0:00:02 > 0:00:04On Panorama tonight:
0:00:04 > 0:00:07a scandal involving British aid money.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11The idea that British taxpayers' money was associated with that
0:00:11 > 0:00:14would of course be wholly abhorrent.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17We discover how a police force in Syria is being funded
0:00:17 > 0:00:20with bags of our cash.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24To see British money being held in a bag, and...
0:00:25 > 0:00:29I, honestly, I only saw that in movies.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31It was deeply shocking.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36We expose how our aid money can end up with jihadis.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38GUNFIRE
0:00:38 > 0:00:41It is unfortunately strengthening the extremists
0:00:41 > 0:00:43and the Islamic groups.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48And we reveal how police officers we paid for
0:00:48 > 0:00:51work with a brutal justice system.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54They were like they are putting their hands in front of their eyes,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57and, like, "We are not seeing anything."
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Britain is generous when it comes to helping poorer countries.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28We give £13 billion a year in foreign aid.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34But the way we help other countries has changed.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40The Government now gives much of that cash to private companies.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43They then deliver aid projects around the world.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47There must be accountability for the money that's spent,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50and of course, the more difficult the environment you're operating in,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54perhaps the greater leeway you give, but even more importantly, then,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57there needs to be as much transparency and accountability
0:01:57 > 0:01:59for the taxpayers' money.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08One British company has done very well under the new system.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Adam Smith International.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Their offices are just across the river from Parliament.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21In the last five years, Adam Smith International, or ASI,
0:02:21 > 0:02:27has won British aid contracts worth more than £537 million.
0:02:34 > 0:02:39Adam Smith International say they bring expertise and deliver results.
0:02:49 > 0:02:50But earlier this year,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53ASI was banned from new Government contracts
0:02:53 > 0:02:55after serious questions were raised
0:02:55 > 0:02:58about the company's ethical integrity.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00I would say at the moment, ASI have proved themselves to be
0:03:00 > 0:03:05an inappropriate company to spend such large amounts of aid money.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09The thing that we are worried about is that ASI is already operating
0:03:09 > 0:03:11a number of contracts that haven't been terminated
0:03:11 > 0:03:13because they were already in process.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21ASI still has a major project running in Syria.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25It's managed from across the border in Turkey.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39I've come to Gaziantep,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42the front line for British aid going into Syria.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47It's delivered by a network of Syrians,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50because it's too dangerous for foreigners to cross the border.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56I'm on my way to meet someone who works trying to implement
0:03:56 > 0:04:01aid programmes inside Syria, paid for by British taxpayers.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02What he saw happening there
0:04:02 > 0:04:05made him decide to become a whistle-blower.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Waseem Enawi helped manage a project
0:04:12 > 0:04:15for Adam Smith International in Syria.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18- Hello, good morning. - Hello, good morning.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24But he says they ignored warnings British aid money was being misused.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30What sort of problems did you begin to see
0:04:30 > 0:04:33very early on, on the ground, in very simple terms?
0:04:44 > 0:04:46- This is British taxpayers' money? - Yeah, yeah.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48What do you think...?
0:05:10 > 0:05:11Waseem is not alone.
0:05:13 > 0:05:14We've spoken to ten people
0:05:14 > 0:05:18who've worked on the Adam Smith International project in Syria.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24They want British aid to rebuild their country,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26but they're shocked by what they've seen.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Some don't want to be identified.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Most of these problems were related to corruption.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40Is there any chance that Adam Smith could not know
0:05:40 > 0:05:42what was happening on the ground?
0:05:42 > 0:05:44No, of course they knew.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47And is corruption at the bottom of all this?
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Exactly, exactly.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53We would have expected that to happen in Third World communities,
0:05:53 > 0:05:58but to see this with a British company, we were shocked.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04EXPLOSION
0:06:08 > 0:06:11The Syrian people desperately need British aid,
0:06:11 > 0:06:13but it's difficult to deliver
0:06:13 > 0:06:15in such a war-torn and risky environment.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20There does need to be oversight and accountability.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Just because it's a war zone doesn't mean that everybody gets a free pass
0:06:23 > 0:06:25and can spend money willy-nilly
0:06:25 > 0:06:28without being accountable for the decisions they take.
