22/10/2012 Inside Out London

Are we doing enough to protect the nation's treasures? Why are our

news teams being targeted and what is being done to protect them?

had information from the police that some of the objects in our

museum will under direct threat from a criminal gang. The Dale Farm

addiction cost �7.2 million and started a riot and made worldwide

headlines, so why are there still the same number of travellers

there? I am prepared to spend what it takes for people to comply with

the law. I do not think there can be a price on that.

And we look back 50 years to the week that our region when it was at

the forefront of what was almost World War Three. Those are the

stories that matter here in the Tonight, Inside Out is in

Harrington in Northamptonshire. During the Second World War, this

Airbase was used by the Americans and now, it's a museum. Of course,

our museums look after our priceless treasures, things that if

lost, can never be replaced. Some high profile thefts have occurred

in the past few years but museums are now so concerned that they have

set up a special task force to try to protect them. So on the night of

the theft the perpetrator, the thief, broke in through this door.

They climbed over the metal fence that surrounds the site, smashed

through this door with what we think was a grate cover or a drain

cover from somewhere in the park. We haven't found that yet. And then

they would have headed straight over to the case and using this

very heavy metal object they smashed through the front of the

glass, having tried the top as well, took the jug and left straight away.

And what was so interesting was at no point did they look around to

see that it's in a shop and there were other things they could have

taken. So I think they were deliberately targeting the jug and

going for a quick escape. The Wenlock Jug, which was stolen

in May this year, was the pride of the collection at the Stockwood

Discovery Centre on the outskirts of Luton. What we think the thief

was aiming to do was target this jug. Possibly for the reward from

the insurance company, or possibly stolen to order. We don't really

know. What I think is unlikely is that it was stolen for its value as

metal, as a lump of metal to be melted down. Because although it's

a bronze jug, it's not pure bronze. It's made of base metals and lead

and if you melt it down, you'll get about �20 for it. Its real value is

that it is a rare, medieval bronze jug. There's only three in the

world. It's worth �750,000, but only if it's kept as a medieval jug.

The museum, which was refurbished four years ago, gets over 200,000

visitors a year. The impact of the theft on the museum has been

devastating, I have to say, not only to our regular visitors, but

also to staff who take a great pride in this site and what they've

achieved in the last four years. But the museum in Luton isn't an

isolated case. There have been a number of high-profile thefts from

our museums over the past 12 months. In Ipswich thieves broke into the

town's museum and snatched a rhino horn. In Cambridge Chinese art

worth millions of pounds was stolen from the Fitzwilliam Museum. But

these are just some of the thefts which have made the news. Inside

Out can now reveal that there have been far more thefts that have

received little if any publicity. We've discovered that over the past

six years at least 111 objects have been stolen from museums, right

across the region. So are museums being complacent

about protecting their treasures? Here in Norwich, thieves were

tackled trying to steal a rhino horn from the Castle Museum and in

another incident thieves did actually get away with items

George Nobbs is Vice Chair of the Norfolk's Museums Board and is

currently producing a report looking at the way museums are run

in the county. He's scathing of the way Norwich Castle Museum runs its

security. The thing that perplexes me is that that when we had the

theft of the rhino horn which was thwarted and museum staff stopped

it being stolen, the story was emblazoned in the press. You were

told about it, there were press releases and so on. But when some

valuable Nelson artefacts were stolen, it took days, possibly

weeks, before anybody knew about it. One wonders whether we would ever

have found out about it at all. The initial statement when it did come

out was that they said that staff at the museum had discovered the

theft and alerted the police. The truth of the matter is that an off-

duty policeman discovered the theft and he alerted the staff.

Well, these are serious allegations, so what does the councillor in

charge of museums have to say? Why did theft of Nelson memorabilia

go unnoticed for so long? Does it show how lax security is at the

museum? No, not at all. Security isn't lax and never has been. It

was just a case of we don't have constant patrols going around

looking for things that are untoward. In fact, I believe it was

a member of the public that actually alerted a member of staff.

