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''Panorama'' is a British current affairs documentary programme broadcast on the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. First broadcast in 1953, it is the world's longest-running television news magazine programme. ''Panorama'' has been presented by many well-known BBC presenters, including
Richard Dimbleby Frederick Richard Dimbleby (25 May 1913 – 22 December 1965) was an English journalist and broadcaster who became the BBC's first war correspondent and then its leading TV news commentator. As host of the long-running current affairs pro ...
, Robin Day,
David Dimbleby David Dimbleby (born 28 October 1938) is an English journalist and former presenter of current affairs and political programmes, best known for having presented the BBC topical debate programme '' Question Time''. He is the son of broadcaster ...
and
Jeremy Vine Jeremy Guy Vine (born 17 May 1965) is an English television and radio presenter and journalist. He is best known as the host of his BBC Radio 2 lunchtime programme which presents news, views, interviews with live guests, consumer issues and popu ...
. , it broadcasts in peak time on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
, without a regular presenter. The programme also airs worldwide through the international feed of the BBC News channel in many countries, and domestically via the UK feed.


History

''Panorama'' was launched on 11 November 1953 by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
; it emphasises
investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...
. ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'' reporter Pat Murphy was the original presenter, who only lasted one episode after accidentally broadcasting a technical mishap. Max Robertson then took over for a year. The programme originally had a magazine format and included art features. In September 1955, when
Richard Dimbleby Frederick Richard Dimbleby (25 May 1913 – 22 December 1965) was an English journalist and broadcaster who became the BBC's first war correspondent and then its leading TV news commentator. As host of the long-running current affairs pro ...
took over as presenter, it got the subtitle Window on the World. He presented the show until his death in 1965. His son,
David Dimbleby David Dimbleby (born 28 October 1938) is an English journalist and former presenter of current affairs and political programmes, best known for having presented the BBC topical debate programme '' Question Time''. He is the son of broadcaster ...
, later presented the programme on 11 November 1974—the 21st anniversary of the show. Other past presenters include:
Sir Robin Day Sir Robin Day (24 October 1923 – 6 August 2000) was an English political journalist and television and radio broadcaster. Day's obituary in ''The Guardian'' by Dick Taverne stated that he was "the most outstanding television journalist of ...
, Sir Ludovic Kennedy,
Sir Charles Wheeler Sir Selwyn Charles Cornelius-Wheeler (26 March 1923 – 4 July 2008) was a British journalist and broadcaster. Having joined the BBC in 1947, he became the corporation's longest-serving foreign correspondent, remaining in the role until his deat ...
and
Jeremy Vine Jeremy Guy Vine (born 17 May 1965) is an English television and radio presenter and journalist. He is best known as the host of his BBC Radio 2 lunchtime programme which presents news, views, interviews with live guests, consumer issues and popu ...
. On 13 December 2010, it was announced that the programme would be relaunched during the new year with no regular presenter.


International versions

''Panorama'' set an example for the German magazine series of the same name, which is produced by
Norddeutscher Rundfunk (; "North German Broadcasting"), commonly shortened to NDR (), is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, ...
, and broadcast by
Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...
. ''Panorama'' started there in 1961 and is one of the leading political magazine shows.


Theme music

The original theme music was an excerpt from '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' by Sibelius, which was followed a few years later by a composition by Robert Farnon entitled "Openings & Endings". From 1968, an extract from Rachmaninov's Symphony No.1 in D Minor, 4th Movement was used, followed in 1971 by an adaptation of
Francis Lai Francis Albert Lai (; 26 April 19327 November 2018) was a French composer, noted for his film scores. He won the 1970 Oscar for Best Music, Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the film '' Love Story''. The ...
's ("Today It's You"). The latest version was arranged in 2023 by Bojan Andic.


Team


Editors

* Rachel Jupp (September 2016 –)


Presenters

* Patrick Murphy (1953) * Max Robertson (1953–1954) *
Richard Dimbleby Frederick Richard Dimbleby (25 May 1913 – 22 December 1965) was an English journalist and broadcaster who became the BBC's first war correspondent and then its leading TV news commentator. As host of the long-running current affairs pro ...
(1955–1965) * Robin Day (1966–2000) * Alastair Burnet (1972–1974) *
David Dimbleby David Dimbleby (born 28 October 1938) is an English journalist and former presenter of current affairs and political programmes, best known for having presented the BBC topical debate programme '' Question Time''. He is the son of broadcaster ...
(1974–1982) *
Robert Kee Robert Kee (5 October 1919 – 11 January 2013) was a British broadcaster, journalist, historian and writer, known for his historical works on World War II and Ireland. Life and career Kee was born on 5 October 1919 in Calcutta, India, ...
(1982–2013) *
Jeremy Vine Jeremy Guy Vine (born 17 May 1965) is an English television and radio presenter and journalist. He is best known as the host of his BBC Radio 2 lunchtime programme which presents news, views, interviews with live guests, consumer issues and popu ...
(January 2007 – 2010) * no regular presenter (since December 2010)


