Nice moved three points clear at the top of Ligue 1 ahead of next week's game with defending champions Paris St-Germain after victory over Toulouse.

Alassane Plea sprung the offside trap before firing through the legs of 17-year-old keeper Alban Lafont.
Morocco forward Younes Belhanda doubled the lead after a great touch and volley over Lafont from outside the area.
Midfielder Jean Seri drilled home in the second half make it 12 wins in 16 Ligue 1 games for Lucien Favre's side.
Nice had started the game level on 36 points with Monaco, who won 5-0 at home to Bastia on Saturday to go top of the table on goal difference.
Defending champions Paris St-Germain, who were beaten 3-0 at Montpellier on Saturday, are third in the table on 35 points.
Unai Emery's PSG entertain Nice on 11 December (19:45 GMT) in a significant test of the leaders' title credentials.
Nice were last crowned champions of France in 1959.
Match ends, Nice 3, Toulouse 0.
Second Half ends, Nice 3, Toulouse 0.
Attempt blocked. Issiaga Sylla (Toulouse) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner,  Toulouse. Conceded by Dante.
Attempt blocked. Martin Braithwaite (Toulouse) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Yann Bodiger.
Dalbert (Nice) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Yann Bodiger (Toulouse).
Attempt missed. Clement Michelin (Toulouse) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Foul by Wylan Cyprien (Nice).
Yann Bodiger (Toulouse) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Anastasios Donis (Nice) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ricardo Pereira.
Substitution, Nice. Anastasios Donis replaces Alassane Pléa.
Ricardo Pereira (Nice) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Issiaga Sylla (Toulouse).
Substitution, Toulouse. Pantxi Sirieix replaces Ola Toivonen.
Alassane Pléa (Nice) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Yann Bodiger (Toulouse).
Substitution, Nice. Vincent Koziello replaces Jean Michael Seri.
Substitution, Nice. Vincent Marcel replaces Valentin Eysseric.
Attempt missed. Issiaga Sylla (Toulouse) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ola Toivonen with a headed pass.
Wylan Cyprien (Nice) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Somália (Toulouse).
Yann Bodiger (Toulouse) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Wylan Cyprien (Nice) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Yann Bodiger (Toulouse).
Yoan Cardinale (Nice) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Martin Braithwaite (Toulouse).
Corner,  Toulouse. Conceded by Malang Sarr.
Attempt blocked. Issiaga Sylla (Toulouse) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ola Toivonen.
Remi Walter (Nice) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Issiaga Sylla (Toulouse).
Foul by Ricardo Pereira (Nice).
Yrondu Musavu-King (Toulouse) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal!  Nice 3, Toulouse 0. Jean Michael Seri (Nice) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Alassane Pléa with a headed pass.
Attempt blocked. Somália (Toulouse) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. Odsonne Edouard (Toulouse) left footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left.
Attempt blocked. Dalbert (Nice) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Younès Belhanda.
Substitution, Toulouse. Yann Bodiger replaces Ibrahim Sangare.
Attempt saved. Remi Walter (Nice) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.


This is like no other Nato summit, but then there has been no other US president quite like Donald Trump.

Never has there been a man in the White House - commander-in-chief of the most powerful military player in the alliance - who, at least on the campaign trail, described the organisation as "obsolete".
Mr Trump - unlike his predecessors - is not a man steeped in the orthodoxy of the trans-Atlantic partnership. He may now have reversed his position on Nato's obsolescence, but he tends to see things in transactional terms and it's clear that he still wonders if the US is getting a good deal from its Nato partners.
Indeed Nato officials are playing down any use of the term "summit" at all. I understand that Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is seeking a proper, full-scale summit in 2018.
This Brussels meeting is a brief affair; in large part a ceremonial occasion with a dinner attached. Two monuments will be unveiled and a ribbon will be cut marking the opening of the as-yet-unfinished new Nato headquarters.
"It's all a bit unscripted and very light on substance," commented one Nato insider. "It's all about creating an atmosphere - hopefully we will get a couple of good presidential tweets."
For all the uncertainties about President Trump's position, in many ways the Atlantic alliance is in good health:
But the shiny and unfinished new headquarters building is a kind of metaphor for the state of the alliance as a whole.
All appearances are of vitality and unquestioned relevance: an alliance capable of carrying out old missions like deterring against a resurgent Russian threat while grappling with the new - instability, terrorism and cyber-war.
Beneath the surface there is still a good deal of unfinished business and uncertainty about the way ahead.
There are arguments about resources and future missions; there are fissures opening up between members; and fundamental questions as to whether many of the "new" security challenges really fall within the remit of Nato at all.
Resources have taken up much of the limelight - not least because Mr Trump, like every recent president before him, insists that Washington's allies must spend more.
The alliance has anchored itself to the benchmark goal that 2% of a country's GDP should go on defence spending. A few are already there. Some are on the way to this goal; many are certainly spending more.
But there are still huge doubts as to how far this is really generating additional military capability at a time when technology is changing quickly and the need for rapidly deployable forces is growing.
Washington wants Nato to be even more involved in counter-terrorism and the struggle against so-called Islamic State.
Nato does a lot of work with partners on building defence capacity and reforming security structures. It has helped with training in Iraq and Jordan and so on.
But the Americans want Nato to join the anti-IS coalition as Nato: most of its members already have seats at the table. The plan seems likely to go ahead with Nato advance warning and control systems and tanker aircraft playing a more active role in the air campaign.
At least at the European end of the alliance, there is a fear in some quarters as to where this may all lead. Could Nato allies become embroiled in a post-conflict Iraq or indeed in Libya, just as they appear stuck in Afghanistan?
At root, though, there is another problem.
Many of the "new" challenges - cyber; the Russian disinformation campaign waged against Western societies; "grey-zone" warfare combining elements of both, along with military power (as seen in Ukraine) - are not entirely or even exclusively the remit of a military or diplomatic organisation.
There is a military dimension of course, but these are as much matters of civil resilience for private industry and institutions as they are for government.
Nato does not have a central role.
There are also internal strains within the alliance. The broad difference in emphasis has been managed up to now between northern member-states, whose chief worry is Russia, and those in the south, on Nato's Mediterranean coast, who see the wider instability in the Middle East as the prime threat.
But Turkey's drift towards authoritarianism and its flirtation with Russia warn of potential problems ahead on the alliance's southern flank.
Nato clearly still has a role both as a diplomatic forum and as a provider of military punch when needed.
But huge questions still remain about its capacity, enthusiasm and appetite for effective nation-building in conflict zones; a problem, in fairness, that all major international institutions are grappling with.


The mother of a man murdered by a Yorkshire Ripper-obsessed teen has told how she lost her job during the trial.

James Attfield, 33, was knifed to death by the then 15-year-old James Fairweather in Colchester in 2014.
Fairweather, who went on to murder 31-year-old Saudi Arabian student Nahid Almanea three months later, is now serving a double life prison sentence.
Julie Finch, 53, told the BBC how, after the trauma of her son's death, she had also lost her job and home.
Live: For more on this and other Essex stories
"Since it happened, our lives have just spiralled and gone the way they have," said Ms Finch, six months after her son's killer was imprisoned. "We just get up and do what we have to do but it is never going to be the same."
She told how she sat through Fairweather's two-week trial in Guildford, describing the experience as "very painful".
"During the trial I actually lost my job - it was on the day of the guilty verdict. The care home I worked at (she was a carer) announced it was closing, so I would be out of work.
"We also had to sell our house because we had got behind on our debts.
"I was signed off work and moved into rented accommodation."
Her daughter Joanne Robinson, 32, had been living with her but has been living in a homeless shelter in Clacton since the family home was sold.
Ms Finch, of Coggeshall, said she now faced eviction because of rent arrears.
"When something like this happens, it is not just the loss of your loved one but the loss of everything you've known."


The picture of a suicide bomber issued by French police in connection with the Paris attacks is of a man travelling under the name of M al-Mahmod, the BBC understands.

The suspect - the third suicide bomber at the Stade de France according to French police - entered the Greek island of Leros on 3 October.
He was with Ahmad al-Mohammed, a fellow Stade de France attacker.
Islamic State militants killed 130 people in Paris on 13 November.
French police have not named the man in the latest appeal for information.
But the BBC's Ed Thomas has matched the image released by French police with a photo on the arrival papers at Leros.
Our correspondent says the two men bought ferry tickets to leave Leros to continue their journey through Europe with Syrian refugees.
French media have reported that nine militants carried out the attacks, and seven died on Friday night.
A huge manhunt has been launched for one of the main suspects at large, Belgium-born French national Salah Abdeslam.
One of the men who drove Abdeslam to Belgium told his lawyer that he was dressed in a "big jacket" and may have had a suicide belt.
The lawyer, Carine Couquelet, told French TV this raised questions, including the possibility that Abdeslam was supposed to blow himself up in Paris but then had second thoughts.
Friends of Abdeslam told ABC News they had spoken to him on Skype and said he was hiding in Brussels and desperately trying to get to Syria.
They said he was caught between European authorities hunting him and IS members who were "watching him" and were unhappy that he had not detonated his suicide belt.
Who were the Paris attackers?
Paris attacks: The unanswered questions
Abdeslam: Suspect 'meant to blow himself up'
Interview transcript: 'My brothers were manipulated, not radicalised'
Brussels terror threat: 'Everyone is on edge'
Belgium's jihadist networks
Special report: In-depth coverage of the attacks and their aftermath


Fulham came from behind to beat bottom-of-the-table Rotherham and move to within two points of the play-offs.

