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Business journalist Adam Shaw investigates the government's plans to spend millions of pounds reviving run-down town centres. For more than a century, our high streets have been key to our communities, but now, with one in ten shops sitting empty, they are in crisis. In this programme, business journalist Adam Shaw investigates the government’s plans to spend millions of pounds reviving run-down town centres. He finds high streets across the country looking at other ways to remain part of their community and learns that to adapt and change on the scale that’s needed, they will have to have more than just money.
Leaked documents reveal how an impoverished country was corruptly exploited by its former ruling family. Reporter Richard Bilton uncovers the dubious contracts and loans that were used to get hold of some of the country's most valuable assets. He then follows the money trail back to the UK and discovers how one of the suspicious deals was run from an office in central London.
What would you do if your car broke down on a motorway with no hard shoulder? Many experts think you would be in danger. Hundreds of miles of motorways are being made 'smart' - turning a hard shoulder into a live lane. Reporter Richard Bilton speaks to the families of crash victims and asks whether Britain’s motorways are becoming death traps.
Panorama meets some of the growing number of people living in temporary accommodation. With a shortage of council-owned properties, and a desire to keep people, especially young families, out of bed and breakfasts, local authorities are increasingly turning to the private sector for help. In 2013, a change in planning laws meant companies could buy up and convert old office blocks into homes without planning permission. Reporter Callum Tully explores life for residents living in these converted spaces.
Reporter Ellie Flynn talks to the family of Callie Lewis, who killed herself while in the care of the NHS, and uncovers the extent of the service's failure to provide adequate mental health care. Callie Lewis was just 24 years old when she took her own life. She had been in the care of the NHS, but fell through the cracks of an understaffed and overstretched system. For the last 16 months Panorama has been filming with her family as they try to understand what went wrong. Shortly before she died, they learned that Callie was a member of an online suicide forum, where she found detailed advice on how to kill herself. As reporter Ellie Flynn discovers, Callie's death comes at a time when many people with mental health issues continue to complain about their struggle to connect with the services they need.
In a quarter of a century, Amazon has propelled Jeff Bezos from online bookseller to tech titan. He's the richest man on the planet, and the company he founded is one of the most powerful. Panorama investigates Amazon's rise to corporate superpower and asks whether there is a dark side to our love affair with the company. Former high-level insiders describe Amazon's huge, obsessive data-gathering operation, which enables the company to use what it knows about us to shape not only the future of retail but the workplace and technology too. On both sides of the Atlantic, politicians and regulators are beginning to question Amazon's power and to explore ways to rein it in. But some of Amazon's most senior executives say the company is a force for good, inventing new ways to serve customers and maintain their trust.
The inside story of the downfall of Alberto Salazar, who coached Britain’s greatest track athlete to Olympic glory. Reporter Mark Daly first exposed doping at Salazar’s Nike Oregon Project in 2015. In this investigation he reveals fresh allegations about the disgraced coach and raises new questions about his relationship with Sir Mo Farah.
Panorama goes inside a criminal call centre to reveal how scammers cheat their victims.
Hundreds of thousands of people fall victim to scams in the UK every year. Many are run from criminal call centres in India, where teams of fraudsters operate around the clock. Now Panorama has obtained hacked CCTV footage from inside one scam call centre that shows exactly how it works. Reporter Rajini Vaidyanathan tracks down the man behind the crime and the British victims who have been conned.
The Department for Work and Pensions is meant to help disabled people get back into work. In this programme, reporter Richard Butchins discovers that it has lost more employment tribunals for disability discrimination than any other employer in Britain. He investigates why the DWP has paid its own employees nearly a million pounds of public money in both tribunal pay-outs and out-of-court settlements.
Across the UK, bus use has plummeted in recent years. Outside the capital, thousands of routes have been cut and bus pass use is down. The prime minister has pledged billions to revitalise the bus network, but is it enough?
Panorama's Richard Bilton travels coast to coast across the north of England to see the reality of Britain’s battered bus network. From rising fares, congestion and abandoned services to hi-tech, green buses and overcrowding, Panorama finds out what people want to see changed.
It has been a week where life in Britain has changed beyond recognition. Schools have shut down, supermarket shelves have emptied, and we have all been told to stay at home where possible.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths is rising, and hospitals are preparing for many more coronavirus patients. Panorama looks at how Britain is coping with its biggest crisis since the Second World War – and asks if the government has the right strategy to contain the virus.
