Elliott Johnson, 21, and has taken more than 40 witness statements, it said.
The inquiry will last into 2016.
Cabinet minister Grant Shapps resigned over allegations he failed to act on claims of bullying while co-chairman.
Claim

The Conservative Party has urged anyone with information about claims of bullying within a Tory youth wing to get in touch with its investigation.

Article: The National College for Teaching and Leadership panel was told children at Tollgate Primary School in Bury St Edmunds could regularly be heard "shouting or crying" from the rooms.
Alison Earl admitted leaving children in the rooms, but denied it was for an "inappropriate" amount of time.
The education secretary is to rule on what disciplinary action she will face.
The hearing heard, under Mrs Earl's leadership, staff would put children into solitary confinement for bad behaviour.
It was heard staff would hold the handle from outside so children could not get out.
The handle was then moved higher up the door so the children could not reach it, the panel was told.
In summer 2015, a second room, known as the "blue room", was created.
It was about 2m (7ft) by 1.5m (5ft) and teachers could not observe it from the main corridor.
A few children were put into solitary confinement in this room, the panel was told.
Mrs Earl said she expected staff to supervise children who were put into solitary confinement, but the panel said it had no evidence to support her claim.
The 55-year-old, however, did admit putting children at risk.
The panel said Mrs Earl had shown a "lack of insight into the impact of the room upon the wellbeing and safety of pupils and a disregard for the law and guidance".
Mrs Earl had been the head teacher at the school between 2014 and 2015. She resigned in December 2015 after an investigation was carried out.

Summary: A head teacher who punished children by locking them in rooms has been found guilty of unprofessional conduct.
###
Article: Gareth Stephenson, 25, of Reading, was found guilty of six counts following a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.
He was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years.
Offences included sexual assault on a male under 13. They took place when he was a pupil at Stanbridge Earls School, Hampshire, and in Aberystwyth.
Hayley Porter-Straw, of the Crown Prosecution, said: "This was a complex case where the defendant abused children over a period of 10 years.
"Gareth Stephenson was himself a vulnerable adult who suffers from ADHD. It is disturbing that he started abusing children when he was a child aged 11."
She added: "When he was aged 15 he started abusing young fellow pupils, some of whom were two years younger than him. He would bribe them and punch them if they refused to submit to his sexual requests."
When he was 18, Stephenson sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy when he went back to Wales.
He was given a 12-month supervision order and was ordered to do 175 hours of unpaid work.
During the trial he was found not guilty of a further three counts of sexual activity with a male child under 16.
Stephenson, of Anstey Road, Reading, was sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court.
Stanbridge Earls closed in 2014. The independent school, which once commanded fees of Â£40,000 a year, taught 191 boarding and day pupils with special needs, aged from 10 to 19.
He will be on the sexual offender register for 10 years and has received a sexual harm prevention order for five years.

Summary: A former pupil of a special-needs school has been given a suspended sentence after being convicted of sexual offences.
###
Article: A new law comes into force in April which makes is compulsory for all dogs to be tagged.
It is hoped this will help to trace lost or stolen dogs and hold irresponsible owners to account.
Microchipping dogs is a quick procedure which involves putting a tiny device between the animal's shoulders.
It can then be easily scanned to show up basic information about the dog, such as who its owner is.
Microchipping will be offered for free at many vets across the country and some animal charities such as the Dogs Trust rehoming centres in Glasgow and West Calder.
About two-thirds of dogs in Scotland have already been microchipped voluntarily.
Owners who do not comply by April could face a fine of up to Â£500.
A public consultation in 2014 showed that more than 83% of those who took part favoured making microchipping compulsory.
The new law is set to be introduced in England and Wales at the same time.

Summary: Dog owners in Scotland are being urged to get their animals microchipped in the new year.
###
Article: The Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, said property values were up 9.7% in February compared with a year ago, but down slightly on January.
The Nationwide Building Society said house price growth remained "steady".
Demand outstripping the number of homes on the market is pushing up house prices, surveys suggest.
The Halifax said that house prices in the three months to the end of February were up 3% compared with the previous three months.
The annual rate of change of 9.7% was unchanged, with the average home valued at Â£209,495. The Halifax added that property prices were down 1.4% in February compared with January.
"Prices continue to rise at a robust pace driven by a significant imbalance between supply and demand. Whilst this position is likely to continue over the coming months, there are some tentative signs that the supply situation may be beginning to improve," said Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist.
"Further ahead, increasing affordability issues, as house price increases continue to exceed wage growth, are likely to curb housing demand and cause price growth to ease."
Separately, the latest report from the Nationwide said that house prices rose 0.3% in February from the month before.
That was the same month-on-month rate as in January, but was sharply slower than December's increase of 0.8%.
However, the annual growth rate picked up to 4.8%, compared with the figure of 4.4% the previous month.
The average price of a property is now Â£196,930, the Nationwide said.
The building society also said that the number of mortgages approved went up sharply in January to nearly 75,000.
This compared with about 71,000 approvals in December and was the highest number for two years.
"However, much of the increase is likely to be related to the impending increase in stamp duty on second homes, which is due to take effect in April," said the Nationwide's chief economist, Robert Gardner.
"This is likely to have brought forward a significant number of purchases, which in turn will probably result in a fall...

Summary: UK house prices continue to rise at a "robust pace", the Halifax has said - a position echoed by the latest figures from a rival lender.
###
Article: The party is conducting an inquiry into the death of youth activist Elliott Johnson, 21, and has taken more than 40 witness statements, it said.
Tory chairman Lord Feldman is a witness and the inquiry will last into 2016.
Cabinet minister Grant Shapps resigned over allegations he failed to act on claims of bullying while co-chairman.
Claims of bullying have centred around Mark Clarke - a Tory activist who ran the party's RoadTrip campaign, bussing election volunteers around the country.
Before his death in September, Mr Johnson had complained to Conservative Central Office that Mr Clarke had threatened to destroy his career. He also named Mr Clarke in a letter found by his parents after his death.
Mr Clarke has rejected allegations of bullying, sexual assault and intimidation. He has since been expelled from the party.
On Saturday, Mr Shapps resigned as international development minister, saying the "buck stops with me" regarding issues while he was party co-chairman.
The party has launched an independent inquiry into the allegations, saying it remains "absolutely determined" to establish the truth of the events surrounding Mr Johnson's death.
It says an independent lawyer will also prepare a report on the allegations.
The party has urged anyone with information relating to events surrounding the death of Mr Johnson, or the activities of Mr Clarke, to get in touch with it "as soon as possible".
It comes as Mr Johnson's father has called on Lord Feldman - who was co-chairman with Mr Shapps until May and now holds the role alone - to also resign.
Lord Feldman is "a witness" in the party's investigation but "is not otherwise participating in the process", the Tories added.
The Tory peer retains the "full confidence" of Prime Minister David Cameron, Downing Street has said.

Summary:


A-level results day is a day of mixed emotions for students.
Some are relieved to have passed their exams, while others are disappointed.
But for some, the day is a reminder of the sacrifices they have made to get to this point.
A-level results day is a day of mixed emotions for

More than 400 people have attended a meeting to oppose plans for a supermarket.

Article: The Make-A-Wish Foundation transformed nine-year-old Domenic Pace into Iron Boy for the day on Thursday.
Iron Boy defeated his arch-nemesis Ultron on the steps of the Sydney Opera House as hundreds of bystanders cheered him on.
Earlier he had saved Make-A-Wish Foundation's reporter Hope Joy from Ultron's henchmen.
Domenic travelled by helicopter to police headquarters and later rode a police speedboat to Clark Island to rescue Ms Joy.
Speaking to Sydney radio station 2GB, Domenic described the helicopter ride as "awesome".
Iron Boy received celebrity support from Robert Downey Jr, the actor who plays Tony Stark, his alter ego, in the Iron Man and Avengers films.
"Sent a very special boy on a top secret mission today. Go get 'em, Domenic," the actor tweeted.
He also posted a video on Youtube, in character as Tony Stark to tell Domenic he had been formally inducted into The Avengers, the superhero collective led by Iron Man.
"I hear you've had quite the day. It's hard work saving the world, isn't it," he said. "Iron Man loves you."
The San Francisco branch of Make-A-Wish made global headlines in 2013 when it turned leukaemia sufferer Miles Scott into Bat Kid and had him battle The Riddler at Union Square.

Summary: A young Australian boy with cystic fibrosis has been given the chance to save Sydney from a super villain.
###
Article: Researchers now believe Geoffrey of Monmouth's The History of the Kings of Britain was penned at St George's chapel, before it was demolished to make way for Oxford Castle.
Deeds from the time have revealed the Welsh scholar was serving canon there when writing the chronicle in 1136.
Professor Helen Fulton called it an "exciting" find.
Charters and deeds dating from 1129 to 1151 signed by Geoffrey and countersigned by the Archdeacon of Oxford have been analysed by experts.
The mythical figure of Arthur as a 5th Century military commander, leading the Britons into battle against the invading Saxons, has proved impossible for historians to verify.
The only contemporary source, The Ruin and Conquest of Britain by the British monk and historian Gildas (c.500-70), does not mention Arthur at all.
Some scholars have suggested Ambrosius Aurelianus, a Romano-British war hero described by the the 6th Century historian Gildas, may have been the real Arthur.
Others say Lucius Artorius Castus, a 2nd or 3rd Century Roman military commander, may have formed the basis of the Arthurian myth.
However, historians such as Michael Wood believe Arthur was an amalgam of heroic figures from Celtic mythology - a basis that has, nonetheless, barely dented his legacy.
The Scottish roots of Merlin the Welsh wizard
What's behind the legend of King Arthur?
The chapel was a teaching base for Oxford students, and Geoffrey indicates in the paperwork his profession as a "magister" - meaning teacher.
Prof Fulton, a professor of medieval literature at the University of York and an expert in Arthurian literature, called it a "new piece of the jigsaw in the quest to trace the origins of the Arthurian legends".
"He would have been based there when he wrote his famous Latin chronicle, Historia Regum Britanniae," she said.
"It was Geoffrey who introduced the figures of King Arthur and Merlin to a wide medieval readership and paved the way for the enormous popularity of the Arthurian legends in later centuries, right up to modern times."
According to...

