Sprinkled across the oceans around the globe, some 60 of Hanjin Shipping's cargo vessels are stranded at sea after the company filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago.

Here's the story of one of those ships, its captain and its crew.
The Hanjin Rome is nestled between countless other ships off the coast of Singapore, a towering container vessel. As with any of these ships, if you approach in a small boat, it seems there's no sign of life up there.
That's what the BBC did, hoping to get on board to see what the situation was. Well, our team didn't get permission - but they did manage to speak to the crew via radio and get some contact details.
Since then, I've been spending two days chatting to Captain Moon Kwon-do on Facebook. Without any pressing seafaring duties to attend to, he's got plenty of time to write back and forth and tell me about himself, his men and his "old lady", the Hanjin Rome.
If like me, you don't really know what a modern-day cargo captain looks like, here's a selfie on the bridge:
When the Hanjin Rome arrived in Singapore on 29 August, no-one on board expected anything other than a regular port call. Little did they know that their trip was about to come to a grinding halt.
The previous months had been business as usual - the ship got back from its regular route to South America and was now headed for the Middle East, merely stopping over in Singapore. The usual thing, refuelling, replenishing supplies and maybe picking up some new cargo.
What they didn't know though was that Hanjin Shipping had filed for bankruptcy protection - crumbling under the weight of a staggering $5.4bn (Â£4.1bn) worth of debt.
"At about 9:20 in the evening, an attorney came on board with a sheriff," Captain Moon says as he recalls the night. The ship got arrested, seized by creditors who were hoping to get at least some money back.
"No-one told me about this beforehand," he goes on, struggling to hide his emotions. The captain was completely left in the dark about the state of affairs.
The 36-year-old was then ordered to go out to an anchorage position and wait. This was two weeks ago - and since then there's been little more information given to them about the ship's - and their own personal - future.
Captain Moon has a local Sim card brought on board by a friend. A smartphone is his way of connecting with the outside world, whether it's curious BBC reporters, friends, colleagues - or his family back home.
His wife and daughter live in the South Korean port city of Busan, eagerly awaiting any news or development.
And this Wednesday is not just any day in Korea - it's the beginning of Chuseok, the three-day Korean thanksgiving festival.
It is a day you normally spend with family and relatives, he tells me. It's also important for performing religious memorial services for your ancestors.
In addition, Captain Moon tells me that his elderly grandmother is in a critical condition and that he really wishes he could be back there with her.
He has already asked to be repatriated and replaced as captain - but things are not looking up. "No-one wants to join our arrested Hanjin Rome," he says, sending a sad face emoji on Facebook.
From my office window, I can clearly see the cluster of ships off the east coast. On one of them, Captain Moon sits typing on his phone. As we chat, one of Singapore's torrential downpours begins. "I like heavy rain," he grins through the internet across the water.
Of course he's not the only one missing home and family. There's a total of 24 seamen on board, 11 South Koreans and 13 Indonesians.
I asked for a picture of the crew to get an idea of what a team of 21st Century sailors look like. They sure know how to get their message across.
They are not allowed to go onshore except for things like a medical emergency. But land is temptingly close.
From where they are anchored, Singapore is on one side and a few Indonesian islands are on the other. The Indonesian seamen could almost swim back to their home country.
But what to do when you're stuck like they are? I ask him what they're up to all day, assuming they must have heaps of time on their hands.
But I stand corrected, a lot of the work on board has to be done regardless of whether they are sailing or at anchor. Today, in fact is...
Lol indeed - even a captain needs to get his laundry done. So I wait a for a bit and it's not long before he is back online.
He says that some might regard their situation as "marooned or even abandoned", but that "most crew still have hope this will be settled in the near future".
Shipping lawyers here in Singapore though tell me that it's normal for ships to be arrested for a few months - there are even extreme cases of up to a year.
I ask about water, food, general supplies. They still have enough but stocks are beginning to run low. On Friday, they will get fresh provisions brought on board as well as some entertainment material - movies to watch, games to play.
Maybe also a few more Sim cards so that more of them can get online. For instance, to look for new jobs for when their current ordeal is over.
There is after all little expectation that Hanjin Shipping will survive its current situation.
The Hanjin Rome was built in 1998, "an old lady" as the captain says. He's been sailing on her since 2003, and jokes that he therefore has special feelings for her and that "she looks younger than her age".
But good looks won't help her too much in her uncertain future. The ship is one of three built in the late 1990s and in the current shipping drought that means its market value is very low, too low in fact.
"Given Hanjin's extraordinary circumstance, it is probable the three 90s ships will be sold for scrap and sent to the beaches on the Indian subcontinent - the most popular location for scrapping," William Bennett, senior analyst at VesselsValue told the BBC.
The scrap value for the Hanjin Rome is around $7.15m. And as much as Captain Moon likes his old ship, he too agrees that it is probably doomed to be scrapped.
As of now though, the crew remains on duty, officers are manning the bridge 24/7, staring out across the countless vessels anchored around them.
The difference is that the other ships can simply weigh anchor and are free to sail off at any time.


A witness at an attempted murder trial has denied giving police a description of the gunman.

Vincent Cassidy was walking with Ross Sherlock, having collected his children from primary school, when a gunman opened fire in Bishopbriggs.
Mr Cassidy said he froze and did not see the gunman's face.
He was giving evidence at the trial of William Burns and Alexander Porter who both deny attempting to murder Mr Sherlock on 24 September 2015.
The jury at the High Court in Glasgow heard that Mr Cassidy and Mr Sherlock had collected their children from St Helen's Primary and were walking along chatting when the attack happened.
A man wearing fluorescent yellow clothing appeared, produced a gun and fired at Mr Sherlock who ran off.
The jury has previously heard that one of the shots fractured Mr Sherlock's arm.
Mr Cassidy was asked by prosecutor Richard Goddard: "Does your police statement say; 'The one thing I noticed was that he didn't fancy chasing after Ross. He only took a few steps and then stopped and fired'?"
He replied: "Yes. I said that."
He did not agree, however, that he had given police a description of the gunman's face, his height and build.
When asked about those parts of his statement Mr Cassidy replied: "I've signed the statement but I did not say these words. I didn't see the face at all."
When asked if he could identify the gunman Mr Cassidy replied: "I didn't see the man's face. I only saw the back of him.'
He added: "I kind of froze and then got my kids out of the way as quickly as possible."
The trial later heard evidence that police found three cartridges and a bullet near the scene.
Det Sgt Allan MacInnes said that two cartridges were found in the roadway at Dornoch Place and the third in a driveway.
The bullet was found at the junction of Pentland Drive with Ronaldsay Drive.
The jury was also told that about 10 minutes after the shooting a silver-coloured Volkwagen Golf was found on fire at Wood Lane, Bishopbriggs.
IT engineer John McDermott said that he saw smoke billowing in the air and when he went to investigate discovered a car ablaze.
Mr McDermott told prosecutor Richard Goddard: "I could see smoke billowing out. I went to see what it was. I could see there was a car on fire. I think it was a VW Golf. Glass was popping and flames were coming out."
Firefighter Martin White told the jury that the blaze had been deliberately started in the passenger compartment after petrol had been poured in.
William Burns, 56, and Alexander Porter, 48, both from Paisley, deny attempting to murder Ross Sherlock by repeatedly discharging a handgun at him on 24 September, 2015, at Dornoch Place and Ronaldsay Drive, Bishopbriggs.
They also deny assaulting crime journalist Russell Findlay to the danger of his life at his home in the west end of Glasgow on 23 December, 2015 by throwing sulphuric acid in his face.
The prosecution alleges that these alleged offences were aggravated by a connection with serious organised crime.
Mr Burns has lodged a special defence of alibi in relation to the attempted murder of Mr Sherlock claimed he was working at Guinea Enviro in Maryhill, Glasgow, at the time.
He has also lodged a special defence incriminating another man, whose whereabouts are unknown, for the shooting.
The trial before judge Lord Matthews continues.


Toulon pair Martin Castrogiovanni and Delon Armitage will face misconduct charges after incidents at the European Rugby Champions Cup match at Leicester.

Castrogiovanni, 33, is alleged to have made unacceptable comments to the media about Leicester and the club's director of rugby Richard Cockerill.
Former England full-back Armitage, 30, is alleged to have used offensive words in front of fans.
The cases will be heard by an independent Disciplinary Committee.
Former Leicester prop Castrogiovanni has been left out of the return fixture in France on Saturday but Armitage has been named on the wing.
Media playback is not supported on this device
European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) said in a statement: "The misconduct complaint against Martin Castrogiovanni is that after the match he made a number of comments to the media in which he attacked, disparaged, criticised, damaged and/or brought into disrepute Leicester Tigers, the club's Director of Rugby, Richard Cockerill, EPCR, the European Rugby Champions Cup and the sport of rugby union."
It added: "The misconduct complaint against Delon Armitage is that during and after the match he is alleged to have conducted himself in an unsportsmanlike manner by making a number of comments to, or within earshot of, spectators using foul and abusive language."


Four people - including a nine-year-old child - have been killed in an accident in the Aegean sea near Athens, according to the Greek coastguard.

Three men also died, and four people were injured.
The accident happened when a tourist boat and a speedboat collided off the island of Aegina.
Private vessels are said to be helping the coastguard rescue survivors, 21 of whom have been pulled from the water so far.
Aegina Mayor Dimitris Mourtzis has been quoted as saying others remain missing.
The tourist boat was said to have been carrying about 20 people from Aegina to a popular cove on Moni, an uninhabited small island very nearby.
It is so far unclear how the accident happened. The nationalities of the victims have also not yet been given.
Greece country profile


Bangladesh seamer Al-Amin Hossain has had his bowling action cleared by the International Cricket Council.

