Britain's Child Beggars Panorama

Across Britain, young children work Across Britain, young children work

our streets, day in, day out, begging. You may have seen them,

perhaps given them a quid or two, just walked on by. Every time we see

a child beggar, understand that what could lie behind that is something

much more sinister. Tonight we uncover the child exploitation going

on in our cities. This is slavery, modern day slavery. It's also

story of organised crime. Charged with accusations of racism

one ethnic group. Every single day you can find calls to be

be shot, everything you can imagine. We follow the trail, starting

child beggars in London. Leading to Palaces in Romania.

We should move. We meet the Gypsy boss accused of

trafficking children. TRANSLATION: We can't stop anyone from begging,

for 2,000 years we have been off begging. We confront the

mothers who exploit their own. REPORTER:

You have never begged? That's not true.

We ask: is anyone going to save those born into begging?

The week before Christmas, Oxford The week before Christmas, Oxford

Street in London. Shoppers brave the cold in search of last-minute

But not all the children here are But not all the children here are

enjoying the Christmas spirit. For some, like on so many other nights,

it's time for work. These are Britain's child beggars. With them

are women, overseeing their every move, taking the money they make.

Amongst the shoppers we see small girl. We can't show her face.

We don't know her name. We will call her Alice. Controlling Alice is this

young woman, who continually pushes her to beg. Alice makes

and all of it ends up in the of the minder. This is Alice's life.

She walks for miles in the cold the rain. She looks to be four years

old. She scavenges for food in McDonald's and has to use a

But who is Alice and the other child But who is Alice and the other child

beggars? How is this allowed happen? And where does the money go?

To find out, we used small video cameras to film the beggars without

We have been watching these women We have been watching these women

beg in Oxford Street, Marble Edgware Road. When I first saw it, I

thought this is petty stuff, not big crime, it's not nasty, but

it goes on hour after hour hour and the way they are abusing

the children and the babies to make money, it's shocking.

I want to know where Alice and the I want to know where Alice and the

other children come from. So one other children come from. So one

I want to know where night I go to the Edgware Road in

London's West End. I see two young girls, begging.

They say they come from Romania's They say they come from Romania's

capital, Bucharest. To find out more I try out my pigeon Romanian. Unde e

parinti? Your Mum, yes?

It's now 10.00 at night. .

She is pretending to be from Bosnia She is pretending to be from Bosnia

but she is lying. You've got four children? Your daughter said you

were from Romania. ? SPEAKING ROMANIAN.

Yes, OK. Yes, OK.

But shouldn't they The binman joins in the

conversation. OK, Beverley

OK, night night. As I go to leave, OK, night night. As I go to leave,

there's a fight. It's no time kids to be out. Children who are

forced to beg can often face the most traumatic experiences. It

they are denied an education, they will have nutrition issues, health

issues, but they will also grow up believing that this is the only way

or the normal way of earning a living, and therefore not

to see a pathway into a different future. It really is denying them

Alongside Alice and other little Alongside Alice and other little

ones begging in Central London, there are many

nearly all girls. One night we filmed from a distance as I ask

of them about her life. .

of ambition, her lack of hope, lack of a future, it was really,

really sad. This is a waste. That girl could do something with

Paddington Station, like any other Paddington Station, like any other

commuter the girl we are calling Alice and her minder start

here. First, they go to a fast food place to have breakfast. There,

meet up with other women, some with babies. When they come out, almost

everyone is wearing a head scarf. Alice too. Then they head for

Bayswater, where one of the women steals a head scarf.

That's a scarf that she has just That's a scarf that she has just

stolen. The begging day begins. Alice is well-trained. When a

passer-by gives her a coin, Alice knows to push for more.

The minder steps in. It's a well The minder steps in. It's a well

rehearsed double act. Alice keeps on at her until the woman hands over a

This is slavery, modern-day slavery. This is slavery, modern-day slavery.

How does a child of three, four, five, six, consent to be exploited?

They won't know whether it's criminal to beg on the streets of

the UK. They are kids. The group beggars heads for the Edgware Road,

a mainly Arab Muslim area. Alice begs from a roadside cafe whilst her

minder meets up with the others. All these young women favour

dress. Locals have seen before.

How do you know they are Romanian? How do you know they are Romanian?