Investigators

*
Hilary Andersson Hilary Harper Andersson (born 23 September 1967) is an American journalist presently working for the BBC. She has been a correspondent for ''Panorama (TV series), Panorama'' since 2006. Born in Austin, Texas, she grew up in Belgium, West Germa ...
*
Richard Bilton Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and ...
*
Jane Corbin Jane Phillipa Corbin, Lady Maples (born 16 July 1954) is a British journalist and film-maker who has made over a hundred documentaries mainly for the BBC and its current affairs programme ''Panorama''. She specialises in covering Central Asia, ...
* Alys Harte * Tom Heap *
John Humphrys Desmond John Humphrys (born 17 August 1943) is a Welsh people, Welsh broadcaster. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter of the ''BBC Nine O'Clock News, Nine O'Clock News'', the flagship BBC News television programme, and from 1987 until ...
* Andrew Jennings * Shelley Jofre * Paul Kenyon * David Lomax * Gerry Northam * Samantha Poling * Chris Rogers * Raphael Rowe * George Edwin Scott * John Sweeney * Peter Taylor *
Jeremy Vine Jeremy Guy Vine (born 17 May 1965) is an English television and radio presenter and journalist. He is best known as the host of his BBC Radio 2 lunchtime programme which presents news, views, interviews with live guests, consumer issues and popu ...
* Nick Wallis * John Ware * Vivian White * Benjamin Zand * Monika Plaha


Notable programmes


Mescaline

In 1955, ''Panorama'' filmed Christopher Mayhew taking
mescaline Mescaline, also known as mescalin or mezcalin, and in chemical terms 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine, is a natural product, naturally occurring psychedelic drug, psychedelic alkaloid, protoalkaloid of the substituted phenethylamine class, found ...
under medical supervision. The resulting programme was never broadcast, though the footage and transcripts were later released.


Spaghetti tree

''Panorama'' broadcast a famous hoax film about the harvesting of the spaghetti crop on
April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. Mas ...
, 1957.


Salvador Dalí

Broadcast on 4 May 1955,
Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was a conservative British journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, i ...
talked with
Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...
, the Spanish surrealist artist.


Maggie's Militant Tendency

In January 1984, ''Panorama'' broadcast an episode which claimed that three
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
MPs ( Neil Hamilton, Harvey Proctor and
Gerald Howarth Sir James Gerald Douglas Howarth (born 12 September 1947) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Aldershot (UK Parliament constituency), ...
) had links to far-right organisations both in Britain and on the Continent. The programme was based on an internal Conservative Party report compiled by Phil Pedley, Chairman of the Young Conservatives. ''Panorama'' confirmed its status with a senior Conservative Party vice chairman. The report was formally presented to the Party in the week before the programme was aired. During the making of the programme, attempts to contact some of the named MPs for comment were unsuccessful. (Hamilton's wife Christine later described how "Neil and I had devised a method for making sure that Panorama personnel would not be in a position to say that Neil had refused to speak".)Richard Lindley 'Panorama' Politico's 2002 p.254. The programme was vetted prior to transmission by the BBC's lawyers, by the Head of Currents Affairs Television, and by the Chief Assistant to the Director General, Margaret Douglas. Two of the MPs named in the programme (Hamilton and Howarth) sued the BBC and the programme-makers. The Director-General, Alasdair Milne, reviewed the BBC's own legal advice, and that of his Chief Assistant, and declared the programme to be "rock solid". The Board of Governors (Chairman Stuart Young) also gave their backing for the programme to be defended in court. Stuart Young died in August 1986, two months before the libel case against Panorama came to trial. A new chairman, Marmaduke Hussey, had been appointed but had not formally arrived at the BBC when the trial opened on 13 October 1986. Hussey nevertheless spoke with the BBC's barrister, Charles Grey. Hussey says in his memoirs that "Grey thought it unlikely the BBC would win". Sir Charles Grey disputes this statement, saying that "my junior and I both thought the case was winnable". The first four days of the trial were given over to opening statements from Hamilton and Howarth and their lawyers, which received wide press coverage. On the evening of the fourth day the BBC's Assistant DG Alan Protheroe informed the BBC's legal team and the named defendants that the Governors now wished to settle the case immediately. This prevented the BBC's defence from being put to the court, or known to the public. Hamilton and Howarth were each awarded £25,000 in damages. Costs amounted to £240,000. They dropped their case against Phil Pedley. There was controversy over the editing of the programme: it juxtaposed shots of Howarth wearing a train driver's uniform at a steam railway enthusiasts' rally with the claim that he had attended a fascist meeting in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, suggesting that the uniform he was wearing was a fascist one.Charles Moore, ''Margaret Thatcher, Volume Two: Everything She Wants'' (London: Allen Lane, 2015), p. 533.


Diana, Princess of Wales interview

Arguably the best-known ''Panorama'' programme is the 1995 interview of
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
by
Martin Bashir Martin Henry Bashir (born 19 January 1963) is a British former journalist. He was a presenter on British and American television and for the BBC's '' Panorama'' programme, for which he gained an interview with Diana, Princess of Wales under fal ...
. Conducted following Diana's separation from
Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...
, the interview openly discussed the rumours about her personal life. Its filming and planning was subject to extreme secrecy, with Richard Ayre, the Controller of Editorial Policy, authorising a series of clandestine meetings between Bashir and Diana. A quarter-century later, it was revealed that Bashir had used journalistically unethical practices in gaining the interview. In late 2020, the BBC director general Tim Davie apologised to Earl Spencer, Diana's brother, for the use of highly dubious methods. The Earl, who had introduced Diana and Bashir, rejected the apology and demanded an inquiry. Former Justice of the Supreme Court John Dyson, Lord Dyson conducted an independent inquiry into the issue. Dyson's inquiry found Bashir guilty of deceit and breaching BBC editorial conduct to obtain the interview.


