:00:01. > :00:07.Across Britain, young children work Across Britain, young children work
:00:07. > :00:12.our streets, day in, day out, begging. You may have seen them,
:00:12. > :00:17.perhaps given them a quid or two, just walked on by. Every time we see
:00:17. > :00:21.a child beggar, understand that what could lie behind that is something
:00:21. > :00:27.much more sinister. Tonight we uncover the child exploitation going
:00:27. > :00:32.on in our cities. This is slavery, modern day slavery. It's also
:00:32. > :00:38.story of organised crime. Charged with accusations of racism
:00:38. > :00:42.one ethnic group. Every single day you can find calls to be
:00:42. > :00:52.be shot, everything you can imagine. We follow the trail, starting
:00:52. > :00:52.
:00:52. > :00:56.child beggars in London. Leading to Palaces in Romania.
:00:56. > :01:01.We should move. We meet the Gypsy boss accused of
:01:02. > :01:05.trafficking children. TRANSLATION: We can't stop anyone from begging,
:01:05. > :01:07.for 2,000 years we have been off begging. We confront the
:01:07. > :01:11.mothers who exploit their own. REPORTER:
:01:12. > :01:21.You have never begged? That's not true.
:01:22. > :01:25.
:01:25. > :01:29.We ask: is anyone going to save those born into begging?
:01:29. > :01:35.The week before Christmas, Oxford The week before Christmas, Oxford
:01:35. > :01:44.Street in London. Shoppers brave the cold in search of last-minute
:01:44. > :01:49.But not all the children here are But not all the children here are
:01:49. > :01:55.enjoying the Christmas spirit. For some, like on so many other nights,
:01:55. > :02:03.it's time for work. These are Britain's child beggars. With them
:02:03. > :02:07.are women, overseeing their every move, taking the money they make.
:02:07. > :02:17.Amongst the shoppers we see small girl. We can't show her face.
:02:17. > :02:18.
:02:18. > :02:23.We don't know her name. We will call her Alice. Controlling Alice is this
:02:23. > :02:32.young woman, who continually pushes her to beg. Alice makes
:02:32. > :02:36.and all of it ends up in the of the minder. This is Alice's life.
:02:36. > :02:43.She walks for miles in the cold the rain. She looks to be four years
:02:43. > :02:53.old. She scavenges for food in McDonald's and has to use a
:02:53. > :02:55.
:02:55. > :02:59.But who is Alice and the other child But who is Alice and the other child
:02:59. > :03:05.beggars? How is this allowed happen? And where does the money go?
:03:05. > :03:15.To find out, we used small video cameras to film the beggars without
:03:15. > :03:19.We have been watching these women We have been watching these women
:03:19. > :03:23.beg in Oxford Street, Marble Edgware Road. When I first saw it, I
:03:23. > :03:26.thought this is petty stuff, not big crime, it's not nasty, but
:03:26. > :03:35.it goes on hour after hour hour and the way they are abusing
:03:35. > :03:40.the children and the babies to make money, it's shocking.
:03:40. > :03:40.I want to know where Alice and the I want to know where Alice and the
:03:40. > :03:43.other children come from. So one other children come from. So one
:03:43. > :03:53.I want to know where night I go to the Edgware Road in
:03:53. > :04:03.London's West End. I see two young girls, begging.
:04:03. > :04:14.
:04:14. > :04:22.They say they come from Romania's They say they come from Romania's
:04:22. > :04:30.capital, Bucharest. To find out more I try out my pigeon Romanian. Unde e
:04:31. > :04:40.parinti? Your Mum, yes?
:04:41. > :04:44.
:04:44. > :04:47.It's now 10.00 at night. .
:04:47. > :04:51.She is pretending to be from Bosnia She is pretending to be from Bosnia
:04:51. > :05:01.but she is lying. You've got four children? Your daughter said you
:05:01. > :05:02.
:05:02. > :05:12.were from Romania. ? SPEAKING ROMANIAN.
:05:12. > :05:14.
:05:14. > :05:15.Yes, OK. Yes, OK.
:05:15. > :05:25.But shouldn't they The binman joins in the
:05:25. > :05:27.
:05:27. > :05:31.conversation. OK, Beverley
:05:31. > :05:38.OK, night night. As I go to leave, OK, night night. As I go to leave,
:05:38. > :05:42.there's a fight. It's no time kids to be out. Children who are
:05:42. > :05:46.forced to beg can often face the most traumatic experiences. It
:05:46. > :05:50.they are denied an education, they will have nutrition issues, health
:05:50. > :05:53.issues, but they will also grow up believing that this is the only way
:05:53. > :05:57.or the normal way of earning a living, and therefore not
:05:57. > :06:07.to see a pathway into a different future. It really is denying them
:06:07. > :06:09.
:06:09. > :06:12.Alongside Alice and other little Alongside Alice and other little
:06:12. > :06:18.ones begging in Central London, there are many
:06:18. > :06:28.nearly all girls. One night we filmed from a distance as I ask
:06:28. > :06:55.
:06:56. > :07:01.of them about her life. .
:07:01. > :07:04.of ambition, her lack of hope, lack of a future, it was really,
:07:04. > :07:12.really sad. This is a waste. That girl could do something with
:07:12. > :07:16.Paddington Station, like any other Paddington Station, like any other
:07:16. > :07:21.commuter the girl we are calling Alice and her minder start
:07:21. > :07:27.here. First, they go to a fast food place to have breakfast. There,
:07:27. > :07:33.meet up with other women, some with babies. When they come out, almost
:07:33. > :07:40.everyone is wearing a head scarf. Alice too. Then they head for
:07:40. > :07:43.Bayswater, where one of the women steals a head scarf.
:07:43. > :07:48.That's a scarf that she has just That's a scarf that she has just
:07:48. > :07:56.stolen. The begging day begins. Alice is well-trained. When a
:07:56. > :08:01.passer-by gives her a coin, Alice knows to push for more.
:08:01. > :08:04.The minder steps in. It's a well The minder steps in. It's a well
:08:05. > :08:14.rehearsed double act. Alice keeps on at her until the woman hands over a
:08:15. > :08:17.
:08:17. > :08:21.This is slavery, modern-day slavery. This is slavery, modern-day slavery.
:08:21. > :08:24.How does a child of three, four, five, six, consent to be exploited?
:08:24. > :08:29.They won't know whether it's criminal to beg on the streets of
:08:29. > :08:34.the UK. They are kids. The group beggars heads for the Edgware Road,
:08:34. > :08:38.a mainly Arab Muslim area. Alice begs from a roadside cafe whilst her
:08:38. > :08:43.minder meets up with the others. All these young women favour
:08:43. > :08:53.dress. Locals have seen before.