The 24-year-old was reported in September, but tests have since shown that he extends his arm within the ICC's 15-degree tolerance.
Hossain is available for selection immediately, with Bangladesh currently hosting a tour by Zimbabwe.
He has taken six wickets in six Tests and 16 in nine one-day internationals since making his debut in 2013.


Bradford lost their record as the country's only unbeaten side in all competitions after going down to a very late goal at Oxford.

Chris Maguire struck a brilliant free-kick from 23 yards in stoppage time to give the U's victory.
The Bantams, who had been undefeated in their first 15 games of the campaign, stay second in League One but they will be cursing Billy Clarke's penalty miss in the 21st minute.
Charlie Raglan tripped Timothee Dieng to concede the spot-kick, but Clarke smashed the penalty against the crossbar.
Before that, Maguire twice went close for the U's, with City keeper Colin Doyle pushing aside his 15-yard volley, and later saving the striker's header.
Bradford then began to control possession and Jordy Hiwula should have done better than sky a volley from 10 yards out.
Simon Eastwood saved at the feet of Clarke as the visitors continued to create opportunities.
Hiwula missed badly from four yards out in the second half before Oxford began to look dangerous.
Ryan Taylor had an effort saved and Chey Dunkley saw his header from a corner blocked on the goal line.
Just as the game entered second-half stoppage time, the referee penalised Romain Vincelot for pulling John Lundstram's shirt, and Maguire curled in the free-kick for his seventh goal of the season.
Reports supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Oxford United 1, Bradford City 0.
Second Half ends, Oxford United 1, Bradford City 0.
Goal!  Oxford United 1, Bradford City 0. Chris Maguire (Oxford United) from a free kick with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
Stephen Darby (Bradford City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
John Lundstram (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Stephen Darby (Bradford City).
Corner,  Oxford United. Conceded by Nicky Law.
Foul by Joe Rothwell (Oxford United).
Josh Cullen (Bradford City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Timothee Dieng (Bradford City) header from the left side of the six yard box is just a bit too high.
Foul by Marvin Johnson (Oxford United).
Nicky Law (Bradford City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Corner,  Oxford United. Conceded by Timothee Dieng.
Attempt blocked. Cheyenne Dunkley (Oxford United) header from the right side of the six yard box is blocked.
Corner,  Oxford United. Conceded by Stephen Darby.
Attempt saved. Ryan Taylor (Oxford United) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Hand ball by Timothee Dieng (Bradford City).
Foul by Filipe Morais (Bradford City).
John Lundstram (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Kane Hemmings (Oxford United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Billy Clarke (Bradford City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Joe Rothwell (Oxford United).
Corner,  Oxford United. Conceded by Timothee Dieng.
Substitution, Oxford United. Kane Hemmings replaces Alexander MacDonald.
Substitution, Bradford City. Marc McNulty replaces Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila.
Substitution, Bradford City. Filipe Morais replaces Mark Marshall.
Corner,  Bradford City. Conceded by Cheyenne Dunkley.
Corner,  Bradford City. Conceded by Charlie Raglan.
Attempt blocked. Mark Marshall (Bradford City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. Josh Ruffels (Oxford United) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Ryan Taylor (Oxford United) is shown the yellow card for dangerous play.
Romain Vincelot (Bradford City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ryan Taylor (Oxford United).
Attempt saved. Ryan Taylor (Oxford United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila (Bradford City) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left misses to the right.
Corner,  Oxford United. Conceded by Romain Vincelot.
Corner,  Oxford United. Conceded by Timothee Dieng.
Attempt saved. Alexander MacDonald (Oxford United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution, Bradford City. Matthew Kilgallon replaces James Meredith because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Chris Maguire (Oxford United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.


A woman who stamped her 21-month-old daughter to death has launched an appeal against her murder conviction.

Kathryn Smith, 23, killed Ayeeshia Jane Smith during a "savage outburst" in the girl's bedroom in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, in 2014.
But her lawyers told the Court of Appeal her conviction was "unsafe".
John Butterfield QC said an interruption by the trial judge as he made his closing speech caused "prejudice" in the minds of jurors.
Smith, from Overseal, Derbyshire, was ordered to serve at least 24 years behind bars, while her former partner Matthew Rigby, from Nottingham, was jailed for three-and-a-half years for causing or allowing Ayeeshia's death.
Ayeeshia's heart had ripped due to the force of a fatal blow - a type of injury usually only found in car crash victims.
She had also suffered many other injuries, including a bleed on the brain, in the months before she was killed.
Mr Butterfield, who represented Smith during her trial at Birmingham Crown Court, said Mrs Justice Andrews' intervention had the effect of painting him as someone who was "sly enough" to make points he should not have been making.
"It is hard to understate just how devastating this was to the credibility of the defence case," he said. "To trespass on the closing remarks at all was a risk and was likely to have consequences.
"But to trespass on them to the extent and degree that was done here was dramatic and it cannot be said that the conviction is safe, I'm afraid, because of these matters."
Christopher Hotten QC, who acted for the prosecution at trial, argued the judge's interruption did not render the conviction unsafe and urged the Appeal Court judges to uphold it.
A judgement on the conviction will be handed down at a later date.


After my blog earlier this week and an appearance on the BBC News at Ten reporting on government plans to introduce extremist banning orders, it is upsetting to find myself accused of positively comparing the radical Islamist firebrand Anjem Choudary with civil rights hero Mahatma Gandhi.

I would understand people's shock and horror if I had - but I did not. Quite the reverse. Anjem Choudary is nothing like Mahatma Gandhi. Nor Nelson Mandela for that matter.  Indeed, that was my point and I am saddened if it has been misconstrued.
Let me be clear what I was saying - the legislation being devised to deal with the former will need to be very carefully drafted to avoid scooping up anti-establishment figures such as the latter.
The home secretary and the prime minister are looking for a way to silence individuals whose extremist rhetoric helps radicalise people into supporting so-called Islamic State and Al Qaeda. Such support can and, tragically, sometimes does lead to violence that threatens our very way of life.
It is the responsibility of ministers to consider how to counter such threats to national security and individual safety.
But there are concerns that the definition of extremism being used by the government is too broad and risks undermining the very freedoms ministers say they are trying to defend.
The Home Office's Prevent strategy defines extremism as "vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs".
Denying the right to free speech to anyone who falls foul of this description has already worried senior parliamentarians.
The former attorney general Dominic Grieve QC says he is concerned that extremism powers could result in people being prosecuted for having a point of view.
The former head of MI5, Eliza Manningham-Buller has similar anxieties: "I am afraid that it is a profound irony that we are seeking to protect our values against this pernicious ideology by trying to bar views that are described, too vaguely, as 'non-violent' extremist - but which fall short of incitement to violence or to racial or ethnic hatred - which is already forbidden by law."
This is the dilemma I was highlighting.  Putting new powers into statute may deal with one immediate problem, but some speculate how a future government might exploit such powers to silence dissent and criticism.
There is an irony in this, not lost on the prime minister and home secretary. They wish to defend fundamental British values such as free speech, but to do so they find themselves looking at ways to deny some that very right.  It is far from easy.


The Chinese firm whose warehouse in Tianjin exploded last week killing at least 114 people did not have a licence to handle hazardous chemicals until two months ago, Xinhua news agency says.

It also said that for eight months before June, Tianjin International Ruihai Logistics handled hazardous chemicals without the right documents.
Nearly 700 people were injured in Wednesday's devastating blasts.
Ceremonies in the port city honoured the dead on Tuesday.
Cargo ships blared their horns and people gathered in silence to mark the day.
Residents have been staging protests demanding compensation for property damage from the government.
Thousands of people had to evacuate their homes after toxic chemicals were detected in the air following the blasts at the world's 10th-busiest port.
Some 17,000 homes were damaged by the explosions and their shockwaves.
The warehouse was storing hundreds of tonnes of sodium cyanide, far more than legally allowed, it has emerged.
It was was also within 500m (1,640ft) of homes, in violation of laws that require a 1km minimum distance.
On Tuesday, Xinhua quoted an unidentified executive from the company as saying: "The company has handled hazardous chemicals during a period without a licence."
The agency said documents showed the company was approved to handle hazardous chemicals between April and October last year.
Ruihai obtained a port operation licence two months ago which again allowed it to work with toxic chemicals, Xinhua said.
Ten people, including Ruihai head Yu Xuewei and deputy head Dong Shexuan, were detained last Thursday, state media reported.
China's top prosecutor is reported to be investigating all involved officials for dereliction of duty and other crimes.
Doubts have also been cast on a consultation process Ruihai claims it had with residents, in which most respondents were said to have raised no objection to the company operating.
But residents told Xinhua they did not respond to any questionnaires.
Meanwhile, heavy rain has hampered recovery efforts.
Experts expressed concern that rain could spread some of the vast quantities of hazardous material at the site or set off chemical reactions sparking further explosions
The chemical sodium cyanide is white crystalline or granular powder which can be rapidly fatal if inhaled or ingested, as it interferes with the body's ability to use oxygen.
It is mostly used in chemical manufacturing, for fumigation and in the mining industry to extract gold and silver.
It is soluble in water, and absorbs water from air. Its dust is also easy to inhale. When dissolved or burned, it releases the highly poisonous gas hydrogen cyanide.
Potent chemical mix behind blasts
What we know about explosions
The questions being asked by Chinese citizens
'Hero' firefighters hailed
'Like the end of the world': Residents' stories


Facebook has said that it will respond to a privacy ruling in Belgium by requiring users to log in to view pages on the site.

