08/03/2017 Look East

I'm so disappointed, I'm so upset that I've brought

over 120,000 people into this with us and I'm making other people

upset because I needed their support when maybe this didn't need

I'm angry that I've had to criticise the police force when maybe this

I can't even describe how it makes me feel for my boys.

The mother of Corrie Mckeague speaks out as Suffolk Police finally admit

that her son is almost certainly in a Cambridge landfill site.

Tonight, why did it take detectives almost six months

to discover that crucial evidence was wrong?

Does it bother you that people can put waste into a waste Lawrie, can

unload it at a landfill site, and nobody notices there is a body

inside? -- lorry. Yes, of course, that if somebody's some, that's

Corrie. -- that is somebody's son. What the budget means

for this region. Extra rate relief for small

pubs is going down well. We speak to the top man

at Essex county council. Why did it take detectives nearly

six months to find out crucial evidence in their search for missing

airman Corrie Mckeague was wrong? For most of that time

they had virtually ruled out -- the possibility that his body

was in a landfill site in Cambridge. But today, at that landfill site,

they told this programme they believe they are now searching

in the right place. Tonight Susie has been to Scotland

to get reaction from Corrie's And I've been speaking

to the detective superintendent But we start with the latest

from the landfill site, The cost of searching this landfill

site behind me could cost, would you believe it come up to half ?1

million. If you are a cash strapped police force you don't put that sort

of money in unless you are sure you are going to get a result. This all

hangs on the weight of a bin that was collected from the area Corrie

Mckeague disappeared in Bury St Edmunds. At the time the police were

told it weighed around 11 kilograms. But five months on the waste

disposal company have gone back to the police, said they've done some

number crunching, and in fact it weighed more than 100 kilograms,

that is 16 stone, also more than the weight of an average male.

Slowly and methodically specially trained officers rake through waste.

Mindful that feet below them could be the remains of Corrie Mckeague. A

digger waits to collected after each search. To search this area we are

using the digger to draw out the waste, to lay it out on the ground

carefully. Katie Elliott from Suffolk police has led a five-month

investigation. She is confident her team will find Corrie Mckeague here.

This landfill site is massive, to the right a site for household

waste, furthering police have set up a compound to search the remains for

which a special access route leads to the site, 920 square metres, and

eight metres deep. This is the last images of Corrie Mckeague. He went

missing from this area of Bury St Edmunds. A rubbish lorry made a

collection from here within an hour of his disappearance. The last

movements of his mobile phone coincided with a route the lorry

took to the landfill. Police say the weight of the bin was made by the

waste company. They said there was no intention to mislead the

investigation. Had police known about the true weight of the bin how

different with this investigation have been? Also, why did it take

more than five months for this fact to emerge, and if Corrie was in that

bin, how could a body be taken to a landfill like this and for no one to

have noticed? Frustrated by the apparent slow progress of the

investigation Corrie's family had brought in Beveren intelligence

expert to sift through some of the evidence. -- their own intelligence.

The family think more work should have been done on the waste site. In

five months, police only made one arrest. Last week they questioned a

man reported to be from the bin firm on suspicion of attempting to the of

justice. A second man was cautioned. Both men have been told they will

not face any more action. The family are praying for the best but are now

more than prepared for the worst. -- attempting to pervert the course of

justice. It will then be up to a pathologist to decide how he died.

If there are any signs of third-party involvement, as well.

This is still a missing person's enquiry. We must still assume that

Corrie is alive unless he is found dead. Today, I've spent most of

today talking to the police officers. There was a sombre mood

around them. Let's not forget that Nicola Urquhart is a police officer.

She is devastated and she will be expecting the worst.

