‘You’re going to search the ends of the earth’: Why families travel abroad for brain cancer treatment
In the hospital corridor, Jasmine got ready for yet another round of blood tests – and she couldn’t help but cry.
“She’s never liked needles,” her father, Anthony Freeman, explained, “but since her diagnosis it’s been non-stop, and she’s just terrified of injections now.”
Jasmine Freeman was diagnosed with a brain tumour in February
But blood tests are only the start of Jasmine’s day.
Over the following few hours we watch as the seven-year-old girl is pushed in a wheelchair to a series of exams: an ECG, a 45-minute scan in the MRI machine, as well as mobility and brain function tests by her doctors.
All are designed to closely monitor her health, and keep an eye on the growth of the midline glioma – a malignant tumour – in her brain.
But, while the tests themselves seem pretty routine, they’re not happening at an NHS hospital near her home in Bracknell, but at the Princes Maxima children’s hospital in Utrecht, Netherlands, where Jasmine is enrolled on an experimental drugs trial for her rare and incurable cancer.
She was diagnosed in February, and the prognosis was devastating.
Anthony said: “The doctor just told us straight that 90% of kids die within the first nine months of diagnosis. We just sat there – and we didn’t know what to do.”
Jasmine with her father Anthony Freeman
To make an unbearable situation even worse, they soon realised that treatment options for Jasmine’s condition on the NHS are extremely limited.
“The only thing the NHS offered was radiotherapy, that was it,” said Anthony.
“If she showed any signs of getting worse within six months they couldn’t do anything else. We were just supposed to let nature take its course.
“No parent is just going to sit there and say, ‘Ok well we’ll just get on with it then.’
“You’re going to search the ends of the earth for treatments.”
The first thing doctors told Anthony when he enquired about rolling Jasmine on the treatment was that this wouldn’t cure her.
Oncologist Dr Jasper van der Lugt says the treatment is a big burden with zero guarantees.
Some patients see benefits for a long time, others none at all: “But it’s good to have hope. And at a minimum we learn from it.”
Why families look abroad
In the UK, clinical trials or alternative treatments are exceptionally hard to come by, so like many families, they began looking abroad.
Families, charities and MPs have all lamented the lack of clinical trials and brain tumour research in the UK.
Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, but just 1.3% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to the disease since records began in 2002.
A report by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Brain Tumours this year found a number of issues, from too much red tape, no up-to-date database to collate the trials on offer, and crucially not enough money going into brain cancer research.
Five years ago, the government announced £40m of funding for brain cancer research, but just £11.3m of this has been spent.
For families looking for alternative treatment abroad, the treatments can be prohibitively expensive.
Thanks to the generosity of friends and strangers alike, Jasmine’s campaign has fundraised nearly a quarter of a million pounds. But others may not be so lucky.
Then, there is the pain of traveling abroad.
‘Extra stress’
Mark Thompson
Mark Thompson was 33 year olds old when five years ago he was diagnosed with a grade-three astrocytoma – another type of aggressive brain tumour.
He was only offered radiotherapy and chemotherapy on the NHS, and told he had an estimated three to five years to live. He sought a second opinion and fundraised for privately funded immunotherapy treatment in Germany.
“Being away from the family was horrible. The first time I had to go over to Germany was for 10 days straight, and that was terrible,” he said.
“It was extra stress, having to plan the hotels, the flights, the car hire, and then we tried a different avenue to save money, so we started driving out there – those journeys took about 12 hours each way.”
It cost £120,000, but for now, his scans show no signs of cancer.
Where would he be without this treatment? He doesn’t want to think about it.
What’s going wrong?
Hugh Adams, from the charity Brain Tumour Research, said many of the barriers are “to do with rigid thinking” and a resistance to innovate or prioritise – which explains the lack of a useable database.
But pharmaceutical companies say there are other barriers to operating here.
Biodexa Pharma, based in Cardiff, is currently two running clinical trials for brain tumour treatment, but instead of holding the trails for UK patients at home, they’re happening out in the US.
Dr Dmitry Zamoryakhin, the company’s chief scientific officer, told Sky News the process for approving a clinical trial is much faster in the US – 30 days compared roughly six months in the UK.
