Dispatches

8:00pm Monday, September 27 on C4

As Britain braces itself for the severest cuts in public spending in more than 60 years, Dispatches examines the response of the trade unions and what their threats of potential mass industrial action mean for the country. Representing the interests of millions of British workers, trade unions are perceived to wield a great deal of political might. In this programme Dispatches reporter Deborah Davies investigates just how much power the unions really have to protect pay and jobs, and what the impact of industrial action might be for the public at large.

8:00pm Monday, September 20 on C4

Veteran war correspondent Sam Kiley turns his sights on the critical issue of whether the British tax payer, and British soldier, are getting value for money from the Ministry of Defence. As the MoD puts the finishing touches to the first Strategic Defence and Security Review in 12 years, Kiley uncovers a ministry barely fit for purpose while men and women are fighting and dying in Afghanistan. Britain’s �42 billion defence budget puts it in the top four in the world so why do we appear to be struggling to support just 10,000 frontline troops?

7:30pm Monday, August 30 on C4

Tonight’s Dispatches is part of a series of programmes on 4 this week, highlighting slavery and trafficking, including the three-part documentary series The Hunt for Britain’s Sex Traffickers and the drama I Am Slave . Over 15,000 overseas domestic workers come to the UK every year. Many make the sacrifice to leave their country for the UK in order to better provide for their families back home. But lobby groups and charities communicate that a worrying proportion of domestic workers have their passports taken away from them, are kept locked up and subjected to sexual, physical and psychological abuse. Dispatches investigates the plight of those overseas domestic workers who find themselves isolated and living in fear in the UK.

8:00pm Monday, August 23 on C4

Dispatches reveals the tragic consequences of first cousin marriage in Britain. The practice is most common in Britain’s Pakistani community, in which more than 50% of people marry their first cousin. The medical risks include infant mortality, birth defects, learning difficulties, blindness, hearing impairment and metabolic disorders. Reporter Tazeen Ahmad meets affected families, including one with three children with serious degenerative genetic diseases. Dispatches questions why no major national publicity campaign warns of these health risks.

8:00pm Monday, July 26 on C4

In some African churches in the UK, evangelical pastors perpetuate a strong belief in witchcraft. Often it is children who are denounced as witches by these pastors, and this labelling can lead to the physical and emotional abuse of those children at the hands of their families. In extreme cases it has led to the deaths of some children. In parts of Africa, branding a child a witch is now outlawed, but in Britain this practise is perfectly legal, despite the fact it can have horrific consequences. Dispatches goes undercover to reveal just what goes on behind closed doors in these African churches.

8:00pm Monday, July 12 on C4

Gay people in Africa are facing increased persecution in a continent where two thirds of countries retain laws against homosexuals. Award-winning filmmaker Sorious Samura investigates for Dispatches what it is like to be a gay person in Africa, discovering shocking levels of prejudice and hate, driven by governments, religious organisations and communities. Samura tracks down the victims of a recent mob attack in Kenya, speaks to gay men who have spent time in prison for their sexuality, and meets African homosexuals who are often forced into secret lives.

8:00pm Monday, June 21 on C4

On the eve of the emergency budget announcement, in a live hour-long debate, Dispatches sets out controversial cuts that could save Britain �100 billion. Krishnan Guru-Murthy presents a team of experts who believe their radical proposals could get Britain’s budget back in shape; but can the nation stomach such swingeing cuts or tax increases? A studio of 800 people will vote for or against these cuts: cuts which would potentially mean that cherished frontline services would be protected.

Friday, April 9 on 4

Last year, 36,000 participants in the London Marathon raised a phenomenal £47 million, cementing the Marathon’s place as the biggest one-day fundraising event in the world. Journalist Ben Laurance goes on the trail of the Marathon’s millions, looking at what it costs to stage this annual event, how much money it generates and the extent of its charitable giving. He also talks to leading charities about the amount they pay to take part, the competition for places, and asks why hundreds of desperate charities are left without a place in Britain’s biggest fundraising event.

Thursday, January 21 on 4

This Dispatches Special , screening as part of Channel 4′s Indian Winter season, reveals the brutal reality of life on the streets and in the slums of Mumbai, following the daily struggles of four young children to survive over the course of three months and throughout the treacherous monsoon season. Dispatches provides a deeply moving portrait of the lives of India’s real slumdogs, blighted by substance abuse, hardship and heartache, yet proof of the infinite resilience of children, and forced to reach adulthood long before they should.

Monday, December 7 on 4

As banks and building societies close their doors to all but the least “risky” borrowers, Dispatches reporter Jane Moore investigates a highly-lucrative financial industry that has stepped in to provide loans to the millions of people denied credit elsewhere. She discovers that many of the loans offered by some of these doorstep operators, payday lenders, and rent-to-buy companies come with sky-high interest rates that can financially overwhelm families already steeped in debt. And the sting in the tail is that these loans are entirely legal.