Explore every episode of the podcast File on 4 Investigates
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucy Letby: The Killer Questions | 01 Oct 2024 | 00:37:49 | |
File on 4 examines some of the most contentious statistical, scientific and medical evidence in the Lucy Letby trial. The programme reveals new concerns involving medical evidence presented in court where Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others. Reporter: Stephanie Hegarty Producers: Fay Nurse, Ben Robinson and Hayley Mortimer Technical Producers: Richard Hannaford and Nicky Edwards Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| After the Riots | 27 Aug 2024 | 00:37:40 | |
Mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers came under attack during the riots that swept across the country earlier this month. The courts have been tough on violent disorder, but File on 4 examines how tackling the possible root causes may require an even stronger effort. Tensions over immigration are still simmering, particularly in areas that have long been in economic decline. Paul Kenyon reports. Producer: Hayley Mortimer Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley Editors: Alys Harte & Carl Johnston | |||
| Detained and Restrained: Britain's Vulnerable Kids | 22 May 2024 | 00:43:09 | |
The most senior family court judge in England has described the growing use of Deprivation of Liberty orders for vulnerable children as a 'crisis.' File on 4 hears from young people who were held under the order supposedly for their own safety. But they say they were under constant supervision, denied access to their phones and the internet and kept away from their families. Some say they were subjected to physical restraints and even supervised when they were having a shower. And one teenager who was on a Deprivation of Liberty order tells the programme he preferred being in prison. Reporter: Ashley John-Baptiste Producer: Phil Marzouk Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Production coordinator: Ellie Dover Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| For Richer, For Poorer | 26 Oct 2021 | 00:36:43 | |
With an ageing population, it’s estimated that over one million people in the UK will be living with dementia by 2025. But what happens when someone with the condition is deliberately targeted and led into marriage for the financial gain of the partner? Unlike in Scotland, marriage in England and Wales revokes any previous will that may have been made. For those who target someone with dementia and secretly wed them without the knowledge of their family, matrimony can prove to be extremely lucrative. We hear from the families of those believed to have been preyed upon and registrars on the frontline, tasked with spotting a predatory marriage, despite no medical training in assessing dementia. And we speak to campaigners who say the law needs to change to better protect victims and their families. Reporter: Datshiane Navanayagam Producer: Paul Grant Editor: Gail Champion | |||
| Pandora Papers: From Bribery to the British High Street | 05 Oct 2021 | 00:36:54 | |
Amongst the millions of documents released in the ‘Pandora Papers’ leak of offshore financial information are a number of documents that one family business would rather have remained hidden. Together with The Guardian newspaper, File on 4 follows the trail of millions of pounds tainted by bribery and corruption. Piecing together key documents from the leak reveals how earnings from Unaoil – a company involved in the ‘world’s biggest bribery scandal’ - were invested into UK property on high streets as far apart as London and Aberdeen, Reading and the North East. Why does the UK remain a go-to destination for some of the world’s most tainted money? And why does it take a leak for the truth to be revealed about who’s really invested in some of the country’s prime property? The Pandora Papers is an investigation led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The documents have been shared with the Guardian, the BBC and other media partners around the world. Further reporting on other stories arising from the Pandora Papers leak are available online: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-58780561 Reporter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Anna Meisel Additional Production: Kate West Editor: Gail Champion | |||
| Occupational Hazard: The bus drivers who died from Covid | 28 Sep 2021 | 00:36:45 | |
During the pandemic, it’s been one of the most dangerous occupations in the land, with a death rate similar to that of frontline nurses. Sixty London bus drivers have died of Covid-19, and yet the authorities still have little explanation as to why the disease spread among them in such deadly fashion. Families of the deceased say it was due to poor safety standards and the slow introduction of protective measures. Transport for London say they were just following government guidance. But with bus drivers becoming more vociferous and the death rate too high to ignore, BBC File on 4 tries to uncover the truth behind the shocking statistics. The programme hears from bus drivers across the capital who describe what was really happening on the ground, as well as the families of the deceased, and a TfL insider who alleges systemic problems with health and safety and says a Royal Commission is now needed to get to the bottom of what happened. Reporter: Paul Kenyon Producer: Annabel Deas Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| Mental Health Profiteers | 21 Sep 2021 | 00:36:49 | |
Mental health profiteers: The dark world of online anxiety ‘cures’. Jane Deith and Jordan Dunbar investigate the rogue operators exploiting the long wait for mental health services on the NHS. The explosion in unregulated online recovery programmes has led to claims of people paying thousands of pounds for treatment by unqualified practitioners which has made their anxiety worse – not better. File on 4 investigates one company guaranteeing to cure anxiety in children. And we ask – why isn’t the law protecting people who seek help online? | |||
| Hush Money: the Rise and Fall of an International Fraudster | 14 Sep 2021 | 00:36:21 | |
