Having multiple miscarriages increases the risk of a heart attack later in life, according to researchers.

The German study, published in the journal Heart, found that women who had more than three miscarriages had a five-fold increase in risk.
The relatively young age of the women meant overall risk remained low, but miscarriages could alert doctors to future problems, the researchers said.
UK specialists said that the reason for the link was still unclear.
The study looked at more than 11,500 women aged between their mid-30s and mid-60s.
They looked at the pregnancy history of those who had suffered heart attacks, and compared this to the rate of miscarriages in the other women.
They found that one in four of the women in the study reported having a miscarriage - although this number could be higher because some women become pregnant then miscarry without realising what has happened.
When other factors linked to heart problems - such as weight, alcohol consumption and smoking - were accounted for, having three or more miscarriages increased the risk of heart attacks by more than 500%.
A smaller increase in risk was recorded in women who had miscarried fewer than three times.
The researchers, from the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg, said that the results suggested a "substantially higher" risk later in life.
They suggested that a history of miscarriage should be recorded by doctors as an "important indicator" when trying to work out whether a woman was likely to suffer heart problems in middle-age and beyond.
The age of the women involved in the study meant that the overall risk of heart attack could not be tested.
The five-fold increase refers to a much smaller risk - that a woman would have a heart attack at a younger age.
This means that even a five-fold increase does not mean that a woman who suffers multiple miscarriages is very likely to have a heart attack.
Indeed, among a sample of 2,876 women who reported miscarriages, there were 82 heart attacks over a ten-year period.
However, other specialists said that the link between miscarriage and heart attacks remained a concern.
Professor Gordon Smith, from Cambridge University, said that other studies had pointed to an increase in heart disease risk among women who had pregnancy complications, which included pre-eclampsia, and premature birth alongside miscarriage.
However, he said that the reasons why were still not fully understood, with some evidence suggesting that it was not an effect of having miscarriages.
He said: "It is possible that there is some common predisposing risk factor for both miscarriage and heart disease. During pregnancy, it is manifested by increased risk of miscarriage, and later in life, it manifests itself as an increase in heart disease risk.
"Perhaps this involves an increased propensity to blood clotting - but the honest answer is that we don't yet know."
A spokeswoman for the British Heart Foundation said that it was hard to draw firm conclusions from the study.
She said: "While this is certainly an interesting observation it gives no proven explanation for an increase in heart attack risk.
"It's not simply a case of saying multiple miscarriages increase your risk of a heart attack - lots of other factors come into play.
"It's known in some cases of multiple miscarriages that the women have previously undiagnosed heart and circulatory disease, or significant risk factors for the disease, so they may have an increased heart attack risk which is unrelated to the pregnancy."


The Cleveland Indians can keep using their controversial team name and cartoon Chief Wahoo logo when they play baseball in Ontario.

An attempt to block their use by an indigenous activist who claimed they are racist was dismissed by an Ontario Superior Court judge on Monday.
His decision came hours before the US team played the Toronto Blue Jays in a play-off contest.
The judge said he will give his reason for dismissing the injunction later.
The Cleveland team is in Toronto playing game three in the best-of-seven ALCS series. The Indians lead the series 2-0.
Architect and activist Douglas Cardinal sought the injunction to bar the use of the Cleveland Indian name and logo for the American League Championship Series (ALCS) game.
Mr Cardinal argues they are racist and discriminatory and wanted the franchise referred to as "the Cleveland team".
The logo - a grinning, red-faced cartoon man in a feather headband - has specifically been singled out by critics as an offensive racial caricature.
Mr Cardinal was demanding the Indians, Major League Baseball, and Rogers Communications - which owns the stadium where the Toronto team plays and broadcasts Blue Jays baseball to a Canadian viewing audience of over a million people - be barred from using both in the province.
He has also filed complaints with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
The team has been criticised for years for perpetuating stereotypes about indigenous people with their name and brand.
Toronto Blue Jays' play-by-play announcer Jerry Howarth recently revealed he has refused to say the name "Indians" during his broadcasts since 1992.
In a statement issued before Monday's decision, team spokesman Curtis Danburg said: "The Indians are focused on competing in the postseason.  We will not comment any further on matters that distract from our pursuit on the field."
The team owners have said that while it is "cognisant and sensitive to both sides of the conversation," it has no plans to make a change.
Apparel bearing the Wahoo logo is still popular with fans and will be present on the sleeve of the players' uniforms and on the baseball caps they wear during home games.
Opponents have been battling the use of the name and logo for years.
The Indians did demote Chief Wahoo to secondary logo status and have significantly minimised its use over the years.
The team took on the Indians name in 1915, reportedly reviving an old team nickname used when Louis Sockalexis, a member of the Penobscot Indian tribe of Maine, played for the then Cleveland Spiders.
Other major league teams also criticised over their names include the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins, Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves and the National Hockey League's Chicago Black Hawks.


Concerns about the care of young people at the Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education are being investigated.

The BBC has been told Devon and Cornwall Police and Devon social services are involved in the inquiry, said to be "at an early stage".
The academy said it wanted the concerns to be thoroughly investigated, but the school would continue to operate normally in the meantime.
The nature of the allegations that prompted the inquiry is not clear.
Letters have been sent to parents and those students over the age of 18, informing them of the investigation.
The academy is a charity and has a history dating back almost 200 years, with an international reputation. Its website says it currently has 76 students aged between four and 24.
Jonathan Farnhill, chief executive and principal, said: "We want these concerns to be investigated objectively and fairly and the academy will be working with Devon County Council and other appropriate authorities to review our practice.
"If, as part of this process, areas for improvement are identified then we will move swiftly to take any action needed to ensure the support and care we give our students is of the highest standard."
A spokesman for Devon County Council said: "It's important that any allegations are looked into sensitively and carefully. The council is working closely with the Police and the academy's chief executive about the investigation."


Bury have signed ex-Liverpool, Arsenal and Stoke winger Jermaine Pennant on a deal until the end of the season.

The 34-year-old had most recently been playing in the Singapore top flight with Tampines Rovers.
Pennant began his career at Notts County and has played for 13 different clubs, including Leeds and Wigan.
He has been training with the League One Shakers for several weeks, but they still need international clearance before he can make his debut.
Pennant was signed by Arsenal from Notts County for £2m just before his 16th birthday in January 1999 - at the time a record fee for a trainee.
His most recent appearance in English football was for Wigan during the 2014-15 season before moving to India and then Singapore.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page or visit our Premier League tracker here.


The BBC has agreed an extension to its deal to broadcast the Masters.

The new deal includes highlights of the opening two rounds of the tournament, as well as live coverage of the decisive Saturday and Sunday rounds.
Radio 5 live and Radio 5 live sports extra will feature live commentary of all four days of the first major of the year from Augusta National Golf Club.
This year's tournament is from 6-9 April and the action can be accessed on PC, tablet, mobile and connected TV.
The audience can access four digital feeds from Amen Corner, holes 15 and 16, featured groups and the driving range.
This is the 50th year the BBC has been broadcasting the major.
"We're extremely proud of our partnership with the Masters Tournament, and this new deal highlights our longstanding commitment to bringing world-class golf to the widest possible audience on free-to-air TV, " said Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport.
"In addition, our radio and digital offerings will bring audiences closer to the action than ever before. The Masters remains one of the standout events on the sporting calendar, bringing together the world's best players in a truly unique setting."


A major redevelopment project centred around an evangelical church in County Antrim has been approved by councillors.

Green Pastures church plans to build an urban village on the edge of Ballymena, with housing, business parks, a hotel and community facilities.
Planners recommended the project for approval on Tuesday.
The planning committee of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has now voted to pass the application.
Five councillors voted in favour of the application, with four voting against it.
Under local government reforms, Northern Ireland's 11 new super-councils now have the final say over most planning decisions.
Pastor Jeff Wright, who founded Green Pastures, told the committee they would be "saying yes" to 1,000 jobs.
Green Pastures has said the development will create 100 apprenticeships, 80 safe houses for vulnerable adults and 104 care places for children with special needs.
Planners had previously rejected a supermarket element of the plan, saying it would undermine the viability and vitality of the town centre.
But a revised application reducing the size of the supermarket from 6,100sq m to 4,100sq m was accepted this week.
The planners said the smaller retail scheme now complies with planning policies.
Councillor Robert Logan, the chair of the planning committee, said the application had been "long-running and complex".
"The committee understands that not everyone in Ballymena will be in favour of the development. However, this decision was based on the evidence that was presented to the committee.
"Every planning decision made by councillors is made on a professional basis, in line with policy and taking into account the advice provided by our planning experts."
In a statement, the Green Pastures project board said the committee had made a "once in a lifetime decision which will leave a lasting legacy for generations to come".
"All of this is a not-for-profit project with the primary purpose of helping people," it added.
"At a time when job losses and cutbacks are looming over our town, we believe this is an incredible good news story which will bring spending power back to our borough."
Ian Paisley, the DUP MP for the area, said a food superstore is "the lynchpin" of the project.
"Without this building block, foundation stone, the application wouldn't proceed at all," he said.
"Ballymena is about to lose 870 jobs at beginning of 2017. If you don't have jobs, you won't have spend for any shop whether an edge-of-town or town centre."
But his party colleague, Paul Frew MLA, objected to the proposal on the basis that it would harm Ballymena town centre.
He told the committee: "I support Green Pastures in their outreach within Ballymena. I also support the application for a church and social housing and some large-scale retail.
"But I cannot support an out-of-town shopping centre which will have a devastating effect for at least 300 years."
An objection was also raised by the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association.
Its chief executive Glyn Roberts said: "This application belongs in the past, not the future."


Assistant boss Paul Bodin says plans are already in place to try and strengthen the Port Vale squad for next season.