Summary: A medieval tome which popularised the story of King Arthur is thought to have been written in a lost Oxford chapel.
###
Article: Aereo uses thousands of tiny antennas to pick-up TV signals and transmit them to subscribers who pay as little as $8 (Â£5) a month for the service.
Major US broadcasters, including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS, had sued over the firm's business model.
But the court ruled that Aereo must pay broadcasters when it streams TV.
The US Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday by a 6-3 vote that Aereo Inc is violating broadcasters' copyrights by taking the signals for free.
It means television networks can still collect huge fees from satellite and cable systems for their programmes.
Aereo offered its service for subscribers to watch on smartphones and other portable devices.
It is available in New York, Boston, Atlanta and some other major US cities.
The firm argued each antenna is only used by one subscriber at a time which meant it was similar to a viewer using an antenna at home to watch freely available over-the-air broadcasts.
In an opinion written by Justice Stephen Breyer, the court ruled Aereo's service was not distinct from what cable and satellite companies offered.
"Aereo is not simply an equipment provider... Aereo sells a service that allows subscribers to watch television programs, many of which are copyrighted, almost as they are being broadcast," he wrote.
Justice Breyer noted that the decision did not intend to call other technologies, including cloud computing, into question.
In the dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote while he felt what Aereo does "ought not to be allowed", he worried the decision was distorting federal copyright law to come to that conclusion, saying the decision was based on the "shakiest of foundations".
In a statement, Aereo chief executive Chet Kanojia called the ruling a "massive setback for the American consumer".
"Consumer access to free-to-air broadcast television is an essential part of our country's fabric," saying it was "meaningful" for more than 60 million Americans.
"Free-to-air broadcast television should not be available only to those who can afford to pay for the cable...

Summary: The US Supreme Court has ruled against Aereo in a landmark case that pit the start-up TV company against some of the biggest US broadcasters.
###
Article: The University and College Admissions Service says 6,910 students were matched with places through clearing.
This leaves 154,850 students still looking for a university place.
With the student numbers cap lifted this year, experts say universities are competing with each other for students.
Mark Bramwell, Associate Director of Sixth Form Colleges, said: "This year it's the universities who are competing, rather than the students, with increased use of unconditional offers, a 2% increase in students getting their first choice and extensive use of bursaries."
"Universities still have places to fill, and many will accept students who may have only missed the grade by a small margin," he added.
Last year nearly one in eight students were eventually placed through the clearing system.
Staff at Ucas staff had a busy day on Thursday as A-level results were released and collected by students.
It said that by 18:30:
The top three course searches on the Ucas website were for courses in law, economics and psychology.

Summary: Some 426,070 students have gained places at UK universities since their A-level results were released on Thursday - up 4% on the previous year, official statistics show.
###
Article: They voted unanimously to ask pub firm Punch Taverns to not allow The Corn Exchange pub in Crickhowell to be turned into a convenience store.
The town has only one national chain - Boots chemist - while all other businesses are family run and independent.
Last week 200 people attended a protest over the plan.
The final decision on the application will be taken by Brecon Beacons National Park Authority.
Neither the park authority nor Punch Taverns were represented at the meeting.

Summary:

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The overall student loan debt for Welsh students has reached £3.7bn, new figures show.

Article: The study commissioned by NHS Kidney Care says it causes up to 45,000 premature deaths each year, more than lung and breast cancer combined.
An improved approach could help many people to lead better lives and save the NHS money, it adds.
The report says 1.8m people in England have been diagnosed, but suggests there are one million undetected cases.
The disease, also known as CKD, is where the kidneys become less effective at filtering waste products from blood.
The study has been published in the journal Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation and its findings are drawn from NHS data and economic modelling based on clinical studies.
The paper, "Chronic Kidney Disease in England: The Human and Financial Cost", concludes that CKD costs the NHS in England more than Â£1.4bn a year.
The author, Marion Kerr, said better diagnosis and early treatment - particularly from GPs - could make a big difference.
"Chronic kidney disease has a much greater impact on people's lives, and on NHS costs, than is generally recognised," she said.
Her paper says nearly half the spending goes on dialysis or transplantation, yet this accounted for only 2% of all patients diagnosed with CKD.
Ms Kerr said failure to detect the disease meant many people did not get the lifestyle advice and treatment they needed.
"Most of the spending on CKD is for people with advanced disease. We hope this report will focus attention on the need for early detection and intervention, to reduce the human and financial cost of advanced kidney disease."
Dr Charlie Tonson, chairman of the Royal College of Physicians renal medicine committee, said chronic kidney disease was an important public health problem.
"Patients with early kidney disease are particularly likely to benefit from lifestyle changes and drug treatments aimed at the risk factors for heart disease and strokes, as these will help reduce the risk of progressive kidney disease," he said.
Dr Donal O'Donoghue, national clinical director for Kidney Care, described the report as a "wake-up call" for...

Summary: An NHS report has called for better detection and earlier treatment to help tackle chronic kidney disease.
###
Article: Some 90% of shoppers in England now use their own carrier bags, research for Cardiff University has suggested - up from 70% before the levy was introduced. This follows similar results in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
So could similar charges be applied to other items to help the environment?
Elena Sautkina, an expert in environmental psychology, believes that there is a "window of opportunity" to bring in further potential charges against plastic.
"Our research shows people are sensitive right now to the plastic waste arguments," she told the BBC News website.
Dr Sautkina, who was one of the academics behind Cardiff University's research, says bringing in a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles could be one of those ways.
Her research has shown that since the plastic bag charge was introduced public opinion in England has grown towards introducing a similar scheme for plastic bottles.
She surveyed a representative group of people spanning England, Wales and Scotland one month before the 5p bag charge was introduced, a month afterwards, and six months afterwards.
Her results saw what she termed as "strong support" for a plastic bottle deposit scheme grow over time in all three countries - from 33% to 39% in England, 44% to 50% in Wales and from 25% to 34% in Scotland.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has also called for a bottle deposit return system.
Samantha Harding, litter programme director at CPRE, told the BBC News website that in Germany 98.5% percent of bottles are recycled, and the UK needed to be more "ambitious about what it can achieve".
"Some are opposed [to a deposit system] because they fear bottles will cost more. But a bottle deposit is like any other deposit: it is money that you get back. As long as you return your bottle, you don't pay any more for it."
A spokesman for the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: "There remain significant uncertainties regarding the potential impacts and benefits of a deposit and return scheme. We continue to...

Summary: A 5p charge for plastic bags in large stores was introduced in England a year ago next week, and research suggests it's had positive environmental effects with usage radically reduced.
###
Article: The average annual comprehensive policy cost £462 in the last three months of 2016, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
Previously the highest figure was £443 in the spring of 2012.
The rise comes in spite of government attempts to limit compensation payments and cut court costs.
One reason for the increase is a rise in the cost of repairing cars that have been in accidents, because of their increasingly sophisticated electronics.
Buying in spare parts is also getting more expensive, due to the weakness of sterling.
The average repair bill has risen by 32% over the last three years to £1,678, the ABI said.
The ABI warned that premiums were likely to increase further, if the government went ahead with plans to review the so-called discount rate.
When accident victims are given a lump sum in compensation, the sum is discounted to make up for the extra investment return they are likely to receive.
Since 2001 the discount rate has been 2.5% - based on investment returns from government bonds.
If that rate is reduced, insurance companies will have to pay out more - thus increasing premiums.
"The sudden decision to review the discount rate has the potential to turn a drama into a crisis, with a significant cut throwing fuel on the fire in terms of premiums," said Rob Cummings, the ABI's head of motor and liability.
The government said it would make an announcement as soon as possible.
"The Lord Chancellor has decided to review the discount rate to ensure personal injury claimants are fairly compensated," said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice.
"Due to ongoing consultation it is not yet possible to announce the review's outcome."
How to get the cheapest car insurance
Men 'pay £101 more' for car insurance
Whiplash plans 'will cut insurance bills'
The cost of insurance has also risen because of a series of increases to Insurance Premium Tax (IPT).
IPT went up from 6% to 9.5% in 2015, to 10% in 2016, and will rise to 12% in June 2017.
Personal injury claims, such as whiplash, have also...

Summary: Car insurance premiums in the UK have hit a record high, partly because cars' increasingly complex electronics have made repairs more expensive.
###
Article: Hussein Sharaf's car overturned on the M4 two weeks ago and five-month-old Bruno was thrown into the road.
The 22-year-old said he had lost hope of finding his pet after an initial search proved fruitless.
But the pair have now been reunited thanks to determined volunteers from social media groups and pet websites.
The tabby-Bengal mix was spotted by a member of the public on Wednesday next to the motorway in Wiltshire.
He was said to be "hungry but OK".
Mr Sharaf's car crashed into the central reservation near Royal Wootton Bassett, launching the cat carrier into the middle lane of the motorway.
A policeman told the software developer he had seen the animal "flee in fear".
After his release from hospital, Mr Sharaf was joined by members of 'lost and found' websites and Facebook groups in the search for the missing cat.
But he said it was "like searching for a needle in a haystack" and he reluctantly returned to his home in London.
However, volunteers continued the search and put up posters until Bruno was spotted 12 days later by motorist Lee Palmer.
"I'd been looking out for him daily on my journey home... and managed to stop and coax him towards me," he said.
"I got him home and fed him as he was skin and bone as he'd clearly not been eating."
Mr Sharaf added: "It just goes to show that there are such amazing people in this world.
"Not just Lee but all the lovely volunteers who went out looking for him."