File on 4 reveals the inside story of Ramon Abbas, one of a new breed of prolific global cyber fraudsters. As Abbas awaits sentencing in the US for money-laundering, File on 4 asks if enough is being done to protect us from online criminals operating across international borders. Snared by the FBI in 2020, Abbas is better known as Instagram influencer Hushpuppi, who flaunted a life of designer clothes, private jets and penthouse apartments to millions of followers. Little did they know that his lavish lifestyle was funded through a complex web of cyber-heists. He even had a hand in an audacious attempt to steal £100 million from a Premier League Football Club. Most cyber-criminals remain nameless, faceless, anonymous and all but untraceable. Now, File on 4 unmasks Ramon Abbas, revealing a complicated, sometimes ruthless character driven by a thirst for wealth and celebrity status. In addition, we expose the inner workings of a clandestine operation that earned him a reputation as the world’s most high-profile money-launderer. Reporters: Paul Connolly and Princess Abumere Producer: Helen Clifton Editor: Maggie Latham | |||
| Tackling Online Abuse in Football | 07 Sep 2021 | 00:36:05 | |
When three black England footballers missed penalties in the Euro 2020 football final they were bombarded with online racist abuse. The Football Association condemned the ‘offensive and racist’ messages saying it was ‘appalled’ and would do everything it could to assist Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka. File on 4 examines what many describe as institutional racism within the game and amongst supporters and asks what, if anything, is being done to stop it from happening? With access to new analysis charting the peaks and flows of online abuse, the programme explores who is really behind some of the most egregious comments. Arrests have been made in the wake of the Euro 2020 game but what long-term measures are in place to eradicate this poisonous behaviour which has spread from the terraces to online platforms with little in place to stop it. Reporter: Athar Ahmad Producer: Mick Tucker Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| Held to Ransom | 13 Jul 2021 | 00:36:43 | |
The extraordinary story of a UK schools group which took on a cyber ransomware gang. The Harris Federation seems an unlikely target for ransomware criminals but it found itself at the centre of a cyber attack by anonymous hackers. With its servers down and a ransom demand of nearly £3 million, school leaders had to decide quickly whether to pay or suffer the consequences. File on 4 has unique access to the extraordinary negotiations that took place behind the scenes, involving an Israeli security company and Russian hackers. More British institutions are being hit by ransomware gangs than ever before, from multi-national corporations to health care trusts and even schools. The attackers hack into an organisation's computer system, encrypt the data and demand a ransom to get it back. Increasingly, they also threaten to publish sensitive information if no payment is made. It's known as double extortion. The former head of the National Cyber Security Centre tells File on 4 that the government needs to intervene as a matter of urgency, and make it illegal to pay ransomware gangs. Presenter: Paul Kenyon Producer: Paul Grant Editor: Nicola Addyman | |||
| Acts of Abuse | 06 Jul 2021 | 00:36:56 | |
Allegations of bullying and sexual harassment against the actor and film maker Noel Clarke have led to an industry-wide examination of the culture within the film and television business. Industry insiders describe an environment where those in power can be bullying and demanding, where sexual harassment is commonplace and where victims are afraid to speak up because they fear losing work. File on 4 has heard from hundreds of people who work in the industry who paint a disturbing picture of the culture where intimidation, bullying and sexual misconduct is often overlooked. The programme asks if the industry is equipped to tackle this bad behaviour, whether new regulation is needed and whether it is serious about cleaning up its act. Reporter: Livvy Haydock Producer: Helen Clifton Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| A Death Sentence? | 29 Jun 2021 | 00:36:42 | |
A death sentence? The inmates dying after poor prison healthcare. More prisoners are dying in jail – even after you account for the growing - and ageing -prison population. Many of those found to be so-called ‘natural cause deaths’ are relatively young: more than a third are aged between 35 and 54. Those who’ve been behind bars a short time are at greatest risk…with health records often not consulted and vital medication delayed, sometimes for months. File on 4 investigates cases where failings in the prison healthcare system contributed to the deaths of inmates – all aged under 50. Their deaths followed basic, shocking, errors: unopened medical records, hospital appointments missed, prisoners not given vital medication - or given the wrong medication that made their condition worse. Prisoners who became gravely ill accused of ‘faking it’. The programme hears from the family of prisoners, a prison health worker who’s concerned about a lack of resources and the impact of measures to contain Covid. And from experts who say recommendations made time and time again following avoidable deaths simply aren’t being implemented – putting more prisoners at risk in the future. Reporter: Jane Deith Producer: Ben Robinson Editor: Nicola Addyman | |||
| Contracts of Interest | 22 Jun 2021 | 00:36:40 | |
The COVID-19 pandemic led to an urgent need for a range of new government contracts which resulted in billions of pounds of public money being spent under emergency powers which suspended usual procurement rules around competition. This new regime created an unprecedented situation where commercial firms were able to secure large contracts quickly. But did this mean that money was spent without due diligence, regard for transparency - and potentially value for the taxpayer? In a joint investigation with The Guardian and the non-profit investigative organisation Source Material, File on 4 investigates whether some firms were given preferential treatment when lucrative contracts were being awarded. Reporter: Paul Connolly Producer: Anna Meisel Editor: Gail Champion | |||
| Long Covid: Mind Over Matter? | 21 May 2024 | 00:38:15 | |
