, the government used the royal prerogative - exercised by ministers in the Queen's name - to effectively nullify the decision.
Then in 2007, the court overturned that order and rejected the government's argument that the royal prerogative was immune from scrutiny.
However, the following year the government won an appeal, with the House of Lords ruling the exiles could not return.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been a long-standing supporter of their campaign to go back.


Bosnia-Herzegovina has formally applied to join the 28-nation European Union - a milestone in its efforts to overcome political and ethnic divisions.

More tough negotiation and reforms lie ahead if it is ever to join the EU. Its neighbour Croatia joined in 2013.
Bosnia's move comes more than two decades after it emerged from a three-year conflict that cost about 100,000 lives, when Yugoslavia fragmented.
The EU foreign policy chief saw the bid as a step towards European unity.
"At a time when the union is questioned from within, seeing that with our immediate neighbours there is such an energy and willingness to join and work hard to adapt their countries, society, economy, institutions, systems to the European standards, gives us the sense of responsibility we have also towards our European Union citizenship," Federica Mogherini told journalists.
Integration with Europe is seen as a way to help Bosnia's ailing economy and overcome its reputation for corruption that scares off investors.
Last March, EU foreign ministers and Bosnia signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement that had been on hold since 2008, paving the way for the application.
Dragan Covic, the chairman of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, said there would be "years of many challenges ahead", the AFP news agency reports.
He submitted the application to Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, whose country currently holds the six-month EU rotating presidency.
The EU was happy to see "Bosnia back on the reform path", AFP quoted Mr Koenders as saying.


Swansea City revived their Premier League survival hopes as they beat Stoke to end a six-match winless run.

The Liberty Stadium erupted as Fernando Llorente's early header gave the hosts a precious lead.
The match hinged on a remarkable minute of second-half action, as Stoke's Marko Arnautovic blasted a penalty high over the bar moments before Tom Carroll's deflected long-range strike doubled Swansea's lead.
That sparked further joyous celebrations, although they were tempered by relegation rivals Hull's win over Watford, which kept the Swans in the Premier League's bottom three.
Swansea remain 18th in the table, two points adrift of Hull and safety, but a first victory since March will give them a much-needed lift with four games to go.
Paul Clement had described this match as "must win", adding that this was the club's most important fixture since the Championship play-off final they won in 2011.
An alarming decline had seen Swansea lose five of their past six Premier League matches, having won five of their first eight following Clement's appointment in January.
His players appeared to respond to the severity of the situation, feeding off a fervently atmospheric Liberty Stadium as they harassed Stoke in a frenetic start to the game.
Llorente fanned the flames of optimism with his goal, drifting away from some uncharacteristically slack marking by Ryan Shawcross to nod in virtually unopposed.
But although they enjoyed more possession, Swansea struggled to create further chances as the game became a little disjointed.
Clement seemed intent on holding on to the slender lead as he replaced striker Llorente with centre-back Mike van der Hoorn, and there was a moment when it seemed the Swans might regret removing their top scorer.
Arnautovic, albeit in an offside position, was allowed to square the ball to Xherdan Shaqiri, who was tripped by Federico Fernandez, prompting referee Michael Oliver to point to the spot.
But Arnautovic skied his penalty and, seconds later, it proved to be a costly miss as Carroll's powerful 25-yard effort deflected off former Swansea midfielder Joe Allen and over Jack Butland into the Stoke goal.
Sitting 11th in the table and comfortably clear of any relegation threat, Stoke might have appeared to be the archetypal team with nothing to play for.
However, they had disproven that theory in their previous outing, ending a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over Hull, Swansea's chief rivals in their bid for survival.
Mark Hughes' side initially seemed rattled by their opponents' high-octane opening at the Liberty, but they eventually composed themselves and created some good scoring opportunities.
Saido Berahino squandered two of them, heading wide and straight at Lukasz Fabianski from promising positions.
Following the 60 seconds in which Arnautovic missed his penalty and Carroll scored Swansea's second, Stoke seemed to lose heart, succumbing to an eighth defeat from their last 10 fixtures on the road.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Swansea manager Paul Clement: "I thought it was a must-win game and Hull have won and it was absolutely right.
"If the gap had gone to five points with four to play, the task would have been very difficult.
"Nothing changed between us and Hull but what has changed is we have got momentum now. We played terrific. We rode our luck but overall deserved to win and can look forward."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Stoke manager Mark Hughes: "We made it difficult for ourselves. If you are away you have got to make sure you are in the game and don't concede early and that is what we did.
"We hadn't got going. At 1-0 for the most part we were OK but clearly the game has changed on missing the penalty - if we could get back on terms, who knows?
"We need to be better at managing the game and affecting the opposition."
Stoke host West Ham on Saturday 29 April (15:00 BST kick-off) while Swansea travel to Old Trafford to play Manchester United on Sunday 30 April (12:00 BST kick-off).
Match ends, Swansea City 2, Stoke City 0.
Second Half ends, Swansea City 2, Stoke City 0.
Corner,  Stoke City. Conceded by Stephen Kingsley.
Corner,  Stoke City. Conceded by Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Corner,  Swansea City. Conceded by Mame Biram Diouf.
Foul by Mame Biram Diouf (Stoke City).
Stephen Kingsley (Swansea City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Peter Crouch (Stoke City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Peter Crouch (Stoke City).
Mike van der Hoorn (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Bruno Martins Indi (Stoke City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Joe Allen following a corner.
Corner,  Stoke City. Conceded by Kyle Naughton.
Corner,  Swansea City. Conceded by Bruno Martins Indi.
Substitution, Swansea City. Borja Bastón replaces Leon Britton.
Foul by Peter Crouch (Stoke City).
Alfie Mawson (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Stoke City. Mame Biram Diouf replaces Marko Arnautovic.
Offside, Stoke City. Peter Crouch tries a through ball, but Marko Arnautovic is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Ki Sung-yueng (Swansea City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is high and wide to the right.
Corner,  Swansea City. Conceded by Geoff Cameron.
Attempt blocked. Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea City) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is blocked. Assisted by Tom Carroll.
Substitution, Stoke City. Ramadan Sobhi replaces Saido Berahino.
Foul by Bruno Martins Indi (Stoke City).
Ki Sung-yueng (Swansea City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Corner,  Swansea City. Conceded by Jack Butland.
Attempt saved. Jordan Ayew (Swansea City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ki Sung-yueng.
Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Mike van der Hoorn (Swansea City).
Corner,  Swansea City. Conceded by Erik Pieters.
Corner,  Swansea City. Conceded by Jack Butland.
Attempt saved. Tom Carroll (Swansea City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Leon Britton.
Goal!  Swansea City 2, Stoke City 0. Tom Carroll (Swansea City) left footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Jordan Ayew.
Penalty missed! Bad penalty by Marko Arnautovic (Stoke City) right footed shot is too high. Marko Arnautovic should be disappointed.
Penalty Stoke City. Xherdan Shaqiri draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Federico Fernández (Swansea City) after a foul in the penalty area.
Jordan Ayew (Swansea City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Erik Pieters (Stoke City).
Corner,  Swansea City. Conceded by Geoff Cameron.
Attempt blocked. Federico Fernández (Swansea City) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is blocked.
Bruno Martins Indi (Stoke City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.


