The hidden scandal of Power of Attorney - how one man controls the finances of scores of vulnerable people.

The hidden scandal of Power of Attorney - how one man controls the finances of scores of vulnerable people.

The Willpower Detectives: Trailer

In 1986, members of environmental group London Greenpeace published a leaflet called What's Wrong with McDonald's? It claimed McDonald's was exploiting workers, destroying rainforests, torturing animals, and promoting food that could make people sick, even cause cancer... McDonald's said the claims in the leaflet were untrue, harmed its reputation and demanded an apology. Helen Steel, a gardener, and a former postman named Dave Morris, refused. Mark Steel takes us into the murky world of McDonald's Corporation v Steel &amp; Morris - aka 'McLibel' - the longest-running trial in English history, which turned the spotlight on the way big business operates. The case would help bring issues like rainforest destruction and advertising to children into the mainstream. It would also - spoiler alert - be the moment our current prime minister first comes to prominence. And if that isn't enough, this story would ultimately have connections with a dark and shameful secret at the heart of the British state - something which Mark discovers he himself had been a victim of. Presenter: Mark Steel 
Producer: Conor Garrett Executive 
Producer: Georgia Catt 
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke 
Archive Research: Emma Betteridge 
Production Co-ordinator: Dan Marchini 
Music Score: Phil Kieran Archive excerpts from director Franny Armstrong's 'McLibel,' reproduced with the kind permission of Spanner Films Shadow World: Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK. BBC Studios for BBC Radio 4

Society & Culture

Documentary

True Crime

In 1986, members of environmental group London Greenpeace published a leaflet called What's Wrong with McDonald's? It claimed McDonald's was exploiting workers, destroying rainforests, torturing animals, and promoting food that could make people sick, even cause cancer... McDonald's said the claims in the leaflet were untrue, harmed its reputation and demanded an apology. Helen Steel, a gardener, and a former postman named Dave Morris, refused. Mark Steel takes us into the murky world of McDonald's Corporation v Steel & Morris - aka 'McLibel' - the longest-running trial in English history, which turned the spotlight on the way big business operates. The case would help bring issues like rainforest destruction and advertising to children into the mainstream. It would also - spoiler alert - be the moment our current prime minister first comes to prominence. And if that isn't enough, this story would ultimately have connections with a dark and shameful secret at the heart of the British state - something which Mark discovers he himself had been a victim of. Presenter: Mark Steel Producer: Conor Garrett Executive Producer: Georgia Catt Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Archive Research: Emma Betteridge Production Co-ordinator: Dan Marchini Music Score: Phil Kieran Archive excerpts from director Franny Armstrong's 'McLibel,' reproduced with the kind permission of Spanner Films Shadow World: Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK. BBC Studios for BBC Radio 4

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The Willpower Detectives: Trailer

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