Dispatches
Season 2006
TV-PG
Dispatches is the British TV current affairs documentary series on Channel 4, first transmitted in 1987. The programme covers issues about British society, politics, health, religion, international current affairs and the environment, and often features a mole inside organisations under journalistic investigation.
Where to Watch Season 2006
14 Episodes
- Spinning TerrorE2
Spinning TerrorWith Britain facing the greatest terrorist threat in our history, the nation trusts the government to devise policies to protect the nation. But Dispatches reporter Peter Oborne reveals that our trust may be misplaced. He presents the case that the government has reacted to the London bombings by rushing through anti-terror policies motivated by the desire to ward off tabloid criticism, gain electoral advantage and make the government look strong. - Iraq's Missing BillionsE5
Iraq's Missing BillionsInvestigation into what has happened to the twenty-three billion dollars entrusted to the British and American coalition for the rebuilding of Iraq. Looks at whether promises of reconstruction, restoration of basic services, and building of schools and medical centres have been kept. Considers the problems of a children's and maternity hospital and also looks into a trail of fraud, corruption and incompetence leading back to the USA, which has meant the disappearance of vasts sums of much-needed money. - After School Arms ClubE7
After School Arms ClubMark Thomas puts the arms trade under the spotlight in this special edition of Dispatches, asking how easy it is to broker arms. Working his way through a spider’s web of vast and, in some cases, archaic legislation, Thomas unearths a series of dangerous loopholes, inconsistencies and, even more shocking, simple omissions that would have the most avaricious arms broker salivating with glee. - Undercover CopperE8
Undercover CopperUsing secret cameras, an experienced policewoman spent four months undercover while serving as a police officer to conduct this revelatory investigation. Gaining unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to officers, her secretly-filmed footage unmasks a disturbing lack of respect and care for members of the public and incidences of dereliction of duty. - The Data Theft ScandalE23
The Data Theft ScandalIn a 12-month undercover investigation, Sue Turton infiltrates criminal networks which trade British consumers' bank and other confidential information for huge profits in India, the world's new call centre capital. Uncovering the methods used to thieve confidential data ranging from credit card numbers to passport details, Turton exposes the alarming security failures in a number of commercial call centres which allow detailed financial data on individuals to be gathered and sold on with ease. She discovers shocking data protection breaches and a new phenomenon known as 'data farming' – the unauthorised 'harvesting' of personal data to be sold on or exchanged for profit. This investigation also reveals the scale of some of the call centre scams as Turton is offered hundreds of thousands of 'hot leads', full banking and financial profiles, to purchase. In the UK, she meets a former data thief and people who have fallen victim to this international trade. She also shows her undercover footage and findings to a UK data protection lawyer who is appalled, saying: "You couldn't scare me more. This is as bad as it gets. This is evidence of serious criminal offences."