:08:53. > :09:00.
:09:00. > :09:05.How do you know they are Romanian? How do you know they are Romanian?
:09:05. > :09:15.First of all she doesn't speak Arabic and second she speak
:09:15. > :09:18.
:09:18. > :09:21.Very few Romanian Gypsies follow Very few Romanian Gypsies follow
:09:21. > :09:29.Islam, but these women are in traditional Muslim dress from
:09:29. > :09:34.to toe. Are they Muslim? One day, one of them spots our camera. Not
:09:34. > :09:41.very Islamic. Give me an idea of how much you
:09:41. > :09:50.think they might make during the course of a day?
:09:50. > :09:55.500 a day seems exaggerated, but 500 a day seems exaggerated, but
:09:55. > :10:01.we've seen them make good money. Back on the street, a police car
:10:01. > :10:05.passes by and the women all run away, laughing.
:10:05. > :10:11.They hide from the police in a side They hide from the police in a side
:10:11. > :10:13.street. There's 13 of them, mostly with babies in buggies.
:10:13. > :10:19.Once the coast is clear, they head Once the coast is clear, they head
:10:19. > :10:22.back out onto the main street, they return to work.
:10:22. > :10:24.After begging for seven hours, the After begging for seven hours, the
:10:24. > :10:26.group heads back to Paddington group heads back to Paddington
:10:26. > :10:36.After begging for Station. For Alice, the working
:10:36. > :10:40.
:10:40. > :10:45.So what are the police doing about So what are the police doing about
:10:45. > :10:50.the child beggars? During the of our investigation, we see this
:10:50. > :10:57.happen at least a dozen times. The police stop them and take their
:10:57. > :11:01.details. But the minders who run the child beggars are not afraid. This
:11:01. > :11:07.is just part of the daily routine. Cheekily, they
:11:07. > :11:12.with their camera phones. of the day. Then, time and again,
:11:12. > :11:16.the police let them go. But what these women are doing is against
:11:16. > :11:21.these women are doing is against the law. Beg something no big crime,
:11:21. > :11:24.- begging is no big crime, but for child exploitation they could get up
:11:24. > :11:28.to 14 years in jail. We filmed dozens of women using their babies
:11:28. > :11:33.as begging tools and to beg. The police told us
:11:33. > :11:36.can use their discretion, including arrest or court summons. They
:11:36. > :11:40.decide it's not in the best interests of the child to take the
:11:40. > :11:46.women who are often their mothers into custody, but they may refer
:11:46. > :11:50.social services. The authorities in Britain today are not doing anywhere
:11:50. > :11:53.near enough to help child beggars. There's a complete lack of
:11:53. > :11:58.understanding about the impact on children. This isn't just a police
:11:58. > :12:02.issue, this is one in which both health, education, children's social
:12:02. > :12:07.services all need to be involved. It's child safeguarding first and
:12:07. > :12:11.foremost and it must be addressed a child protection issue. So how can
:12:11. > :12:15.it be that a four-year-old like Alice can be seen begging by the
:12:15. > :12:22.police but they do nothing effective to stop it? There's no doubt that
:12:22. > :12:26.one telling factor is who these beggars actually are.
:12:26. > :12:30.They are Gypsies or Roma from They are Gypsies or Roma from
:12:30. > :12:33.Romania. Only a small minority of Roma beg but all the women and
:12:33. > :12:38.children we filmed on the streets of London begging come from this
:12:38. > :12:43.community. Roma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe. And the
:12:43. > :12:50.poorest. For centuries, been living on the edge, barely
:12:50. > :12:51.Throughout history, Gypsies have Throughout history, Gypsies have
:12:51. > :12:52.Throughout history, Gypsies have faced persecution. During the Second
:12:52. > :12:54.faced persecution. During the Second faced persecution. During the Second
:12:54. > :13:00.Throughout history, Gypsies World War the Nazis tried to
:13:00. > :13:07.exterminate them. That nightmare is over, but even now in Romania, where
:13:07. > :13:13.many Roma live, racism against the Gypsies is widespread. Every single
:13:13. > :13:18.day you can find tens, maybe hundreds of calls for Gypsies to
:13:18. > :13:21.killed, to be burnt to death, to be sterilised, to be shot, to be
:13:21. > :13:30.expelled, everything you imagine. Over the last two decades,
:13:30. > :13:34.as Romanian Gypsies try to settle Western Europe, trouble.
:13:34. > :13:39.In Italy, Gypsy camps were burnt In Italy, Gypsy camps were burnt
:13:39. > :13:44.down by neo-fascists or bulldozed by the authorities. France offered
:13:44. > :13:48.Gypsies cash to go home, a policy condemned as both racist and
:13:48. > :13:53.foolish. In Northern Ireland, peace for the Gypsies. Here,
:13:53. > :14:00.violence drove them homes. Gypsies throughout the ages
:14:00. > :14:05.have been stereotyped as criminals, thieves, beggars, as vagabonds, as
:14:05. > :14:10."a problem". We need to get from the idea that one group of
:14:10. > :14:20.people is particularly prone to criminality. Because that's just not
:14:20. > :14:22.
:14:22. > :14:31.true. We are not just discriminated against, we are not just scum, we
:14:31. > :14:34.But the police in Britain say that But the police in Britain say that
:14:34. > :14:39.the poverty and discrimination Gypsies suffer makes them vulnerable
:14:39. > :14:43.to crime gangs. At a time when the Roma should be obtaining a position
:14:43. > :14:46.within mainstream society, there are people within their own community
:14:46. > :14:49.that want to keep the oppression going because they are making money
:14:49. > :14:54.off the back of it. The police suspect that many children they've
:14:54. > :14:59.caught begging and stealing in the UK were brought here by these men
:14:59. > :15:04.from a small town called Tanderei in Romania. They are all accused of
:15:04. > :15:10.being members of a child-trafficking gang. The Met set up Operation Golf
:15:10. > :15:13.to target the alleged traffickers. The gang element that were driving
:15:13. > :15:16.this phenomena on the streets of London come from a town in southeast
:15:16. > :15:23.Romania. The gang leaders and members of the gang have seven,
:15:23. > :15:29.eight, ten-bedroom mansion, three storeys high some of them, marble
:15:29. > :15:36.floors and kitchens. The wealth that is being displayed I can only say is
:15:36. > :15:37.Last year, the joint Last year, the joint
:15:37. > :15:38.Last year, the joint British-Romanian police team decided
:15:38. > :15:39.British-Romanian police team decided British-Romanian police team decided
:15:39. > :15:44.they had enough evidence to arrest they had enough evidence to arrest
:15:44. > :15:53.Last year, the the gang in Romania. 400 officers,
:15:53. > :16:03.backed up by helicopters and elite troops, moved in. SHOUTING.
