File on 4 Investigates Folgen

The Arab world's newest governments are desperate to retrieve billions banked in Britain by despots including Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.The money, they say, was stolen from their people and is needed to rebuild shattered economies.In 'File on 4' Jenny Cuffe reports on the Arab nations' mounting impatience at the lengthy and costly process of investigation demanded to prove that assets were illicitly obtained by the now deposed leaders, their families and associates.Already Egypt has gone to court to demand more information from the British Treasury about where their lost billions are stashed. And campaigners in Tunisia - the first of the Arab Spring nations - complain Britain is dragging its feet. They contrast slow progress in London with a more helpful response from the country once renowned as the most impenetrable of banking fortresses: Switzerland. Producer: Andy Denwood Presenter: Jenny Cuffe.

Ofsted has a new, hard-line chief inspector and a new, tougher inspection regime - and in the past few months that has led to a spike in the number of schools deemed inadequate. Predictably, there has been a corresponding wave of anger in schools - with a growing number taking to the courts to challenge the inspectors' views? So are the inspectors really up to the job? And who inspects the inspectors? Fran Abrams investigates. Producer: Rob Cave.

Ministers want to extend secret hearings to Britain's civil courts - so judges can deal with the increasing number of cases involving the intelligence services. Justice Secretary Ken Clarke says it is the only way that judges can hear the testimony of spies working for MI5, MI6 or GCHQ. Getting them to give evidence in open court is not an option, he says.A small number of courts already hold secret sessions to consider appeals from individuals facing deportation on evidence compiled by the security services. But how well does the system work? File on 4 hears evidence from lawyers who are concerned about the quality of some of the testimony given behind closed doors. And the programme has learned of a growing number of closed justice cases being heard in Employment Tribunals where people are claiming they were sacked because they pose a risk to national security. Because the Tribunals are hearing evidence in secret, the claimants are unable to get further details of why they were dismissed. Gerry Northam explores the operation of secret justice in British courts and asks whether its extension to more cases would be in the national interest. Producer: David Lewis.