File on 4 Investigates

Épisodes

• 
  A Romanian Ransom 07.08.2026 37min

  A Romanian Ransom uncovers one of the Cold War's strangest secrets - a covert trade in which Jewish lives were bought and sold for livestock and cash. In 1958, MI5 agents watch pigs being loaded onto a plane in Hertfordshire, bound for Communist Romania. The man behind it, Henry Jakober, was a London livestock trader with hidden ties to Romanian intelligence.The documentary follows Andrea Bernard and Radu Horaud, two children raised in communist Romania, where Jews faced decades of persecution, from the wartime Holocaust through Ceaușescu's secret police. Both hid their Jewish identity growing up, and both were separated from their parents, who defected to the West. Their reunions, in Tel Aviv and Paris, hinged on a name neither had heard before - Jakober.Historians and the families reveal how Jakober brokered exit visas for desperate Romanian Jews, paid for with pigs, cattle, and farm equipment, later escalating to cash running into millions. Mossad, alarmed at first, ultimately co-opted the scheme, and Ceaușescu expanded it into an industrial operation, selling around 100,000 Jewish lives for tens of millions of dollars, while his secret police profited from the proceeds.The documentary wrestles with Jakober's legacy - a Schindler-like rescuer, or a profiteer trading in human freedom? Through testimony and declassified files, we trace the moral complexity of a scheme that reunited families while treating them as commodities.A Message Heard Media production for BBC Radio 4
• 
  Letby Hospital: Maternity failings at the Countess of Chester 21.07.2026 37min

  The quality of maternity care in hospitals across the country has been in the spotlight following a series of scandals. On File on 4 Investigates families allege serious failings of care at the Countess of Chester maternity unit - the same hospital where neonatal nurse Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering and attempting to murder 14 babies. We speak to families about their experiences and ask what implications the quality of maternity care could have had on the Letby case.Presenter: Stephanie Hegarty Producer: Ben Robinson Production Co-ordinators: Tom Dunster and Tim Fernley Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Editor: Tara McDermott Details of organisations offering information and support with traumatic birth or child bereavement are available on the pregnancy related issues page at www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
• 
  Epstein Files: Lutnick, the Royals and the British Whistleblower 14.07.2026 37min

  Whistleblower Simon Andriesz reveals how he unearthed evidence that US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had failed to disclose a business relationship with the paedophile financier, Jeffrey Epstein. The British broker, who worked at one of Lutnick’s Wall Street firms, made the discovery in the Epstein files, some of which were released earlier this year. Mr Andriesz also speaks for the first time about the personal cost of disclosing what was going on inside one of the companies then run by Howard Lutnick and his decade-long battle with courts and regulators. And he reveals how Mr Lutnick's firm was keen to agree a $1m deal with the former Prince Andrew for introductions to wealthy individuals and sovereign institutions. This programme has been edited since it was first released to correct errors in dates. Presenter: Andy Verity Producer: Rob Byrne Production Co-ordinators: Tom Dunster & Tim Fernley Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Editor: Tara McDermott
• 
  Jon Holmes, Generation Shame 03.07.2026 36min

  Last year a Parliamentary Report concluded that between 1949 and 1976, around 185,000 babies of unmarried mothers were put up for adoption in England and Wales, many of these by force. For File on Four, The Skewer’s Jon Holmes investigates whether he was one of them.Jon Holmes has always known he was adopted, but was never very interested in searching for his birth parents until results of a recent DNA test proved he was of Irish heritage and his curiosity was piqued. A large folder arrives from Warwickshire County Council and slowly Jon begins to unpick the story of his life and the world he was born into. As secrets of Jon’s past are revealed, a Parliamentary Report by the Committee on Human Rights is published detailing shocking and vivid accounts of mothers being forced into giving up their babies by a society that outcast and shamed them at every turn. What will Jon discover about his own family? What truths will he uncover as he speaks to mothers forced into handing their newborns over, as well as fellow adoptees about the damaging and traumatic culture he was born into? Government has always denied any responsibility and is refusing demands for an apology, but is that really the case? As Jon slowly finds out more about his own past, he also investigates the impact of this era and asks where does responsibility for this societal culture lie… and can it ever be repaired?Presenter: Jon Holmes Producer: Elizabeth Foster
• 
  Strict schools: Taking discipline too far? 30.06.2026 37min