There are some two million people with long Covid in the UK - and most of them - around one and a half million - have symptoms that interfere with day to day activities. Fatigue, breathlessness, heart palpitations and severe dizziness are just some of the conditions people experience. Currently there’s no test for long covid and it could be years before we know for sure how best to treat the condition. This struggle to get help is leaving some very unwell people desperate - and willing to try anything to get better. There are treatments to wash your blood, high pressure oxygen chambers normally used by deep sea divers. A rainbow of supplements. All with varying degrees of evidence. And perhaps most strongly dividing opinion - programmes that claim to retrain long Covid patients' brains to stop their symptoms. They say they can help people recover from illness by rewiring the brain using techniques to influence physical changes in the body. Rachel Schraer - the BBC's health and disinformation correspondent - hears from people with long Covid who say the programmes didn't work and in some cases made them feel worse. Others say they fully recovered. Reporter: Rachel Schraer Producer: Paul Grant Technical producers: Cameron Ward and Nicky Edwards Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| Above the law? | 15 Jun 2021 | 00:36:39 | |
Since reporting on a story about police abuses earlier this year reporter Anna Adams has been inundated with calls and messages from women all telling her the same thing; they were a victim at the hands of a police officer. For File on 4 Anna investigates the failures of police forces to properly manage and investigate accused officers within their own ranks. Many of the women she speaks to are police officers themselves Reporter: Anna Adams Producer: Kate West & Mick Tucker Editor: Gail Champion | |||
| The Cost of Care | 08 Jun 2021 | 00:36:40 | |
File on 4 investigates the new challenges of providing home care during the Covid-19 pandemic - with some recipients seeing their care costs increased while their hours are reduced. Exploring reports of financial assessments being neglected, and allegations that people's basic needs are not being met, we ask if some of society’s most vulnerable are being made to shoulder the cost of local council funding gaps. Producer: Michael Cowan Reporter: Claire Bolderson Editor: Maggie Latham | |||
| Leaseholder Losses | 01 Jun 2021 | 00:36:39 | |
The government recently introduced new laws to protect leaseholders from large ground rent increases. But campaigners say more widespread changes are needed to properly protect the millions of leaseholders in England and Wales. The cladding scandal has highlighted just how few rights leaseholders have when it comes to what happens to the buildings they live in. Felicity Hannah discovers there are many other issues they face. A change in planning law means freeholders can now build extra apartments on top of blocks of flats without having to get planning permission. While such developments could bring in millions of pounds for landlords, the leaseholders can't object and in some cases could see the value of their homes plummet. Felicity speaks to residents who say one such development has turned their lives into a nightmare Other leaseholders have been left reeling after their council landlord landed them with estimated bills of over £100,000 for improvements to their homes. Under the rules, the homeowners can't challenge the costs and some fear they could have to sell up. Many people are now asking: is the current leasehold system fit for purpose? Reporter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Paul Grant Editor: Gail Champion | |||
| Sexual Abuse in Schools | 25 May 2021 | 00:36:44 | |
In 2016 the House of Common’s Women and Equalities Committee published a report into sexual harassment and abuse between pupils in British schools. In concluded that the scale and impact was such that urgent action was needed by the government. Five years on, more than 16,000 young people - mostly women - have posted harrowing accounts of their experiences on the Everyone’s Invited website. It's prompted the government to instruct Ofcom to carry out a review of peer on peer sexual abuse in our schools and colleges. They've also funded the launch of a new NSPCCC hotline so that those affected can report what's happened to them. In this investigation Hayley Hassall assesses how common this abuse is, whether schools are brushing the problem under the carpet, to what extent the availability of online porn plays a role and whether teachers are getting enough training. Details of organisations offering information and support with sexual abuse are available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/22VVM5LPrf3pjYdKqctmMXn/information-and-support-sexual-abuse-and-violence Reporter: Hayley Hassall Producer: Jim Booth Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| The Cost of Long Covid | 18 May 2021 | 00:36:53 | |
Latest figures show more than a million people in Britain are suffering from long Covid. For many the condition is completely debilitating. The extreme fatigue, breathing difficulties, brain-fog is forcing hundreds of thousands of previously fit, working people on to long term sick. File on 4 hears from the hero frontline workers who kept Britain going through the pandemic but now feel abandoned. Others reveal how they’ve felt pressurised to return to work even though they’re very ill. So who’s looking after them – and who, if anyone, is going to support them when their sick pay runs out? Reporter: Paul Kenyon Producer: Mick Tucker Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| Britain's Ghost Companies | 11 May 2021 | 00:37:01 | |
Tens of thousands of men and women in some of the poorest parts of the Philippines are being recruited to be directors of companies based in the UK. Companies which have no offices or full time staff, they don’t buy or sell anything, in fact they only exist on paper. But as Angus Crawford has discovered they form part of a complex web which may be costing Britain tens of millions of pounds in lost tax. A web designed by experts in order to shield firms from the full costs of employing their workers. His investigation reveals a trail which leads from a single mother in the Home Counties, via the backstreets of Manila, to workers at Covid testing stations across the UK. Reporter: Angus Crawford Producer: Anna Meisel Editor: Gail Champion | |||