:16:03. > :16:04.
:16:04. > :16:05.The police found machine-guns, The police found machine-guns,
:16:05. > :16:08.knives, swords and bullet-proof knives, swords and bullet-proof
:16:08. > :16:14.The police found vests. They seized houses, luxury
:16:14. > :16:17.cars, thousands of pounds worth of currency and 11 kilos of gold. The
:16:17. > :16:22.police believe they made a breakthrough against the gang
:16:22. > :16:25.accused of trafficking nearly children to the UK. The gang
:16:26. > :16:33.themselves placed the potential of a single child in
:16:33. > :16:39.London at 40,000 euros a quarter. That's not far off �100,000 a year
:16:39. > :16:45.earning potential from one child. And that child is begging and
:16:45. > :16:47.stealing, and being used for fraud as well.
:16:47. > :16:53.But the arrests in Romania appear to But the arrests in Romania appear to
:16:53. > :17:01.have made little difference back in London. The begging continues. Alice
:17:01. > :17:11.and the others are still putting in the hours making money. To keep them
:17:11. > :17:12.
:17:12. > :17:16.going, a can of Red Bull and Cola in the baby's bottle.
:17:16. > :17:21.But who is forcing Alice to beg? Is But who is forcing Alice to beg? Is
:17:21. > :17:29.it just the woman we see her with? Or has she been drasticked here by
:17:29. > :17:37.- trafficked here by an organised crime gang? It's Friday. Alice, her
:17:37. > :17:43.minder and the others change their routine. With Alice using her usual
:17:43. > :17:47.Muslim disguise they head off to mosque. They are exploiting the
:17:47. > :17:51.religious duty of Muslims to be charitable. Back to their regular
:17:51. > :17:58.patch on the Edgware Road through the rain, two officers stop them,
:17:58. > :18:03.taking their details. Soon they let them go. We don't know whether later
:18:03. > :18:11.they take further action. But on London's streets there's no sign of
:18:11. > :18:13.the urgency shown by the Operation Golf team towards this problem.
:18:13. > :18:19.So there are the women behind me. So there are the women behind me.
:18:19. > :18:23.It's one of those miserable, London days when it's just kind of
:18:23. > :18:33.bone-chilling to be out, and with them is the girl, and they are still
:18:33. > :18:35.
:18:35. > :18:45.After a hard day's begging, where After a hard day's begging, where
:18:45. > :18:46.
:18:46. > :18:48.Paddington, the 1912 to Twyford. Paddington, the 1912 to Twyford.
:18:48. > :18:56.After a hard Still hidden from view, we film the
:18:56. > :19:01.group. Time to change. When they emerge at Slough in Berkshire, Alice
:19:01. > :19:10.has swapped her Muslim and put on a bobble hat. Through the
:19:10. > :19:16.snow they walk for nearly two miles to Chalvey up against the M4. Just
:19:16. > :19:22.playing with the snow. Here they start throwing snowballs. Alice gets
:19:22. > :19:32.a few moments to be the child she is.
:19:32. > :19:32.
:19:32. > :19:33.We start to get noticed, so we have Across Britain it's estimated that
:19:33. > :19:35.Across Britain it's estimated that Across Britain it's estimated that
:19:35. > :19:39.We start to get there are half a million Eastern
:19:39. > :19:47.European Gypsies. Alice's community here in Slough is one of the
:19:47. > :19:51.largest. This town was also home to a Roma Gypsy girl who, like Alice,
:19:51. > :19:57.was forced to beg. At home she was beaten and treated like a
:19:57. > :20:01.slave. She slept on the floor, she was only fed potatoes because the
:20:01. > :20:04.main food went to the rest of the household. This is where we started
:20:04. > :20:09.getting an understanding of house slave. This is Oliver
:20:09. > :20:13.stuff? It is, and it goes on day in Britain. In court
:20:13. > :20:16.adults including her own father found guilty, Britain's first ever
:20:16. > :20:24.conviction for forced child labour trafficking, and given a total
:20:24. > :20:34.years. Every normal thinking person would say a child is best served by
:20:34. > :20:34.
:20:34. > :20:38.being with their parents. It huge challenge if their parents are
:20:38. > :20:41.complicit in their trafficking the first place. So this is the
:20:41. > :20:45.heart of the problem. The adults see exploiting the children are
:20:45. > :20:52.often their own mothers. And new arrivals from Romania keep on
:20:52. > :20:57.coming. Take this very young girl we spotted in Edgware Road. She doesn't
:20:57. > :21:03.look older than five. Her minder is in full Muslim dress, and baby
:21:03. > :21:10.too. They get on the Tube at Marble Arch, heading east on the
:21:11. > :21:16.Line. It's past 9.00. This is Central Line train. Despite the long
:21:16. > :21:20.hours, the little girl is still playful. The child in the pushchair
:21:20. > :21:26.is dog tired. By the time they get to Tottenham court Road, they are
:21:26. > :21:36.unable to find their way. On a piece of paper, an address. One man sends
:21:36. > :21:36.
:21:37. > :21:40.This is a Central Line to Ealing This is a Central Line to Ealing
:21:40. > :21:45.Broadway. She shows the bit of paper to other passengers. This woman
:21:45. > :21:55.looks hungry and she doesn't any English. In the big city, she
:21:55. > :22:00.
:22:00. > :22:10.Time to take off her Muslim costume. Time to take off her Muslim costume.
:22:10. > :22:13.
:22:13. > :22:18.The end of the line, Walthamstow. The end of the line, Walthamstow.