Summary: A kitten which was flung from a car in a motorway crash has been reunited with its owner after a public appeal.
###
Article: Data shows that the total tuition fee and maintenance loan balance is up 12% on the previous year's figures.
Graduates start repaying their debt once their income reaches £21,000 but after 30 years outstanding debt is written off.
For those repaying loans in 2017 the average sum owed at the start of repayment was £19,280.
That compares with £32,220 for English students, £20,990 for Northern Irish students and £11,740 for Scottish students who do not pay fees if they study in Scotland.
The figures come from the Student Loans Company and cover 2016/17.
Welsh domiciled students have been able to claim a grant towards their tuition fees since 2012-13 - a sum of £4,954 in 2017-18.
But the grants are due to be scrapped from 2018-19 with help for maintenance costs introduced instead, under plans unveiled last year.
At the end of 2016-17 there were 304,900 borrowers of higher education student loans in Wales, with 191,100 liable for repayment.
As of the end of April 2017 there are 41,430 borrowers who had fully repaid, amounting to 16.4% of the overall total.
The data covers Welsh domiciled students studying in higher education in the UK and EU students studying in Wales.

Summary:


The UK's credit rating agency has warned that the country's economy could be hit by a "significant" downgrade if the Brexit vote goes ahead.
Article: The UK's credit rating agency has warned that the country's economy could be hit by a "significant" downgrade if the Brexit vote goes ahead.
Summary:

Moody's, one of the big three credit ratings agencies, has cut its outlook for the UK economy from "stable" to "negative".

Article: A staff member at the Oregon Humane Society (OHS), in Portland, where she is being cared for, knitted the sweater to help one-year-old Silky stay warm.
The hamster was born hairless due to a genetic mutation, except for short curly whiskers on her snout.
"She does need to be kept in a heated environment," especially in winter, said Diana Gabaldon from the OHS.
"While she isn't fluffy like a normal hamster, she is just as cuddly and playful as any other hamster," Ms Gabaldon added.
Silky's owners had left her with the Humane Society when they were moving house and realised they could no longer care for her.
The Oregon Human Society said on its website that Silky spends majority of her time in a "warm, clean habitat, with fresh bedding, food and water, and a wheel to run on."
She wears the sweater for special occasions, the society said.
Silky is also being treated for an eye infection. She will be available for adoption soon.

Summary: A tiny hairless hamster in the US state of Oregon will keep warm this winter after getting a custom-made sweater.
###
Article: Andrew RT Davies was asked on Tuesday about the party's policy on introducing minimum funding for Wales.
The Tories have denied any confusion over a funding floor being dependent on a referendum on income tax powers.
Mr Davies said there was "nothing to clarify" but admitted he had not read the UK manifesto as he was "not interested" in it.
The UK Conservative manifesto said the introduction of a funding floor was dependent on the assembly holding a referendum on devolving some powers to vary rates of income tax.
But a party spokesman later said there was only an "expectation" an income tax referendum will be held, a position then restated in the party's Welsh manifesto.
Mr Davies was asked to clarify the situation at a media briefing in the Senedd on Tuesday.
He said: "There's nothing to clarify, it's in the manifesto. Our manifesto.
"I haven't read the London one because I'm not interested in the London one.
"It's the Wales one I'm interested in.
"That's the one I endorse, that's the one that's relevant to the people of Wales."

Summary: The leader of the Welsh Conservatives admits he has not read the party's UK manifesto for the general election.
###
Article: Sarah Brennan, 36, from Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan, gave birth to Eryn in September.
She was born seven weeks premature, weighing 3lb 11oz (1.7kg).
Mrs Brennan and her husband Mark have thanked the special care baby unit (SCBU) at Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, where Eryn spent three weeks.
The couple had just been placed on the IVF waiting list when they found out Mrs Brennan was pregnant.
But her waters broke in her 29th week of pregnancy and she spent two weeks being closely monitored in Singleton Hospital, Swansea.
She returned home but had an emergency Caesarean on 30 September at Princess of Wales Hospital as the baby was in a breech position.
Mrs Brennan, who works as a project manager at RAF St Athan, said: "Although Eryn was born nearly two months early she is a right little bouncer now.
"You would never think she was a premature baby."
Mrs Brennan's employer has donated Â£500 to the SCBU.

Summary: A woman who gave birth to a baby girl after suffering 10 miscarriages is preparing to celebrate her child's first birthday.
###
Article: The company had originally said conversations within Allo would be only temporarily stored on its servers, restricting the authorities' ability to request access.
However, the Verge news site revealed that Google now holds on to the data unless users take active measures to stop it.
Google has confirmed the U-turn.
Privacy campaigners say the public must be kept informed about how their records are handled.
"It's important that citizens are given enough information about what will happen to their data for them make an informed choice about whether or not they want to use this service," said Daniel Nesbitt, research director at Big Brother Watch.
"This includes who may be able to access it and where the data will be stored".
Allo was first announced at the Google IO event in May.
At the time, it said chat records would be "transiently" stored on its servers.
This was required to provide the app's standout feature - the inclusion of the Google Assistant, a tool that provides context-relevant suggestions.
For example, if two people are discussing Italian food, the Assistant can be asked within the conversation to give details of nearby restaurants or how to prepare a dish.
Google's support documents state that a user can opt to wipe their chat history and add that it holds onto people's data to provide them with "a more personalised experience".
But when first asked, the firm was unable to clarify whether it had abandoned plans to delete chats without being prompted.
Allo itself handled privacy queries by providing a link to the Verge.
However, a spokeswoman later confirmed the change of policy.
"We've given users transparency and control over their data in Google Allo," she told the BBC.
"Our approach is simple - your chat history is saved for you until you choose to delete it. You can delete single messages or entire conversations."
Allo does offer an Incognito mode -  which encrypts the chats in a form that prevents the Assistant listening in or the authorities being able to get an unscrambled copy - but this...

Summary: Google has launched its new chat app with weaker privacy protection measures than previously promised.
###
Article: Credit rating agencies, in essence, rate a country on the strength of its economy.
More specifically, they score governments (or large companies) on how likely they are to pay back their debt.
A rating affects how much it costs governments to borrow money in the international financial markets. In theory, a high credit rating means a lower interest rate (and vice versa).
This is because of concerns at the impact that leaving the European Union may have on the UK economy. Moody's warned that the referendum result may have "negative implications for the country's medium-term growth outlook".
In addition to Moody's, the other two main credit rating agencies are Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.
All three are private companies, not government agencies. Moody's and Standard & Poor's both have their headquarters in New York, while Fitch has two official HQs, one in New York and the other in London.
Each agency gives countries around the world a specific credit rating score. These range from a top mark of "AAA", which stands for "prime", down to the lowest reading of "D", which stands for "in default".
In between there are scores such as "BBB" or "CC". Moody's has at total of 21 ratings.
The agencies also give outlook-assessments. These are either "positive", "stable", or "negative". They indicate whether the agency in question thinks it may soon raise its rating (positive), downgrade it (negative), or leave it the same (stable) for the country in question.
In the case of Moody's and the UK, the agency currently scores the UK at "Aa1", the second highest rating on its scale, which stands for "high grade".
Yet, while Moody's previously saw no change to that Aa1 rating, it has now warned that it may lower it.
A country's credit rating can affect how much it costs a governments to borrow money on the global markets.
More specifically, the worse a nation's credit rating, the more likely it is that the country in question has to offer a higher rate of return on its bonds in other to persuade people and financial...

Summary:


Abertay University's computer gaming courses have been ranked the best in Europe for the third consecutive year in an annual college admissions survey.

Article: Around 19.3 million people - 33% - were in poverty at least once, compared with 25% of people across the EU, the Office for National Statistics found.
But only 7.8% were defined as being in "persistent income poverty" in 2013 - less than half the 15.9% EU average.
Pensioners and single parent families were found to struggle the most.
The ONS records someone as being in poverty if they live in a household with disposable income below 60% of the national average, before housing costs.
Persistent poverty is defined as being in poverty in the current year and at least two of the three preceding years.
Summing up the findings, the ONS said: "Studies reveal that although some people are stuck in poverty, the majority of 'the poor' consist of a constantly changing group of different individuals."
The report added that although "poverty persists only for a relatively small minority, evidence suggests that those who have already been in poverty are more likely to experience poverty again in the future than those who have never been in poverty".
19.3m
people experienced poverty for at least one year between 2010-13
4.6m
were in persistent poverty - for three of the past four years
60% of single parent households experienced poverty between 2010-13
40% of those aged 65+ experienced poverty between 2010-13
13th  highest poverty rate in EU
The UK ranked 13th out of the 28 EU member states for "overall poverty" - the proportion of people falling below the poverty line at some point during the four-year period. The ranking was topped by Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Spain.
The country with lowest overall poverty levels was the Czech Republic, followed by the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark.
But since comparable figures were first made available in 2008, the UK has consistently had a persistent poverty rate lower than the EU average.
The UK ranked 20th, with only the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Slovakia and Slovenia recording better results.
Jonathan Cribb, research economist at the...

