:00:07. > :00:07.In the south-east: for the news where you are.
:00:08. > :00:11.Kent Police spends more than any force outside London on informants.
:00:12. > :00:14.As budgets shrink, critics ask if it's value for money.
:00:15. > :00:18.The family of a Sussex kayaker missing off the Scottish coast say
:00:19. > :00:25.And with high pressure building to the east,
:00:26. > :00:39.it's going to stay cold and cloudy for the next couple of days.
:00:40. > :00:43.Kent Police paid more to informants over the last five years
:00:44. > :00:48.than any force in England other than the Metropolitan Police.
:00:49. > :00:51.Police chiefs have defended spending more than a million pounds in that
:00:52. > :00:59.Critics say it's questionable at a time of budget cuts.
:01:00. > :01:02.Sussex force paid out half a million pounds in the same period.
:01:03. > :01:07.Here's our special correspondent Colin Campbell.
:01:08. > :01:12.The Dome diamond heist, an audacious attempt by criminals,
:01:13. > :01:16.some from Kent, to steal gems worth millions - foiled by police thanks
:01:17. > :01:20.Detectives who have used informants, grasses or snitches
:01:21. > :01:25.as they are commonly known, believe they are a vital tool.
:01:26. > :01:30.You certainly see examples of the use of informants
:01:31. > :01:33.dramatically where you get armed police swooping on robberies, bank
:01:34. > :01:36.robberies, security van robberies, jewellery robberies,
:01:37. > :01:38.but they're very valuable in terms of gathering
:01:39. > :01:43.You might get a situation where you've got tensions
:01:44. > :01:46.Police can deploy resources to prevent violence.
:01:47. > :01:51.Although police budgets have been cut by 18% in real terms,
:01:52. > :01:58.expenditure on informants has, it seems, remained pretty constant.
:01:59. > :02:00.The figures we've obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show
:02:01. > :02:03.that police forces across the UK paid more than ?22 million to
:02:04. > :02:12.The biggest spender was the Met Police, who paid
:02:13. > :02:15.Third on the list, after the Police Service
:02:16. > :02:17.of Northern Ireland, is Kent Police, who handed over more
:02:18. > :02:21.But some believe police are too reliant on informants.
:02:22. > :02:25.Dave Fraser lives in Kent, a former criminal and son of south
:02:26. > :02:30.He says he was acquitted following tarnished evidence
:02:31. > :02:35.I've always thought it was a waste of money, anyway.
:02:36. > :02:38.You dangle money in front of people, they won't tell the truth,
:02:39. > :02:40.especially if there is a lump of money involved.
:02:41. > :02:43.They'll tell lies along the way and, bear in mind,
:02:44. > :02:47.They might deny that but they get more money.
:02:48. > :02:49.I hate to think where that money goes.
:02:50. > :02:52.Many informants are themselves criminals.
:02:53. > :02:55.Kent Police described their use as an effective and legitimate
:02:56. > :02:57.tactic, helping to prevent and detect crime of
:02:58. > :03:13.So, as you may have heard, the Prime Minister got
:03:14. > :03:16.the approval of most MPs tonight to start the formal process
:03:17. > :03:18.for Britain to leave the European Union.
:03:19. > :03:20.But the power to trigger Article 50 is just the beginning
:03:21. > :03:23.of the undertaking and the decision to leave is still hotly debated
:03:24. > :03:26.Across the south-east, 55% voted Leave and 45%
:03:27. > :03:35.Our two strongest votes locally were in Brighton and Gravesham.
:03:36. > :03:38.68.6% of people in Brighton and Hove voted to remain.
:03:39. > :03:44.In Gravesham, 65.4% voted to leave.
:03:45. > :03:46.Our reporter Peter Whittlesea is here, you've been watching how
:03:47. > :03:52.the South East MPs voted - any surprises tonight?
:03:53. > :04:00.There were only three areas in the south east that voted to remain.
:04:01. > :04:06.Tunbridge Wells, livers, Brighton. If anybody would vote against this,
:04:07. > :04:09.it is MPs and that every. No surprise that Carolyn because of the
:04:10. > :04:15.Greens voted against it and said that the Labour Party were in
:04:16. > :04:21.Hove. He is a well-known Labour Hove. He is a well-known Labour
:04:22. > :04:28.rebel and is one of the 52 who went against his party line. Conservative
:04:29. > :04:40.MPs have very much fallen in line. There were quite a lot of Remainers
:04:41. > :04:47.that before the referendum and back then the Government was programming
:04:48. > :04:50.and now it is Pro-leave it is not surprising that the Conservatives
:04:51. > :05:01.have fallen in mind. One last thing is that an MP didn't vote because he
:05:02. > :05:02.has a crucial role in scrutinising the bill and he wants to remain
:05:03. > :05:05.independent. Thank you. Fresh talks on the long-running
:05:06. > :05:08.dispute over the role of conductors on Southern Railway will be
:05:09. > :05:10.held next week. The RMT union announced
:05:11. > :05:12.that the meeting will take place It comes after an agreement
:05:13. > :05:16.was reached between the company and the drivers' union Aslef,
:05:17. > :05:18.which has gone out to Hope is fading for a Sussex man
:05:19. > :05:23.who went missing whilst kayaking off the Scottish coast three days ago
:05:24. > :05:28.according to police. 35-year-old Dominic Jackson,
:05:29. > :05:31.who moved to Scotland from Uckfield, disappeared during a sea kayaking
:05:32. > :05:36.trip on Sunday. His family are hoping
:05:37. > :05:37.he'll be found alive. Here's our news correspondent
:05:38. > :05:45.Bryony MacKenzie. Dangerous waters and adverse
:05:46. > :05:51.weather conditions. Police say the search
:05:52. > :05:53.for Dominic Jackson has become more The 35-year-old set out