:22:18. > :22:23.Here she seems to know where she is going. Home. We found out that she
:22:23. > :22:28.is the girl's mother. This woman barely make her way across London
:22:28. > :22:33.yet she uses a Muslim disguise and knows the best spots to beg. Who is
:22:33. > :22:40.telling her what to do? Was she trafficked here? Is she a victim
:22:40. > :22:44.In one day, this girl can probably In one day, this girl can probably
:22:44. > :22:50.earn what an adult from her back in Romania makes in
:22:50. > :22:55.month. There may be she is begging on our streets:
:22:55. > :22:59.desperation. Officially, unlike, say, Poles, there are restrictions
:22:59. > :23:03.on what jobs Romanians can do in the UK and unless they have worked here
:23:03. > :23:08.for a year legally they are not entitled to benefits. Romanians
:23:08. > :23:14.not have an automatic right employment here, so one of their
:23:14. > :23:20.ways of earning money is begging. You don't see Polish Roma or
:23:20. > :23:27.Roma begging on the streets, and that could well be that, in fact,
:23:27. > :23:32.they do have the right to work here. Romanians may not be entitled to
:23:32. > :23:42.benefits, but Operation Golf proved that gangs can easily find a way
:23:42. > :23:50.Go! Police! Birmingham last year. Go! Police! Birmingham last year.
:23:50. > :23:56.The police raid the house after ringleader of a gang connected to
:23:56. > :24:00.the Tanderei gang. They find treasure trove. Numerous folders
:24:00. > :24:06.containing names on the front with HM Revenue & Customs documentation
:24:07. > :24:16.inside. Inside this folder, looks like we've got Romanian blank
:24:16. > :24:20.certificates. Can you get the door. The group use forged Home Office
:24:20. > :24:26.documents and fake Romanian birth certificates to claim benefits worth
:24:26. > :24:30.�800,000. Paperwork related to children that either didn't exist or
:24:30. > :24:37.were not in the country. The forgeries were not that hard to
:24:37. > :24:42.spot. That date, 31st November, does not exist. Say what you like about
:24:42. > :24:52.the Home Office, but it doesn't spell Croydon like this. Nor is it
:24:52. > :24:56.
:24:56. > :25:01.trying to build a "toleranti" society. Fake documents, benefits
:25:01. > :25:05.paid to real bank accounts. Police have established that some of the
:25:05. > :25:10.money was paid to budget airlines back to Romania. The ringleader and
:25:11. > :25:14.his side kick got ten years in jail. For Operation Golf cracking down
:25:14. > :25:20.benefit fraud is one way to disrupt the child traffickers.
:25:20. > :25:24.I have always worked on the Al Capone system. He was never done for
:25:24. > :25:29.the murders, he was done for tax evasion. If we have intelligence
:25:29. > :25:33.that someone was involved with the gangs, then we would prosecute, in
:25:33. > :25:37.many cases in connection benefit fraud and other crimes. But
:25:37. > :25:41.it's not only it's not only the police who are
:25:41. > :25:46.worried. Three years ago a senior MP warned that as any one time there
:25:46. > :25:50.could be as many as 2,000 Gypsy Romanian children being exploited
:25:50. > :26:00.here. To find out more about the gangs and their victims, I'm going
:26:00. > :26:05.
:26:05. > :26:08.to the heart of the problem on the other side of Europe. Romania.
:26:08. > :26:15.It looks like a modern country, but It looks like a modern country, but
:26:15. > :26:23.parts of it are still very poor. Here, there are more than 2 million
:26:23. > :26:29.Gypsies, many living in dire poverty. Some Gypsy villages seem
:26:29. > :26:35.locked in the Middle Ages. In this village the Gypsies are segregated
:26:35. > :26:42.from the Romanians. Life here is bleak. No one's got a proper job. No
:26:42. > :26:45.running water. You might have satellite dish, but no roof.
:26:45. > :26:51.17 people live in this shack. What 17 people live in this shack. What
:26:51. > :26:58.do they live on? TRANSLATION: We have no money, we have nothing. My
:26:58. > :27:01.wife goes begging in the village. I'm his mother and if I go begging
:27:01. > :27:06.will take him with me because he more likely to get a bit of
:27:06. > :27:11.because he is a child but they don't give any to me. They say go and
:27:11. > :27:16.work, but they give him and bit of bread. The kids are taught the
:27:16. > :27:21.technique of how to beg by mothers. TRANSLATION: And I tell
:27:21. > :27:27.to say: lady, have mercy on me, have charity for the love of God. As the
:27:27. > :27:30.children are the main breadwinners, going to school comes second to
:27:30. > :27:34.begging. If there's no food in house at all I will take him begging
:27:34. > :27:39.again with me and then he doesn't go to school for two, three days, for
:27:39. > :27:43.week. I hear that some of their neighbours have gone to the West.
:27:44. > :27:47.REPORTER: What about you, do you want to go to the West? TRANSLATION:
:27:47. > :27:53.I would go, I would go too, but don't have the money to go overseas.
:27:53. > :27:59.We don't have money, we don't have food. If they borrow money from the
:27:59. > :28:02.Gypsy loan sharks, they have to back big time. TRANSLATION: Pay for
:28:02. > :28:06.100, we have to pay back 200 but what are we to live on if we pay
:28:06. > :28:12.that interest with seven or eight children? The police say families
:28:12. > :28:17.become slaves to the gangsters, forced to beg to pay off debt.
:28:17. > :28:22.Preying on the dirt poor is one of the accusations against the gang
:28:22. > :28:26.The men arrested in the raids last The men arrested in the raids last
:28:26. > :28:33.year in Tanderei were charged with trafficking almost 200 children
:28:33. > :28:41.the UK. They've now spent months in jail. But the trial is in
:28:41. > :28:44.crisis. Everyone in the dock not guilty. The Romanian police have
:28:44. > :28:48.60 volumes of evidence including records of child begging and
:28:48. > :28:54.stealing in the UK, phone taps and money transfers. But the accused
:28:54. > :28:57.the evidence is flawed and they are innocent. TRANSLATION:
:28:57. > :29:02.There are no victims who complain that I took their child and
:29:02. > :29:05.trafficked them. They charged me with trafficking my cousin who is
:29:05. > :29:12.years old, saying he is a minor and that I received money from my
:29:12. > :29:15.children. I didn't go out of the country. I didn't traffic anyone.
:29:15. > :29:20.We are Gypsies and that's why we are We are Gypsies and that's why we are
:29:20. > :29:22.here. We have no justice in Romania. I want to be freed.
:29:22. > :29:32.The accused are freed on bail and The accused are freed on bail and
:29:32. > :29:36.return to their villas in Tanderei. Welcome to Tanderei. Locals say
:29:36. > :29:40.there's more than 400 Gypsy villas here, built in the last 15 years.