| The Asylum Business - the UK's hidden housing crisis | 16 Mar 2021 | 00:36:00 | |
The multi-billion pound AASC contract is the Government's ten-year blueprint for how those seeking asylum in the UK are treated while they await a yes or no for their refugee status. After a year under the pressures of Covid , the contract has become mired in controversy. Former army barracks which have been repurposed as temporary holding centres for those applying for asylum have experienced fires, Covid-19 outbreaks and resident protests, and in other parts of the country, private landlords are threatening to pull out of the contracts. Are those living in such accommodation being treated fairly and humanely? Paul Connolly investigates. Producer: Rob Cave | |||
| The Disinformation Dragon | 09 Mar 2021 | 00:35:54 | |
Prior to the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement and the Covid-19 pandemic, China’s presence on international social media was largely to promote a positive image of its country – trying to ‘change the climate’ rather than seeking to sow confusion and division. But this is changing. In this investigation by File on 4 and BBC Monitoring, Paul Kenyon and Krassimira Twigg examine China’s new strategy of aggressively pushing disinformation on social media platforms through the use of ‘wolf warrior’ diplomats, internet bots, ‘the 50-cent army’ of loyal Chinese netizens and a longer term goal of inventing a new type of internet where authoritarian governments can control users. Editor: Lucy Proctor Producer: Jim Booth | |||
| Shipping’s Dirty Secret | 02 Mar 2021 | 00:35:49 | |
The shipping industry is worth millions to the British economy and we depend on it for most of our goods. File on 4 lifts the lid on the dangerous and polluting world of shipbreaking and investigates why ships once owned by UK companies end their lives on beaches in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Editor, Maggie Latham Producer, Jim Booth Reporter, Kate West | |||
| The Dangers of Dating Apps | 23 Feb 2021 | 00:35:41 | |
Millions of us each year pick up our phone and swipe right in the hope of finding ‘the one’, and with the pandemic limiting even the most basic of social interactions, statistics suggest more of us are using apps than ever before. For the majority of us these apps are a useful tool to connect in a busy world, but to criminals they serve as a playground to hunt for the vulnerable. From romance fraud to sexual predators, Livvy Haydock investigates the dangers these app’s pose, if big tech does enough to protect its users, and what we as individuals should do to keep ourselves safer. Details of organisations that can provide help and support with fraud, sexual abuse and bereavement are available from the following organisations: Action Fraud provide a central point of contact for information about fraud and financially motivated internet crime. Phone: 0300 123 2040 www.actionfraud.police.uk UK Safer Internet Centre provides e-safety tips, advice and resources to help children and young people stay safe on the internet. www.saferinternet.org.uk Get Safe Online offers unbiased, factual and easy-to-understand information on online safety, including advice for parents about safeguarding children online. www.getsafeonline.org Sexual abuse: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/22VVM5LPrf3pjYdKqctmMXn/information-and-support-sexual-abuse-and-violence Bereavement: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4MmhHDSbdDmTpVJhBs2v4Py/information-and-support-bereavement | |||
| Teams and Regimes: Sportswashing in Football | 14 May 2024 | 00:37:55 | |
Manchester City are dominating English football, with a trophy cabinet full of silverware. The club’s success has been bankrolled by money from Abu Dhabi. Now Newcastle United have followed in their wake, with backing from a Saudi consortium transforming a sleeping giant of English football into perhaps the world’s richest club. But with the money comes accusations that the clubs are being used to launder the reputations of repressive regimes accused of human rights abuses, and that the cash from the two oil rich states is being used to exert political influence locally and nationally in the UK. Reporter: Adrian Goldberg Producer: Fergus Hewison Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Production coordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| Surviving Self-Harm | 16 Feb 2021 | 00:37:14 | |
Sarah (not her real name) first deliberately hurt herself at the age of 11 and continued for more than six years, twice ending up in hospital. Now 18 and on the road to recovery, she says her experience shows the shortcomings in how teachers, parents, and the health system respond to self-harm. File on 4 analysis of hospital admissions for self-harm reveals a system under growing pressure as more and more pre-teens are hurting themselves so badly they need a hospital bed. In telling Sarah’s story, we look at what works and what doesn’t when it comes to supporting children who self-harm. Why are ever-younger children ending up in hospital after injuring themselves? What has been the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic self-harm? And what was it that finally helped Sarah turn a corner? Reporter: Dan Whitworth Producer: Simon Maybin Editor: Maggie Latham | |||
| Unmasked: Stories from the PPE Frontline | 09 Feb 2021 | 00:36:00 | |
After the Covid-19 pandemic hit, reserves of personal protective equipment quickly dried up. Stories about frontline staff lacking the kit they needed made headlines night after night and photos of nurses wearing bin bags for protection began circulating on social media. In response, the government began hunting down new supplies just as global demand surged. It started using emergency powers to award PPE contracts worth tens of millions of pounds without opening them to competition, leading to claims that some companies were favoured because of their political connections. Phil Kemp investigates what the government got for the £12.5 billion it spent on PPE and uncovers concerns about the quality of some of the kit that was bought. The Department of Health and Social Care said it had been working tirelessly to deliver PPE to protect health and social staff throughout the pandemic with nearly eight billion items delivered so far. Producer: Anna Meisel Editor: Gail Champion | |||