Omagh bombing

One of the most controversial broadcasts of recent time was the "Who bombed Omagh?" programme, which named those suspected of involvement in the Omagh bombing. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Alan Fry of
Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
's anti-terrorist unit SO13 said that the
Real IRA The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), was a Dissident republican, dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aimed to bring about a United Ireland. It was formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional Irish Republica ...
attack on the BBC Television Centre could have been a revenge attack for the broadcast.


Scientology

In 1987, the ''Panorama'' programme ''Scientology: The Road to Total Freedom?'' for the first time exposed on broadcast television the secret upper-level doctrines of the
Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religiou ...
, and featured an animated retelling of the
Xenu Xenu ( ), also called Xemu, is a figure in the Church of Scientology's secret "Advanced Technology", a sacred and esoteric teaching. According to the "Technology", Xenu was the extraterrestrial ruler of a "Galactic Confederacy" who brough ...
incident of Scientology doctrine. On 14 May 2007, an episode titled '' Scientology and Me'' was broadcast. The journalist John Sweeney presented the edition, showing how the Church reacted to his journalistic investigations, including its reaction when he stated to members that some people describe the organisation as a "cult". At one point during an interview, the presenter lost his temper with the Church's international spokesman; an edited portion of this incident was released subsequently by the Church on YouTube and DVD in an attempt to publicise it and raise controversy. However, the 2007 Scientology episode was ''Panoramas greatest audience since it moved to Monday evening. A follow-up programme, '' The Secrets of Scientology'', was broadcast on 28 September 2010, presenting proof that the Church had harassed Sweeney during the making of the earlier documentary, with the specific intention of making him react in the way he eventually did. The episode also included numerous interviews with former high-ranking members of the organisation who had been subject to harassment.


''Panorama'' and Seroxat

Since 2002, ''Panorama'' has made four programmes about the anti-depressant Seroxat (paroxetine / Paxil): "The Secrets of Seroxat" (2002); "Seroxat: Emails from the Edge" (2003); "Taken on Trust" (2004) and "Secrets of the Drug Trials" (2007). "The Secrets of Seroxat" elicited a record response from the public as 65,000 people telephoned the BBC helpline and 1,300 people emailed ''Panorama'' directly. The major mental health charity
Mind The mind is that which thinks, feels, perceives, imagines, remembers, and wills. It covers the totality of mental phenomena, including both conscious processes, through which an individual is aware of external and internal circumstances ...
collaborated with ''Panorama'' in a survey of those who emailed the programme. Anonymous findings from the 239 responses were sent to the
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are accepta ...
(MHRA). The second ''Panorama'' programme on Seroxat, "Emails from the Edge", included a report of the survey to which the 239 people responded. It showed widespread experiences of suicidal feelings and other severe reactions, very bad withdrawal symptoms and lack of warnings from doctors. After the broadcast users/survivors and Mind protested outside the offices of the MHRA. On 29 January 2007, the fourth documentary of the series about the drug Seroxat was broadcast. It focused on three
GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...
paediatric clinical trials on depressed children and adolescents. Data from the trials show that Seroxat could not be proven to work for teenagers. Not only that, one clinical trial indicated that they were six times more likely to become suicidal after taking it. In the programme, ''Panorama'' revealed the secret trail of internal emails which show how GlaxoSmithKline manipulated the results of the trials for its own commercial gain. Access to the documents has been gained as GlaxoSmithKline fights a fraud trial in the US. Some of these previously secret Glaxo documents featured in the programme were leaked into the internet after the programme's broadcast.


Undercover: Football's Dirty Secrets

On 19 September 2006 ''Panorama'' showed a documentary called ''"Undercover: Football's Dirty Secrets"'', which alleged payments in English football contrary to the rules of
the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...
, involving: * That
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
manager
Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (born 19 October 1954) is an English football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football League, as well as brief spells in the North ...
, and his agent son Craig were implicated for taking "bungs" (a
bribe Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...
or kickback) from agents for signing certain players. Two agents, Teni Yerima and Peter Harrison, were secretly filmed, each claiming separately that they had paid Allardyce through his son. Allardyce denies ever taking, or asking for, a bung. The programme was aired on the same night that Bolton beat
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
3–1 in the Carling Cup, so Allardyce missed the original showing. *
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
manager
Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Portsmouth F.C., ...
is secretly filmed discussing the possibility of buying the
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
captain Andy Todd with agent Peter Harrison, which is against
Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...
rules. * Then Portsmouth first-team coach Kevin Bond, who was first team coach of
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
at the time of broadcast, is secretly recorded admitting he would consider discussing receiving payments from a proposed new agency involving agent Peter Harrison. Consequently, Bond was relieved of his duties at Newcastle. * Chelsea director of youth football
Frank Arnesen Frank Arnesen (born 30 September 1956) is a former Danish footballer and sporting director at Dutch football club Feyenoord. Arnesen was the director of football at English football clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and was sporting directo ...
is secretly filmed making an illegal approach or "tapping up"
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
's England youth star 15-year-old Nathan Porritt. Arnesen offers a fee of £150,000 spread over three years as an incentive to relocate. Both of these allegations are against FA rules. * Agent Peter Harrison told the undercover reporter that, to secure transfer deals with Bolton, he bribed Sam Allardyce by offering to pay his son Craig. Harrison is a
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
-listed agent who is based in the north-east of England. * That three different Bolton transfer signings involved secret payments from agents to Craig Allardyce, some when he was contractually banned from doing any Bolton deals. ''Panorama'' alleged Bolton's transfer signings of defender Tal Ben Haim, midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata and goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi involved secret payments from agents to Craig Allardyce. Allardyce's son quit the agency business in summer 2006, and has admitted in newspaper interviews that his working as an agent might have cost his father the chance of becoming England manager. The Football Association has asked for any evidence as it tries to rid such action from football.