So it was a member of the public? Surely members of staff should be

going round checking what's there and what isn't? Shouldn't they do a

regular audit? They would have picked it up as soon as somebody

went past, obviously. But it's a relatively short period of time,

it's not something that was serious. Museums across the country have

been shaken by the number of high profile thefts and are taking the

problem of theft very seriously. A Museum Security Group has been

set up by the Victoria and Albert Museum here in London. It has more

than 350 members. Among other things it gives advice to museums

about how best to protect their collections.

In charge of the security group is Vernon Rapley, former head of

Scotland Yard's Art and Antiques Unit. Just a few weeks ago we had

information from the police that some objects in our museum were

under direct threat from a criminal gang. We looked at the information,

we assessed it. There was really nothing else we could do at that

time to protect those objects but to remove them temporarily from

display. Whilst I can't... I don't want to say what the objects are,

because that would possibly endanger them and restrict us

putting them back, sometimes that has to be... Well, it IS the only

With so many thefts from museums in our region, I wanted to find out if

our museums could be doing more to Do you think museums are guilty of

being complacent about security? I think absolutely the opposite,

actually. I think that recent events have highlighted the need

for museum security. But obviously it can be quite expensive to put in

and so it has to be prioritised. Sometimes it can take a number of

years to put in. There's a number of measures they can take now that

are cost effective and cheap. Just by working together, sharing

resources and making the best use of intelligence and resources they

have. I think criminals have become more aware over the last 15-20

years, certainly, of the value of art and antiques, and the sort of

materials, cultural heritage that museums are displaying and also

become aware that it's not the most difficult thing to pass through the

art market and achieve a reasonable return for their criminal

A review of security was made following the thefts at Norwich

Castle Museum. It said security should be beefed up with more CCTV

cameras. It was also suggested that improved locking systems and the

addition of trembler alarms should be considered on certain display

cabinets. But George Nobbs doesn't think the recommendations go far

enough. He says recent staff cut- backs have made the museum more at

risk from thieves. Last year the administration here replaced a 20-

strong team of people, you may as well call them museum guides. Those

who were on the front line, who met the public, were in the galleries

all the time. Some of them lost their jobs, some of them deployed

to other duties. But to my mind, unless you have real people walking

around the museum, interacting with the public and seeing what's going

Has the cutback in staff led to more things being stolen from the

museum? No, not at all and again we haven't actually cut back staff,

we've re-deployed staff but we actually have the same number. But

there are the same number of staff in the castle, but they're just

doing different jobs at this stage. Don't you think they should be

looking out for things that maybe have been taken or potentially

could be stolen? The thing is, we want to achieve a balance. We don't

want to make it like a fortress. We want to make it welcoming and

friendly for the visitors, so you can't lock it down so that there's

total security. We could close the doors and it would be perfectly

safe, so you've always got that Back at the Stockwood Discovery

Centre in Luton, they're carrying out a security review to try to

make sure the museum isn't targeted by thieves again. Have you seen

what's in this case? Come and see these medals. Karen Perkins says

whatever precautions are taken it's impossible to make a museum totally

secure. Reviewing the security is very important though, we're moving

ahead with that right now. But what we don't want to do is go down the

avenue of locking everything away. Of course, some of the stuff, we

have to but we have a lot of stuff on open display. These collections

belong to the people of Luton. We're about authentic objects and

we want to make sure people have as much access to those collections as

possible. If we just locked them away in a store, we're not really

And some good news - since we last filmed in Luton, the Wenlock Jug

has been recovered. If there's something you think we should be

investigating here on Inside Out, you can email me:

[email protected]. You're watching Inside Out East. Later in

the programme, Northamptonshire's part in the Cuban Missile Crisis

when the world was really close to nuclear war. This was a line of

first defence for America. Indeed, one of the only ways at that stage

that they could target missile at Soviet Russia. It made us here very

This time last year, you couldn't turn on the TV or listen to the

radio without hearing about Dale Farm. The illegal travellers' site

in Essex was all over the news as the eviction was covered by the

media from across the world. BBC East's Alex Dunlop was there to

report on the eviction and the violence. Now a year later, Alex

has come back to Dale Farm to see if the millions of pounds it cost

to evict the travellers was money Contaminated and deserted. Huge

effort carved out this wasteland. Bulldozers, bailiffs and more than

�7 million of taxpayers' money. And Turn back a year, and the moment

riot police break the siege at Europe's largest illegal traveller

The police had just deployed hazes and in return -- Tasers. 80 Irish

Traveller families own this land, but they're not allowed to develop

it. 45 activists are arrested. It was supposed to be the end of 10

years of costly legal wrangling and delaying tactics. This is the first

time I've been back to Dale Farm since the siege 12 months ago and I

have I say I'm pretty blown away by what a mess it is. It's almost

unrecognisable. This used to be a main road that would lead to

various plots and bungalows. The bungalow that used to be here has

long since disappeared. Only this wall remains. The council

contractors have dug up the hard core to prevent caravans and

trailers coming on to the site and There used to be a mobile home here.

It's been dug out since then and replaced with some still, stagnant

water. Clearly a health hazard. The question is where have the caravans

gone? Well, you don't have to look too far to find out. On a lane just

outside the former entrance to the illegal part of Dale Farm. 20 of

them still breaking the law. And some familiar faces. Kathleen

McCarthy and her sisters had been the public voice of the travellers

during the High Court legal fight and the face of their defiance.

They promised us bailiffs and police to come to each yard and let

us leave peacefully. I am totally disgusted. Riot police to come to

women and children what do they think we are? On the eve of

eviction, I'd spent the last night around the travellers' camp fire.

will not lie, it is a sad day. Years ago we knew we could go to a

different camp. Not now. A year on, the sisters are split up. One has

moved to Smithy Fen, a camp in Cambridgeshire. But Kathleen

McCarthy remains. These days she prefers playing with her

grandchildren to courting the media. Life has changed big time. In what

way? I think in some cases is it for the worst for some people.

Because they have lost absolutely everything. Families have been

separated, the state of the place is terrible. 12 months down the

line, it is still in a terrible state. We are still breathing the

germs. From the mess they have left behind. It is affecting the small

children. Diarrhea and sickness. It is terrifying. Are you staying here

out of stubbornness or necessity? don't think it is out of

stubbornness because being stubborn isn't going to help anything. The

reason we are here, we're still living in the hope there might be a

site built. After spending �7 million they might think to

themselves, after �7 million, we And just as many travellers still

live at Dale Farm, most of them illegally. Time though is running

out again. This is the man who'll decide whether to send the bailiffs

back in. It's the first time the leader of Basildon Council has seen

the camp from the hill where officers broke the barricades.

I'm frustrated that the travellers have decided to continue to live

outside the law, that's what frustrates me. I am satisfied that

actually Dale Farm is clear of illegal development, that was our

objective. But look behind you - It is an absolute mess. It's hardly

green belt. Not at the moment, but remember that's exactly what it was

mean to be. It was illegally developed and the land is still in

the travellers' ownership. To a certain extent there's an onus on

them to clear it up at the moment, but these things take time. But I'm

clear at the end of the day that Dale Farm is something people will

recognise as green-belt site. So, it's stalemate. It's fallen to

Ben Stickley from the British Red Cross to intervene. He's not here

to hand food parcels or give first aid. All he can do is act as

mediator. I'm going to go and talk to the residents, just to see if

there's any concerns they've got that they want to highlight with us

at the moment. Before eviction, many of the

travellers led independent lives and some shunned outside help. But

conditions now for those camped illegally are deteriorating.

there electric blankets at your place? I will ask and find out. I

don't know if they often get electric blankets in. You have to

look where you step. There's faeces all over the place. There are real

concerns around faeces. Waste. We're getting a lot of people

saying to us there's stomach bugs going round and kids playing out in

what's a very dangerous environment. Something that we would really like

to work towards resolving. I've spoken to a few people who

live around here. None of them wanted to go on camera. They told

me that far from being disadvantaged, the travellers down

there at Dale Farm are in fact taking advantage of the system and

milking the legal process. Previous offers of temporary housing in

bricks and mortar were turned down. Everything could be solved if a

site were made. We are willing to go wherever they want us to go.