League One Vale only have nine players in the squad who currently have contracts that run beyond this summer.
"We're slowly putting things into place," 51-year-old Bodin told BBC Radio Stoke.
"There's lot of work going on behind the scenes in terms of looking at players for next season."
Vale can now turn more of their attention towards 2016-17 after seeing their play-off hopes all but ended by Saturday's defeat by Chesterfield - a result that left boss Rob Page fuming.
"You do a lot of work with contacts and trying to speak to players and getting character references," said Bodin.
"Even from the start of this season, we've been watching under-21 players and see how they develop - it's an on-going process.
"For all the work you do, you don't actually sign players until the end of June."


Lynda La Plante's Prime Suspect is among the books to be given away on World Book Night in 2015.

Other titles chosen include David Almond's Skellig, The Moaning of Life by Karl Pilkington and Roddy Doyle's short novel Dead Man Talking.
A poetry anthology has also been included on the list for the first time since the scheme launched in 2011.
Volunteers will hand out 250,000 free books on 23 April next year to encourage more people to read.
"I'm really pleased that one of my books is to be part of World Book Night," Almond said. "What a great, optimistic, liberating, democratic project."
The event is run by national charity The Reading Agency, with books donated by publishers.
The 20 titles for 2015 are:


Warren Gatland has said some players will miss out on being selected for Wales' autumn internationals under the so-called Gatland's Law.

The rule means only three players who play outside Wales can be picked.
Robert Howley will deputise for Gatland, who will take charge of the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.
"A couple of big names and big players are going to miss out in the autumn," Gatland said,
"That's going to be quite dramatic.
"Everyone's been questioning whether we're going to stick to that policy, and I can guarantee you that that's going to happen.  The players have been informed."
Wales host Australia, Argentina, Japan and South Africa at Cardiff's Principality Stadium in November.
Jamie Roberts, George North, Rhys Priestland and Luke Charteris are among the players who play in England, while Leigh Halfpenny is with Toulon in France.
In August, 2014, the Welsh Rugby Union and Wales' four professional regions signed a £60m, six-year deal that settled a long-running dispute over the sport's future.
That deal included rules that mean players based outside Wales could be overlooked in favour of home-based talent.
The policy ruled no player based overseas should represent Wales, although Gatland is able to make exceptions.


Academics have revealed what they claim is the first "historically accurate" portrait of Jane Austen's Mr Darcy - and he's a world away from the romantic hero of films and TV.

Instead of the broad shoulders and square jaw of Colin Firth there is a modestly-sized chest and pointy chin.
There is little description of him in Pride and Prejudice, so the academics used historical fashions from the 1790s, when it was written.
This version also wears a powdered wig.
"Our Mr Darcy portrayal reflects the male physique and common features at the time," says Amanda Vickery, professor of early modern history at Queen Mary University of London.
"Men sported powdered hair, had narrow jaws and muscular, defined legs were considered very attractive," she says.
Colin Firth got the nation's collective hearts racing in 1995 with his depiction of the mysterious Mr Darcy in the BBC's adaptation.
Further adaptations since have followed in the style of Firth's portrayal including  Matthew Macfadyen in the 2005 film of Pride and Prejudice.
But the academics say their muscular chests and broad shoulders would have been the sign of a labourer and not a gentleman at the time the book was written.
The fans' favourite Mr Darcy moments - when Colin Firth walked out of a lake dripping wet and Matthew Macfadyen crossed a field in the mist, both showing off their chests - would not have looked the same with the historically accurate Mr Darcy and his sloping narrow shoulders.
Some fans have not been impressed by the portrait.
Professor John Sutherland, from University College London, who led the research says they only had "scraps" of physical description of the character Fitzwilliam Darcy.
As well as looking at the fashions of the day they also looked at Austen's relationships and the men who may have inspired her characters.
"He is our most mysterious and desirable leading man of all time, says Prof Sutherland.
And he appears frequently in modern culture.
Further depictions of Mr Darcy include Matthew Rhys who played the character in the TV adaptation of the Pride and Prejudice "sequel" Death Comes to Pemberley.
He also inspired the character of Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding, also portrayed by Colin Firth in the film versions.
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Japan's Nikkei index fell 2% as the yen strengthened against the dollar in the wake of the US Fed's decision not to raise interest rates.

The Nikkei 225 index closed down 2% at 18,070.21. The dollar fell against the yen following the Fed's decision, which hit shares in Japanese exporters.
Shares in Toyota and Honda dropped 1.4%, while Panasonic was 2.1% lower.
A stronger yen against the dollar affects exporters, as it makes their goods more expensive to sell overseas.
The US Fed's decision to hold rates also renewed concerns about the strength of the global economy.
The Federal Reserve said worries over the global economy, particularly China, had influenced its decision not to raise rates.
US shares saw choppy trade after the decision, with both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 closing lower.
Angus Nicholson, market analyst at trading firm IG, said the Fed's decision to hold rates could influence other central banks to ease further.
"It is a telling sign for how much the global outlook has deteriorated in the past few months, with the likelihood for even an October hike now sitting at 19.2%," he said.
Chinese shares were mixed after government data showed that property prices had shown some signs of recovery.
New home prices rose for a fourth consecutive month in August, up 0.3% from the previous month, but were down 2.3% from a year ago.
The property sector accounts for 15% of China's economic growth, so even minimal gains have a positive impact on the world's second largest economy.
The Shanghai Composite index ended 0.4% higher at 3,097.92, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed up 0.3% at 21,920.83.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index erased earlier losses to end up 0.6% at 5,178.50.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index finished 1% higher at 1,995.95.


Spending the most money on players does not guarantee Premier League success, says Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.

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The Italian cited both Manchester clubs after Man Utd spent a world-record £89m on midfielder Paul Pogba and Man City spent £47.5m on defender John Stones.
Chelsea are top, four points clear of Tottenham and have an 11-point lead over City and 12 points over United with six games remaining.
"It's important to understand it's not always who spends more wins," he said.
"This season isn't the only season both Manchester clubs have spent a lot of money. Look at the past."
The Blues were third in Premier League spending summer after spending £123m on players including midfielder N'Golo Kante and defender David Luiz. Manchester City topped the list on £175m, while Manchester United parted with around £150m. Tottenham were fourth after spending around £70m.
Conte described the market as "crazy" after the Premier League transfer spending record was broken with six days of the summer transfer window remaining.
He says his approach is about evolution, rather than revolution, adding: "(We want) to build, also, slowly slowly to become a real power."
Chelsea are also chasing a league and FA Cup double in his first season in charge - the Blues will play Arsenal in the showpiece final at Wembley on 27 May.
Asked if clinching the Premier League would be his best achievement, Conte, who led Italian side Juventus to three successive Serie A titles, said: "Yes, for sure. For me, for the players, for the club.
"To win in England these days is not easy. Now, it's a good season. To become a great or fantastic season there is only one way: to try to win."
Conte also rejected Cesc Fabregas' call for Eden Hazard to be more selfish, after the midfielder said his team-mate could reach the level of Lionel Messi if he was "selfish" and showed greater "killer instinct".
"In my team, I don't want selfish players. I prefer to lose a game than to have a selfish player," the Italian said.
"The first target for every great champion is to play for the team and to put your talent into the team. The best players in the world don't exist without a team. I don't think Messi is a selfish player.
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"For me, it's sad to listen to this. I don't want my club to buy me a selfish player one day. Never. No."
Chelsea, who have suffered two defeats in four Premier League matches, will face Southampton at home on Tuesday night.
Defender Gary Cahill is Chelsea's only doubt after he missed the cup semi-final with gastroenteritis, but Conte said the England international has returned to training and could feature.


The mother of a 17-year-old boy who died in a canal during a police search has told a jury she wishes she had not dialled 999 for help.

Jack Susianta was reported missing from his home in Hackney, east London, in July last year, an inquest heard.
His mother Anna said her son, who died in the canal at Walthamstow Marshes, had taken the drug MDMA at a festival the week before.
She said he had been "scared" and "trying to get away" from police.
Ms Susianta told St Pancras Coroner's Court her son was "sporty, enthusiastic and keen to enjoy life", but that he had a few anxieties and paranoia.
She spoke of how the family tried to keep Jack calm after he had taken MDMA at a music festival with friends in the previous week.
The family alerted the police when Jack punched his brother and best friend Sam in the face after finding the front door of their home locked.
He then "karate-kicked" his way through a window and fled. He was in his boxer shorts and socks.
The former teacher said: "When I called 999 I said he has got mental health issues. He is scared of the police and just trying to get away.
"In retrospect, after he died, I wished I had not called them. He might have had a better chance of survival."
Witnesses have claimed police refused to enter the water to save the teenager. But the Metropolitan Police have denied this, saying one officer risked his life and entered the water.
The inquest continues.


Acting leader Harriet Harman has reshuffled Labour's shadow cabinet, replacing big names who lost their seats at the general election.