The Millers, who have won only twice in the Championship this season, led through Joe Newell's 20-yard strike.
Stefan Johansen slid home his third goal in as many games, converting Ryan Sessegnon's cross, to equalise.
Floyd Ayite turned in Lucas Piazon's cross to put Fulham ahead, while Chris Martin saw his penalty saved by the feet of Lewis Price.
That miss did not prove costly for the hosts, who secured their eighth victory of the season to move up to ninth.
Rotherham, without an away league win since April, had the better of the opening exchanges as Tom Adeyemi saw his shot tipped over the bar by David Button, while Isaiah Brown went close.
Brown and Adeyemi were involved in Rotherham's opener as they combined to set up Newell to lash home a low 20-yard effort.
The goal sparked Fulham into life and, after Ayite curled a shot past the far post and put a header wide, Johansen pounced from close range to equalise.
Ayite, who scored twice the weekend's 4-4 draw at Wolves, then put Fulham in front before Martin, on loan from Derby County, missed the chance to score his eighth goal of the season when Price turned away his spot-kick.
Rotherham had a late chance to equalise but substitute Lee Frecklington's volley was saved by Button.
Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic:
"At the end of the day I have to happy. It was a freaky game for us on a Tuesday night against the bottom of the league, it was hard for us.
"When you get to the end of the game and only have a one-goal lead you get nervous because they can score easily.
"We made enough things and chances - we missed the penalty - to make the game easier for us. We didn't do it and if you don't do it you will suffer.
"We played well in the second half, although I was a bit worried when we didn't get the third goal. It is not easy against the bottom team."
Rotherham caretaker manager Paul Warne:
"We have worked hard with the lads, we knew they were a very good team.
"I knew it was a hard ask. We prepared well, the lads believed they were going to get something out of the game, and I thought in the first 20 minutes we were really dangerous on the counter attack.
"We should have gone one up earlier than we did, but I also knew they would keep coming at us. I asked the lads to give me everything and they did."
Match ends, Fulham 2, Rotherham United 1.
Second Half ends, Fulham 2, Rotherham United 1.
Attempt missed. Tom Cairney (Fulham) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Scott Parker.
Offside, Rotherham United. Lewis Price tries a through ball, but Richard Wood is caught offside.
Offside, Fulham. Stefan Johansen tries a through ball, but Chris Martin is caught offside.
Richard Wood (Rotherham United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Stefan Johansen (Fulham) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Richard Wood (Rotherham United).
Attempt saved. Tom Cairney (Fulham) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Chris Martin.
Corner,  Fulham. Conceded by Joe Mattock.
Attempt blocked. Tom Cairney (Fulham) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Stefan Johansen.
Attempt blocked. Lucas Piazon (Fulham) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Tom Cairney.
Attempt saved. Lee Frecklington (Rotherham United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Richard Wood with a headed pass.
Attempt saved. Tom Cairney (Fulham) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Corner,  Fulham. Conceded by Joe Mattock.
Hand ball by Jon Taylor (Rotherham United).
Substitution, Fulham. Scott Parker replaces Sone Aluko.
Foul by Tomas Kalas (Fulham).
Richard Wood (Rotherham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Fulham. Conceded by Richard Wood.
Attempt blocked. Sone Aluko (Fulham) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt saved. Richard Wood (Rotherham United) header from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Joe Mattock.
Foul by Tomas Kalas (Fulham).
Dexter Blackstock (Rotherham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, Rotherham United. Joe Mattock tries a through ball, but Dexter Blackstock is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Sone Aluko (Fulham) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Lucas Piazon.
Attempt missed. Tom Cairney (Fulham) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Lucas Piazon.
Lucas Piazon (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Joe Mattock (Rotherham United).
Corner,  Fulham. Conceded by Joe Mattock.
Attempt blocked. Sone Aluko (Fulham) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Chris Martin.
Attempt missed. Richard Wood (Rotherham United) header from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Will Vaulks following a set piece situation.
Foul by Chris Martin (Fulham).
Will Vaulks (Rotherham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Stefan Johansen (Fulham).
Anthony Forde (Rotherham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Penalty saved! Chris Martin (Fulham) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity,  right footed shot saved  in the bottom left corner.
Penalty Fulham. Michael Madl draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Aimen Belaid (Rotherham United) after a foul in the penalty area.
Corner,  Fulham. Conceded by Lewis Price.


Canada's foreign ministry is investigating after at least one of its diplomats stationed in Cuba was treated for hearing loss and headaches.

It comes a day after the US said its diplomats in Havana were experiencing strange physical symptoms.
Reports suggest the envoys could have been targeted by a covert sonic device that causes hearing loss.
Havana denies the allegation, but the US has removed two Cuban diplomats from Washington in retaliation.
"Cuba has never, nor would ever, allow the Cuban territory to be used for any kind of action against accredited diplomats or their families," Cuba's foreign ministry said.
While US officials have not directly accused the Cuban government, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the authorities in Havana needed to take action.
"We hold the Cuban authorities responsible for finding out who is carrying out these health attacks not just on our diplomats,  as you've seen there are cases with other diplomats as well."
Global Affairs Canada, the country's foreign ministry, says the government is working with US and Cuban officials to find out what happened.
"We are aware of unusual symptoms affecting Canadian and US diplomatic personnel and their families in Havana," a spokesperson told the BBC.
"The government is actively working - including with US and Cuban authorities - to ascertain the cause. At this time, we do not have any reason to believe Canadian tourists and other visitors could be affected."
By Will Grant, BBC Cuba correspondent
As things stand, there are really more questions than clear answers. There has been a long history of mutual antagonism over the years between the US and Cuban diplomatic services. However, in the main it has been limited to either bold propaganda statements or to personal inconveniences.
In 2006 the Americans placed an electronic ticker tape on the outside of the then-US Interests Section in Havana and began broadcasting human rights messages. The Cubans then erected a "forest of flagpoles" to obscure the ticker from view. Surveillance is obviously commonplace and free movement around the country and banking services are restricted.
However, the idea of intentionally maiming US diplomats using a covert sonic device would be unprecedented. As such, some analysts consider it unlikely that this "device" was meant as a weapon, especially as the diplomats first noticed the symptoms towards the end of the Obama administration when relations between the Cuban Revolution and the White House were at an all-time high.
Cuba is conducting its own investigation and expressed a willingness to work with their US counterparts to determine the cause of the diplomats' unexplained symptoms. For now, in the absence of a plausible explanation, speculation is rife.
The Associated Press reported that a US investigation determined that the American diplomats' hearing loss could have been linked to sonic devices which emit inaudible sound waves that can cause deafness.
US officials, speaking to the agency anonymously, said investigations had determined devices had been deployed either inside or outside diplomats' homes.
Investigators are also considering the possibility that a third country, such as Russia, was behind the incidents, officials familiar with the inquiry told AP.
About five American diplomats, including some spouses, had been affected, but no children were involved, US officials said.
US Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauer said staff began complaining of the strange symptoms late last year.
While they were not life-threatening, she revealed that a number of people had been brought home to the US as a result.
Washington and Havana only re-established ties in 2015, following 50 years of hostilities between the two countries.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio said the alleged incidents were just the latest examples of harassment toward US diplomats in Cuba.
"Personal harm to US officials shows the extent the Castro regime will go and clearly violates international norms," he said.
If true, the use of sonic devices to cause harm to diplomats would be unprecedented.


Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov has come out of professional retirement for a one-off tournament in St Louis, Missouri.

The 54-year-old from Azerbaijan has been out of the game for 12 years, after turning his hand to politics.
He gained legendary status, becoming known as the "Beast of Baku" and dominated the sport for 15 years.
In a Facebook post he said: "This is not an end to my retirement from chess, only a five-day hiatus."
He added that any earnings from the competition will be donated to charity.
Mr Kasparov was selected as a wild card to compete in the Rapid and Blitz tournament against nine of the best players in the world.
The competition's format requires players to make moves much faster than in the ordinary game.
However, the current world champion, Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, is not there.
In 1985 Mr Kasparov became the youngest-ever world champion, maintaining the title for 15 years.
He was a pioneer of using technology in the game, but was famously beaten by an IBM super computer Deep Blue in 1997.
Mr Kasparov stepped away from the sport in 2005, becoming a vocal opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He has taken part in significant demonstrations against the Russian leader and set up the Other Russia opposition group.
In 2013 he left Russia and moved to New York.


A man's body has been pulled from a canal in Surrey.

Det Supt Tanya Jones said a member of the public discovered the body in the Basingstoke Canal at Woodham Lock in West Byfleet on Saturday.
Detectives are treating his death as suspicious. Officers are looking into the circumstances that led to him being found in the water.
Police believe they know who the man is and have informed his family, but have not yet released his name.
Officers want to speak to anyone who was on the towpath, lock bridge or nearby footpaths between Friday night and Saturday morning and who might have heard or seen anything suspicious.


Tesla has been told to drop the Autopilot brand name, which it uses to promote its driver-assistance software, in Germany.

The Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) confirmed it had told Tesla to scrap the "misleading" term.
It said the term gave customers "incorrect expectations" that they could stop concentrating on the road and let Autopilot take over completely.
Tesla said it had always told drivers to keep their hands on the wheel.
The Autopilot software helps cars:
However, Tesla has been clear that the feature should only be used on the motorway, and drivers must still pay full attention to the road.
The firm has been under scrutiny after one of its vehicles running Autopilot crashed, killing the owner.
"It can be confirmed that a letter to Tesla exists with the request to no longer use the misleading term Autopilot for the driver-assistance system of the car," a KBA spokeswoman told news agency Reuters.
According to the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, the letter to Tesla said: "We demand that the misleading term Autopilot is no longer used in advertising the system."
In a statement, Tesla said the term autopilot had been used in aviation for decades.
"Tesla's Autopilot operates in conjunction with the human driver to make driving safer and less stressful. This is how the term has been used for decades in aerospace: to denote a support system that operates under the direct supervision of a human pilot," the company said.
"We have always been clear with our customers that Autopilot is a drivers assistance system that requires the driver to pay attention at all times.
"Just as in an airplane, when used properly, Autopilot reduces driver workload and provides an added layer of safety when compared to purely manual driving."
The company's co-founder Elon Musk had been expected to make an announcement related to Tesla on Monday, but he has now tweeted that it has been delayed until Wednesday for "refinement".