Sex Crimes and the Vatican

On 1 October 2006 ''Panorama'' broadcast an episode on Crimen Sollicitationis, a church "instruction" approved by
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...
in 1962, which establishes a procedure for dealing with child sex abuse scandals within the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. It was enforced for 20 years by
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
Joseph Ratzinger Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as po ...
before he became the
Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
. It instructs bishops on how to deal with allegations of child abuse against priests. Critics claim the document has been used to evade prosecution for
sex crimes Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes. Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...
.


Daylight Robbery

''Panorama'' investigated claims that as much as $23 billion (£11.75 billion) may have been lost, stolen or not properly accounted for in Iraq. The
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
has imposed gagging orders that prevent discussion of the allegations. US and other media have reported little on this issue.


Death in the Med

In a programme broadcast in 2010, Jane Corbin investigated what really happened on the ship '' MV Mavi Marmara'', when Israeli commandos seized the ship as part of the blockade of Gaza. Abbas Al Lawati, a reporter for ''
Gulf News ''Gulf News'' is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. First launched in 1978, it is distributed throughout the UAE and also in other Persian Gulf countries. Its online edition was launched in 1996. Thro ...
'', who was on the '' Mavi Marmara'' during the
Gaza flotilla raid Ships of Gaza flotilla raid, Six civilian ships of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla were raided by Israel on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine of the flotilla passengers were killed during the raid, with thirty woun ...
, criticised ''Panoramas reporting of the raid in the documentary, "Death in the Med", stating that it was either a result of "weak journalism" or "deep bias". Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, who had also participated in the Free Gaza flotilla, has also accused the programme of a "lack of truth" and "bias" in a letter to the BBC, describing its effects on the families of those who died as a "grave injustice". "The BBC Trust has ruled that a ''Panorama'' documentary about the Israeli boarding of the Mavi Marmara was "accurate and impartial" overall..."


FIFA's Dirty Secrets

On 29 November 2010, three days before voting for the
2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...
, ''Panorama'' broadcast an investigation into bribes by senior FIFA officials.


Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed

On 31 May 2011 ''Panorama'' aired an investigation into physical and psychological abuse suffered by people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour at Winterbourne View private hospital in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
. It showed a number of patients being repeatedly punched, kicked, slapped, pinned down and given cold punishment showers – then left outside in near-zero degree temperatures. Local social services and the national regulator had received various warnings but the mistreatment continued. One senior nurse three times contacted the national regulator saying he wanted to talk about "abuse" – but heard nothing back. The hospital was shut down. On 21 June 2011, 86 people and organisations wrote to the Prime Minister,
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
about the revelations, "We are aware of the various actions currently being taken within and outside government – such as the DH review and CQC internal enquiry. We hope to make submissions to those both individually and collectively. However, on their own these will not be enough and a clear programme is needed to achieve change." The prime minister responded saying he was "appalled" at the "catalogue of abuses" ''Panorama'' had revealed. In June 2011 the Association of Supported Living 0issued a press statement, which was followed up in writing to every member of parliament in the United Kingdom, calling for community-based assisted living services to replace institutional services for people with learning disabilities. The national regulator, the CQC did a nationwide check on facilities owned by the same company – as a result, three more institutions have been closed. The CQC also inspected 132 similar institutions and a Serious Case Review was commissioned – some of the roughly ten local and national enquiries were carried out to examine what went wrong, including one by NHS Southwest which was one of the first to be published and list many of the others. The head of the Care Quality Commission resigned ahead of a critical government report, a report in which Winterbourne View was cited. Eleven people plead guilty to criminal offences of neglect or abuse as a result of evidence from Undercover Care and six of them were jailed. Immediately after the eleventh person pleaded guilty, the Serious Case Review was published, revealing hundreds of previous incidents at the hospital and missed warnings. Mencap published a report warning that similar abuse could be going on elsewhere and calling for the closure of all large institutions far from people's families. The film has also won a number of awards including the RTS Scoop of the year and a BAFTA. ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' said, "It is impossible to read the details of what went on at Winterbourne View, a care home for the severely disabled in
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
, without feeling repelled. In the wake of an exposé from the BBC's Panorama, 11 members of staff were convicted of almost 40 charges of neglect and ill-treatment of those in their care."


Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate

On 28 May 2012 ''Panorama'' examined the issues of
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
,
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
and
football hooliganism Football hooliganism, also known as soccer hooliganism, football rioting or soccer rioting, constitutes violence and other destructive behaviors perpetrated by spectators at association football events. Football hooliganism typically involves ...
which it stated were prevalent among Polish and Ukrainian fans. The programme, titled "Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate", included recent footage of fans chanting various antisemitic slogans and displays of white power symbols and banners. The documentary recorded antisemitism and monkey noise taunts of black players in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. In
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, the documentary recorded
Nazi salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened han ...
s and FC Metalist Kharkiv fans violently assaulting a group of
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
n students at the Metalist Oblast Sports Complex, one of the stadiums hosting matches in Ukraine. ''Panorama'' filmed former England defender
Sol Campbell Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell (born 18 September 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player. Widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs of his generation, he spent 20 years playing in the Premier League and had a ...
watching these clips, and then asked him whether he would recommend families go to the Championship. He responded: "Stay at home, watch it on TV. Don't even risk it… because you could end up coming back in a coffin." The report was then followed up by most of the British media, which published a large number of articles accusing Poles and Ukrainians of racism. The documentary was criticised as sensationalist, unbalanced and unethical. Jonathan Ornstein, Director of the Jewish Community Center in Kraków, Poland, and who was interviewed for the film said: "I am furious at the way the BBC has exploited me as a source. The organization used me and others to manipulate the serious subject of anti-Semitism for its own sensationalist agenda... the BBC knowingly cheated its own audience – the British people – by concocting a false horror story about Poland. In doing so, the BBC has spread fear, ignorance, prejudice and hatred. I am profoundly disturbed by this unethical form of journalism." The BBC rejected Ornstein's criticism, however, saying: "The context of the programme was made clear to Mr Ornstein both before and during the interview which he kindly agreed to do with the programme makers. ''Panorama'' disagrees in the strongest terms that his interview was misrepresented." The BBC reproduced the text of Ornstein's interview, including those parts which were not broadcast, and also pointed out that Ornstein "contacted the programme makers two days after it was broadcast in the UK on 28 May and immediately thereafter running on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. He made none of the comments featured in his statement of Wednesday 6 June. We note that his statement was made following the programme's broadcast on Tuesday 5th June on Polish TV." Another source used in the film, anti-racism campaigner Jacek Purski said: "The material prepared by the BBC is one-sided. It does not show the whole story of Polish preparations for the Euros. It does not show the Championship ran a lot of activities aimed at combating racism in the "Respect Diversity" campaign. For us the Euro is not only about matches. The event has become an opportunity to fight effectively against racism and promote multiculturalism. There is no country in Europe free from racism. These are the facts." Black Polish MP John Godson said: "The documentary was biased, one-sided and rather sensational. I have received information that there were also interviews that were omitted by the BBC—for example, interview with the Polish police." A reporter from ''
Gazeta Wyborcza (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish nationwide daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It was launched on 8 May 1989 on the basis of the Polish Round Table Agreement and as a press organ of the Solidarity (Polish trade union), t ...
'', Poland's most popular left-wing newspaper, questioned ''Panoramas practices and said: "I am becoming more and more surprised with what the BBC says. So far it has denied two situations I witnessed. I would not be surprised if the BBC prepared a statement saying that the ''Panorama'' crew has never been to Poland." Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleh Voloshyn responded that the allegations were an "invented and mythical problem", and that "Nazi symbols can be seen at ... any match in England". Polish Prime Minister
Donald Tusk Donald Franciszek Tusk (born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician and historian who has served as the prime minister of Poland since 2023, previously holding the office from 2007 to 2014. Tusk served as the president of the European Council (20 ...
stated: "Nobody who comes to Poland will be in any danger because of his race. This is not our custom, as is not pointing out similar incidents in other countries." ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported: "Other sources have come forward to say that an interview with a Jewish Israeli player was also cut from the programme because he failed to confirm ''Panoramas "anti-semitism" thesis. The BBC interviewed midfielder Aviram Baruchian, who plays for the Polish team
Polonia Warsaw Polonia Warsaw (, ), founded on 19 November 1911, is the oldest existing sports club in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, best known for its Association football, football and basketball teams. It also has track and field, Swimming (sport), swimm ...
. One source who was present said the ''Panorama'' journalists had complained afterwards that the interview was "useless". ''Panorama'' strongly denies this. It says the interview was not used because Baruchian had only played in the Polish league since January. ''Panorama'' responded to the criticism, saying: British columnist Edward Lucas wrote: "Either the allegations against the BBC are a tissue of lies (and those who make them will be exposed), or the programme-makers have a lot of explaining to do. ...it rightly decried the use of "Jew" as an insult, but never mentioned that just the same – deplorable – language is used by rival fans against Ajax in the Netherlands or Tottenham Hotspur in Britain. It said ethnic minorities were "all but invisible" – but did not mention that Poland has two black members of parliament (Britain elected its first only in 1987). Poland certainly has its problems – but the highly questionable assumptions behind eastern 'backwardness' and Western 'progress' went blithely unexamined. "It would be easy to scent a kind of 'orientalism' here: the belief that 'ex-communist' is synonymous with 'poor', 'nasty' and 'ignorant'. The muddy wastelands of the east are great places to make shocking documentaries. Best of all, because nobody there knows English, you can say pretty much what you like and get away with it. Not any more." Brendan O'Neill wrote in ''The Daily Telegraph'' that England fans had staged "a protest against BBC ''Panoramas hysterical depiction of Ukraine as a hotbed of racism and anti-Semitism, which they have discovered during their stay in that country to be untrue. ...it was the respectable Beeb, echoed by broadsheets, which painted an entire nation "over there" as backward and prejudiced, while it has fallen to everyday fans to poke holes in this xenophobic mythmaking and to point out that there is actually nothing scary about modern Ukraine and its inhabitants. England fans have proven themselves way more racially enlightened than the aloof suits in the current-affairs department of the BBC." England football coach Roy Hodgson said the racism allegations were "the biggest negativity in England... As a result, I think we've lost a lot of fans who didn't come because of a lot of horror stories about how life would be in the Ukraine and Poland." Hodgson added that he had nothing but positive impressions of Poland and Ukraine. According to the Dutch daily , during an open training session in Kraków, Dutch black players were allegedly subjected to monkey noises and jeers, an incident that the Holland captain
Mark van Bommel Mark Peter Gertruda Andreas van Bommel (born 22 April 1977) is a Dutch Association football, football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. His FIFA World Cup profile describes him as "a tackling machine and expert ball-winner, but ...
described as a "real disgrace". UEFA acknowledged that there had been "isolated incidents of racist chanting". However, other Dutch media, including the prestigious daily , have reported that the allegations of monkey chants were made up. According to the newspaper, the coach of the Dutch team has made several statements to the BBC that he had not heard the supposed chanting, nor did the rest of the team. According to , the story was sensationalised by . Jessica Elgot wrote an article in ''
The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...
'' headlined "I went all the way to 'racist' Kiev and all I got was love", reporting how "By-and-large, no one understood why we were going. Friends raised their eyebrows in horror, before inquiring if we had seen "that Panorama programme". My grandmother politely inquired why we wanted to go to "that shmatte place". As I left for the airport, I got a sweet good-bye text from my house-mate. "Have a lovely trip. Please don't get Jew-bashed." The ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' commented: "The biggest plus of Euro 2012 must be the scaremongering presented by BBC's ''Panorama'' of violence and terrible racism in Poland and Ukraine largely proved to be just that. If you do not believe me, then take the word of
Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker ( ; born 30 November 1960) is an English Sports broadcasting, sports broadcaster and former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Lineker is the only player t ...
who did not mind taking a swipe at his BBC bosses to point out how friendly and accommodating the locals have been. Ahead of Spain's semi with Portugal, Lineker tweeted: 'Donetsk is a lovely town with friendly folk. Pre-tournament scaremongering way off the mark.'" Tim Black, senior writer at '' Spiked'', speculated that "What seemed to drive 'Stadiums of Hate' was not an intention to deceive, exactly. It was something else: an overriding willingness to believe the worst about people from 'over there'. The East European 'they' are not like 'us', the programme seemed to be saying: they are less developed, less socially advanced; they need our moral lessons, our anti-racist schooling. Amid the apparent social backwardness of Poland and Ukraine, the multicultural, cosmopolitan superiority of Western Europe can shine through. And we in Britain can bask in its glow." The deputy mayor of Kraków, referring to the incidents of racism and anti-Semitism broadcast by ''Panorama'', said: "We believe that, step by step, the clubs will also take more responsibility for this kind of activity at stadiums". Adam Bulandra, project coordinator of the Interkulturalni Foundation and co-author of Kraków's new anti-racist strategy said: "The local community does not react properly to this problem, it does not actively oppose the incidents that happen, that's why they are so visible, and we want to change this situation." A spokesperson for Poland's Ombudsman for Citizens' Rights, noted that while there may seem to be only a small number of racist incidents in Poland, that 80 per cent of racist crimes go unreported in the country. In 2014, ''Jewish News'' and other news organizations reported that during the making of the documentary, host Chris Rogers had been filmed giving a
Nazi salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened han ...
while marching in front of the crew. Rogers was reprimanded by the BBC, apologized and had not been re-hired by the ''Panorama'' program for two years after the incident.