| Covid 19: Doctors and Deniers | 02 Feb 2021 | 00:35:55 | |
When Prime Minister Boris Johnson said three households would be allowed to mix for 5 days over Christmas, experts and NHS bosses warned the health service would be overwhelmed by cases of Covid 19. Editors of the Health Service Journal and the British medical Journal BMJ said they believed the relaxation of the rules would cost many lives. Three days before Christmas the government was forced to scrap the plans for London and much of South East England when scientists revealed a new coronavirus variant was spreading more rapidly. In other regions the 5 day plan was reduced to Christmas Day – but only for those in the same bubble. In this episode of File on 4, frontline medics chart the rapid rise in Covid cases and deaths post-Christmas, via personal audio diaries which reveal their innermost thoughts, concerns and experiences as they battle the pandemic. The NHS has never been in a more precarious position, with 75 per cent more patients than there were at the April 2020 peak. | |||
| A Year of Covid | 26 Jan 2021 | 00:35:54 | |
A year ago this week, the first reported case of Covid-19 was recorded in the UK. Within weeks frontline medics faced their toughest ever test. Doctors and nurses in intensive care units recorded diaries for a powerful and insightful episode of File on 4 which illustrated the true scale of the challenge they faced. So one year on, how do they think they coped? What have they learned about themselves and the National Health Service which many warn could be overwhelmed by the current second wave of Covid 19 which continues to claim tens of thousands of lives. Reporter Jane Deith revisits some of those doctors and nurses to find out how they themselves survived the biggest challenge of their careers. And she asks whether when they recorded their original diaries, did they envisage they’d be where they are now in battle against the pandemic? | |||
| Women Who Abuse | 19 Jan 2021 | 00:35:39 | |
Women are seen as the caring, nurturing sex, safe to be left in charge of children. But stigma and stereotyping around female perpetrated abuse means it can be seen as a lesser crime, with many victims deeply reluctant to report their ordeal to the authorities. Experts tell File on 4 that current case numbers are the ‘tip of the iceberg’, while the early indicators of abuse, like online grooming and social media befriending, can be brushed aside when the abuser is a woman. File on 4 hears from adult survivors who describe decades of trauma and shame caused by their female abusers, as well as the difficulties they faced in reporting the crime. Psychologists and campaigners say the criminal justice system urgently needs to better support victims to give evidence. They describe how abusers are still able to take advantage of laws that leave children in informal settings, such as sports clubs and choirs, open to abuse, settings where female abusers can thrive. And although societal perceptions of female child sexual abuse are changing, many deeply traumatised victims risk being left behind. Reporter: Melanie Abbott Producer: Helen Clifton Editor: Gail Champion | |||
| Undue Influence | 12 Jan 2021 | 00:37:01 | |
In the age of social media and the selfie, the perfect look is everything. That's what influencers tell their followers. Some are also happy to provide a 'how-to guide' to obtaining the perfect body. What they don't mention though, is that they are cashing in, being paid by clinics to promote procedures, some of which are risky and dangerous. It’s a story that begins on social media. Young women posting online about their experiences of plastic surgery. The online videos, posted to their followers, show their surgeon smile and wave for the camera. But a big part of their stories is missing. They’re not normal patients. Because these influencers have access to a market of thousands of other young women, they get their surgery for free in exchange for the promotions. Offline the situation is less than picture perfect. File on 4 hears from the women whose lives were changed by the pursuit of the perfect body. Producer: Kate West Reporter: Joice Etutu Editor: Gail Champion | |||
| Transforming Care? | 10 Nov 2020 | 00:36:39 | |
Back in 2018, File on 4 revealed the story of Bethany – an autistic teenager who had been locked in a hospital room alone for two years, her only contact with the outside world through a hatch. What happened to her and others with learning disabilities who have been promised care in therapeutic community settings? Following what NHS England called the ‘appalling scandal’ at Winterbourne View, the Government promised to close up to half of all inpatient beds for people with a learning disability or autism by March 2019, under a programme called Transforming Care. Yet this target has been missed. And almost one in 5 patients with learning disabilities still in hospital has now been there for over ten years. A series of damning reports – most recently from the CQC – have called for urgent reform. So what has gone wrong with Transforming Care? Reporter: Melanie Abbott Producers: Helen Clifton & Paul Grant Editor: Gail Champion | |||
| Reynhard Sinaga: Britain’s most prolific rapist | 03 Nov 2020 | 00:36:37 | |
In January, Reynhard Sinaga was convicted of 159 sexual offences against 48 different men over the course of four trials. But according to police, there’s evidence he abused more than 200 men whilst living as a student in Manchester. He preyed on vulnerable young men, drugged them until they were unconscious and raped them while recording most of his abuse on his phone. Most of his victims woke up with no memory of what had been done to them - oblivious until the police turned up at their doors to explain the horrific truth. As police renew their efforts to identify more of Sinaga's victims, File on 4 has been given exclusive access to those at the centre of the police investigation and hears from many of those who knew him and who have never spoken before. The programme hears how how the softly spoken and highly intelligent student played Good Samaritan to lure victims to his flat in central Manchester - then plied them with drinks laced with the date rape drug