Is the disease that’s threatening our families also destroying the economy? Panorama investigates the financial impact of Covid-19. The programme follows workers, supermarkets and manufacturers struggling to survive as food runs short, jobs are lost and panic sets in. Reporter Richard Bilton tells the story of the fight to save the UK's economy from an unprecedented threat.
More than one-and-a-half million people have been told they have to stay at home for at least the next three months because they are most at risk from coronavirus. The government has promised to do whatever it takes to support them. Richard Bilton hears from some of the most vulnerable about how their lives have changed and the people trying to help them.
Four weeks into the government’s lockdown to save lives and protect the NHS, Jane Corbin reports from the frontline to tell the inside story of a Coventry hospital coping with Covid-19. She hears from doctors and nurses saving lives and dealing with death every day and asks if there is enough protective equipment and testing to help protect them from the daily risks to their own health.
Doctors and nurses have been warning for weeks that they don’t have enough protective kit to stay safe. So has the government let down the health workers leading the fight against the coronavirus? Reporter Richard Bilton investigates the delays and mistakes that may have put the lives of NHS staff at risk.
As politicians decide how and when to lift the lockdown, Justin Rowlatt reports from the scientific frontline, finding out how science can help us defeat the virus. With access to key drug and vaccine trials, he reveals a race against time to help save lives, and he asks when are we likely to be able to return to a normal life.
Britain’s economy has been turned upside down by the coronavirus crisis. Many companies are struggling to stay afloat, while some have found themselves swamped by unprecedented demand. Panorama follows some of the small business owners and key workers struggling through the lockdown, from the courier whose job it is to collect suspected samples of Covid-19 to the funeral director working round the clock to collect and bury the dead.
Panorama investigates conditions inside Greek migrant camps, locked down as coronavirus spread across the world. Refugees and migrants filming on mobile phones reveal how vulnerable people have to share taps and toilets with those who have tested positive for the virus, risking onward transmission. Strict quarantine is enforced on camps where coronavirus cases are confirmed, leading to some shortages in food, water and medical care inside. Fear of the virus and anger at camp conditions have led to violence. Panorama hears from charity and public health experts who warn that any failure to control the spread of the virus inside the camps could lead to potentially dangerous outbreaks.
Reporter Hilary Andersson travels from her home in Vermont to the dark heart of America's coronavirus crisis, New York City. Meeting despairing doctors, health workers and community activists, she asks why more than 16,000 people have died in a city with some of the best health care in the world.
Donald Trump insists his own handling of the pandemic saved thousands of lives despite initially hoping it would simply go away of its own accord. But the city's leaders face criticism too. Joining food queues in the Bronx, Hilary discovers how the city's poorest have suffered the most.
Hundreds of postmasters were jailed or financially ruined after a computer system said money was missing from their branches. Now the Post Office has admitted that its Horizon computer system can make mistakes. But when did senior managers find this out, and did they continue to prosecute postmasters for stealing when they knew technology could be to blame? Reporter Nick Wallis investigates what could be Britain’s biggest ever miscarriage of justice scandal and uncovers evidence of a cover-up at the Post Office.
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has prompted the biggest protests about race and police brutality in America for 50 years. Around the world, thousands of people have joined marches against racism. Reporter Clive Myrie asks if this could be a moment that changes race relations in America for good. He hears from protesters, eyewitnesses and former police officers about why this killing has had such a powerful impact, and speaks to people from black and white communities in Minneapolis about their hopes and fears for the future.
Panorama investigates a global network of neo-Nazis whose aim is to destroy society and discovers that it is recruiting in the UK. Last year, a 16-year-old boy from Durham became the youngest person ever convicted of planning a terrorist attack in the UK, prompting reporter Daniel De Simone to delve deeper into this shadowy world. Police say right-wing extremism is the fastest-growing terrorist threat in the UK and that the coronavirus pandemic may be leaving young people vulnerable to radicalisation. As Daniel investigates the Durham case, he notices certain names cropping up again and again. Working with investigative journalist Ali Winston in the US, he tracks down some of the movement's most influential figures and reveals how the network operates across the globe.
Is the biggest mistake in the Covid-19 crisis about to happen? As the country comes out of lockdown, the UK needs a test and trace system that can stop the disease from spreading again. So is that system ready to keep us safe? Reporter Richard Bilton investigates the rapid expansion of our testing capacity and asks whether we have got the world-beating service the prime minister promised.
Coronavirus has killed thousands, but now there are fears that the pandemic has caused a crisis in cancer care that could mean many thousands more will die. Panorama, working with the podcast You, Me and the Big C, explores how the focus on Covid-19 has impacted cancer treatment.