Summary: Almost a third of the UK population fell below the official poverty line at some point between 2010 and 2013, figures show.
###
Article: Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Intel's chief executive Brian Krzanich urged the "entire industry" to follow suit.
Gold, tungsten and other minerals used in electronics manufacturing are mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and surrounding countries.
Production and trade of the materials are often controlled by armed groups.
Intel's policy comes after increased international pressure for technology firms to investigate the sources of their raw minerals.
The company, which is the world's largest chipmaker and has factories around the world, says all the microprocessors it ships in 2014 will be "conflict free".
Most electronic devices contain either gold, tantalum, tin, or tungsten, much of which originates from sub-Saharan Africa and is mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses.
In 2010, US President Barack Obama introduced a law requiring public companies to report whether their products contained minerals from these areas.
Mr Krzanich, who took over as the head of Intel last year, told the audience at CES that the company had been trying to determine the sources of the metals used in its chips for some years.
"We felt an obligation to implement changes in our supply chain to ensure that our business and our products were not inadvertently funding human atrocities," he said.
The company is already a member of the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative run by the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, which encourages environmental and ethical responsibility.
"This is not an issue we would normally be talking about at CES. But it's an issue that is important to me," Mr Krzanich said.
"You begin to think about the impact of the supply chain and the potential issues you can be causing."
At the same keynote session, Intel also announced it would be scrapping the McAfee anti-virus brand name and replacing it with Intel Security.
The move is intended to sever the connection to the software's eponymous founder, John McAfee, who has been mired in legal...

Summary: Intel will no longer use minerals mined in conflict zones to build its microprocessors, the company has said.
###
Article: Tom George's eight-year-old won the Melling Chase at Aintree following the shock fall of the Willie Mullins-trained superstar Vautour.
The pair did battle once more in this two-mile Grade One and God's Own beat Vautour by two lengths.
Simonsig ran a fantastic race to finish in third.
Vautour was unsurprisingly a warm order to get back on the winning trail as the 4-9 favourite.
With Special Tiara adopting his customary front-running role, Vautour and God's Own sat in his slipstream.
They were just ahead of the talented but fragile Simonsig, on his first start since November and his first outing over fences in over three years.
The leading quartet pulled clear from the home turn and there was little to choose between all four jumping the second-last fence.
God's Own and Simonsig looked set to fight it out jumping the final obstacle and it was Paddy Brennan's mount who found most to win, while Vautour stayed on to grab the runner-up spot.
"For the first mile I had no control and I just let him go, but to be fair he came back then and I filled him up. He was awesome," said Brennan.
"It's great to ride a big one on my home turf. This is where I'm from and it's a proud day."
Analysis
Cornelius Lysaght, BBC horse racing correspondent:
"An emphatic success for God's Own who beat Vautour fair and square here. Despite his recent Aintree win and this second Grade One victory at Punchestown, the winner is one of those - and it happens in all sports - that is clearly good, but you feel has never entirely got the credit he deserves.
"Maybe it's because he's never done it at Cheltenham, but this was terrific. Vautour didn't jump like he can, and requires further than two miles, while Simonsig, racing for only the second time in over three years, ran a stormer."

Summary: God's Own followed up his recent success at Aintree with a 9-1 victory over the odds on favourite Vautour in the Champion Chase at Punchestown.
###
Article: The celebrity - known in court as PJS - is appealing against an appeal court ruling lifting a ban on him being named in the media in England and Wales.
The Supreme Court said the hearing was over and it would reserve judgement.
An injunction granted by the Court of Appeal remained in force, it added.
Earlier this year, the Sun on Sunday wanted to publish an account of the man's alleged extra-marital activities, but he argued that he had a right to privacy and took legal action.
On Monday, three Court of Appeal judges ruled that the injunction should be lifted.
Lawyers for News Group Newspapers, publishers of the tabloid, had successfully argued that the ban should go because the man has been named in articles abroad and his identity could be found on the internet.
Supreme Court president Lord Neuberger announced at the conclusion of Thursday's legal argument that the court would "take time to consider this matter".
The panel of five justices would give their decision "as soon as we can", he added.

Summary: A decision over an injunction taken out by a celebrity to keep an extra-marital relationship out of the media will be announced at "a later date", the Supreme Court has said.
###
Article: The Princeton Review survey also placed Abertay ninth in the world for its postgraduate gaming courses.
The university was the first in the world in 1997 to offer degree level qualifications in computer games development.
The Princeton Review surveyed 150 institutions offering game design.
The University of Malta was the only other European institution to make either list, coming in at 23rd for postgraduate courses.
Prof Gregor White, head of Abertay's school of arts, media and computer games, said:  "To be featured so highly in this prestigious ranking for a third consecutive year is testament to the hard work, dedication and excellence of my colleagues in the school and across the university.
"To make advances in both lists is an incredible achievement and is particularly pleasing in this anniversary year."
The survey included questions about academic offerings and faculty credentials to their graduates' starting salaries and employment experience.
Princeton Review editor in chief Robert Franek said: "Game design is an exciting field and programmes are springing up in colleges all over the world.
"As we continue to help students find the best programme for their needs and interests, we strongly recommend Abertay and each of the other schools that made our 2017 ranking lists."

Summary:


The US president has said he is "not a racist" and has called for the removal of a statue of a slave owner.
Article: The US president has said he is "not a racist" and has called for the removal of a statue of a slave owner.
Summary: The US president has said he

President Donald Trump's argument that the removal of Confederate statues is a slippery slope to changing history has recharged the perennial debate about America's tormented racial legacy.

Article: The operator is the first in the UK to make compensation payments automatically by cheque. This will apply to delayed passengers on the east and west coast.
Since July, all rail passengers have been entitled to request money back.
Virgin's move has been welcomed by consumer groups.
"Passengers are rightly frustrated by the significant barriers that exist when claiming compensation for train delays and cancellations, so it is good to see Virgin Trains setting the pace by offering cash as the default option for compensation," said Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?.
"We would urge all train operating companies to act quickly to implement this, and further changes, to improve the process for their customers."
Anthony Smith, chief executive at the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: "Passengers will be pleased to see Virgin Trains offering cash compensation as the first option. This is a positive step forward and we want to see more operators follow suit."
A system was launched in October whereby west coast travellers who buy Advance tickets through Virgin Train's website receive money directly on to their payment cards if they are entitled to compensation.
The latest move extends the compensation system to ensure all other delayed passengers are paid by cheque.
Compensation is based on the "Delay Repay" system, which is offered by around half of all train operators. Individual train companies offer different levels of compensation, but the best deals - including Virgin's - involve:
Graham Leech, group commercial director at Virgin Trains, said: "We always want to be on the side of passengers. That is why we wholly support the move to offer cash compensation as a first option to customers and why we were the first operator to introduce automatic delay repay.
"We're committed to making claiming compensation simpler and clearer for customers. We never want passengers to suffer delays or disruption but when things do go wrong we want to put it right."
The announcement comes the day after rail...

Summary: Delayed passengers on Virgin Trains are to receive compensation in the form of money back, rather than travel vouchers.
###
Article: The latest results, published in 2013 from tests taken in 2012, showed that the highest performers were in Asian countries.
It showed the UK failing to make progress on previous tests and there was more attention for Shanghai's top results.
It raised questions about the long hours of study in countries such as South Korea and showed how the global education map is changing.

Summary: The OECD's Pisa rankings compare the test results of 15 year olds in countries and regional education systems.
###
Article: Unwashed and still soiled with stains, the pants were worn beneath one of Presley's famous white jumpsuits during a performance in 1977.
The light blue briefs will go under the hammer at an auction of Elvis Presley pop memorabilia in Stockport, Greater Manchester, next month.
Presley died 35 years ago this month, on August 16 1977.
There is expected to be a lot of interest in the auction from his fans from across the globe.
The singer did not want any lines visible while he was on stage and this pair of underwear was obtained from the estate of Vernon Presley, the star's father.
Also up for sale is his personal Holy Bible, which is expected to raise up to £25,000.
The bible was given to Presley on his first Christmas at Graceland in 1957 and used throughout his life.
It contains his handwritten notes, thoughts, annotations and underlining throughout.
Poignantly, one of the many lines emphasised by the entertainer states: "What is a man advantaged if he gain the whole world and lose himself or be cast away."
Also on sale is 16mm film footage taken from Priscilla Presley's own personal home movies of the singer, especially of their holidays and their daughter Lisa.
It also includes footage of their wedding and the very first time Elvis and Priscilla brought their daughter home to Graceland from the hospital, Christmas inside Graceland and other special family moments.
The auction will be streamed live from the Omega Auctions website on 8 September.

Summary: A pair of Elvis Presley's underpants are expected to reach up to £10,000 when they are sold at auction.
###
Article: The group was created by holding company Airline Investments Limited (AIL), which has taken control of bmi regional.
AIL is owned by entrepreneurs Stephen and Peter Bond, who are also behind Glasgow Airport-based Loganair.
The combined group has 46 aircraft, flying 47 routes across 10 countries in Europe.
Its annual turnover is about Â£200m and it employs a total of 960 people.
AIL said the consolidation of the two airlines under one holding company would provide "natural efficiencies and economies of scale".
Each carrier will continue to operate as a distinct business and brand.
Bmi regional operates an all-jet fleet comprising 18 Embraer 135 and 145 aircraft.
Its registered office and operations control is located at Aberdeen Airport.
Loganair operates 28 aircraft and connects Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles to destinations in Scotland.
It also provides other regional air links from its operational bases at Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Kirkwall and Norwich.
The airline is a franchise partner of Flybe and a codeshare partner of British Airways.
The new group will by led by industry veteran Peter Simpson, former managing director of BA at Gatwick Airport and group managing director of bmi.
Mr Simpson said: "The opportunity to run the AIL Group, building on the turnaround programme at bmi regional and the continued success of Loganair, is very exciting.
"The AIL Group now has substantial size and reach; each brand has tremendous partnerships in their respective market.
"The two airlines operate in clear niche markets in vital roles such as feeding traffic to mainline carrier networks like Lufthansa, Brussels Airlines and British Airways, with Loganair operating a successful franchise with major regional carrier flybe.
"The opportunity now is to build on the synergies between the two sister airlines and deliver great benefits to our customers and partners alike."