First of all she doesn't speak Arabic and second she speak

Very few Romanian Gypsies follow Very few Romanian Gypsies follow

Islam, but these women are in traditional Muslim dress from

to toe. Are they Muslim? One day, one of them spots our camera. Not

very Islamic. Give me an idea of how much you

think they might make during the course of a day?

500 a day seems exaggerated, but 500 a day seems exaggerated, but

we've seen them make good money. Back on the street, a police car

passes by and the women all run away, laughing.

They hide from the police in a side They hide from the police in a side

street. There's 13 of them, mostly with babies in buggies.

Once the coast is clear, they head Once the coast is clear, they head

back out onto the main street, they return to work.

After begging for seven hours, the After begging for seven hours, the

group heads back to Paddington group heads back to Paddington

After begging for Station. For Alice, the working

So what are the police doing about So what are the police doing about

the child beggars? During the of our investigation, we see this

happen at least a dozen times. The police stop them and take their

details. But the minders who run the child beggars are not afraid. This

is just part of the daily routine. Cheekily, they

with their camera phones. of the day. Then, time and again,

the police let them go. But what these women are doing is against

these women are doing is against the law. Beg something no big crime,

- begging is no big crime, but for child exploitation they could get up

to 14 years in jail. We filmed dozens of women using their babies

as begging tools and to beg. The police told us

can use their discretion, including arrest or court summons. They

decide it's not in the best interests of the child to take the

women who are often their mothers into custody, but they may refer

social services. The authorities in Britain today are not doing anywhere

near enough to help child beggars. There's a complete lack of

understanding about the impact on children. This isn't just a police

issue, this is one in which both health, education, children's social

services all need to be involved. It's child safeguarding first and

foremost and it must be addressed a child protection issue. So how can

it be that a four-year-old like Alice can be seen begging by the

police but they do nothing effective to stop it? There's no doubt that

one telling factor is who these beggars actually are.

They are Gypsies or Roma from They are Gypsies or Roma from

Romania. Only a small minority of Roma beg but all the women and

children we filmed on the streets of London begging come from this

community. Roma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe. And the

poorest. For centuries, been living on the edge, barely

Throughout history, Gypsies have Throughout history, Gypsies have

Throughout history, Gypsies have faced persecution. During the Second

faced persecution. During the Second faced persecution. During the Second

Throughout history, Gypsies World War the Nazis tried to

exterminate them. That nightmare is over, but even now in Romania, where

many Roma live, racism against the Gypsies is widespread. Every single

day you can find tens, maybe hundreds of calls for Gypsies to

killed, to be burnt to death, to be sterilised, to be shot, to be

expelled, everything you imagine. Over the last two decades,

as Romanian Gypsies try to settle Western Europe, trouble.

In Italy, Gypsy camps were burnt In Italy, Gypsy camps were burnt

down by neo-fascists or bulldozed by the authorities. France offered

Gypsies cash to go home, a policy condemned as both racist and

foolish. In Northern Ireland, peace for the Gypsies. Here,

violence drove them homes. Gypsies throughout the ages

have been stereotyped as criminals, thieves, beggars, as vagabonds, as

"a problem". We need to get from the idea that one group of

people is particularly prone to criminality. Because that's just not

true. We are not just discriminated against, we are not just scum, we

But the police in Britain say that But the police in Britain say that

the poverty and discrimination Gypsies suffer makes them vulnerable

to crime gangs. At a time when the Roma should be obtaining a position

within mainstream society, there are people within their own community

that want to keep the oppression going because they are making money

off the back of it. The police suspect that many children they've

caught begging and stealing in the UK were brought here by these men

from a small town called Tanderei in Romania. They are all accused of

being members of a child-trafficking gang. The Met set up Operation Golf

to target the alleged traffickers. The gang element that were driving

this phenomena on the streets of London come from a town in southeast

Romania. The gang leaders and members of the gang have seven,

eight, ten-bedroom mansion, three storeys high some of them, marble

floors and kitchens. The wealth that is being displayed I can only say is

Last year, the joint Last year, the joint

Last year, the joint British-Romanian police team decided

British-Romanian police team decided British-Romanian police team decided

they had enough evidence to arrest they had enough evidence to arrest

Last year, the the gang in Romania. 400 officers,

backed up by helicopters and elite troops, moved in. SHOUTING.