Reporter Deborah James, who herself has incurable bowel cancer, investigates how the NHS has managed cancer care during lockdown, speaking to experts and analysing new research. She also meets fellow patients, amongst them friends, to discover what the pandemic has meant for them. For some, the consequences have been devastating.
While the rest of the UK has struggled to contain rising levels of knife and gun crime, Scotland has dramatically reduced violent crime in the past 15 years. But how was it done? Kate Silverton films with Police Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit, which tries to prevent crime by offering more help and compassion to those at risk of offending. They call it a public health approach, which treats crime as a disease. Panorama weighs up the evidence to see whether it really works – and if it can be transferred to the rest of the UK.
Panorama has been given unique access in Salford as the city lifts the lockdown and tries to get its community and economy back to work. Following the mayor and his team, this programme looks at the burden that has fallen on local councils and shows the work done by teachers, bus drivers and those helping the homeless. But for Salford it has been expensive. With the threat of bankruptcy looming, can the council provide the support and services the community needs to get them through the next phase of the health and economic crisis they face?
Politicians from the prime minister down have assured us their response to the coronavirus pandemic has been 'guided by the science’. But the science has been hotly contested. The World Health Organisation urged countries to stamp out infections as soon as they developed, but the UK government's initial scientific advice said the route out of the crisis was for most of us to catch the virus so we could develop herd immunity.
Panorama reporter Dr Faye Kirkland asks whether this was a dangerous gamble with people’s lives or a sound scientific approach. Faced with a growing backlash and warnings that the NHS was close to being overwhelmed, politicians denied that herd immunity was the policy, and within a few days Britain pivoted to a new strategy – lockdown. Now, as we try to emerge from that lockdown, Panorama investigates what those early decisions could mean for our future.
Did China hide crucial information about Covid-19 from the world? What began with a handful of mystery pneumonia cases in Wuhan late last year has now left more than half a million dead worldwide. Beijing says it has been open and transparent throughout, but former BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie investigates how it delayed reporting the initial outbreak and evidence that Covid-19 could be spread by people. It also silenced doctors who tried to speak out.
Panorama also hears from one high-level insider who believes the animal market at the centre of the Wuhan outbreak should have been treated as a 'crime scene' and from experts who warn that this crisis may be a 'dress rehearsal' for an even more deadly pandemic in the future.
Panorama follows the unfolding tragedy in care homes as they struggle to protect residents against the killer virus. Over several months, cameras were allowed into two very different care homes, revealing the dedication of care staff, the frustration of managers and the heartache as more and more lives were lost.
Across the country, more than 20,000 residents and care workers have died with Covid-19. Reporter Alison Holt asks if care homes were abandoned to fight the virus alone.
Almost a quarter of a million babies have been born in the UK since lockdown began. Stacey Dooley reports from Bradford Royal Infirmary to find out how the pandemic is transforming the way we deal with pregnancy and birth. She meets pregnant women terrified of getting the virus, women giving birth and new mums with coronavirus who have had to isolate themselves from friends and family. Stacey also speaks to midwives and doctors who reveal how their lives have changed in order to protect mothers, babies and themselves from the risk of infection.
The way we eat is changing – and the way we shop for our food is too. Almost five months after the beginning of lockdown, Panorama reporter Tom Heap investigates the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Britain’s biggest manufacturing sector - food - and looks at how the way we shop, cook and consume has been transformed.
Home isn’t always a safe place. Panorama investigates what the 'Stay at Home' pandemic rule meant for those trapped with an abusive partner. Reporter Victoria Derbyshire grew up with a violent father and understands the impact it can have on families. She reveals the scale of domestic violence at the height of the crisis and meets some of those who managed to escape during lockdown. And she asks if the government has done enough for those who were put in danger by having to stay at home.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held prisoner in Iran for more than four years after being convicted of trumped-up spying charges. Nobody knows how many other British citizens have been imprisoned by the Iranian authorities because the UK government refuses to say. Reporter Darragh MacIntyre meets the families of some of those who have been arbitrarily detained and asks whether the payment of a historic debt could set them free.
For any parent, making sure a child gets the best schooling is often a worry, but when your child has complex special educational needs and disabilities, it can cause real anxiety. As most children in England return to their classrooms, reporter Sean Dilley investigates the system for supporting young people with special educational needs. He meets families who, during lockdown, struggled without any support at all, and now, as their children head back to school, fear they may not get the right support to help them learn and stay safe in their classrooms. Sean discovers an adversarial system that was supposed to put the needs of children at its heart, but instead has created what some call ‘a treacle of bureaucracy’ for parents to navigate.