Summary: Loganair and bmi regional are joining forces, following the creation of a new regional airline group.
###
Article: This article contains language that some readers may find offensive.
"So this week it's Robert E Lee," he said on Tuesday of the rebel general's monument that was a flashpoint for last Saturday's violent rally in Virginia.
"I wonder, is it George Washington next week?" he asked journalists at Trump Tower. "And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after?"
Let's put aside for a moment the irony that Lee may well have supported Charlottesville's plans to remove his bronze likeness, given that he urged the country to "obliterate the marks of civil strife" and refrain from erecting such monuments.
As President Trump pointed out, George Washington was a slaveholder.
So might the stone obelisk dedicated to the father of the nation, looming over the heart of his eponymous capital city, be the next battleground in the US culture wars?
Or even Mount Rushmore?
Washington conceded the system of human bondage that underpinned the economy of 18th Century Virginia was a "wicked, cruel and unnatural trade".
He was the only founding father and commander-in-chief to liberate his slaves - he owned more than 300 - when he died.
But as Ron Chernow's magisterial biography Washington: A Life makes clear, while he lived, the nation's first president extracted his pound of flesh from those whom he preferred to call his "servants", or "family".
Washington saw himself as a benevolent master, but he did not tolerate suspected shirkers on his farm, even when they were pregnant, elderly or crippled.
He once scolded a slave who pleaded that he could not work because his arm was in a sling.
As Chernow writes, Washington picked up a rake and demonstrated how to use it with one arm.
"If you use your hand to eat," he said, "why can't you use it to work?"
He was not averse to shipping refractory slaves to the West Indies, such as one man named Waggoner Jack, where the tropical climate and relentless toil in sugarcane brakes tended to abbreviate life expectancy.
"There are few Negroes who will work unless there be a constant eye on them," Washington...

Summary:


Boojum, the Belfast-based chain of burrito restaurants, has been sold.

Article: Pte Cheryl James was found dead from a bullet wound to her head at the Surrey barracks in 1995.
Neil Vousden was questioned about whether there were inconsistencies between his account and other evidence at an inquest in Woking.
He said he found the body with colleague Tyron Bancroft.
Mr Vousden said he made the discovery after being sent by his Provo sergeant to see why Pte James had left her guard duty at the barracks gate.
"We saw a waterproof camouflage jacket behind a bushed area," he said.
"Tyron Bancroft approached the location, I was behind him. Obviously we saw that it was a body.
"Bancroft leaned down behind the head and took the pulse. There was no life, no sign of life."
Pte James, 18, from Llangollen in Denbighshire, was one of four recruits to die at the base in seven years.
Mr Vousden said he had selected Pte James to man the gate because she was "a very responsible young lady".
He insisted he was not aware of orders in force at the time that female soldiers should not do lone guard duty.
Mr Vousden said he had driven Pte James to the gate, to start her duty at 06:55.  He then returned to the gate at about 08:20 a few minutes after it was reported unattended.
But Alison Foster QC, representing the James family, accused him of giving an untrue account to make himself look more efficient.
She said other witnesses reported Pte James had walked to her post and questioned him about why the log of her final duty "CJ stag" was missing.
"There's nothing about 'CJ stag' in these papers, it's difficult to avoid the conclusion that it was destroyed. Did you have anything to do with that?" Ms Foster asked.
Mr Vousden said: "No."
Ms Foster said his account "recorded what you ought to have done and what ought to have happened".
"It wasn't an account of what actually happened on the day of Cheryl's death was it?" she said.
Mr Vousden repeatedly denied the accusation and insisted he was trying to look more efficient but was telling the truth.
Who were the Deepcut four? Background to the deaths and timeline of...

Summary: An ex-military police officer who found the body of a soldier at Deepcut barracks has denied his account of events was inaccurate.
###
Article: The Bank, which is the main issuer of banknotes in the UK, said only about a quarter of cash in circulation is being used to buy and sell things.
Some is being hoarded, outside of bank accounts.
Much is held for travel money overseas or used illegally in the "shadow economy", the Bank said.
Banknotes with a value of £62.6bn were estimated to be in circulation at the end of July, according to the latest figures from the Bank.
That is the equivalent of £1,000 for every person in the country.
Recent industry figures showed that the number of cashless payments in the UK had overtaken the use of notes and coins for the first time. Card use, such as contactless payments, and digital transactions using smartphones are on the rise.
Yet, the value of banknotes in circulation has tripled over the last 20 years, according to the Bank's report.
"Over the next few years, consumers are likely to use cash for a smaller proportion of the payments they make," it said.
"Even so, overall demand is likely to remain resilient. Cash is not likely to die out any time soon."
48%
of payments made by consumers, businesses and financial firms were in cash
34%
of consumer payments are expected to be in cash by 2024
4.4% of adults “rarely” use cash at all
£67 is the average ATM withdrawal
1% of consumer payments were made by cheque in 2014
The Bank report suggested that between 21% and 27% of total UK cash was being used for transactions at any one time last year.
The rest was in various places including being "buried in the garden".
"People may choose to save their money in a safety deposit box, or under the mattress, or even buried in the garden, rather than placing it in a bank account," the Bank warned.
Some UK currency is hoarded by overseas visitors - either keeping it after returning from a trip to the UK, or as a store of value.
Cash is also used in the darker side of economic activity, the Bank added.
"The evidence available indicates that no more than half of Bank of England notes in circulation are likely to be held for use...

Summary: At least half of all UK banknotes in circulation are held overseas or used in the black market, a Bank of England report suggests.
###
Article: There will be a free open air event and nine operas including Verdi's Macbeth, which was performed at the first festival in 1947.
The Old Vic were also there, and they will return this year with the premiere of a new play by writer Alan Ayckbourn.
Tickets go on sale from Saturday 25 March at 10:00.
Contemporary music is a strong strand including performances from Jarvis Cocker and Chilly Gonzales and a tribute to Edinburgh's Incredible String Band.
When the festival began is was described as a "platform for the flowering of the human spirit".
Now it has grown into one of the world's biggest and best known festivals.
This year's festival begins once again with a free open air event, called Bloom, which continues the theme of flowering culture.
Fergus Linehan, Edinburgh International Festival director, said: ''Since 1947, the international festival has extended an invitation from the people of Scotland to people all over the world, to join us in celebrating the unparalleled creativity and talent that great artists bring to Edinburgh.
"In our 70th anniversary year, it feels more important than ever perhaps, that we celebrate the founding values of the international festival and that through a shared celebration of artistic excellence and cultural exchange, we 'provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit' and to continue to welcome the world to our city."
Richard Lewis, Edinburgh's Festivals and events champion, said: "This summer, the world's greatest artists and ensembles will descend on our capital to celebrate the 70th anniversary of one of the biggest arts festival in the world - our Edinburgh International Festival.
"The council and the city has championed the festival since its inception in 1947.
"Seventy years later, the event continues to bring thousands of people together from all over Scotland and the world in a celebration of the arts and culture.
"From opera to the Old Vic, Joshua Bell to Jarvis Cocker, the 2017 programme will feature 2,020 artists in a diverse mix of music, dance and...

Summary: The Edinburgh International Festival will mark its 70th anniversary with an expanded programme and events which relate back to the very first festival.
###
Article: The Institution of Mechanical Engineers says liquid air can compete with batteries and hydrogen to store excess energy generated from renewables.
IMechE says "wrong-time" electricity generated by wind farms at night can be used to chill air to a cryogenic state at a distant location.
When demand increases, the liquid air can be warmed to drive a turbine.
Engineers say the process to produce "right-time" electricity can achieve an efficiency of up to 70%.
IMechE is holding a conference today to discuss new ideas on how using "cryo-power" can benefit the low-carbon economy.
The technology was originally developed by Peter Dearman, a garage inventor in Hertfordshire, to power vehicles.
A new firm, Highview Power Storage, was created to transfer Mr Dearman's technology to a system that can store energy to be used on the power grid.
The process, part-funded by the government, has now been trialled for two years at the back of a power station in Slough, Berkshire.
More than hot air  The results have attracted the admiration of IMechE officials.
"I get half a dozen people a week trying to persuade me they have a brilliant invention," head of energy Tim Fox told BBC News.
"In this case, it is a very clever application that really does look like a potential solution to a really great challenge that faces us as we increase the amount of intermittent power from renewables."
Dr Fox urged the government to provide incentives in its forthcoming electricity legislation for firms to store energy on a commercial scale with this and other technologies.
IMechE says the simplicity and elegance of the Highview process is appealing, especially as it addresses not just the problem of storage but also the separate problem of waste industrial heat.
The process follows a number of stages:
IMechE says this process is only 25% efficient but it is massively improved by co-siting the cryo-generator next to an industrial plant or power station producing low-grade heat that is currently vented and being released into the atmosphere.
The...

Summary: Turning air into liquid may offer a solution to one of the great challenges in engineering - how to store energy.
###
Article: The business was owned by John and Karen Blisard and began operating in 2007.
It now has five branches: two in Belfast, two in Dublin and one in Galway.
The firm's last set of abbreviated accounts suggest it made a profit of around Â£300,000 in 2014. It has been taken over by Belfast brothers David and Andrew Maxwell.
They are backed by the Dublin-based investment firm Renatus Capital Partners
Andrew Maxwell is a former professional rugby player with Ulster.
David has previously run restaurants in Arizona where he said he "fell in love with Mexican food and culture".
He said they planned to expand the chain.
"The management and crew at Boojum provide exceptional service which has been pivotal to the success of the business," they said.
"Our aim, in partnership with Renatus, is to preserve that success and build on it.
"We expect to create many new jobs as we bring the Boojum experience to new communities."
The deal was initiated by the Belfast-based corporate advisors HNH Group.
Matt McCullough from HNH played rugby at Ulster with Andrew Maxwell.
He said: "Knowing the Maxwells, who are high quality operators with a passion for Mexican food, we felt they would be capable of maintaining everything that is good about the Boojum brand, whilst moving the business forward.
"These aspects were key to making this deal happen."
The sale does not include the Blisard's barbecue restaurant, Bubbacue.

