The Report

How do you go about trying to change a person's fundamental beliefs? And how do you decide who is in need of state intervention to do so?

Public sector workers now have a legal obligation to refer suspected Islamist and far right extremists to a local body known as a Channel panel. Referees deemed to hold extremist views are offered ideological mentoring, usually on a voluntary basis.

The government says its Channel deradicalisation programme is a success, helping prevent vulnerable people from being drawn into terrorism. But some British Muslims see it as a Big Brotherish state spying operation, wreathed in secrecy and suspicion. John Ware enters the "pre-criminal space" to find out - from the inside - how Channel works.

Producer: Simon Maybin

Thousands of migrants are stuck in Vienna, their journey to Germany cut short. Will they ever realise their European dreams? Frances Stonor Saunders reports.

Producer: Lucy Proctor.

Peter Oborne investigates claims that Britain and the West embarked on an unspoken alliance of convenience with militant jihadi groups in an attempt to bring down the Assad regime.

He hears how equipment supplied by the West to so called Syrian moderates has ended up in the hands of jihadis, and that Western sponsored rebels have fought alongside Al Qaeda. But what does this really tell us about the conflict in Syria?

This edition of The Report also examines the astonishing attempt to re brand Al Nusra, Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, as an organisation with which we can do business.

Producer: Joe Kent.

In September, Elliot Johnson, a 21 year old member of the youth wing of the Conservative Party took his own life. He left behind a note saying that he'd been bullied by a 38 year-old Tory activist called Mark Clarke.

Since then there have been almost daily reports of allegations of bullying, harassment and intimidation at the hands of Mr Clarke, all of which he denies. Accusations that a toxic environment had developed in the Conservative youth wing - Conservative Future - have also emerged.

The Conservative Party is currently investigating what went wrong, but the ensuing scandal has already forced the ministerial resignation of former party chairman Grant Schapps. More may well follow.

In this edition of The Report Jon Manel investigates what's become the murky, often nasty world of some young Conservatives. He explores the culture of two organisations thrown into the spotlight by this story - Conservative Future and the Young Britons' Foundation - and, in a rare media appearance, speaks to YBF's founder Donal Blaney.

Producer: Hannah Barnes

David Cameron says seven terrorist plots have been thwarted in the UK this year alone. Mass casualty attacks, like those seen in Paris, are on the agenda too according to the head of MI5.

What is going on in the communities from which this largely "homegrown" threat has emerged? In an attempt to understand, Edward Stourton gathers a group of Muslim journalists with grassroots knowledge of the British Muslim community.

Contributors:

Sabbiyyah Pervez

Mobeen Azhar

Fayaz Rizvi

Secunder Kermani

Producer: Sally Abrahams

The inquiry into the UK's involvement in the Iraq war started 6 years ago - and there's still no sign of a report. Political columnist Peter Oborne can't understand why: "Come on Sir John! It's not that difficult. I reckon I could get something together in 3 weeks." To prove his point, Peter Oborne attempts to put together a definitive 30 minute audio report into Britain's involvement in the Iraq war... within budget and on time.

Using evidence provided to the Iraq Inquiry and that already publicly available Oborne delivers his verdict on the key questions relating to the British Government's decision to go to war with Iraq. The programme hears from those in key positions in the lead up to the conflict, including:

Dr Hans Blix, Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), 2000 - 2003

Producer: Hannah Barnes

In June of this year, presenter of Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Jenni Murray, underwent an operation which removed 75 per cent of her stomach. A few months later, she has lost over 4 stones in weight and her symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes have gone into remission.

Once a purely cosmetic procedure, bariatric surgery procedures like this have been described as the greatest advance in the history of treatment of Type 2 diabetes - so why aren't more patients being treated in this way?

The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), which provides guidance and advice to the NHS, has said obese patients with diabetes should be rapidly assessed for surgery - but that's yet to happen.

The treatment has been met with fierce criticism, especially from the tabloid press, which declared it undeserved: fat people should just stop eating instead of using up valuable resources to pay for vanity operations.

Furthermore, Britain's leading diabetes charity, Diabetes UK, has also warned of the 'serious risks' posed by the procedure - even though the NHS has itself stated it is not more risky than a routine gall bladder operation.

The irony here is that increasing the number of bariatric procedures could actually save the NHS millions of pounds, as patients are weaned off costly diabetes drugs - the NHS currently spends around £12bn a year treating the disease.

With round 700 people diagnosed with diabetes in Britain every day, are we letting misguided morality get in the way of an opportunity to save money - and lives?

CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE:

Jenni Murray, presenter Radio 4's Woman's Hour

Simon O'Neill - Director of Health Intelligence, Diabetes UK

Prof Roy Taylor, Professor of Medicine and Metabolism, Newcastle University

Prof Francesco Rubino, Professor of Metabolic Surgery, King's College Hospital

Prof Mark Baker, Director of the Centre for Clinical Practice, NICE

Mr Andrew Mitchell, Consultant General Surgeon, Darlington Memorial Hospital

Presenter: Adrian Goldberg

Note: A version of this programme was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June, 2014.

The 'pink pill' flibanserin has been called 'the female Viagra', but critics argue its benefits are few and side effects many.

Melanie Abbott investigates how the failed anti-depressant came to be licensed in the USA, and what the future plans are to bring the drug to Europe.

Presenter: Melanie Abbott

Greece's future in Europe dominated headlines throughout the summer, but can the country turn its fortunes around? While it's true that the country owes hundreds of billions of euros and is facing austerity for years to come, Frances Stonor Saunders finds that Greece has plenty going for it - and not just its idyllic islands where Brits like to holiday. Frances takes a trip to picturesque Skiathos, with its sandy beaches and boutique hotels, before exploring the 'real' Greece on the mainland of Volos. Along the way she discovers that, contrary to the popular narrative, the Greek people are accepting responsibility for the crisis that now engulfs them, and are coming up with innovative solutions to fix the future. Presenter: Frances Stonor Saunders Producer: Ben Crighton.

British writer, Cedric Belfrage, avoided prosecution after passing top secret documents to Russia in World War Two. But was he acting under orders or was he a Soviet spy?

Gordon Corera examines new evidence from recently declassified MI5 files, which help explain how Belfrage went from being a Hollywood film critic in the 1930s to having access to highly confidential British and US intelligence material in the 1940s which he later admitted passing to Russia.

After being named as a Soviet spy in 1945, Belfrage appeared before The House Un-American Activities Committee and was later deported from the US for having been a member of the Communist Party.

We talk to some of those who met him after he later settled in Mexico, including the son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed by the US in 1953 for being Soviet spies. And we explore why MI5 was anxious to avoid prosecuting Belfrage in case it proved embarrassing for the British security service.

Producer: Sally Abrahams.