Former Ireland coach Phil Simmons has taken up a role as consultant with Afghanistan, who face the Irish in the Intercontinental Cup in March.

Simmons left the Ireland job in 2013 after six successful years to take charge of his native West Indies.
But last September the 53-year-old former Test opener was dismissed, with Joel Garner taking temporary charge.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board said Simmons would assist head coach Lalchand Rajput on technical issues.
As well as the four-day Intercontinental Cup matches, Ireland will play Afghanistan in five one-day internationals and three T20 games, all in Greater Noida.
Under Simmons, Ireland qualified for the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, achieving wins over Test nations England, West Indies and Zimbabwe.
The Windies appointed ex-Australia batsman Stuart Law as Simmons' full-time successor last week.


Hurricane Irene destroyed about 100 homes in the Bahamas as it roared over the island chain.

Irene, a category three storm, hit with winds of 185km/h (115mph).
Officials said some areas of the remote Acklins and Crooked Islands were badly damaged, although the capital, Nassau, was largely spared.
Irene also brought flooding and power cuts as it swept over Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands over the past few days.
The Bahamian island of Mayaguana, where roughly 250 people live, about 40 homes were damaged, AP reported.
There were also reports of extensive damage on Cat Island, Long Island and Eleuthera.
Lovely Bay on Acklins Island in the southern Bahamas was badly hit, said the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema).
On its website, The Tribune newspaper said homes had "been completely washed away or have lost entire roofs, power lines have been downed and trees are blocking roads".
Crooked Island saw wind gusts of more than 160km/h, with a school's roof "completely blown off and its windows blow out", Nema reported.
Across the Bahamas, Irene toppled trees and brought some flooding.
But the storm's course shifted, sparing New Providence island, which is home to some 200,000 people.
For the last three or four major hurricanes that I can recall, we've managed to skirt the eye of the hurricane," Charlton Knowles, who runs a pizza restaurant in Nassau, told AP.
"If the only things we are having are downed trees and pickets fences, then it's just a severe storm and that's all."
Irene was heading towards the US, with its projected path well offshore of the east coast of central and northern Florida later on Thursday and early Friday, according to the NHC.
The hurricane is forecast to approach the coast of North Carolina, where US President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency, on Saturday.


Eli Wallach, whose films included The Magnificent Seven and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, has died aged 98.

Character actor Wallach - who began his film career in 1956 after 10 years on stage - was admired for his wide range in a career spanning six decades.
His portrayal of bandit chief Calvera in The Magnificent Seven was regarded by many as his definitive role.
When he received an honorary Oscar in 2011, he was described as a "quintessential chameleon".
Though he was never nominated for an Oscar during his 60-year career, the Academy rewarded him in 2011 for "effortlessly inhabiting a wide range of characters, while putting his inimitable stamp on every role".
His films included the classic westerns How the West Was Won and The Misfits.
Arguably best known for his villains, he made a lasting impression as Tuco opposite Clint Eastwood, in Sergio Leone's 1966 spaghetti western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Years later, Wallach said strangers would recognise him and start whistling the distinctive theme tune.
"As an actor I've played more bandits, thieves, warlords, molesters and mafioso than you could shake a stick at," the Hollywood Reporter quoted him as saying.
He was also successful in light comedy and appeared in many TV shows, including playing Mr Freeze for a spell in the 1960s Batman TV series.
The veteran star continued making films into his 90s, making his last big screen appearance in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps in 2010.
His death was confirmed by his daughter Katherine in the New York Times.
Wallach was born on 7 December 1915 in Brooklyn to Polish Jewish immigrants.
He graduated from the University of Texas, initially intending to become a teacher.
But his focus shifted to acting, and after serving in World War II he studied at the Actors' Studio, where he became a practitioner of method acting.
He first appeared on the New York stage in 1945, where he met his wife Anne Jackson, to whom he was married for 65 years.
Wallach made his London debut in 1954 with The Teahouse of the August Moon.
His screen debut came two years later, playing an unscrupulous seducer in Baby Doll.
The role earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor and a Bafta award for most promising newcomer.
But the theatre remained Wallach's first love. "For actors, movies are a means to an end,'' he told the New York Times in 1973.
''I go and get on a horse in Spain for 10 weeks, and I have enough cushion to come back and do a play.''
He became a household name as Calvera in 1960's The Magnificent Seven, alongside Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn.
He went on to earn an Emmy in 1967 for his supporting turn in the drama Poppies Are Also Flowers, and picked up four further nominations - most recently for his guest turns in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2007) and Nurse Jackie (2010).
Other notable roles came in How the West Was Won, Mystic River, The Holiday, Lord Jim, and The Godfather: Part III, playing an ill-fated Mafioso.
Asked about possible retirement, he told the Times in 1997: ''What else am I going to do? I love to act."


Two people were arrested after a smoke bomb was let off during a protest outside Harrods department store.