Chris Leslie replaces Ed Balls as shadow chancellor while Hilary Benn becomes shadow foreign secretary, succeeding Douglas Alexander.
Ian Murray, the party's only Scottish MP, becomes shadow Scottish Secretary.
Among other changes, Sadiq Khan leaves the shadow cabinet ahead of his bid to be Labour candidate for London mayor.
The timetable for replacing Ed Miliband as leader was discussed at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday evening.
Ms Harman told MPs there were "balanced arguments" over whether a short or long campaign would be best.
She also told them their job was to "challenge and harry" the Conservatives "every step of the way".
"You are going to be getting up there and at them," she said.
"We have got to throw off any sense of loss or mourning.
"The SNP are going to be strutting down this corridor, they want to see us downcast, we're not going to give them that pleasure."
At the same time as the reshuffle, Labour peer Lord Sugar - who did not have a formal role - announced he was quitting the party.
The businessman, who joined Labour in 1997, said he had "lost confidence" in the party because of its "negative business policies and the general anti-enterprise concepts they were considering if they were to be elected".
Lord Sugar, who was the party's enterprise adviser under Gordon Brown, said he had made the decision at the start of the year but had not disclosed it until after the election to avoid being seen to "stick the boot in" during the campaign.
Ms Harman is having to fill some notable gaps in Labour's top team after the party lost all but one of its Scottish MPs and unexpectedly saw other key figures such as Ed Balls lose their seats.
The likely leadership candidates to replace Ed Miliband - Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Chuka Umunna - will all stay in their jobs shadowing health, home affairs and business respectively.
Mr Leslie steps up from his previous role as shadow Treasury secretary to take Mr Balls' place in the key post of shadow chancellor, while Mr Leslie's number two will be Shabana Mahmood.
Mr Benn will shadow foreign secretary Philip Hammond, while his old role as communities and local government spokesman will be taken by Emma Reynolds. Chris Bryant takes the job of shadow culture secretary vacated by Ms Harman.
Mr Khan will be replaced by former cabinet minister Lord Falconer while Jon Cruddas, who helped write Labour's election manifesto and Lord Wood - a key ally of Ed Miliband - are also stepping down.
Announcing his departure, Mr Khan said it was "an opportunity for others to take on a leading role as we start the fightback for 2020", adding that he would "decide how best I can contribute to the fight over the coming months and years".


The new NHS non-emergency 111 telephone service in England is in a fragile state in a number of areas ahead of bank holiday weekend, NHS bosses admit.

Reports have been emerging for weeks of calls going unanswered and poor advice being given, leading to hospitals being inundated with patients.
The problems plaguing the advice line will now be discussed at a board meeting of NHS England on Friday.
Officials are expected to agree to an urgent review of the system.
A board paper produced by NHS England says some of the problems have been "unacceptable" and, despite improvements, the system still remains in a "fragile" state in places.
There are 46 individual 111 services across England. They were supposed to have been in place by 1 April to replace NHS Direct, although ministers relaxed this deadline after it became apparent some areas were not ready.
Seven have yet to go live. And of those that have, several have subsequently been suspended because of problems, while a number are relying on extra staff and support brought in from other parts of the health service.
One of the areas that has seen a 111 service start and then abandoned is Greater Manchester.
Dr Mary Gibbs, a GP who was providing out-of-hours cover when the system crashed there, said: "Calls just weren't coming through. It was totally inadequate. Patients' health was put at risk."
Where problems are continuing, NHS Direct - the service 111 was meant to replace - is remaining operational. A contingency fund of Â£8.4m has reportedly been set aside to fund this until June.
It comes as the NHS gears up for the three-day weekend.
The 111 service tends to be busiest when local GP surgeries are closed.
Dame Barbara Hakin, the interim chief operating officer for NHS England, said the organisations providing the 111 services, which include ambulance services, private companies and NHS Direct, would face having their contracts revoked if they continued to fall below the expected standards.
"We will be relentless and diligent in making sure that this service is as it should be everywhere.
"I am confident it is a great service in the majority of the country. I am not comfortable with that, it needs to be a great service everywhere."
Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the British Medical Association's GPs committee, said: "We are still receiving reports that patients are facing unacceptably long waits to get through to an NHS 111 operator and suffering from further delays when waiting for calls back with medical advice should they manage to have their call answered.
"The quality of some of the information being given out appears, from anecdotal sources, to be questionable in some instances."
He added: "If any area of the country is failing to meet high standards of care then its NHS 111 service needs to be suspended. NHS England also need to be more transparent about how the system is functioning across the country."


British Gas - the UK's biggest domestic energy supplier - is to cut gas prices by 5% on 27 February.

The supplier, part of the Centrica group, said the cut would reduce the typical household's annual energy bill by Â£37.
The move comes after E.On reduced its standard gas prices by 3.5% last week.
British Gas said that the price cut reflected the recent fall in wholesale gas prices, which suppliers have been under pressure to pass on.
"We've been watching the significant moves in the international energy market extremely closely for some time, with the aim of helping customers with a price cut at the earliest possible opportunity," said Iain Conn, chief executive of Centrica.
"Operating in such a volatile market, no pricing decision is straightforward."
Various commentators and politicians have said that energy firms should be reducing prices. The wholesale price, which usually moves in tandem with oil prices, has seen double-digit falls over recent months.
By some measures, wholesale gas prices are down by as much as 29%.
British Gas said that it was keeping prices under review subject to any further moves in the wholesale price.
Unlike E.On, which announced a price cut with immediate effect, British Gas said its change would not take effect for more than a month, following the coldest time of the year.
I have been with British Gas for years, but it is really disappointing to see that they are waiting for winter to end before lowering their prices.
If E.On can do it with immediate effect, why can't British Gas?
I lost my job a few months ago, and it is a real struggle trying to pay for everything, as well as heat the house, on Â£72.40 per week.
It has been snowing the last couple of days. I bet the bosses at any of the energy suppliers can afford to put the heating on for more than 30 minutes twice a day. I can't.
British Gas said that the move would benefit 6.8 million customers, most of whom were on its standard tariff, and that "we have done as much as we could as quickly as we could".
The cut "accurately reflects" the change it saw in its costs, given that a large amount of energy was bought by suppliers in advance, it added.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: "It's welcome to see British Gas cutting prices. We'll continue to encourage energy firms to pass on falls in wholesale prices to customers."
He suggested the price cut would not have been happened if suppliers were subject to Labour's proposed 20-month price freeze - a claim which Labour disputed.
Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "The right way forward on this is Labour's energy price freeze - which will mean that prices can only fall and cannot rise - and giving the regulator the power to cut prices when those changes don't get passed on."
Stephen Murray, of price comparison website Moneysupermarket, said: "The ball is firmly in the court of the remainder of the big six who are yet to make the next move and honour the energy savings that really should have been passed on to customers months ago."


Prime Minister David Cameron now has his very own flower.

Dubbed the Papilionanda David Cameron, Singapore's National Parks Board described the purple orchid as a "strong and upright flowering spray that could bear up to 10 large and attractive blooms".
The special hybrid flower was named after Mr Cameron during the second day of a four-day visit to Asia.
It is a Singapore tradition to cultivate orchids, its national flower.
The tropical Southeast Asian nation cultivates special orchid hybrids and names them after visiting foreign leaders as part of its diplomatic practice.
Many visiting diplomats including the late South African leader Nelson Mandela and Princess Diana, to more recently, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have had orchids named after them.
Celebrities have also had orchids named after them.
British singer Elton John, who visited Singapore in 2012, had a purple and white orchid hybrid named after him.
And stars from the sporting world are also honoured with a floral namesake.


Tiger Woods has once again had surgery on his back to try to cure pain in his back and leg and could be out of action for six months.

It is the third back operation the 14-time major winner from the United States has undergone in 19 months.
"When healed, I look forward living without the pain I have been battling so long," Woods, 41, said.
"I look forward to getting back to a normal life, playing with my kids and competing in professional golf."
The American, who is almost certain to miss the US Open, Open Championship and US PGA this summer, will rest for several weeks before beginning therapy and treatment.
He added: "The surgery went well, and I'm optimistic this will relieve my back spasms and pain."
Woods returned to action in December 2016 after 15 months out following two back operations.
He was forced to withdraw before the second round of February's Dubai Desert Classic after a back spasm.
And he was unable to take part in this month's Masters, an event in which the four-time champion has only competed once since 2014.
Woods won the last of his 14 major titles at the US Open in June 2008.
A statement on his website said that patients "typically return to full activity after six months".


Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says this year's intense battle with Ferrari has revived his love for Formula 1.

Mercedes dominated F1 from 2014-16 but Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel leads Lewis Hamilton by six points after five races of this season's championship.
Wolff said: "The last three years were extraordinary. But this season I have rediscovered why I love the sport.
"I love the intense competition. It means you won't be winning easily - you'll have a fierce fight."
Wolff added: "Because of that, the feeling is even greater when you manage to come out on top."
Hamilton won the last race in Spain to secure his second win of the season, the same number as Vettel.
The fight is equally tight in the constructors' championship, in which Mercedes' advantage is eight points.
Wolff said: "It's always good to come away from a race weekend with a points advantage, no matter how small. But the gap is just that: very small.
"We are in a massive fight with Ferrari. On one side, this is very exciting and challenging. But, on the other side, it is going to stretch us to our limits. You cannot base your current assessment on the balance of power on just Barcelona."
Wolff said Mercedes had identified the cause of the engine failure suffered by Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas in Spain, blaming the turbocharger.
He said: "We haven't seen that defect before, which shows you that you need to be double diligent. This is a technical sport and if you stretch your limits, you'll encounter technical problems.
"We expect Monaco to be a completely different ball game to Barcelona.
"The circumstances, working environment and driving challenges are completely different to anywhere else - and you need to get everything exactly right if you want to perform to your maximum around those streets.
"Not every factor is under your control, either, so you need to turn fortune in your favour at the right time if you want everything to come together.
"Every weekend will push us to the limit; this is the new reality of F1 in 2017."
Hamilton said the challenge of Monaco would be different this year following the introduction of faster, more demanding cars, which are 20cm wider than they have been since 1998.
"We have new cars this weekend which are wider and faster, so that's going to be a massive challenge," Hamilton said.
"In trying to push the car as close as you can to the limit, it'll be a real test of your awareness of where the car is. I'm sure there will be some brushing of the barriers…
"It's a circuit which is all about mental strength. You need to be sharp and clear. Experience counts here too - that helps massively in setting the car up."


New Zealand captain Richie McCaw said the feeling was "hard to describe" after the All Blacks ended a 24-year wait to win the World Cup.