The police found machine-guns, The police found machine-guns,

knives, swords and bullet-proof knives, swords and bullet-proof

The police found vests. They seized houses, luxury

cars, thousands of pounds worth of currency and 11 kilos of gold. The

police believe they made a breakthrough against the gang

accused of trafficking nearly children to the UK. The gang

themselves placed the potential of a single child in

London at 40,000 euros a quarter. That's not far off �100,000 a year

earning potential from one child. And that child is begging and

stealing, and being used for fraud as well.

But the arrests in Romania appear to But the arrests in Romania appear to

have made little difference back in London. The begging continues. Alice

and the others are still putting in the hours making money. To keep them

going, a can of Red Bull and Cola in the baby's bottle.

But who is forcing Alice to beg? Is But who is forcing Alice to beg? Is

it just the woman we see her with? Or has she been drasticked here by

- trafficked here by an organised crime gang? It's Friday. Alice, her

minder and the others change their routine. With Alice using her usual

Muslim disguise they head off to mosque. They are exploiting the

religious duty of Muslims to be charitable. Back to their regular

patch on the Edgware Road through the rain, two officers stop them,

taking their details. Soon they let them go. We don't know whether later

they take further action. But on London's streets there's no sign of

the urgency shown by the Operation Golf team towards this problem.

So there are the women behind me. So there are the women behind me.

It's one of those miserable, London days when it's just kind of

bone-chilling to be out, and with them is the girl, and they are still

After a hard day's begging, where After a hard day's begging, where

Paddington, the 1912 to Twyford. Paddington, the 1912 to Twyford.

After a hard Still hidden from view, we film the

group. Time to change. When they emerge at Slough in Berkshire, Alice

has swapped her Muslim and put on a bobble hat. Through the

snow they walk for nearly two miles to Chalvey up against the M4. Just

playing with the snow. Here they start throwing snowballs. Alice gets

a few moments to be the child she is.

We start to get noticed, so we have Across Britain it's estimated that

Across Britain it's estimated that Across Britain it's estimated that

We start to get there are half a million Eastern

European Gypsies. Alice's community here in Slough is one of the

largest. This town was also home to a Roma Gypsy girl who, like Alice,

was forced to beg. At home she was beaten and treated like a

slave. She slept on the floor, she was only fed potatoes because the

main food went to the rest of the household. This is where we started

getting an understanding of house slave. This is Oliver

stuff? It is, and it goes on day in Britain. In court

adults including her own father found guilty, Britain's first ever

conviction for forced child labour trafficking, and given a total

years. Every normal thinking person would say a child is best served by

being with their parents. It huge challenge if their parents are

complicit in their trafficking the first place. So this is the

heart of the problem. The adults see exploiting the children are

often their own mothers. And new arrivals from Romania keep on

coming. Take this very young girl we spotted in Edgware Road. She doesn't

look older than five. Her minder is in full Muslim dress, and baby

too. They get on the Tube at Marble Arch, heading east on the

Line. It's past 9.00. This is Central Line train. Despite the long

hours, the little girl is still playful. The child in the pushchair

is dog tired. By the time they get to Tottenham court Road, they are

unable to find their way. On a piece of paper, an address. One man sends

This is a Central Line to Ealing This is a Central Line to Ealing

Broadway. She shows the bit of paper to other passengers. This woman

looks hungry and she doesn't any English. In the big city, she

Time to take off her Muslim costume. Time to take off her Muslim costume.

The end of the line, Walthamstow. The end of the line, Walthamstow.

Here she seems to know where she is going. Home. We found out that she

is the girl's mother. This woman barely make her way across London

yet she uses a Muslim disguise and knows the best spots to beg. Who is

telling her what to do? Was she trafficked here? Is she a victim

In one day, this girl can probably In one day, this girl can probably

earn what an adult from her back in Romania makes in

month. There may be she is begging on our streets:

desperation. Officially, unlike, say, Poles, there are restrictions

on what jobs Romanians can do in the UK and unless they have worked here

for a year legally they are not entitled to benefits. Romanians

not have an automatic right employment here, so one of their

ways of earning money is begging. You don't see Polish Roma or

Roma begging on the streets, and that could well be that, in fact,

they do have the right to work here. Romanians may not be entitled to

benefits, but Operation Golf proved that gangs can easily find a way

Go! Police! Birmingham last year. Go! Police! Birmingham last year.