The former Scottish Conservative MP Sir Albert McQuarrie has died at the age of 98.

Sir Albert was MP for East Aberdeenshire and then Banff and Buchan from 1979 until 1987.
He was beaten in the general election by the SNP's Alex Salmond.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said she was "saddened" by news of Sir Albert's death, and highlighted his "Buchan Bulldog" spirit.
Sir Albert - who lived in Mintlaw - turned 98 on 1 January, and died in his sleep on Wednesday.
Mr Salmond said: "He revelled in his title of the 'Buchan Bulldog' and we enjoyed some fierce political debates, as worthy opponents should.
"He will be much missed, obviously friends and family, but also the wider political and public life in Scotland."


A £20m revamp of Northampton railway station has begun.

The station is being doubled in size and will include a number of new shops, cafes and larger waiting areas.
Northampton Borough Council leader David Mackintosh, said: "This will be a facility we can be proud of and will present a fitting welcome for visitors to our town."
Construction is due to be completed in the autumn of next year, with a new car park to be built at a later date.
The West Northamptonshire Development Corporation, which is overseeing the project, said without a bigger station the town's economic growth would be "constrained".
The government is funding half the project, with the rest of the money coming from Northamptonshire County Council and Network Rail.
The station is being built next to the existing building, which will be knocked down once completed.
Prior to building work, excavations of the new site found remains dating back to Saxon times.


A man has been arrested following a crash in Monmouthshire which left a person with life-threatening injuries.

A white Vivaro van and silver Peugeot 206 collided on the A465 near Abergavenny at 07:00 BST on Thursday.
A 61-year-old man was taken to University Hospital Wales, Cardiff.
Gwent Police have arrested a 32-year-old man from Cwmbran, Torfaen, on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He has been released on bail.


The BBC has unveiled details of its election programmes - with Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn set to take part in Question Time specials.

David Dimbleby will host the programmes in which Mr Corbyn and Mrs May, the Conservative leader, will face audience questions consecutively on 2 June.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and Lib Dem Tim Farron will appear on 4 June.
There will also be a live debate featuring senior figures from seven parties on BBC One on 31 May.
The debate from Cambridge, moderated by Mishal Husain, will feature Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP, Plaid Cymru, Green Party and UKIP people.
Other programmes include Election Questions to Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood from Swansea on 4 June, and Election Questions to UKIP leader Paul Nuttall from Bristol.
The final BBC debate will be a Newsbeat Youth debate on 6 June with an audience of 18-25 year olds hosted by Tina Daheley in Manchester, featuring seven senior politicians from the main parties.
It will be broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and the BBC News Channel at 21:00 BST and then on BBC One at 22:40.
In addition, Mrs May and her husband Philip are also expected to appear on BBC's One Show on 9 May, with Mr Corbyn to appear later during the campaign.
Jonathan Munro, head of BBC Newsgathering, said: "We have an exciting line up of special programmes over the General Election period... bringing Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn in front of the same Question Time audience on the same night to be quizzed by the public.
"It is firmly in the public interest for audiences to hear from those seeking election. We know they connect with these formats because they are a public moment to focus on and audience members from all across the country get the chance to ask politicians their own questions."
The announcement of the programmes comes after Theresa May said she would not take part in TV debates with Jeremy Corbyn ahead of the general election, saying she preferred "to get out and about and meet voters".
The PM's stance prompted Mr Corbyn to insist he would not take part in any head-to-head TV election debates without Mrs May. He said the only debate he wanted was one between the "two people who could form the next government".
The key points of the BBC's announcement this morning is that, first, something - as opposed to nothing - is happening, which is a victory for BBC audiences.
Second, the government will be happy that while Theresa May is participating (in one of two special editions of Question Time), she isn't going to share a stage with Jeremy Corbyn.
And third, both the Tories and Labour face an intriguing choice about who they will put up for the seven-way debate moderated by Mishal Husain.
Read Amol's full verdict on the TV plans
Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley said it was "beyond a joke" that UKIP would be the subject of a dedicated questions programme while his party was not.
He said the Greens had outperformed UKIP in last week's local elections.
The BBC said its decisions about coverage took into account past electoral support over two electoral cycles, as set out by industry watchdog Ofcom, and not just recent local election results.
ITV has said it will hold an election debate with or without Mrs May or Mr Corbyn in prime time on 18 May.
The BBC plans include more than 10 hours of prime time TV programmes and formats for audiences to engage with the election choices.
Mrs May and Mr Corbyn will appear on the Question Time Leader Special in York, while the show featuring Mr Farron and Ms Sturgeon will be broadcast from Edinburgh.
Question Time will also be devoting a programme to the election in Northern Ireland.
Throughout the week of 22 May, BBC One will air a series of prime time Andrew Neil Interviews at 19:00 BST, with one-to-one interviews with Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn, Tim Farron, Paul Nuttall and Nicola Sturgeon broadcast in England, Wales and Scotland. A sixth interview with Leanne Wood will air on BBC One in Wales.
The General Election Results Night Special will be led by David Dimbleby with Mishal Husain, Emily Maitlis and Jeremy Vine. Huw Edwards will take over in the morning as lead presenter guiding the audience through the day's main events.
A final Question Time Election Special will be live on BBC One on 9 June.
There will also be full online coverage throughout the election campaign and on results night, including a rolling live updates page.  A BBC Election Bot will also send updates to subscribers via Facebook Messenger.
Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning


Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein has announced that he has lymphoma.

In a message on the company's website, Mr Blankfein said: "Fortunately, my form of lymphoma is highly curable and my doctors' and my own expectation is that I will be cured."
He plans to work as usual over the next few months while he undergoes chemotherapy.
But Mr Blankfein plans to reduce his travelling over the period.
Lymphoma is cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system.
Mr Blankfein said: "There are many people who are dealing with cancer every day. I draw on their experiences as I begin my own."
He has been president and chief executive of the banking group since 2006, and has been a director of the company since 2003.


A man and a woman who were found dead in a car on a residential estate may have died from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, say police.

Thomas Putt, 20, and Nikki Willis, 23, were discovered in Fox Crescent, Chelmsford, on Monday morning. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
Post-mortem tests have proved inconclusive.
Essex Police warned anyone who modifies a car to get it checked out by a qualified mechanic.
Police said they were not treating the deaths of engineering apprentice Mr Putt, of Wren Close, Leigh-on-Sea, and shop worker Ms Willis, of Fox Crescent, Chelmsford, as suspicious.
A police spokesman said: "Current investigations do not indicate their deaths were the result of a deliberate act.
"One of the lines of inquiry police are investigating is the possibility they may have died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.
"Tests will be carried out on the vehicle, which will include establishing whether any modifications have taken place."
Ms Willis's family paid tribute to a woman who "loved life and always had a smile".
"You will never be forgotten, always and forever in our hearts and memories. Our angel now has her wings.," said the statement.
Mr Putt's family said: "We are utterly shocked and devastated at the death of our darling son Tom. He was a whirlwind in our lives from day one, always cheeky, always smiling."


Lionel Messi became the first player to reach 300 La Liga goals as he scored twice in Barcelona's victory over Sporting Gijon.

Barca are six points clear at the top thanks to a 31st game without defeat - extending their Spanish record.
Messi opened the scoring from just outside the box for goal number 300 but Carlos Castro levelled moments later.
Messi added his second from a pass by Luis Suarez, who then had a penalty saved before curling home a third goal.
On Sunday, Messi rolled a penalty into Suarez's path for the Uruguayan to complete his hat-trick in a  6-1 win over Celta Vigo.
But Suarez did not return the favour in Gijon, and keeper Ivan Cuellar guessed the right way to keep out his penalty kick.
Barcelona have now failed to score seven of their 15 directly taken penalties this season.
La Liga strugglers Sporting named a weakened team - instead prioritising Saturday's trip to Real Betis - with loan signing Alen Halilovic starting against his parent club.
Barcelona boss Luis Enrique is from Gijon and started his career with Sporting.
"I'm not very sentimental," he said. "I come to Gijon every summer and Christmas, so I see my family a lot. But it's always a pleasure to come to the Molinon, and it's been a very nice day all round for me.
"It is a privilege to have Messi whoever you are playing against. Suarez's goal did us a lot of good because it took off some of the pressure.
"We obviously need to do better from penalties but we have every confidence in Luis, Messi and Neymar. They're three great penalty takers."
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Eurozone finance ministers say they have agreed with Greece the main elements of a deal to unlock a delayed bailout payment.

Greece is now part way through its third eurozone bailout programme, worth up to 86bn euros (Â£74bn).
The programme has encountered repeated delays as the lenders monitor compliance with policy conditions.
Technical officials are expected to return to Athens soon to complete the negotiations.
The "in principle" deal, as European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici called it, was agreed at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Malta.
The main elements in the latest agreement are commitments to reduce spending on pensions from 2019 and to collect more income tax from 2020 by lowering the tax-free threshold. Together the two measures are intended to improve the Greek government's finances by the equivalent of 2% of the country's economic activity, or GDP.
To sweeten a pill that will be unpopular in Greece, the other eurozone countries agreed that Athens would be able take other measures to stimulate the economy, if the government finances perform better than expected.
The next step is that technical experts from three European institutions and the IMF will return to Athens to try to negotiate the remaining details.
The Dutch Finance Minister, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chairs eurozone ministers' meetings, called for them to put the last dots on the i's and reach a full agreement as soon as possible at staff level - that's the staff of the institutions involved in monitoring the programme.
That is needed before there is political decision to make that delayed payment. Once there is a staff agreement, Mr Dijsselbloem said that the Eurogroup ministers would also look at the targets Greece would need to aim for in the  government finances after the last bailout payments are made (due in 2018) and the question of debt sustainability - which means debt relief beyond what the eurozone has already provided.
Debt relief previously has been in the form of reduced interest rates and longer payment periods, rather than reducing the amount of the principal sum that must ultimately be repaid.
Further debt relief is likely to be in a similar form. Eurozone ministers have said it many times and it's politically more difficult for them with domestic political audiences if they were to explicitly write off a chunk of what they have lent.
The International Monetary Fund has long argued that Greece needs more debt relief. That has been behind its reluctance to contribute financially to the third bailout. (It did chip in to the first two). Its involvement in the third so far is as an adviser and monitor of Greek performance.
The rest of the eurozone, but especially Germany, would like the IMF to put some money in. That's not so much for the sake of reducing the eurozone contribution as for the better credibility they think the programme would have if the IMF did stump up some money.
But IMF staff are so far unwilling to even recommend it to their board, which is made up of representatives of the agency's member countries.
After the Malta meeting, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said:  "We are at a point where we think there are good prospects for successfully concluding discussions on these outstanding policy issues during the next mission to Athens.
"Such an agreement on policies will have to be followed by discussions with euro-area countries to ensure satisfactory assurances on a credible strategy to restore debt sustainability, before a programme is presented to the IMF executive board."
The key deadline for the next instalment from the eurozone is July. Greece needs additional funds for debt payments that fall due.
In Athens, the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said: "The Greek economy is ready to leave the crisis behind it."
But there is a lot of scepticism about that. Hugo Dixon of BreakingViews says that the current discussion will only buy Greece some more time, until mid-2018. Thereafter, he argues, Greece will probably need a fourth bailout.