The original ruling, made by the Belgian Privacy Commissioner (BPC) in November, relates to Facebook cookies that track the activity of non-users.
The company expects to receive an order this week, which it will contest.
But in the meantime, cookies will not be set for non-users and accounts will be needed to access content.
Cookies are text files, and some record the web activity of users. The one in question, which Facebook has named datr, can live in a web user's browser for two years.
Facebook has argued that the cookie provides better security for the site's members by preventing the creation of fake accounts, reducing the risk of accounts being hijacked, protecting users' content against theft and deterring denial-of-service attacks.
"We had hoped to address the BPC's concerns in a way that allowed us to continue using a security cookie that protected Belgian people from more than 33,000 takeover attempts in the past month," said a Facebook spokeswoman.
"We're disappointed we were unable to reach an agreement and now people will be required to log in or register for an account to see publicly available content on Facebook."
In a letter on Tuesday, the company told the BPC it would comply "fully" with the order as soon as it was received.
As well as blocking access to pages for non-users, datr cookies will no longer be set for non-users and existing cookies for such individuals will be deleted where possible.
Facebook also says it will implement cookies for users who are logged in to protect against certain attacks on its network.
"We continue to have significant concerns that requirements set forth during these proceedings in respect of cookie practices have not been applied fairly and equitably within Belgium to other internet services, as demonstrated in the reports we have submitted in the past," commented Facebook in the letter.
"I think the other protection authorities all over Europe will be looking at this," said Paul Bernal, a privacy commentator and law lecturer at the University of East Anglia.
"Belgium isn't applying Belgian law, it's applying European law, so if they're applying it in Belgium why shouldn't they apply it everywhere in Europe?"
Dr Bernal added that while blocking access to pages for non-users might give added privacy protection to those individuals, it was likely there would be some disappointment among Belgian business owners, for example.
"[If] people cannot now find their Facebook pages [the business owners] will not be happy about it," he said.


The mother of a teenager who drowned in a reservoir said she begged him not to go in the water.

Paul Lawson, 16, reportedly got into difficulties while swimming with friends at Greenbooth Reservoir in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, on Monday.
Natalie Lawson said: "I begged him not to go. It is dangerous."
A 15-year-old boy also drowned while swimming at Ryders Hayes Mear in Walsall, West Midlands, on Tuesday.
Ms Lawson said she found out about Paul's death when she got messages asking if it was true about her son's drowning.
"I said, 'what do you mean is it true about Paul?'
"My head went miles away. It is just something a mother doesn't want to hear."
Paul's body was recovered by police divers. His death is not being treated as suspicious.
Ms Lawson is now urging people to learn from her son's death and not swim in the reservoir.
"It is not worth putting your family through what I am going through now and what his sister is going through," she said.
"Just think about it before you go in because you might come out this time but the second time, third time... you just never know when your luck is going to run out in these places."
One of his friends who was laying flowers at the reservoir said Paul was "a really nice lad, very well liked and funny".
He added: "It's awful."
As well as the death of the boy in Walsall, an 80-year-old woman was pulled from the sea at East Witterings, Sussex, on Monday.
Last year, 16-year-old Jack Pullen was pulled from the River Etherow, in Broadbottom, near Hyde, and 13-year-old Rafael Pizarro drowned in the Rochdale to Manchester canal in Middleton, Rochdale.
David Gillard, who lives nearby Greenbooth Reservoir, said the spot was popular with young people.
"We get a lot of teenagers coming up to cool off and what they tend to do is jump off the rocks," he said.
David Walker, from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: "Things to consider when open water swimming, even on a hot day, is that the water might be a lot colder or deeper than you were expecting and there may be strong currents and underwater debris that you cannot see from the bank.
"Consider how you are going to get out of the water before you get in, and be honest about your swimming ability."
Source: National Water Safety Forum


Lord Sugar has said he is quitting the Labour Party after 18 years over its "negative" stance on business.

The star of TV show The Apprentice, who is among Labour's largest donors, said on Friday the party had been "aware of my disillusionment for some time".
Lord Sugar said he kept his intentions secret during the election campaign in order not to damage Labour's chances.
He plans to stay in the House of Lords, having been granted a life peerage under Gordon Brown in 2009.
Lord Sugar served as an "enterprise champion" under Mr Brown's government and was among Labour's most prominent supporters.
He is also one of the party's largest donors - giving it Â£163,827 after Ed Miliband became leader in 2010.
But in a statement, the businessman said he had lost confidence in the party over the past year and had expressed concern over Labour's direction to its "most senior figures".
He said: "In the past year I found myself losing confidence in the party due to their negative business policies and general anti-enterprise concepts they were considering if they were elected. I expressed this to the most senior figures in the party several times.
"I signed on to New Labour in 1997 but more recently, particularly in relation to business, I sensed a policy shift moving back towards what Old Labour stood for.
"By the start of this year I had made my decision to resign from the party whatever the outcome of the general election."
Lord Sugar added that he was a "loyal person" and decided to keep his intentions quiet during the election campaign.
"I have no wish to stick the boot into the party. There are many good people in Labour working hard every day to serve the public and I wish them all the best of luck. I am grateful for all the experiences being a member of Labour has brought me.
"I intend to continue in the House of Lords, representing the interests of business and enterprise in the UK. I will be making no further comment at this time."
Ben Bradshaw, the former Labour culture minister, urged him not to quit.
In a tweet, Mr Bradshaw said: "This is just the time *not* to leave but to stay & help us back to sanity ensuring we win in 2020."
Lord Sugar's announcement follows criticism of Labour strategy from other prominent party figures, including ex-PM Tony Blair and former minister Peter Mandelson.
Writing in the Observer newspaper on Sunday, Mr Blair said Labour needed to "appeal to those running businesses as well as those working in them".


South Korea's President Park Geun-hye has become the country's first democratically elected leader to be forced from office.

Judges unanimously upheld Parliament's decision to impeach her over her role in a corruption scandal involving close friend Choi Soon-sil.
Ms Park's dismissal from office means South Korea must now elect a new president by early May.
She also loses her presidential immunity and can be prosecuted.
Ms Park had been suspended from presidential duties since December, with the country's prime minister taking over her responsibilities
Ms Choi meanwhile has been charged with bribery and corruption for allegedly pressuring big companies to give money in return for government favours. Ms Park has been accused of colluding with her.
Both women have denied wrongdoing.
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A security firm has warned it is "too easy" for criminals to take control of GoPro cameras which could then be used to spy on their owners.

Media playback is unsupported on your device
1 June 2015 Last updated at 02:13 BST
Pen Test Partners showed the BBC how it could gain access to a Hero4 camera that appeared to be turned off, to secretly watch or eavesdrop on users, or to view and delete existing videos.
The attack relied on victims setting simple passwords which could be guessed by software within seconds.
GoPro said its security was adequate.
Ken Munro, a partner at Pen Test Partners, also said the way the cameras were set up meant that a wireless connection can unknowingly be left on after the power button on the device had been pressed to turn it off.
He showed how he could "wake" the device, turn off its recording lights, and then video-stream what the device could see to his own mobile phone.
Mr Munro said that in order to take control, a criminal would need to intercept and crack the encrypted Wi-fi key, which is set up by the user when they connect the camera to a mobile device such as a phone.
In his demo he captured the key using a laptop and some free specialist software.
To make his point, Mr Munro then showed the BBC how his firm was able to use software freely available on the internet to guess the password a user might have set.
In this case the word "Sausages" was used as the password and the software guessed it in less than one minute.
The software tries thousands of possible passwords each second, using a dictionary of those known to be most commonly used.
Mr Munro wants GoPro to actively encourage users to set stronger passwords.
"Cybercriminals are increasingly turning to cracking passwords to gain access to accounts" he warned.
"We follow the industry-standard security protocol called WPA2-PSK (pre-shared key) mode," GoPro told the BBC, in a statement responding to details of the demonstration.
"Wi-fi-enabled devices must provide the user's password to access the Hero4 wi-fi network. This is the same as other wi-fi networks using that protocol," the firm said.
"We require our customers to create a password 8-16 characters in length; it's their choice to decide how complex they want it to be.
"As is true of all password-protected devices and services, if a password is easily guessable, a user is more prone to someone predicting what it is," GoPro added.


Professional US card player Greg Merson has won the World Series of Poker, going home $8.53m (£5.3m) richer.

Merson, aged 24, outlasted his final opponents in a marathon session that finished just before dawn after nearly 12 hours in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"I feel pretty good - got all the tears out so now I feel relaxed," the man from Maryland said after the game.
The no-limit Texas hold 'em series started in July with a field of nearly 7,000 players.
Jesse Sylvia finished in second place, netting $5.3m.
"That was nuts, man," the 26-year-old professional player from Las Vegas was quoted as saying by the Associated Press after the marathon match.
Before the final showdown, Merson and Sylvia eliminated Jake Balsiger, denying the the 21-year-old man from Arizona the chance of becoming the youngest World Series of Poker champion.
Balsiger's consolation, however, was a $3.8m cheque for the third place.


A 16-year-old girl has described how a uniformed police officer groped her in the kitchen of her home while her mother was in the next room.

Keith Burgess allegedly put his hand under the teenager's clothes when he was a Southampton neighbourhood officer.
He is also accused of sending explicit messages to her and two other girls.
Mr Burgess, 42, denies indecent assault, misconduct, grooming and making indecent photographs.
In a police video interview, the girl said she was alone with the defendant on 19 May 2015 when he groped her.
Jurors at Guildford Crown Court heard she "smacked" his hand away and "panicked" but the defendant told her "it's OK, I'm not going to do anything bad".
The girl said she went into the living room where her mother and sister were watching television but the defendant beckoned her to the kitchen where he groped her again.
She said: "I did as he said as I was afraid of what would happen.
"I just felt disgusted...I kind of felt heartbroken."
The girl told police she had been in contact with PC Burgess on Facebook and WhatsApp and he had asked her to send him a photo of her bottom, which she refused.
The court heard some messages would say "hey beautiful, hey sexy".
She said it was "just the way he talked" and he could be "quite cheeky".
The married officer is accused of using his position to befriend parents and gain access to their daughters.
The officer, of Cheviot Drive, Dibden Purlieu, denies three charges of indecent assault, three of misconduct in public office, one child grooming offence and two charges of making indecent photographs.
The trial continues.