Panorama investigates one of the world’s most brutal trades - the buying and selling of human organs. The programme meets the African migrants who have been exploited for their body parts by criminal gangs. Some have agreed to sell a kidney to finance their journey to Europe, only to be ripped off by the traffickers after the operation. Other victims have their organs taken without consent. Panorama also tracks down the criminals running the trade to find out how they arrange illegal operations in hospitals and clinics.
Panorama uncovers secret reports that expose how banks have failed to tackle crime. Reporter Richard Bilton also exposes the business deals billionaires would rather you didn’t know about.
It’s the leak that reveals the secrets of British banking. Panorama uncovers secret reports that expose how banks have failed to tackle crime and how terrorists, money launderers and crime bosses are able to use the same banks as us. Reporter Richard Bilton also exposes the double life of the man who funded the Brexit Party, secret deals at the top of British football and the business deals billionaires would rather you didn’t know about.
Panorama hears from whistleblowers working inside the government’s new coronavirus tracking system. They are so concerned about NHS Test and Trace that they are speaking out to reveal chaos, technical problems, confusion, wasted resources and a system that does not appear to them to be working. The programme also hears from local public health teams who say they have largely been ignored by the government in favour of the private companies hired to run the new centralised tracking system. As Panorama investigates, it has left some local authorities questioning whether local lockdowns could have been handled better or avoided altogether.
Thirty-four people died in Australia last year as the worst bush fires in living memory swept across the country. An area roughly the size of England was devastated and thousands of homes were destroyed. A year on, Panorama hears from the people living in the path of the fires and the firefighters who risked their lives to save them. And as this year’s fire season gets underway, Clive Myrie asks if these levels of destruction are to become normal.
The death of transport worker Belly Mujinga, following reports she had been coughed and spat on by a customer at London’s Victoria Station, was described by the prime minister as appalling and has prompted two million people to join a Justice for Belly campaign. A police investigation wasn’t launched until five weeks after the mother of one had died from Covid-19 and concluded there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime. Now, Panorama reporter Rianna Croxford goes back over the evidence and asks whether all available lines of inquiry were followed. She also examines claims that Belly could have been better protected at work and hears calls for the circumstances of Belly Mujinga’s death to be investigated at an inquest.
Colin Jackson investigates the hidden world of eating disorders in British sport. Speaking to athletes from amateur to elite levels, he discusses his own problems with food when he was an Olympic hurdler and asks why those involved in sport are far more likely to have an eating disorder than the rest of the population. Speaking to the chair of UK Sport, Dame Katherine Grainger, he asks what the authorities should be doing to tackle the problem.
Covid-19 has hit the whole country hard, but for the under-25s, the impact has been particularly difficult. In this programme, reporter Kash Jones investigates the long-term consequences of the pandemic on young people. He reveals exclusive research about the impact of Covid on them and the scale of the challenges ahead, meeting young adults trying to deal with the long-term impact on their education, job prospects and mental health. Many are now asking whether Covid-19 has stolen their future.
Tina Daheley investigates whether TikTok, the social media sensation of lockdown, is safe for the millions of young people who have signed up.
Jane Corbin finds out how Liverpool coped with restrictions due to Covid-19 infection rates, hearing from residents worried about the second wave, business owners pushed to the brink of despair, and those who say that living under tier three rules just isn't possible.
Joe Biden has won the battle for the White House. Reporter Hilary Andersson meets the Trump supporters who believe the election was stolen and asks whether they will ever accept their new president.
The extraordinary story of one family's journey from a small town in America to the heart of the Islamic State group and back.
Panorama investigates the government's shared-ownership scheme, designed to get more people on the property ladder, but leaving some with escalating costs and huge debts.
Panorama follows businesses fighting to survive the pandemic and sees the pressure on those trying to save jobs and livelihoods.
The UK's weather is getting wilder. This year has been a record breaker, with unprecedented rainfall, sunshine and sustained high temperatures. It's a sign that climate change is already happening in the UK – and it's going to get worse. Justin Rowlatt visits communities around Britain battered by this year's extreme weather to find out how they have coped. With access to Met Office data and experts explaining how hot and wet every part of the UK could become, he discovers a future of more heatwaves, intense storms and little snow for most of us, and asks whether we are ready for the even wilder weather that is coming.
The inside story of the development of the Oxford vaccine against Covid-19. Fergus Walsh scrutinises the data that has come out of the trials, and examines the vaccination's efficacy and safety.
