File on 4 Investigates

From the harrowing 999 calls of people waiting for an ambulance to the paramedics stretched to breaking point, File on 4 goes on the frontline of the ambulance crisis. Rachel Stonehouse speaks to the family of one man who died after waiting nearly 11 hours for an ambulance and the wife who desperately tried to keep her husband alive after an ambulance failed to turn up on time. She goes out on shi...

Paul Kenyon investigates the ‘brain drain’ of doctors from developing countries to work in the UK. The large scale recruitment of foreign doctors from nations with the greatest need to retain their medical personnel is increasing on a massive scale. What’s more, thousands of doctors are being targeted despite guidance which says recruitment from developing countries should not happen. It is though...

Leicester is one of the most diverse cities in England – often presented as a shining example multi-cultural Britain. But tensions between some factions have been brewing in the city for months and boiled over recently when there were violent clashes which led to dozens of arrests. File on 4 investigates why sections of the Muslim and Hindu communities that once lived together in harmony are now d...

There are concerns that British victims of trafficking are less likely than foreign nationals to receive Home Office support to escape exploitation. More and more British victims of organised sexual abuse are being referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – the government’s support pathway for victims of trafficking – following high profile sexual exploitation cases in Rochdale, Rotherham...

It was to be one of the most ambitious just reform programmes in the world – a ‘common platform’ that would share information between the courts, lawyers and police, from arrest to court. But the quarter-of-a-billion pound IT project now stands accused of causing wrongful arrests and unlawful detentions. File on 4 has spoken with whistle-blowers from within the court service who say the system is...

The massage industry has bounced back since covid, but File on 4 investigates the darker side of this industry. Hannah Price speaks to women who were sexually assaulted by massage therapists. In some cases, the therapist went on to assault other women even after they’d been arrested. The programme reveals how the industry is largely unregulated - with no licensing of practitioners. It means anyone...

In March 2022, File on 4 told the stories of six people whose lives were changed forever by war in Ukraine. They were not soldiers, activists or politicians. They were civilians, not used to war or how to deal with it. They kept audio diaries that told a raw truth about loss, hope and even love. Some packed up and left with their children while others remained in the eye of the storm. Among them,...

Last month an independent children’s social care review concluded that providing care for children in residential homes 'should not be based on profit'. The government response was that they have no any objection to profit being made as long as standards of care are properly regulated. But is there a difference in the standard of care between ‘for profit’ and ‘not-for-profit’ children’s homes? Wit...

Around 800,000 people have dementia in the UK. For those suffering from the illness, incontinence can often be seen an inevitable consequence - but that’s not always the case. Deemed as too embarrassing or taboo, it’s a topic that rarely hits the spotlight. Experts say preserving someone’s ability to go to the toilet is crucial to maintaining their dignity and quality of life and should be a prior...

With exclusive access to research – the first of its kind – reporter Livvy Haydock investigates what could be the most common form of sexual abuse that happens within families: sibling sexual abuse. She speaks to families struggling to get help for this distressing form of abuse and those struggling to come to terms with a child harming another child – and fighting to repair their family. As she w...

Gambling is a multi-billion pound industry which is facing change. For years there has been mounting concern that in the digital era betting companies have expanded far beyond the reach of the law and the Government is set to table major new rules to transform how the industry is governed. But the reforms will not consider whether people who have been drawn into criminality by a gambling addiction...

Russia’s response to accusations of war crimes in Ukraine has been to blame the Ukrainians of bombing their own side. Some people here in the UK have been sharing this version of the war on social media. Driven by a conviction that Western governments are responsible for many of the world’s ills, these academics, journalists and celebrities have shared misinformation in their attempts to raise que...

Why are a disproportionate number of black children being strip searched? File on 4 hears from teenagers taken in for a ‘strippy’ so often, it’s become part of life. The strip search of ‘Child Q’, a fifteen year old black girl in a London school, was headline news, sparking outrage and official inquiries. Her teachers claimed she smelled of cannabis, but no drugs were ever found. A safeguarding re...

More than 150 thousand people have signed up to the UK’s ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme - hoping to open their doors to those desperately fleeing the war. But it’s a process that has been dogged with delays, and is raising serious safeguarding concerns as vulnerable women and children try to match up with potential hosts through unregulated sites online. By following those escaping the conflict, and t...

Almost half of all the seriously mentally ill people in prison assessed as needing hospital treatment are being refused the help they need. In this episode of File on 4, Shell and "Ian" tell us the reality of living with mental illness whilst in prison, why so many people fail to get the crucial treatment they need whilst inside and what impact that has on them. And prison officer "Mike" describes...

Day by day, hour by hour, people all over Ukraine tell the story of the Russian invasion. We hear from people packing up and leaving with their children and those who remain in the eye of the storm, some fighting for survival amidst food shortages and shelling and others taking up arms to defend their country. Since the war began, many of those affected have been recording their daily struggles fo...

Reproductive coercion: a form of abuse you've probably never heard of. From deliberately sabotaging contraceptives to forcing someone to have an abortion, it is used to gain power and control - and can have devastating consequences. But with links to domestic violence and even homicide, is enough being done to spot the signs? Rachel Stonehouse investigates. Producer: Alys Harte Editor: Maggie Lath...

File on 4 tells the story of a charismatic preacher on the run from British police for child sex offences. Three years ago, File on 4 tracked him down to an impoverished Roma community in Bulgaria where he was sexually abusing boys as young as 10. Daniel Erickson-Hull was arrested and charged by the Bulgarian authorities after he was confronted by File on 4 but has since been released and continue...

From pills that resolve chronic pain issues overnight to diet supplements which promise to help shed pounds in days, the internet is awash with adverts making bold claims. Some come with a celebrity endorsement, where household names appear to give their personal stamp of approval to a product. But many of these are scams, with customers tricked into parting with more money than they realise ever...

Two years ago File on 4 investigated how a computer system, called Horizon, was behind what has now become one of the biggest miscarriages of justice this country has ever seen. Hundreds of innocent postal workers wrongly accused of stealing money from their branches by the Post Office itself. Many faced financial ruin, some even went to prison. Since that programme, dozens have had their convicti...

After an alarming rise in complaints of drink spiking last year, and reports of people being injected with syringes, Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to women who say they have been “spiked” and finds out what the police are doing to tackle it. Reporter: Datshiane Navanayagam Producer: Nicola Dowling Editor: Nicola Addyman

Michael Cowan investigates the consequences for victims of crime and those accused of offences when crucial evidence goes missing or is lost by police forces. He speaks to a man who says he is trying to clear his name but vital evidence has been lost. Reporter: Michael Cowan Producer: Jim Booth Editor: Nicola Addyman Additional research: Wil Crisp and Sophie Eastaugh If you have been affected by s...

Record ambulance delays are leaving patients waiting hours for emergency care to arrive with waiting times increasing every month. Some patients wait hours at home, many wait outside the hospitals for a bed to become available, but for a small number, ambulances are arriving too late and patients are dying while waiting for help to arrive. In this episode of File on 4 we hear how the crisis is imp...

The NHS is sending patients with the most complex mental health needs to spend months or even years in specialist rehabilitation units, with the promise of helping them to recover. Adam Eley speaks to some patients who say they were sent to units sometimes hours from home, where poor care meant their condition got worse. Some experts say there is not enough oversight of the care provided. Credits:...

The high stakes cat and mouse game between police and darknet drug dealers Police say they are finally turning the tide on drug dealers selling on the darknet – a secretive part of the internet which has been described as like “online shopping for drugs.” The UK’s National Crime Agency says recent international takedowns of so called dark markets and arrests in multiple countries are a result of n...