In 1949, following the horrors of the second world war, world leaders gathered in Switzerland to  sign the Geneva Conventions.

196 countries have ratified them, no other international treaty has received such broad support.
These were the rules which were supposed to limit the savagery of war, to protect humanity from another Auschwitz, siege of Leningrad, or Dresden firestorm.
It was an exciting time. The United Nations had been created and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights had been drafted.
So heady was the mood for peace that the Swiss government, which had invited countries to Geneva to sign up to the conventions, had to reassure arriving heads of state that while of course the long-term goal was to end war altogether, in the meantime some rules were a good idea.
So how are the Geneva Conventions doing today? Not very well, according to their guardian, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
In conflicts from Syria, to Yemen, to Mali, Ivory Coast, Iraq, or Afghanistan, war tactics include siege, attacks on hospitals, sexual violence and the arbitrary execution of detainees.
It all adds up, says ICRC president Peter Maurer, to a "shattering of the system of the Geneva Conventions".
So, this week in Geneva, the 196 countries which signed the Conventions will meet at the International Red Cross Conference to discuss how to fix them.
Joanne Liu, president of the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, will be listening carefully.
When MSF's hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz was bombed in October, Ms Liu felt "astonishment and outrage".
As the fighting in Kunduz intensified, she had reassured her staff that the Conventions prohibiting attacks on medical facilities would protect them: US and Afghan forces knew exactly where the hospital was.
"I told my staff our hospital was the safest place to be," she remembers.
But on the night of 3 October, 30 people, among them 13 MSF staff, were killed in a bomb attack lasting an hour.
And although the US says the bombing was a mistake, Joanne Liu wants clarification about how committed states really are to the Geneva Conventions.
Describing the Conventions as providing "all the essentials needed to bring humanity in a conflict", Ms Liu believes that "we would be fine as long as they were respected".
But, some people question whether the Conventions really apply to modern warfare.
They were written with traditional battlefields and traditional armies in mind.
But where are the battlefields today? At Aleppo's water supply station? In a concert hall in Paris?
And who are the armies to whom the Conventions apply - so-called Islamic State (IS), the Syrian army, the US airforce?
David Rodin, a moral philosopher and co-director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, points out that "if you look historically at where the law of armed conflict came from, it's about mutually advantageous reciprocity, it's in the interests of both to have some restraint".
He adds: "So what do you do when you have a foe who is not interested in that reciprocity? There's no benefit to us in behaving well if the enemy doesn't."
This might be a seductive line of argument for countries engaged in the so-called "war on terror".
Back in 2002, the Bush administration suggested the Geneva Conventions on prisoners of war would not apply to those captured and taken to Guantanamo Bay.
Mr Rodin, however, cautions against such thinking, saying: "There are things we owe to people simply because we are human beings and we owe them that even if they don't recognise those obligations mutually."
Such ideals led to the Geneva Conventions in the first place and to much of our human rights law - the Convention against Torture and the Convention against Racial Discrimination.
But not much visionary international law has been drafted recently and it is no coincidence that three of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (the US, Russia and China) have not ratified the International Criminal Court.
States seem increasingly reluctant to adopt international treaties which might impinge on their own national policy.
The Geneva Conventions are founded on just a few basic principles:
Medical staff and hospitals in warzones must be protected and allowed to work freely.
Those wounded in battle and no longer fighting are entitled to medical treatment.
Prisoners of war must be treated humanely.
Warring parties are obliged to protect civilians (this includes a prohibition on the targeting of civilian infrastructure such as power and water supplies).
Geneva Conventions
Marco Sassoli, professor of law at Geneva University, believes the current climate is not conducive.
"Today, and this is a bad sign for our international society, states would never adopt such protective and detailed conventions as the 1949 Conventions."
Professor Sassoli believes even trying to modernise the Conventions could be "a catastrophe", warning that opening them up might end up weakening rather than strengthening them.
And so member states meeting in Geneva this week will discuss something much more modest: a proposal, drafted by Switzerland and the ICRC, for a forum in which states can discuss the "challenges and issues" relating to the Conventions.
In the hope of getting everyone on board, the forum "will not deal with specific countries or specific situations", explains Swiss diplomat Francois Voeffray, who added that some countries were concerned by the risk of politicisation.
It sounds like a vague talking shop, but if it succeeds it will put all 196 signatory countries, from Syria, to Saudi Arabia, to Yemen, Russia, or the US, in the same room to discuss how to honour the rules to which they have signed up.
Helen Durham, chief legal officer with the International Committee of the Red Cross, believes it could be the start of a very necessary debate - not about whether the Conventions are still relevant, but on how to strengthen respect for laws which she believes are "more precious than ever".
"Within times of armed conflict there is a space for humanity," she insists.
"We have to have laws that find (that) place for humanity and limit suffering. You don't throw out a good law because it is difficult to implement."


Fifa says it will not pay compensation to clubs and leagues unhappy about plans to play the 2022 Qatar World Cup in November and December.

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It also said no apology was necessary for the scheduling of the tournament, which will disrupt a number of leagues.
A Fifa taskforce has recommended the 2022 World Cup take place in winter to avoid Qatar's hot summer temperatures.
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"There will be no compensation," said Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke. "There are seven years to reorganise."
Fifa's executive committee will meet in Zurich next month to ratify the taskforce's recommendation.
Valcke also suggested that a 2022 World Cup final on 23 December was looking increasingly likely.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore says a final that close to Christmas will cause havoc with the traditional festive club programme, while  Fifa vice-president Jim Boyce wants it played a week earlier.
But Valcke says European governing body Uefa and other confederations are keen on Friday, 23 December, although 18 December is also a possibility.
Valcke also confirmed the 2022 World Cup will be four days shorter as a "concession" to leagues and clubs - 28 days instead of the usual 31 or 32 - and that the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations will move to June from January.
Speaking at a news conference in Doha on Wednesday, Valcke admitted the situation was "not perfect" but added: "Why are we talking about compensation? It's happening once, we're not destroying football.
"Why should we apologise to the clubs? We have had an agreement with the clubs that they are part of the beneficiaries. It was $40m (£26m) in 2010 and $70m (£45m) in 2014. We are bringing all our people to enjoy the sporting and financial results of the World Cup."
Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan has added his voice to those lamenting the impact a winter World Cup will have on leagues and clubs around the world.
"We will look at the knock-on effects of the decision and how it will affect Scottish football," he said. "Clearly there will be fixture challenges for leagues across the world.
"We have been expecting this decision for some time, but it is going to run late into December and just how close to Christmas it gets is something that needs to be thought through."
The Football League's chief executive Shaun Harvey: "We are disappointed by this recommendation as we could have reasonably expected the tournament to be played at the end of our 2021/22 season given that was the basis upon which the tender process was conducted.
"Clearly, there will be any number of questions to raise with Fifa once the final decision is confirmed so that we can discuss the practical implications with our clubs and other stakeholders in order to keep any fixture disruption to an absolute minimum."


France's Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad has been stripped of his 3,000m steeplechase gold medal at the European Championships for taking his shirt off on the home straight.

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Mekhissi-Benabbad put his top in his mouth after pulling clear of the field.
Initially he appeared to be shown a yellow card by an official but was subsequently disqualified.
Frenchman Yoann Kowal now wins gold, Poland's Krystian Zalewski gets silver and Spain's Angel Mullera wins bronze.
The Spanish team protested after the race, which saw Mullera cross the line fourth.
Mekhissi-Benabbad, 29, who has won two Olympic silver medals, has previously caused controversy by fighting with France team-mate Mehdi Baala on the track in 2011.
He also pushed a mascot after winning European Championships gold in Helsinki in 2012.


Hearts full-back Callum Paterson admits he is "not sure" if he will be given a new deal at the club as he recovers from a serious knee injury he sustained at the end of December.

The 22-year-old's contract expires in the summer, but he insists his focus is continuing his eight-month recovery.
"I've got to remain positive," Paterson told BBC Scotland.
"I'm expecting my knee to heal in October, and then that's when my future gets decided."
The Scotland international conceded that his "world had come tumbling down" in the immediate aftermath of the injury but he is now in a positive frame of mind about a complete recovery.
He said: "I had cruciate reconstruction, I had my lateral meniscus removed, my medial meniscus repaired, I had bone shaved off my femur and my medial ligament was strained as well. I've had the whole shebang.
"I've got a long way to go but I'm focused on my return."
Prior to his injury, Paterson had been linked with a move to Derby County and Birmingham City in the English Championship.
Asked if Hearts would be offering him a new deal, he replied: "I'm not sure yet.
"I've said all along I'm focusing on getting back to full strength; anything that comes along before that is a bonus, whether it's here or somewhere else."
Paterson, meanwhile, defended the Tynecastle head coach Ian Cathro in response to the growing criticism of the former Newcastle United assistant manager.
"There is nothing wrong, in my opinion," he said. "In my opinion, he is a brilliant manager.
"In my past I have had ex-footballers who have been my managers and it's a massive change for me to have somebody that has not really come from a footballing background, but he knows a lot about the game.
"The tactical brain he has is brilliant.
"The way he trains and the intensity is brilliant. Two or three times a day we are out there and we are leaving the training ground at five o'clock at night sometimes so it's great to have someone like that."
The criticism of Cathro, who has won four of his 13 games in charge, intensified after Wednesday night's 3-1 Scottish Cup fifth-round loss to rivals Hibernian.
Paterson, however, remains upbeat about the rest of the Premiership season. "We are five points off third place," he said. "It's not exactly a massive gap for us."