Thanks very much. Corrie's mother, Nicola Urquhart,

is a serving police officer. and has followed every twist

and turn of the investigation And sent this from

Dunfermline in Scotland. This is where Corrie

Mckeague grew up. He used to love coming

back here and spending I've been here today to speak

to his mother, Nicola Urquhart, I have spoken to Nicola many times

over the course of the investigation and I've been so impressed

by her strength, her resilience, But I could tell that this latest

development in the investigation has When I got the first phone call

on the Monday to say that Corrie hadn't come back

after the weekend I I knew we were unlikely

to see him again. But if there is anybody,

and I mean this so much, that some fantastic story could have

happened to, and they came back six months later, or a year later,

Corrie is the one that it But that was on the basis

of the facts that I was being given. And those facts were the bin

weighed 11 kilograms. And I know you've had an up-and-down

relationship with Suffolk police during that time,

but how do you feel about the fact I don't feel let down

by Suffolk police. I feel let down by decisions

that have been made that That have made things harder

than they had to be. I think there's lessons

that can be learned. I don't think the next family that

have a missing child, or a missing loved one,

will go through some of the things And I'll probably be quite vocal

about making sure some And are you prepared, emotionally,

for them to find him now? When we first talked, right

at the start of the investigation, you talked about the agony

of not knowing. Now you probably do

know is it still agony? I would actually say that that's

one of the things I've probably said that is just

so completely incorrect. Because when you don't know you can

still believe that they are alive. It seems like you're always

so strong, but this news has almost, kind of, not a chunk

in your resolve. When I was trying to organise

searches, or getting volunteers, I felt like I have been doing

something constructive Now, just sitting and waiting

for a phone call to find out whether they've found him or not,

I don't do that well. So, what is your overriding

emotion at the moment now I cannot explain how this

is making me feel right now. I'm so upset that I've brought over

120,000 people into this, with us, and I'm making other people upset

because I needed their support when I'm angry that I've had to criticise

the police force when maybe this I can't even describe how it

makes me feel for my boys. For Nicola the focus remains

on finding Corrie and finding out But with the amount of time that's

passed and the effect that will have had on any evidence she is resigned

to the fact that she may never get the answers

she so desperately wants. I was at that landfill site this

morning and saw specially trained officers from Norfolk and Suffolk,

each one wearing two layers of protective clothing,

going through pile after pile This long investigation has

been led by Detective She told me she is confident that

answers to the many questions I'm confident that we'll

find answers here. You can see the scale of

the operation that is mounted here. That's not something

we enter into lightly. Do you wish that you

had come here sooner? I would have liked to have had

the information sooner that But it is a result of the checking,

the rechecking, the going back to the experts within that

organisation that could give us that information,

that have interrogated the raw data to tell us the true weight

of the bin that was collected Did anybody, did anybody try to give

you wrong information, No, I don't think there has been

any deliberate attempt to mislead the investigation,

or to hamper the Clearly when we found out

there was this error in the information that had been

provided to us it was important that we investigated

that and considered that How can an error like

that have been made? It's an error in the way that data

has been read and interpreted to us. It's by going back to the experts

in the company that can interrogate the raw data and understand truly

what it says, that we've been able to establish

what the true weight was. So it's those experts

who are expert at reading this The people within the company that

gave us the data initially Do you wish that you had

sent your own experts to read the data so that you had known

sooner that the data was wrong? I'm not sure that would have

made any difference. We sent detectives and we sent

detectives back and spoke to different people

within the organisation in order Uncomfortable we did that as quickly

and as diligently as we could do. -- I am comfortable. There has been

frustration from Corrie's family about the way the investigation is

going. Did they wanted to come here sooner than you did? We have

discussions with the family around searching the landfill site at the

beginning of the investigation when we understood Corrie's phone tracked

a similar pace to the waste lorry. However, the information at that

point did not lead us to believe that it was justifiable to come and

search here. So his family wanted you to come here soon after the

investigation? And he said no? We discussed it with them. We also

discussed the process of the waste disposal. At that time we understood

that the process in the area would have been searched, that it would

have been likely that Corrie would have been identified in the

processing before he could have got here. Does it bother you that people

can put waste into a waste lorry, can unload it at a landfill site,

and nobody notices there is a body inside? Yes it bothers me. Of course

it bothers me. That is somebody's son. It's Corrie. If that is what

has happened then we need to understand how that has happened.