The protest, which blocked roads in the Knightsbridge area of central London, was organised by the union that represents hospitality workers in the store as part of a row over tips.
The United Voices of the World (UVW) union complained that Harrods was keeping 75% of the cash left by diners.
Harrods said it was reviewing its service charge system
The Metropolitan Police said an 18-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of setting off a flare.
A 51-year-old woman was also arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and assaulting a police officer.
UVW's general secretary, Petros Elia, told the BBC Harrods was keeping up to Â£2.5m a year in tips from its hospitality staff.
A Harrods spokeswoman said the store employed more than 450 workers in its 16 restaurants, all of whom were paid "fairly and above national living wage".
Harrods said the employees would be given details of the new system, as soon as a review was complete.
There is currently no law requiring restaurants to hand over all the tips to their staff.
However the Business Secretary Sajid Javid has said gratuities should go to the people they were intended for.
In May 2016 the government highlighted a range of options to improve the tipping system, including the idea of legislation.
Industry guidelines suggest restaurants can keep a proportion of tips, to cover their costs.


A disabled refugee who was killed by his neighbour repeatedly pleaded with the council to rehouse him - but was given an Anti-social Behaviour Order.

Bijan Ebrahimi was beaten to death and his body set alight on a Bristol estate amid false claims he was a paedophile.
A BBC investigation has found he asked the city council on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis to find him a new home but was given an Asbo in 2010.
The council said a report into the case was being published.
Mr Ebrahimi, a council house tenant, suffered constant abuse at the hands of his neighbours and had already been moved from another part of the area.
But the abuse continued at his final home in Capgrave Crescent, where he was killed by Lee James.
The BBC has learned he was given an Asbo in 2010 as he was viewed as the nuisance, according to the IPCC.
However, with the support of the SARI (Stand Against Racism & Inequality) charity in Bristol and the Avon and Bristol Law Centre, the Asbo was overturned.
Bristol City Council insist that Mr Ebrahimi was issued with an injunction based on anti-social behaviour which they say was "set aside" when Mr Ebrahimi agreed to give "an undertaking to be of good behaviour".
The BBC also spoke to one neighbour who supported Mr Ebrahimi in getting his Asbo lifted.
The woman, who has declined to be named, said his repeated calls for help from the council were "ignored".
She said he faced "death threats, his cat was abused and he had faeces left on his doorstep".
"No action was ever taken against those residents," she said.
She added that she felt scared living in this part of Brislington and was also affected by racism, with her daughter once threatened with a baseball bat.
Bristol City Council says it is investigating its treatment of Mr Ebrahimi, an Iranian refugee.
No report has been published since his death four years ago but the council said one would be released in the coming months.
The council added it had not been able to talk about the report due to legal reasons.
Mr Ebrahimi's family, who said the delay "could be seen by some as a cover-up", are considering taking a civil prosecution against the council.
Last week, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said Mr Ebrahimi reported death threats and racial abuse for seven years.
The report stated he had been treated "consistently differently from his neighbours" in what could be "racial bias, conscious or unconscious".
PC Kevin Duffy and PCSO Andrew Passmore were jailed last year for misconduct over their dealings with Mr Ebrahimi. They and two other police officers were also dismissed from the Avon and Somerset force.
Regarding the Asbo, the IPCC report states: "PC Duffy used his knowledge of Mr Ebrahimi and the latter's reports to the police, as the basis for a statement he wrote in September 2010 to support a Bristol City Council Anti-social Behaviour Order application against Mr Ebrahimi.
"PC Duffy asserted that he had compiled the statement from his personal knowledge and from researching police computer systems.
"From analysing this statement and comparing it with the information held by the force on its incident logs, it is apparent [in the opinion of the investigator] that, in short, PC Duffy misrepresented, was misleading about, and did not accurately reflect the contact between Mr Ebrahimi and the force between 2007 and 2010."


Alex Salmond is expected to meet European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels later.

The former Scottish first minister will be in the Belgian capital to collect the first Coppieters Award.
A spokesman for Mr Salmond said last week that he would meet Mr Juncker ahead of the awards ceremony.
It comes as the Scottish government prepares to publish its proposals for keeping Scotland in the single market after Brexit.
Mr Salmond's successor as first minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon met Mr Juncker in Brussels in June.
Speaking at the time, Mr Juncker said Scotland had "won the right to be heard in Brussels" and that he would listen carefully to what Ms Sturgeon had to say.
But he stressed that he would not "interfere in an inner British process".
The request for a meeting with Mr Juncker was made by Mr Salmond, who will receive the Coppieters Award in recognition of his "dedication and advocacy for Scotland's right to redefine its political future among a European family of nations".
The Scottish government is exploring potential options for keeping Scotland in the European single market even if the UK as a whole leaves, with its proposals expected to be published next week.
The EU has previously said it will only negotiate a deal with the UK government once Article 50 is triggered and the formal process of leaving the EU begins.
The UK Chancellor, Philip Hammond, said earlier this month that a special Brexit deal for Scotland was "not realistic".
He also said he wanted to work closely with the Scottish government and the other devolved administrations in order to "secure the best possible deal" for all parts of the UK.


Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has blamed the Conservatives and the SNP for putting "divisive constitutional politics" at the centre of national debate.

He was addressing delegates at the Lib Dem party conference in Brighton.
Mr Rennie claimed the nationalists were too focused on holding a second independence referendum.
He also said the Conservatives had put the unity of the UK under strain with the EU referendum.
Mr Rennie told delegates: "With the blow of Brexit and the threat of another Scottish independence referendum it means that divisive constitutional politics remain at the centre of our national debate.
"It is a dismal scene that has been visited upon us by the Conservatives and the SNP. Stalled investment, uncertain future for EU citizens, divided families, split communities, economic instability, tensions between the nations of the UK.
"This is the work of the terrible twins of divisive politics."
Mr Rennie said the Liberal Democrats offered a "progressive, optimistic and outward looking" alternative.
He pointed to recent election wins by his party in Fife, Edinburgh and the Northern Isles, telling delegates the Lib Dems were "tearing up the script".
He added: "If we leave progressive politics to the SNP, then that will fail.
"If we leave the campaign for Scotland's place in the United Kingdom to the Conservatives it will fail too.
"That is why we need the Liberal Democrats."