A collection of Christmas cards sent by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh over a 40-year period has been sold at auction.

The 35 cards, signed Elizabeth R and Philip, were sent between 1959 and 2001 and show the growing Royal Family.
The Queen has been sending official Christmas cards to friends and employees every year since 1952.
They were sold for £1,530 at auction in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, on Friday.
A spokesman for auctioneers Moore Allen and Innocent said: "The cards have created a fascinating record of the Royal Family growing year by year, with photographs taken by The Duke of York, Lord Snowdon, and official photographers.
"The top individual lot price was the £280 paid for the earliest cards - those from 1959, 1960 and 1961."


A swimwear model accused of shooting dead her millionaire ex-boyfriend at his home in Spain has told a judge she "never wanted to hurt him".

Mayka Marica Kukucova, 26, is charged with murdering businessman Andrew Bush, 48, at his mansion near Marbella on the Costa del Sol in April 2014.
Prosecutors at the Ciudad de la Justicia in Malaga told the court he died after being shot three times, once in the shoulder and twice in the head.
Ms Kukucova has not entered a plea.
The court heard the pair met when Ms Kukucova - a Slovak national - was working at a jewellery store owned by Mr Bush in Bristol.
In an account of the events leading up to his death, she told the court she had gone to his home to collect her things when he returned unexpectedly from a trip with his new girlfriend Maria Korotaeva.
She said: "When he came and saw me he told his girlfriend to go out to the car.
"He started shouting and hitting me and took me strongly by the arms. I said I wanted to go but he said no.
"He was shouting that he was going to kill me and my family."
After a struggle down the stairs, Ms Kukucova said: "Then the gun was in my hands. I threw myself on him and we were fighting and then the gun went off.
"I couldn't hear anything. I was just trying to get away. I didn't want to hurt him."
She said she had tried to go back upstairs but there was another struggle on the staircase as Mr Bush came after her.
"I don't know how many times the gun went off," she said.
The court heard Ms Kukucova then left the house and told Ms Korotaeva to get out of Mr Bush's car before driving off.
Her defence counsel Carlos Larranaga said: "The facts are that a person has died. There was a homicide but we have not accepted that my client is a murderer.
"My client shot him."
He told the jury: "You must decide if Mr Bush was killed in an aggressive way, or as a method of defence."
She handed herself in to authorities in Slovakia four days after the shooting and was extradited back to Spain to face charges of murder and vehicle theft.
The trial continues.


Coventry City Council has warning of "unprecedented" cuts to services as it attempts to tackle a predicted £65m budget shortfall by 2018.

The local authority expects to publish detailed plans of how jobs and services will be affected, later in the year.
Councillor Damian Gannon, in charge of finance, said the city was facing "some stark choices over the coming months".
He said there was "no doubt people will be losing services they've come to take for granted".
The Labour-led council has blamed cuts in central government grants.
The Department for Communities and Local Government said local authorities accounted for a quarter of all public spending and that government had delivered a "fair" settlement to every part of the country.
A spokesperson added that government had yet to announce any spending allocations for councils beyond the 2015-16 financial year.
Coventry City Council is predicting a £15.1m budget gap for 2015-16 is likely to rise to £65m by 2017-18 unless savings are made.
"We're absolutely determined to use scarce resources to make sure our most vulnerable residents - children and old people alike - continue to be protected."
He said savings plans would include cutting the number of council-owned buildings, particularly in the suburbs, but services would inevitably be affected.
"Over the coming couple of months councillors will be looking at the detail of options being developed by council officers to help us meet the budget gap, but they'll have very little choice about where to make cuts," he said.


Laura Robson's hopes of a sustained run at the Rabat Open ended with a heavy defeat by Hungarian fifth seed Timea Babos in the second round.

Robson, the former British number one, had break-point chances in the third game but could not convert them.
Babos then took charge, dropping just two more games in a 6-1 6-2 victory.
Robson had earned her first WTA main draw win since 2013 in round one, as she tries to return to the top of the game following a wrist injury.
The 22-year-old is currently ranked 426th, but looks set to move inside the world's top 350 in next week's rankings.
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Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's time as a youth football coach allegedly included threatening a teacher and making players roll in goose droppings, according to newly released documents.

Mr Ford was fired from the volunteer job at the city's Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School in May 2013.
His brother, Councillor Doug Ford, called the school board's documents "fictitious rumours and allegations".
Mr Ford admitted using crack-cocaine "in a drunken stupor" last year.
However, the mayor has refused to step down and is running for re-election in October. In May he entered rehab for alcohol and drug abuse.
The school board files were released following a records request by Canadian media. Mr Ford himself has yet to comment on the allegations.
More than 300 pages document the school's concerns about Ford staying on as volunteer coach and emails on how best to handle firing him.
It was initially believed Mr Ford was sacked because of comments about the school's students and parents he made on Canadian television in March 2013.
In an interview with Sun News Network, the mayor said the parents did not care about their children, who were involved in gangs and drugs.
The documents suggest the interview was a breaking point for an already strained relationship between the Toronto mayor and the school.
Among the documents' allegations:
Toronto Catholic District School Board spokesman John Yan told the Associated Press news agency the incidents only came to light after the board began a review of Ford's time at the school following his comments.
"The investigation revealed that what were first thought to be isolated incidents connected to form a pattern," Mr Yan said.
"As with any organisation, an individual is entitled to due process and this always takes time."


Ireland's Rio Olympics marathon selection picture appears unchanged after events in London on Sunday.

Kevin Seaward (2:14:52), Mick Clohisey (2:15:10) and Sergiu Ciobanu (2:15:17) remain the three fastest Irish male qualifiers after Sunday's London race.
Sean Hehir clocked 2:17.20 on Sunday with Belfast man Thomas Frazer finishing in 2:19.17 and Stephen Scullion posting 2:20.39.
Breege Connolly's remains Ireland's third fastest women's qualifier.
Claire Gibbons McCarthy looked on course to challenge North Belfast athlete Connolly's time of 2:37.29 set in London last year but eventually dropped out around the 35 kilometre mark.
Hehir and Frazer also looked capable of forcing their way into the Olympic picture as they went to half way in 1:06:35 and 1:06.54 but both lost ground in the closing miles.
Belfast runner Seaward and Ciobanu set their times in Berlin last September.
Northern Ireland woman Laura Graham and Fionnuala Ross both produced big personal bests in London.
Graham, from the Mourne Runners club, took over eight minutes off her previous best as she crossed the line in 2:48.03 with Armagh's Fionnuala Ross taking 12 minutes off her time in Paris last year as she clocked 2:49.57.
Paul Pollock is currently the fourth fastest of the Irish male Rio qualifiers but each country can only send three athletes.
Holywood man Pollock, whose ran 2:15.38 last September, had been intending to run in London but had to pull out  last week because of a foot injury.
Pollock, who will resume training early next month, is now hoping that his superb World Half Marathon run in March will sway the Irish selectors.
The county Down man was 14th in Cardiff with Mo Farah the only European ahead of him.
Pollock also finished ahead of Ireland's current leading marathon qualifier Seaward at the Wokingham Half Marathon and another 10K race in recent months.
Callum Hawkins, who finished five seconds behind Pollock in at the World Half Marathon event, secured his British Olympic spot on Sunday by clocking a new personal best of 2:10.52 which left him in eighth spot.
Athletics Ireland are scheduled to pick their marathon selections on 23 May when the qualifying deadline expires.
Frazer clocked his personal best of 2:17.45 in Rotterdam last April.


The creators of 1980s soap Dynasty have announced plans to turn the US series into a film, according to reports.

Esther and Richard Shapiro are working on a prequel about Blake Carrington finding out he is heir to the family's oil empire.
"It was my daughter Florie's notion to do a prequel, and that sounded very good to us," Richard Shapiro said.
The original series starred Joan Collins and the late John Forsythe and ran from 1981 to 1989.
"We've given thought to the movie before and we've been approached by a lot of companies," Shapiro told the E! Online website.
"But no one seemed to have a proper fix on it. Then suddenly we said, 'Let's do it [ourselves]!' - and we're the ones to do it."
The movie version will be set in the 1960s and will feature Blake's love affair with Collins' character Alexis.
Catfights, glamour and giant shoulder pads became synonymous with the show, which also starred Linda Evans and the late Christopher Cazenove.


Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Nabil Bentaleb will join Schalke on a permanent deal at the end of his loan spell this summer.

The 22-year-old Algeria international moved to the German side on a season-long loan in August and has made 20 Bundesliga appearances.
He has agreed a four-year deal with the Gelsenkirchen team, although neither club has revealed details of any fee.
Bentaleb had made 66 appearances for Spurs since joining as a teenager.


