Patrick Clahane

“You’ve shone a light, this is an important moment.” NEW after our year long investigative reporting - a £30m High Street organised crime unit’s been announced to target illegal mini-marts/vape shops. During 12 months BBC News exposed 🚨drug gangs 🚨child sexual exploitation 🚨immigration crime Reaction from Security Minister @DanJarvisMBE and a pledge to review laws

IMPACT - a new £30m High Street organised crime unit’s been announced after our investigative reporting into illegal mini-marts/vape shops. On our High Streets BBC News exposed 🚨drug gangs 🚨child sexual exploitation 🚨immigration crime 🚨tax evasion bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3p…

NEW High Street violence: “We will kill you and burn your house' Dozens of Trading Standards officers have shared testimony of facing death threats and abuse. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute says crime gangs in mini marts are out of control. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxp…

NEW Senior politicians call for an urgent investigation into alleged child sexual exploitation linked to high streets in the West Midlands. We reported council intelligence reports warning children as young as 11 were at risk inside mini-marts. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cevk…

West Midlands Police initially said: "There is currently no evidence to substantiate these claims of child sexual exploitation." But after the BBC presented further evidence, the force asked us to use an updated statement which did not contain claims of "no evidence.”

Extracts from intelligence briefings from 2019 to 2024 also claim that children may have been at risk of being sexually abused after being offered drugs, alcohol and cigarettes in mini-marts.

NEW: Children as young as 11 were abused in West Midlands mini-marts. We’ve seen email logs/intelligence reports that show a council worker raised High Street child sexual abuse claims multiple times with police over TEN years. This mini mart worker says abuse was systemic

We’ve received an @RTS_media nomination for our reporting on high street organised crime. From illegal mini-marts to immigration crime gangs we spent a year uncovering criminality the length of Britain. I’m delighted for colleagues @RebeccaWearn @Philleddo @PatrickClahane

Gangs, death threats and £3 illegal cigarettes — reflections on a year on our broken high streets for the ⁦⁦@thetimes⁩ thetimes.com/article/7332737…

“Have you lost control of our High Streets to Kurdish organised crime gangs?” The Home Secretary reacts to our investigations into High Street crime networks across Britain. Shabana Mahmood said the BBC reports were “evidence of why our system is broken.” Q by @ChrisMasonBBC

EXPOSED A Kurdish crime network enabling migrants to work illegally on High Street mini-marts across the UK. - we linked 100 shop fronts to so called “ghost directors”. -we found a asylum seeker offering to sell a mini mart. - Home office will now investigate BBC findings