Guarantees on EU funding from the UK government set to be announced on Saturday do not go far enough, Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones has said.

Chancellor Philip Hammond is expected to announce that many projects agreed before the 2016 autumn statement will be fully funded even after Brexit.
But Mr Jones said the guarantee only covers "about half" of regional funding for Wales.
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said the news provided "certainty".
Plaid Cymru said the announcement was "nothing new".
The Treasury is also expected to announce:
Mr Hammond said: "We recognise that many organisations across the UK which are in receipt of EU funding, or expect to start receiving funding, want reassurance about the flow of funding they will receive."
But Mr Jones, who has called for funding levels to be maintained following Brexit, said while the announcement was a "step in the right direction" and provides some reassurance to those currently in receipt of EU funding, it "doesn't go far enough".
"This guarantee only covers about half of the regional funding due to Wales and does not provide the long-term certainty needed and which was promised ahead of the referendum," the first minister said.
Calling for more detail from the UK government, he said: "We need a 'full guarantee' that funding will continue for our existing EU programmes to 2023."
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said: "Today's announcement by the UK government will provide stability and certainty as we prepare to leave the EU and is good news for Wales."
What does Wales receive in EU funds?
Wales is due to receive £1.89bn between 2014-2020 in structural funds - cash given to worse-off regions of the EU to help boost them economically.
It is not currently clear how much will be protected under the Chancellor's proposals to guarantee schemes already agreed or which will be agreed before the Autumn Statement.
However, the Welsh Government said around £830m in structural funds had already been committed, with £375m of proposals "in detailed development". It said it wanted to make funding decisions "as soon as we can".
Wales also gets £200m a year from the Common Agricultural Policy, and there is a £957m Rural Development Programme between 2014 and 2020 which included £400m in co-funding from the Welsh Government.
Of the latter, £503m has been invested, of which £346m is from the EU.
The Metro transport project, which proposes to overhaul the train network in the south Wales valleys and was expected to need EU funds, is not covered by the Treasury promise according to the Welsh Government.
Plaid Cymru's Treasury spokesman, MP Jonathan Edwards, said: "There is nothing new in this announcement - the prime minister has already confirmed that funds are secure up to 2020.
"There would have been uproar if the Chancellor hadn't made this statement - it is the bare minimum the UK government must guarantee."
But UKIP assembly group leader Neil Hamilton said it "shows it's high time Carwyn Jones and his Europhile colleagues apologised to the Welsh people for trying to scare them into voting Remain".
The Treasury has been asked to comment on Mr Jones' remarks.


A student with leukaemia who was at the centre of a worldwide search for a stem cell donor is to have a transplant - thanks to her mother.

Vithiya Alphons, 24, has acute myeloid leukaemia and was told she needed a donation urgently.
But because of her Sri Lankan background, the search was more complex as not many South Asian people are on donor registers.
A perfect match was not found so doctors are using her mother's cells.
Miss Alphons, from Walthamstow, London, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia - an aggressive form of blood cancer - after falling ill just days after returning for her final year as an optometry student at Cardiff University.
After chemotherapy failed, she was told her best option was now a stem cell transplant from a donor, which was needed within two months.
The charity Anthony Nolan started a search for a "potential lifesaver" donor on registers around the world and Miss Alphons' family launched a social media campaign.
Thousands of people signed up to the donor register in the weeks afterwards but no perfect matches were found so her mother, Bavany Alphons, stepped forward, even though she is only a 50% match.
Posting on her Facebook page, Miss Alphons' family said: "We were really hoping to get a complete match but unfortunately as we couldn't find one, there was no other choice but to go ahead with her mother's half match cells (50%) as this is the only option we have at this time to save her life."
A spokesman for Anthony Nolan said it was too early to say how Miss Alphons was "as the recovery can be quite a long process".


John Kennedy says the influence of new manager Brendan Rodgers will ensure Celtic are well prepared for their Champions League qualifying campaign.

Celtic begin their quest for the group stages against either Flora Tallin of Estonia or the semi-professional Gibraltar side Lincoln Red Imps.
And Kennedy insists Celtic will be ready for the first leg on 12/13 July.
"With Brendan coming in it will certainly take our preparation up a notch," said the first team coach.
"At this stage we'll go in as favourites but as we always do we'll make sure we're up to speed, we're fit, we're strong and the team's fully prepared going into the game.
"Obviously with it being the Champions League we can take no chances and Brendan is very detailed in the way he looks at things.
"It's early doors and he'll get his message across tactically in terms of how he wants his team to play, but he has always spoken about wanting to attack.
"That's in his make-up and he wants to have an attacking team with real intensity.
"He wants to dominate every game in Scotland if we can and try to take that into Europe. He wants us to have no fear in the way we play and to turn Celtic Park into a real fortress.
"He wants to make sure teams know when they come to Celtic Park that they'll be up against it and it's important we do that.
"That happens on the training pitch and getting the message across. He's got some great ideas in terms of how he sees the game so it's important we all buy into that and the players do the same. Hopefully you'll see the rewards on the pitch."
Kennedy is the only one of the first team coaching staff to remain at the club following the departure of manager Ronny Deila and his assistant John Collins.
And he is relishing the chance to be part of the new regime under former Liverpool boss Rodgers.
"It's the same position again," he explained. "Obviously, Chris Davies has come in as assistant manager and I've stayed on as first team coach.
"When Ronny and John left I was still here and I got a call from Brendan to have a chat and basically he said he wanted to keep me on and be part of his new set-up and stay on in my role as first team coach.
"It was a great opportunity. For myself to walk away from an opportunity to work with a manager of his calibre would be silly for me at this point in my career.
"It's a great opportunity for me and everybody's excited about things going forward."


A teenager shot dead after he stabbed two police officers was a "known terror suspect" whose passport had been cancelled on security grounds, Australian officials say.