Summary:


Triple J have confirmed Taylor Swift was disqualified from this year's Hottest 100.

Article: Public Health England (PHE) said 5.3 per cent of all deaths in over-25s were linked to air pollution, although the figures varied considerably by region.
Authors of the study said people whose death was hastened by pollution lost an average of 10.6 years of their lives.
Environmental campaigners said the problem was "outrageous".
The figures are estimates for long-term exposure to pollutants.
They do not include short-term exposure, such as that seen in many areas last week.
Source: Public Health England
The highest percentage of deaths was in London. In the Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster boroughs, 8.3% of deaths were linked to pollution. In Tower Hamlets, the figure was 8.1%.
The fewest pollution-related deaths were in rural Scotland and Northern Ireland (2.5%) and the Western Isles (2.4%).
There has been little change in the death estimates over recent years, BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin said.
Public health campaigners have argued that the government is to blame for failing to implement an EU directive on clean air.
PHE insisted that air quality has improved "considerably" as a result of cleaner-air technology and tighter environmental legislation.
But Dr Paul Cosford, PHE's director of health protection and medical director, said local authorities should consider further measures.
Friends of the Earth air pollution campaigner Jenny Bates said the figures were a "national disgrace".
She added: "It's outrageous that tens of thousands of people die prematurely in England every year because of polluted air."
Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said action was needed "urgently".
A Department for the Environment spokesperson said: "This report will help local authorities prioritise air pollution amongst other public health issues. It is well recognised that air quality can affect people's health, which is why we are investing heavily in measures to improve it.
"We have committed billions to increase uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, sustainable travel and green...

Summary: Long-term exposure to air pollution contributed to more than 28,000 deaths across the UK in 2010, government figures show.
###
Article: Welfare reforms by the UK government include benefit cuts for people deemed to have more rooms than they need.
The Scottish government compensates tenants who lose money, and AMs want Welsh ministers to consider it too.
The Welsh government said it was providing help but could not "plug all the gaps" caused by austerity measures.
A report by the assembly's public accounts committee on Tuesday called on the Welsh government to take more of a leading role in helping tenants, landlords, local authorities and charities handle the impact of welfare reform.
Committee chairman Darren Millar said: "Regardless of whether changes to the welfare system are supported by Welsh public bodies or not, they still have a responsibility to adapt to those changes."
However, Labour AM Jenny Rathbone criticised the Tory AM for a "partisan" foreword which failed to "reinforce just how devastating the bedroom tax has been for tenants in Wales".
The report noted that the Welsh government had estimated the cost of meeting tenants' losses through benefit cuts at £22m a year, and preferred to spend money building smaller houses and supporting advice services.
The Scottish government has spent £35m a year on discretionary housing payments.
In January, spending watchdog the Wales Audit Office warned that many tenants were being penalised by housing benefit cuts because of a lack of smaller houses for them to move into.
A Welsh government spokesman said it would do what it could to protect people from the "devastating impact" of the UK government's welfare reforms, but claimed it would be "impossible to plug all the gaps caused by the sweeping and unnecessary austerity measures".
It said since the 2011 assembly election it had invested over £40m to build nearly 800 smaller homes for rent, more than £5m in free advice services, £22m to help tenants pay council tax, and £1.3m in discretionary housing payments.

Summary: Social housing tenants hit by the so-called bedroom tax should get more financial help from the Welsh government, AMs have said.
###
Article: Kathleen Griffin, 57, died at her flat in Clacton, Essex, in December after being stabbed 14 times in her neck, chest, abdomen and back.
Scott Hilling, 26, who admitted her manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Judge Charles Gratwicke described it as a "horrific, savage killing".
He told Hilling: "You tied her up and tortured her. She must have been petrified in those minutes or so before her death."
"This was a sickening and brutal killing of a defenceless woman, described as being kind-hearted and generous."
The judge made an order under the Mental Health Act which detains Hilling, of no fixed address, in a secure hospital to receive treatment "before or if" he is transferred to a prison to complete the remainder of his sentence.
The Parole Board would then consider whether he is no longer a risk to the public and could be released.
Hilling said voices forced him to kill, the court was told.
Hilling, who had been taken in by his kind-hearted victim at her flat in Old Road, Clacton, because he was homeless, said he watched television in between stabbing her.
The court heard that Hilling claimed he was sexually abused as a child by his father.
Senior investigating officer Det Insp Al Pitcher said: "His attack on her was savage. At no point has he ever shown any shred of remorse for his actions."

Summary: A killer who tortured and then stabbed a grandmother to death in her own home has been jailed for 16 years.
###
Article: Researchers discovered jaw bones and teeth, which date to between 3.3m and 3.5m years old.
It means this new hominin was alive at the same time as several other early human species, suggesting our family tree is more complicated than was thought.
The study is published in the journal Nature.
The new species has been called Australopithecus deyiremeda, which means "close relative" in the language spoken by the Afar people.
The ancient remains are thought to belong to four individuals, who would have had both ape and human-like features..
Lead researcher Dr Yohannes Haile-Selassie, curator of physical anthropology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in the US, told BBC News: "We had to look at the detailed anatomy and morphology of the teeth and the upper and lower jaws, and we found major differences.
"This new species has very robust jaws. In addition, we see this new species had smaller teeth. The canine is really small - smaller than all known hominins we have documented in the past."
The age of the remains means that this was potentially one of four different species of early humans that were all alive at the same time.
The most famous of these is Australopithecus afarensis - known as Lucy - who lived between 2.9-3.8m years ago, and was initially thought to be our direct ancestor.
However the discovery of another species called Kenyanthropus platyops in Kenya in 2001, and of Australopithecus bahrelghazali in Chad, and now Australopithecus deyiremedaI, suggests that there were several species co-existing.
Some researchers dispute whether the various partial remains really constitute different species, particularly for A. bahrelghazali. But Dr Haile-Selassie said the early stage of human evolution was probably surprisingly complex.
"Historically, because we didn't have the fossil evidence to show there was hominin diversity during the middle Pliocene, we thought there was only one lineage, one primitive ancestor - in this case Australopithecus afarensis, Lucy - giving rise to the next.
"That...

Summary: A new species of ancient human has been unearthed in the Afar region of Ethiopia, scientists report.
###
Article: The list is a countdown of the year's most popular songs voted for by listeners of the alternative music station.
Triple J said there were "a whole range of reasons" behind the decision.
The main one is a social media campaign, originally instigated by Buzzfeed Australia's Mark Di Stefano, to get Shake It Off on the list.
Readers were encouraged to tweet #Tay4Hottest100 to get the song to appear on the countdown, which was thought to be too much of an influence.
Some thought Swift's track was too commercial for the alternative music station, while others said banning the song would be seen as elitism.
The list was topped by Chet Faker's Talk Is Cheap, with Peking Duk's High and Cosby Sweater by Hilltop Hoods completing the top three.
Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk finished sixth on the poll, while alt-J have three songs in the top 30.
Triple J pointed out that Taylor Swift wasn't played at all on the station in 2014 but would have finished ahead of all alt-J's tracks if it wasn't disqualified.
Vance Joy's Riptide won the 2013 poll, which saw a more commercial top three include Lorde's Royals and Get Lucky by Daft Punk.
Triple J presenter Lewis McKirdy, who made the announcement that Taylor Swift's track wouldn't be allowed in the list, directed listeners to a Buzzfeed parody titled 8 Hilarious But Totally True Reasons You Didn't Hear Shake It Off In The Hottest 100, for more information about the decision.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

Summary:


The winner of the Man Booker Prize is announced shortly with Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life the bookies' favourite to take the £50,000 prize.

Article: In its most comprehensive report into the Oromo protests, HRW lists the names of more than 300 it says were killed.
The government has acknowledged that protesters have died but said HRW was "very generous with numbers".
Protests were sparked by fears that a plan to expand the capital into Oromia region would displace Oromo farmers.
They began in November last year, but the government dropped the proposal to enlarge Addis Ababa's administrative boundaries in January.
Africa Live: BBC news updates
The Oromo protests and Ethiopian unity
Why Ethiopia made â€˜master planâ€™ U-turn
Oromia is Ethiopia's largest region, completely surrounding the city.
The change of policy has not stopped the demonstrations, but they have reduced in their intensity.
At the last census in 2007, the Oromo made up Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group, at about 25 million people out of a population at the time of nearly 74 million.
An investigation, released last week, by the Ethiopia Human Rights Commission, appointed by parliament, found that 173 people had died during the unrest.
It said the dead included 28 security officers and local government officials.
Information Minister Getachew Reda said that in the main the security forces conducted themselves "in a very professional and responsible manner".
He put the killings down to "a few bad apples".
The government has said that it will investigate and deal with those responsible.
In March, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn apologised for the death and destruction of property caused by protests in Oromia region.
While his statement was bold, and came as a surprise, some protesters said it was a case of too little, too late.
The acknowledgment by the country's information minister that deaths had occurred is not different.
There will also be questions about the sincerity of investigating police officers who used unnecessary force.
Can it really do that while dozens of protesters are still being detained and are yet to be charged?
While the protests have died down recently, they remain...

