22/10/2012 Inside Out East Midlands

Hello. Tonight, Inside Out East Midlands is at Sawley Marina, in

Leicestershire. In the next half- hour. Aamina vanished when she was

six, but she was not abducted by a stranger, she was taken by her

mother. It is like a bereavement because

the child has completely disappeared and you've got no

control over that. Also tonight, on board the

Leicestershire little ships. This is not likely to happen again.

Oh, yes, just to be part of such a wonderful celebration!

And the Lincolnshire air crews on the front line of the Cuban missile

Each year, more than 140,000 children go missing here in the UK,

that is one every three minutes. The problem is mainly runaway

teenagers, but a Leicester charity says a growing number of children

are being abducted by someone they know and trust, their mum or dad.

And sometimes, the parents left behind never see their son or

Scrawled in her school notebook, shortly before she disappeared, six

year-old Aamina Khan's message is clear. She loves her dad very much.

But now she is almost certainly living 5,000 miles away, with her

mum Humma in Pakistan. Safraz Khan feels he may never see her again.

He was granted custody following a divorce, but while Aamina was

staying with her mum for a few days, they both went missing.

It is the worst feeling ever, it is like a bereavement. I am dealing

with that loss, even though she is still alive somewhere, but it is

like a bereavement because the child has completely disappeared

Aamina is now seven. At home, her bedroom has been left just as it

It is difficult to come into this room and most of the time, I just

keep the door locked, other than the cat sleeping here. Her toys and

birthday presents have been left unopened since it was her birthday

Safraz and his family have been to Pakistan five times to try to find

Aamina. There is an agreement between the United Kingdom and

Pakistan designed to return children to the rightful parent,

but Safraz says the authorities have been unhelpful.

Unfortunately, Pakistan has this reputation of being a corrupt

country and, in most cases, I've been asked to pay money to recover

my daughter. I've contacted some law firms in Pakistan, but they say,

our fee is this, but we need more money to pay the police separately.

Otherwise, we are not going to search for your daughter. We all

miss her still and I will not give up searching for my daughter, I

Jamila Riyami prays five times a day and each time, she begs Allah

to return her son to her. She has old video footage of her son, Dodi.

Until recently, she only had one photograph. It is five years since

she last saw him. Part of me is numb now, is dead, I

am a half walking dead person. I am not myself any more. I don't seem

to trust anybody. It just appears to me that I have lost a big world

of mine because of that. Dodi was born in Sweden. After her

relationship with her husband broke down, she noticed that Dodi

sometimes returned from his father's care bruised and in pain.

She decided to take him to England. Under the Hague Convention, a court

forced her to return to Sweden, because she had not sought her ex-

husband's permission. There, she was arrested and jailed for six

months. But after she was released, Dodi and his father disappeared.

As a parent, you hear voices every day that he is calling you. And

somebody's kid is calling them and you wish it was him. When he's not

well, you don't know whether he needs you there. When he's thirsty,

you won't be there to give him a drink. Every day, it is in my head,

yes, it is hard. Jamila had almost given up, but

then she typed her son's name into her Facebook account and there he

was, now 14 years old and living in America.

I just clicked the name, I just felt it, a mother's instinct.

Clicked the name, and here he comes. And I burst into tears, all the way

to the police station. I found my son, I found my son on the

internet! She sends messages to Dodi, but

most go unanswered. On Mother's Day, she received a reply.

He sent me that particular e-mail and he said that, yes, I am still

in his heart. He is throwing me a heart and he says, for a special

Terri Harman, who specialises in international law, has now started

proceedings with American courts to try to get access for Jamila.

We are in the process of making an application in the American courts

for Jamila to meet her son and be reunited with him. The difficulties

are that if father objects to that, we then have to look for

professionals, court welfare officers, to intervene and assist

Reunite is a charity based in Leicester, which advises parents of

abducted children. The latest figures show a 50 per cent increase

in UK abductions, due mainly to a growing number of separations. Its

director says that while parents suffer when their child disappears,

the child is ultimately the biggest victim.