The incident happened at a Melbourne police station late on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old, who had been asked to attend an interview, stabbed two counter-terrorism officers several times. One of them then shot him.
Police would not confirm reports he made threats against PM Tony Abbott.
Media reports also said he had been seen with a flag of Islamic State (IS, also known as Isil), the radical Islamist group that controls areas of Iraq and Syria.
"It is true to say there was a flag involved, whether it was Isil or not is not absolutely clear to me but there are some concerns about that issue," Commissioner Ken Lay of Victoria Police said.
The man, who was named in parliament as Abdul Numan Haider, is of Afghan origin and had been associated with al-Furqan, a radical group, local reports said.
Mr Lay said he stabbed the officers as they greeted him.
"One's extended his hand to shake his hand and the response has been he's been stabbed in the arm," he said.
"The attacker's then turned on the second police member and stabbed him three or four times in the body and in the head.
"The first wounded member has then shot and killed the young man."
Both officers required surgery, but were in a stable condition, police said.
The 18-year-old was described by Justice Minister Michael Keenan as "a known terror suspect who was a person of interest to law enforcement and intelligence agencies".
Police said the meeting at the Endeavour Hills police station was prompted by an escalation of activity that had led to concern.
Mr Abbott, who is overseas, said the incident showed "that there are people in our community who are capable of very extreme acts".
The incident came days after police conducted major anti-terror raids in Sydney and Brisbane in response to an alleged plot by IS followers to publicly behead a randomly-selected Australian.
One man has been charged with serious terrorism offences following that operation.
In recent months, Australian officials have been expressing growing concern over the the impact of Australians fighting with Islamist groups in the Middle East on domestic security.
They are concerned both about returnees and those who sympathise with the causes they advocate.
In response, the government is introducing new legislation to prevent Australians travelling to conflict zones to join militant groups, and to penalise those who do.


Justice Minister David Ford has criticised the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) after it said no more funding would be made available to deal with police investigations into crimes of the past in NI.

First Minister Arlene Foster had asked the Northern Ireland Secretary for extra funding for the PSNI.
She believes more money is needed by police for legacy investigations.
Mr Ford said it was time the government "lived up to its responsibilities".
He said he had told Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers "several times" since the Fresh Start deal that Northern Ireland's Justice system is "not funded to deal with the past".
"Failure to provide the funds earmarked by the Treasury as long ago as December 2014 is simply punishing the Justice system for the failings of others," he said.
"Theresa Villiers made a deal with the Irish government, Sinn Féin and the DUP without including the suggested institutions on the past.
"There was not even any way proposed to deal with the past, and victims were badly let down. Now the NIO seems to be using that failure as an excuse to refuse to fund essential work being done on the past.
"If legacy issues are not dealt with properly, it will be the British Government, not the Department of Justice, that has to answer questions in Strasbourg.
"The Justice system is carrying out its duties. It is time that the government lived up to its responsibilities and no longer let down the Justice system and, more important, victims."
Mrs Foster believes more financial support is needed by police for legacy investigations.
These include cases such as the activities of the Army agent known as Stakeknife. That case alone could cost £35m. Earlier this month, Mr Ford said this investigation must be funded centrally by the government.
The inquiry, which is expected to be the largest ever in Northern Ireland into the activities of a single individual, is re-examining about 50 Troubles related murders.
Chief Constable George Hamilton told the BBC's The View that it is likely to cost in the region of £7m per annum "when it gets up and running at full tilt."
In a statement, an NIO spokesperson made clear no extra funding would be provided.
It said that any such investigation "is a matter for the PSNI", adding: "It is the Department of Justice and the wider Northern Ireland Executive who have the responsibility for funding the PSNI."
The statement stressed a need for political consensus to deal with all aspects of Northern Ireland's past.
It said the government "has made it clear that there is an additional £150m available over five years to support new bodies to be set up to investigate the past".


Republican Donald Trump will not be president because it's a "serious job", President Barack Obama has said.

"I continue to believe that Mr Trump will not be president. And the reason is because I have a lot of faith in the American people," said Mr Obama.
Mr Trump, a billionaire businessman, is the frontrunner in the race to be his party's choice for the White House.
He has won one state primary already, and leads the polls in South Carolina, where Republicans vote on Saturday.
Speaking at the Asean economic summit in California, the president was asked by a reporter about Mr Trump.
The electorate will not pick him, said Mr Obama, because "they recognise that being president is a serious job".
"It's not hosting a talk show or a reality show, it's not promotion, it's not marketing, it's hard. It's not a matter of pandering and doing whatever will get you in the news on a given day."
Mr Trump responded by saying it was a compliment to be criticised by a president who had done so much damage to the country.
The New York hotel developer's antipathy to Mr Obama goes back a number of years - he used to demand that the president produce proof that he was born in the US.
And his election campaign has continuously made headlines, for controversial remarks and policies.
Mr Trump said he would deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, build a wall on the southern border paid for by Mexico and that Muslims should be stopped from entering the US.
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His chief rival is Texas Senator Ted Cruz, but one of his other rivals, the big-spending former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, will be hoping for a better performance after disappointment in Iowa and New Hampshire.
On Tuesday, a tweet by Mr Bush depicting a gun engraved with his name, alongside the word "America", provoked a strong reaction online.
Within hours it had been retweeted 15,000 times and was met by outrage and parody.
US fugitive Edward Snowden told Mr Bush to delete his account.
And Piers Morgan, who used to host a primetime show on CNN and was well known for his stance against gun rights, said it was "appalling".
Mr Bush tweeted the picture after taking questions at the premises of gun maker FN Manufacturing in Columbia, South Carolina.
The Washington Post said the tweet "has the potential to boost his image among Southerners beyond South Carolina who value the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear arms".
The Democratic race will focus on Saturday on Nevada, where Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will do battle in a caucus, which operates as a public show of support rather than a closed ballot.


The Mayor of London has repeated his offer to put Transport for London (TfL) in charge of "failing" Southern rail.