He added: “This, also coupled with the consequences of Brexit, makes the UK not an attractive place to conduct clinical trials.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care pointed out the £40m allocated to research the “devastating disease”, and added: “We’ve invested in every suitable research application made and the funding will continue to be available for further studies to develop new treatments and therapies for brain tumours.
“To encourage further successful applications, we are investing in infrastructure, workshops for researchers and training for clinicians.”
Jasmine is continuing to receive treatment in the Netherlands
A few days after the trip to the Netherlands, Jasmine’s family got some hopeful news: her tumour had shrunk by 25% – so she can continue to receive treatment.
“We’re over the moon,” said Anthony.
The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has been sentenced to 10 and a half years after he admitted accepting tens of thousands of pounds in cash to make pro-Russian statements to the media and European Parliament.
Nathan Gill had “abused a position of significant authority and trust” and was “motivated by financial and political gain”, said Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb during remarks at the Old Bailey on Friday.
Gill, 52, of Anglesey, North Wales, had previously pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019, corresponding to his time as an MEP.
Nathan Gill is surrounded by media as he arrives at the Old Bailey. Pic: PA
The Old Bailey heard his activities were linked to pro-Russian statements about Ukraine while he was a member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and subsequently the Brexit Party.
Following an investigation by counter-terrorism police, officers said they believe Gill likely took a minimum of £40,000 in cash and was offering to introduce other British MEPs so they could be bribed. Officers also said they believed some individuals in this case had a direct link to Vladimir Putin.
Nathan Gill pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery. Pic: Met Police
Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC previously told the court the bribery offences related to Gill’s association with pro-Russian Oleg Voloshyn, who had been a Ukrainian government official before 2014 and was sanctioned by the UK in 2022.
Gill’s activities emerged in WhatsApp messages after he was stopped at Manchester Airport on 13 September 2021.
He was about to board a flight to Russia to be an observer in elections there.
Bundles of cash recovered
Police said the messages revealed Voloshyn had tasked Gill to make pro-Russian statements on a reward basis. Counter-terrorism officers said the text of some speeches was provided to Gill, which he delivered almost word-for-word.
In other cases, he was paid to offer commentary to news outlets, such as the pro-Russian media organisation 112 Ukraine.
A search of his home in Wales also uncovered thousands in euros and dollars.
Bundles of cash were recovered from Gill’s home. Pic: Met Police
Pic: Met Police
Greed ‘primary motivation’
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, described Gill as being motivated by money.
“It appears… greed was his primary motivation. But I think there’s an element of him that had a pro-Russian stance as well, but only he can answer that question, to be honest with you, he never told us that.”
Gill was interviewed in March 2022 and made no comment. He was charged and appeared in court in February 2025.
Gill said no comment when interviewed by officers in 2022. Pic: Met Police
‘A grave betrayal of trust’
During sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb described Gill’s offending as “sophisticated” and “a grave betrayal of the trust vested in you by the electorate”.
She told him: “You accepted payments from foreign nationals, made statements on important international matters at their behest, utilised scripted material presented as your own, and orchestrated the involvement of other MPs.
“Your misconduct has ramifications far beyond personal honour, which is now irretrievably damaged. It erodes public confidence in democracy when politicians succumb to financial inducement.”
Gill was paid to offer commentary to pro-Russian media outlet, 112 Ukraine. Pic: Met Police
Other UK politicians at risk
Commander Murphy said that police were continuing to investigate other MEPs, including some from the UK.
“What we do know from the conversations with [Oleg] Voloshyn is that Nathan Gill actually offered his services to contact other MEPs, mostly UK MEPs, to also make statements that might be supportive of a Russian position in Ukraine,” he said.
He added: “I do believe that some of the individuals in this case do have direct connections to Vladimir Putin. And I have no doubt that if we were able to, we could follow this trail and it would lead straight to Moscow.”
Commander Dominic Murphy believes greed was Gill’s primary motivation
Gill led the Welsh wing of UKIP between 2014 and 2016 and was a member of the Senedd between 2016 and 2017.
He was an MEP between 2014 and 2020, but left UKIP in 2019 to join Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party – later Reform UK.
Political fallout after prison term
Police have confirmed Nigel Farage has not been part of this investigation, but political rivals have called on the Reform UK leader to launch a thorough investigation.