  File on 4 Investigates concerns about how some strict discipline measures are being implemented in schools across England. We discovered students internally excluded for around 20% of their lesson time, and some much longer. The Outwood Grange Academy in Wakefield put one pupil in an isolation booth for more than half of the academic year. We hear from a mother in Devon whose son Taylor took his own life, weeks after he’d expressed his frustration at what he saw as his school, Ivybridge Community College’s punitive and illogical rules. Presenter: Jane Deith Producer: Anna Meisel Production Co-ordinators: Tim Fernley & Tom Dunster Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Editor: Tara McDermottThis programme contains reference to suicide and self harm. If you've been affected by some of the issues raised in this programme you can find out more about organisations that can help by going to www.bbc.co.uk/actionline.
• 
  Fake Marriages - The real story 23.06.2026 37min

  File on 4 Investigates how Immigration Enforcement officers are tackling sham marriages. Claire Jones follows Home Office officials as they apprehend people entering into, and organising fake marriages in order to circumvent the UK’s immigration laws. She discovers details of criminal gangs charging people up to £30,000 for a partner and 'marriage pack', a set of photos and documents designed to create a convincing back story of the fake relationship. After File on 4 Investigates asked the Home Office why more statistics are not available on suspected fake marriages, they have now committed to regularly publishing these numbers 'in due course'. Presenter: Claire Jones Producer: Ashley Kennedy Editor: Tara McDermott Production Co-ordinators: Tim Fernley & Tom Dunster Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
• 
  Sins of the past: Should the Church of England pay for its links to slavery? 16.06.2026 37min

  The Church of England is confronting difficult questions over a £100 million fund to address its historic links to slavery. Aleem Maqbool hears from clergy, historians and politicians as he explores the arguments over reparations, responsibility and whether the Church can make amends for sins of the past.Presenter: Aleem Maqbool Producers: Hayley Mortimer & Catherine Wyatt Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Production Co-ordinators: Tom Dunster & Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott
• 
  Tricked into pregnancy? The Liv Nervo story 09.06.2026 37min

  Liv Nervo is one of the world’s most successful female DJs, who along with her twin sister, make up NERVO. She was starting a family with a man she believed was the love of her life - but at six months pregnant, she discovered he had been living a double life. She says she entered the relationship under false pretences and wouldn't have consented to sex had she known the truth about his other relationship.What happened to her reveals an intense debate about consent, the law and a lesser-known form of domestic abuse called reproductive coercion.G for guidance - this programme contains strong language.Presenter: Alys Harte Producer: Ben Robinson Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Manager: Tom Dunster Editor: Tara McDermott
• 
  Hair Strand Tests in the Family Court 26.05.2026 37min

  Hair Strand Tests can show if parents have been using drink or drugs. Such tests play can a central part in Family Court hearings every year as judges decide whether children should go into care or not. Some barristers have been raising the alarm over the way the tests are presented and interpreted in the Famly Court. And, for the first time, File on 4 Investigates talks to mothers who nearly lost their babies – thanks to hair strand tests.Presenter: Sanchia Berg Senior Producer: Anna Meisel Producer: Mary O'Reilly Technical Producer: Kelly Young Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermottImage: Lead Senior Scientist Dr Ellie Menzies carrying out a hair strand test
• 
  Adding Up: How Councils meet the costs of Special Educational Needs 19.05.2026 37min

  As the government plans major reform of the England's Special Educational Needs system, File on 4 Investigates goes back to the floor, spending time with councils as funding decisions are made and with families trying to navigate a system in flux. From home-schoolers in Whitley Bay to getting on board a school bus in Hackney, we'll hear about the challenges of delivering services to tens of thousands of children with SEN each year. As the number of young people who need extra support rises how will Councils balance their books? Over a hundred schools have closed in England in the last five years. Analysis by the BBC’s Data team has shown that pupils with special educational needs have been disproportionately affected by school closures. These pupils made up 29% of those whose school has closed, which is higher than the national average. We'll hear how the disruption of a school closing can affect those with additional needs, and their families.Presenter: Hayley Clarke Producer: Nicola Dowling Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott(Thanks also to the BBC News Data Journalism team)
• 
  Locked and Downloaded: The rise in 3D printed guns 12.05.2026 38min