Kolkata Knight Riders broke the record for the highest successful chase without losing a wicket in Twenty20 cricket, beating Gujarat Lions by 10 wickets in the Indian Premier League.

Openers Gautam Gambhir and Chris Lynn took Kolkata to their target of 184 with 31 balls to spare in Rajkot.
Australia international Lynn reached his half-century off just 19 balls, finishing unbeaten on 93 off 41.
Knight Riders captain Gambhir hit 76 not out off 48 deliveries.
England batsman Jason Roy hit 14 as Gujarat made 183-4 off their 20 overs thanks to skipper Suresh Raina's unbeaten 68 alongside Dinesh Karthik (47) and Brendon McCullum (35).
Roy's international team-mate Chris Woakes - making his IPL debut - struggled with the ball for the Knight Riders, conceding 35 runs without taking a wicket off his three overs.
The previous record for the highest T20 chase without loss was 171, set by Perth Scorchers against Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash in 2015.
Lynn and Gambhir also claimed the record for the highest opening stand in IPL history, surpassing the previous best of 167 by Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013.


The new Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Dublin has become the first elected member of the party to attend the Royal British Legion's war commemoration in the city.

It took place at the Irish National War Memorial Gardens at Islandbridge.
Dublin Lord Mayor Críona Ní Dhálaigh laid a laurel wreath in tribute to the dead of Word War One and World War Two.
Her Sinn Féin colleagues, Lord Mayor of Belfast Arder Carson and Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly Mitchel McLaughlin, also attended the ceremony.
The annual commemoration at Islandbridge, in the Dublin suburb of Kilmainham, is hosted by the Royal British Legion Republic of Ireland.
Ms Ní Dhálaigh, who was elected to the new post last month, accepted an invitation to lay a wreath on behalf of the people of Dublin.
Speaking after the commemoration, she said: "Today, we remember the many thousands of Irish people who died during these conflicts, including those from this city.
"Sinn Féin has engaged with the Royal British Legion for many years now and as first citizen of the city of Dublin, I am here representing the whole city.
"One of my key priorities as mayor was to incorporate the principle of inclusivity and my attendance here today, along with my Sinn Féin colleagues, speaks to this ideal."


Johnny McMurray's 78th-minute header earned Ballymena United a point in Tuesday night's Irish Premiership derby clash against Coleraine.

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Eoin Bradley had given Coleraine the lead in the 27th minute by following up to score after his penalty had been parried out by keeper Tim Allen.
The spot-kick was awarded when Bradley had been fouled by Allen.
Third-placed Coleraine looked set to take the three points until McMurray got on the end of a corner to level.
Coleraine are unbeaten in their last 13 matches in all competitions, winning 11 and drawing the other two.
Striker Bradley has now scored seven goals since rejoining the Bannsiders in January.
Ballymena went close to equalising just before half-time when Tony Kane crashed a long-range shot off the crossbar.
United, beaten 4-0 in the Irish Cup the last time the sides met, threatened again in the second half, but a Gary Thompson shot was well blocked by Coleraine's Gareth McConaghie.
The Sky Blues got the leveller when McMurray firmly nodded in his 12th goal of the season from Kane's left-wing corner.
Ballymena manager David Jeffrey: "It was a cracking game of football and for the first 20-25 minutes Coleraine were the better side.
"But we came alive and should have made it 1-1 with Tony Kane's wonderful effort.
"In the second half, if we had taken the chances we created, we would have had the three points, but I am very pleased with the performance."
Coleraine manager Oran Kearney: "We would like to have held on to the 1-0, but on the second half performance Ballymena probably deserved their point.
"We got our goal and have been resolute in defence and the fact that the goal came from a set piece is disappointing."


When Malaysian politician Gan Ping Sieu first heard that Prime Minister Najib Razak had allowed hundreds of millions of dollars to be put into his personal bank account, he found it hard to take in the news.

"It was inconceivable. I couldn't believe it," he said.
Mr Gan's surprise is all the more remarkable because he is not a political novice. He has served as a junior minister in Mr Najib's coalition government.
He is not alone in his shock. Many Malaysians have expressed their astonishment at an endless stream of revelations involving the prime minister.
But months after the scandal first broke, Mr Najib is still in office.
He has refused to resign because he says he has done nothing wrong, an opinion supported by the attorney general, who cleared him of breaking the law.
1MDB: The case that's riveting Malaysia
Profile: Najib Razak
But the scandal has at least done one thing: it has brought into sharp focus the lack of rules covering political financing in Malaysia.
"In all industries and in all sectors in Malaysia we have regulatory frameworks - apart from political funding," said Mr Gan, who is on a committee now looking into the issue. It is due to report its findings this summer.
The scandal involving Mr Najib is linked to a government-owned investment company called 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB.
It was set by Mr Najib in 2009 to spur economic growth in Malaysia and is under the prime minister's direct control.
The company has been beset with financial problems, but those were overshadowed by explosive allegations made last July.
The Wall Street Journal said $700m (Â£490m) had been transferred from 1MDB into bank accounts under the prime minister's name.
Mr Najib denied the allegations, but over subsequent months his statements about the money seemed to change.
"Every time he tried to explain a different story came out," said Maria Chin Abdullah, the chairwoman of Bersih 2.0, an anti-corruption organisation that has called for Mr Najib to resign.
"First he said it was a donation; then he said it was an investment and now he says it came from an Arab donor. It really makes me angry. What does he take us for, fools?"
A broad spectrum of Malaysian society has expressed incredulity at the prime minister's explanations.
The Malaysian punk band Second Combat, who sing about corruption and injustice, are just one group of artists who have become involved in the debate about the prime minister.
They are so keen to get across their message that they spend a good deal of time on stage talking about politics with their audience.
"We just want him to step down and give other people a chance to rule," said Khairuddin Aziz, the band's longest-serving member.
But Mr Najib has clung on. In January, Malaysia's attorney general cleared him of any wrongdoing concerning the money.
The attorney general said that while $681m had been given to the prime minister, it had been donated by the Saudi royal family.
The money was apparently given to help Mr Najib and the ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), win the 2013 general election. But accounts on this point vary.
According to the attorney general, $620m has been returned and as far as the prime minister is concerned the case is now closed.
But he has not just left that development to chance. Since the scandal first broke, Mr Najib has done several things to shore up his position.
He has got rid of rivals - the deputy president, Muhyiddin Yassin, was replaced after criticising the prime minister.
Critics maintain Mr Najib has also undermined the institutions that could have revealed more about where the money came from and what it was used for.
Just after the first revelations broke, the prime minister appointed a new attorney general, removing the original one on health grounds.
"We are running a country like during the cavemen period," said Maria Chin Abdullah. "No laws, no principles, you just run it as you like - and it's run by one person."
The question at the heart of the scandal is just how such large sums of money can flow in and out of politics in Malaysia with little or no oversight.
Gan Ping Sieu said current regulations covered only what a candidate spent during the two weeks before an election, with each hopeful allowed to spend around 200,000 ringgit ($50,000; Â£35,000).
But money lavished on candidates by others, such as political parties, and outside this timeframe is not taken into consideration.
Even Mr Gan played the system when he stood as a state legislator. He admitted that friends would pay for meals to drum up support for his campaign. It was money that did not have to be accounted for.
Dr Oh Ei Sun, an analyst who once served as the prime minister's political secretary, revealed just how intertwined money and politics are in Malaysia.
Sometimes it can involve the handing over of relatively small sums of cash to political supporters in order to ensure their continued backing.
Paying for food and drink is one way to dispense money. Dr Oh said politicians might also have to stump up cash for unusual expenses.
"If your constituents' parents pass away and there's no money to buy a coffin, you need to buy one for them," he said.
Dr Oh remembers Najib Razak as a serious person who had wanted to reform Malaysia's political system when he took office.
But he said that plan was abandoned because the prime minister believed the economy needed greater reform, and he could not change both at the same time.
He believes Mr Najib does not see himself as a corrupt man.
The prime minister's dedication to political reform will certainly be tested this summer when the committee looking into political funding presents its report.
Mr Gan hopes it will lead to change, but he is not optimistic.
"Politicians are not very keen for political funding to be well regulated," he said.
In a country where money and politics are so connected, it is not hard to see why they might hold that opinion.


It was a chance meeting in an empty car park just over a week after he had played the golf of his life.