The hosts edged to an 8-7 win against France in Auckland to become world champions for the second time.
"The guys dug as deep as they've ever dug before, I'm just so proud of everyone," he said.
"We couldn't have been under more pressure but we stuck to our guns and got there in the end."
The All Blacks went into the match as strong favourites against a France side who had reached the final despite being well below their best during the tournament.
When New Zealand took an early lead through Tony Woodcock's try, it looked as though they would pull away to win convincingly.
They're tough men and I think the whole country should be very proud of every single one of them
But France produced a hugely committed performance and, after a penalty from All Blacks replacement Stephen Donald made it 8-0, Thierry Dusautoir's converted try saw them put New Zealand under huge pressure in a tension-racked final half-hour.
Donald was the fourth-choice fly-half after Dan Carter, Colin Slade and Aaron Cruden - during the first half of the final - all succumbed to injury.
"The key [to winning the tournament] was expecting things like that to happen," said McCaw. "If you hope for the best and don't prepare for it, when adversity comes you're not ready for it.
"When you lose a guy like DC [Carter] it would be easy to drop your lip. But the next guy stepped up. I take my hat off to Beaver [Donald] but it is hard to pick out one guy."
Speaking of their long wait for the title, McCaw added: "I think at some stage some team was going to do it and this group of 30 had the opportunity.
I've got so much respect for what the boys have done over eight years. It's been outstanding
"You just have to keep getting up and believing in the mate beside you and trust in him and make sure you do your job. Everyone around New Zealand has given this team so much over the past six weeks and now we've repaid them.
"There's going to be a lot of stories told as we get older but no-one here can take it away from this group. They're tough men and I think the whole country should be very proud of every single one of them."
For New Zealand coach Graham Henry it was the final game of an eight-year reign, which included defeat by France at the quarter-final stage in 2007.
"Marvellous. The people have been have been outstanding in support of the team and the Rugby World Cup. I'm so proud to be a New Zealander standing here," he said.
"There was a bit of turmoil up there in the coaching box. Richie and the boys just hanging in there right through 80 minutes to win this thing is superb.
As you looked around Eden Park late on Sunday night, camera-flashes twinkling among the black-clad thousands in the stands like stars in the night sky, one emotion dominated all others: an enormous, unmistakable sense of relief
Read the rest of Tom's blog
"This is something we've dreamed of for a while, we can rest in peace.
"I've got so much respect for what the boys have done over eight years. It's been outstanding."
Hooker Keven Mealamu described the final as "probably the toughest 80 minutes of our lives".
"We knew it wasn't going to be easy," he added. "The French really came to play tonight and it took an 80-minute effort from us."
Scrum-half Piri Weepu, who was replaced in the 49th minute after a display that saw him miss three kicks at goal, said he hoped the All Blacks' victory would relieve the burden the nation has carried since their win in the inaugural 1987 event.
"I think everyone can sleep easy now and not worry so much," he said. "I think everyone will feel a lot better now."


An e-fit image of a man suspected of raping a girl 35 years ago has been re-released by police.

Dawn Clark, who was 15 at the time and known as Dawn Bridgeman, was attacked as she walked alone in the east Alderney area of Poole on 3 May 1982.
Ms Clark has waived her right to life-long anonymity in a bid to find her attacker.
"I just feel like he has turned my world upside down," she said.
Ms Clark's attacker put his arm around her neck and held a knife to her throat before raping her in a wooded area near St Brelades Avenue.
"It really changed my attitude towards men," she said.
"It changed my attitude towards trusting anybody. I feel like I am stuck in a rut all the time."
She added the attack had stopped her from maintaining a "normal relationship".
"I need justice," she said, adding: "Someone must know him."
Ms Clark's attacker, who apologised to her after the rape, was described as white, aged 25 to 30, 5ft 6in (1.67m), of medium build and with a pale complexion.
He had straight sandy-coloured hair, a full bristly blonde beard with a small moustache that was "barely noticeable", wore square gold-rimmed glasses, black trousers, black shoes and a dark jacket, police said.
Ms Clark said the 1980s e-fit re-issued by police was a "good likeness" of her attacker.
Det Insp Neil Phillips said officers had a DNA sample from the offender and eliminating potential suspects was "a very quick and easy process".
"The man responsible for this crime will now be aged in his 60s and has probably moved on with his life but due to his wicked actions Dawn cannot," he added.


The National Theatre is to introduce a policy banning critics from bringing so-called "plus ones" to performances.

Traditionally, theatres and music venues issue two tickets to every attending critic, so they can bring a friend or colleague to shows.
But the National Theatre website now states that, from August, critics will have to purchase any extra tickets.
The company said the move would allow them to offer more seats to critics from online and broadcast media.
The change in policy was first noticed in a press release for the upcoming production of the Threepenny Opera at the National's Olivier Theatre.
A line at the bottom stated: "In some cases, it may be possible to buy a second ticket. If you would like to bring a guest, do let us know."
Mark Shenton, chairman of the drama section of the Critics' Circle and lead critic of The Stage, raised the issue with the National Theatre after feedback from colleagues.
In a letter to the company, he said other critics were concerned the "breach of a long-established protocol" would "spread to other theatres".
"Of course there is no automatic right to a second free ticket, and this is definitely in the category of privilege not a right," he said.
"But the National also imposed it without any prior notice or consultation whatsoever, and it was only on a close reading of the latest invitation to their next production that the new policy came to light."
Responding to Mr Shenton's concerns, Vicky Kington, the National Theatre's head of press, said the company would delay implementing the new policy until August.
"Having listened to your concerns it is clear that we did not give enough time to introduce this change," Ms Kington wrote back to Mr Shenton.
"With this in mind we can now confirm that the NT's policy of offering a pair of press tickets on press night to each show in the Olivier and Lyttelton, will remain in place until August 2016, when the new policy of one ticket, plus one to buy, will begin."
Ms Kington suggested more tickets will go to bloggers in an attempt to get more reviews published outside of print media.
"Whilst it's vital that we maintain and nurture the highly-valued, long-standing relationships we already have with the press, we also need to reach new audiences through wider engagement with broadcast, print and online media," Ms Kington said.
A spokesman for the National Theatre said second tickets will be available to buy at a special rate of Â£20.
The Telegraph's theatre critic Dominic Cavendish criticised the new policy.
"The need to listen to others, justify opinions, thrash things out in intervals and after the show - what most audience-members do, after all - is essential on occasion to maintaining perspective, and reining in tendencies to egotism or kill-joyism," he said.
"The plus one is an invaluable, inexpensive extra weapon in a critic's armoury - aimed, honourably, at striking after the 'truth' of an experience - and for any theatre to deprive lead reviewers of that weapon is only to shoot itself in the foot."
Some critics have suggested the move is in response to a string of poor reviews that recent productions at the National Theatre have received.
Wonder.land, Here We Go and Evening at the Talk House have all received negative reviews since Rufus Norris took over as artistic director in March 2015.


Cheshire Police are to review the awarding of Cheshire East Council contracts to the council leader's physiotherapist.

Leader Michael Jones resigned last week after facing criticism over his links with the owner of a fitness company.
He denied any wrongdoing and said he stood down to avoid infighting within the Conservative group.
Cheshire Police's Economic Crime Unit will "review the available material" to see if an investigation is needed.
The council waived its financial rules when it granted three contracts to Core Fit Ltd, collectively worth Â£156,000.
The company, which is owned by physiotherapist Amanda Morris, runs fitness classes in schools.


Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure would prefer to play "without a referee" in Thursday's derby with Manchester United after criticising the standard of officiating in the FA Cup semi-final defeat by Arsenal.

Referee Craig Pawson ruled out Sergio Aguero's first-half strike at Wembley.
Replays suggested the goal should have stood and City went on to lose the game 2-1 after extra time.
"I think the referees have to stop this," said Toure.
"I am very disappointed. It is not the first time, there have been a couple of times.
"Maybe on Thursday we are going to have a better referee or maybe play without a referee - I'd prefer that."
Officials ruled that Leroy Sane's cross had gone out of play before reaching Aguero.
The Argentina striker later did score to put City ahead but goals from Nacho Monreal and Alexis Sanchez sent Arsenal into May's FA Cup final, where they will meet Chelsea.
Defeat means City's focus switches to the Premier League. They are currently fourth but United will leapfrog them if they win on Thursday.
"It is a very big game, an important game," added Toure.
"We have to do that job and we will see what can happen. We hope we are going to have a good referee."


The Grenfell Tower public inquiry chairman is prepared to be "very broad" when looking at the causes of the fire, a senior source has told the BBC.

Sir Martin Moore-Bick's inquiry will "go right back to the construction of the tower" in the 1970s to examine warnings that may have been missed.
He said previously it was unlikely the inquiry would look at wider social issues in Kensington and Chelsea.
The remit of the inquiry will be decided by the prime minister.
But residents will be consulted, a series of meetings is being planned and a document setting out a list of questions is being prepared.
Sir Martin was said to be "open-minded" about the breadth of the inquiry - "he's not just looking at the physics and chemistry" of the fire, the source said.
It is likely to consider in detail whether the nature of the building regulations contributed to the fire, but it is unlikely the impact of the regulations elsewhere in the country will be part of its scope.
Residents have said they are concerned the inquiry will not go far enough and have threatened to pull out if their concerns are not met.
Theresa May is expected to make a statement to the House of Commons on the remit before the parliamentary recess in three weeks' time.
At least 80 people are thought to have died in the fire at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, west London, on 14 June.
Police have warned that the final death toll will not be known until at least the end of the year and appealed for the public to come forward with any information about those who were inside at the time.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed on Monday that no-one who was illegally subletting flats in Grenfell Tower would face prosecution.
In a statement, he told MPs: "There may have been people living in flats that were illegally sublet who have no idea about the true status of their tenancy.
"Their families want to know if they perished in the fire. These are their sons, their daughters, their brothers, their sisters. They need closure and it's the least that they deserve.
"But that can't happen unless we have the information we need, so we are urging anyone with that information to come forward and to do so as quickly as they can."
Mr Javid said there continued to be a 100% failure rate for combustibility tests on cladding from 181 other high-rise blocks so far.
He told MPs that the testing process had been independently reviewed and found to be "sound" and that the findings of the review had been published.
Mr Javid said it was right that the leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, Nick Paget-Brown, had resigned following criticism of the authority's handling of the tragedy.
The Kensington and Chelsea Conservative group announced on Monday that it had chosen Elizabeth Campbell as its new leader.
Ms Campbell, who is expected to be confirmed in the role on 19 July, apologised for the council's handling of the fire.
In her first statement since her selection, she said: "This is our community and we have failed it when people needed us the most. So, no buts, no ifs, no excuses. I am truly sorry."
Westminster City Council director of housing Barbara Brownlee said 126 families had been offered accommodation, 10 needed to be offered homes, and there were a number of families who were not yet ready to work with the council at all.
Meanwhile, some of the survivors have written a letter to the prime minister with 12 demands for changes in the way the disaster is being handled.
These include:
BMElawyers4Grenfell, a group of black and minority ethnic lawyers, wrote the letter on behalf of some of the survivors.
It followed a meeting at the House of Commons last week arranged by shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, and attended by shadow justice minister Richard Burgon, Labour MP for Kensington Emma Dent Coad and Labour MP for Tottenham David Lammy.
Referring to Sir Martin, Ismet Rawat, president of the Association of Muslim Lawyers, said: "He stated that his remit would be extremely narrow so people are thinking: 'This is going to be a bit of a whitewash, we don't have confidence in it.'."


