Its thought over 2000 Brits have fought in the Ukraine war. May of them are seasoned soldiers, veterans of Afghanistan, Syria and Northern Ireland who are just taking on another call of duty. There are others who have never picked up a gun before but gave up their day jobs to join the fight against RussiaNick Garnett meets the soldiers to find out why they have given up jobs, said a goodbye to families to go and fight for a country they don't belong to.Nick will find out about the changing face of war in Ukraine how the trained soldiers have encountered a whole new way of combat such as drones
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From Anglesey with Love
In the summer of 2020, Radio 4 producer Polly Weston found herself at Nathan Gill’s house. She’d been sent by a random postcode generator, for an episode of The Patch. What followed was a wide-ranging interview about his life and career, how he became involved in UKIP, his involvement in campaigning for Brexit, and his subsequent responsibilities in the Brexit party after they stormed to victory in the 2019 European elections. But the interview also happens to cover the period he was taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia. One year after this interview, Counter Terrorism detectives entered this same house, and they found evidence which contributed to his recent conviction for eight counts of bribery. “Officers found evidence on his devices that showed how Gill was in contact another individual in Ukraine and that Gill had agreed that, in exchange for money, he would make certain statements that were supportive of pro-Russia media being present in Ukraine. Detectives identified eight such instances between January 2018 and February 2020.”Gill pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery in September, and faces sentencing on the 21st November – he is expected to receive a prison sentence. This is his story, up to the time of the events which led to his conviction, as told by the man himself.Produced and Presented in Bristol by Polly Weston
Editor Chris Ledgard
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Immigration: The Danish Way
Could the solution to Britain’s immigration problems lie in the Danish model? A model based on harsh restrictions on who can enter the country and strict rules for immigrants requiring not just integration but assimilation – and all promoted by a centre-left government.In this documentary BBC Political Correspondent Iain Watson explains why some prominent Labour MPs now think it’s the answer they’re searching for, and why the Government might soon follow suit.Travelling to Denmark he discovers what happened when the country introduced its radical new system, what the appeal is for British Labour MPs, and whether their system could work here. He reveals why the Danish model is attracting such interest to manage immigration and for its potential to solve Labour’s political problems. But can this Labour government navigate the extremely hazardous path of adopting policies associated with the populist right whilst retaining their own support on the left? Iain Watson reveals how all this may now play out.Presenter: Iain Watson
Producer: Patrick Cowling
Executive Producer: Jonathan Brunert
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Garden of England
Kent is the Garden of England - if you view it from the air, it’s covered in square miles of plastic, where the millions of tonnes of soft fruit are grown that feed the nation. Aidan Tulloch takes us inside the world of the summer fruit pickers recruited to work for a season on a blueberry farm in Kent. In early summer thousands of people arrive in UK airports, hired on short-term visas to help pick the annual crop of soft fruit. Picking is an international effort, with jobs advertised in Russian, Bulgarian, Polish and many other languages, and pickers are increasingly being recruited from Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. They are joined each day by local pickers, often students or young people working summers between other lives elsewhere. Many pickers live in on-site caravans that become their homes for several months. The farm becomes a fascinating, temporary global community.From spring showers through a heatwave and a late September chill, this is the story of a summer in a pickers' village, from the early starts to the final goodbyes and the return home, where different people from vastly different backgrounds come together over the course of several months. It's the story of 5am alarms, temperamental weather, unexpected friendships and ad-hoc games of football, families left behind in home countries, new lives made in the UK - human stories behind the punnets of blueberries in your local supermarket. Translations: Irena Taranyuk and Elizaveta Fokht
Voices: Hannah Bristow and Olivia RailtonPresenter: Aidan Tulloch
Producer: Tim Bano
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The Split
David Baker’s Jewish identity and faith have always been central to who he is - and so is his affiliation with Israel. But he has been re-evaluating that relationship since Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the war in Gaza.For many decades after the founding of Israel, most British Jews were unequivocal in their support. And that is still the case for many Jews in Britain. But there is evidence that those ties are weakening for a younger generation and some older Jews, too, are criticising the actions of Israel’s current right-wing government and the devastation of Gaza.In a search for answers, David talks to other British Jews who are responding in different ways. Some are taking political action, some are deepening their bonds with Israel and others are re-examining their connection with the Jewish state.Presenter: David Baker
Producer: Jo Glanville
Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson
A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4
UK