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Henrik Stenson was in a rare moment of solitude. His life had been turned on its head after the spectacular 63 that secured his stunning victory over Phil Mickelson.
That epic, record-breaking duel at Royal Troon yielded the Open Championship and, aged 40, the Swede's long-overdue first major title.
Now he was at the US PGA, the next major, and was packing his bags into the back of his car. He smiled and readily accepted another congratulatory handshake.
"You know what - that was something truly amazing," I said.
"I know, the reaction has been incredible," he replied. "You have no idea when you are in the middle of it."
It is now almost a year since his three-shot victory, his 20-under-par total leaving him 14 clear of JB Holmes in third.
The famous Claret Jug is heading back into the hands of the R&A, and Stenson is readying himself for this week's title defence at Royal Birkdale.
Golf does not stand still. The scale of Stenson's task is made all the harder by a long list of likely rivals who covet the oldest and most important title in the game.
Birkdale was the venue the last time the Open was won by a defending champion - Padraig Harrington's victory in 2008.
But if Stenson is to emulate the Irishman, he has to beat challenges from all over the globe.
There is a rampant newcomer in Spain's Jon Rahm, in-form local lad Tommy Fleetwood, Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and a string of Americans headed by world number one Dustin Johnson and including players such as Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth and US Open champion Brooks Koepka.
Do not discount Masters winner Sergio Garcia, who has all the attributes to overcome the magnificently demanding yet fair Southport links, or Olympic champion Justin Rose, who made his breakthrough as an amateur at Birkdale in 1998, holing out from the rough to finish fourth aged just 17.
Adam Scott is another who fits the profile of a potential winner.
The Australian came desperately close at Lytham in 2012 and played the Scottish Open last week, a proven event for producing Open champions. Six of the past seven winners have competed on the links of Scotland the week before the championship, and Sunday's winner Rafa Cabrera-Bello is a quality ball-striker who will feel renewed confidence.
And then there is golf's capacity, like no other sport, for throwing up winners no-one can predict - a Ben Curtis (2003) or Todd Hamilton (2004) type who reserves his best golf for the week that matters most.
But there can be no doubting the pedigree of the reigning champion, and Stenson has allowed himself the odd moment to reflect on the scale of his Troon achievement.
"It's certainly not something that I want undone," he told BBC Sport.
"It was a career dream and a childhood dream that came true winning the Open Championship last year. So it's been hectic but it's been a very good year."
The Claret Jug has taken pride of place, a focal point to remind him of that extraordinary Ayrshire weekend when nothing was going to deny his quest to become Sweden's first male major winner.
"When I had a bit of a break over Christmas, I would walk into my office in my house and there it is. You just think back to that wonderful week and how well I played and what I managed to accomplish," he said.
"To play your best golf when it matters the most in the tournament that you most of all want to win, it was something very special.
"Of course at that point the number one priority was to win the Claret Jug and get your name on there.
"But the way we managed to win, the level of golf that Phil and I played, put me in the record books and that could be something to be very proud of over time.
"There could be a race to overtake them this week but they could stay for 30 years or so."
Stenson began that final round with a sloppy bogey, and Mickelson's birdie led to a two-shot swing on the opening hole.
But thereafter the Swede went on the rampage, culminating with birdies on three of the closing four holes to bring a testing Troon to its knees.
There was no rush to watch replays of his greatest golf.
"It took a good two or three months to actually watch the final round and it is always a little surreal to watch yourself," he said.
"It all feels very natural because you were there, and I was the one playing, but at the same time you haven't watched it from the outside, so to speak, so it is a different thing to watch it on tape.
"If I ever need a little boost in the right direction and remind myself of what I can do, I can always go back and pick that tape up again."
Stenson, though, knows this is not the time for reflection. A mediocre performance to finish tied 26th at last week's Scottish Open sums up the past year, and he has yet to return to winnings ways.
"At times I feel like I've been a little bit off, mentally, and the focus hasn't been there 100%," he admits.
"It's kind of hard to turn the page because you are always talking about what happened last summer and with this game you have got to be in the moment and keep looking forward."
That will have to be the case at Birkdale this week. Arguably the finest golf course in England, it invariably identifies great champions.
The roll of honour includes greats such as Peter Thomson, who won there twice, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller. Mark O'Meara was the Masters champion when he won in 1998 and Harrington was a dominant force in 2008.
Given his stratospheric standards a year ago, Stenson has a tough act to follow.
Add in the strength in depth at the top of the game and the pedigree of previous Birkdale winners, he knows his mind cannot wander this week.
No matter how great are the memories.


A 17-year-old boy is in a critical condition in hospital after he was found injured in an alleyway in east Belfast.

He was discovered between Castlereagh Parade and Glenvarlock Street, off the Castlereagh Road, at about 01:30 BST on Wednesday.
The boy was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
Police have appealed for information about the incident.


Heavy flooding in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, has killed at least 12 people, with officials warning people to stay indoors to avoid animals that have escaped from a zoo.

The missing animals include tigers, lions, bears and wolves. Three of the dead people were found within the zoo.
A hippopotamus was cornered in one of the city's main squares and subdued with a tranquiliser gun.
Rescue workers are searching submerged homes to check for trapped residents.
Dozens of people have been left homeless.
A day of mourning has been announced for Monday,
Tbilisi Zoo spokeswoman Mzia Sharashidze told InterPressNews agency that three bodies had been found in the zoo, including those of two employees.
She said the grounds had been turned into "a hellish whirlpool".
Ms Sharashidze said wolves, lions, tigers, jackals and jaguars had been shot dead by special forces or were missing.
Floodwater rose to the rooftops of enclosures at the zoo, drowning hundreds of animals. Many animals were swept out of their enclosures and escaped.
A bear was found clinging to an air-conditioning unit half way up one building, while a man discovered a hyena on his balcony.
The flooding began when heavy rains caused the River Vere - normally little more than a stream - to burst its banks.
Thousands of people have been left without water and electricity while others have had to be airlifted to safety.
Mayor Davit Narmania said the situation was "very grave".
Roads have been destroyed and small houses and cars swept away.
Coffins in a city cemetery have reportedly been washed out of the ground and left lying on the mud.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has called on residents to stay indoors until all the animals have been found.
President Giorgi Margvelashvili has visited affected area and extended his condolences to relatives of the victims.
It remains unclear how many are animals missing. Helicopters are circling the city as part of a search and rescue operation.
Vice-mayor Irakly Lekvinadze estimated the preliminary damage at $10m (Â£6.43m).
In May 2012, five people were killed in Tbilisi after another river flooded.


A Scottish wildlife charity has lodged a legal challenge against the consent granted to four major offshore wind farm projects.

RSPB Scotland is challenging the developments in the Firth of Forth and Firth of Tay.
Scottish ministers approved the Inch Cape, Neart na Gaoithe and Seagreen Alpha and Bravo projects in October.
Industry body Scottish Renewables described the legal challenge as "really disappointing".
The four projects could comprise more than 400 turbines and generate more than 2.2GW of power, enough to power more than 1.4million homes every year.
Consent was given to the four developments under strict conditions to mitigate any potential environmental impact, and backing was given by environmental groups including Friends of the Earth Scotland.
However, a spokesman for RSPB Scotland said the approved projects could have "serious implications" for wildlife in the area.
He said: "We have not taken this decision lightly, but having given serious consideration to these decisions to grant consent, we have decided to take legal action.
"RSPB Scotland has a proven track record of taking a stand for nature, on behalf of our members and the general public, to ensure that wildlife and the natural environment is properly safeguarded for the future.
"If these decisions are allowed to stand, they could have serious implications for how birds and important wildlife sites are protected across Scotland and beyond.
"The vast majority of renewable energy developments pose no significant threat to birds or other wildlife.
"RSPB Scotland continues to support the development of carefully sited and designed renewables, including offshore wind. However, individual developments must be sited to avoid significant harm."
Lindsay Leask, senior policy manager at Scottish Renewables, said the challenge by RSPB Scotland was "really disappointing news".
She said: "Every one of these projects has been through an incredibly rigorous, detailed and independent assessment lasting anywhere between one and two years, and it now looks like there will be another lengthy examination of that process in court before they can go ahead.
"This new delay will make it even harder for Scotland to catch up with the rest of UK and northern Europe, which already have a sizeable offshore wind industry and supply chain supporting thousands of jobs.
"The irony here is that climate change is reckoned to be one of the biggest threats to Scotland's protected habitats and species. Offshore wind is a key part of the mix required for us to meet our targets for the growth of renewables and the reduction of carbon emissions."
The Neart na Gaoith wind farm east of the Fife Ness coastline would include up to 75 turbines, generating 450MW of power.
The Alpha and Bravo Seagreen developments combined would consist of up to 150 turbines, around 16-23 miles (27-38km), off the Angus coastline, and could generate 1,050MW.
And the Inch Cape development, also off the Angus coastline, would total no more than 110 turbines, generating 784MW.


The railway line between Cardiff and Bristol will shut this weekend for high speed upgrade work.

There will also be no direct trains between London Paddington and south Wales, with all services terminating at Bristol Parkway.
Buses will run between Bristol and Cardiff Central, and a shuttle train between the Welsh capital and Swansea.
It is expected to add up to 70 minutes to journeys between Swansea and Paddington.
Network Rail asked people to allow extra time to complete journeys.


Flammable gas leaked from a North Sea platform for about 12 minutes, an investigation has found.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has served BP with an improvement notice following the incident on the Etap on 1 October last year.
BP said the leak was spotted and quickly stopped after a re-start following maintenance.
The HSE says BP failed to take appropriate measures to control maintenance activities.


Even BNP Paribas cannot shrug off a $9bn (£5.1bn) fine.