And to understand the circumstances of what happened to Corrie. And you

are confident you are looking in the right place now? Yes I am. Thank you

very much. Thank you. And there is much more

on that story online, Including Kevin Burch

answering your questions during a facebook live

earlier today. You can watch that again

by going to our bit of facebook. we'll be getting the full

weather forecast with Alex, but first let's have

a look at the Budget. If you've just come in

here are some of the headlines. The Chancellor promised

an extra ?2 billion over the next three years

for social care. National Insurance for the self

employed is going up And there will be an extra

?630 million for education, some for new free schools,

some for new grammar schools, and the rest for work

on existing school buildings. But we start with the planned

changes to business rates. Basildon is one of those places

where business rates are about to fall. At least that is according to

the government. For Paul Crouch they are going up. Last year he spent

?100,000 converting a redundant pulp into an American diner. Things are

going OK. He's just about breaking even. But next month his business

rates will nearly double to ?6,000 per year. We have options like

reducing staff. Which will impact on service. We can reduce portion

sizes. Which again will affect the customer flow and people coming

back. It is very difficult. At the moment we are considering closing

the business from the 1st of April. Business rates are a tax on

commercial property. They've been recalculated for the first time in

seven years. The government says this region has come out of it well.

Average bills in all of these districts will fall. Only in these

four will they rise. And only then by a maximum of 5% on average. But

individual cases of businesses facing sharp increases profit the

government -- asked the government for more help. Most pubs will get a

?1000 discount. Anything to help. ?1000 to some people is a lot of

money. In the great scheme of things I don't suppose it is too much, but

anything is a great help. I'm glad they have listened to the small

businesses. We welcome the reforms the Chancellor has made within his

Budget today. However we are still looking for business rate reform

because we feel they are not fair. Each year business rates raise ?24

billion nationally. Half of that goes to national government, half to

local authorities. Although some firms resent paying business rates,

we should remember that money from them helps to pay for public

services such as libraries and bin collections. For many small

businesses they are a big burden and if the planned increases go ahead

they may mean Paul's restaurant isn't open for much longer.

Richard is here - has the Government come up with enough money to deal

The total relief package adds up to 400 35mm pounds, which is about 2%

of the revenue this tax races each year. It includes a discretionary

fund which local councils will be able to dole out to the most needed

cases. -- 430 ?5 million. Whether this helps some of the businesses

such as the ones we saw in Southwold, who are seeing huge

increases, we just don't know yet. The Essex Chambers of commerce, in

welcoming the measures, said they were disappointed that the

Chancellor has appeared to rule out a proper review of the existing

business rates system many feel is unfair.

How does all of this fit in with the fact that councils will be able to

keep all of their business rates? That's true. Councils only get to

keep half of this tax they collect, the other half goes to the Treasury.

By 2020 they will keep all of it. They will lose some other grant

income, but it means this locally connected tax will actually stay in

the local community. And it's part of the government's policies to push

revenues and powers out of London and into the regions.

Thanks very much. the Chancellor had some extra

cash for Social Care. ?2 billion over

the next three years. Opposition parties say

that's not enough. And one local politician

told us today on what many people

in local government Patricia Bawden from Tollshunt Darcy

in Essex lives with her husband Ronald who's diabetic

and has angina. At the moment their allowance

covers their care costs. Essex County Council says its rate

was generous but it's changing We can't find another ?40 per week.

Something is going to have to go. It's probably less care. Which, as

you have probably seen, would be very difficult. It is clear Budget

cuts are having impacts. Today an announcement of extra money. Today,

Mr Deputy Speaker, I'm committing additional grant funding of ?2

billion to social care in England over the next three years. ?1

billion of that will arrive in the next financial year. One council

leader is quite optimistic. But wants to decide how to spend it.