The police raid the house after ringleader of a gang connected to

the Tanderei gang. They find treasure trove. Numerous folders

containing names on the front with HM Revenue & Customs documentation

inside. Inside this folder, looks like we've got Romanian blank

certificates. Can you get the door. The group use forged Home Office

documents and fake Romanian birth certificates to claim benefits worth

�800,000. Paperwork related to children that either didn't exist or

were not in the country. The forgeries were not that hard to

spot. That date, 31st November, does not exist. Say what you like about

the Home Office, but it doesn't spell Croydon like this. Nor is it

trying to build a "toleranti" society. Fake documents, benefits

paid to real bank accounts. Police have established that some of the

money was paid to budget airlines back to Romania. The ringleader and

his side kick got ten years in jail. For Operation Golf cracking down

benefit fraud is one way to disrupt the child traffickers.

I have always worked on the Al Capone system. He was never done for

the murders, he was done for tax evasion. If we have intelligence

that someone was involved with the gangs, then we would prosecute, in

many cases in connection benefit fraud and other crimes. But

it's not only it's not only the police who are

worried. Three years ago a senior MP warned that as any one time there

could be as many as 2,000 Gypsy Romanian children being exploited

here. To find out more about the gangs and their victims, I'm going

to the heart of the problem on the other side of Europe. Romania.

It looks like a modern country, but It looks like a modern country, but

parts of it are still very poor. Here, there are more than 2 million

Gypsies, many living in dire poverty. Some Gypsy villages seem

locked in the Middle Ages. In this village the Gypsies are segregated

from the Romanians. Life here is bleak. No one's got a proper job. No

running water. You might have satellite dish, but no roof.

17 people live in this shack. What 17 people live in this shack. What

do they live on? TRANSLATION: We have no money, we have nothing. My

wife goes begging in the village. I'm his mother and if I go begging

will take him with me because he more likely to get a bit of

because he is a child but they don't give any to me. They say go and

work, but they give him and bit of bread. The kids are taught the

technique of how to beg by mothers. TRANSLATION: And I tell

to say: lady, have mercy on me, have charity for the love of God. As the

children are the main breadwinners, going to school comes second to

begging. If there's no food in house at all I will take him begging

again with me and then he doesn't go to school for two, three days, for

week. I hear that some of their neighbours have gone to the West.

REPORTER: What about you, do you want to go to the West? TRANSLATION:

I would go, I would go too, but don't have the money to go overseas.

We don't have money, we don't have food. If they borrow money from the

Gypsy loan sharks, they have to back big time. TRANSLATION: Pay for

100, we have to pay back 200 but what are we to live on if we pay

that interest with seven or eight children? The police say families

become slaves to the gangsters, forced to beg to pay off debt.

Preying on the dirt poor is one of the accusations against the gang

The men arrested in the raids last The men arrested in the raids last

year in Tanderei were charged with trafficking almost 200 children

the UK. They've now spent months in jail. But the trial is in

crisis. Everyone in the dock not guilty. The Romanian police have

60 volumes of evidence including records of child begging and

stealing in the UK, phone taps and money transfers. But the accused

the evidence is flawed and they are innocent. TRANSLATION:

There are no victims who complain that I took their child and

trafficked them. They charged me with trafficking my cousin who is

years old, saying he is a minor and that I received money from my

children. I didn't go out of the country. I didn't traffic anyone.

We are Gypsies and that's why we are We are Gypsies and that's why we are

here. We have no justice in Romania. I want to be freed.

The accused are freed on bail and The accused are freed on bail and

return to their villas in Tanderei. Welcome to Tanderei. Locals say

there's more than 400 Gypsy villas here, built in the last 15 years.