The Mind Reader: Unlocking My Voice

This ''Panorama Special'' broadcast on 13 November 2012 showed the pioneering work being done by scientists to help patients who have suffered severe brain injuries. The film told the stories of a group of patients and their families, and showed the revolutionary efforts made to help them communicate with the outside world. The film included the story of Scott Routley, a Canadian man in a
persistent vegetative state A vegetative state (VS) or post-coma unresponsiveness (PCU) is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness. After four weeks in a vegetative state, the patie ...
for more than a decade who was able to tell doctors he is not in any pain.


North Korea Undercover

''North Korea Undercover'' was filmed in
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
in late March 2013 by a 3-person team that accompanied a group of students from the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
. The trip was organised through the Grimshaw Club – an international relations club affiliated with LSE – by Tomiko Sweeney, the wife of John Sweeney. The North Koreans, who require permission for entry by journalists, and who have jailed journalists who have attempted unauthorised entry, were not informed of the BBC team and failed to recognize John Sweeney, calling him "professor". The degree to which the students were informed led to a difference of opinion between the institutions later, with the BBC maintaining that less than full disclosure was a measure taken to protect the students in the event of discovery. Sweeney and his wife were accompanied by a BBC cameraman. Subsequently, however, a public statement signed by six of the 10 LSE student participants on the trip said that "We feel that we have now been put in more risk than was originally the case, as a result of the LSE's decision to go public with their story". They also indicated that they had no objection to the broadcast of the BBC Panorama documentary and that they were satisfied with how the BBC handled the trip. According to Gianluca Spezza, an informed critic and one of the directors of ''
NK News NK News is an American subscription-based news website that provides stories and analysis about North Korea. Established in 2011, it is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea with reporters in Washington, D.C., and London. Reporting is based on in ...
'', the documentary was of low quality, comparable to many of the videos frequently taken by tourists and posted to YouTube. In addition, according to Spezza, the undercover filming had a detrimental effect on responsible efforts to engage in legitimate cultural exchange and development of mutual understanding.