Clearly it will have an impact. But the devil will always be in the

detail, how do we allocate that? What are the restrictions on

requests from the government on how it is allocated? That is yet to be

worked out. Councils are right to be wary, some money could go to the NHS

to reduce so-called bed blocking. It is at record levels in East. Care

homes like this one in Cambridge say with some of the funding they could

help. The 25% reduction in the number of old people receiving care

in the last five years, we don't know what happened to them. Many of

them may have used health services, had to go into hospital, and maybe

investment in those services, had it continued, maybe some of them might

not have had to go in and the current NHS crisis could be lower.

The government has promised a future funding consultation but some say

the discussion needs to be quicker and wider. We can't escape from the

impossible pressures the system is under unless they take a more

fundamental look at the whole system, the health and care system.

Any extra cash will be welcomed by care providers, but with reductions

already affecting people like Patricia and Ronald they are

unlikely to be dancing in the streets.

Let's get the thoughts of our political correspondent who was at

Westminster tonight. What stands out for you, Andrew?

He has had to do some firefighting today. There was a row going on

about business rates. He threw money at that. The row over social care.

He threw money at that. He's throwing money at hospitals to

relieve the pressure is in accident and emergency. In winter a couple of

hospitals in Essex ran a triage system which weeded out those who

did not need immediate treatment. They now want to see that rolled out

across every hospital in the country. Apart from that it was a

dull Budget. Neighbours say he could have done more for those affected by

posterity. The Chancellor said that now is not the time to splash the

cash. And an announcement about a

roundabout in all of that? Yes, the only local reference in the

whole of this Budget, page 44, is a plan for a new roundabout at Hailes

in South Norfolk. That was announced by the county council last week. It

was in there because the government wants to flag up the fact it's given

money to local councils to put money into local road schemes. We will get

those details later on. But most of today was big picture stuff. We will

get the local details in the weeks and months to come. One thing which

did jump out was another ?270 million, which is going to science

and research and development. I'm told some of that money will be

coming our way, particularly in Norfolk. The government is very keen

to support up and coming businesses as we start to head towards Brexit.

One row developing here tonight is a plan to increase National Insurance

contributions for those who are self-employed. That goes against the

manifesto pledge. Ukip have said that the government is discouraging

entrepreneurship and it's turning its back on white van man.

Thanks very much. Much milder temperatures today. The

mild weather will be around for the next couple of days. This image on

the satellite shows this weather system to the south and the cloud

associated with it. We did have some rain first thing this morning but

actually a lot of fine weather to end the day in some parts of the

region. A contrast depending on where you live. Lots of cloud this

afternoon in Stevenage. But just go a little bit further north in

Cambridge and there is blue skies and sunshine. A fine the day for

many. Clear skies out there as we go through the night. Some patchy

cloud, particularly across counties where we are closer to the front.

Just the odd spot of drizzle. But it looks to be mostly dry. Despite the

clear skies it will be mild. Temperatures not lower than around

seven Celsius. Tomorrow, bad weather front scoots out the way, it is

still to the south, but for tomorrow it is looking like a fine forecast.

A brisk wind will swing around to the north-west. Perhaps a bit of

cloud around first thing. Once it has shifted and broken up it should

be quite sunny. Lots of lovely weather round, particularly into the

afternoon, and we are looking at highs of 13 degrees. We might be

reviewing these tomorrow, saying they have gone higher in the

sunshine. You will be aware of the breeze coming in from the

north-west. It'll swing around and head the other way by the end of the

afternoon. But lots of finance mild weather to enjoy. Our pressure

pattern shows there is some changes on the way. For us in the east much

later on Friday. It'll eventually bring in some rain. It looks like

there will be fine weather round for Friday itself with the risk of rain

late in the day. As for the weekend, we are looking at a sunny one, a

little unsettled with rain at times and it'll feel cooler. More cloud

around on Friday. The chance of rain arriving later. It could be a wet

start to Saturday, becoming brighter during the course of the day. Likely

to be some showers around for Sunday. Both days likely to be

breezy. Temperatures overnight falling away a little as we get into

the weekend. Thanks very much. Thank you for your

company this evening. We will see you tomorrow night. Good night.

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