Crimes That Shook Britain Episode Rating Graph

One of the UK’s biggest sex trafficking rings was uncovered in Rochdale in 2012. In a horrific catalogue of abuse, girls as young as 13 were subjected to rape and torture by a gang of nine men. One 15-year-old girl was even ‘recruited’ by the gang to lure other girls into the trap. After plying them with alcohol and money, the victims would be raped by up to twenty men at a time. The gang were sentenced to between four and nineteen years for their crimes.

In June 2020, as the country enjoyed a short respite from COVID restrictions, three men were fatally stabbed in broad daylight while chatting in the park. But the nation’s shock at the terrorist attack soon turned to anger, as details of the killer were revealed - he was known to be dangerous, volatile, and aggressive. As authorities had been warned that an attack was inevitable, this was a deadly terrorist attack that was entirely avoidable.

Double murderer, John Sweeney, brutally murdered two of his girlfriends, dismembered their bodies and dumped them in canals. Handed two life sentences he was told he will die in prison. In a macabre twist, a key detective on the case tells how Sweeney allegedly hid clues to his killings in abstract paintings he produced, and how FIVE other girlfriends of his are currently missing as well.

When six children died in a house fire in Allenton, Derby in May 2012 it shocked the nation. Parents Mick and Mairead Philpott were seen visibly distraught in front of the press but just weeks later, they were charged with the murders. Now convicted of manslaughter for their children’s deaths, we uncover the reasons behind the arson attack on their own home. Speaking to eye witnesses who desperately tried to save the children’s lives, as well as family members and neighbours that knew the couple well, Title Role will unravel the real story behind the tragic deaths of Jade, John, Jack, Jesse, Jayden and Duwayne.

In broad daylight on a busy Woolwich street on 22nd May 2013, serving soldier Fusilier Lee Rigby was attacked and murdered by Islamic extremists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale. The men used their car to strike the soldier from behind as he crossed the road. They then proceeded to use knives to hack at Lee’s body in an attempt to decapitate him before dumping him in the middle of the road. These sickening events were caught on camera phones by horrified onlookers and the killers were filmed claiming to have carried out the attack in the name of Allah. In a dramatic sequence of events, police arrived at the scene within minutes and shot at the two men as they ran towards them holding up their weapons. Both Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale were found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey. In this programme we speak to witnesses to the attack and experts on terrorism to examine how two young British men could be radicalized to such an extent that they killed an innocent man in the name of religion.

When a young goth couple, Sophie Lancaster and Rob Maltby, were set upon by a ‘pack of feral thugs’, the vicious attack leaves eyewitnesses afraid to speak up. Despite the very public attack, a wall of silence falls around the offenders. Police investigators tried innovative tactics to gain the trust of the witnesses, but it was Sophie’s death two weeks later that shocked the close-knit community into action.

Once a national treasure, now the most vilified man in the UK, one year on from his death Jimmy Savile was branded as the worst sex offender the UK has ever seen. In October 2012, an investigation into Savile began, prompting hundreds of victims of child sex abuse to come forward to 28 police forces. Allegations dated back to 1955, but how could such a high profile entertainer with such a prolific background in abuse, go apparently undetected for so long? We talk to the victims, family members and former colleagues of Savile to lift the lid on one of the biggest scandals this country has ever seen.

Peter Tobin is one of the most notorious serial killers in the UK. From 1991 – 2006 he raped and murdered three young girls, Dinah McNicol, Vicky Hamilton and Angelika Kluk. Yet even prior to these horrific murders he had a history of violence, raping two 14-year-old girls and leaving them for dead. Luckily they survived. 

In this special episode, we focus on those criminals who have been brought to justice for one crime only to be released to commit further terrible acts. We speak to legal professionals to discover if the system is at fault or have these killers exploited legal loopholes. We talk to victims and relatives of killers who preyed on their loved ones – if the perpetrators had been kept inside – would their loved ones still be alive? And we discuss with campaigners what can be done to ensure the justice system can both rehabilitate but also ensure our safety.

When a missing person is found dead in North London, investigators discover the sadistic killer has already struck before. Iuliana Tudos was a popular 22-year-old who disappeared on Christmas Eve. Her friends launched a frantic search and discovered her mutilated body themselves. In a shocking twist, the police were able to link her killer to an unsolved murder from weeks earlier – where a retired civil servant was found bound and gagged in her own bedroom.

Estate agent, Suzy Lamplugh, disappeared in July 1986 after going to meet a client at a house in Fulham. Witnesses said they saw her arguing with a man near the address and then getting into a car. She has never been seen since. For almost thirty years police have followed many lines of enquiry – one being to identify who ‘Mr Kipper’ is that she went to meet. So far they have reached a dead end. In 1994 she was officially declared dead, presumed murdered. The strongest theory to date is that convicted rapist and killer, John Cannan, killed Lamplugh. But as yet, this hasn’t been proven. Cannan is already serving a life sentence with the recommendation he never be released.

A father/son trip to the capital ended in horror as 51-year-old Lee Pomeroy fell victim to a ferocious knife attack on a commuter train. Lee was brutally stabbed 18 times in 25 seconds and died in the arms of his 14-year-old son. The attacker, who was already known to the police and mental health workers, fled the scene as British Transport Police scrambled to track him down. Once apprehended, it was up to investigators to prove that Lee’s murderer was as unprovoked, as it was ruthless.

On an October evening in 1977, 2 girls were enjoying a night out in the World’s End pub in central Edinburgh. The following day, one body was found on a beach, the other in a field. The girls were seen leaving the pub with two men but the identity of the killer would remain a mystery for the next 30 years. In 2007, Angus Sinclair was charged with the girl’s murder after new DNA evidence linked Sinclair and his brother in law Gordon to the murders. However the trial sensationally collapsed when a piece of crucial evidence was withdrawn. Unbeknownst to the jury, Hamilton had a history of sex attacks starting at the age of 16 and culminating him serving a life sentence for the murder of a 17 year old woman in Glasgow in 1978. In 2014, following the development of new DNA technology, Prosecutors successfully applied for a change in a century’s old law of double jeopardy, consequently allowing the same man to be tried twice for the same crime. This time, the trial proved successful and Sinclair was jailed for a minimum of 37 years. He has been described as Scotland’s worst serial killer and the authorities believe he may well have been responsible for numerous other murders.