:29:40. > :29:47.Where did the money come from? Some of it no doubt from legitimate
:29:47. > :29:52.sources. But some of it from the proceeds of crime abroad. So this is
:29:52. > :29:55.number 84 and the guy who owns it is a guy called Ilie Schian and he is
:29:56. > :29:59.currently a guest of Her Majesty. is in the nick for three years and I
:29:59. > :30:04.was in court when the judge sent him down, and the judge said words to
:30:04. > :30:10.the effect that this man had made himself a fortune by ripping off
:30:10. > :30:15.British taxpayer. He was convicted of benefit fraud. Outside another
:30:15. > :30:16.villa our camera attracts the wrong kind of attention. Shout
:30:16. > :30:25.kind of attention. kind of attention.
:30:25. > :30:27.kind of attention. SHOUTING
:30:28. > :30:31.The lady in front of that big villa, The lady in front of that big villa,
:30:31. > :30:35.she was very, very angry with us, that we had been filming the villa.
:30:35. > :30:45.She was making it absolutely clear in no uncertain terms, she did not
:30:45. > :30:51.
:30:51. > :31:01.I call on one of the men we last saw I call on one of the men we last saw
:31:01. > :31:07.in the dock, Petrica Dragusin, nicknamed Traian, Trajan after the
:31:07. > :31:12.Emperor. TRANSLATION: Welcome, please come in. Traian is the town's
:31:12. > :31:16.Gypsy boss, the Bulibasha. He shows me around his orchard and claims he
:31:16. > :31:19.make as honest living as a small farmer and has nothing to do
:31:19. > :31:28.organised crime. I ask him, according to Gypsy law,
:31:28. > :31:35.right to beg? TRANSLATION: We can't stop anybody from begging. For 2,000
:31:35. > :31:38.years, since we come from India, have been living off begging. I ask
:31:38. > :31:43.him about the Gypsy kids I have seen begging in London. Has he
:31:43. > :31:47.anything to do with them? TRANSLATION: There are children who
:31:47. > :31:53.beg in Britain, there are who steal, but they are there with
:31:53. > :31:57.their parents. We have no connection with them.
:31:57. > :32:01.He tells me that Gypsies are making He tells me that Gypsies are making
:32:01. > :32:06.a lot of money out of British benefits. TRANSLATION: The blame is
:32:06. > :32:09.with the British state, and the question is why. Because the British
:32:09. > :32:16.state gives them money, which very much money, a lot
:32:16. > :32:20.a lot of value in Romania. They save this money, they have lots of
:32:20. > :32:24.children, seven or eight or ten children, and with the money
:32:24. > :32:30.build a house in Romania. And they have many children, they build
:32:30. > :32:39.a villa. This is where what you see here comes from. Villas, houses,
:32:39. > :32:44.cars. And he says benefit fraud, based on fake Romanian birth
:32:44. > :32:50.certificates, is rife. TRANSLATION: Some collect 10, 12, �13,000 per
:32:50. > :33:00.month. They have three or four or five sets of benefits. Wow. Does
:33:00. > :33:00.
:33:00. > :33:03.everybody in Tanderei know that? Yes, everyone.
:33:03. > :33:07.Back in Britain, how does what we Back in Britain, how does what we
:33:07. > :33:11.found out in Romania fit in with Alice's story? We've made some
:33:11. > :33:17.progress. Time and again she and her minder meet up with a whole group
:33:17. > :33:20.women and children at Slough Station.
:33:20. > :33:24.We've also been watching Alice's We've also been watching Alice's
:33:24. > :33:28.house and we found out that her minder is actually her mother. As a
:33:28. > :33:32.teenager, she was allegedly trafficked out of Romania by the
:33:32. > :33:41.Tanderei gang. We have been told that she comes from a town in the
:33:41. > :33:45.southeast, not far from Tanderei. Her name: Denisa Mazarache.
:33:45. > :33:46.And across London we found a new And across London we found a new
:33:46. > :33:49.And across London we found a new begging hotspot, outside the
:33:49. > :33:50.begging hotspot, outside the begging hotspot, outside the
:33:50. > :33:54.And across London we Regent's Park Mosque. This girl
:33:54. > :34:02.around 12 years old, and this boy, perhaps four years old, begging. We
:34:02. > :34:09.will call the boy Lou. The children target the worshippers. Both are run
:34:09. > :34:14.by this woman. Lou is here almost every Friday with his minder, and
:34:14. > :34:20.another woman with a buggy. We also come across some old faces, like
:34:20. > :34:25.this woman now pregnant, and this 14-year-old girl who back on Oxford
:34:25. > :34:30.Street told me she to go to school. When Lou is not
:34:30. > :34:35.around, his minder runs this teenage girl and another girl, maybe seven
:34:35. > :34:45.years old. Both work hard, begging. Trying to persuade the worshippers
:34:45. > :34:46.
:34:46. > :34:54.On another day, Lou's group is On another day, Lou's group is
:34:54. > :35:02.joined by a third woman who controls a boy of about 13. They beg for
:35:02. > :35:10.three and a half hours, then head off on the bus. And so do we.
:35:10. > :35:17.Journey's end. Ilford in Essex. In Journey's end. Ilford in Essex. In
:35:17. > :35:26.This area, like Slough, has a This area, like Slough, has a
:35:26. > :35:30.history of Roma children being controlled by organised crime.
:35:30. > :35:31.4.00 am October last year, 300 4.00 am October last year, 300
:35:31. > :35:32.4.00 am October last year, 300 officers led by Operation Golf, are
:35:32. > :35:33.officers led by Operation Golf, are officers led by Operation Golf, are
:35:33. > :35:37.4.00 am October last going on a raid in Ilford searching
:35:37. > :35:40.for children allegedly trafficked by the Tanderei gang. Their names are
:35:40. > :35:47.on a Romanian police intelligence list of a thousand children they
:35:47. > :35:50.believe were moved out of Romania by the gang five years ago.
:35:50. > :35:53.Four adults, six kids. Premises are Four adults, six kids. Premises are
:35:53. > :35:59.secure. Will you explain to that we have a search warrant
:35:59. > :36:00.search this address? You are ten years old. And you are next? She is
:36:01. > :36:08.six, attack? six,
:36:08. > :36:12.six, is that correct? In the control room good news filters through. So
:36:12. > :36:17.four adults at that address, then one, two, three, four, five, six,
:36:17. > :36:23.seven, eight, nine, ten. children. Ten children. Two of
:36:23. > :36:26.those were definitely on the list. 15 children are taken into police
:36:26. > :36:32.protection, but they are all to be living with their own families
:36:32. > :36:38.and going to school. Deemed safe, they are returned to their parents.
:36:38. > :36:43.No one in Britain is charged with their trafficking pour exploitation.