GHB. How one man fought off Sinaga and called police, triggering the biggest rape inquiry in British history. The programme also hears about the moment the police realised they were dealing with a monster when they accessed his phone and discovered a catalogue of videos he'd made of himself abusing his unconscious victims. Police then painstakingly trawled through hours and hours of video and numerous trophies found in Sinaga's flat to help identify his victims. Having never shown any remorse for his crimes, the Court of Appeal is now reviewing Sinaga's sentence. So will he become the UK’s first non-homicide criminal to die behind bars? If you have information about this case you believe may be of interest to police you can contact them here: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/06GMP19V24-PO2 If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme you can access support via the following organisations: St Mary’s Rape Crisis Centre in Manchester provides a range of support and services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to people of all ages who have been sexually abused, assaulted or raped, whether this happened in the past or more recently. https://www.stmaryscentre.org Safeline provides support and counselling for survivors of sexual abuse or rape. Phone: 0808 8005005 (Male support) www.safeline.org.uk Survivors UK run the National Male Survivors Online Helpline and Webchat Service for men who have experienced sexual abuse either as a child or an adult. www.survivorsuk.org The Survivors Trust provides support and signposting for women, men and children who are survivors of rape, sexual violence or childhood sexual abuse. Phone: 0808 801 0818 www.thesurvivorstrust.org Samaritans is available for anyone struggling to cope and provide a safe place to talk 24 hours a day. Phone: 116 123 Email: jo@samaritans.org www.samaritans.org BBC Action Line: Sexual abuse and violence: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/22VVM5LPrf3pjYdKqctmMXn/information-and-support-sexual-abuse-and-violence | |||
| Locked Up in Lockdown | 27 Oct 2020 | 00:36:57 | |
Are court backlogs creating miscarriages of justice? When the UK locked down, so did its court system, adding to a backlog that’s left defendants, witnesses and victims facing long waits for trials. Helen Grady speaks to people inside the justice system to find out how it’s coped with the pandemic - from delays in making courts covid-secure to a lack of PPE and overcrowding in prisons. We hear stories from prisons under lockdown and talk to lawyers who fear delays are leading to abuses of the criminal justice system. Producer: Rob Cave | |||
| Taxing Situations | 20 Oct 2020 | 00:36:51 | |
For decades there was a boom in tax avoidance where people were paid using loans – and lowered their tax bills in the process. The boom went bust when the government clamped down, leaving some users with vast tax bills. Many of those people now owe life-changing amounts to HMRC yet campaigners say there has been insufficient action against the companies that promoted the schemes. But while some individuals face ruin, File On 4 has discovered that the businesses behind some of those loan schemes are still active. But now they’ve been targeting front-line COVID workers. Reporter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Anna Meisel Editor: Gail Champion | |||
| Caught on Camera: The special school staff who abused kids | 30 Apr 2024 | 00:36:47 | |
Three years ago, dozens of memory sticks were discovered in a sealed box at a school for children with special educational needs. There was 500 hours of footage which showed children being held in so-called 'calming rooms.' The videos showed the children being hit and denied access to a toilet. File on 4 investigates why a subsequent police investigation and an independent inquiry didn't lead to staff being sacked. File on 4 reveals how staff who were filmed hitting, kicking, and leaving children sitting in urine have not been sacked or referred to the barring service. Reporter: Noel Titheradge Producer: Annabel Deas Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| All Sewn Up | 13 Oct 2020 | 00:36:53 | |
An investigation into a network of companies involved in VAT fraud within Leicester's garment manufacturing industry. After questions were raised in the summer about slave wages and unsafe working practices, File on 4 has now found a network of companies involved in a cash laundering scheme. Insiders say VAT fraud is endemic among garment suppliers within the city and there are concerns that millions in tax revenue are being lost each year. So how does it operate and why isn't more being done to prevent fraud within the fast-fashion supply chain? Reporters: Paul Kenyon and Ashni Lakhani Producer: Oliver Newlan Editor: Gail Champion | |||
| Me and my Trolls | 06 Oct 2020 | 00:36:42 | |
During the pandemic, more and more of our lives have been lived online. But that has also led to a sharp rise in the number of people being targeted by internet trolls. According to one survey, nearly half of women and non binary people reported experiencing online abuse since the beginning of COVID-19 and a third said it had got worse since the pandemic. So who are the people behind these often anonymous attacks? Journalist Sali Hughes has been a target of trolls herself. She sets out to find what motivates them and how they justify their actions. She speaks to other women who have been targeted and hears about the devastating impact it can have on people’s lives. With a proposed online harms bill not now due until next year, she investigates what social media and other platforms are doing to tackle the issue and what individuals can do to try to stop the abuse | |||
| Fit for football | 29 Sep 2020 | 00:36:34 | |
MPs and supporters are calling for an overhaul of the way English football is governed after a series of clubs were hit by financial problems. Bolton wanderers, Wigan Athletic and Charlton have all flirted with financial disaster while Bury FC were expelled from the Football League altogether after problems with creditors. File on 4 hears claims that the root of the problem is the Owners' and Directors' Test used to assess those who want to take control of football clubs Reporter: Adrian Goldberg Producer: Kate West Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| Expecting alone: The isolation of pregnancy during Covid | 22 Sep 2020 | 00:36:50 | |
