The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: How we uncovered the true cost of illegal children’s homes. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. An increasing number of vulnerable young people across the country are being placed in children’s homes that are not regulated by Ofsted – which is against the law. In 2024 alone, nearly 800 children ...

We've been exposing the councils placing children in illegal homes and the eyewatering sums of money private companies are making from them

Join us to hear from our Bureau Local editor Gareth Davies and reporter Tom Wall on what we've uncovered 👇

An increasing number of vulnerable young people across the country are being placed in illegal children’s homes

In 2024 alone, nearly 800 children were placed in illegal accommodation, where they stayed for an average of six months each

Bureau submits evidence to UN expert’s Indigenous rights investigation Our landmark project gave us more info that we could publish. Now we’ve shared it with the UN special rapporteur on Indigenous rights

Journalism doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it’s part of an ecosystem. And it’s important to get our reporting into the right hands after we hit publish 👇

London PR firm rewrites Wikipedia for governments and billionaires Founded by Keir Starmer’s comms chief, Portland helps rich clients ‘protect their reputation’ – with a shady, off-the-books service

Our investigation actually shows how *difficult* it is to make paid edits on Wikipedia, even when PR firms try. As we wrote in the piece: “To put it simply: it is hard to publish misinformation on Wikipedia.”

The truth matters. (2/2)

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

A screenshot of a post on X by an account called 'XFreeze', taking a TBIJ investigation out of context. Elon Musk reposted the post, replying 'Yeah'

This week, Elon Musk re-posted on X about an investigation we published into “wikilaundering” — paid-for editing on Wikipedia.

The post claimed our reporting found that Wikipedia was “corrupt to its core.”

That’s not what we reported... (1/2)

Fines for UK financial crime nosedive to ‘pitiful’ lows Penalties from the FCA drop by 78% in five years as it prepares to take on a new role as 'super-regulator'

The value of fines handed out by the UK’s financial regulator has plummeted to “pitiful” levels, undermining the country's fight against economic crime, according to data we obtained from public releases and freedom of information requests

Mother vindicated after top judge overturns evidence of parental… Findings based on the evidence of Melanie Gill are thrown out by high court – and could open the door for more of the families affected

It also sets the stage for other families in similar circumstances to have their rulings re-examined – potentially via a new and more affordable route

Andrew McFarlane: family court shouldn’t use unregulated psychologists President of family division supports new way to challenge rulings for families split by flawed evidence

🚨 A top judge has issued new guidance that unregulated psychologists should not give evidence in family court 🚨

The seismic ruling makes it next to impossible for courts to justify using unregulated experts whose assessments have resulted in mothers losing access to their children

Independent police corruption investigations plummet by 70% in five… Campaigners slam ‘broken’ complaints system as corruption probes by the watchdog hit alarming lows

NEW: Independent police corruption investigations plummet by 70% in five years

Campaigners slam ‘broken’ complaints system as corruption probes by the watchdog hit alarming lows

Reform’s local councils are bringing climate denial into the… Top polling party’s moves to ‘undeclare’ the climate emergency and scrap net zero targets could be a sign of things to come

Read more 👇

With Reform leading the polls and more local elections to come this year, what we’ve seen so far could be the tip of the iceberg ...

Since gaining control of 10 councils last May, Reform UK has scrapped vital environmental goals and its councillors have hijacked public debates with outright climate denial

So, a quarter of a century on, have the lessons really been learned? Or is another outbreak a ticking time bomb?

Hide and seek: cattle tracking violations risk major disease outbreak Farms’ failure to record cattle and sheep movements reveals stark lack of preparation for wave of animal disease

New traceability rules followed — but Andrew's recent investigation shows they were breached thousands of times in the past decade

Our reporter Andrew Wasley, who has covered farming for more than 20 years, says the virus spread so fast in part because there was no effective system to track livestock movements

This week, 25 years ago, foot-and-mouth disease brought the UK to its knees

More than six million animals were slaughtered, rural Britain was locked down, the 2001 general election was postponed – and the crisis ultimately cost the economy more than £8bn

📸 BWP Media / Getty Images

Gig workers in Africa have been helping the US military. They had no… Appen hires workers around the world to do obscure tasks with little explanation. It has also held $17m in military contracts

What does this all mean? Low-paid gig workers from countries that have faced attacks from US forces were in some cases unwittingly working on projects for its defence agencies

Story by @niamhmcintyre.bsky.social

Gig-work giant Appen recruits people from around the world, telling them little about the purpose of their work

It has also held numerous US military contracts, including one mentioning a high-tech spy plane

The image shows a Rivet Joint plane, with a green radar in the background.The text reads: “Gig workers in Africa have been helping the US military – but they had no idea”

NEW INVESTIGATION: Low-paid gig workers in Africa have been helping the US military – but they had no idea

Story in partnership with @restofworld.org & @crikey.com.au

Court reporter wins battle for private documents Judge grants access to psychological reports in ruling that could open door for court reporters seeking public-interest documents

Triumph for transparency as court reporter wins battle for private documents

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

The Epstein Files: a watershed moment in the fight against corruption? Bad apples, black sheep, lone crooks – the old excuses no longer hold water. And politicians will have to act accordingly

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

The photo shows demonstrators rallying in solidarity with the Epstein survivors in New York in 2021. The post reads: "The world after Epstein: a watershed moment in the fight against corruption?"

"Bad apples, black sheep, lone crooks – the old excuses no longer hold water. And politicians will have to act accordingly"

The Bureau's CEO @wildfranz.bsky.social has penned a piece on what he believes could be a watershed moment in the fight against corruption

Link in the replies 👇

MPs pledge to investigate toxic gas from animal farming Government inquiry into air pollution will zero in on ammonia after we revealed a surge in levels around chicken farms

A government inquiry into air pollution will zero in on ammonia – after we revealed a surge in levels around chicken farms

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

Government criticised for inaction on farmworkers abuse Criticism comes after the rejection of various ideas, put forward by its own advisers, on how to protect migrant workers from exploitation

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

The image shows people working on a farm in the UK. The headline reads: "The UK government has been slammed for 'callous' inaction on farmworkers abuse"

NEW: For the last few years, calls to reform the seasonal worker visa have gone largely ignored

Now, the government has even rejected several recommendations from its own independent immigration advisers...

Story link in the replies ⬇️ @mellino.bsky.social

As men dominate the Epstein Files headlines, we must listen to the… The files’ shocking details read like an extreme expression of the sexism that many of us are familiar with

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

The image shows abuse survivors watching the attorney general Pam Bondi's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Five people have their hands raised. The text says: "As men dominate the Epstein files headlines, we must listen to the voices of the survivors"

"The files' shocking details read like the extreme expression of the sexism that many of us are familiar with"

Read the latest analysis piece from TBIJ's @eleanorrose87.bsky.social (link in the replies)

Cancer drugs are being scrapped at huge scale after quality failures… Tens of thousands of vials have been pulled from shelves at the last minute because the country keeps buying dangerous drugs

Full story: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

An illustration of two blindfolded doctors. The text says: Cancer drugs are being scrapped at huge scale after quality failures in Peru

NEW: Tens of thousands of vials have been pulled from shelves at the last minute because the country keeps buying dangerous drugs

Story link in the replies 👇

Epstein details removed from Mandelson’s Wikipedia page by paid editor As the then-ambassador came under fire, an anonymous user tried to downplay his history of support for Jeffrey Epstein

Read the full story: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...