0:06:31 > 0:06:32WHISTLE BLOWS
0:06:33 > 0:06:37This promotional video shows UK aid at work.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Britain is one of the main donor countries
0:06:42 > 0:06:44funding the Free Syrian Police.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48This year alone, we've promised £9 million.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52Adam Smith International runs the project,
0:06:52 > 0:06:57paying the police wages, providing uniforms, equipment and stations.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Their job is to make communities safer
0:07:01 > 0:07:05in areas held by opponents of the Syrian regime.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17But our whistle-blowers say
0:07:17 > 0:07:20something's gone badly wrong with the police.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Panorama has obtained hundreds of internal ASI documents.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34They show what happened to aid money after it was given to the company...
0:07:36 > 0:07:39..and whose hands it sometimes ended up in.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46You know, when you read all these internal documents from the company,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48it's extraordinary -
0:07:48 > 0:07:51the language is bland, but what they are describing is awful -
0:07:51 > 0:07:55it's human rights abuses, it's executions,
0:07:55 > 0:07:57it's police that are obviously weak,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00and have been co-opted by the military groups.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Maybe there was underestimation
0:08:06 > 0:08:12of how bad things could get in certain aspects. Erm...
0:08:12 > 0:08:15And the more disturbing bit
0:08:15 > 0:08:19is the repetition of those incidents over time.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28The documents say that dead and fictitious people
0:08:28 > 0:08:32were on the police payroll, and I want to find out more.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37I'm going to talk to someone who's working for ASI in Turkey
0:08:37 > 0:08:39alongside senior management,
0:08:39 > 0:08:44and he's been across many of the details of their project in Syria.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52What he's about to tell me could lose him his job.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55He says there's fraud at many of the police stations
0:08:55 > 0:08:57the British Government's been funding.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03It was found that stations didn't exist at all.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06And still, the aid continued.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10Even now, we hear reports about stations that don't exist.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13And this is still being overlooked.
0:09:20 > 0:09:26One ghost police station is here in Koknaya in northern Syria.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31This is the actual building.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34It's pretty small, but it's supposed to be the base
0:09:34 > 0:09:39for 57 police officers, partly paid for by us.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43But our leaked documents show
0:09:43 > 0:09:47that when one of ASI's staff visited the station last September,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51there were no police present, and that was causing concern.
0:09:51 > 0:09:57The police station in Koknaya is an illusion. It's just words on paper.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Some salaries were sent for the officers,
0:10:01 > 0:10:05but in reality, there were no policemen on the ground.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09We need to know that that money was going to support
0:10:09 > 0:10:10actual policemen on the ground
0:10:10 > 0:10:14doing a job that met our policy objectives,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16and certainly from your investigations
0:10:16 > 0:10:20and the briefings you've had from the people on the ground,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22plainly that wasn't happening.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29ASI's lawyers told us, on a later visit to Koknaya,
0:10:29 > 0:10:35all officers were accounted for and presented valid ID.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38But they've now suspended the payment of all salaries
0:10:38 > 0:10:40at the police station.
0:10:40 > 0:10:41And across Syria,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44they've only been able to identify a very few examples
0:10:44 > 0:10:46where deceased officers
0:10:46 > 0:10:49have remained on a stipend or salary list.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57There is an increased risk of this type of fraud
0:10:57 > 0:11:00because the project is funded in cash.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Our leaked documents show hundreds of thousands of dollars
0:11:04 > 0:11:08being regularly delivered to ASI's office in Turkey.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Syrian police chiefs then collect bags of cash,
0:11:12 > 0:11:14which they transfer across the border.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19I have always thought that...
0:11:20 > 0:11:25..there are standards when it comes to handling money.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27And then, to see...
0:11:27 > 0:11:32again, British money, being held in a bag, and...
