Crimes That Shook Britain

The murder of Stephen Lawrence is undoubtedly one of the most infamous and important in British criminal history. His death at the hands of a racist gang in 1993 sparked a 20 year battle by his family for justice who fought against both an inept police investigation and racism. We speak to Stephen's mother and brother as well as key figures in their fight for the truth to reveal what happened to Stephen and how his killers were finally, 20 years later, brought to justice.

The hunt for Raoul Moat was one of the largest in British history and it captivated the nation. Moat shot and wounded his ex girlfriend before killing her new partner in Newcastle during the summer of 2010. He then shot and blinded PC David Rathband. Pursued by the police, he holed up in the rural town of Rothbury for days before turning his gun on himself. We speak to friends and relatives of Moat as well as detectives who led the manhunt. We also talk exclusively to the sister of PC David Rathband who, unable to cope with events after the shooting, took his own life in 2012.

Garry Newlove, a married father of 3 was beaten to death outside his home in Warrington, Cheshire in August 2007. In this episode, his wife Helen recounts the terrible events of the night of the murder and the days afterwards. The programme also features the detectives tasked to bring his killers to justice as well as focussing on Helen Newlove's current work as a peer in the House of Lords combatting anti social behaviour.

Arguably Britain's most infamous serial killer, Peter Sutcliffe became known as The Yorkshire Ripper when he began murdering women in Yorkshire during the 1970's. Despite a 5 year police operation that cost £5 million and ate up over 2 million man hours, Sutcliffe was only caught after a chance encounter with 2 Police constables on a routine patrol. We tell the horrific story of his reign of terror speaking exclusively to Sutcliffe's own brother as well as Neil Jackson, the son of one of his earliest victims. We also talk to one of the detectives who interviewed Sutcliffe as part of the inquiry, to lay bare the mistakes that were made that allowed him to carry on killing for so long.

Failed business man Christopher Foster killed his wife and daughter before burning their mansion in Shropshire to the ground in August 2008. We investigate this complex case and by talking to Christopher's brother, his personal assistant, psychologists and criminologists we reveal more about this category of crime known as family annihilators. What drove Foster to murder his family and pets before destroying his possessions and home?

In the summer of 1993, gay men in London was being terrorised by a brutal killer. Colin Ireland, a loner from Southend had made a macabre resolution - to become a serial killer. For 3 months he hunted men, picking them up in a central London gay bar, taking them back to their flats and then strangling them. We talk to Ireland's ex wife and friends to uncover what made him tick. We also focus on the men tasked with catching him and how separate murder inquiries turned into a city wide manhunt.