Six months since Britain was instructed to ‘stay at home’, File on 4 examines the decisions that affect new mothers and their babies and asks if the potential for long term damage outweighs the risk of spreading the virus. For pregnant women, many of the hospital restrictions implemented at the height of the pandemic remain. Many women must attend antenatal scans or go through early labour on their own, while their birth partners wait outside. Others have had to receive the worst possible news about their pregnancy alone. Once the baby arrives, the landscape remains uncertain. Health visitors are seen by many as a frontline defence against child health problems; a lifeline for new mums and their babies who are trained to spot early signs of illness, harm or neglect. Yet, the decision to redeploy many health visitors to the frontline during lockdown left countless families without the support they needed – a decision seen by some as ‘unnecessary’ and ‘dangerous’, one that could lead to a ‘second pandemic’ of child protection issues. Now, professionals are reporting ‘an explosion’ in mental health problems amongst new mothers and their partners, while those suffering are struggling to get help. Reporter: Alys Harte Producer: Mick Tucker Editor: Gail Champion | |||
| Mental health killings – a crisis in care? | 15 Sep 2020 | 00:37:00 | |
Last month Alex Sartain took a homemade gun and shot his neighbour James Nash dead in his front garden. The 34 year old then fled on his motorbike before he lost control and fatally crashed on a winding tree-lined road. His family had made repeated requests to mental health services for help as they saw his condition deteriorate. But they say no help was forthcoming and days later he killed 42-year-old James, a popular artist and children’s author. Alex Sartain's family say the mechanic suffered paranoid schizophrenia and had become acutely unwell in the run-up to the killing. File on 4 investigates whether mental health support is always available when people need it most. And reporter Paul Connolly hears concerns that mental health professionals are not always quick enough to act on evidence a person suffering severe mental illness may be intending to harm others - with tragic consequences. Reporter Paul Connolly Producer Ben Robinson Editor Carl Johnston | |||
| Covid 19: The Long Road to Recovery | 08 Sep 2020 | 00:36:54 | |
After Coronavirus, the survivors left with life-changing and long term conditions. The physical and psychological aftermath of Covid 19 and the pressure on rehabilitation services. Nearly 3 million people in the UK have had symptomatic coronavirus. More than one hundred thousand so severely, they needed hospital treatment. This is a new disease, so doctors are guessing when it comes to the symptoms people will have long term. But it’s clear this virus has a sting in its tail. The sickest patients have damage to their lungs and kidney which could be permanent. Some research shows the risk of heart attack or stroke is high. File on 4 talks to people living with the after effects of Covid 19 who say surviving was just the beginning. There are a multiotide of physical after effects - and many more have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder. People describe flashbacks to the ITU, seeing people die, overhearing their last goodbyes with loved ones on phone or the internet. Patients who were hospitalised get follow-ups, and referrals for rehabilitation and possibly, counselling. But what of the hundreds of thousands of other people who fell ill and who, if it weren’t a pandemic, might have gone to hospital, but were told to stay at home? Researchers say there are at least 300,000 people who have had symptoms of Coronavirus for more than a month – so called Long Haul Covid. Many are young and previously fit. They say they had a mild case of the virus. But they have been floored by the symptoms that followed – breathlessness, racing heart, weakness. And they're struggling to get care and support. Reporter: Jane Deith Producer: Helen Clifton Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| Groomed, abused and put in prison: Rochdale’s untold story | 14 Jul 2020 | 00:37:09 | |
How does an abused teenager get a criminal record while her abusers walk free? This is untold story of the Rochdale grooming scandal - how one young woman has been denied justice and how her attackers are still at large. For the very first time, 'Daisy' tells her harrowing story to File on 4. How, from the age of 12, she was groomed, raped and abused by a gang of men. The abuse led her to be involved in some criminal behaviour - but when the police investigated and she told them what was happening, she says she was ignored. She was sent to prison, where, for the first time since the abuse started, she says she felt safe. But when she was released, it started again. The police have admitted some failures but, a decade after they launched their investigation into systematic and organised abuse, Daisy and two other young women, who were also abused, are now taking civil action against Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service. Producer: Sally Chesworth Reporter: Alys Harte Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| Mental Health: The Next Pandemic? | 07 Jul 2020 | 00:37:03 | |
Lockdown is easing now as worries about physical ill-health recede. But could the stress and anxiety of the last few months lead to a second wave of the epidemic - one centred on the nation's mental health? File on 4 investigates the impact coronavirus has had on those already diagnosed with serious mental illness, and others for whom depression and anxiety are entirely new experiences. The programme looks at provision of mental health services during the crisis, hearing stories of early release from mental health wards and of sudden shifts in how help is provided. Reporter Claire Bolderson examines this quiet revolution in mental health provision prompted by Covid-19 and asks whether the changes are here to stay - and whether services, which many say are already stretched to breaking point, will be able to cope. Reporter: Claire Bolderson Producer: Imogen Walford Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| Racism in the Police | 30 Jun 2020 | 00:37:03 | |