Scientists at Cardiff University say they have made a significant breakthrough in the treatment of the most common form of leukaemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) affects 3,000 people in Wales and 20,000 in the UK.
A new drug has been developed that targets cancer cells, stopping them in their tracks before they have time to multiply and travel through the body.
Scientists said the disease would become less of a clinical problem.
A team at the institute of cancer and genetics at the University Hospital of Wales has been working on the project which has been led by Prof Chris Pepper, who has worked on the disease for 20 years.
"These drugs will transform the outlook for patients, without a doubt," he said.
"They are massively going to change the landscape for individual sufferers of this disease.
"I confidently predict that within 10 years certainly, and probably five years, this disease will become much less of a clinical problem.
"And people like me won't be working on this disease much longer.  These new agents are likely to completely alter the clinical path of this disease."
The team's research has focused on three main elements of CLL:
That treatment has resulted in the development of a drug called Ibrutinib.
It is already in advanced clinical trials in the UK and is expected to be licensed for use in Wales by the end of the year.
The drug targets cancer cells, stopping them in their tracks before they have time to multiply and travel throughout the body.
When the CLL cells circulate around the bloodstream, some of them burrow their way through the blood vessel wall and escape into the body's solid tissues, attaching themselves to the lymph nodes or bone marrow. That is when the cancer cells multiply and become a clinical problem.
Cardiff University's research has concluded that one particular molecule in the body - NF KappaB -  plays a critical role in determining whether the tumour cells escape the blood vessel.
The drug Ibrutinib will target this molecule and get the cells to break free from the solid tissues and recirculation around the bloodstream.
Prof Pepper is confident that his team's research will change how CLL is treated in the coming years.
"I'm not suggesting that we're going to cure this disease or completely eradicate the leukaemia," he added.
"But what I'm telling you is that these drugs will effectively arrest the progression of the disease.
"So patients will be able to live with a normal age-adjusted life expectancy with their disease. That's something I could never have predicted even five years ago."


"Embrace your inner girl" is not a phrase you'll hear very often, particularly in the macho world of business where "manning up" is more de rigueur.

Yet if you attend any major business conference this year, then you're likely to come across "The Girls' Lounge".
It might sound like a name dreamt up by an unimaginative spa owner or an all-female pop-band, but in reality it's a professional networking space for women.
On the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos - a place where male attendees outnumber females five to one, the space is just being prepared.
A peek through the windows show that it's all white sofas and cushions, some adorned with glitter pink writing. The decor is soft and unashamedly feminine.
Lounges at previous conferences have included beauty treatments, such as face masks and manicures.
Aside from the patronising use of the word "girl", surely the idea that women need a separate mingling space, and such a stereotypically feminine one to boot, is doing little to further the case for female equality?
Shelley Zalis - who started The Girls' Lounge five years ago - is unapologetic:
"This is their boys' club - for women to get to know other women.
"There are masculine and feminine styles of leadership and we encourage women to find and lead with their strengths. We need both [styles] or we're all the same," she says.
Ms Zalis resolutely refuses to apologise for using the word "girl", arguing the word "woman" is too associated with the traditional hierarchy where female leaders conform to male leadership styles.
Beyond Ms Zalis' deliberately provocative and attention-grabbing approach, her point is that women need to take on leadership in whichever way they choose, not emulating the male, institutional model.
"We have to stop fixing the women. We have to fix our mindset and recalibrate our mindset on equality and understand men and women are all equal. Until society and corporations value the individual strengths of each person we won't progress," she says.
And in The Girls' Lounge, underneath the seemingly fluffy interior, there's plenty of hard facts.
In it, for example, there are ten clocks from various countries. Based on a nine to five day, they point to the time a woman should leave work according to the wage gap in the country.
The US clock points to 3.20pm, highlighting the fact that women there earn only 79% of what men earn.
To make the same point, men in the Girls' Lounge are charged $1 for a bar of chocolate, while women pay 79 cents.
While Ms Zalis' initial aim was simply to provide a space for women to feel less isolated at male dominated business events, the Girls' Lounge now hosts serious talks on addressing inequality and has attracted some heavyweight commercial partners including Unilever and Google.
The Girls' Lounge is part of The Female Quotient, the firm founded by Ms Zalis which aims to advance workplace equality.
The firm has conducted research for consumer goods giant Unilever showing the extent to which underlying bias is holding back progress on the issue.
The study, published on Tuesday, showed that not only do an overwhelming 77% of men believe that a man is the best choice to lead an important project, but also the majority (55%) of women.
More so, men and women overwhelmingly believe that men don't want women in top corporate positions, according to the research, which interviewed more than 9,000 men and women across eight markets.
Unilever's chief marketing officer Keith Weed said the poll pinpointed how traditional beliefs and norms were still holding back women's progress.
"Men have intellectually bought into [the] whole area of gender inequality, but acting on it there's still a long way to go. We are holding stereotypes in our head that we fit people into," he said.
Mr Weed said addressing the issue was not just "a moral issue but an economic issue".
The firm, behind more than 400 brands from Ben & Jerry's ice-cream to Dove soap, last year pledged to remove sexist stereotypes from its own ads.
Mr Weed said while it was too early to measure the impact of this change, its previous research had shown that progressive ads were 12% more effective.
Yet, Erica Dhawan, a female chief executive of consultancy Cotential, perhaps offers some hope.
In her thirties, she says she identifies herself as part of several groups: a millennial, an Indian American, and has never thought there's anything that either women or men could do better.
"We can't solve age old problems with old solutions. We need to redefine inclusion in today's modern world and by bringing new perspectives we can improve gender equality. I'm extremely optimistic I believe we need to broaden the conversation.
Ms Zalis also believes the new corporations which have emerged in the past couple of decades, such as the tech giants such as Facebook and Google, could help to adjust the balance.
"Most traditional corporations were founded over 100 years ago when women weren't in the workplace. Newer firms have equality in their DNA," she says.
Hopefully that heralds a future where there will be no need for a girls or boys club but just clubs.


A retired senior police officer has been taken ill while giving evidence at the trial of a former Humberside detective.

Former Det Ch Supt Dena Fleming was appearing as a defence witness in the trial of Colin Andrews at Manchester Crown Court.
Mr Andrews, 58, denies seven charges including rape, stalking, harassment and assault.
Mrs Fleming is being treated at hospital. The trial continues.


Bradford City have signed forward Dominic Poleon from League One rivals AFC Wimbledon for an undisclosed fee.

The 23-year-old, who scored 13 goals in 49 appearances for the Dons last season, has agreed a two-year contract.
The former Oldham Athletic player began his career with Leeds United, for whom he played 37 times, of which only six were starts.
Poleon, who can play up front or on the wing, joined Wimbledon last summer after a two-year stint with the Latics.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Several passengers have been briefly stranded on a rollercoaster at Australia's Dreamworld theme park.

A safety system stopped the Buzz Saw ride automatically but no-one was put in danger, Dreamworld said.
The passengers were trapped on the ride for about half an hour, according to local media.
Four people were killed at the park on Queensland's Gold Coast last year when the Thunder River Rapids ride malfunctioned.
The Buzz Saw ride is billed as "the highest inversion ride in the Southern Hemisphere" with a 46m (150ft) vertical ascent.
Dreamworld said the pause was triggered by an automatic sensor.
"Auto-stopping and resetting of rides is a regular and essential part of operations," it said in a statement.
"It occurs for a variety of reasons, from sensor alignment to guest behaviour or weather. Guests are not placed in danger by auto-stops occurring."
Dreamworld has hosted 30 million people since opening in 1981, with last year's tragedy its first deadly accident.


A man who died at Luton police station after taking drugs in his cell was searched for 22 seconds, an inquest has heard.

Istiak Yusuf, 25, died in June 2015 after being arrested for an alleged assault against his wife.
Ampthill Coroners Court was shown footage of him being checked in and searched before being taken to a cell.
The jury earlier heard Mr Yusuf, who lived in Luton, managed to take cocaine and MDMA after being searched.
The footage shows Mr Yusuf being asked questions such as "have you got anything on you?"
He is then given a "pat-down" search by PC Steve Hunt, who agreed that this process took 22 seconds and was "limited to outer clothing only".
Mr Yusuf who was "compliant throughout" and he had "absolutely no concern whatsoever" that the detained man was intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.
He said a strip search would have needed to be authorised by the custody sergeant who was not consulted.
Mr Yusuf was taken to his cell at 09:40 BST and was checked every 30 minutes.
Custody sergeant Matthew Carroll said he put him on 30-minute checks because he could "smell stale alcohol on his breath" but he "didn't display any signs of taking drugs at all".
Therefore, he was not subjected to "rousing checks" where detainees are woken every 30 minutes by officers entering their cell.
"I didn't have any concernsâ€¦ We always err on the side of caution," he said.
During a check just before midday an officer raised the alarm but Mr Yusuf died in his cell.
A post-mortem examination found he died from cocaine, MDMA and alcohol toxicity.
Five police officers and three detention officers were subsequently served with misconduct notices.
Mr Yusuf had a history of drug taking and was serving a suspended sentence for drink driving.
The hearing continues.


A mixed portrait of US economic health has emerged, with a rise in consumer spending but a dip in confidence.