The bank is the fourth biggest by assets in the world and has been found guilty of violating US economic sanctions against Sudan, Iran and Cuba.
It had repeatedly protested that it did not violate any European law, but US prosecutors say that is beside the point.
BNP Paribas operates in the US through Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank, and is therefore bound by US law.
It is not the first to fall foul of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) that prohibits trading with sanctioned governments.
HSBC, Standard Chartered, ING, Barclays, Credit Suisse and Lloyds have all been hit with fines for violations since 2009.
It's not gone unnoticed that they are all European banks.
And the penalties are getting bigger.
Now other European banks fear this latest fine shows American prosecutors are targeting them with increasing aggression.
Commerzbank of Germany, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale of France and Unicredit of Italy are all under investigation over suspected sanctions violations or money laundering.
Deutsche Bank faces investigations into the rigging of interest rates and foreign exchange manipulation.
Although it says it does not believe it has violated US laws, it is raising $11.6bn in extra capital, partly as a cushion against any future legal costs.
John Raymond, senior analyst of European banks at CreditSights Research, says: "The European banks are worried.
"You have to remember they are undergoing stress tests and the possibility that they might receive heavy fines means the tests may demand they have extra capital to meet those fines."
However, the truth is the US authorities are still fining American banks far more than European ones.
A Financial Times study in March of 200 fines and restitutions since 2007, showed that of a total of $99.5bn in penalties, only $15.5bn came from foreign banks.
In fact there is a pattern to the prosecutions.
The European banks have hit the headlines with their sanction-breaking activities and tax evasion for which they have received fines.
The Americans have been have been forced to pay fines and compensation for issues over mortgage-backed securities and home loan fraud where victims have had to be compensated.
But both European and American banks have fallen victim to a change in mood among the US authorities.
Over the past few years many believed the Department of Justice (DoJ) had gone soft on big banks.
In March last year, US Attorney General Eric Holder seemed to confirm this to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
He said: "I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications... it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy."
French politicians were swift to exploit this, with the finance minister and the governor of the bank of France publicly stating that a massive fine would cripple BNP Paribas' lending ability and slow down lending worldwide.
But Mr Holder has been back on the offensive. Last month on the Department of Justice's website he insisted: "There is no such thing as too big to jail. To be clear: no individual or company, no matter how large or how profitable, is above the law."
And then there is Benjamin Lawsky.
He is the 44-year-old superintendent of New York State's Department of Financial Services (DFS).
The DFS cannot criminally charge a bank or individuals, but Mr Lawsky has been loud and influential in his demand for accountability from the banks.
It is thought the DFS's own investigation into Credit Suisse in March pressurised it into pleading guilty to aiding tax evasion and paying penalties of $2.6bn just two months later.
Back in 2012, he forced Standard Chartered to a settlement by the radical measure of threatening to withdraw its banking licence.
Known by Le Temps newspaper in France as "Le Bete-Noire des Grandes Banques" he has been urging  the resignation of senior executives at BNP Paribas.
In the face of this new assertiveness, the French bank has been caught on the back foot.
As the US authorities opened early negotiations, reportedly threatening a $16bn fine, the bank offered to pay a mere $1bn.
That may just be bargaining chutzpah, but the bank put aside just $1.1bn to cover legal costs. In April it admitted: "There is the possibility that the amount of the fines could be far in excess of the amount of the provision."
It had utterly failed to grasp the seriousness of the situation.
And the situation was serious, particularly the accusations of "stripping" - the deliberate removal of key details, to keep sanctioned transfers of money away from the prying eyes of regulators.
Investigators eventually found that even as late as 2011 while the bank was insisting that it was co-operating with the authorities, it was continuing to break rules on sanctions.
Again the bank appeared not to have taken the litigation threat seriously. It is now paying the price.
In sharp contrast JP Morgan Chase, facing some $20bn in penalties in the past year, has been steadily building up a war chest of more than $28bn to meet the legal pay-outs.
The New York Times recently described how chief executive Jamie Dimon personally negotiated with the Attorney General hours before the DoJ was due to announce civil charges. "A move," it reported, "that averted a lawsuit and ultimately resulted in the brokered deal."
And the American banks are still as much in the firing line as the Europeans.
The DoJ is demanding $10bn from Citigroup to settle investigations into its sale of worthless mortgage-backed securities. It is also negotiating a $13bn settlement with Bank of America.
There is much more to come, for instance the probes into interest rate and foreign exchange market manipulation. European and US authorities are both investigating a raft of banks, blind, it seems, to which side of the Atlantic they come from.


Mexican actress Kate del Castillo has been called in for questioning over her links with the imprisoned drug baron, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

She set up a meeting in October between the cartel leader, who was then on the run, and Hollywood actor Sean Penn.
Del Castillo and Guzman exchanged dozens of messages before she and Sean Penn met him in northern Mexico.
Guzman was arrested on 8 January, six months after escaping from a high security jail.
He was captured by Mexican troops in the northern city of Los Mochis and taken back to the Altiplano prison.
Mexican authorities are considering his extradition to the United States. In the meantime, they say he is being kept under 24-hour surveillance to prevent another escape.
Sean Penn interviewed the drug lord for US magazine Rolling Stone.
The contact between the actress and Guzman helped Mexican police establish his whereabouts and eventually capture him.
Attorney General Arely Gomez said the security forces had been following Guzman's lawyer, who led them to Sean Penn and Kate del Castillo.
Mobile phone exchanges between Kate del Castillo and Guzman reveal that he initially did not know who Sean Penn was.
He seemed to be infatuated by the actress, who is famous in Mexico.
Kate del Castillo is best known for her portrayal of drug boss Teresa Mendoza in the soap opera La Reina del Sur (Queen of the South).
Who is 'El Chapo' Guzman? - The crime lord had humble beginnings.
Who is Kate del Castillo? - Actress was instrumental in arranging the interview
Did Sean Penn break the law? - Unusual interview raises questions in the US and Mexico
Penn's 'El Chapo' interview scorned - It has been called "grotesque" and "maddening"
El Chapo extradition 'could take year' - American officials want Joaquin Guzman back in the US.
El Chapo was planning to get Hollywood to produce a film about his life.
Kate del Castillo persuaded "El Chapo" (Shorty) that Sean Penn had the experience and connections to realise his dream.
"I don't have the means to pay for what you're doing for me," he wrote, according to transcripts obtained by El Universal newspaper.
Responding to rumours that she had become too close to Guzman, Del Castillo tweeted on 13 January that she would tell her side of the story.
"As expected, many people have decided to manipulate the information and fabricate false stories to divert us from the real issue," she wrote.
"I will soon give you my version."
Mexican prosecutors said Kate del Castillo, who is in the US, will be allowed to be questioned at the embassy in Los Angeles.
El Chapo Guzman was Mexico's most wanted man.
He was the founder of the Sinaloa drug cartel, which smuggled vast amounts of illegal drugs into the United States.
He is linked to other crimes, including murder and extortion.


A man who deliberately got arrested for shoplifting so he could make money selling drugs in prison has been jailed for a year.

Kevin Hancock is thought to be one of the first in the country sentenced under new laws to tackle the supply of drugs formally known as "legal highs".
At Sheffield Crown Court, he admitted possession of a psychoactive substance with intent to supply.
The 40-year-old, from Rotherham, also admitted theft and six other charges.
Police said Hancock was seen stealing a bottle of whisky on 15 June in a Tesco store in Rotherham. Officers also found heroin inside a Kinder egg capsule he was carrying.
Further searches found he was carrying the drug spice.
Acting Det Ch Insp Graham Bulmer, of South Yorkshire Police, said: "One of the main aspects of the law change was to make it illegal to possess or supply psychoactive substances in prison and Hancock told officers that he'd deliberately got arrested for shoplifting so that he could make more money selling spice in prison.
"This new legislation can only help us in our fight to protect and educate vulnerable people about illegal and untested substances and punish those, like Hancock, who use psychoactive substances for their own gain."
In May, the Psychoactive Substances Act was passed by the government, making production and supply of 'legal highs' illegal.
Legislation was revised in January to make possession of psychoactive substances such as spice and black mamba also illegal.
Spice


Twitter founder Biz Stone has rejected suggestions that the site is shunning developers in order to make money.

He told BBC News that attempts to dissuade companies from writing Twitter client applications were about improving the user experience.
Twitter has come under fire for suggesting that it did not want developers creating software which replicated its own interface.
Critics claim it is about ensuring users view adverts on its site.
Since Twitter's creation, scores of third-party applications have appeared that allow users to write, read and respond to tweets.
However, in a recent blog posting, Twitter's coding chief Ryan Sarver suggested that companies should consider stopping making such software.
The move was condemned by developers who feel they are partly responsible for Twitter's success and are concerned about how they will make money in the future.
But Mr Stone insisted that the company's focus is about providing a consistent experience for the user, no matter how they access the service.
"Historically the best way to do that is not necessarily to create or recreate apps that could be confusing or do the things we are already doing," he said.
"Developers extend our ability to help users, and our end goal is to serve users. Part of that goal can by helped by giving developers opportunities to create new, interesting and innovative ways to help them get more value out of Twitter."
As an example of the confusion that he believes exists, Mr Stone pointed to the number of Twitter apps available for the iPhone.
They include Twittelator, Twitterific, TweetDeck, Echofon, Tweetcaster, La Twit, Tweetaholic, TweetList, TweetBird and TweetBoard.
Mr Stone explained that since Twitter had brought out its own official clients the number of users had skyrocketed.
However, research carried-out by media analytics firm Sysomos suggests that third-party applications are still widely used.
The company looked at 25 million tweets, sent on the day that Twitter unveiled its new policy. It found that 42% were sent from unofficial apps.
"The question for developers is to ask themselves is how they can best serve the users," said Mr Stone.
"By another app that pretty much does the same thing as Twitter? Or by creating new and innovative ways to get value out of Twitter that we are not necessarily doing ourselves," he said.
In the blog posting that sparked the controversy, Ryan Sarver wrote: "Developers ask us if they should build client apps that mimic or reproduce the mainstream Twitter consumer client experience. The answer is no."
He suggested that they should look to build other services that complement the Twitter experience such as mining data to help with brand management, customer relations and enterprise solutions.
While existing applications are fine for the moment, Mr Sarver said they would be closely policed.
Developers vented their fury on Twitter's discussion board and various blogs calling the decision everything from appalling to chilling.
RSS pioneer Dave Winer told technology blog GigaOm.com that the new roadmap for developers underscored the need for them to look at building new businesses directly on the internet instead of on other services where the owner is too active.
"The Internet remains the best place to develop because it is the Platform With No Platform Vendor. Every generation of developers learns this for themselves," he said.
Mr Stone said while he understood the frustration and concern emanating from the developer community, Twitter had to do what is best for its users.
"There are going to be some growing pains but I think the most important thing we can do is communicate as best we can, even if it is bad news people don't want to hear or we are not comfortable saying.
"It is important because people can get the clarity they need," he said.


Women working in Scotland's publishing industry influenced the writing of a character in a new novel by two legends of British comic books.