The SNP has questioned whether the Brexit process should be delayed by the political crisis in Northern Ireland.

The party's deputy leader Angus Roberson pointed out that Theresa May has pledged to consult with devolved administrations over Brexit.
With an election looming at Stormont, Mr Robertson questioned if Article 50 could be triggered in March as planned.
Mrs May said with ministers still in place, her government was still able to take Northern Irish views on board.
The prime minister was also asked about the Scottish Brexit proposals published by Nicola Sturgeon during her weekly question session, while Labour's Ian Murray accused her of being "a threat to the Union".
Meanwhile, Scottish Brexit minister Mike Russell is in London for talks with his UK government counterpart David Davis.
After deputy first minister Martin McGuinness resigned in protest over the botched handling of a heating scheme, which could cost taxpayers Â£490m, his party Sinn FÃ©in has said it will not enter negotiations and is preparing for an election.
Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire said it was "highly likely we are heading towards an election".
During prime minister's questions, Mr Robertson, who leads the SNP group at Westminster, said it "stands to reason" that this could affect the timetable for Brexit.
He said: "The prime minister has indicated that she wants to take the views of the elected representatives and the devolved institutions on Brexit seriously.
"So it stands to reason that if there is no Northern Irish assembly, and there is no Northern Irish executive for much of the time before the March timetable she has set before invoking Article 50, then she will be unable to properly consult, to fully discuss and to find agreement on the complex issues during this time period.
"In these circumstances, will the prime minister postpone invoking Article 50, or will she just plough on regardless?"
Mrs May responded: "We want to ensure that we do hear views from all parts of the United Kingdom.
"I'm clear that first of all we can find a resolution to the political situation in Northern Ireland so we can continue to see the assembly government continuing.
"But I've also been clear that in the discussions we have, it is still the case that ministers are in place, and that obviously there are executives in place, and we are able to take the views of the Northern Ireland."
Later in the session, Labour MP Ian Murray said Mrs May's "lack of priority for the single market is putting jobs in Scotland and the economy at risk".
The prime minister has said the UK cannot expect to hold on to "bits" of its EU membership after leaving.
The Edinburgh MP said the suggestion that ties with the single market may be cut meant Mrs May's government "is as big a threat to the Union as the SNP".
He added: "Her government is not worthy of the trust of Scots let alone their blind trust. So will the prime minister take this opportunity to apologise for threatening the Union and give a solemn promise to every single person in this country that they will not be a penny worse off after a Tory Brexit?"
Mrs May accused Mr Murray of "downplaying" the opportunities Brexit could offer the UK..
She said: "You will be very well aware that I want to see the best possible trade deal for the United Kingdom with the EU, the best possible deal for trading with and operating within the single European market.
"Unlike the sort of downplaying that you do about the approach that we are taking I have to say it is this government that is ambitious for the opportunities that are available to this country once we leave the European Union."
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has put forward a set of "compromise" proposals for Brexit, which Mrs May was questioned about by SNP MP Chris Law.
She told the Dundee West MP that her government would set out more detail for its Brexit plans in "a matter of weeks".
The prime minister added: "I would like just to remind the honourable gentleman when he talks about the Scottish Government's plan that of course it is his party, the Scottish Nationalist Party, that wants to leave the United Kingdom and therefore leave the European Union."


UK new car sales rose in September, helped by strong purchases from fleet buyers and the new 66 number plate.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 469,696 new cars were registered in the month, a rise of 1.6% from 462,517 last year.
It is the highest sales total for September on record, but the figures also showed sales to private motorists fell for the sixth month in a row.
The best-selling new car in September was the Ford Fiesta.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said: "September is always one of the biggest months for Britain's new car market.
"The new 66-plate, combined with a diverse range of exciting new models featuring the latest technology, has certainly helped draw buyers into showrooms."
The total number of cars registered so far this year has now reached 2.15 million, according to the SMMT. Fleet sales continued to drive growth, climbing 7.3% year on year in September.
But registrations to private motorists slipped by 1.7%, the sixth consecutive month of decline.
This followed "record levels of growth in 2015", the SMMT cautioned. But Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, warned consumers were "recoiling" from making big-ticket purchases due to uncertainty about the economy.
"Car manufacturers also are beginning to raise prices in response to sterling's depreciation," he added.
"In addition, much of the pent-up demand from households that put off car purchases during the recession also has now been satiated.
"As such, with growth in households' real incomes set to slow sharply, as inflation revives and firms pause on hiring, and loan rates now at a floor, we expect [private] car sales to continue to fall over the next year."
Source: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
Mr Hawes also said the car industry continued to face uncertainty.
"Business and consumers place September orders many months in advance," he said.
"So the ability of the market to maintain this record level of demand will depend on the ability of government to overcome political uncertainty and safeguard the conditions that underpin consumer appetite."
In September, Mr Hawes warned that the success of the UK motor industry could be "jeopardised" if the UK left the single market following Brexit.
According to the SMMT data, the growth in registrations of alternatively fuelled vehicles continued to outpace the market in September, climbing 32.6% year on year. However, their market share remained small at 3.4%.


The script from the forthcoming Harry Potter play has leapt to the top of bestseller lists, a day after its July release was announced.

A hardback edition of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts I & II will be released on 31 July, the day after the play has debuted on stage in London.
Following Wednesday's news, pre-orders have propelled it to number one on the Amazon and Waterstones book charts.
The play sees Harry as a father and an overworked Ministry of Magic employee.
The script is from an original new story by JK Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will tell the "untold part" of the boy wizard's story, including the story of the lives of his murdered parents, Rowling has said.
In a statement, Waterstones said it expected pre-orders to break all records and were already exceeding those for Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman over the comparable period.
Last year, Go Set a Watchman was the first title whose pre-orders reached the heights of those for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007.
James Daunt, chief executive of Waterstones, also told Radio 4's Today the "prospect of an eighth volume is extraordinarily exciting".
"I challenge the notion that plays aren't a fabulous, an extraordinary, thing to read -  that bloke Shakespeare wrote a few that were worth it, and indeed many of our modern playwrights do too.
"Because theatre is a very local phenomenon, play scripts do sell well, they just do so in the immediate locality of the theatre. They are wonderful entertainment, more people should do it."
The special rehearsal edition of the script book will comprise the version of the play early in the production's preview period and is therefore subject to being changed before the official opening.
The edition will, therefore, only be available for a limited time, said the publisher, "to be replaced by the definitive collector's edition at a later date".
David Shelley, chief executive of the publishers Little, Brown Book Group said on Wednesday: "We are so thrilled to be publishing the script of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
"JK Rowling and her team have received a huge number of appeals from fans who can't be in London to see the play and who would like to read the play in book format - and so we are absolutely delighted to be able to make it available for them."
The play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, has already proved to be a success with an initial round of  175,000 tickets sold in October within 24 hours of booking opening. Producers released a second batch, available to fans who had registered for priority booking.
A third set is still to go on sale but the date is yet to be announced.
Previews of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child begin in May at London's Palace Theatre, with both plays set to open on 30 July.
Jamie Parker, currently starring in the West End show Guys and Dolls, will star as an adult Harry in the production.
Noma Dumezweni, known for her 2006 Olivier Award-winning role in A Raisin in the Sun and for stepping in at the last minute to replace Kim Cattrall in Linda at the Royal Court, will play Hermione Granger.
London Road star Paul Thornley will play Ron Weasley.


An airman who disappeared 10 months ago was "known to sleep in rubbish on a night out", police have said.

