Shanti Das

Shanti Das is an investigative reporter for the Observer whose work consistently uncovers the most serious institutional failings and holds power to account. Meticulously-researched and powerfully told, her exclusive investigations led the Charity Commission to launch a probe into a Scientology-linked rehab centre accused of safeguarding abuses; revealed the breach of a key promise over data-sharing by the UK Biobank; and led the independent police watchdog to ban the use of a disputed medical condition, which was being used by police to explain away restraint deaths.

Shanti’s investigation into Narconon UK revealed how a rehabilitation centre linked to Scientology subjected some of society’s most vulnerable people to traumatising ‘psychological drills’ as part of an unregulated addiction treatment programme. The investigation detailed how prospective patients were misled about the extent of Narconon’s links to Scientology. With editorial and legal approval, Shanti used subterfuge to pose as the relative of someone needing treatment at Narconon, obtaining evidence of a Narconon representative claiming the two organisations were “not related”.

Shanti also submitted freedom of information requests to obtain records which revealed that despite 19 past attempts to raise the alarm with the healthcare regulator, concerns about Narconon were not investigated or escalated. She produced a deeply-read article focussing on stories of those impacted, alongside a front-page news article which was widely followed up. The coverage prompted action by the Care Quality Commission, NHS and Charity Commission, with the UK government now consulting over steps to close a loophole in regulation.

In another investigation, Shanti revealed how the UK Biobank - which holds sensitive health and genetic data from 500,000 people - shared people’s information with insurance companies despite repeatedly promising not to. Shanti analysed records about hundreds of organisations that received Biobank data and found access had been granted to companies including a global insurance consultancy that underwrites a million policies a year and an ‘insurtech’ company that wants to give people “personalised and predictive health scores”.

The coverage was the first to raise the alarm about security at the Biobank, which has since faced further scrutiny including claims it shared data with a ‘race science’ group.

In a third investigation, Shanti revealed that British police were routinely using a disputed medical condition - which supposedly causes sufferers to possess superhuman strength - to justify the use of lethal force against people in police custody. After ‘excited delirium’ received attention in the US, Shanti analysed UK police restraint deaths and cross-referenced these with reports on inquests and watchdog investigations to trace how the controversial diagnosis - rejected by many in the medical community - has frequently been cited in cases of restraint deaths. The investigation identified disturbing racial disparities in its application, with black men much more likely to be given the label, raising serious concerns about racial bias in policing. An accompanying piece sensitively amplified the voices of affected families. The independent police watchdog subsequently banned the use of the term ‘excited delirium’ and is reviewing use of a related condition."