:05:54. > :05:57.from the harbour Portsoy harbour in Scotland on Saturday morning,
:05:58. > :05:59.but did not return. On Monday, search and rescue teams,
:06:00. > :06:04.along with 30 volunteers, began scouring the coast and water
:06:05. > :06:09.looking for him. We've also got lifeboats
:06:10. > :06:11.from Buckie, Macduff and Fraserburgh who are searching the coastline
:06:12. > :06:15.as well as aircraft A kayak believed to belong
:06:16. > :06:19.to Mr Jackson has since been recovered off the Caithness coast
:06:20. > :06:22.along with a paddle Tonight, police have released images
:06:23. > :06:27.of this yellow jacket and buoyancy Despite there being no other sign
:06:28. > :06:34.of him, his family say they are still hopeful
:06:35. > :06:38.he will be found alive. There are so many inlets,
:06:39. > :06:43.coves and different places where Dominic could have come ashore
:06:44. > :06:45.and been stuck by sheer cliffs or come ashore with his kayak
:06:46. > :06:48.and climbed a rock to take a photo, There's no reason for us to think
:06:49. > :06:53.he has gone offshore, so we're hoping that as the boat has
:06:54. > :06:57.capsized, he has managed to swim to shore and is waiting
:06:58. > :07:00.on the rocks to be rescued. Mr Jackson moved from Uckfield
:07:01. > :07:05.to Aberdeenshire 13 years ago. Although a novice to the sport,
:07:06. > :07:09.he was described as being super fit. But as bad weather persists,
:07:10. > :07:12.this could now turn from a rescue Hotels and B across
:07:13. > :07:24.the south-east say they'll be forced to dramatically increase prices
:07:25. > :07:27.and risk losing customers because of The new tax on family-run
:07:28. > :07:34.businesses will see some bills Karen Cheater bought
:07:35. > :07:45.the Langtons Guest House in 2009. But after the valuations agency more
:07:46. > :07:47.than doubled the rateable value of their property,
:07:48. > :07:50.business rates have shot up. The price of our property hasn't
:07:51. > :07:58.gone up 120% in the time we've been here, since 2009,
:07:59. > :08:01.and certainly the rates we're charging for our rooms
:08:02. > :08:05.haven't gone up, you know, more than ?5 to ?10
:08:06. > :08:07.in the whole of that period because the market
:08:08. > :08:09.is so competitive. Tourism is estimated to be valued
:08:10. > :08:13.at ?3.6 billion in Kent. Eastbourne tourism alone contributes
:08:14. > :08:24.388 million to the economy. The Government says that
:08:25. > :08:26.across the UK, three quarters of businesses will see either no
:08:27. > :08:31.change or a fall in their bills - but small business leaders say
:08:32. > :08:34.the system is broken. I think this is a completely
:08:35. > :08:38.outdated tax and it's clear from these kinds of anomalies that
:08:39. > :08:40.we're seeing, where some businesses in places in Kent and Sussex
:08:41. > :08:44.are being completely clobbered while others are maybe not
:08:45. > :08:47.seeing their bills go up all that much at all and in some areas people
:08:48. > :08:50.are seeing their bills come down, based on what is really an arbitrary
:08:51. > :08:53.measure on this rateable value of their property rather than how
:08:54. > :09:00.profitable the business is. The Government says it's delivering
:09:01. > :09:03.the biggest ever cut in rates and from April a third of businesses
:09:04. > :09:06.will pay no rates at all. Guesthouses in Eastbourne
:09:07. > :09:07.are therefore bemused why their bills are going up
:09:08. > :09:14.by so much. That's it from me, we'll
:09:15. > :09:17.have the national weather Thank you very much. It has been
:09:18. > :09:26.the forecast for the Thank you very much. It has been
:09:27. > :09:34.much colder judo. The temperature has really struggled. We will have
:09:35. > :09:38.to get used to that. We have a very static weather system. There is a
:09:39. > :09:43.lot of cloud and the temperatures are below average for the time of
:09:44. > :09:47.year. There is a blanket of client of the night tonight. It produces
:09:48. > :09:54.us. Temperatures are getting very us. Temperatures are getting very
:09:55. > :09:59.close to freezing again and it could be quite misty and Mikey first thing
:10:00. > :10:04.tomorrow morning. We will keep a lot of the club through the day. It will
:10:05. > :10:10.be recast into the afternoon. The rain showers will come and go.
:10:11. > :10:14.Nothing settling and nothing significant. Most places will be dry
:10:15. > :10:20.throughout the afternoon. Temperatures about the cost could be
:10:21. > :10:26.4 degrees. In mind, much colder at 2-3. Thursday evening, the club
:10:27. > :10:36.stays with us. Another cold start on Friday morning. -- the cloud stays
:10:37. > :10:42.with us. If anything, even colder. Temperatures are clearly rising from
:10:43. > :10:48.their starting values. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the high
:10:49. > :10:53.pressure is staying firmly of -- across Scandinavia. Very little
:10:54. > :10:58.brightness throughout the weekend. It will be overcast and great with
:10:59. > :10:59.night-time temperatures dipping to around freezing and the wind is
:11:00. > :11:02.picking up. But look at the cloudy and Ben Rich will take you
:11:03. > :11:13.through the bigger picture. Good evening. Over the next few days
:11:14. > :11:20.I suspect it's going to feel like we have been plunged into the deep
:11:21. > :11:23.freeze. Cold weather on the way and not necessarily crisp cold weather,
:11:24. > :11:27.with blue skies. A lot of cloud, there was some sunshine today across
:11:28. > :11:32.parts of west Wales, for instance. That lifted temperatures up to 11.
:11:33. > :11:34.But further east as you can see from the picture, there was a lot of