Consumer spending grew 0.4% from March to April, picking up after a soft start to the year, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.
But the annual inflation rate was 1.7%, remaining below the 2% target set by policymakers.
In a separate survey of consumer sentiment, confidence in the economy slipped.
Policymakers are trying to read a mix of signals from the US economy, as the country extends one of the longest streaks of economic growth in its history.
Several key metrics suggest a slow start to the year. The question is whether the slowdown was transitory.
The Commerce Department's report on Tuesday showed a key measure of inflation edging up 0.2% in April, rebounding after a fall in March.
The inflation gain in April suggests "the recent weakness [in the economy] was likely transitory," analyst Ryan Sweet of Moody's Analytics wrote in a report.
"But there still isn't a ton of evidence that inflationary pressures are building quickly," he added.
Viewed annually, the rate of inflation slowed in April.
The price index, which tracks goods and services purchased by individuals, but strips out food and energy prices, rose 1.7% year-on-year, retreating from 1.9% annual growth in March.
US growth rate revised up to 1.2%
US jobs growth accelerates in April
The Commerce Department on Tuesday also reported a 0.4% month-to-month increase in consumer spending, the fastest growth so far this year.
But after adjusting for inflation, spending climbed only 0.2%, down from a 0.5% increase in March.
The Consumer Confidence Index, which measures sentiment on business and labour market conditions, also declined 1.5 points in May, falling for a second month in a row, while remaining relatively high the Conference Board said on Tuesday.
The prospect for continued spending growth is "bright" in the medium-term, Moody's analyst Scott Hoyt wrote.
But "risks to the outlook are large," he said, citing uncertainty over tax reform, health care policies and high values in the US stock market.


Indian Olympian Krishna Poonia has called recent reports of sexual assaults in Bangalore "sickening", and described preventing a similar attack.

She told the BBC she was in Rajasthan's Churu district on 1 January when she spotted three men trying to molest two teenage girls at a railway crossing.
"I chased and caught of one of them, and then helped the girls file a complaint," she said.
She added the incident showed that women were not safe even in busy areas.
"I was shocked and horrified when I saw these men trying to molest the girls in front of so many people at a busy railway crossing. Nobody did anything until I got out of the car and chased them myself," she said.
'I believed Bangalore was safe'
India anger over groping comments
"The girls were traumatised and shaken after the incident.
"The girls didn't even want to file a complaint because they were worried that their families would stop them from going out if the incident became public," she said.
The athlete said however, that she was glad that "at least one family decided to file a case".
Meanwhile Indian Twitter users have praised Ms Poonia "for standing up to men".
Inspector Gopiram told the BBC that Ms Poonia had brought the girl to his police station, adding that they had started an investigation into the case, and the men would be charged soon.
"We thank Ms Poonia for intervening. We always urge the public to be vigilant and report such incidents to the police," he said.
Ms Poonia said such incidents happened because "some men treat women as lesser beings".
"Some men only believe in objectifying women. They think women are only made for objectifying, and when they get an opportunity to attack, they don't think twice," she said.
"It's so ironic that two young women won India's two medals at the Rio Games and the whole country celebrated, and then we also recently witnessed horrific scenes in Bangalore," she added.
Several woman have alleged that they were molested by mobs of men in Bangalore on New Year's Eve.
"I felt sick after seeing some pictures of women crying. This happened in one India's biggest cities. You can't even imagine what happens in small towns and rural areas," she said.
"Honestly, I don't even know if there is a way out. I guess each of us has to do what we can to stop these incidents," she added.


The speaker of India's parliament has suspended 25 opposition MPs for "causing grave disruption".

Sumitra Mahajan said the MPs, all from the Congress party, were suspended for "five consecutive days".
She had earlier warned the MPs who had been protesting with placards in the well of the house.
Continuous opposition protests have meant that almost no work has been carried out in the parliamentary session that began in July.
The Lok Sabha or the lower house of the parliament was adjourned immediately after the order was announced.
"This is the most undemocratic thing which has been done today. In the last two decades, I have not seen such a thing. The voice of opposition is being muzzled," Congress leader Rajeev Shukla told reporters outside the parliament.
Members of two smaller opposition parties have said they will boycott parliament for five days in solidarity with the suspended Congress MPs.
Earlier, Ms Mahajan ran the proceedings amid slogan-shouting and disruptions, news agency Press Trust of India reported. She refused to adjourn the house despite more than 40 opposition MPs holding noisy protests and displaying placards.
Opposition parties are demanding the resignations of Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for helping former IPL cricket chief Lalit Modi, who lives in London and is wanted by Indian authorities.
They are also demanding the resignation of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over his alleged involvement in India's massive medical school admissions examination scandal.
The government has rejected the demands.
An all-party meeting held earlier on Monday failed to break the nearly fortnight-long deadlock.


A former Melkite Greek Catholic archbishop of Jerusalem who was convicted of smuggling arms for Palestinian militants has died aged 94.

Monsignor Hilarion Capucci served two years of a 12-year sentence in Israel before the Vatican helped secure his release.
He had a history of activism linked to Middle East conflicts.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas offered his condolences and described him as a great "freedom fighter".
The Vatican confirmed his death on Monday, but did not say exactly when he died or give any more details.
Capucci was born in Syria's second city, Aleppo, in 1922.
He was ordained a priest of the Basilian Alepian Order of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in 1947 and was appointed Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem and Archbishop of Caesarea in 1965.
In 1974, he was travelling from Beirut to Jerusalem in a car bearing Vatican diplomatic plates when it was stopped by Israeli security forces.
Inside were four Kalashnikov rifles, two pistols, ammunition and grenades intended for members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
Capucci insisted he had been forced to transport the weapons, but an Israeli court convicted him of smuggling and sentenced him to 12 years in prison.
He was freed in 1977 following a personal appeal by Pope Paul VI.
Capucci remained in the headlines following his release, attempting to mediate in the Iran hostage crisis.
Although he reportedly angered a number of American captives with his comments during a visit to check on their welfare in 1980, he did play a key role in the transfer of the bodies of eight US airmen killed in a failed rescue mission.
In 1990, he travelled to Saddam Hussein's Iraq to help secure freedom for 68 Italians prevented from leaving following the invasion of Kuwait.
Ten years later, Capucci led a delegation of clerics and intellectuals to Iraq in a show of solidarity against UN sanctions.
In 2010, he was on board the Mavi Marmara when the Turkish-owned ship was intercepted by Israeli commandos as it took part in an aid flotilla attempting to breach the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Ten Turkish activists, one of them a dual American citizen, were killed and dozens wounded as clashes broke out after the commandos boarded the ship, descending on ropes from helicopters. Capucci said the raid was unwarranted.


A murder inquiry has begun after the death of a woman found seriously injured in Leeds.

The 21-year-old woman, who police said was a sex worker, was found early on Wednesday in Springwell Road, off Water Lane, in Holbeck.
She was taken to Leeds General Infirmary for treatment, but died a short time later.
A 38-year-old man was later arrested and questioned by officers investigating the death.
West Yorkshire Police said the woman's identity was known, but her family had not yet been informed.
Det Supt Simon Atkinson said they wanted to hear from anyone who was in the Springwell Road area between 20:00 GMT on Tuesday and 01:30 on Wednesday.
He added: "We can confirm that the victim was a sex worker and the incident has taken place in the managed area where sex workers operate within a defined area during set hours.
"We are therefore appealing to anyone involved in any aspect of sex work in the managed area in Holbeck to let us know anything they have seen or heard that could assist the investigation."


A part of the brain's ability to shield itself from the destructive damage caused by a stroke has been explained by researchers.

It has been known for more than 85 years that some brain cells could withstand being starved of oxygen.
Scientists, writing in the journal Nature Medicine, have shown how these cells switch into survival mode.
They hope to one-day find a drug which uses the same trick to protect the whole brain.
Treating a stroke is a race against time. Clots that block the blood supply prevent the flow of oxygen and sugar to brain cells, which then rapidly die.
But in 1926, it was noticed that some cells in the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved in memory, did not follow this rule.
"They're staying alive when the prediction would say that they should die," said Prof Alastair Buchan from Oxford University who has investigated how they survive.
Experiments on rats showed that these surviving-cells started producing a protein called hamartin - which forces cells to conserve energy. They stop producing new proteins and break down existing ones to access the raw materials.
When the researchers prevented the cells from producing hamartin, they died just like other cells.
Prof Buchan said: "We have shown for the first time that the brain has mechanisms that it can use to protect itself and keep brain cells alive."
Their aim is to develop a drug that can produce the same effect, which could be given when an ambulance arrived. This would buy the brain time until clot-busting drugs could be given in hospital.
The researchers do not know why these cells have this defence, but other nearby cells in the hippocampus do not. There are differences in function. The cells that die are known as CA1 cells which are very plastic and are involved in laying down memories whereas the surviving, or CA3, cells are less adaptable.
Speaking to BBC News online, Prof Buchan said the focus of this research was on "ways to keep brain cells alive" which could have impacts beyond stroke - such as in Alzheimer's disease and spinal cord injuries.
Commenting on the study, Dr Clare Walton from the Stroke Association said: "Previous research has shown that some brain cells are naturally more resilient than others, and this study has identified a particular protein in the cells that is responsible.
"In the future, researchers could try to turn on this protein in other, less resilient brain cells to reduce the brain damage caused by stroke.
"The findings of this research are exciting, but we are still a long way off from developing a new stroke treatment."


A woman whose body was found in her Cambridgeshire home was a dentist, it has emerged.

Dr Helen Nicoll, 53, was found at her house in Great Wilbraham at about 06:30 BST on Friday.
She lived at the property with her husband, Stephen Nicoll, 53, also a dentist, with a practice in Harley Street.
A 53-year-old man from south Cambridgeshire, arrested on suspicion of murder, was released on bail.
The Nicolls were described by neighbours as a "loving but private" couple.
A police spokesman said: "The 53-year-old man from South Cambridgeshire was arrested after police were called to a sudden death in Frog End.
"A cordon was put in place and the death of the woman, who is in her 50s, was treated as suspicious."
A post-mortem examination is expected to take place later when officers will continue to question the arrested man.


Swansea City have completed the signing of Gambian-born striker Modou Barrow from Swedish second-tier club Ostersunds.

The 21-year-old has signed a performance-related contract and will now link up with the club's Under-21 squad.
Gambian-born Barrow moved to Sweden as a youngster and scored 10 goals in 19 appearances for Ostersunds last season.
"I'm delighted to be here," Barrow said.
"I now can't wait to get going and improve each day in training and try to score some goals.
"I like the way Swansea play football, it reminds me of how I used to play back home. I've watched a lot of their games on TV and I was impressed with what I saw."