:36:43. > :36:46.- trafficking or exploitation. How come they are on the list of
:36:46. > :36:50.children that were trafficked if they are with their parents? One of
:36:50. > :36:55.the challenges that we've faced this investigation from the start is
:36:55. > :37:01.the fact that the victims, the children, and the victims when
:37:01. > :37:03.their parents, either aren't willing to speak up or don't even realise
:37:03. > :37:08.that they are victims. For some, police actions like these risk
:37:08. > :37:10.causing further damage to the entire Roma community. The protection of
:37:11. > :37:17.children comes first before anything, whether they are Roma
:37:17. > :37:23.children or not. I think that, if you are investigating a community it
:37:23. > :37:28.has to be done with sensitivity. Every time, in fact, there is a raid
:37:28. > :37:38.or a big investigation, you take a step back in terms of community
:37:38. > :37:42.
:37:42. > :37:46.cohesion. SHOUTING Some critics will say that what you
:37:46. > :37:52.are actually being is racist, are targeting this community. What
:37:52. > :37:56.would you say to that? The accusation of being racist is
:37:56. > :38:00.something we are faced with since we began this investigation and I can
:38:00. > :38:05.absolutely say with total conviction that that could not be further from
:38:05. > :38:10.the truth. If it was children from any community being forced to beg
:38:10. > :38:13.and steal and being effectively denied a childhood, I wouldn't care
:38:13. > :38:17.which community they were from, this operation would have the same focus,
:38:17. > :38:21.the same drive, the same determination. The fact is
:38:21. > :38:24.these children are from the Romanian Roma community and we can't get
:38:24. > :38:28.from that and we've got a duty not only care, but an obligation
:38:28. > :38:37.those children, to actually best that we can to take them
:38:37. > :38:41.Operation Golf targeting the Gypsy Operation Golf targeting the Gypsy
:38:41. > :38:45.gang came to a close at the end of last year. British and Romanian
:38:45. > :38:50.officers got together to share the lessons learnt and celebrate the 75
:38:50. > :38:53.convictions they secured in for members of the Tanderei gang.
:38:53. > :38:57.APPLAUSE. There are still children begging
:38:57. > :39:02.stealing on the streets of London from the Romanian Roma community.
:39:02. > :39:06.was never the aim to free us from what effectively is modern day
:39:06. > :39:10.slavery. What we set out to do is to impact on a gang that was causing
:39:10. > :39:16.significant harm to London, and I believe that we've been successful
:39:16. > :39:19.With Golf over, the government says With Golf over, the government says
:39:19. > :39:22.it is tightening the benefits system and improving protection for
:39:22. > :39:26.exploited children by working with police and welfare agencies, but is
:39:26. > :39:29.this enough for the children seen?
:39:29. > :39:33.They are back on the streets begging and we filmed that again and again
:39:33. > :39:38.and again, so why is nothing effective being done to stop child
:39:38. > :39:42.beggars on our streets? It's not true to say nothing effective is
:39:42. > :39:45.being done. Are crimes still being committed? Yes, they are. Are the
:39:45. > :39:48.police actually doing more effective things against them? Yes, we are. In
:39:48. > :39:53.the end the people you want to are not necessarily the
:39:53. > :39:56.the child on the street; they may well both be being exploited. It's
:39:56. > :39:59.actually the big international criminals behind it. Taking them out
:39:59. > :40:03.will in the end be the most effective way of stopping having
:40:03. > :40:08.women and children begging on the street. But is it just gangs that
:40:08. > :40:16.are exploiting these children? Outside the Regent's Park Mosque,
:40:16. > :40:19.Lou is still being forced to beg. Who controls him?
:40:19. > :40:23.Back in Ilford, where we saw Lou Back in Ilford, where we saw Lou
:40:23. > :40:29.before, the BMW is still in the driveway. Not a motor you would
:40:29. > :40:36.associate with child beggars. Young children appear at the window. It's
:40:36. > :40:39.not just women and children. These men too come and go.
:40:39. > :40:48.Later we see one of these men Later we see one of these men
:40:48. > :40:54.walking with Lou. In front of the BMW, we see this man. We identify
:40:54. > :40:57.him as Ioan Rostas and his wife Stela. This is their daughter.
:40:57. > :41:07.have been told she has been investigated by the police for
:41:07. > :41:07.
:41:07. > :41:13.benefit fraud. On Friday I go to the Regent's Park Mosque and try to
:41:13. > :41:16.speak to Vandana Rostas and others.
:41:16. > :41:23.They are absolutely waiting for everybody to come out of the mosque.
:41:23. > :41:27.The woman controlling Lou is the most out of him.
:41:27. > :41:37.How old is he? He is four? You are How old is he? He is four? You are
:41:37. > :41:41.
:41:41. > :41:44.four? Do you speak any English? Is he at school? Yes. Yes, at school?
:41:45. > :41:46.Another of the women senses a soft touch.
:41:46. > :41:47.touch. touch.
:41:47. > :41:57.Another of the women senses Where are you from? Me? Romania.
:41:57. > :41:59.
:41:59. > :42:07.Romania? Thank you. For him? OK, here is a pound. You speak some
:42:07. > :42:12.English, yeah? Well, give it to him. Give it for me. No, I've given
:42:12. > :42:19.to him, that's enough. Finally I speak to the woman
:42:19. > :42:23.investigated for benefit fraud. Don't you get any money from - what
:42:23. > :42:28.about social services? Don't you get any money from them? No housing
:42:28. > :42:35.benefit? No child benefit? But I gave some money because there was
:42:35. > :42:39.little boy, they said there was four but your - your baby is home? How
:42:39. > :42:49.many babies have you got? Six home. Home is where? Where
:42:49. > :42:51.
:42:51. > :43:01.live? Ilford. Sorry? Thank you very much. Thank you.
:43:01. > :43:02.
:43:02. > :43:03.No mention of the BMW in the It's now summer and the streets of
:43:03. > :43:05.It's now summer and the streets of It's now summer and the streets of
:43:05. > :43:12.No mention of the BMW in Central London are busier than ever
:43:12. > :43:17.with Gypsy beggars. Some picnic in the middle of the Marble Arch
:43:17. > :43:22.roundabout, others right on the pavement. This woman changes her
:43:22. > :43:27.baby's nappy on someone's doorstep. We see yet more new faces, like
:43:27. > :43:32.boy who looks no older than nine, and this girl in her early teens. A
:43:32. > :43:39.whole new group of women have arrived. Some pregnant, some carry
:43:39. > :43:49.babies in their arms or in push chairs.Alsis here too, working hard.