Summary: Ethiopian security forces killed more than 400 people in the recent wave of anti-government demonstrations, US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.
###
Article: Fossil fuels emit damaging CO2, wind and solar are variable, nuclear generates radioactive waste, while biomass, depending on the source, can encourage deforestation.
On paper, tidal and wave power would appear to be the best solution, using the ferocious force of the oceans to deliver clean, abundant and consistent energy.
Yet despite the fact the first large-scale tidal project opened in La Rance in France in the 1960s, sea power provides just a fraction of the energy delivered by its renewable counterparts - currently just 0.5GW compared with almost 400GW of wind power.
But renewed determination to develop new technologies to harness the ocean's power means the tidal industry could be set for something of a renaissance.
A tidal project similar to that in La Rance has been built in South Korea, with smaller plants in China, Canada and Australia. Together, these make up nearly all the tidal power generated across the world.
The world's first man-made tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay in Wales is currently awaiting planning permission, while the developer behind the scheme has plans for a further five projects around the UK.
All take advantage of what is called the tidal range - the change in the height of water between low and high tides. An artificial barrier is built, generally across an estuary, to hold water when the tide goes out. This water is then let back into the sea, driving turbines in the process. When the tide is high, the water is let back in, again driving the turbines.
A series of articles looking at how the world will meet increasing demand for energy and the need to cut CO2 emissions linked to global warming, using old and new technologies
In fact, the basic process is very similar to that used in hydropower stations across the world.
The problem, as Cedric Philibert at the International Energy Agency (IEA) explains, is that: "You can only make a tidal barrage where there is a huge difference in sea levels, and there are only a limited number of places where this happens, mainly Canada, Northern...

Summary: No energy source is perfect.
###
Article: The Supreme Court agreed with insurers who claimed an assembly law passed in 2013 was outside its competence.
The court said Welsh ministers had no right to impose charges to fund the NHS, and insurers should not be given extra liabilities for asbestos exposure which long predated the bill.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) welcomed the judgement.
"The Welsh Bill would have seen increased insurance premiums for Welsh businesses but no extra compensation for mesothelioma sufferers," said a spokesperson.
"The insurance industry remains committed to doing all it can to help the victims of this terrible disease and would be happy to work constructively with the Welsh Government on this issue, as it does on other public policy."
Pontypridd AM Mick Antoniw, who first proposed the bill, said he was "gutted" at the ruling, having predicted the measure could have raised Â£1m a year for the NHS in Wales.
The bill had been referred to the Supreme Court by the Welsh government's Counsel General Theodore Huckle following objections from the insurance industry.
The Welsh government said it would give "careful consideration to this judgment".
Presiding Officer Dame Rosemary Butler called for "greater clarity" so everyone understood what laws the assembly could pass.
The Supreme Court has previously ruled in favour of the assembly on changes to local government by-laws and the re-establishment of the Agricultural Wages Board which had been abolished by the UK government.

Summary: Firms in Wales whose staff are treated for asbestos-related illnesses will not be ordered to reimburse the NHS.
###
Article: She works in a women's pottery co-operative in the secluded rural community of Itamatatiua, in the Northeast state of Maranhao.
"I saw on television that they want to remove Dilma from power and end the Bolsa Familia programme," she tells me.
"If that happens, I might have to move to a bigger city, because there are no paying jobs here."
Bolsa Familia is the world's largest cash-transfer programme. A total of 47 million Brazilians - almost a quarter of the population - receive money from it on a monthly basis.
It was introduced in 2003 when the Workers' Party came to power under the former president, Lula da Silva.
Without it, Ana Rita de Jesus says she would be in extreme poverty, even with the wage she gets from her day job at the co-operative.
Her monthly income hovers around 65 reais ($18; Â£12) and this depends on the how many pottery pieces the cooperative sells.
But from Bolsa Familia, she gets 237 reais.
Her entire community of Itamatatiua has been transformed by the social programme. Up until the last decade, local life was marked by extreme poverty and subsistence.
"After former President Lula de Silva came to power, our community got a lot better," says local leader Neide de Jesus.
"Back then, our money was not enough for us to buy things - we had just enough to eat.
"Today people here have refrigerators, ovens, televisions. We started studying and having proper houses."
The hot topic in the pottery co-operative is the future of Bolsa Familia.
Families who are below the poverty line, which in Brazil is 164 reais a month, get an average monthly income from the government of 176 reais.
In return, mothers are expected to keep all their children in school with an attendance record of at least 85%, and with all vaccinations up to date.
There are no requirements for childless families who fall below the poverty line.
To tackle Brazil's worst recession in over two decades, President Rousseff had been promoting deep cuts in government spending over the past year.
Despite these, she went out of her way to...

Summary: Mother-of-six Ana Rita de Jesus is worried about the future of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff.
###
Article: Yanagihara's novel, the story of four college friends seeking fame and fortune in New York, is tipped to win by bookmakers William Hill and Coral.
It is the second year the prize is open to all authors writing in English, regardless of nationality.
The winner will be announced at London's Guildhall at around 21:45 BST.
This year's shortlist features two authors from the UK, two from the US and one each from Jamaica and Nigeria.
The shortlist of authors and titles is as follows:
Victory for either Yanagihara or Tyler would see the Man Booker have its first American winner.
Marlon James is the first Jamaican-born author to be shortlisted for the prize. William Hill said his novel, which explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the late 1970s, had moved up from fifth favourite to second favourite.
This year's judges are Michael Wood (chair),  Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, John Burnside, Sam Leith and Frances Osborne.  They considered 156 books for this year's prize.
McCarthy is the only shortlisted author to have been nominated before, having been shortlisted for C in 2010.
At 28 years old, Obioma is the youngest nominee, the same age as 2013 winner Eleanor Catton.
The shortlisted authors each receive £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book. The winner will receive a further cheque for £50,000.
Australian author Richard Flanagan won last year's prize for his wartime novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
Coverage from this year's ceremony, where the prize will be presented by the Duchess of Cornwall, will be on the BBC News Channel from 21:30 BST.

Summary:


A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was found dead in a flat in Edinburgh.
Police Scotland said the woman was found dead in a flat in Gordon Street, Renfrew, at about 20:55 on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said that a 40-year-old woman

The deaths of a man and woman whose bodies were found at a property in Paisley are being treated as "unexplained", police have said.

Article: The firm said it received requests for information linked to between 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices between December and the end of May.
It said the demands included "national security matters" among other information. Microsoft and Facebook published similar numbers last week.
But Google and Twitter have said that such disclosures are not helpful.
"We have always believed that it's important to differentiate between different types of government requests," said a statement by Google published on Saturday.
"Lumping the two categories together would be a step back for users."
A tweet from Twitter's legal director, Benjamin Lee, added: "We agree... it's important to be able to publish numbers of national security requests - including Fisa [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] disclosures - separately."
Tech firms have been under pressure to disclose information about data passed to the National Security Agency since The Guardian and Washington Post revealed the existence of Prism - a programme giving the NSA access to user data held on the servers of tech firms including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, and Apple.
The NSA later confirmed the existence of the surveillance scheme as well as a separate phone records programme which it said had helped it thwart terrorist plots in the US and more than 20 other countries.
US spy chief James Clapper has also stated that the NSA's communications-collection efforts were designed to help acquire information about "non-US persons located outside the United States" and the agency could not "intentionally target any US citizen, any other US person, or anyone located within the United States".
However, privacy activists and some politicians have raised concerns that the agency's actions still went beyond what was intended under powers granted by the Patriot Act following the 11 September 2001 terror attacks.
Following the revelations, several of the tech firms involved said they had asked the US government to allow them to disclose information which...

Summary: Apple is the latest tech firm to publish details of data requests from the US authorities.
###
Article: A spokesman for Berlin zoo, where Knut was kept, said the bear was found floating in the pool inside his enclosure.
Bear keeper Heiner Kloes said the cause of death was not known, and a post-mortem examination would be held.
In captivity, polar bears can live until they are about 30 years old.
Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit called Knut's death awful.
"We all held him so dearly. He was the star of the Berlin zoos," Mr Wowereit told BZ newspaper.
Knut became world-famous after his birth in 2006, as news of his unusual upbringing emerged.
In 2007, Knut generated more than 5m (Â£4.4m; $7m) euros in extra income for Berlin zoo, from the sale of tickets and Knut-branded merchandise.
As his fame grew, a row over the royalties from the bear's popularity erupted between Berlin Zoo and Neumuenster Zoo, where he was born.
Eventually Berlin Zoo agreed to pay 430,000 euros to compensate Neumuenster.

Summary: Knut the polar bear, who became world famous after he was hand-reared by keepers after his mother rejected him, has died at the age of four.
###
Article: Appearing in Science magazine, the article is largely a collation of information already made public through media briefings and press releases.
It includes the mission teamâ€™s initial impressions of Pluto and its moons: Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra.
And, of course, it details some of the basic numbers that can now be used to describe these far-flung objects.
One key early result from the US space agency (Nasa) probe is the precise measure of Pluto's radius, of 1,187km, plus or minus 4km.
"This doesn't sound particularly exciting but you have to remember estimates of Pluto's radius varied from 1,150km to 1,200km, so this will really help those people modelling how Pluto/Charon formed, their atmospheres and the material exchange between them," said team member Dr Carly Howett from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado.
Pluto's mass was already known, so the larger radius gives a density that is consequently now a little lower, at 1,860kg per cubic metre.
This brings it nearer to that of Charon, the main moon in the system. Its density is 1,702kg per cubic metre (its radius is 606km plus or minus 3km).
The closeness in density has a series of theoretical implications, which the team duly starts to discuss in the new paper.
It suggests the materials that make up the objects are not that dissimilar. Yes, different types of ices dominate their surfaces, but their bulk compositions may be quite alike.
That is not a surprise if, as many scientists think, the pair were formed as a result of a collision between two primordial objects billions of years ago.
However, it does put some important constraints on the smash-up.
To have the bulk materials broadly divided up evenly between Pluto and Charon may indicate that the colliding objects were predominantly undifferentiated masses of ice and rock.
Had either significantly gone down the path of separating heavier and lighter materials into defined layers, this would be reflected in the densities of Pluto and Charon today.
And accepting the...