Corrie Mckeague, 23, has not been seen since a night out in Bury St Edmunds last September, when CCTV showed him entering a bin loading bay.
Suffolk Police has confirmed its search of waste at Milton landfill was at an end.
Mr Mckeague's family say they are "devastated" at the news and disputed claims he would have slept in a bin.
Live updates: Reaction following Corrie Mckeague press conference
The tortuous search for Corrie Mckeague
Police said all the information "points to the fact Corrie was transported to the landfill".
Det Supt Katie Elliott said the landfill search for Mr Mckeague had been "systematic, comprehensive and thorough".
She said: "Corrie had been known to go to sleep in rubbish on a night out. There is no evidence to support any other explanation at this time."
Responding to the news, Corrie's father Martin Mckeague posted a statement on his Facebook page saying: "The McKeague family in Scotland is devastated by today's announcement.
"At no point did we think that the search of the site would end this way, and as all the evidence tells us that Corrie is somewhere in that landfill site, we are heartbroken at the thought that we may not be able to bring Corrie home together."
His mother Nicola Urquhart said: "I have tried really to put my trust in them (the police) but to say I am devastated that they are now saying they think he is still in there but they are going to stop searching, I cannot begin to explain how that makes me feel."
She said she did not believe there was evidence he slept in bins and was "angry" at the claim.
Det Supt Elliott said police had spoken to one witness who had previously found Mr Mckeague asleep in a bin and he had been known to previously sleep on park benches, in toilets and stair wells.
Although material from the time and place of Mr Mckeague's disappearance has been found at the landfill, the serviceman, from Dunfermline, Fife, has not been discovered.
In June, Mr Mckeague's girlfriend April Oliver, from Norfolk, gave birth to their daughter.
The police investigation had established early on that Mr Mckeague's mobile phone tracked the same route, and at the same pace, as a bin lorry on the night of his disappearance.
But initial inquiries found the rubbish truck was carrying a load of 11kg (1st 10lb), suggesting Mr Mckeague was not on the refuse truck.
Then in March it emerged the true weight of the truck contents was more than 100kg (15st 10lb).
The error was a "genuine mistake", Suffolk Police said.
Corrie's mother, Nicola Urquhart, said the initial assurance from police that he was not in the bin lorry had been "the one thing that was giving me hope that he was still alive".
Police say they will now search previously incinerated waste and carry out a review of the investigation for any fresh leads in the case.


Four students from a Lancashire university were among the 40 people injured in the Westminster attack.

Edge Hill University students Owen Lambert and Travis Frain, were hit as a car drove along the pavement on Westminster Bridge as the attack began.
Mr Frain is having surgery to his leg, the university said.
University Pro Vice Chancellor Lynda Brady said of the remaining 12 students, three were back home and nine others were returning.
They were part of a group of 13 students - with a lecturer - on a visit to the Houses of Parliament.
Mr Lambert, 18, from Morecambe, is understood to have required stitches to a head wound. Two other students needed treatment for lesser injuries.
Quoted in the Lancaster Guardian, Mr Lambert said he was "battered and bruised, but doing fine".
He also thanked police and hospital staff "for helping me through this ordeal".
Dr John Cater, vice chancellor of the university, told BBC North West Tonight the students were on the first day of a two-day visit to London. They had been inside the House of Commons watching Prime Minister's Questions two hours before the attack.
He added: "Our assumption is that they were either knocked over by other people or struck by the vehicle.
"Obviously all of them will be somewhat traumatised by what they have seen."


Eight suspects, including a woman, remain in custody on suspicion of being directly linked to Friday's deadly attack on holidaymakers in the Tunisian resort of Sousse, a minister has said.

Four other people who had been detained have been released, he added.
Thirty-eight tourists were killed when a gunman opened fire on a beach. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Thirty of the victims were British, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said.
"We can say with a high degree of confidence that is now the final death toll of British nationals killed in this incident," Mr Hammond said.
Tunisia's government fears the attack will destroy its tourism industry, the country's biggest foreign currency earner.
In March, two gunmen killed 22 people at the famous Bardo museum in Tunisia's capital, Tunis.
Government minister Kamel Jendoubi said at a media conference that investigations had "allowed us to discover the network behind the operation in Sousse''.
He did not elaborate on the identities of the suspects or their alleged role.
Mr Jendoubi said 10 UK investigators were assisting with the investigation, the AFP news agency reports.
He added that Tunisia has deployed 1,377 armed security agents at hotels and on beaches to guarantee the safety of people, AFP reports.
Tunisian authorities have identified 28-year-old student Seifeddine Rezgui as the gunman who carried out the attack.
The BBC's Rana Jawad in Tunisia says his former room-mates are among those who have been freed.
Police have released photos of two suspects, Bin Abdallah and Rafkhe Talari - friends of Rezgui whom they are yet to locate.
Officials believe both the Sousse and Bardo museum gunmen were trained in Libya, which has been mostly lawless since Nato-led forces overthrew long-serving ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
IS has built a significant presence in Libya, Tunisia's eastern neighbour, and is thought to control the major towns of Derna and Sirte.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has announced that all 30 Britons killed in the attack have been identified.
Here's what we know so far about those who lost their lives.
Some survivors have also been speaking out about their ordeal.
Latest African news updates


Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne says he wants to bring refuelling back to Formula 1 from 2017, despite opposition from teams.

Attending the Canadian Grand Prix, Marchionne admitted he was one of the main proponents of the idea.
The teams have investigated the effects of refuelling returning and found these would be almost entirely negative.
Asked if he still wanted it to return, Marchionne said: "I do," but would reconsider if findings were definitive.
Marchionne said refuelling might be the answer if combined with other changes under consideration, such as freeing up tyre choice, which is being discussed by teams and tyre supplier Pirelli.
He said: "You have to find out the impact that a combination of refuelling, tyre changes and a variety of other changes are going to have on the sport.
"Singularly it may not be the answer, but combined with other things it might be."
Media playback is not supported on this device
He added: "I am not sure what the findings are actually saying. Refuelling by itself has no value other than the fact it adds variability to the race.
"Fuel loads, how many times you refuel, when you refuel; they are all things that are important.
"Some people argue that you can come up with a deterministic model that will make everyone refuel at the same time, which is absolute hogwash. Especially if you combine that with a higher degree of freedom on the choice of tyres, which is I think is probably a lot more important than the refuelling strategy.
"So, I think there is a willingness on behalf of Pirelli to provide that flexibility to the teams which will create additional variability and will make the sport interesting to watch."
The idea to bring back refuelling, which was in the sport from 1994 to 2009, came out of a meeting of the rule-making strategy group last month. Marchionne and Donald MacKenzie, the boss of commercial rights holders CVC were its main proponents.
The strategy group asked a working group to look at its effects.
This study showed refuelling would dramatically reduce the number of on-track overtaking manoeuvres and that plans to have high-pressure rigs that made stops only three seconds would reduce strategic variation.
Race director Charlie Whiting is to present these findings to the next meeting of the strategy group, along with the information that the teams are uniformly opposed to the idea.
Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff said: "When we discussed it in the strategy group, it didn't have a lot of support.
"We agreed to explore it, to discuss it in the technical regulations meeting and the SRM. and analyse it properly.
"The feedback was 100% negative - too expensive, not safe enough, detrimental to the races and strategies, so it will go back in the strategy group and my opinion is it shouldn't happen. I'm not keen on getting refuelling back into F1."
Marchionne said he would listen to the findings before making his final decision.
"If the findings are such that it provides zero additional spectacle value, in the sense of creating something that the sport fans want, then I think we should stay away," he said.
"I haven't seen the evidence. We keep on hearing noises about what kitchen-concocted studies have yielded. I understand them.
"The question is you have to find out the impact of the combination of refuelling, tyre changes and variety of other changes are going to have on the sport.


Cardiff Blues head coach Danny Wilson says Matthew Morgan's second-half performance against Bristol proved decisive in their victory.

Morgan, 24, scored two tries as the Blues reached the European Challenge Cup quarter-finals with a 37-21 win.
"You need to be able to put pressure on kickers to force loose kicks but that's why we've got him here," Wilson said.
"He's electric when he's got that type of opportunity and I thought he was fantastic in that second half."
The Blues will face Gloucester at Kingsholm in the quarter-finals, after Stade Francais beat Harlequins 27-17 in their final group game.
They could have faced a last eight tie against fellow Welsh region Ospreys if Quins had beaten the French side on Sunday.
Wilson continued: "If you kick loosely to him [Morgan], his instinct and where to come back was superb. We saw that today and that's why we've got him out there."
Former Bristol back Morgan set up Sam Warburton to run in late on in their win against Bristol and says they need to maintain the rapport in their back line.
"We've got a good back three at the Blues. We are all on the same page to counter-attack, which is paying off," Morgan told BBC Radio Wales.
"We need to keep that up for the rest of the season. With the season we've had, it's good [to reach the quarter-finals]. We've had a couple of wins and losses but to get through is pretty special. Now we need to kick on.
"Whoever we get, it's going to be a tough game, but I think if we play the best rugby we can, we can give anyone a game."
Blues' quarter final opponents will be decided by the outcome of the Stade Francais v Harlequins match at 13:00 GMT on Sunday.
A Harlequins win would see Blues face Welsh rivals Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium while a home win would mean Danny Wilson's side facing Gloucester away.


England prop Joe Marler will face an independent World Rugby misconduct hearing for calling Wales forward Samson Lee "Gypsy boy".

Six Nations organisers had ruled Marler would not be punished for his comments made during a game on 12 March.
But World Rugby, which governs the international game, says his remarks "amount to misconduct and/or a breach" of its code of conduct.
The case will be heard "as soon as practically possible".
Marler apologised to Lee, who is from the Traveller community, at half-time during England's 25-21 win over Wales at Twickenham.
The Harlequins player was subsequently reprimanded by England head coach Eddie Jones, but the decision not to sanction him caused upset.
Campaigners from the Traveller community - and figures inside the sport - were critical of Marler for making the comment and called for a ban.
The Welsh Rugby Union was also disappointed with the outcome.
It released a statement saying: "We stand by our belief that there is no place for the use of racist language in sport."
Like Lee, Wales head coach Warren Gatland described the incident as "banter" but later apologised following criticism.
Meanwhile, Conor O'Shea, Marler's club coach at Harlequins, has leant his support to the under-fire forward.
"He is not in any way shape or form racist," O'Shea said. "He is an edgy person, he made a mistake and he apologised.
"Does he know that he has got a responsibility? Of course he does. Do we accept it? Of course we don't, but some of the vitriol that has been directed to him is tough for a 25-year old to take and he has to take it on the chin."


Pupils are feeling unsafe at a school because staff are not tackling bullying and poor behaviour, a report found.