Passengers have suffered months of disruptions amid staff shortages and strike action by conductors.
TfL would be able to "get a grip" on the situation, Sadiq Khan told the government. His previous offer of a temporary takeover was rejected.
Operator Govia Thameslink Railway said its focus was on resolving issues, "not arguments about political control".
In a letter to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, Mr Khan said TfL had the expertise of running public transport services.
He also criticised the government's refusal to reconsider who should run the franchise.
TfL can deliver a better service than Southern Rail by "immediately assigning an experienced team to fix the service", he wrote.
Mr Khan said immediate action was needed adding, "passengers should not have to suffer any longer the appalling level of service they are currently forced to endure".
A spokesperson for Govia Thameslink Railway said: "Our focus is on resolving the immediate issues to restore the service that passengers rightly expect, not arguments about political control."
Apologising to passengers, the operator added: "We are committed to a long-term franchise, reporting to the Department for Transport."
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "This week's strike affecting Southern services has needlessly inconvenienced the travelling public and it is right that the action was suspended for talks to resume.
"It's important now to leave the union and the train operator to try and reach an agreement as quickly as possible."
Southern staff with the Rail, Maritime and Transport union went on strike for three days this week in a dispute over the role of conductors.
The union have been in talks with management at the conciliation service Acas. The talks have been adjourned for the day and will resume on Monday morning, an Acas spokesperson said.
Southern added 89 trains to Thursday's timetable after the RMT union suspended a five-day conductors' strike on Tuesday and agreed to new negotiations.
The service will not return to the pre-strike timetable until the weekend but trains will now run to Falmer station for fans travelling to Brighton and Hove Albion's game against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Championship.
The club said earlier the the strike could cost it as much as Â£300,000 in lost ticket sales.


Wildlife experts are concerned that a decline in the number of people recording plant behaviour could jeopardise long-running data sets.

Data stretches to 1736 when Robert Marsham, the "father of phenology", began recording seasonal events.
Phenology observes the key moments in plants' annual cycles, such as when they come into leaf or flower, and offer insight into shifts in seasons.
The UK's record, Nature's Calendar, is co-ordinated by the Woodland Trust.
"Our recorder numbers, as a whole, are not bad but what we are finding is that people with really good wildlife skills is the group that is nose-diving at the moment," explained Kate Lewthwaite, Nature's Calendar project manager.
She added that the "expert recorder" group, those who submit 100 or more individual observations, had fallen from the "high hundreds to about 200 people".
"I think one of the reasons is that many of them are quite elderly and we do receive some quite sad letters say that they are too old and they cannot do it anymore," Dr Lewthwaite told BBC News.
"So I would like to issue a challenge to the next generation to see if they can come in and pick up the baton.
"The value of the records is increasing year-on-year, so it would be a real shame if we were unable to continue at that level."
Out of sync
Dr Lewthwaite said the records showed that the UK's growing season was extending, with spring arriving earlier and autumnal events - such as leaf tinting and leaf fall - happening later.
"All of the really early spring events are getting earlier and earlier, such as bud burst on trees, when insects become active. At the other end, generally speaking the leaves are staying on trees longer," she observed.
"You might not think that is a problem if everything is growing longer, but one of the difficulties is that timings may go out of sync.
"Along a food chain, you have all these perfectly adapted timings, but if the leaves are coming out earlier than caterpillars, and earlier than birds can lay their eggs for the chicks to eat the caterpillars, then those natural timings could be threatened."
Dr Lewthwaite said they now had in the region of two million records in total, dating back to the 1700s.
She explained that hundreds of thousands of these records had been recorded since Nature's Calendar, also known as the UK Phenology Network, was established in 2000.
The recorded data was a key resource for academic researchers, she added, with requests for data being received on an almost daily basis.
Simon Toomer, the Forestry Commission's director at Westonbirt, said phenology records at the national arboretum stretched back to the middle of the 19th Century.
"Westonbirt's volunteer phenology group is hugely important to the arboretum and is in fact a group which has been started only in recent years," he told BBC News.
"The new group of volunteers works with the Forestry Commission to recordÂ flowering andÂ seasonal colour change in a more systematic approach than ever before.
"The observations of Westonbirt Arboretum's volunteer phenology group show that in many cases, autumn colour is appearing later this year."


The new Glasgow School of Art building is being officially opened across the road from Charles Rennie Mackintosh's masterpiece.

The Reid Building sits facing Rennie Mackintosh's famous 1909 landmark.
Designed by US architect Steven Holl, the new Â£30m building - which is part of a Â£50m project - replaces a 1970s concrete tower block.
It will bring the departments of design together under one roof, along with a new lecture theatre, workshops, canteen and staff offices.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a 28-year-old junior draughtsman at a Glasgow architecture firm when he drew up the designs for the building that many consider his masterpiece.
The dramatic art nouveau design of the Glasgow School of Art building in the Garnethill area of the city centre took another 12 years to be completed, finally opening in 1909, but it heralded the birth of a new style in 20th Century European architecture.
It is now considered one of Scotland's most admired and influential buildings and Mackintosh, under-appreciated in his own time, is lauded as one of the country's finest designers.
The task of designing a 21st Century building to sit on the opposite side of Renfrew Street to Rennie Mackintosh's masterpiece went to Steven Holl, along with local practice JM Architects.
Its design has proved controversial, with The Architectural Heritage Society for Scotland branding it "alien" and questioning the "use of large unrelieved stretches of grey opaque glass".
New York-based Holl, 66, won the 2010 competition to design new 11,000 sq ft accommodation for the art school's design department.
The building, which will house about 800 students, is named in honour of the art school's former director, Seona Reid.
It extends for the same length as its illustrious neighbour, so the temptation to compare them is very great.
Holl has described his approach as "complementary contrast".
He said he wanted to do the opposite of everything Mackintosh did.
Whereas Mackintosh has thick sandstone, Holl has developed a thin skin entirely of glass, which he hopes will pick up the light.
Mackintosh worked with detail and ornament and Holl uses modern techniques of glass-making.
Inside studios and social spaces have large areas of unobstructed window.
As well as that, translucent glass has been extended over all external walls and forms a second layer to a number of windows.
Famous Glasgow School of Art graduates includes Dr Who actor Peter Capaldi and Harry Potter actor Robbie Coltrane, as well as novelist and muralist Alasdair Gray.
Artist Peter Howson and Scotland's national poet Liz Lochhead attended the school as well as Fran Healy and Dougie Payne from Glasgow band Travis and members of Franz Ferdinand.
In recent years, Glasgow School of Art has produced many of the UK's leading contemporary artists such as Douglas Gordon and David Shrigley and three recent Turner Prize winners: Simon Starling in 2005, Richard Wright in 2009 and Martin Boyce in 2011.