Where did the money come from? Some of it no doubt from legitimate

sources. But some of it from the proceeds of crime abroad. So this is

number 84 and the guy who owns it is a guy called Ilie Schian and he is

currently a guest of Her Majesty. is in the nick for three years and I

was in court when the judge sent him down, and the judge said words to

the effect that this man had made himself a fortune by ripping off

British taxpayer. He was convicted of benefit fraud. Outside another

villa our camera attracts the wrong kind of attention. Shout

kind of attention. kind of attention.

kind of attention. SHOUTING

The lady in front of that big villa, The lady in front of that big villa,

she was very, very angry with us, that we had been filming the villa.

She was making it absolutely clear in no uncertain terms, she did not

I call on one of the men we last saw I call on one of the men we last saw

in the dock, Petrica Dragusin, nicknamed Traian, Trajan after the

Emperor. TRANSLATION: Welcome, please come in. Traian is the town's

Gypsy boss, the Bulibasha. He shows me around his orchard and claims he

make as honest living as a small farmer and has nothing to do

organised crime. I ask him, according to Gypsy law,

right to beg? TRANSLATION: We can't stop anybody from begging. For 2,000

years, since we come from India, have been living off begging. I ask

him about the Gypsy kids I have seen begging in London. Has he

anything to do with them? TRANSLATION: There are children who

beg in Britain, there are who steal, but they are there with

their parents. We have no connection with them.

He tells me that Gypsies are making He tells me that Gypsies are making

a lot of money out of British benefits. TRANSLATION: The blame is

with the British state, and the question is why. Because the British

state gives them money, which very much money, a lot

a lot of value in Romania. They save this money, they have lots of

children, seven or eight or ten children, and with the money

build a house in Romania. And they have many children, they build

a villa. This is where what you see here comes from. Villas, houses,

cars. And he says benefit fraud, based on fake Romanian birth

certificates, is rife. TRANSLATION: Some collect 10, 12, �13,000 per

month. They have three or four or five sets of benefits. Wow. Does

everybody in Tanderei know that? Yes, everyone.

Back in Britain, how does what we Back in Britain, how does what we

found out in Romania fit in with Alice's story? We've made some

progress. Time and again she and her minder meet up with a whole group

women and children at Slough Station.

We've also been watching Alice's We've also been watching Alice's

house and we found out that her minder is actually her mother. As a

teenager, she was allegedly trafficked out of Romania by the

Tanderei gang. We have been told that she comes from a town in the

southeast, not far from Tanderei. Her name: Denisa Mazarache.

And across London we found a new And across London we found a new

And across London we found a new begging hotspot, outside the

begging hotspot, outside the begging hotspot, outside the

And across London we Regent's Park Mosque. This girl

around 12 years old, and this boy, perhaps four years old, begging. We

will call the boy Lou. The children target the worshippers. Both are run

by this woman. Lou is here almost every Friday with his minder, and

another woman with a buggy. We also come across some old faces, like

this woman now pregnant, and this 14-year-old girl who back on Oxford

Street told me she to go to school. When Lou is not

around, his minder runs this teenage girl and another girl, maybe seven

years old. Both work hard, begging. Trying to persuade the worshippers

On another day, Lou's group is On another day, Lou's group is

joined by a third woman who controls a boy of about 13. They beg for

three and a half hours, then head off on the bus. And so do we.

Journey's end. Ilford in Essex. In Journey's end. Ilford in Essex. In

This area, like Slough, has a This area, like Slough, has a

history of Roma children being controlled by organised crime.

4.00 am October last year, 300 4.00 am October last year, 300

4.00 am October last year, 300 officers led by Operation Golf, are

officers led by Operation Golf, are officers led by Operation Golf, are

4.00 am October last going on a raid in Ilford searching

for children allegedly trafficked by the Tanderei gang. Their names are

on a Romanian police intelligence list of a thousand children they

believe were moved out of Romania by the gang five years ago.

Four adults, six kids. Premises are Four adults, six kids. Premises are

secure. Will you explain to that we have a search warrant

search this address? You are ten years old. And you are next? She is

six, attack? six,

six, is that correct? In the control room good news filters through. So

four adults at that address, then one, two, three, four, five, six,

seven, eight, nine, ten. children. Ten children. Two of

those were definitely on the list. 15 children are taken into police

protection, but they are all to be living with their own families

and going to school. Deemed safe, they are returned to their parents.

No one in Britain is charged with their trafficking pour exploitation.