0:11:32 > 0:11:36I... Honestly, I only saw that in movies.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38It was... It was deeply shocking.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46ASI says donors like the British Government
0:11:46 > 0:11:49have full knowledge of the payments,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52and cash is used because there's no practical alternative.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55But it's what happens to that cash
0:11:55 > 0:12:00when it gets over the border into Syria that really matters.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06We've discovered some of it ends up in the hands of extremists.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Our aid money is funding jihadis.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15MAN SPEAKS ARABIC
0:12:15 > 0:12:19This part of northern Syria is controlled by fighters
0:12:19 > 0:12:22from a group called Nour al-Din al-Zinki.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24GUNFIRE
0:12:27 > 0:12:29The Americans originally supported Zinki
0:12:29 > 0:12:33in the war against the Assad regime,
0:12:33 > 0:12:38but cut them off in 2015 following accusations of atrocities.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Last year, the group beheaded a young prisoner.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48It was very clear by 2016
0:12:48 > 0:12:51that Nour al-Din al-Zinki had committed violations
0:12:51 > 0:12:54of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58For them, violations of, you know, summary killings or executions,
0:12:58 > 0:13:00is something very normal.
0:13:04 > 0:13:05MEN SPEAK INDISTINCTLY AND SHOUT
0:13:07 > 0:13:11But we've discovered British aid money was routinely given
0:13:11 > 0:13:15to the extremists by the Free Syrian Police or FSP.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21Hi, Youssef, I'm Jane.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25Youssef Houran is a lawyer who worked for the civil administration
0:13:25 > 0:13:28in an area dominated by Zinki.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Thank you for coming to talk to us.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34- TRANSLATION:- Zinki used to get a percentage from the salaries
0:13:34 > 0:13:36of the Free Syrian Police.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39It was taking a percentage in return for their services,
0:13:39 > 0:13:43and to create a sort of equilibrium between the police and the fighters.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48Was this practice of sharing the FSP salary between the FSP and Zinki...
0:13:48 > 0:13:52Was it systematic in the area? How widespread was it?
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Exactly - it was systematic.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02Not random, and it was run by the civil administration of Zinki.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12The documents show that ASI and the British Government
0:14:12 > 0:14:17knew about money going to Zinki at the end of 2015.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20And another report, seven months later,
0:14:20 > 0:14:25warns of the transferring of 20% of police salaries.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29The cash is to pay for the military and security support
0:14:29 > 0:14:35that Zinki provides to the five stations in areas under its control.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38That's our money, extorted by extremists.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41And the company's internal documents make it clear
0:14:41 > 0:14:46that Zinki's misuse of the funds, essentially British funds, went on,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48because they say,
0:14:48 > 0:14:51"The persistent refusal of the group to relax the level
0:14:51 > 0:14:54"of financial control it's exerting over the FSP
0:14:54 > 0:14:57"sets a dangerous precedent."
0:14:57 > 0:15:01A dangerous precedent, but they didn't stop. They went on.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07ASI say they recommended stopping funding, but the donors,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10including the British Government, initially disagreed.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Funding to the station wasn't stopped
0:15:13 > 0:15:17until ten months after the payments were first discovered.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29Our taxpayer-funded police weren't just paying protection money
0:15:29 > 0:15:30to Zinki -
0:15:30 > 0:15:34they've been helping the extremists run their justice system, too.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41- So, the lawyers give you information from inside the country.- Yes, yeah.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Human rights lawyer Samer Al Deyaei
0:15:43 > 0:15:46documents the abuses in Zinki's courts.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52- TRANSLATION:- People aren't getting their basic rights,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55which can lead to miscarriages of justice.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02They could be imprisoned, tortured, or sentenced to death.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Zinki runs its own court at al-Qassimiyyeh,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15and this makeshift prison.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28Mahmoud Bitar was held in that prison in 2014.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Britain was funding the Free Syrian Police,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36but it was just before ASI took over the contract.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41You can feel that yourself walking downtown, you know, back here...
0:16:41 > 0:16:46Mahmoud says the police officers we pay for were his prison guards.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49They would put a bag over his head
0:16:49 > 0:16:52before taking him to Zinki interrogators.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55The Free Police man, he said,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57"I'm sorry, I have to blindfold your eyes,
0:16:57 > 0:17:01"and put that small bag on your head.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03"So, I'm sorry, I have to do it."