Sony has unveiled the first smartphone to feature a 4K-resolution screen.

It means the Xperia Z5 Premium can both capture video in "ultra-high definition" quality and then play it back on its 5.5in (14cm) display without downgrading the footage.
All the firm's Z5 handsets also feature a new camera module - the first time the part has been completely overhauled since 2013's original Z1 handset.
Sony's mobile division loses money, but its camera components are profitable.
Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi and Huawei are among rival handset-makers to have used earlier generations of the Japanese company's photo-capture technologies.
However, Sony said the 23 megapixel sensor involved was being kept as an "exclusive" to its own devices for the time being.
The company recently forecast its handset business would rack up a 60bn yen ($500m; Â£326m) operating loss in its current financial year.
But it forecast its image sensor wing - which also makes parts for bigger cameras - would generate 580bn yen ($4.8bn; Â£3.1bn) of sales over the same period.
Sony hopes its mobile phones will become profitable again in 2016, but its chief executive told the BBC in March that there was "no guarantee" it would still be making handsets in five years' time if a turnaround failed to happen.
Sony unveiled its new Android-powered handsets at Berlin's Ifa tech show.
The company acknowledged that there was still a limited amount of professional content available in 4K - which provides about four times the number of pixels as 1080p high definition video.
But it said the Z5 Premium would upscale videos streamed from YouTube and Netflix to take advantage of the display.
One of the big concerns about high-definition screens is that they run down batteries more quickly.
Sony says its use of a "high capacity" 3,430 mAh battery and memory-on-display tech - which allows a static image to remain on show without requiring extra processing power - should mean the handset lasts for "up to two days" between charges.
But one expert still had concerns.
"I really doubt it will last two days if you watch a 4K movie on the device," said Francisco Jeronimo from the tech research company IDC.
"There's not really a need for a 4K display from a consumers point-of-view.
"But this is really about offering something outstanding that its competitors can't provide today and raising brand awareness."
Sony's new camera module benefits from the introduction of a "closed-loop actuator" stabilisation system.
This adds a position sensor to the part, which is used to detect small disturbances and then compensate for them by making the lens move up and down in its housing in a related fashion.
As a result, it should be able to film less jerky video clips.
The addition of a sixth camera element causes more light to fall on to the sensor, which should aid low-light photography.
Sony has also added more "phase-detection" pixels to the sensor. These are used to speed up autofocus and now cover the complete frame rather than just its central area.
The result is that the sensor can react more quickly to action occurring on the edge of shot.
The company says this and other improvements mean the camera is capable of refocusing in 0.03 seconds, making it "the fastest autofocus in a smartphone".
However, Mr Jeronimo doubts whether most users will appreciate the innovations.
"The big question is whether consumers will perceive the added quality when they take a picture," he said.
"I took a few pictures with an iPhone 6 and the new Sony Z5 Premium in low light, and to be honest the quality was very similar.
"Once you get to a certain level, it becomes very difficult to notice the difference unless you print the picture in a large size, and that's true for most of the top-end handsets."
Nonetheless, he added, the sensor had a good chance of being adopted by other smartphone companies if it proved superior in independent tests to alternatives.
Its competition will include Samsung's recently announced S5K3P3 sensor, which has a lower resolution of 16 megapixels but has been designed to be very thin to offer "minimal camera protrusion" from slimline handsets.
Other companies that launched new smartphones at Ifa on Wednesday included:


Two people have been jailed for life for murdering a vulnerable man who was tortured for months and forced to eat his own testicle.

Jimmy Prout, 45, was found dead on wasteland near his home in North Shields on 27 March 2016.
A Newcastle Crown Court trial heard he suffered "Dark Ages" abuse at the hands of a group he thought of as friends.
Ringleader Zahid Zaman, 43, was told he must serve a minimum term of 33 years and Ann Corbett, 26, at least 27 years.
Kay Rayworth, 56, and Myra Wood, 45, of North Shields, were also jailed for causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable man.
Rayworth was sentenced to 12 years and four months and Wood for nine years.
Get updates on this and other stories from the North East here
Zaman, a wheelchair user, was branded as an "evil, vindictive, manipulative and devious man", by Mr Justice Dove, who accused him of scouring the internet and local soup kitchens to find vulnerable people he could control before coming across Mr Prout and making him his "skivvy".
All four had previously admitted a further count of perverting the course of justice.
During the seven-week trial, the court heard the group of five, including Mr Prout, had a strange relationship which had developed an almost "cultish dimension".
The jury were told Ann Corbett had shared a bedroom with Mr Prout and would have seen the suffering he endured and even watched him die, but did nothing to stop it.
The court heard that a series of events in late 2015 created tensions that led to a number of serious assaults against Mr Prout, which included him having his teeth knocked out with hand tools.
After Mr Prout's body had been dumped, the court was told the group then set about covering their tracks by pretending to look for him and asking others to help.
Zaman was described as "vengeful and controlling" and was determined to get revenge on Mr Prout who he believed had been involved in stealing from him.
Mr Justice Dove said words could not to do justice to the brutality Mr Prout endured or how they all had betrayed him, saying "what he suffered was beyond imagining".
He added the case involved the "sadistic torture of a vulnerable victim" which was "designed to inflict excruciating pain" and "monstrous violence".
The jury was shown CCTV images, often taken from cameras on Zaman's house, of the worsening condition of Mr Prout as the assaults continued, some of which showed him clearly unsteady on his feet and being pushed along the street.
Det Ch Insp Andy Fairlamb, of Northumbria Police, said: "This truly has been one of the most awful cases I have dealt with.
"The way these people treated this man was abhorrent. He was brutally tortured by these people who were supposed to be his friends. It's hard to believe that a human being could have been treated in this way."
He said a domestic homicide review, involving several agencies including the Northumbria force, was now under way into the circumstances surrounding Mr Prout's death.
Mr Prout's brother Edward said: "I buried my brother Jimmy on my birthday last year and it was one of the hardest things I've had to do. My brother was my best pal and by killing Jimmy, they have killed part of me.
"The officers in the case have been great and I would like to thank them for everything. Now it is time for us to fully grieve in peace and move on with our lives."