- trafficking or exploitation. How come they are on the list of

children that were trafficked if they are with their parents? One of

the challenges that we've faced this investigation from the start is

the fact that the victims, the children, and the victims when

their parents, either aren't willing to speak up or don't even realise

that they are victims. For some, police actions like these risk

causing further damage to the entire Roma community. The protection of

children comes first before anything, whether they are Roma

children or not. I think that, if you are investigating a community it

has to be done with sensitivity. Every time, in fact, there is a raid

or a big investigation, you take a step back in terms of community

cohesion. SHOUTING Some critics will say that what you

are actually being is racist, are targeting this community. What

would you say to that? The accusation of being racist is

something we are faced with since we began this investigation and I can

absolutely say with total conviction that that could not be further from

the truth. If it was children from any community being forced to beg

and steal and being effectively denied a childhood, I wouldn't care

which community they were from, this operation would have the same focus,

the same drive, the same determination. The fact is

these children are from the Romanian Roma community and we can't get

from that and we've got a duty not only care, but an obligation

those children, to actually best that we can to take them

Operation Golf targeting the Gypsy Operation Golf targeting the Gypsy

gang came to a close at the end of last year. British and Romanian

officers got together to share the lessons learnt and celebrate the 75

convictions they secured in for members of the Tanderei gang.

APPLAUSE. There are still children begging

stealing on the streets of London from the Romanian Roma community.

was never the aim to free us from what effectively is modern day

slavery. What we set out to do is to impact on a gang that was causing

significant harm to London, and I believe that we've been successful

With Golf over, the government says With Golf over, the government says

it is tightening the benefits system and improving protection for

exploited children by working with police and welfare agencies, but is

this enough for the children seen?

They are back on the streets begging and we filmed that again and again

and again, so why is nothing effective being done to stop child

beggars on our streets? It's not true to say nothing effective is

being done. Are crimes still being committed? Yes, they are. Are the

police actually doing more effective things against them? Yes, we are. In

the end the people you want to are not necessarily the

the child on the street; they may well both be being exploited. It's

actually the big international criminals behind it. Taking them out

will in the end be the most effective way of stopping having

women and children begging on the street. But is it just gangs that

are exploiting these children? Outside the Regent's Park Mosque,

Lou is still being forced to beg. Who controls him?

Back in Ilford, where we saw Lou Back in Ilford, where we saw Lou

before, the BMW is still in the driveway. Not a motor you would

associate with child beggars. Young children appear at the window. It's

not just women and children. These men too come and go.

Later we see one of these men Later we see one of these men

walking with Lou. In front of the BMW, we see this man. We identify

him as Ioan Rostas and his wife Stela. This is their daughter.

have been told she has been investigated by the police for

benefit fraud. On Friday I go to the Regent's Park Mosque and try to

speak to Vandana Rostas and others.

They are absolutely waiting for everybody to come out of the mosque.

The woman controlling Lou is the most out of him.

How old is he? He is four? You are How old is he? He is four? You are

four? Do you speak any English? Is he at school? Yes. Yes, at school?

Another of the women senses a soft touch.

touch. touch.

Another of the women senses Where are you from? Me? Romania.

Romania? Thank you. For him? OK, here is a pound. You speak some

English, yeah? Well, give it to him. Give it for me. No, I've given

to him, that's enough. Finally I speak to the woman

investigated for benefit fraud. Don't you get any money from - what

about social services? Don't you get any money from them? No housing

benefit? No child benefit? But I gave some money because there was

little boy, they said there was four but your - your baby is home? How

many babies have you got? Six home. Home is where? Where

live? Ilford. Sorry? Thank you very much. Thank you.

No mention of the BMW in the It's now summer and the streets of

It's now summer and the streets of It's now summer and the streets of

No mention of the BMW in Central London are busier than ever

with Gypsy beggars. Some picnic in the middle of the Marble Arch

roundabout, others right on the pavement. This woman changes her

baby's nappy on someone's doorstep. We see yet more new faces, like

boy who looks no older than nine, and this girl in her early teens. A

whole new group of women have arrived. Some pregnant, some carry

babies in their arms or in push chairs.Alsis here too, working hard.

From this man alone she extracts a handful of notes.

