Calls for Meta and other social media companies to clamp down on visa scams after a Times undercover investigation

We tracked down the viral video account invading people's houses to spread false claims about immigrants.

The capital of the Caribbean nation of Haiti is now at the mercy of gangs bent on kidnap, rape and murder. Louise Callaghan meets their victims — and confronts a warlord

The EDL founder is charging about £28 a minute for videos giving advice to supporters on anti-Islam activism and migrant hotel protests

A Times investigation raises questions as to why members of the House of Lords don’t face the same restrictions as MPs on work for lobbyists

A Times investigation has found companies have been offered sponsorship deals involving private meetings with an ‘influential Labour figure’

Officials did not have the power to gather evidence in hundreds of cases linked to the misuse of government ‘bounce-back’ loans

They travel the world to convert every ‘tribe, tongue and nation’ to Jesus. But behind the scenes, young missionaries describe discipline, pressure and strict controls

Exclusive: young volunteers also allege spiritual abuse and controlling behaviour at bases of Youth With a Mission * ‘It felt like a demon was inside me’: young Christian missionaries allege spiritual abuse The world’s biggest youth Christian missionary organisation is facing allegations of spiritual abuse and controlling behaviour from young people who say they were left “traumatised”. An Observer investigation has revealed evidence of safeguarding failings within Youth With a Mission (YWAM), a global movement that trains young Christians to spread the gospel. A spokesperson for YWAM said the organisation was “heartbroken” by the claims and was “deeply committed to the safety and wellbeing” of everyone in its care. Continue reading...

New CPS guidance aims to boost use of deletion orders after Observer revealed systemic failings The Crown Prosecution Service is to update its guidance on so-called “revenge porn” crimes to stop perpetrators being allowed to keep explicit photos of their victims. The Observer revealed last month that magistrates courts were routinely failing to make orders for the deletion of content linked to intimate-image abuse cases – and that prosecutors were failing to request them. Continue reading...

Campaigners face online attacks, claims of criminality and complaints to employers. The Church says it’s the victim Alex Barnes-Ross, a marketing director from east London, regularly posts YouTube videos criticising Scientology. In some of them, the former Scientologist, 29, describes his experience of joining aged 15 and becoming its London director of book sales. In others, he talks about his mental health struggles after signing a “billion-year” contract devoting himself to the organisation – only to be kicked out a few years later, labelled a “potential trouble source”. Other videos scrutinise its finances and ask questions about alleged mistreatment at Narconon UK, a Scientology-linked rehab facility investigated by the Observer last year. Continue reading...

Claims of sexual violence made against other asylum seekers and staff include case of a 14-year-old who was allegedly raped Women and girls seeking asylum in Britain have alleged that they were raped, sexually assaulted and harassed after being placed in mixed Home Office accommodation. An Observer investigation has uncovered claims of sexual violence at multiple Home Office hotels including allegations against fellow asylum seekers as well as hotel staff. Continue reading...

Anti-slavery commissioner says scheme to plug staffing gaps post-Brexit was a ‘blunt instrument’ that enabled exploitation of the vulnerable A post-Brexit visa scheme to fill vacancies in social care was badly designed and enabled “horrific” abuse of…

Card giants processing payments for unlicensed operators as customers report losing thousands Mastercard and Visa are processing payments for illegal gambling websites accused of scamming UK customers out of thousands of pounds. An investigation has…

They are beloved by A-listers and surging in popularity. But claims that NAD+ infusions are a fix for addiction are unproven, risky – and possibly illegal, an Observer investigation reveals

Campaigners urge overhaul of system for prioritising hearings as less serious crimes move ahead in queue

An investigation into the facial trauma unit at Barts Health NHS Trust says a corrosive culture of competition and bigotry led to patients being harmed

They are beloved by A-listers and surging in popularity. But claims that NAD+ infusions are a fix for addiction are unproven, risky – and possibly illegal, an Observer investigation reveals

They are beloved by A-listers and surging in popularity. But claims that NAD+ infusions are a fix for addiction are unproven, risky – and possibly illegal, an Observer investigation reveals

They are beloved by A-listers and surging in popularity. But claims that NAD+ infusions are a fix for addiction are unproven, risky – and possibly illegal, an Observer investigation reveals

Prosecutors in England and Wales are failing to obtain orders requiring the deletion of intimate content shared without consent, analysis reveals Perpetrators of “revenge porn” offences are being allowed to keep explicit images of their victims on their…

Prosecutors in England and Wales are failing to obtain orders requiring the deletion of intimate content shared without consent, analysis reveals

Controversial ‘special measures’ regime under fire after failures were not made public Betting firms have been reaching secret deals with Britain’s gambling watchdog, including surrendering revenues for failings that are kept out of the public domain,…

Anti-abortion campaigners cheer as JD Vance brands safe zones an attack on ‘liberties of religious Britons’ Rachael Clarke remembers life before buffer zones. Almost every day, the head of staff at the UK’s biggest abortion provider would get emails from…

Betting companies secretly track visitors to their sites before sending data to parent company Meta

Meta accounts of those affected flooded with ads for casinos and betting sites We didn’t click ‘consent’ on any gambling website. So how did Facebook know where we’d been? Gambling companies are covertly tracking visitors to their websites and sending…

Betting companies secretly track visitors to their sites before sending data to parent company Meta

Sam found himself getting sucked deeper and deeper in to betting, sometimes risking £11,000 in a day. Now a judge has ruled he was unlawfully targeted At 1.17pm on 15 August 2018, Sam* logged in to his online betting account and gambled five days’ worth…

Cyprus Confidential files suggest offshore scheme was used to evade tens of millions in VAT on long list of expenses

Labour’s James Frith and Conservative Caroline Nokes gifted tickets by Paddy Power worth up to £1,000 each Two MPs received VIP tickets for the sold-out World Darts Championships courtesy of a betting company – weeks after a national outcry over…

Danish drug giant found to have failed to accurately report spending even after admitting to errors The pharmaceutical watchdog has reprimanded Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk for failing to correctly disclose dozens of payments to the UK health sector as it…

Observer analysis finds unregulated products being promoted as contraception despite concerns about their accuracy

The government has promised a crackdown on synthetic image abuse - but campaigners warn it doesn’t go far enough It began with an anonymous email. “I’m genuinely so, so sorry to reach out to you,” it read. Beneath the words were three links to an…

Statement from groups including BMA and royal colleges says current law is causing ‘trauma and cruelty’ Medical leaders are calling for reform of abortion laws in England and Wales after an “unprecedented” rise in women and girls being prosecuted for…

Danish drug company gave money for Google ads to promote weight loss services and received data on web traffic and prescriptions

After flood defences failed yet again, heartbroken residents of Merseyside and Cheshire now face a painful clean-up and possible financial ruin At about 3.15am on New Year’s Day, Caroline McClymont looked out of her bedroom window at the Sankey brook…

After flood defences failed yet again, heartbroken residents of Merseyside and Cheshire now face a painful clean-up and possible financial ruin.

Advertising regulator reprimands services that claim to offer unbiased advice but then direct people to partner facilities

Advertising regulator reprimands services that claim to offer unbiased advice but then direct people to partner facilities

Private messages detail an alleged campaign to tarnish Blake Lively after she accused Justin Baldoni of misconduct on the set of “It Ends With Us.”

Funding from property firms raises questions over loopholes in political finance rules A secretive group that donated £130,000 to Labour and claimed to be “merely a platform for people” is in fact funded by property developers, the Observer can reveal.…

Funding from property firms raises questions over loopholes in political finance rules

Funding from property firms raises questions over loopholes in political finance rules