They have not been able to say goodbye to their family and their

friends. And in the worst-case scenarios, they lose all contact

with the left-behind parent, and that has got to have a devastating

effect on a child. The number of abductions is rising,

as more and more couples separate. A decade ago, two out of three

abductors were men. Now two in three are women.

Parents have spoken to us about the health implications. There has been

heart attacks, nervous breakdowns, they have slid into depression. In

child abduction, there are absolutely no winners whatsoever.

It was to Reunite that Linda Chapman turned 12 years ago when

her son Cihan was illegally smuggled to Turkey by his father.

The charity and the police worked tirelessly to get him back, but it

took four years. This was the day he returned, confused, clinging to

an embassy official. He had all but forgotten his mother, who is behind

him. Now they are close. At the beginning, I did not used to

feel like I knew him and I think he felt the same about me. He had

lived with his father and he indoctrinated things into his head

to make him think I was not a good person. But now Cihan sees it

different now and he loves me, and I love him. But it is a hard

journey, even when you get your children back.

Safraz is planning more trips to Pakistan, as he continues his

search for Aamina. And as yet, Jamila's prayers remain unanswered.

I have said to myself at night that he will be back in my life. It is

going to be an endless night. I will watch and sleeping and I will

stay with him the whole night. That is what I promise myself.

I love my daughter so much, and my daughter was so happy, and I want

her home back in the UK. She is a British National, she is not

Pakistani. I will not give up searching for my daughter, I can't.

Don't give up, don't despair. You will have sleepless nights and

sometimes wonder whether you should give up because of things you read

and what happens. But fight to the end, because your children want

that. They want to be with Mum, they want to be with Dad.

Changes in international law, due to be introduced on November the

1st, will force governments to co- operate more on child abduction,

but many countries still ignore the Hague Convention and every day,

more children are being used as Now, if there was ever any doubt

about Britain's Britishness, the summer proved how patriotic we can

be. And for a group of Leicestershire boat owners, it

really was their chance to shine, even though the sun didn't! Our

reporter joined them, as they set sail to take part in the Thames

The crowds cheered, the rain fell and the Royal barge weaved its way

along the Thames. 1,000 boats from all over Britain arrived in London

to celebrate the Jubilee. And in the middle of it all, a handful of

little ships. These are their stories, from Leicestershire to

So have a wonderful trip, Eric, and I am delighted to present you with

the flag. If I can get it up the right way!

It's going to take a while to get through Nottingham, let alone round

the coast and into the Thames, but I'm sure he will do it.

It is an extremely big day and we are all very proud of Eric and the

boat going to London. Absolutely marvellous!

For most people wanting to go from Leicestershire to London by water,

the quickest way is straight down the canal, for about a week or so.

But your journey is not quite so easy, is it?

No, because of the beam and the depth, and the size of this craft,

it will not go through the narrow canals. And that means I have to go

down the River Soar, the River Trent, from Nottingham, Newark, go

through Lincoln, and then we go down the East Coast, and then into

the Thames. You've got some real tricky bits

coming up, actually. Yes.

A slightly younger crew is heading to the capital, too.

Under their own steam, in a rowing boat called Discovery.

It is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Really exciting, especially to do

it with my best friend. Really excited! And we are representing

Leicester. It is something to be proud of.

I just can't believe we have been chosen to do it. It is brilliant.

Elsewhere in the county, paint pots are out and a dress rehearsal is

under way. It is another rowing boat, but this launch could not be

more different. We are in a farmer's barn. This is

a bespoke vessel that you have built from scratch. What, exactly,

is it? It is a ship's boat from 1805. This

is the kind of boat that would be used to supply the ships of

Nelson's navy. How easy is it to handle on the

tens? Quite tricky, because there are so

many other boats. We have got 250 other rowing boats. They will be

kind behind us. But you have really got the bug for

building historic boats. We have got other projects in the

pipeline. We are talking about steam power next.