It comes after a pupil was attacked with a knife at Worle Community School in March, followed by head teacher Peter Binding being given leave with no stated return date.
The school in Weston-super-Mare - rated inadequate - also has areas pupils feel are no-go zones and high truancy rates.
North Somerset Council said the school will be run by an academy to improve.
The report said: "There are some areas of the school site where pupils say they do not feel safe, and as a result they stay in central areas at break - and lunchtime.
"This is because at these times some areas, particularly the school field, are dominated by groups of mainly boys, who are confrontational and do not respond quickly when challenged by staff."
Inspectors were also concerned about "inadequate" progress in maths and low expectations of some disabled, special educational needs and disadvantaged pupils.
School governors were also criticised for failing to hold the school's leaders to account.
Several points were made to address the issue, through calling in the local authority to review safeguarding, train and support teachers to deal with poor behaviour and "rapidly raise achievement" particularly in maths, for special needs and disadvantaged pupils.
The council said it was aware of the problems there, but the rate of progress was "not fast enough".
The school will be managed by North Somerset Priory Community School, an outstanding Academy Trust (PCSA) from Monday.
PCSA's head teacher, Neville Coles said he wanted to address "key areas" and get a more supportive environment in place, with "respect and courtesy" at the forefront.
Jeans and trainers are also being banned, in favour of a "spot-on" uniform.
The school has been rated as good in its previous June 2014 inspection.


In the White House game of thrones, where senior administration officials fend off adversaries at every turn while vying for power and prominence, Mike Pence has been a relatively quiet player.

The vice-president is always in the background, often looking over Donald Trump's shoulder with an approving nod as the president delivers a speech or signs yet another executive order. When it comes to engaging in the bare-knuckle brawling that has played itself out through anonymous sources and well-timed insider leaks, however, the vice-president and his associates have largely stayed out of the fray.
Thursday night, then, was quite unusual. Two major US media outlets - CNN and NBC News - ran articles, complete with quotes from anonymous White House sources, distancing the vice-president from the current chaos in the administration and the running controversy over possible Trump campaign ties to the Russian government during the 2016 US presidential election.
"We certainly knew we needed to be prepared for the unconventional," an unnamed Pence aide told CNN's Elizabeth Landers, but "not to this extent".
The proximate cause for the concern among the vice-president's camp was a New York Times article earlier this week reporting that Michael Flynn, Mr Trump's prominent campaign surrogate and short-lived national security adviser, had in early January informed the presidential transition team - then headed by Mr Pence - that he was under investigation for his ties to the Turkish government.
In March Mr Pence denied any knowledge of Mr Flynn's Turkish ties before they were made public earlier that month.
A "source close to the administration" told NBC that Mr Pence stands by his comments and he was not told of Mr Flynn's Turkish connections.
"That's an egregious error - and it has to be intentional," the source said. "It's either malpractice or intentional, and either are unacceptable."
Complicating matters for the vice-president is that this is not the first time he has taken the White House line, only to be undercut by subsequent revelations.
Just last week he asserted, repeatedly, that the president decided to fire FBI Director James Comey based on a memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
One day later the president himself told an interviewer that he knew he was going to terminate the law enforcement chief before the memo was even written.
Mr Pence was also part of the White House efforts in January to push back against reports that Mr Flynn discussed US sanctions on Russia with that nation's ambassador to the US, Sergei Kislyak - allegations that were later proven to be true.
Mr Flynn was fired, the White House said, for misleading the vice-president on the matter.
If Thursday night's story is any indication, the vice-president may now be trying to put some distance between himself and an administration that has made a habit of leaving him out on a limb.
If the Trump presidency is truly in trouble, and this week's appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller is a dark storm cloud on the horizon, this could be evidence that the vice-president is contemplating a future after Mr Trump. He's certainly not abandoning ship, but he's familiarising himself with where the lifeboats are stored.
If so, he's not the only one. Politico ran a story earlier this week about conservatives - on the record and off - who were "hinting" that a President Pence would be a welcome reprieve from the drama of the Trump presidency.
To get there, of course, Mr Trump would have to resign or be removed from office, leaving the vice-president as next in line for the job.
Such speculation is decidedly premature, of course, but then there was another tidbit this week that has stoked the flames.
Trump-Russia Scandal: How did we get here?
Follow Anthony Zurcher on Twitter.
Mr Pence, according to Federal Election Commission filings, has started a committee to collect political donations.
A source within the vice-president's office told NBC that the "Great American Committee", as it's named, will allow Mr Pence to cover travel expenses and support Republican candidates in upcoming elections.
It's a move, however, that none of the vice-president's predecessors ever made - and has been a traditional opening step for past presidential candidates.
Democrats have also taken note of Mr Pence's manoeuvres and are adjusting their fire accordingly.
"Mike Pence was a major player in the scandals enveloping the Trump administration, and no amount of spinning and leaking to reporters from him and his team can change that fact," writes Oliver Willis of the liberal website Shareblue.
There's no telling what Mr Trump, who prizes loyalty above all else, thinks of all this.
Reports are he's been angered in the past by aides, such as top White House adviser Steve Bannon, who have stepped too far into the limelight.
He famously said of Mr Comey in January that he had "become more famous than me" - then later justified sacking him by saying he was a "showboat" and a "grandstander".
There is of course one key difference between Mr Pence and anyone else working in the Trump administration.
The vice-president got his job through the will of American voters (or, at least, the Electoral College).
Mr Trump can't fire him.


Christmas sales figures are likely to be "acceptable" rather than "exceptional", the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has predicted.

It has estimated that Â£5bn will have been spent in Britain's shops over the weekend, as millions of people stocked up on food, drink and presents.
The BRC says many shoppers waited until the last minute to pick up a bargain.
Meanwhile, several retailers are reportedly bringing their online sales forward to Christmas Eve.
High streets, shopping centres and supermarkets were reportedly packed with shoppers on the last few trading days before Christmas.
Many retailers have already started discounting products in advance of the traditional "Boxing Day" sales.
Saturday was expected to have been the busiest day of the year on the high street, with credit card company Visa Europe predicting more than 31 million transactions.
Richard Dodd, head of media and campaigns at the BRC, said: "People have left it very late this year because of their reluctance to spend.  They are holding out for bargains.
"It's been a very busy weekend which will be crucial to delivering a Christmas that is acceptable, rather than exceptional," he added.
Supermarket chain Sainsbury's said the hour between 12:00 and 13:00 GMT on Sunday was its busiest hour ever in terms of the number of customers served.
The company said it expected to sell 225,000 bottles of champagne, 56 million mince pies, 52 million Brussels sprouts and 6,500 tonnes of potatoes over the festive period.
Traders in London's West End had predicted that one million people would shop in the area during the three days leading to Christmas Eve, spending an estimated Â£100m.
At Brent Cross shopping centre in north London, centre manager Tom Nathan said the weekend would be their busiest period because schools had broken up late and Christmas Day was on a Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Bluewater shopping centre in Kent expected more than 275,000 shoppers to pass through in the days before Christmas Eve, while Birmingham's Bullring centre predicted it would welcome about 340,000 consumers.
Bullring general manager Tim Walley said: "This Christmas we essentially have an extra weekend of trading in comparison to December 2011, so we're expecting a bumper weekend."
But despite optimism in some quarters, the Local Government Association (LGA) said confidence on the high street remained low.
Its annual Christmas survey found that 84% of town centre managers said confidence among shoppers had either not improved or worsened compared to Christmas 2011.
A cold and wet start to the winter could also be taking its toll on the number of shoppers visiting town centres, the LGA concluded.


Ireland coach Joe Schmidt fears that Paul O'Connell's international career may be over after his captain was forced off with a serious-looking leg injury in the 24-9 victory over France.

"It doesn't look great with Paul. It looks like an upper hamstring but we will probably have to wait until Monday to give it a scan," said Schmidt.
Fly-half Johnny Sexton is also set for a scan on a groin strain.
Peter O'Mahony suffered a suspected knee injury but is less of a concern.
Lock O'Connell, 35, is leaving international rugby and joining Toulon after the World Cup - having won 108 caps.
In addition to the injury worries for next Sunday's quarter-final against Argentina in Cardiff, flanker Sean O'Brien could face a citing for an alleged punch on Pascal Pape.
Sexton, who landed two early penalties, was the first of the trio to leave after 25 minutes following a hefty hit from Louis Picamoles.
O'Connell left on a stretcher off at half-time and then O'Mahony departed in the second half.
"It's probably Paul that worries me most of the three," observed Schmidt.
"With Johnny, it looks like an adductor to me, but it's not the learned eye of a medic. So we are probably going to get him scanned tomorrow.
"He's already talking about next week. I'm not sure whether that means he'll be playing. He's never short of advice.
"O'Mahony didn't seem too bad, we are hopeful. I think it's a twisted ankle or knee. He was walking pretty well in the changing room and hopefully he'll be OK."
Number eight Jamie Heaslip, part of a formidable Irish back-row, said the team had crucially not panicked after the injuries.
"At half-time, it was actually quite a calm changing room. Everyone just kind of switched into their role and adapted a bit to the solutions, who was fitting in where and how we were going to proceed," Heaslip said.
"All the guys who stepped in put in a massive amount of work."
Ian Madigan came on for Sexton and directed the Irish team well, kicking two penalties and converting Conor Murray's try after Rob Kearney had crossed for the first on 50 minutes.
"You're always delighted when a young guy comes through the system," Schmidt said.
"One thing that helped Ian was the quality of the go-forward ball that Jamie and the pack offered him. It got him on the front foot and made his job a little bit easier.
"There are a lot of sore bodies in that changing room. The lads were just physically and emotionally drained at the end of it and from this point on that is what you've got to give when you get the chance to wear that jersey."
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The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has a long history of involvement in African affairs, so Sunday's reports that the 1962 arrest of Nelson Mandela came following a CIA tip-off don't come as a huge surprise.