:43:49. > :43:51.
:43:51. > :43:53.From this man alone she extracts a handful of notes.
:43:53. > :43:58.This little boy, part of Alice's This little boy, part of Alice's
:43:58. > :44:06.group, is still a toddler. Now can walk, he is pushed straight
:44:06. > :44:10.towards a cashpoint, to beg. He can't be more than three years old.
:44:10. > :44:18.People are sympathetic towards him and his minder is making a lot more
:44:18. > :44:26.money. When he is too tired to walk, his minder uses him as a begging
:44:26. > :44:31.prop. One day prop. One day
:44:31. > :44:35.prop. One prop. One day Alice's Mum supervises
:44:35. > :44:39.this boy. He is being made to chase after this woman to get her
:44:39. > :44:43.Sometimes Alice and the boy beg tandem. His minder keeps an eye
:44:43. > :44:48.them. After months of surveillance,
:44:48. > :44:53.time to get some answers. We've written to the people behind the
:44:53. > :44:57.child begging, people exploiting children like Alice and Lou. No
:44:57. > :45:04.one's got back to us, so I'm going to try and put our evidence to
:45:04. > :45:08.I head for the Regent's Park Mosque, I head for the Regent's Park Mosque,
:45:09. > :45:13.favoured spot for little Lou and the Ilford team. I come across one of
:45:13. > :45:19.Lou's group. This time we are filming openly.
:45:19. > :45:25.Panorama. We filmed you for using your child to beg. Begging is
:45:25. > :45:30.against the law. TRANSLATION: No, I don't beg. I have been visiting a
:45:30. > :45:40.friend. I have personally seen here before. I don't beg. I've
:45:40. > :45:40.
:45:41. > :45:49.to go. My sister's coming. How is the baby? Don't bother. I
:45:49. > :45:53.couldn't find Lou or Vandan Rostas so I'm heading to the house in
:45:53. > :46:00.Ilford where we saw the BMW. There's no sign of the car here and no sign
:46:00. > :46:05.of people. There's a good chance that they left when they found
:46:06. > :46:09.we had been filming them. In Slough I go to Alice's house. It's also
:46:10. > :46:17.rented. I'm going to go and knock on their
:46:17. > :46:27.door and ask them what they have been up to.
:46:27. > :46:29.
:46:29. > :46:33.Hello? Alice and Mum Denisa Mazarache have disappeared. At a bus
:46:33. > :46:38.stop we spot the woman who was overseeing the toddler begging
:46:38. > :46:42.the cashpoint. We have been filming you on Oxford Street for months
:46:42. > :46:47.you have been taking this child, child begging. Why in this day and
:46:47. > :46:53.age is it necessary for you exploit this child? TRANSLATION: No,
:46:53. > :47:00.no begging. You are saying you are not begging? No. You've never
:47:00. > :47:05.begging. No. That's not true though, is it? I show her the
:47:05. > :47:12.pictures and she admits to begging. At what is happening to this money?
:47:12. > :47:16.Where is it going? I'm not making �100, no. How much do you make?
:47:16. > :47:20.10, �20. But you go there in the morning and you come back late at
:47:20. > :47:26.night, you only make 20 quid a day? I don't quite believe you, I am
:47:26. > :47:31.afraid. Hold on. Begging is the law. And child begging is worse
:47:31. > :47:35.because you are exploiting this child. Where does the money go?
:47:35. > :47:45.money is mine. I don't give it to anyone. I only go begging for
:47:45. > :47:51.
:47:51. > :47:54.little one, to feed him, to buy him food. I don't do anything else.
:47:54. > :48:00.Both Alice and Lou and their minders Both Alice and Lou and their minders
:48:00. > :48:04.have gone. The most likely place where they are now? Romania.
:48:04. > :48:09.The people who run Lou come from The people who run Lou come from
:48:09. > :48:14.here, Huedin in the north of the country. Admire the bling in brick
:48:15. > :48:19.and mortar, and cars with British number plates are common. We head
:48:19. > :48:25.for the address we have been given for the Ilford group. As we
:48:25. > :48:35.past, we see the BMW that was parked at the house in Ilford.
:48:35. > :48:39.
:48:39. > :48:45.Some of the faces we saw in Ilford Some of the faces we saw in Ilford
:48:45. > :48:51.are here too. And this is Ioan Rostas. We last saw him at the
:48:51. > :48:58.address in Ilford. We are told he head of the family.
:48:58. > :49:03.We should move. We need to come here.
:49:03. > :49:08.The next day, we return to the street and film secretly. The BMW is
:49:08. > :49:15.still here, and so is this Ford transit and a people carrier, all
:49:15. > :49:21.with British plates. People from the Ilford group are here loading up the
:49:21. > :49:24.cars and amongst them is little Lou. The four-year-old boy we first saw
:49:24. > :49:32.begging outside Regent's Park Mosque. We send our evidence to
:49:32. > :49:35.these addresses. Still no reply, I will be back.
:49:35. > :49:38.Later in Huedin I head for on a Later in Huedin I head for on a
:49:38. > :49:45.second address we've got for Ioan Rostas.
:49:45. > :49:50.This is the man who we believe owns this house. That's what the land
:49:50. > :49:56.registry says. Hello, John Sweeney from the BBC.
:49:56. > :50:01.It's by no means the biggest of these kind of palaces in Huedin, but
:50:01. > :50:07.it's hardly a beggar's house, is Look at it.
:50:07. > :50:12.No sign of Lou here, but across the road I spot Ioan Rostas and his wife
:50:12. > :50:16.Stela. We've never seen him beg but I want to ask why his family does.
:50:16. > :50:24.SHOUTING. Hello, my name is John Sweeney and I
:50:24. > :50:30.work for Panorama. Mr Rostas, have a word with you, please, sir?
:50:30. > :50:33.Hello, sir, John Sweeney from BBC Panorama. Hello, sir. Hi.
:50:33. > :50:38.SHOUTING. OK, I would like to ask you, sir,
:50:38. > :50:42.why are you - OK, I would like to ask you about child begging.
:50:42. > :50:48.I would like to ask you about child begging, OK? This is you
:50:48. > :50:52.your house in Ilford, yes? SHOUTING This is also your house over here,
:50:52. > :50:57.yes, OK, and this is a little boy Lou and we repeatedly filmed him
:50:57. > :51:02.child begging. SHOUTING. So hold on a second, she will
:51:02. > :51:06.translate. So why go child begging if you've got lots of money?
:51:06. > :51:11.Hold on a second, sorry, excuse me. SHOUTING.