Back on Eric's boat, St George, the journey is well under way. But it

has not been plain sailing. Big boats and narrow waterways make

navigation tricky, and road bridges are an obstacle and a hazard.

the back of my head there! The alternator her stop working,

for some reason. We want to get that fixed.

I fell over. I fell over the mast. It was still on the deck. It was

quite a big fall, actually. Despite the problems and an injured

shipmate, error remains upbeat in - - Eric remains upbeat and on

schedule. You have to not expect things to go

wrong, but it prepares you for thinking on your feet.

This is going to be the trickiest obstacle on the route. The weather

is not helping. It is not. The wind is going to be

the worst part. I have got to try and keep it dead straight.

Once you have committed, there's no going back. Not without difficulty.

The medieval bridge running under Lincoln is testing Erik's talent

and getting St George through is a squeeze.

Eric's next spot is Boston before heading out to sea. That is where

we join our final little ship, with a heroic history. Its owners are

John and Margaret Hoskins. They have got a lovely feel about

them. They are a warm boat. They can tell so many stories.

Thousands of ships went to Dunkirk to get the troops off the beaches.

This one is still alive tell the tale.

Today, she is being lifted out of the water for a rest and they

repaint. The Little Ships of Dunkirk were

700 private boats that sailed from the coast to rescue our troops from

French beaches. 72 years later, a few dozen are joining forces as

part of the pageant. How much work has gone into making

sure she shipshape? Many, many weekends to get her way

-- her ready, but the weather has held it back. At the end of the day,

you can only use the hours you have. When she is in the water, I can do

it in there. On the water, she is fine.

Hopefully she is watertight. Hope Back on St George, Eric gets lucky

with the weather, and it is only when he enters an Essex estuary

that things get rough. If you think about it, when this is

over and you are having a nice car hot shower and a pint, you will

think, what a fabulous day. I hope. We are cruising past a real

landmark, meaning you have arrived on the Thames river.

Yes, and what a journey it has been. We have broken a few pots and pans,

but otherwise OK. It is the roughest water that this

boat has ever been in while I have owned it.

I just felt quite emotional. I don't know, I just... I had a few

tears, actually, because I was overwhelmed. I'm delighted for Eric.

It is something he never dreamed of. Now, well, it is just wonderful.

The day was tremendous. Shame about the weather. Everybody said it. But

we had a fantastic time. It was so memorable. I shall never forget it.

To do that for the Queen was indescribable.

It is the best rowing experience I have had to date. It topped

everything, weighing two Kate and going under the bridge to the

Houses of Parliament - you don't get that experience normally.

To doff your hat in salute to a lovely lady and think we were

representing Leicestershire. We are cold, wet, but very happy.

What an adventure, and something they were certainly never forget.

50 years ago this month, the world was on the brink of nuclear war. It

was known as the Cuban missile crisis. What the British public

didn't know it was that if Russia had attacked, aircrews here would

have been on the front line. We have uncovered the story of secret

operations to launch Britain's It is a summer's day and the crowds

are out for the annual aviation showcase.

Back in October 1962, it was home to the Vulcan bombers of the RAF's

V-Force. Today it is hosting a show. But we would have none of this if

events 50 years ago had taken a Within the past week, unmistakable

evidence has established the facts that a series of offensive missile

sites I'm preparation... I the Cuban missile crisis was the

closest we got to start in World War Three.

Russia had placed weapons in Cuba and aimed doughnut America. They

were not scared off by the Americans setting up a blockade.

There seemed only one conclusion. We were potentially minutes away

from nuclear war, and the first bomb of this terrible conflict

could have been launched not from Cuba but from here, in Lincolnshire.

In 1962, if we had launched a nuclear bomb towards Russia, the

weapon would have began its journey in the east of England.