0:17:03 > 0:17:05They were there 24/7.
0:17:06 > 0:17:07They are there all the time.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13And of course, the free police, they knew about what's going on.
0:17:13 > 0:17:14They knew, of course.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27Mahmoud says he was tortured, and so were other prisoners.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32I cannot forget that time,
0:17:32 > 0:17:37the bad time that I've been inside that detention facility, in there.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39I keep on hearing the same voices, you know,
0:17:39 > 0:17:41inside your ears and all the time.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45The torture... screaming of guys in pain.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52It will remain with you till the end of your life.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55You cannot forget what happened in there.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02The police officers we fund
0:18:02 > 0:18:05are still working in Zinki's barbaric system,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08and the British Government knows it's happening.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18A report this year said the police cooperate with the Zinki court
0:18:18 > 0:18:21by writing up warrants, delivering notices,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24and turning criminals over to the court.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29- TRANSLATION:- The criminal would get transferred
0:18:29 > 0:18:34to the al-Qassimiyyeh court because that is the nearest relevant court.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Some people are still getting tortured.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38Some people are still disappearing.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47ASI told us they didn't want to leave a security vacuum
0:18:47 > 0:18:50by stopping funding for the police,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53and they have strict guidelines in place
0:18:53 > 0:18:58to ensure anyone detained is treated fairly and humanely.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Plainly, some of the operation of what passed for a justice system
0:19:03 > 0:19:06can look utterly appalling to our standards.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09But we've had to make ugly compromises,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12and the result has been probably that the money spent
0:19:12 > 0:19:17on the Free Syrian Police has largely been wasted
0:19:17 > 0:19:21as far as achieving British policy objectives is concerned.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25We've discovered more disturbing evidence
0:19:25 > 0:19:28about the Free Syrian Police.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31This time in the province of Idlib.
0:19:33 > 0:19:34GUNFIRE
0:19:39 > 0:19:44This area is run by the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Al-Nusra has been labelled a terrorist group
0:19:48 > 0:19:50by the British Government.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53But that hasn't stopped the UK helping set up
0:19:53 > 0:19:56more than 30 police stations here.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00There is high concern, especially in Idlib.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03We're aware completely of the level of influence
0:20:03 > 0:20:05that Jabhat al-Nusra has in every community,
0:20:05 > 0:20:10But do we... Do we have enough tools to safeguard ourselves?
0:20:10 > 0:20:14That was not necessarily the case,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17and there is a high risk working with people who are not vetted.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27The risks were especially high in this town, Kafr Daryn.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33ASI staff first warned of al-Nusra's malign influence here
0:20:33 > 0:20:35in the spring of 2015.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42A report almost a year later identified six police officers
0:20:42 > 0:20:45who had been imposed on the station by al-Nusra.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49It says police bosses agreed to pay the men
0:20:49 > 0:20:52to avoid any problems with them.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01When ASI investigated further, they found the new station commander
0:21:01 > 0:21:04had also been hand-picked by the extremists.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16- They were paying their salaries, or...?- Salaries.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26ASI told us the issue was detected within two months,
0:21:26 > 0:21:30and funding to the station halted.
0:21:30 > 0:21:36Only 1,800 was paid to the al-Nusra appointed officers.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40They say that cash was provided by a different donor government,
0:21:40 > 0:21:41not the UK.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49But ASI didn't explain how they could be sure
0:21:49 > 0:21:54it wasn't British money when the whole project is funded by cash.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03Now, more police stations are being opened
0:22:03 > 0:22:07in areas controlled by al-Nusra, despite the dangers.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11- TRANSLATION:- You cannot operate
0:22:11 > 0:22:13without being involved with al-Nusra.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Sometimes you can't even work if you don't pay them
0:22:16 > 0:22:19a part of the money you receive.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22We call that itawa - "protection racket" in Arabic -
0:22:22 > 0:22:26but unfortunately, they're turning a blind eye to it
0:22:26 > 0:22:29to ensure the continuity of the project.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37Al-Nusra also runs a so-called justice system.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41They carry out executions, including stonings,
0:22:41 > 0:22:43in parts of northern Syria.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58This is the kind of justice that the police force we pay for
0:22:58 > 0:23:00is collaborating with.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13ASI says donors were aware police were working with an al-Nusra court,
0:23:13 > 0:23:18and approved further funding after assurances this had stopped.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23But ASI's own documents show
0:23:23 > 0:23:26the police carried on co-operating with al-Nusra.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33It says the FSP station has been known to transfer criminals
0:23:33 > 0:23:36to the Dar al-Qadaa - that's the court - for sentencing,
0:23:36 > 0:23:40and then it goes on to say that they knew that they implemented
0:23:40 > 0:23:44court decisions in violation of international human rights law.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53And it gets worse.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Officers from the British-funded police were present
0:23:58 > 0:24:02when two women were stoned to death in another part of northern Syria.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10The police chief claimed they were "accidentally passing by."