A message from the wreath placed by Prince Charles on the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster has been taken.

The Prince of Wales laid a wreath in the cemetery where some of the 144 victims of the tragedy on 21 October 1966 are buried. The message had gone by Sunday.
David Davies, chairman of trustees at the Aberfan Memorial Charity, said it was "sad" it had been taken.
South Wales Police said it was aware of the incident and was investigating.
Wales observed a minute's silence at 09:15 BST on Friday, 50 years after a mountain of coal waste from tip seven of Merthyr Vale Colliery slid down onto Aberfan and destroyed Pantglas Junior School and nearby homes.
Prince Charles spent much of Friday afternoon with families of those who died in the disaster and attended a reception before signing a book of remembrance.
He also read out a message from the Queen which said the spirit of the community proved "even the greatest loss cannot triumph over love".


The UK's first proton beam therapy centre for cancer patients will open in Cardiff.

It will provide treatment to NHS, private and self-funding patients.
The treatment is a highly-targeted type of radiotherapy that can treat hard-to-reach cancers.
Cardiff-based Proton Partners International's announcement comes after two-year-old Freya Bevan was forced to travel from Neath to Oklahoma for treatment in February.
Freya and her family made the journey because the treatment for her brain tumour was not available in the UK.
Proton Partners International said two other centres will also open in London and Northumberland in 2017.


Guiseley have signed midfielder John Rooney on loan from Wrexham.

The 26-year-old, younger brother of Manchester United and England captain Wayne, will be with the Lions for the rest of the season.
He is a familiar figure to Guiseley, having netted twice against them in Wrexham's 3-2 win on 4 February.
Rooney has received international clearance in time to face Sutton United on Tuesday.
Wrexham manager Dean Keates had held talks with their top scorer as he was one start away from triggering a clause in his contract which would keep him at the Racecourse Ground next season.
A former Everton youngster like his elder brother, Rooney has also had spells at Macclesfield Town, Barnsley, Bury and Chester.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Rock star Brian May has said law and order "has broken down in Suffolk" after claims a hare was killed by hunting hounds.

May expressed his support for anti-hunting groups in a tweet.
The Norfolk/Suffolk Hunt Saboteurs claimed the Easton Harriers' hounds killed one of the animals in Suffolk.
The master of the hunt said he was not aware of a hare being killed and said they were acting legally in exercising their dogs and hunting rabbits.
The anti-hunting group posted information on its Facebook page which said it had tracked the Harriers near Great Glemham.
Aiden, a hunt monitor with the group who did not wish to give his surname, said: "They didn't lay a trail, they were flushing through fields and unfortunately, a hare was caught up in their activities."
More on this and other stories at BBC Local Live: Suffolk
May, guitarist with Queen, said in his tweet that it was "disgusting cruelty".
"Who allowed this to happen? Who will fight it in Suffolk?" he said.
The Hunting Act 2004 outlawed hunting of hares, but continued to allow the hunting of rabbits.
Alun Thomas, master of Easton Harriers, said the saboteurs "intimidate people performing a legal pursuit".
"I've no knowledge of hounds killing a hare," he said.
"We always perform within the law and that means meeting, exercising hounds, rabbit hunting.
"If hounds do kill a hare - the fastest land animal in Britain - then the hare wouldn't have been going very well. It would have been lame or shot by a gamekeeper and [already] maimed."
Suffolk Police said it was investigating and had made 11 arrests this month at three separate suspected hare coursing incidents in Elmswell, Dalham and Wortham.
Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Kearton said: "We do positively investigate any reports and we do ask communities to provide us with as much information as they can and background intelligence and it will be taken seriously."


Two men remain in hospital after a crash in which a Land Rover mounted a pavement and hit pedestrians in Guildford.

A woman in her 30s died at the scene in Bridge Street on Saturday afternoon. She has not yet been named.
Another pedestrian, a man in his 40s, who suffered serious pelvic injuries remains in hospital in London.
The injured driver of the Land Rover Defender, a man in his 40s, remains in the Royal Surrey County Hospital.
Police said a third pedestrian, a woman in her 30s, who had minor injuries has been discharged.
Tributes were being left at the scene on Sunday.
Witnesses who were in the area at the time described a major emergency response with several police cars blocking the road and the 4x4 covered from view.
A green screen was erected around the crash site.
Matty Wilson, who lives in a flat in the Friary Centre which overlooks the scene said it was clear there had been a major accident with a number of pedestrians involved.
He said emergency services remained at the scene for several hours afterwards.
BBC reporter Adrian Harms said the incident left Guildford "largely gridlocked" with the town centre in "chaos" until Bridge Street reopened at about 17:00 GMT.
The crash came just months after another crash near the main entrance to the Friary Centre when a car hit pedestrians and left several people injured, including a toddler and his baby sister.
The collision happened in North Street last October.


Prince William and Prince Harry have recalled the "fun" way their mother brought them up saying Princess Diana was a "total kid through and through".

In an ITV documentary to mark the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's death, the princes said she understood the "real life outside of palace walls" and encouraged them to be "naughty".
They regret their last conversation was a brief phone call on the day she died.
Unpublished photos of the princes with their mother feature in the programme.
Prince Harry and Prince William are seen looking through Diana's personal album as they talk about how their childhood memories of their mother sat alongside her global image and influence as a campaigner for the homeless, Aids victims, and banning landmines.
Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997 when Prince William was 15 and Prince Harry was 12.
Prince William said taking part in the programme initially seemed "quite daunting" but had been "a healing process as well".
He said they wanted "her legacy to live on in our work and we feel this is an appropriate way of doing that".
Recalling Princess Diana's sense of humour, Prince Harry said: "Our mother was a total kid through and through.
"When everybody says to me 'so she was fun, give us an example' all I can hear is her laugh in my head."
He added: "One of her mottos to me was, you know, 'you can be as naughty as you want,  just don't get caught'.
"She was one of the naughtiest parents.  She would come and watch us play football and, you know, smuggle sweets into our socks."
Prince William said his mother was "very informal and really enjoyed the laughter and the fun".
She could be "sort of the joker", he added, and "loved the rudest cards you could imagine".
He said: "I would be at school and I'd get a card from my mother. Usually she found something, you know, very embarrassing, you know, a very funny card, and then sort of wrote very nice stuff inside.
"But I dared not open it in case the teachers or anyone else in the class had seen it."
He also talked about the "very funny memory" of coming home from school to find his mother had invited supermodels Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell to their home in Kensington Palace.
"I was probably a 12 or 13-year-old boy who had posters of them on his wall," he told Monday's documentary, Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy.
"I went bright red, and didn't know quite what to say and sort of fumbled and I think pretty much fell down the stairs on the way up. I was completely and utterly awestruck."
The Duke of Cambridge said the last conversation with their mother weighs "quite heavily" on his mind and took place while the brothers were having a "very good time" with their cousins at Balmoral, the Queen's home in Scotland.
"Harry and I were in a desperate rush to say goodbye, you know 'see you later'... if I'd known now obviously what was going to happen I wouldn't have been so blasÃ© about it and everything else," he said.
Prince William says in the interview he remembers what his mother said - but does not reveal details of the conversation.
Prince Harry said: "It was her speaking from Paris, I can't really necessarily remember what I said but all I do remember is probably regretting for the rest of my life how short the phone call was."
Earlier this month, the princes attended a service to re-dedicate their mother's grave at Althorp House in Northamptonshire, on what would have been her 56th birthday.
Prince Harry said he had only cried twice for his mother - one of the times was at the funeral service at Althorp in 1997.
"So there's a lot of grief that still needs to be let out," he said.
Prince William, who was accompanied at the re-dedication service by the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, said he keeps the memory of his mother alive for his children by "constantly talking about granny Diana".
"She'd be a lovely grandmother, she'd absolutely love it, she'd love the children to bits," he said.
And he joked: "She'd be a nightmare grandmother, absolute nightmare... She'd come, probably at bath time, cause an amazing... scene, bubbles everywhere bath water all over the place and then leave."
Reflecting on the anniversary of Princess Diana's death, Prince Harry told ITV: "To myself and William she was just the best mother ever".
He said: "It has been hard and it will continue to be hard, there's not a day William and I don't wish that she was still around and we wonder what kind of mother she would be now, and what kind of a public role she would have and what a difference she would be making."
The princes have also both agreed to take part in a forthcoming BBC documentary about their mother.
They were were speaking to ITV from their home at Kensington Palace where they will unveil a statue of their mother in its public gardens on the 20th anniversary of her death.
Prince William said: "We won't be doing this again - we won't speak as openly or publicly about her again, because we feel hopefully this film will provide the other side from close family friends you might not have heard before, from those who knew her best and from those who want to protect her memory, and want to remind people of the person that she was."


Two Edinburgh charities are set to benefit from the sequel to the film Trainspotting.

The Junction and Calton Athletic will share the proceeds of an auction of memorabilia from the sets of T2.
The online auction takes place next month to coincide with the film's US release.
Producer Andrew MacDonald said they chose to help The Junction because it works with young people on the "very streets" Trainspotting grew from.
Mr MacDonald said: "I was introduced to the Junction by their Patron Irvine Welsh last April and was so impressed by what I had seen that when it came to choosing the two beneficiaries of T2 Trainspotting Memorabilia Auction the Junction was an obvious choice.
"It feels really apt to be supporting The Junction in this way as it works with young people to reach their potential on the very streets Trainspotting grew out of."


New research shows that access to the High Street for disabled people remains "slow", according to a new survey by DisabledGo.