Contaminated Blood: The Search for the Truth

Originally broadcast on 10 May 2017, the 1-hour special episode ''Contaminated Blood: The Search for the Truth'' examined some of the events surrounding the contaminated blood scandal of the 1970s and 1980s, whereby
haemophilia Haemophilia (British English), or hemophilia (American English) (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a long ...
cs were infected with
Hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...
and HIV via Factor VIII medicine products. The programme featured former Health Ministers
Andy Burnham Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017 Greater Manchester mayoral election, 2017. He served in Gordon Brown's Brown ministry, Cabinet as Chief Secretary to th ...
and
David Owen David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen, (born 2 July 1938) is a British politician and physician who served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs as a Labour Party MP under James Callaghan from 1977 to 1979, and later ...
, both were critical of successive governments roles in the scandal, with the former suggesting it was "criminal". Professor John Cash (former Director of the
Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) is the national blood transfusion, blood, blood product and Tissue (biology), tissue provider. It makes up a Strategic Business Unit of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). History The ...
) told the programme that the truth about the scandal in England and Wales " adnot yet been told". One of the victims' sons, Jason Evans, told the programme he was taking legal action, which was subsequently billed by the press as a "landmark legal case", calling for a public inquiry into records and documents of the scandal, with allegations that some records could have been destroyed at the time. The case, entitled ''Jason Evans & Others V Secretary of State for Health'', is ongoing ; an inquiry into the scandal, also ongoing , was announced by then-Prime Minister
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
shortly after the programme aired.


Is Labour Anti-Semitic?

The hour-long episode ''Is Labour Anti-Semitic?'' premiered on 10 July 2019 and explored allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party. During the programme, eight former members of Labour party staff said that senior Labour figures had intervened to downgrade punishments handed out to members over antisemitism. The Labour Party criticised the programme prior to broadcast and issued the following statement afterwards:
"The Panorama programme was not a fair or balanced investigation. It was a seriously inaccurate, politically one-sided polemic, which breached basic journalistic standards, invented quotes and edited emails to change their meaning. It was an overtly biased intervention by the BBC in party political controversy. An honest investigation into antisemitism in Labour and wider society is in the public interest. The Panorama team instead pre-determined an answer to the question posed by the programme's title."
The programme was presented by John Ware and produced by Neil Grant, both of whom also worked on a 2015 ''Panorama'' programme, ''Labour's Earthquake''. Grant, who had been a teacher at JFS and London Labour Party activist, also produced a 2016 '' Dispatches'' programme, ''Battle for the Labour Party''. Both programmes were strongly criticised by supporters of party leader
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
.
Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a retiredhttps://variety.com/2024/film/global/ken-loach-retirement-the-old-oak-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-1235956589/ English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views ar ...
called it "probably the most disgusting programme I've ever seen on the BBC. Disgusting because it raised the horror of racism against Jews in the most atrocious propagandistic way, with crude journalism ... and it bought the propaganda from people who were intent on destroying Corbyn." The Labour Party submitted a formal complaint about the programme to the BBC, which received around 1,600 complaints in total. The BBC's Executive Complaints Unit rejected these complaints. Over 20 complaints of bias were taken to
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...
, who ruled that the programme had been "duly impartial" and had given appropriate weight to Labour's position. After the episode aired, a party spokesman accused staff featured in the documentary of being "disaffected former officials... who have always opposed Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, worked to actively undermine it, and have both personal and political axes to grind."Rowena Mason and Jessica Elgot
"Corbyn under fire from staff and Labour peers over antisemitism"
''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 15 July 2019, accessed 21 July 2019)
Labour Party staff represented by the
GMB Union The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 560,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National Health Service (N ...
voted 124–4 to demand the party apologise to the former staff and John Cryer, Chair of the
Parliamentary Labour Party The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in the British House of Commons. The group comprises the Labour members of parliament as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes ...
, said that attacking former Labour staff who appeared on the documentary was "a gross misjudgment". Five of the staff featured announced their intention to sue the Party, claiming that Labour's response breached its commitment to protect the rights of whistleblowers and 'defamed' them. In July 2020, the Labour Party, now under the leadership of
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
, retracted in full the allegations it had made about both John Ware and the participants in the Panorama documentary, which it conceded were false, issued a formal apology, and agreed to pay damages and costs, estimated to be around £600,000.


Has the government failed the NHS?

Broadcast on 27 April 2020, the episode ''Has the government failed the NHS?'', presented by reporter Richard Bilton, investigated the UK Government's alleged failure to stockpile critical equipment such as
personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elect ...
(PPE), and the impact this had on the management of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
within the
NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
during the
pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
's early months. The investigation also examined the reversal of the designation of COVID-19 as a "High consequence infectious disease" (HCID) and the simultaneous downgrading of PPE guidance. It was argued that the decision-making was fuelled, in part, by the lack of suitable equipment in the stockpile. Among the interviewees was public health expert John Ashton, who described the findings as "breathtaking" and said "The consequence of not planning; not ordering kit; not having stockpiles is that we are sending into the front line doctors, nurses, other health workers and social care workers without the equipment to keep them safe".


