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File on 4 Investigates

BBC Radio 4
File on 4 Investigates
Latest episode

503 episodes

  • File on 4 Investigates

    Fake Marriages - The real story

    06/23/2026 | 37 mins.
    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
  • File on 4 Investigates

    Sins of the past: Should the Church of England pay for its links to slavery?

    06/16/2026 | 37 mins.
    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
  • File on 4 Investigates

    Tricked into pregnancy? The Liv Nervo story

    06/09/2026 | 37 mins.
    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
  • File on 4 Investigates

    Hair Strand Tests in the Family Court

    05/26/2026 | 37 mins.
    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 McDermott
    Image: Lead Senior Scientist Dr Ellie Menzies carrying out a hair strand test
  • File on 4 Investigates

    Adding Up: How Councils meet the costs of Special Educational Needs

    05/19/2026 | 37 mins.
    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)
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About File on 4 Investigates
News-making original journalism documentary series, investigating stories at home and abroad.
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