Lincolnshire was important for deterrent purposes in the cold war.

The act of the bombers carried the nuclear weapon. -- in the V-bombers.

Towards the time of the Cuban missile crisis, it was getting very

hot. A group of aviation historians in

Lincolnshire collecting first-hand accounts of the Cuba crisis are

finding that some of them don't quite match the version on file.

We found out that in the official record, bomber Command were put on

to alert condition 3 at 1pm on the Saturday. Talking to people, they

say they can remember that on the Thursday prior, things were already

happening. It doesn't tally that some of the timeline seems not to

accord to the official version. The records say we were on alert

from the Saturday, but did we actually do this much earlier? We

have come to another airfield, Newark, the kit for people who were

on duty that week. -- looking for We were watching television. A

shadow across the winner, I knock on the door, and it was a British

policeman. He was sent to hoist me out, to tell me to go to work. I

said, what for, Constable? He said, and I can't emulate the accent, he

said, if you don't know, sir, I can't tell you.

The ground crew were generating airplanes as fast as I could. We

gradually were up to seven by the Saturday.

I quickly dressed in uniform, kissed my wife, and said, if you

hear us take off, you go, take the kids and go. And then I left.

The official accounts say Saturday, but American records show that two

days Ella, ballasted missiles were being made ready. -- ballistic

missiles. This was once RAF Harrington. Here

in Lincolnshire is the only place in the UK where there are remains

of the nuclear missiles. There were three launch pads. These

huge blast off protected -- blast walls protected the personnel from

the Atwal launch. -- the actual launch. Down here, there was a

hangar, which run on rails. When the missile was at risk, as it were,

This was a line a first defence for America. Indeed, one of the only

ways, at that stage, that they could target missiles on Soviet

Russia. It made us here are very vulnerable.

Because thaw was controlled by Britain and America, when America

went on a lot -- alert, so did we. Kennedy alerted the command to

stage three, which was two stated before war.

This was without the knowledge of By the Saturday, two days on, it

was deadlock between the Americans and Russians. We, officially, went

on alert. Unbeknown to the public, throughout the East of England,

missiles and crews were waiting, weapons loaded.

They won five minutes' notice. -- they were on. Every time a deep

tan I went, -- every time the Tannoy went, we came to attention.

We had studied our targets, we knew what to do. We knew that if we had

to scramble, the politicians would have lost control of the situation.

I joined the Air Force to fly. There I was, in the wind and rain,

arming actual nuclear weapons, which was slightly different.

We were sitting there chatting, and my dear friend Paul, he suddenly

got up and ambled over towards the aircraft, pulled a pencil out of

his pocket and did a CND badge on the side of the bomb. I said, what

did you do that for? He said, if we have to drop that, those people

British people were worried about the crisis in Cuba, but still had

been told nothing of how war operations would be no for made

closer to home. This was a deliberate ploy by the Prime

Minister. Macmillan was concerned that any

overt information might itself lead to war. He was concerned that the

British public should not panic. Therefore, although the UK was very

vulnerable at this point, Macmillan felt he wanted to try to keep the

country on the sidelines. In fact, many people would have thought we

were in the front line. Do you think he got it right?

In the event, he could argue that he did. Had things gone wrong, I'm

not sure those he -- who remained alive would have thanked him for it.

In the event, Macmillan's gamble worked. The Russian ships were

turned back and normal Cold War relations were resumed.

When we heard that the Soviet ships had stopped and then turned back,

it was a very big sigh of relief. The tension had really built up. It

was a great big peak, and we did not know what was going to happen.

After the Cuba crisis, we rewrote the war books. The four sides were

already earmarked for closure. Never again would report back to

the same level of alert. But it is the first and accounts of

these men that will remind us just how close we came to war.

-- first hand accounts. Look at That is it for this week. We are

back next Monday. Thank you for watching. Goodbye.