  Police have dealt with scores of cases involving home-made 3D printed guns in the UK in the last three years. Data obtained by File on 4 Investigates from the National Crime Agency shows that criminals and extremists have attempted to manufacture the weapons. We hear from police who successfully prosecuted a group who had manufactured printed firearms to sell on to criminal gangs. As Adrian Goldberg asks, how much of a threat are these printed weapons in the UK and what can be done to deter people from making them?Producer: Paul Grant Technical Producers: Cameron Ward & Nicky Edwards Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott
• 
  Duped in Dubai 05.05.2026 38min

  Finance professionals who paid thousands for training courses in Dubai seemingly endorsed by a government official say they were duped by the British businessman behind them. Participants in the 12-week “accelerator” programmes say they provided little in the way of useful training, while the millions in potential investment offers promised to graduates never materialised. File on 4 Investigates a trail of deception left by the British “finfluencer” behind the course.Presenter: Yemisi Adegoke Producer: Rob Byrne Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott
• 
  Searching for Soldier Dad 28.04.2026 37min

  DNA detectives track down the British soldiers who fathered children in Kenya then disappeared, leaving the children and their mothers without support. With exclusive access to every stage of this cutting-edge process, we follow as a team of lawyers and a leading geneticist travel to Kenya. We witness the groundbreaking legal and scientific detective work used to find the missing military dads. Lawyers believe British soldiers stationed at the army base in Nanyuki, Kenya, may have fathered hundreds of children over decades — the oldest we meet is now 70 the youngest just three years old. What’s at stake is not only the reputation of the British armed forces and the UK’s post-colonial legacy. The mixed-heritage children have in some cases been ostracised by their communities and denied a chance of British citizenship since birth.Presenter: Ivana Davidovic Producer: Josephine CasserlyA Long Form Audio production.
• 
  The Experiments 20.04.2026 36min

  Jack Butcher investigates allegations that children in West German welfare institutions were subjected to widespread medical abuse, including medical experiments.During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, many children found themselves in West Germany's sprawling network of children's institutions. In recent years, Germany has been shocked by revelations that some were used as guinea pigs for powerful new drugs, including potent anti-psychotics, as doctors worked hand in hand with pharmaceutical companies to observe the effects of new medications on young children. The allegations were first brought to public attention by Sylvia Wagner, a pharmaceutical historian who grew up in a care home, and whose own brother was a victim of medical abuse.Pulling together Sylvia's research, speaking to victims and digging through the documentation, Jack Butcher and reporter Ilona Toller, who led a major investigation of the scandal for German national radio, lay bare the horrendous human cost and tell the story of the tenacious activists who have challenged the conscience of their nation.Producer and Presenter: Jack Butcher With reporting from Ilona Toller and Anouk Millet, and additional research by Leonie Mombaur. Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson Sound Design: Phoebe McIndoe Mix: Arlie Adlington A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
• 
  Are white working class girls falling behind? 14.04.2026 37min

  White disadvantaged girls are being overlooked, school leaders are warning. Whilst white working-class boys remain one of the worst performing group in their GCSEs, white girls from low income homes aren’t much further behind them. File on 4 Investigates has worked with the BBC Data team to compare 2025's GCSE results in England with those of 2019. The team found that white working class girls in England have seen some of the biggest declines in attainment since 2019 - with just 38 percent of these students passing their English and Maths exams. All girls are down by 1.6 percentage points at GCSE but low-income white British girls are down by 6.4 percentage points. Cutting the link between 'background and success' and halving the 'disadvantage gap' is something the Department for Education has pledged to tackle. In this programme we examine what is behind the decline for this group of girls and meet school leaders who are working to reverse it. Reporter: Hayley Mortimer Producer: Ashley Kennedy Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott
• 
  Sunshine and Secrets: The hidden side of IVF 31.03.2026 37min