With the words ‘I can’t breathe’ reverberating around the world, the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK has put the issue of racial justice at the top of the political agenda. Twenty-one years after the Macpherson inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence labelled the Metropolitan Police ‘institutionally racist’, File on 4 explores concerns black, Asian and ethnic minority officers still face discrimination in the service. Police forces in England and Wales are in the middle of an unprecedented recruitment drive, to add 20,000 new officers by March 2023, providing an opportunity to improve diversity. There is work to do, as Home Office figures for 2019, seen for the first time by File on 4, reveal many specialist positions continue to be dominated by white officers. There were only two ethnic minority officers among 184 in the mounted police; 15 out of 734 dog handlers; and 11 among 426 detectives in special investigations teams. File on 4 asks whether the way black and Asian officers are currently treated is likely to be a barrier to attracting suitable candidates and if the changes will affect representation at senior ranks, where there are very few ethnic minority officers. The programme reveals data, collected by the National Black Police Association, that ethnic minority officers represent 14% of all officers under misconduct investigation and over 20% of inquiries that had progressed to a misconduct meeting or gross misconduct hearing, despite representing less than 7% of all officers. File on 4 hears from ex police inspector Mark Dias who was put under surveillance illegally by Cleveland Police and found to be the victim of racial discrimination. Reporter: Danny Shaw Producer: Oliver Newlan Development Producer: Jane Andrews Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| The Neo-Nazi Network | 23 Jun 2020 | 00:36:50 | |
Last year, a 16-year-old boy from Durham became the youngest person ever convicted of planning a terrorist attack in the UK, spurring reporter Daniel De Simone to delve deeper into this shadowy world. Police say right-wing extremism is the fastest growing terrorist threat - and that the coronavirus pandemic may be leaving teens vulnerable to radicalisation. As he investigates the movement, Daniel reveals the inner-workings of these militant extreme right-wing groups who seek to spark a race war and destroy society. Working with investigative journalists in the US and Russia, he tracks down some of the movement’s most extreme and influential men. Producer: Lucy Proctor Reporter: Daniel De Simone Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| Lasting Legacy: What went wrong at a Hull funeral home? | 16 Apr 2024 | 00:37:04 | |
The discovery of 35 bodies and an unknown quantity of unidentified human ashes at a Hull funeral home has become one of the most harrowing investigations in the history of Humberside Police. Linsey Smith investigates what went wrong and hears from some of the many families who've been left devastated by the discovery - some of whom now know the ashes they were given didn't belong to their loved ones. File on 4 also hears how the funeral industry is largely unregulated and how concerns raised more than three years ago by the Competition and Markets Authority about the storage and treatment of the deceased haven't been acted upon. Reporter: Linsey Smith Producers: Holly Clemens and Nicola Dowling Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Digital producer: Melanie Stewart-Smith Production Coordinators: Tim Fernley & Jordan King Editor: Carl Johnston Image Credit:Christopher Furlong\Getty | |||
| The 5G con that could make you sick | 16 Jun 2020 | 00:36:43 | |
Since the UK went into coronavirus lockdown something strange has been happening –attacks on telephone masts and telecom workers are being reported all across the country. That’s because some people think that 5G can make you sick –from corona virus to cancer and a whole host of other symptoms. Even more worryingly, some scientists say they can prove that it’s harmful. But at a time when many businesses are struggling, could this apparent threat be helping to fuel a whole industry of strange and expensive products? And worse, could stoking these fears actually be damaging people’s health? File on 4 investigates how bad science could be making you sick. Presenter: Tom Wright Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou | |||
| The Perfect Storm | 09 Jun 2020 | 00:37:08 | |
While Britain and France were brought to a standstill during the coronavirus lockdown, record numbers of migrants in Calais were on the move, boarding small boats to make perilous journeys to the UK. But what is motivating migrants to risk their lives and take to the sea in such numbers? File on 4 investigates conditions on the ground for migrants in northern France and hears claims a lack of food and sanitation, already a major issue in the informal camps, has been exacerbated by coronavirus. Reporter Paul Kenyon hears concerns migrants have been driven to desperation by the worsening conditions on the ground and anxious not to fall ill with coronavirus in France in case they enter the French immigration system and harm their chances of settling in the UK. Last year Home Secretary Priti Patel announced a package of new measures to crack down on migrants crossing the Channel in boats and vowed it would be an infrequent occurrence by spring 2020. With record numbers of arrivals File on 4 investigates whether the Government's policies have prevented even greater numbers of people attempting crossings or forced them to take greater risks? Reporter: Paul Kenyon Producer: Ben Robinson Editor: Carl Johnston | |||
| Covid Crime | 02 Jun 2020 | 00:36:50 | |
The covid-19 pandemic continues to have a profound effect on society - including the world of serious organised crime. The closure of international borders and global lockdown has made some criminal activities impossible while at the same time creating opportunities for new ones. While law enforcement around the world grapple with this new challenge, criminals seek to profit from the pandemic. In this episode of File on 4, reporter Paul Connolly examines how the global crisis has changed organised crime - with some unexpected consequences. | |||