Most incidents came during the Cold War, when the US and the Soviet Union battled for influence across the continent.
CIA covert operations are by their very nature hard to prove definitively. But research into the agency's work, as well as revelations by former CIA employees, has thrown up several cases where the agency tried to influence events.
Here are four examples:
Patrice Lumumba became the first prime minister of the newly-independent Congo in 1960, but he lasted just a few months in the job before he was overthrown and assassinated in January 1961.
In 2002, former colonial power Belgium admitted responsibility for its part in the killing, however, the US has never explained its role despite long-held suspicions.
US President Dwight D Eisenhower, concerned about communism, was worried about Congo following a similar path to Cuba.
According to a source quoted in Death in the Congo, a book about the assassination, President Eisenhower gave "an order for the assassination of Lumumba. There was no discussion; the [National Security Council] meeting simply moved on".
However, a CIA plan to lace Lumumba's toothpaste with poison was never carried out, Lawrence Devlin, who was a station chief in Congo at the time, told the BBC in 2000.
A survey of declassified US government documents from the era notes that the CIA "initially focussed on removing Lumumba, not only through assassination if necessary but also with an array of non-lethal undertakings".
While there is no doubt the CIA wanted him dead, the survey does not indicate direct US involvement in his eventual killing.
Ghana's first President Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown in a military coup in 1966 while he was out of the country.
He later suspected that the US had a role in his downfall and in a 1978 book, former CIA intelligence officer John Stockwell backed this theory up.
In In Search of Enemies he writes that an official sanction for the coup does not appear in CIA documents, but he writes "the Accra station was nevertheless encouraged by headquarters to maintain contact with dissidents.
"It was given a generous budget, and maintained intimate contact with the plotters as a coup was hatched."
He says that the CIA in Ghana got more involved and its operatives were given "unofficial credit for the eventual coup".
A declassified US government document does show awareness of a plot to overthrow the president, but does not indicate any official backing.
Another declassified document written after the coup describes Nkrumah's fall as a "fortuitous windfall. Nkrumah was doing more to undermine our interests than any other black African".
In Angola three competing groups fought for control after independence from Portugal in 1975, with the MPLA under Agostinho Neto taking over the capital Luanda.
Mr Stockwell, chief of CIA's covert operations in Angola in 1975, writes that Washington decided to oppose the MPLA, as it was seen as closer to the Soviet Union, and support the FNLA and Unita instead, even though all three had help from communist countries.
The CIA then helped secretly import weapons, including 30,000 rifles, through Kinshasa in neighbouring Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mr Stockwell says in a video documentary.
He adds that CIA officers also trained fighters for armed combat.
A declassified US government document detailing a discussion between the head of the CIA, the secretary of state and others indicates the support the CIA gave to the forces fighting the MPLA.
The US continued to support Unita through much of the civil war as Cuba was backing the MPLA.
Hissene Habre failed in his attempt to take power by force in Chad in 1980.
But his efforts led President Goukouni Oueddei to call on help from the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, whose soldiers successfully beat back Habre's challenge and forced him into exile.
A proposed alliance between Libya and Chad began to unsettle the US especially as Gaddafi began to be seen as a supporter of anti-US activities.
In Foreign Policy magazine Michael Bronner writes that the CIA director, with the secretary of state, "coalesced around the idea of launching a covert war in partnership with Habre".
It is alleged that the US then backed Habre's overthrow of the president in 1982 and then supported him throughout his brutal rule.


Voting is open in the first Holyrood Dog of the Year competition.

MSPs from across the political spectrum have put forward their pets for the contest, which is organised by the Kennel Club and the Dogs Trust.
It is aimed at raising awareness of issues affecting canines and the "unique relationships between MSPs and their dogs".
As well as a public vote on a choice of pooches, there will be formal judging at an event at Holyrood in May.
The contest matches a long-running annual event at Westminster for MPs and their hounds.
Several MSPs are also entering with animals from the Dogs Trust which are looking for a home.
Contestants include SNP MSP Tom Arthur's pug Mi-Mi, who he said had "successfully negotiated designated doggy space in the middle of the bed". He highlighted ending puppy trafficking as a dog-related issue which needs to be tackled in Scotland.
Tory MSP Douglas Ross put forward his Dalmatian Murphy, who is "living every doggy moment to the full" despite having a terminal disease of the central nervous system. He called for training in responsible ownership for dogs, saying "dogs are pets but they also need rules and guidance especially when out in public and off the lead".
Labour's Pauline McNeill entered her German shepherd Harry, who she said has a "big personality with a big heart". She called for regulation of the sale of puppies and the abolition of shock collars and cruelty to puppies.
Green member Andy Wightman entered his border collie Coire, who has climbed 54 Munros and has a "good vocabulary". He promoted the use of dogs in conflict resolution.
Other contestants include Miles Briggs and his "mind reading" Jack Russell Monty, Ross Thomson's "sassy" Jack Russell/Yorkshire terrier cross Poppy, Emma Harper's rescued Border Collie Maya and Mark Ruskell's "effective table clearer" and former professional racer, greyhound Bert.


Nigel Farage has been accused of "blatant scaremongering" by a fellow Leave campaigner for suggesting there could be a risk of sex attacks on women by migrants if Britain stays in the EU.

UKIP's leader told the Sunday Telegraph the risk of attacks like those in Cologne, Germany, would be "the nuclear bomb" of the referendum campaign.
But Treasury minister Andrea Leadsom, who backs Brexit, said he was wrong.
"Obviously that is just an outrageous thing to say," she told the BBC.
Allegations that hundreds of women were groped, robbed and intimidated at Cologne's central station on New Year's Eve emerged in January.
Victims described chaos outside the city's main station, as the men - some of whom were identified in an official report as migrants or asylum seekers of North African and Arab origin - carried out dozens of attacks with little apparent response from the authorities.
Mr Farage claimed women could be at risk because of "very big cultural" issues between British society and migrants if the UK voted to remain in the EU, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
Asked whether mass attacks on the scale seen in Cologne could happen in Britain, he replied: "It depends if they get EU passports. It depends if we vote for Brexit or not. It is an issue."
The UKIP leader made the comments ahead of a live TV debate on ITV on Thursday. During last year's TV general election debates, Mr Farage sparked controversy by claiming foreign HIV patients were costing the NHS Â£25,000 each per year.
"The nuclear bomb this time would be about Cologne," he told the Telegraph.
This issue covers immigration and free movement within Europe.
Rather than backing her fellow Brexit campaigner's comments, Tory MP Ms Leadsom told Pienaar's Politics on BBC Radio 5 Live: "I don't like that sort of campaigning at all."
"However we know for a fact that there was an appalling experience for women over in Germany over the Christmas period.
"I do not approve of that sort of campaigning, I do not believe in outright blatant scaremongering so I think it's really, really regrettable.
"I haven't seen it and I wouldn't support suggesting if you vote to remain you'd be raped."
Justice Secretary Michael Gove, a prominent Brexit campaigner, also refused to associate himself with Mr Farage's comments.
"He's made those remarks and I haven't made remarks like that and I won't make remarks like that," he told ITV's Peston on Sunday.
Sal Brinton, president of the Liberal Democrats, said Farage had "sunk to new depths in his scaremongering with these remarks which are completely unacceptable".
And Ryan Coetzee, director of strategy for the official remain campaign, Britain Stronger In Europe, tweeted to say Mr Farage's comments were "disgraceful", adding: "Don't vote for this man's idea of Britain.
But Mr Farage also told the Telegraph the "honesty and straightforwardness" of the prime minister was now being questioned by voters.
Many believed Mr Cameron, who he dubbed "Dishonest Dave", had broken his promise to cut migration and renegotiate the UK's terms of membership of the EU, he said.
Mr Cameron's ally, Chancellor George Osborne, took aim at the UKIP leader in an interview published in the Sunday Times.
"This is a battle between Farage's mean vision of Britain and the outward-facing, generous Britain that the mainstream of this country celebrates," he said.
"I say: we don't want Farage's Britain. That means voting to remain."
Meanwhile former PM Sir John Major hit out at the "squalid" and "deceitful" campaign to get Britain out of the EU.
He told Andrew Marr he was "angry about the way the British people are being misled" by fellow Conservative Boris Johnson and Vote Leave.
Mr Johnson stood by Vote Leave's figures and called for an end to "blue-on-blue" conflict.


A man with learning difficulties found beaten to death was "exploited and picked on" his whole life, his mother has told a court.

Lee Irving, 24, was found dead near a footpath in Fawdon, Newcastle, in 2015.
His mother Beverley told Newcastle Crown Court he was "called degrading names" and made a target of abuse.
Two men are accused of his murder, while two women are accused of causing or allowing his death. They all deny the charges.
Ms Irving told jurors: "Lee was bullied and picked on - people were cruel making fun of him.
"He was called degrading names all his life. I bought him decent brands of sportswear. These clothes got taken off him. He came home in other clothes. He came back in Salvation Army clothes.
"People also used to send him into shops to steal cans."
Mr Irving was living with the four defendants in Kenton Bar at the time of his death and Ms Irving told the court one of them, Nicole Lawrence, 22, frequently asked her for money.
It is alleged Mr Irving, who had learning difficulties, had been sedated rather than taken for medical treatment by the defendants, just before his death.
The court heard how his body was found about half a mile from the house with 27 rib fractures and a broken nose and jaw.
The prosecution alleges that Miss Lawrence's boyfriend James Wheatley, 29, and Barry Imray, 35, beat Mr Irving over a 10-day period at the house.
The fourth defendant is Mr Wheatley's mother Julie Mills, 51, who is accused of causing or allowing Mr Irving's death, a charge also faced - and denied - by Mr Wheatley and Mr Imray.
Both women also deny perverting the course of justice, a charge admitted by both of the other two defendants.
The trial continues.