The most recent investigation from the not-for-profit disability organisation reveals almost a quarter of all fashion retailers have no step-free access, with only 10% offering hearing loops to help deaf shoppers.
When compared to a wider survey carried out in 2014, the results show a similar or in places poorer performance than before.
It's been two years since DisabledGo shocked the government with evidence that highlighted the inaccessibility of the British High Street for disabled people.
In 2014, the accessibility information providers visited over 25,000 shops and restaurants in person. It was one of the largest assessments of its kind in the UK.
But fast-forward to 2017 and their most recent snapshot of 1,295 fashion retailers shows that not much has changed.
Disability Works: Breaking down barriers in business
More Disability stories
Speaking about the findings, Anna Nelson, executive director of DisabledGo.com, says: "progress has been slow".
"We were hoping the survey would show improvement over the past two years, but sadly this is not the case."
This week I'm looking into disability and the fashion industry, as part of the BBC's Disability Works week and have been given these exclusive figures.
Of the 1,295 fashion retailers DisabledGo visited, over 60% didn't provide staff with any disability awareness training - a slight improvement on the 2014 audit.
However, fewer retailers were able to provide a hearing loop, and the situation for wheelchair users was also slightly worse.
Of the 1,295 fashion retailers DisabledGo visited:
The latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show the collective spending power of disabled people, often referred to as the "purple pound", has risen to £249bn.
"You would think that this together with the legal obligations for every retailer to make reasonable adjustments would have been a catalyst for change," says DisabledGo.com's Anna Nelson.
"To us, providing great service to disabled people should just be about providing great customer service."
The Equality Act 2010 is meant to ensure disabled people have equal access in all areas of life. This may mean changing the way in which services are delivered, providing extra equipment and/or removing physical barriers.
But when it comes to fashion, the barriers facing disabled people don't just stop at physical access. According to the disability charity Scope, the representation of disability on the High Street is "simply not up to scratch".
Yet there are signs that the government is now recognising this issue.
In a statement to the BBC, Penny Mordaunt, the Minister of State for Disabled People, said: "Our shop windows, magazine pages and catwalks should reflect the diversity of our society, and I want to see businesses making a real effort to be open to everyone.
"That's why this week I've announced new champions to address the issues faced by disabled consumers, from buying clothes to travelling abroad. They'll highlight the importance of being inclusive, whilst tapping into the £249bn spending power of disabled consumers."
One woman on a mission to change things is Channel 4 presenter and product designer Sophie Morgan.
In 2010 she designed and developed the "mannequal", a wheelchair for a sitting mannequin.
Having modelled in the past, Sophie is passionate about fashion being "for every body".
Around 2012 she managed to get her mannequal in the shop front of a large High Street store. Her product was used as part of a campaign during the London Paralympics.
But as soon as the Games came to an end, so did the campaign and Sophie's mannequal.
Disillusioned by the endless obstacles, Sophie put her mannequal to bed.
But now, she feels it's the right time to try again.
I met Sophie in London to see her product, fresh off the production line. It's the first time she's seen it in a shop front in nearly five years.
"Fashion designers are opening up to the creative opportunity of diversity. But while the public and the press recognise and celebrate equality on the catwalk, this has yet to filter down to the High Street.
"The product itself is just a small thing. We've got to make a push so that retailers actually go, 'yeah, OK, we'll listen,'" says Sophie.
"This chair is just one small thing in the bigger picture, but I feel that's why I did it, it was like taking baby steps and see what happens. And this is that step."
Responding to the findings of the latest survey, the British Retail Consortium said retailers were working hard to ensure stores were as accessible as possible.
"For example, many have wide aisles, offer ramps as alternatives to stairs and have members of staff on hand to provide any additional assistance if required.
"Unfortunately retailers can be restricted on what reasonable adjustments can be made due to the age or design of a building but will have other policies in place to help access to that service."
Away from the High Street, British design duo Teatum Jones have taken a giant step forward at this year's London Fashion Week.
The casting of Kelly Knox, who was born without the lower half of her left arm, and amputee Jack Eyers is a first for London Fashion Week.
But this is not a stunt, nor is it a campaign. Catherine Teatum and Rob Jones are thinking about disabled people when they design - something they don't feel is particularly revolutionary.
"They [disabled people] have a spending power that no one seems to be interested in tapping into. So that's a big enough reason to be honest, to begin with," they say.
"We haven't adapted anything for this collection, we approached the styling and the casting of this collection as we would any other collection. The main key message for us, is I feel like we are all the same.
"Why should someone with perhaps a seated disability… have any less desire for luxury fashion?"


All self-employed tutors should be legally required to have a criminal records check before they can offer private lessons to children in the UK, children's charity the NSPCC says.

A current loophole means self-employed tutors do not have to undergo Disclosure and Barring Service checks.
The NSPCC says this loophole creates an "ideal scenario" for "any predatory adult seeking to harm children".
The Home Office said it would "carefully consider" the comments.
Teachers working in schools must have a DBS check, which looks for criminal records and ensures they have not been banned from working with children or suspended from the profession.
Many tutoring agencies will insist on an up-to-date check on their staff, but some do not - and individuals setting up privately are not legally required to have a DBS certificate.
Employers and licensed bodies can request DBS checks, but individuals cannot, meaning parents and tutors cannot run such checks.
Now, the NSPCC is calling for a tightening of the law to ensure every individual giving private tuition undergoes a check, saying the same rules should apply for self-employed tutors as for classroom teachers.
The vast majority of people who tutor children have the best of intentions and present no risk.
But there are a small number who will exploit the lax controls that so evidently exist, particularly for those who are self-employed.
Even using an agency to source a tutor is no guarantee of honesty or safety.
One website I came across says the tutors it supplies are not required to undergo a criminal records check, while the questionable standard of some of those offering their services on the site, who charge as little as Â£15 per hour, simply reinforces the call for tighter regulation.
Of course, using a fully-vetted tutor does not mean that your child is safe - some paedophiles manage to stay off the police radar for years - so it's best to follow the advice set out by the NSPCC.
The NSPCC recommends:
Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said many parents would consider employing a tutor over the summer.
"Clearly the vast majority of private tutors are not child abusers, but the current legal loophole makes it an ideal scenario for any predatory adult seeking to harm children," he said.
"Children have a right to be educated in safety, and parents need to know that every care has been taken to ensure unsuitable people cannot practise as tutors.
"The rules on applying for criminal record checks need to apply to self-employed tutors just as they do for teachers employed in schools."
Research conducted by education charity the Sutton Trust last year estimates about 25% of school pupils in England and Wales have received some form of private tuition.
A Home Office spokesman said: "The Disclosure and Barring Service checks play a vital role in helping to keep the public safe.
"Private tutors - like others working or volunteering with children and vulnerable adults - are able to apply for a check through a 'registered body' whose staff are qualified to verify a candidate's eligibility and identity.
"This service is offered by a range of agencies used by tutors to find employment... Tutors can also supply the check to parents or guardians of their prospective pupils."


Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has revealed his delight at the strides made by Moussa Dembele this season.

The 20-year-old Frenchman joined Celtic from Fulham in the summer, with his 32-goal haul ensuring he is now one of Europe's most sought-after strikers.
And Rodgers insists Dembele has benefited massively from making the switch to Scotland's top-flight.
"He's developed very well and met the challenge to play for a big club, feel pressure and win trophies," he said.
"He wants to improve and that's the type of player you want to work with."
Dembele cost Celtic a development fee of just £500,000 but his value has rocketed after a stunning debut season.
Rodgers concedes that the striker will leave the club one day but expects a lot more from him before that time comes.
"I think we all know at some point he will move on, it's just about timing," Rodgers told BBC Sport.
"But I know at this point he's very happy here. He's only 20 and he's been a joy to work with.
"There's no doubt there will be a natural point in time that he goes, I think we all understand that. Unfortunately, that's how it goes up here. But if he serves the club well in his time here that's all we can ask for."
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Celtic will win the Premiership title if they beat Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday.
They are unbeaten in the league this season, have already won the League Cup and are in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.
Rodgers described the club's unbeaten run as "incredible" but knows his side have a lot to do to go through the whole campaign without suffering a loss.
"I think the unbeaten one is very difficult," he said. "We have nine games to go and the last five games you go into a split. The last five are against top six teams so it becomes really difficult.
"In terms of the treble, we never really mention it. We have to stabilise that emotion and just think about performing and playing well.
"We want to win every game we play. For the remainder of season we will push as hard as we have all season - I think the group is getting better as they play more together."
Watch the full Football Focus interview on BBC One on Saturday from 12:00 BST.


A missing piece in the history of the world's oldest afloat warship is the subject of a new appeal.

HMS Trincomalee - built in India in 1817 - is berthed at Hartlepool's Maritime Experience where it has been a tourist attraction for nearly 30 years.
A historian from Teesside University now wants to uncover a missing part of the warship's past when it operated as the training ship, Foudroyant.
It is hoped people's stories and memories will "bring its past to life".
Industrialist Geoffrey Wheatley Cobb bought Trincomalee in 1897 and converted it for training use.
She was renamed Foudroyant in tribute to his own ship which had been wrecked in a storm off Blackpool that same year.
Academic Dr Ben Roberts has uncovered the ships' factual history but now hopes to trace trainees who were sent from across the country to spend time on the vessel between the early 1900s and the mid-1980s.
He said: "While we know much about the ship's early days and also its restoration, we know little about the people who spent time as trainees on her during the 90-year period when she was known as TS Foudroyant.
"We have information from ships' logs and other archival details, but I now need people to tell their stories to bring the information from the archives to life.
"Their stories will provide a missing piece of the ship's history. There are many photographs from that time too, but no names to go with them."
The vessel spent its time in Falmouth, Milford Haven and Portsmouth, remaining in service until 1986.
The ship was brought to Hartlepool in 1987, where it took more than 10 years to restore. It reverted to the original Trincomalee name in 1992.
The research is being carried out in conjunction with the HMS Trincomalee Trust.