0:24:18 > 0:24:20That's not what we've been told.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25I've just heard that someone inside Syria
0:24:25 > 0:24:30is prepared to talk to me tonight - someone who used to work for ASI.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33So I'm going to try and call him now.
0:24:37 > 0:24:38- MAN ON PHONE:- Hello?
0:24:38 > 0:24:40- Oh, hi, it's Jane.- Hi, Jane.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46Our source says the police weren't just there by accident.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03So they were actually involved in cordoning off the area
0:25:03 > 0:25:06where the stoning was to take place?
0:25:25 > 0:25:28If that is true, then Amnesty would be very concerned
0:25:28 > 0:25:33that the Free Syrian Police would actually, you know, take part
0:25:33 > 0:25:35in such a horrific violation.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41ASI's lawyers say:
0:25:48 > 0:25:50And the police involved were:
0:25:53 > 0:25:56..but they've since been removed permanently.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03So how did a British aid project
0:26:03 > 0:26:06ever get involved with extremist courts?
0:26:08 > 0:26:10You've got people being sentenced to death for homosexuality.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Clearly that is completely and utterly unacceptable
0:26:13 > 0:26:14by any standard,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18and the idea that British taxpayers' money was associated with that
0:26:18 > 0:26:20would of course be wholly abhorrent.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27The British Government declined to be interviewed,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30but it has now suspended funding for the Syrian police project
0:26:30 > 0:26:33while it investigates our allegations.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38It told us, "The work in Syria is important
0:26:38 > 0:26:40"to protect our national interest,
0:26:40 > 0:26:42"and all our programmes are designed carefully,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45"and subject to robust monitoring."
0:26:47 > 0:26:51ASI says it strongly refutes Panorama's allegations,
0:26:51 > 0:26:56and has managed taxpayers' money effectively to confront terrorism,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58and bring security to Syria.
0:26:59 > 0:27:00CALL TO PRAYER
0:27:05 > 0:27:07GUNFIRE
0:27:07 > 0:27:09MEN SHOUT
0:27:10 > 0:27:14We've revealed how British aid has supported extremists,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16and their brutal form of justice.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23I think the Government's been incredibly slow
0:27:23 > 0:27:24to act on all of this.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27What I'd really like to see
0:27:27 > 0:27:30is the Government taking proper responsibility
0:27:30 > 0:27:32for the way that this money is spent.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34You simply can't operate aid projects like that
0:27:34 > 0:27:37with so little scrutiny or accountability.
0:27:38 > 0:27:43It took the bravery of our Syrian whistle-blowers to get real action.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48They were like they are putting their hands in front of their eyes,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51and, like, "We are not seeing anything."
0:27:55 > 0:27:58- TRANSLATION:- Unfortunately, the money of British taxpayers
0:27:58 > 0:28:01is being spent very poorly.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07It is unfortunately strengthening the extremists
0:28:07 > 0:28:09and the Islamic groups
0:28:09 > 0:28:13who are currently in control of the majority of opposition areas.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21Britain may be a generous country,
0:28:21 > 0:28:25but our investigation raises serious questions
0:28:25 > 0:28:28about how we hand out our cash,
0:28:28 > 0:28:33and whether we're always helping the people who need it most.