This little boy, part of Alice's This little boy, part of Alice's

group, is still a toddler. Now can walk, he is pushed straight

towards a cashpoint, to beg. He can't be more than three years old.

People are sympathetic towards him and his minder is making a lot more

money. When he is too tired to walk, his minder uses him as a begging

prop. One day prop. One day

prop. One prop. One day Alice's Mum supervises

this boy. He is being made to chase after this woman to get her

Sometimes Alice and the boy beg tandem. His minder keeps an eye

them. After months of surveillance,

time to get some answers. We've written to the people behind the

child begging, people exploiting children like Alice and Lou. No

one's got back to us, so I'm going to try and put our evidence to

I head for the Regent's Park Mosque, I head for the Regent's Park Mosque,

favoured spot for little Lou and the Ilford team. I come across one of

Lou's group. This time we are filming openly.

Panorama. We filmed you for using your child to beg. Begging is

against the law. TRANSLATION: No, I don't beg. I have been visiting a

friend. I have personally seen here before. I don't beg. I've

to go. My sister's coming. How is the baby? Don't bother. I

couldn't find Lou or Vandan Rostas so I'm heading to the house in

Ilford where we saw the BMW. There's no sign of the car here and no sign

of people. There's a good chance that they left when they found

we had been filming them. In Slough I go to Alice's house. It's also

rented. I'm going to go and knock on their

door and ask them what they have been up to.

Hello? Alice and Mum Denisa Mazarache have disappeared. At a bus

stop we spot the woman who was overseeing the toddler begging

the cashpoint. We have been filming you on Oxford Street for months

you have been taking this child, child begging. Why in this day and

age is it necessary for you exploit this child? TRANSLATION: No,

no begging. You are saying you are not begging? No. You've never

begging. No. That's not true though, is it? I show her the

pictures and she admits to begging. At what is happening to this money?

Where is it going? I'm not making �100, no. How much do you make?

10, �20. But you go there in the morning and you come back late at

night, you only make 20 quid a day? I don't quite believe you, I am

afraid. Hold on. Begging is the law. And child begging is worse

because you are exploiting this child. Where does the money go?

money is mine. I don't give it to anyone. I only go begging for

little one, to feed him, to buy him food. I don't do anything else.

Both Alice and Lou and their minders Both Alice and Lou and their minders

have gone. The most likely place where they are now? Romania.

The people who run Lou come from The people who run Lou come from

here, Huedin in the north of the country. Admire the bling in brick

and mortar, and cars with British number plates are common. We head

for the address we have been given for the Ilford group. As we

past, we see the BMW that was parked at the house in Ilford.

Some of the faces we saw in Ilford Some of the faces we saw in Ilford

are here too. And this is Ioan Rostas. We last saw him at the

address in Ilford. We are told he head of the family.

We should move. We need to come here.

The next day, we return to the street and film secretly. The BMW is

still here, and so is this Ford transit and a people carrier, all

with British plates. People from the Ilford group are here loading up the

cars and amongst them is little Lou. The four-year-old boy we first saw

begging outside Regent's Park Mosque. We send our evidence to

these addresses. Still no reply, I will be back.

Later in Huedin I head for on a Later in Huedin I head for on a

second address we've got for Ioan Rostas.

This is the man who we believe owns this house. That's what the land

registry says. Hello, John Sweeney from the BBC.

It's by no means the biggest of these kind of palaces in Huedin, but

it's hardly a beggar's house, is Look at it.

No sign of Lou here, but across the road I spot Ioan Rostas and his wife

Stela. We've never seen him beg but I want to ask why his family does.

SHOUTING. Hello, my name is John Sweeney and I

work for Panorama. Mr Rostas, have a word with you, please, sir?

Hello, sir, John Sweeney from BBC Panorama. Hello, sir. Hi.

SHOUTING. OK, I would like to ask you, sir,

why are you - OK, I would like to ask you about child begging.

I would like to ask you about child begging, OK? This is you

your house in Ilford, yes? SHOUTING This is also your house over here,

yes, OK, and this is a little boy Lou and we repeatedly filmed him

child begging. SHOUTING. So hold on a second, she will

translate. So why go child begging if you've got lots of money?

Hold on a second, sorry, excuse me. SHOUTING.