Summary: The first scientific paper to come out of the New Horizons flyby of Pluto in July has just been published.
###
Article: There were over half a million tickets sold for shows and attractions and footfall was up 5% in the city centre.
Officials said the increase could, in part, be due to a discount scheme for local residents following complaints.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh City Council denied reports of crushing at the city's Hogmanay celebrations.
It said it would be carrying out the usual review of Hogmanay celebrations with the event organisers and emergency services.
Officials said parts of the cordoned off area at the top of the mound were busy but they denied there was congestion or crushing. No one was injured.
Charlie Wood, Edinburgh's Christmas producer, said: "We are obviously thrilled at the figures. It demonstrates the scale and attraction of the festival.
"We set out to make Edinburgh's Christmas one of the world's best places to be at Christmas time and these figures show that we're on our way to achieving that.
"It is also gratifying to note that almost one in five of the tickets sold was at a special discount offered to local families - showing that we listened to concerns from the previous year, addressed them and helped deliver a Christmas celebration for the residents of Edinburgh.
"As ever, we will be working in the next few months to see what worked well, what didn't work so well, and how we can improve the festival to make sure that next year's is an even greater success for the people of the city and visitors to the city to look forward to and enjoy."
Steve Cardownie, Edinburgh's festivals and events champion, said: "Our winter festivals are the envy of the world and rightly so.
"This has been another record-breaking year, and the huge boost to footfall is good news for city centre businesses and the local economy."

Summary: Edinburgh's Christmas festival has reported a 40% rise in ticket buyers on the previous year.
###
Article: Officers were called to the address in the Renfrewshire town's Gordon Street at about 20:55 on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said that a 40-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man were found dead inside.
She said post mortem examinations had been carried out and both deaths were still being treated as unexplained.

Summary:


The late start to Scotland's latest snowsports season had a "significant impact" and reduced the number of days available for skiing and snowboarding.

Article: The oil giant said its profits had fallen by 51% to $5.9bn (Â£4.1bn), compared with $12.1bn in 2014 following a dramatic slide in oil prices.
BP was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100, falling 35.9p to 331p after announcing its biggest loss for more than two decades.
Oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday, with Brent crude down 5.3% to $32.42.
BP's underlying fourth-quarter profits sank to $196m, compared with $2.2bn for the same period in 2014 and far worse than analysts had expected.
A further 3,000 job cuts were also announced by BP on Tuesday.
Last year, it said 4,000 jobs would go in its upstream division as part of a $2.5bn restructuring programme.
BP said its upstream business, which covers exploration and production, slumped to a $728m loss in the final quarter.
The latest reduction of up to 3,000 jobs by the end of 2017 affects staff and contractors in its downstream segment.
This refers to its refined oil products, such as fuel, lubricants and petrochemicals, that are used to make products such as paint and plastic bottles.
Bob Dudley, BP chief executive, said the company was making good progress in managing and lowering costs and capital spending.
"We are continuing to move rapidly to adapt and rebalance BP for the changing environment," he added.
Oil prices have been hit by the slowing global economy, the strong US dollar and oversupply.
BP's dividend will remain unchanged at 10 cents a share for the quarter.
Sanjiv Shah, chief investment officer at Sun Global Investments, said: "The short term looks difficult but shareholders should be encouraged by the fact that a pick-up in prices is expected soon and that BP management are committed to continue paying out current dividend levels."
Analysis: Kamal Ahmed, economics editor
In the final three months of 2014, the cost of a barrel of Brent crude was $77. In the final three months of 2015, it was $44.
Today it is $34. That is the background to today's results from BP.
Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive, told me two weeks ago that he expected the oil price...

Summary: Shares in BP have ended the day almost 9% lower after it reported that annual profits had more than halved.
###
Article: Harley Medical Group and Transform said European regulators' failures over breast implants manufactured by French company Poly Implant Prothese had caused financial and operating issues.
The UK's regulator had acted appropriately, but lessons should be learned, the Department of Health said.
The PIP implants had been filled with industrial silicon.
Spot checks in 2010 revealed the silicon had not been medical-grade.
Last December the French government announced it was advising all PIP patients to have their implants removed as a precaution and UK clinics were deluged with calls from worried women.
The Harley Medical Group in London had used nearly 14,000 PIP implants and initially offered free replacements, but it is now charging patients Â£2,500 because of spiralling costs.
Managing director Pierre Guillot told BBC Radio 4's The Report programme: "We have a duty of care to our patients and to date we have performed over 1,000 replacement surgeries, in the majority of cases at no cost to the patient."
However, Mr Guillot said the PIP implant scandal had taken his company from a "reasonable profit" to one that has made a loss for two consecutive years.
"We have operating and financial capacity issues," he added.
"We cannot finance the failures of the European regulatory system to have spotted a faulty implant for 12 consecutive years.
"You have to remember that these implants were CE marked. The CE marking means that the implants are not only safe but that the medical devices are efficacious."
Organisations across Europe award the mandatory CE marks to products in the European Economic Area (EEA).
Once a product has a CE mark in one EEA country, it can be exported to all the others - individual countries do not then make their own additional checks.
So, after a CE mark was awarded to PIP implants in Germany, the UK regulator along with others in Europe accepted them as safe to use - when in fact they had rupture rates twice to six times as high as others on the market.
The EU is looking at tightening up the...

Summary: Two of the UK's leading private providers of cosmetic surgery are calling for improved regulation.
###
Article: Under a court order, ISPs already block access to many of the biggest sharing sites that link to illegal content, including Pirate Bay.
But users can visit so-called proxy sites that bypass the restrictions.
One of the newly blocked sites said the ban was "totally unreasonable".
Under a High Court ruling in a case brought by rights holders, it was agreed that ISPs would ban sites on a list that could be regularly updated.
Rights holders include music industry body BPI and the Premier League.
"Under existing BPI blocking orders relating to 63 illegal websites, ISPs are required to block the illegal sites themselves, and proxies and proxy aggregators whose sole or predominant purpose is to give access to the illegal sites," according to the BPI.
Virgin confirmed that it, along with the other major ISPs, was now blocking proxy sites in line with the original ruling.
"Virgin Media is required to block certain sites by the UK High Court. As a responsible ISP, we comply with court orders addressed to us."
Among the blocked sites are piratebayproxy.co.uk, piratebayproxylist.com and ukbay.org.
The operator of UKBay.org, identified just as Dan, told piracy news website TorrentFreak that the new bans were "totally unreasonable".
"To block a site that simply links to another site just shows the level of censorship we are allowing ISPs to get away with," he said.
"UKBay is not even a PirateBay proxy. It simply provides links to proxies. If they continue blocking sites that link to sites that link to sites, there'll be nothing left."

Summary: UK internet service providers have begun blocking access to websites that provide a list of Pirate Bay alternatives, as part of the battle against online piracy.
###
Article: The government's "devolution revolution" to councils includes housing, transport and planning.
The Communities and Local Government Committee welcomed the policy but said there was a "significant lack of public consultation" in the process.
Councils said they recognised the "need for greater public engagement".
Greater Manchester has been at the forefront of the government's move to devolve powers and spending controls to local government through a series of "deals" with each area.
Chancellor George Osborne has hailed Manchester's deal as creating a "Northern Powerhouse", and similar agreements have been struck with other regions in England, which have to adopt ministers' preferred model of an elected mayor in return.
The committee said it strongly supported the principle of devolution, saying the current deals "should be the starting point, not the destination".
But the MPs, who held a public evidence session in Greater Manchester as part of their inquiry, also said many people had complained about a lack of consultation.
"The vast majority of contributions, often made in angry tones, arose from the perceived lack of efforts by the combined authority to engage the public about the deal relating to their local area," the committee said.
"For devolution to take root and fulfil its aims, it needs to involve and engage the people it is designed to benefit. There has been a consistent very significant lack of public consultation, engagement and communication at all stages of the deal-making process."
Council leaders from other parts of the country told the committee the public had not been consulted before their deals were agreed.
It is particularly important to engage the public where health powers are being devolved, the MPs said, because "the public's response is likely to be more emotional".
The committee said the government had driven the first wave of devolution deals through "at rapid pace", which meant "no opportunity for engagement with residents", but said council leaders should still have communicated...

Summary: Councils in England must do a better job of telling residents about new powers they are being given by Whitehall, MPs have said.
###
Article: Ski-Scotland, the organisation that promotes Scottish snowsports, said it had involved 207,770 skier days.
It also estimated that the industry generated almost Â£21m for the economy during the season.
Previous seasons have involved bigger numbers - 2012-13 had 290,996 skier days and raised more than Â£29m.
The more recent 2014-15 season involved 230,634 skier days, raising Â£23.2m.
It was also the first in years that all five of Scotland's outdoor ski centres - Nevis Range, Lecht, CairnGorm Mountain, Glencoe Mountain and Glenshee - opened for snowsports before Christmas.
For the latest season, the sites had to wait until January for sufficient snow cover, though Nevis Range near Fort William and the Lecht in Aberdeenshire were able to open for a short time at the end of December.
Ski-Scotland said the late start had a "significant impact", but added that it was still pleased with the contribution the industry made to the economy.
Chairwoman Heather Negus said of the figures: "Although they are lower than last season, they are much better than anticipated, given the late start to the season.
"This year, the season did not start until mid-January, as opposed to last winter, when our first ski areas were open by mid-December."
A skier day means one person who skis or snowboards on one day. Many of the same people return to the slopes several times during the season.

Summary: