File on 4 Investigates

Hayley Hassall investigates accusations of bullying and body-shaming at some of the UK’s elite ballet schools. File on 4 and Panorama have spoken to more than 50 ex-students of the Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst Ballet School who attended between 2004 and 2022. Many described developing eating disorders, while some said they had been left with mental health problems. One retired ballerina File on 4 has spoken to has begun legal action against the Royal Ballet School for the treatment she says she suffered there. The two ballet schools dispute the accounts given to the BBC and say they are working hard to change the culture, and put health and wellbeing at the forefront of their priorities

Reporter: Hayley Hassall

The Crooked House: One summer’s night the Crooked House, known as Britain’s wonkiest pub, caught fire. Less than 48 hours later the ruins were knocked to the ground, completely destroying an iconic symbol of the Black Country. The pub gained its name, and worldwide fame, from its crazy angles caused by mining subsidence. But its loss is now being mourned amid calls for it to be rebuilt brick by brick. File on 4 tells the story behind the destruction of the Crooked House.

Presenter: Adrian Goldberg

After an inevitable decline during the pandemic, school exclusions are again on the increase. There are concerns that behaviour is worse because, post pandemic, children can’t regulate their behaviour in the classroom. So what happens to those who are kicked out? The Government says it has issued updated guidance on suspensions and permanent exclusions and is clear that initial intervention should be put in place where children are at risk of being permanently excluded and entering alternative provision. It says permanent exclusions should always be a last resort and shouldn’t mean exclusion from education. But File on 4 hears compelling evidence from pupils, parents and teachers to suggest hundreds - maybe thousands - are falling under the radar, targeted by criminal gangs, forced to sell drugs and lured into a life of crime.

With the number of potential modern slavery cases in England and Wales at a record level, File on 4 investigates how vulnerable people are being targeted and exploited by organised crime groups for cheap labour.

Police estimate that there are tens of thousands of victims of modern slavery in the United Kingdom, being forced to work and live in inhumane conditions with little hope of escape.

Investigators whose job it is to protect workers from exploitation reveal to File on 4 that the care industry has become their top priority in the past 18 months.

Datshiane Navanayagam finds out why and asks whether the systems in place to support victims are working.

Reporter: Datshiane Navanayagam

It’s been called a bigger scandal than Thalidomide. The drug sodium valproate is estimated to have harmed 20,000 children in the UK.

It’s mainly used to treat epilepsy and other conditions such as bipolar disorder.

But taking the drug when pregnant can cause serious harm to unborn babies.

Even when it was licenced fifty years ago, it was known to cause harm to foetuses in animals. But it wasn’t until 2005 that the patient information leaflet, which should come with a prescription- gave clear warnings on the risks of taking valproate in pregnancy to unborn children, beyond a small chance of spina bifida.

File on 4 asks if the health regulators in the UK and the company who make it, Sanofi, did enough to inform patients of the severity of the drug's risks soon enough.

Meanwhile, new risks of the drug are still emerging. A new study shows the drug may affect the neurological development of children fathered by men taking valproate. The evidence is still inconclusive, but neurologists are uncertain what to advise their male patients on valproate.

And why are women still getting pregnant on it? We ask if the system set up to protect women taking it is working as it should be?

A major review of the drug made a number of recommendations, including the setting up of specialist clinics and a compensation scheme for those affected. The programme asks what progress has been made in the UK to implement those changes, and are we lagging behind other countries?

File on 4 speaks to the families whose children have been left with lifelong neurological and physical disabilities as a result of taking the medication.

Reporter: Rachel Stonehouse

The morning rush in a doctor’s surgery usually begins around 8am, before the doors even open, as patients ring up to try and get a precious appointment. But why is it so hard to get to see a GP, and why is primary care under such pressure?

Reporter: Paul Kenyon

File on 4 tells the story of a young street trader from Lagos who revealed a conspiracy that took down one of Nigeria’s most powerful politicians. The young man was tested, trafficked and tricked into a plot to take his kidney, to donate to the politician’s sick daughter in the UK. His conviction - the first of its kind in the UK - has led to police investigating more potential cases.

Reporter: Mark Lobel

Nearly half a million young people in the UK are members of the Scout Association. The organisation employs 143,000 adult volunteers and leads the way in nurturing a love of the outdoors and providing practical skills which will allow members to make a positive contribution to society. But not everyone has been enriched by the experience. File on 4 has learned that in the last ten years the Scout Association has paid out £6m to scouts who were abused. Reporter Hayley Hassall hears from some female abuse survivors who say they were ignored when they reported abuse. The Scout Movement says it is "deeply sorry" for anyone who has suffered abuse. Now there are calls for the organsiation to overhaul its safeguarding policy. John Cameron, the former director of ChildLine and head of child protection operations at the NSPCC, tells File on 4 that voluntary organisations would benefit from an independent body overseeing safeguarding practices.

Reporter: Hayley Hassall

Earlier this year, the government announced their new plan to stamp out antisocial behaviour across England and Wales.

Hot spot policing and what they call ‘immediate justice’ will be trialled in towns and cities in an attempt to curb the problem.

What is it like to live in a community that experiences antisocial behaviour year-in, year-out? And what do the people who live there think needs to be done?

This is the story of one community marred by antisocial behaviour - and their fight for better.

Reporter: Alys Harte

When you go to hospital you expect to be safe. But File on 4 has discovered that many patients and staff who are victims of sex attacks say not enough is done to deal with the perpetrators - and hospital managers ignore complaints. The programme examines startling data on the number of reported cases and asks what's being done to prevent sexual assaults in hospitals. The Department of Health says sexual violence or misconduct of any kind is unacceptable and has no place in the NHS. However, they also say there is still a long way to go in tackling sexual assaults to deliver justice for victims.

Reporter: Fergus Hewison