Every year the British government spends £80 billion outsourcing public services. The result is that private companies are now responsible for fulfilling some of the most sensitive and important roles of the state - running prisons and providing healthcare, transport, legal aid, even child protection. These organisations are enormously powerful, yet for the most part they operate with no transparency or accountability. From deportation flights to NHS cutbacks, Alan White exposes what can go wrong when profit becomes the main motivator in public services. Informed by exclusive interviews with senior managers and whistle- blowers, this excoriating work is the first to examine this controversial arm of British government. As well as providing the full story behind scandals involving G4S, Serco and ATOS, Shadow State reveals previously unknown cases of system failure in social care, healthcare and justice. The picture it paints is deeply troubling.