Really? We put in for two sites before, we did it the legal way and

we were turned down. We're still hoping. Do you see yourself here in

a year's time? Yeah. You're that sure? Cos I truly believe even if I

got chucked on the road and they keep spending all that money being

silly again, some of my friends would have me in. I will always be

in Oak Lane. There were 90 caravans and 400

people living on Dale Farm at one time. The overwhelming majority of

those have moved away. But they have moved back, a lot of them.

Some have. Not all of them, that is the point. All of them said they

had nowhere else to go. Some have, and some people, my information is

some people we haven't seen on Dale Farm before. I have always

recognised there are some vulnerable people, who we've been

trying to get to, who genuinely have nowhere else to go. More than

�7 million spent - nothing has been achieved, has it, realistically?

There is no doubt I would have much rather not spent the money, or

spent it on something else, but I am absolutely clear that if we

turned a blind eye to law-breaking I would be here talking to you

about why we'd done that as opposed to doing the right thing and

upholding the law. And even though you are a cash-strapped council,

you're prepared to spend millions more trying to sort this out?

prepared to spend what it takes for people to comply with the law. I

don't think there can be a price on that. Really? It is an open

chequebook for you? I wouldn't say it is an open chequebook, but what

I am saying is what is more important is that the law is upheld

and complied with. It's up to local authorities to apply that law.

If the aim of the forced eviction was to clear illegal travellers

from the camp, well, as you can seeit that hasn't worked. Around

100 travellers or so are camped illegally on this lane, many more

have moved on to legal pitches next door. The conditions are getting

bleaker by the day. So after �7 million and counting, there's still

a standoff here at Dale Farm. 50 years ago, the world held its

breath as two superpowers were on the brink of nuclear war. The Cuban

Missile Crisis has gone down in history as a battle of nerves

between the Soviet Union and the United States. But this quiet part

of Northamptonshire, scarily, would have been where some of the

missiles were launched from. We look back on the war that almost

was. It's a summer's day at RAF

Waddington, and the crowds are out for the station's annual aviation

showcase. In October 1962 it was home to the Vulcan bombers of the

RAF's V Force. Today it's hosting the Waddington Air Show.

But we'd have none of this if events 50 years ago this month had

Within the past week, unmistakeable evidence has established the fact

that s eries of offensive missile sites is now in preparation

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the nearest we ever got to starting

World War Three. Russia had placed nuclear weapons in Cuba, and aimed

them at America. And they weren't 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 1962, if we'd launched a nuclear bomb

towards Russia, the weapon would have begun its journey in the East

of England. Lincolnshire was very important for

deterrent purposes in the Cold War and of course the V bombers carried

the nuclear weapon. And you also had the four missile complexes,

that were deployed from about 1958 onwards. -- Thor. Of course, by 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 in the official record

that bomber command were put up to alert condition three at 1pm on the

Saturday afternoon. But talking to people, they say they can remember

that on the Thursday prior things were already happening on the

station. Attention, attention. All personnel

take posts for countdown. The UK official account says

Saturday, but American records show that two days earlier American

ballistic missiles were being made ready on RAF bases in the East of

England. This was once RAF Harrington, in

Northamptonshire. Here and Caistor in Lincolnshire are the only places

in the UK where there are visible remains of the Thor nuclear

missiles. There were three launch pads here,

this was one of them. These huge blast walls protected the equipment

and personnel from the actual launch. And down here, on this

concrete pad, there was a hangar which ran on rails. And when the

missile was at rest, it lay in that hangar.