Defence minister Al Carns, a former colonel in the Royal Marines, said Gill’s actions were “a disgrace”. He added: “I just think wherever we see Russian influence in UK politics, it’s got to be weeded out.”
Read more from Sky News:
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Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said “a traitor was at the very top of Reform UK”, referring to Gill, but also launched a direct attack on Mr Farage by calling him, and his party, “a danger to national security”.
“Nigel Farage himself was previously paid to be on Putin’s TV channel, Russia Today, and said he was the world leader he admires the most.
“We must all ask – where do his loyalties really lie? We need a full investigation into Russian interference in our politics,” he said.
Reform UK, which previously kicked Gill out of the party, said in a statement: “Mr Gill’s actions were reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable. We are glad that justice has been served and fully welcome the sentence Nathan Gill has received.”
Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, welcomed Gill’s jail sentence “for his acts of betrayal in taking bribes from Russia”.
In a statement, she said: “If the former Reform UK leader in Wales was part of a broader, co-ordinated effort to advance Moscow’s agenda within our democratic institutions, then the public deserves to know the full truth, and how far Russian money and influence reached into Nigel Farage’s inner circle.”
Britons buying cocaine on a Friday night could be inadvertently funding Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The National Crime Agency has revealed a billion-dollar money laundering network is operating in 28 towns and cities across the UK.
Couriers collect “dirty” cash generated from drugs, firearms and immigration gangs, which is then converted into cryptocurrency.
Officials say these illicit transactions have a direct link to “geopolitical events causing suffering around the world”.
This network was first exposed because of Operation Destabilise – and to date, 128 arrests have been made, with more than £25m in cash and digital assets seized.
A poster put up in motorway service station toilets by the NCA. Pic: PA
According to the NCA, the enterprise is so prolific that it purchased a bank to facilitate payments that supported Russia’s military efforts and helped sidestep sanctions.
Posters have been put up in motorway service stations to target couriers, which warn it is “just a matter of time” before they will be arrested.
The NCA’s deputy director for economic crime, Sal Melki, has warned the threat posed by this money laundering network is significant.
He added: “Cash couriers play an intrinsic role in this global scheme. They are in our communities and making the criminal ecosystem function – because if you cannot profit from your crimes, why bother.
“They are paid very little for the risks they take and face years in prison, while those they work for enjoy huge profits.”
Mr Melki went on to warn that “easy money leads to hard time” – and earning just a few hundred pounds through laundering could lead to years behind bars.
Sal Melki
The NCA says Operation Destabilise has already had an impact in criminal circles, with some members of the network now reluctant to operate in London.
Those involved in the money laundering effort have also started to charge higher fees – reflecting the difficulty of cleaning ill-gotten gains.
Cryptocurrencies are often regarded as a haven for criminals because they are perceived to be anonymous, but it is possible to trace these transactions.
Chainalysis is a company that monitors suspicious activity on blockchains, a type of database that keeps records of who sends and receives digital assets – as well as how much.
Its vice president of communications Madeleine Kennedy told Sky News: “Public blockchains are transparent by design, which makes cryptocurrencies a poor vehicle for money laundering.
“With the right tools, law enforcement can trace illicit funds – whether they’re connected to drug trafficking, sanctions evasion, or cybercrime – and use those insights to disrupt networks and recover assets.”
Read more:
Sky News joins police raid on Turkish barber shop
Crypto scammer jailed after UK’s biggest Bitcoin bust
Ekatarina Zhdanova. Pic: NCA
Last December, a global investigation led by the NCA smashed two networks whose money laundering activities were prevalent in 30 countries.
Bundles of cash were seized during raids, with detectives describing Smart and TGR as the invisible link between “Russian elites, crypto-rich cybercriminals and drug gangs in the UK”.
One of the network’s ringleaders, a Russian national called Ekatarina Zhdanova, is currently in custody in France and awaiting trial for separate financial offences.
Security minister Dan Jarvis added: “This complex operation has exposed the corrupt tactics Russia used to avoid sanctions and fund its illegal war in Ukraine.
“We are working tirelessly to detect, disrupt and prosecute anyone engaging in activity for a hostile foreign state. It will never be tolerated on our streets.”
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