Comic founder and writer Pat Mills and artist Kevin O'Neill have co-written Serial Killer, the first in a planned series of books.
Mills started his career with Dundee-based publisher DC Thomson in the 70s.
He said Scots he met during his time there and later while working in London inspired the novel's character, Joy.
While at DC Thomson, Mills worked on the publisher's girls' titles Romeo and Jackie.
After he left the Dundee publisher, he created the girls' mystery comic Misty and co-created the war stories comic Battle and science-fiction/fantasy comic 2000AD, which is 40 years old this year.
With O'Neill, who illustrated 2000AD's Nemesis the Warlock stories and Alan Moore's famous graphic novel The Extraordinary League of Gentlemen, Mills has written Serial Killer, the first in a series of novels entitled Read Em and Weep.
Mills said: "The novels are set in the eccentric 'Life on Mars' world that was the 1970s and features classic 1970s comics, including fictional versions of Battle, Action and 2000AD.
"It's a story of revenge for a lost childhood, of flawed and eccentric characters, strange passions and arrested development."
Joy, a journalist, is one of the book's main characters.
Mills said: "She's inspired by a number of female journalists I worked with at DC Thomson as well as Scottish women I know in London.
"One chapter in the novel comes to mind. It was inspired by a time when I worked on Romeo.
"The female journalists on Romeo and Jackie were quite outraged by the awful female hygiene products that were being aimed at teenage girls. This would have been in the early 70s.
"I'm pretty certain they won and the adverts were withdrawn which is admirable. The products quoted in the chapter of the novel, though fictional, are close to reality.
"What was difficult on teenage magazines was how to handle real teenage girl problems and I recall the editor of the Romeo problem page telling me that she wasn't allowed to deal with serious issues and she found that very frustrating. Once again, Joy mirrors this subject."
Mills also recalls how working at DC Thomson gave him a "love of popular culture which has stayed with me my entire life".
Describing Scotland as having a "supportive atmosphere" for comics, he said he found DC Thomson's comic strips "so much funnier" than other mainstream British comic publishers.
Among those who made the comics funny was the late Manchester-born artist Ken Reid, the inspiration for another character in Serial Killer.
Mills said: "DC Thomson's fun comics were so much funnier than others and Kevin and I tackle that subject with gusto in another chapter.
"We mention Ken Reid - referred to as Ken Royce - who was a protÃ©gÃ© of DC Thomson and was behind comic characters Jonah and Rodger the Dodger.
"Both Kevin and I are huge admirers of his wonderfully subversive material which I do think has a Scottish satirical, almost dour, element."


He has been called an installation artist, a guerrilla gardener, a photographer and even a therapist.

But Paul Harfleet prefers to describe himself as an "accidental activist".
Mr Harfleet, 37, is the green-fingered man behind the Pansy Project, where a solitary flower is planted in the nearest soil to the spot where homophobic abuse has reportedly happened.
His pop-up planting has previously focussed on Manchester and Liverpool, but this summer, he plans to plant a pansy in 100 sites across London.
Mr Harfleet, from west London, intends to photograph each pansy, and name it after whatever abusive phrase was thrown.
The project aims to highlight homophobic attacks by planting seeds of hope for those affected by them.
In London, there was a 14% rise in homophobic crime for the period May 2008 to November 2011, compared with the period October 2004 and April 2008, according to the mayor's office for policing and crime.
More recent Metropolitan Police figures show reported homophobic crime in the year to February 2012 decreased by 11.5%.
But in the boroughs of Enfield, Newham, Redbridge, reported homophobic crime more than doubled.
Mr Harfleet says his project is "not statistical, but more of an anecdotal capturing of hate crime".
A string of homophobic abuse on a warm 2005 summer's day in Manchester was the catalyst for his project.
"The day began with two builders shouting in my direction 'It's about time we went gay-bashing again isn't it?'" he says.
"Later on, two people shouted homophobic obscenities from a car window.
"The day ended with a bizarre and unsettling confrontation with a man who called my then boyfriend and I 'Ladies' under his breath."
When he later told his friends about his experiences, "they couldn't believe this kind of thing still happened at all".
"That made me think I should do something about it," Mr Harfleet said
He was initially unsure on the type of flower to plant, but discovered the name "pansy" originates from the French word pens??e meaning "thought", as the bowing head of the flower is seen to visually echo a person's face in deep thought.
"The pansies are still, peaceful and sad - that's what I like about them," he says.
But it was only when he started planting, he began to realise the cathartic effect it could have.
"I began to realise instances of homophobia build up in your head and you don't realise you are carrying them with you," he said.
"Victims of abuse brush these things under the carpet, but the experiences linger with you."
When he planted his first pansy, it changed his "feelings towards the location", he said.
"I was acknowledging what had happened but overlaying the memory with something positive.
"Some people don't get it and think I'm perpetuating a derogatory term for gayness by planting the pansy.
"But, most people understand it's a positive thing I do."
Eight years on, he has demonstrated that sometimes the simplest ideas can be the most effective, having planted thousands of pansies in a project that has taken him as far afield as Istanbul and New York.
"When people see the photos, they appreciate the shocking contrast between the flower and the homophonic abuse that was given," he said.
People have taken to social media to tell him about locations where abuse has happened.
This week, he planted his first flower of his project, in Canary Wharf, east London.
"This is where a bunch of youths passed me in a shopping centre, and called me a 'faggot'," he said.
He planted the pansy on the nearest patch of grass to the shopping centre.
"They contrast between the solitary pansy and the high rise urban environment it was planted is profound," he said.
Next week, he plans to begin planting flowers at locations where more high profile homophobic abuse cases have happened.
He intends to start with the site where Jody Dobrowski was killed on Clapham Common, south west London, in 2005.
As far as this summer's target is concerned he says, "planting 100 pansies in London is possibly unrealistic, but it's good to have a goal".


Jason Roy scored a second century in three games to give England a series-clinching six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the fourth one-day international.

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Roy made 162, the second-highest score by an England batsman in an ODI.
It led England to 308, their second-highest successful ODI chase, with 11 balls to spare in a match reduced to 42 overs because of rain at The Oval.
Sri Lanka posted 305-5, a total increased by the DLS method, but could not stop England taking a 2-0 lead.
It is a third one-day series win in five since the awful World Cup campaign of 2015. The two defeats, against Australia and South Africa, were both in deciding rubbers.
Sri Lanka are still searching for their first win over England on this tour, with only Saturday's fifth ODI at Cardiff and a Twenty20 in Southampton on Tuesday remaining.
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Opener Roy, brought into the England side immediately after the World Cup, has epitomised the improvement which has seen them score one-day runs faster than any other international team since the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
Following his record-breaking stand of 256 with Alex Hales to win the second ODI, the Surrey right-hander could not be contained on a perfect batting surface at his home ground.
With a bottom-hand technique that saw him take 120 of his runs on the leg side, Roy three times shimmied down the pitch to hit sixes over long-on.
After Moeen Ali, opening because Hales had a stiff back, edged behind, Roy shared 149 with Joe Root, who cut and pulled his way to a much-needed 65.
Dropped by bowler Suranga Lakmal on 133, Roy seemed certain to better the 167 not out made by Robin Smith against Australia in 1993 when he missed a swipe at a Nuwan Pradeep slower ball and was bowled.
That left Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler to complete England's fifth successful chase in excess of 300 and their third in the past year. A feat once remarkable for this team is now becoming routine.
Asked to have first use of such a true surface, Sri Lanka put in their best batting effort of the series but, despite four men passing 60, lacked a match-winning contribution.
Kusal Mendis added drives to his usual strong back-foot play in 77, while Danushka Gunathilaka drove well and worked to the leg side effectively in making 62.
They shared 128 for the second wicket but both fell after the rain, which arrived in the 19th over, to the leg-spin of Adil Rashid, who was without the accuracy he displayed earlier in the series.
Despite the platform that has been previously lacking, Sri Lanka were never able to fully kick-on, even though Dinesh Chandimal took sixes over mid-wicket and third man in his 63.
After he was bowled by David Willey, it was left to Angelo Mathews to provide the late impetus with an unbeaten 67.
Eighty-eight runs came in the final nine overs and the adjusted total looked at least competitive. Roy proved it was anything but.
Man of the match Jason Roy on BBC Test Match Special: "To contribute in a big way like that is extremely special. I'll never forget that.
"A lot of hard work has been put in and we reap the rewards. These are very exciting times for English cricket."
England captain Eoin Morgan: "Jason Roy is making the most of his form. That is a big thing in international cricket - you cash in and he is certainly doing that.
"It is nice for him to be second in the list. He has played a magnificent innings."
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews:  "I thought we had a good score on the board. Our bowlers were pretty ordinary and Jason took the game away from us."


Lincoln scored twice in the final five minutes to secure a 2-1 win against relegation-threatened Torquay and move five points clear at the top of the National League table.

The Gulls thought they had clinched the points 12 minutes from time when Jamie Reid's cross was bundled in at the far post by Ruari Keating.
However, the Imps equalised in the 86th minute when a shot from Adam Marriott was parried by Brendan Moore only for substitute Harry Anderson to score from the rebound.
The home side then secured their fifth successive victory two minutes later when Sam Habergham fired a free-kick into the top corner.
Lincoln dominated the first half and Gulls keeper Brendan Moore had to be on his toes twice to deny Jack Muldoon, although at the other end Paul Farman made a brilliant save to keep out a corner at the near post.
Match report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Lincoln City 2, Torquay United 1.
Second Half ends, Lincoln City 2, Torquay United 1.
Substitution, Torquay United. Brett Williams replaces Myles Anderson.
Substitution, Torquay United. Shaun Harrad replaces Ruairi Keating.
Goal!  Lincoln City 2, Torquay United 1. Sam Habergham (Lincoln City).
Goal!  Lincoln City 1, Torquay United 1. Harry Anderson (Lincoln City).
Substitution, Torquay United. Ben Gerring replaces Damon Lathrope.
Goal!  Lincoln City 0, Torquay United 1. Ruairi Keating (Torquay United).
Harry Anderson (Lincoln City) is shown the yellow card.
Substitution, Lincoln City. Adam Marriott replaces Jack Muldoon.
Substitution, Lincoln City. Harry Anderson replaces Josh Ginnelly.
Substitution, Lincoln City. Elliot Whitehouse replaces Billy Knott.
Second Half begins Lincoln City 0, Torquay United 0.
First Half ends, Lincoln City 0, Torquay United 0.
Ruairi Keating (Torquay United) is shown the yellow card.
Shaun Harrad (Torquay United) is shown the yellow card.
Myles Anderson (Torquay United) is shown the yellow card.
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.