No, no! The question is simple: why child beg if you've got lots of

money? It's a fair question, surely. Child begging is wrong. And you own

She isn't giving me much of a chance She isn't giving me much of a chance

to put our questions to him. Why do you come to London and beg if

you've got pots of money? We have been told in no uncertain

terms that we should leave and that's what we are going to do. We

are going now. OK, we are going now. We are going. Yes, we are going now.

I was unable to find out anything I was unable to find out anything

about Lou, where he is he is still begging.

But what about Alice and her Mum? We But what about Alice and her Mum? We

tracked the little girl we call Alice back to this town. It's called

Fetesti and we've got an address we are going to go and knock on the

door. Like Tanderei and Huedin, this town

is full of Gypsy villas. registered address.

Hello, hi. Excuse me, what happened? Excuse me - My

John Sweeney and I work for the We are looking for

believe is called Denisa Mazarache. SHOUTING.

This man claims she doesn't live here and says he knows nothing about

her. A few streets away we have more addresses for the family. There are

lots of nice villas around here too. But no one here has heard of

Denisa Mazarache family either. Do you recognise any of these faces,

this little girl Alice? No. This lady here, we think Denisa

Mazarache. They beg in Oxford Street, in London, all the time.

Month after month. You don't them? No. Are you sure? LAUGHTER.

This man should know about Alice and his Mum. I'm told he is Denisa

Mazarache's grandfather. Is that your granddaughter? So if she is,

then why on earth does she spend month after month begging - but sir,

what - they are begging. We've filmed them for month after month

after month. Can I ask name?

And nothing to do with Mazarache? And nothing to do with Mazarache?

And nothing to do with Mazarache? But you have already said you

But you have already said you But you have already said you

And nothing to recognise them. So we will go now.

So where is Alice and her Mum who we followed on the streets of London

over eight months? Some minutes later, the old man calls me back.

And there, waiting for us, is Denisa Mazarache herself. Alice's mother.

Hi. Do you speak English? Yes. Lovely, smashing. You are Denisa

Mazarache? Yes, I am. And I've you in London, I think.

I show her pictures of her daughter begging in Oxford Street. Excuse

me, I don't want TV. But why this little girl begging? We

you in the snow, we filmed the little girl going to the toilet in

the street. It's absolutely that you took your child begging

month after month after month. After month after months after months. Why

do it? Because the documents, travel, for one ticket, something

food, something. OK. Because I'm begging that day, one day I'm

begging. Don't beg every day. is adamant that she only

occasionally but we know different. occasionally but we know different.

So the problem is this, begging is wrong, using children is wrong. I'm

saying sorry! OK, so are you to go begging again? No. Never

again? No. Is that little girl going to go to school? Yes. Good.

But there is money here. That's what is so upsetting when you realise

that you've come from a place - this isn't so poor that you have to beg.

OK, all right. Who made you beg? Nothing. Myself. And now no

more. My children go to school and my go job. Don't beg more. OK,

good. As we are leaving, she approaches me

again. Is long time, sir, I'm one year is my home. You have been

here for a year? Yes. So when did you leave England? I am leaving

two, one year ago. You ago? Yes. Really? Yes. Is

the truth? Yes. The truth? Yes. She was begging in London two months

before. She is lying. We to see Alice. We now know

name but to protect her we won't reveal it. Maybe, as her mother

Out on our streets the cycle of Out on our streets the cycle of

exploitation continues. The girl who told me that she was 14 and couldn't

afford to go to school is now pregnant and still begging. A

pregnant woman that we filmed has now given birth and is out with her

newborn. The latest recruit to Britain's child beggars. I think the

begging and trafficking of is completely unacceptable

should be stopped and it's not the responsibility of the police;

it's also our responsibility. So us as Roma or Roma activists or human

rights activists need to speak up a lot. Maybe we should be asking

those people that stand up for the Roma community to try to dispel

of these myths that it's OK to beg, it's OK to steal, it's what we do.

Well, I'm sorry, we've moved on from the 18th century and other people

need to move with us. Education, opportunity, work, that's what will

get people out of poverty. That's what will get people out of

oppression. There are many girls like Alice and boys like Lou on our

streets. During our investigation, Panorama filmed more than 50

Romanian Gypsy children exploited through begging. This is just a