Councils pay more than £125m a year placing vulnerable children in illegal care homes in England

Exclusive: Booming industry of businesses profit from shortage of beds for most at-risk children

• Princess’s story: the case that highlights scourge of illegal care provision

Councils are paying more than £125m a year of taxpayers’ money to place vulnerable children in illegal care homes across England, an investigation has found.

The Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) have uncovered a booming industry of businesses profiting from a shortage of beds for the most at-risk children in Ofsted-inspected homes.