:51:11. > :51:21.No, no! The question is simple: why child beg if you've got lots of
:51:21. > :51:23.
:51:23. > :51:32.money? It's a fair question, surely. Child begging is wrong. And you own
:51:32. > :51:38.She isn't giving me much of a chance She isn't giving me much of a chance
:51:38. > :51:48.to put our questions to him. Why do you come to London and beg if
:51:48. > :51:52.
:51:52. > :51:54.you've got pots of money? We have been told in no uncertain
:51:54. > :52:02.terms that we should leave and that's what we are going to do. We
:52:02. > :52:09.are going now. OK, we are going now. We are going. Yes, we are going now.
:52:09. > :52:15.I was unable to find out anything I was unable to find out anything
:52:15. > :52:21.about Lou, where he is he is still begging.
:52:21. > :52:27.But what about Alice and her Mum? We But what about Alice and her Mum? We
:52:27. > :52:30.tracked the little girl we call Alice back to this town. It's called
:52:30. > :52:35.Fetesti and we've got an address we are going to go and knock on the
:52:35. > :52:45.door. Like Tanderei and Huedin, this town
:52:45. > :52:46.
:52:46. > :52:53.is full of Gypsy villas. registered address.
:52:53. > :52:56.Hello, hi. Excuse me, what happened? Excuse me - My
:52:56. > :53:01.John Sweeney and I work for the We are looking for
:53:01. > :53:06.believe is called Denisa Mazarache. SHOUTING.
:53:06. > :53:13.This man claims she doesn't live here and says he knows nothing about
:53:13. > :53:18.her. A few streets away we have more addresses for the family. There are
:53:18. > :53:22.lots of nice villas around here too. But no one here has heard of
:53:22. > :53:29.Denisa Mazarache family either. Do you recognise any of these faces,
:53:29. > :53:32.this little girl Alice? No. This lady here, we think Denisa
:53:32. > :53:42.Mazarache. They beg in Oxford Street, in London, all the time.
:53:42. > :53:44.
:53:44. > :53:52.Month after month. You don't them? No. Are you sure? LAUGHTER.
:53:52. > :53:59.This man should know about Alice and his Mum. I'm told he is Denisa
:53:59. > :54:07.Mazarache's grandfather. Is that your granddaughter? So if she is,
:54:07. > :54:12.then why on earth does she spend month after month begging - but sir,
:54:12. > :54:22.what - they are begging. We've filmed them for month after month
:54:22. > :54:32.after month. Can I ask name?
:54:32. > :54:36.
:54:36. > :54:37.And nothing to do with Mazarache? And nothing to do with Mazarache?
:54:37. > :54:37.And nothing to do with Mazarache? But you have already said you
:54:37. > :54:41.But you have already said you But you have already said you
:54:41. > :54:46.And nothing to recognise them. So we will go now.
:54:46. > :54:53.So where is Alice and her Mum who we followed on the streets of London
:54:53. > :55:03.over eight months? Some minutes later, the old man calls me back.
:55:03. > :55:08.And there, waiting for us, is Denisa Mazarache herself. Alice's mother.
:55:08. > :55:15.Hi. Do you speak English? Yes. Lovely, smashing. You are Denisa
:55:15. > :55:20.Mazarache? Yes, I am. And I've you in London, I think.
:55:20. > :55:24.I show her pictures of her daughter begging in Oxford Street. Excuse
:55:24. > :55:28.me, I don't want TV. But why this little girl begging? We
:55:28. > :55:31.you in the snow, we filmed the little girl going to the toilet in
:55:31. > :55:36.the street. It's absolutely that you took your child begging
:55:36. > :55:42.month after month after month. After month after months after months. Why
:55:42. > :55:47.do it? Because the documents, travel, for one ticket, something
:55:47. > :55:51.food, something. OK. Because I'm begging that day, one day I'm
:55:51. > :55:56.begging. Don't beg every day. is adamant that she only
:55:56. > :56:00.occasionally but we know different. occasionally but we know different.
:56:00. > :56:04.So the problem is this, begging is wrong, using children is wrong. I'm
:56:04. > :56:09.saying sorry! OK, so are you to go begging again? No. Never
:56:09. > :56:13.again? No. Is that little girl going to go to school? Yes. Good.
:56:13. > :56:17.But there is money here. That's what is so upsetting when you realise
:56:17. > :56:23.that you've come from a place - this isn't so poor that you have to beg.
:56:23. > :56:28.OK, all right. Who made you beg? Nothing. Myself. And now no
:56:28. > :56:33.more. My children go to school and my go job. Don't beg more. OK,
:56:33. > :56:40.good. As we are leaving, she approaches me
:56:40. > :56:45.again. Is long time, sir, I'm one year is my home. You have been
:56:45. > :56:49.here for a year? Yes. So when did you leave England? I am leaving
:56:49. > :56:56.two, one year ago. You ago? Yes. Really? Yes. Is
:56:56. > :56:59.the truth? Yes. The truth? Yes. She was begging in London two months
:56:59. > :57:04.before. She is lying. We to see Alice. We now know
:57:04. > :57:13.name but to protect her we won't reveal it. Maybe, as her mother
:57:13. > :57:17.Out on our streets the cycle of Out on our streets the cycle of
:57:17. > :57:23.exploitation continues. The girl who told me that she was 14 and couldn't
:57:23. > :57:27.afford to go to school is now pregnant and still begging. A
:57:27. > :57:33.pregnant woman that we filmed has now given birth and is out with her
:57:33. > :57:37.newborn. The latest recruit to Britain's child beggars. I think the
:57:37. > :57:42.begging and trafficking of is completely unacceptable
:57:42. > :57:48.should be stopped and it's not the responsibility of the police;
:57:48. > :57:52.it's also our responsibility. So us as Roma or Roma activists or human
:57:52. > :57:56.rights activists need to speak up a lot. Maybe we should be asking
:57:56. > :58:00.those people that stand up for the Roma community to try to dispel
:58:00. > :58:04.of these myths that it's OK to beg, it's OK to steal, it's what we do.
:58:04. > :58:08.Well, I'm sorry, we've moved on from the 18th century and other people
:58:08. > :58:13.need to move with us. Education, opportunity, work, that's what will
:58:13. > :58:17.get people out of poverty. That's what will get people out of
:58:17. > :58:23.oppression. There are many girls like Alice and boys like Lou on our
:58:23. > :58:28.streets. During our investigation, Panorama filmed more than 50
:58:28. > :58:34.Romanian Gypsy children exploited through begging. This is just a