This amazing timelapse footage was taken just as the Colima volcano in Mexico erupted.

16 August 2015 Last updated at 09:14 BST
The initial explosion sent thick plumes of dust and ash up to three miles into the air, but later the ash cloud reached over five miles high.
The Colima volcano is located some distance from the nearest town. It is an active volcano, and has erupted around 30 times since 1585.
The eruption was captured by a fixed web camera, which was placed there in 2013 to monitor the volcano's eruptions.


A man who was pushed out to sea in a dinghy for a joke by his friends and then carried off by strong winds has been rescued by lifeboat crews.

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboats were called to reports of a man, 22, in a dinghy near Britannia Pier, Great Yarmouth on Thursday afternoon.
He did not have any paddles when he was found. He was taken to Gorleston.
Lifeboat crews said it was a "prank gone wrong", and Coxswain Paddy Lee added: "He is a very lucky man".
"This could have easily been a different outcome. He was being blown offshore into wind farm traffic and shipping lanes.
"The dinghy was losing air. The sea is still very cold," he said.


Ofcom has rejected complaints that it was inappropriate for a Muslim TV reporter wearing a hijab to cover the Nice terrorist attack in July.

The media watchdog said there were no grounds to investigate after receiving 17 complaints about the attire of Channel 4 News presenter Fatima Manji.
"The way in which the presenter chose to dress in this case did not raise any issues under our rules," Ofcom said.
The watchdog will not be "taking the matter forward for investigation".
The Ofcom spokesman also said that "the selection of a presenter is an editorial matter for the broadcaster".
Manji co-presented the Channel 4 News bulletin, produced by ITN, from London during coverage of the lorry attack in Nice which killed 86 people on 15 July.
So-called Islamic State subsequently claimed responsibility for the attack.
Sun columnist Kelvin MacKenzie questioned whether the Muslim presenter should have appeared on the bulletin.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) has received some 1,700 complaints over his remarks, including one from Manji herself and one from Channel 4 news.
The programme's editor, Ben de Pear, said last month that the correspondent had been a victim of "religious discrimination".
"ITN believes the article was in breach of a number of provisions of the Editor's Code, in particular discrimination, harassment by intimidation and inaccuracy," he added.
De Pear said a "further complaint" had been made by ITN chief executive John Hardie "which fully supports and endorses the grounds and reasoning of Fatima's complaint".
A ruling from Ipso is not expected until the autumn.
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US President-elect Donald Trump has named Ben Carson, his former rival for the Republican nomination, as secretary of housing and urban development.

"Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities", the president-elect said in a statement, adding that the two had discussed his "urban renewal agenda".
Mr Carson is the first African-American to be nominated for Mr Trump's cabinet.
He endorsed Mr Trump in March after ending his own bid for the White House.
"Ben shares my optimism about the future of our country and is part of ensuring that this is a presidency representing all Americans,'' the statement from Mr Trump said.
But Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi criticised the nomination of Mr Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, calling him a "disconcerting and disturbingly unqualified choice to lead a department as complex and consequential as housing and urban development".
The agency has an annual budget of about $50bn (£40bn).
Dr Carson has made some pointed comments in the past over the work of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). They provide some insight into how a Carson-run Hud might approach desegregation and the agency's role in tackling poverty.
A report issued by HUD in 2011 criticised the city of Dubuque, Iowa, for withholding the rent-assistance vouchers in a way that disproportionately affected black tenants. In 2015, Dr Carson derided Hud's action as government overreach. "This is what you see in communist countries," he said.
Under the Obama administration, HUD attempted to proactively tackle segregation in American cities by incentivising wealthier areas to build affordable housing.
"These government-engineered attempts to legislate racial equality create consequences that often make matters worse," he wrote in June 2015. "Based on the history of failed socialist experiments in this country, entrusting the government to get it right can prove downright dangerous."
Mr Trump has not always been so positive about the man he has chosen to join his administration.
In November 2015, when Mr Carson briefly overtook him in the polls for the Republican nomination, Mr Trump launched sustained attacks on his rival's character.
In one tweet, he brought together three of Mr Carson's most controversial statements, bringing up Mr Carson's own admissions about his violent behaviour growing up in a poor family in Detroit.
Mr Carson has since reiterated statements about his teenage years first made in his autobiography, in which he admitted to wanting to hit his mother on the head with a hammer and to trying to stab a friend.
His assertion that the Egyptian pyramids were not built to entomb pharaohs but instead by the Biblical figure Joseph to store grain were widely ridiculed when they emerged in November.
Mr Carson is a devout Protestant Christian who is a member of the Seventh Day Adventist church.
Cabinet appointments need to be confirmed by the US Senate.
There are still major cabinet positions yet to be announced, including the next secretary of state.
As well as his top team, the president-elect has about 4,000 government positions to fill.
Trump's presidential cabinet takes shape
The people around Donald Trump
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The Trump resistance movement
Can Trump outlaw gay marriage?


League Two play-off hopefuls Wycombe Wanderers have signed Reading striker Rowan Liburd on a one-month loan.

He has played three Royals games since joining from Billericay Town, where he scored 22 goals in five months.
Liburd, 23, comes in to cover Paris Cowan-Hall, who is likely miss the rest of the season after injuring his ankle.
"I've seen Reading's under-21s play on countless occasions and he's scored virtually every time," said Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth.
"He's a big lad who's very quick across the ground and knows where the goal is, and we're very much looking forward to working with him."
Liburd has also scored 11 times in 14 under-21 games for Reading.
"As with any new player, we have to be careful not to expect too much from him too soon, but he is someone we're confident can give us another dimension up front and I'm sure the fans will warm to him very quickly," Ainsworth added.
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