The Missing Princess

In February 2021, BBC Panorama released a full-fledged investigative documentary, ''The Missing Princess'', about the daughter of
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
ruler Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (; born 15 July 1949) is an Emirati politician and royal who is the current ruler of Dubai, and serves as the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, vice president and Prime Minister of the United Arab ...
, Princess Latifa, who attempted to flee her home country in 2018. However, she was captured and brought back to Dubai from international waters. In 2019, a family court in the UK ruled that Sheikh Mohammed had ordered the abduction of Princess Latifa, who was publicly seen only once since, in December 2018 during the visit of former
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...
,
Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...
. ''The Missing Princess'' was released in 2021, after BBC Panorama received a video message secretly recorded by Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum from her bathroom in 2018. The messages were sent by Princess Latifa's friends, who were not able to get in touch with her for a long time. The Princess accused her father, Sheikh Mohammed, of holding her "hostage". She also gave details of her abduction, where she was drugged and brought back by Emirati soldiers on a boat and then a private jet. Saying that she feared for her life, Latifa complained about being tired in the
solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...
without any medical and legal assistance. Release of the documentary prompted the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
to intervene in the matter, where the organization questioned the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
about Princess Latifa and asked for a proof that she is alive.


Programme influenced by security services

In December 2011, it was revealed that former BBC Director General Sir Ian Trethowan had met in 1981 with the chiefs of
MI5 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...
and the
Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (MI numbers, Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of Human i ...
about an episode of ''Panorama'' dealing with the security services. He showed a video recording of the original programme to Bernard Sheldon, legal adviser to MI5, who suggested cuts to the programme. Trethowan asked the head of BBC News to reduce the programme to half its length, including the cuts suggested by MI5.


Scheduling

The scheduling of ''Panorama'' has, since the 1980s, often been a subject of media debate and controversy, due to the duties of the BBC to provide both, on the one hand, entertaining programming that appeals to a mass audience, and on the other serious journalism that might have a narrower audience. In February 1985, with the programme being watched by an average audience of just 3.5 million viewers, Controller of BBC One
Michael Grade Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth (born 8 March 1943) is an English Media proprietor, television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive ...
moved the programme from its traditional prime time 8.10 pm slot on Monday evenings back to 9.30 pm, after the '' Nine O'Clock News''. Despite many protests about this move in the media, ''Panorama'' remained in this slot until 1997, although two of Grade's successors,
Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (11 March 1947 – 24 May 2025) was an English television executive and presenter. He held senior roles at the BBC, including head of music and arts, controller of BBC1 and BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadca ...
and
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
, were known to be unhappy about running 70 continuous minutes of news from 9 pm. In May 1997 the Acting Controller of BBC One, Mark Thompson, did move ''Panorama'' back half an hour to 10 pm, to make way for the sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'', which opened the BBC to criticism that it was sidelining serious content in favour of lighter programming. In 2000, the programme was moved again, with the 10 pm timeslot no longer available due to the transferring of the BBC News from 9 pm to the later slot. ''Panorama'' was moved to Sunday nights, after the news, usually shown at around 10.15 pm – labelled by some critics as a "graveyard slot". The number of editions made per year was also reduced, which attracted press criticism for the BBC in general and its
Director-General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...
Greg Dyke in particular, as Dyke was the driving force behind the schedule changes. The incoming Controller of BBC One,
Lorraine Heggessey Lorraine Sylvia Heggessey (born 16 November 1956) is a British television producer and executive. From 2000 until 2005, she was the first woman to be Controller of BBC One, the primary television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation. ...
, defended the move, claiming that the programme's audience would have "dwindled" had it remained on Monday nights. In January 2007 Heggessey's successor, Peter Fincham, moved ''Panorama'' back from Sunday nights to a prime time Monday evening slot at 8.30 pm, reduced to half an hour. This decision was at least partly in response to a demand from the Board of Governors of the BBC for the channel to show more current affairs programming during prime time.


Legacy

A series of ''Panorama'' transcripts, dating between 1958 and 1961, are housed at the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
. The papers can be accessed through the British Library catalogue.Panorama Transcripts
archives and manuscripts catalogue, the British Library. Retrieved 15 May 2020


See also

*'' This World'' *'' Dispatches'' (
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
, 1987–) *''
World in Action ''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its product ...
'' ( ITV, 1963–1998) *'' This Week'' (ITV, 1956–1979, 1986–1992) *'' Unreported World'' (Channel 4, 2000–)


References


Bibliography

*Richard Lindley (2002), ''Panorama: Fifty Years of Pride and Paranoia'', Politico's,


External links

* (BBC One)
''Panorama''
(BBC World News)

– ''
Encyclopedia of Television The Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) is an American museum that showcases historic and contemporary radio and television content. It is headquartered in Chicago. Museum locations (1987–present) The Museum of Broadcast Communications wa ...
''
''Panorama'' returns to prime-time TV
BBC News, 18 July 2006 ;"Scientology and Me"
Scientology and Me: transcript
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