  What happens when the sperm or egg donor you choose isn’t the one you get? Northern Cyprus is a sun-soaked haven for affordable IVF. But behind the glossy clinic websites, parents are discovering their chosen sperm or egg donors might not have been used. For File on 4 Investigates Anna Collinson follows parents searching for answers and children wondering where they have come from. File on 4 Investigates Sunshine & Secrets: The hidden side of IVFProducer: Jo Adnitt Executive Producer: Rob Brown Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermottDetails of organisations offering information and support with infertility are available on the Pregnancy related issues page at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
• 
  The battle for hearts and lungs: Transplants in trouble. 24.03.2026 37min

  The UK was once a world leader in heart and lung transplantation. Pioneering surgeons attracted patients from all over the world. But the NHS has not kept pace with medical and technological developments and today the UK lags far behind most similar countries. It carries out fewer transplants and a lack of resources mean it doesn’t routinely use modern technologies. Many of the health service’s leading surgeons have left to work overseas in recent years, frustrated, they say, at the lack of attention transplant services have received from NHS England. Through speaking to patients, surgeons and experts, File on Four Investigates looks at what the UK needs to do to update and transform this life-changing service. Reporter Michael Buchanan Producers: Adam Eley & Paul Grant Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott
• 
  Fight on the Right: The MAGA Civil War 10.03.2026 38min

  President Donald Trump won multiple elections thanks to support from the Maga movement - but cracks have begun to emerge in the broad coalition of America's political right. The schism first emerged online as Maga supporters-turned-detractors began to criticise President Trump, saying he has failed to deliver on campaign promises they voted for. Maga congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene - once one of President Trump's most vocal supporters - quit Congress last year after becoming increasingly critical of the president over issues such as continued US involvement in foreign wars, the failure to tackle the cost of living in America - and failure to release all of the FBI's files on the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. But two months prior to her quitting, it was the murder of conservative influencer, Charlie Kirk, which really sent a shockwave through the movement. A power vacuum at the top has been filled by some curious characters, as other activists have fought for control of the space Kirk once dominated. And when former Fox News host Tucker Carlson - perhaps the most influential thought leader in conservative America - invited Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes onto his podcast, a vicious debate kicked off which continues to this day. Some Maga influencers say they'll welcome anyone into the fold, but more mainstream Republicans continue to call for the rejection of these elements - and are concerned they could cost the party votes in November's midterm elections. Warning: This programme features and discusses some anti-Semitic and racist points of view. Presenter: Mike Wendling Producer: Lucy Proctor Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
• 
  Bogus self-employment - who pays the price? 03.03.2026 37min

  As the government’s flagship Employment Rights Act (2025) comes into force, File on 4 Investigates a loophole worrying experts: bogus self-employment. We discover hundreds of workers on government contracts are said to be wrongly classified as self-employed. This we are told is the tip of the iceberg as more employers increasingly choose to put workers on self-employed contracts rather than employing them as staff, without all the rights, bolstered under the new laws. Some are suggesting that recent changes to National Insurance have meant more business owners are keeping workers off payroll to keep running costs down. We will look at small businesses where it’s become increasingly difficult to employ staff in the traditional way and find that some workers in hospitality for example like the flexibility that job apps can give them when picking up casual freelance work.Presenter: Tom Wall Producer: Rob Byrne Technical producer: Cameron Ward Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott
• 
  No CCTV: When train attacks go unrecorded 24.02.2026 37min

  Sexual harassment and assault on the rail network is on the rise across England, Wales and Scotland but a lack of CCTV evidence is preventing justice for victims in some cases. Claire Jones examines how broken cameras and train companies not retaining CCTV footage for long enough has been hampering police investigations. She goes on patrol with British Transport Police on the London Underground, speaks to police and victims about how frustrating it can be when key evidence cannot be accessed and sees some of the newest surveillance technology, currently not available on trains, in action. Details of organisations offering help and support for anyone affected by sexual violence are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline Reporter: Claire Jones Producer: Nicola Dowling Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott