Dispatches

Monday, November 30 on 4

Dispatches investigates the elusive Russian oligarchs who have been trying to buy up our football teams, newspapers and car companies. Reporter Antony Barnett examines the relationship between Russia’s richest men and Britain’s political elite. He discovers that members of the House of Lords are a prized attraction in Moscow.

Monday, November 23 on 4

A year ago a BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning Dispatches told the story of how children in Africa’s Niger Delta were being denounced by Christian pastors as witches and wizards and then killed, tortured or abandoned by their own families. The film forced the Nigerian authorities and the UN to act. Now Dispatches reveals what happened to some of the children and church leaders who originally featured, and discovers that even now children as young as two are still being stigmatised as witches and treated as outcasts.

Monday, November 16 on 4

Dispatches investigates one of the most powerful and influential political lobbies in Britain, which is working in support of the interests of the State of Israel. Little is known about the individuals and groups which collectively are known as the pro-Israel lobby. Political commentator Peter Oborne sets out to establish who they are, how they are funded, how they work and what influence they have, from the key groups to the wealthy individuals who help bankroll the lobbying. He investigates how accountable, transparent and open to scrutiny the lobby is, particularly in regard to its funding and financial support of MPs.

Monday, October 19 on 4

Dispatches has been given exclusive access to the Metropolitan Police to find out what training officers are given to deal with public demonstrations. The programme looks at how the police are taught to judge the level of force required to suppress disorder, and examines controversial crowd control tactics like “containment”, which brings protestors face-to-face with heavily-protected and armed police officers. Dispatches asks why, if the vast majority of protests pass off peacefully, police training still focuses on the worst-case scenario of riots and petrol bombs.

Monday, October 5 on 4

This week’s Dispatches lifts the lid on the pensions’ crisis. The programme names some of the blue-chip companies that have abandoned final salary pension schemes. It shows how widespread the problem of underperforming pensions is, and how difficult it is to get full compensation if things go wrong. Dispatches also reveals the extent to which public sector pensions are under threat, and how far private pensions have failed to deliver in the recession. The programme asks whether the government has failed to protect pensions, and examines their ideas for tackling the crisis in the future.

Monday, September 21 on 4

Seven years after they were introduced, there are now 16,500 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) walking the “beat”, costing the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds per year. Filming with PCSOs at work on the streets of Lancashire, Dispatches investigates whether PCSOs have proven to be a policing success story or an expensive mistake. Featuring interviews with the officers themselves, an exclusive survey of more than 1,000 PCSOs, and information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, Dispatches uncovers widespread confusion over their role, both among the public and within the police service itself.

Monday, September 14 on 4

As the number of unemployed people approaches 2.5 million, Dispatches examines one of the biggest surprises of this recession: middle-class unemployment. From company directors to university graduates, this film follows the experience of several people who have found themselves out of work and desperately in search of a job, with some going to extraordinary lengths to try to secure one. Set against the backdrop of the government’s declared efforts to help the unemployed, Dispatches highlights the practical realities of trying to find work, even when armed with a degree or a glowing CV.

Monday, September 7 on 4

As the number of British soldiers returning from Afghanistan in coffins exceeds 200, award-winning filmmaker David Modell examines the devastating trauma suffered by so many surviving soldiers that leaves no visible scars but great psychological injury. Dispatches documents the lives of four soldiers who have been left with serious psychiatric problems as a result of their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. This film provides an intimate portrait of their devastating impact on the lives of individual soldiers and raises serious questions about the adequacy of existing support structures.
An interview with film-maker David Modell is available on the press website at Programme Info/ Future Highlights/ September.

Monday, July 27 on 4

This week’s Dispatches investigates how Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF party are still clinging on to power in Zimbabwe; and focuses on the businessmen who are benefiting from or supporting his campaign of political violence. According to opposition politicians in Zimbabwe, those businessmen include well-known figures and companies based in the City of London. Despite the power-sharing “National Unity Government”, Dispatches reporter Aidan Hartley discovers that Mugabe has maintained his grip on the police, army and central bank, carrying out violence and corruption on a vast scale.

Monday, July 20 on 4

Dispatches goes undercover to investigate one of Britain’s least loved but booming industries – the debt collection business. Presented by Jane Moore, the programme reveals some of the tactics deployed to get debtors to pay up, and talks to those unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of this treatment. And Dispatches reporter Tom Randall gets a job as a debt collector inside one of the UK’s fastest-growing agencies.