It's an American product manned and maintained in this country by the

Royal Air Force. The RAF controls the firing, but Thor cannot be

blasted off without the agreement of the British and the United

States' governments. This was a line of first defence

for America. Indeed, one of the only ways it could target missiles

at Soviet Russia. It made us here very vulnerable.

Because Thor was jointly controlled by Britain and America, when

America went on alert, so did we. Kennedy ordered the strategic air

command to what was called DEFCON 3, which was two stages below war, and

this was without knowledge of the British public.

The Prime Minister called his cabinet. Britain was not consulted

by President Kennedy. But neither the ministers not the Premier would

let that stand in the way of a statesmanlike assessment of the

crisis. They quickly endorsed the President's actions. By the

Saturday, two days on, it was deadlock between the Americans and

Russians ,and we officially went on alert. Unbeknown to the general

public, throughout the east of England, Thor Missiles and V Bomber

crews were waiting, weapons loaded, ready to launch at 5 minutes'

notice. We've come to another old air field, Newark, looking for air

crew who were on duty that week in 1962. We're at a reunion of the V

Force, the men who crewed the Vulcans, Victors and Valiants that

carried the bomb. We were watching television. A

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

policeman. And he was sent by Waddington to hoist me out and tell

me to go to work, and I said, "What for, Constable?" And he said - and

I'm afraid I can't emulate the Lincolnshire accent - he said,

"Well, if you don't know, sir, I can't tell you." Every time the

station Tannoy went you'd twitch a bit, because the Tannoy would click.

"Attention, attention, this is the bomber controller."

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

we did have to scramble, if we did have to go to war, the politicians

would have lost control of the situation. I had joined the Air

Force to fly and I wanted to be in the Red Arrows and all that sort of

thing, and there I was in the wind and rain actually arming a nuclear

weapon, which is slightly different. We were sitting there quietly

chatting and my dear friend Paul suddenly got up and ambled over

toward the aircraft, pulled a pencil out of his pocket and did a

CND badge on the side of the bomb. And when he came back I said, "For

God's sake, what did you do that for?" Or words to that effect. And

he said, "If we have to drop that, then they were right." The CND

members were declaring that nothing short of abolishing nuclear arms

could prevent another World War. British people were worried about

the crisis in Cuba, but still had been told nothing of how war

preparations were being made nearer home.

This was a deliberate ploy by the Prime Minister.

Macmillan was concerned that any overt mobilisation might in itself

lead to war. He was very concerned that the British public didn't

panic. And therefore, although the UK was demonstrably very, very

vulnerable at this point, I think Macmillan felt that he wanted to

try and keep the country on the sidelines, where as, in fact, many

people would have thought that it really was in the frontline. And do

you think Macmillan got it right? Well, I suppose in the event he

could argue that he did. But had things gone desperately wrong, I'm

not sure that those people who remained alive of the British

public would have thanked him for In the event, Macmillan's gamble

worked. The Russian ships were turned back, and normal Cold War

relations were resumed between the two superpowers.

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

was a great sigh of relief. Because the tension had built to a peak,

and we really didn't know what was going to happen. Netiher did the

rest of the world, really. After the Cuba crisis, we re-wrote

the Uk war books. The Thor sites were already earmarked for closure

and the V Force carried a nuclear deterrent for a few more years, but

never again were they brought back to the same level of alert. But

it's the first-hand accounts of these men that will remind us just

how close we came to war. Look at that - isn't that

fantastic? It's hard to believe that here was

the first line of defence in a nuclear war. That's it from

Harrington in Northamptonshire. If there's something you think we

should be looking into send me an e-mail, or you can reach me on

Twitter. Join me next week when I'll have these stories from the

East. Next week: Margaret relies on her guide dog Molly, so when Molly

was attacked in Norwich, Margaret felt it was an attack on her

freedom. He deliberately unleashed the dog onto my dog. I felt like I

was being attacked, really, because she's my eyes.