OSINT of the United Kingdom
This post is part of UNISHKA Research Service’s ongoing OSINT series. If you’re interested in learning more, subscribe to our Substack and follow us on social media to stay in the loop. You can also visit our website to explore all the toolkits we’ve created so far: www.unishka.com/osint-world-series.
We regularly share country-specific OSINT toolkits, along with case studies, investigative tips, and real-world examples to support open-source investigations. Our goal is to provide journalists, analysts, and engaged citizens with actionable resources and insights.
If we’ve missed any good sources, just drop us a comment or send an email to abawer@unishka.com — we’ll make sure to add them to the toolkit!
We sincerely thank David-Alex Mendelsohn, a UK-based OSINT analyst, for collaborating with UNISHKA on the development of this toolkit.
Entry #46 OSINT World Series
Open Data Portals
UK Trade Info - View official data published by HM Customs & Revenue, filter by individual trade relations, time period, import or export and trade category.
Office of National Statistics - The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Data Police UK - Open data about crime and policing in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Food Standards Agency - The FSA is the primary body for food safety and hygiene in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Various public datasets concerning food hygiene, animal welfare, allergy alerts, incident reports and more.
Data Gov UK - The central UK government portal for finding, accessing, and using open, non-personal data published by government departments, public bodies, and local councils. Publicly accessible datasets include those relating to the environment, economy, transport, government spending and defence.
Defra Data - Search the official Data Services Platform for environmental information by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
UK Patent Office - Search for intellectual property in the UK.
Contract Finder - Search for contract information worth £12,000 and more with the UK government and its agencies.
Tender Finder - Search and apply for high value contracts in the UK public and utilitie sectors.
UN Stats Division Country Profile - UN trade and economic data for the UK.
WHO Country Data - Health-related data, statistics, and country profiles from the World Health Organization.
International Monetary Fund - Economic and fiscal data for the UK.
OECD Data - Data, policy advise and research for the UK.
World Bank Data - UK development figures and statistics.
England:
Metropolitan Police (London) - Public data relating to stop and search, knife crime, taser usage, use of force and other crime.
A comprehensive portal of open data from the West of England
Scotland:
Scotland Spatialhub Datasets - The Spatial Hub collects data on a host of topics from local government authorities presents it into accessible Scotland-wide datasets.
Scottish Emigration Database - An Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded project based at the University of Aberdeen’s, identifying emigration patterns between 1890 and 1960.
Wales:
Northern Ireland:
Northern Ireland Prison Service Statistics - Official statistics and yearly prison population publications for Northern Ireland.
The Place Names gazetteer contains a geographical index of 336 towns and villages across Northern Ireland.
Company Registries
Companies House - Company registration information, registered address, date of incorporation, current and resigned officers, directors, shareholders, corporate filing, mortgage charge data, previous names, insolvency information
Dissolved Company Search - Search by name or number for companies dissolved between 01 January 1989 and 31 December 2009.
Disqualified Director Search - Official source to find out if someone has been disqualified from being a company director. It includes details of disqualifications given by the courts, the Insolvency Service, the Competition and Markets Authority, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), HM Treasury through the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), permission to resume director activities (if applicable), other details if available.
Individual Insolvency Register - Official source to search for information about bankruptcies and insolvencies in England and Wales, including bankruptcy orders, debt relief orders (DROs) and individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs). Records are usually removed within 3 months of an insolvency case ending.
List of people with additional insolvency restrictions - This page contains details of people who have broken the terms of their bankruptcy or Debt Relief Order. They will have been given a penalty, called a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (BRO) or Undertaking (BRU) or a Debt Relief Restrictions Order (DRRO) or Undertaking (DRRU). Data usually goes back three months.
Company Check - a free third-party business register as alternative or back-up to the official one (pulls data from Companies House).
Endole - a free third-party business register as alternative or back-up to the official one (pulls data from Companies House).
DRO, BRO, IVA Register Northern Ireland - The official register for debt relief orders, bankruptcy relief orders and individual voluntary arrangements in Northern Ireland.
Financial Conduct Authority - While not really a business register, the Financial Conduct Authority is the only regulatory body that can authorise and register financial services providers (including cryptocurrency). Their register provides information relating to whether or not a firm or its associated individuals offer licensed activities or if licensing has been revoked.
(Guide) How to look for records of Companies and businesses - The National Archive
Yellow Pages UK - Yell.com
The UK Sanctions List - The UK Sanctions List provides information on all current UK sanctions designations made under the 2018 Act.
Open Sanctions - Contains 25,827 entities connected with the United Kingdom. This may include sanctioned entities, politically-exposed persons (PEPs), and their close associates, or entities involved in criminal activity.
England:
London Stock Exchange - The official LSE website where you will find the latest information about stock market news, publicly traded companies, stock information and data analysis.
Scotland:
Register of Insolvency Scotland - The official Insolvency register for Scotland has both a person search option under “Search for Insolvency, Protected Trust Deeds and Trust Deed Adverts” and a company search under “Search companies in Receivership or Liquidation”
Business Gateway Scotland - Provides information about Scottish SMEs, startup ecosystem, and company support services.
Wales:
Business Wales - Website run by the Welsh Government supporting businesses in Wales.
Northern Ireland:
Individual Voluntary Arrangement Register Northern Ireland - The official IVA register, searchable by name and surname. It maintains open access to information pertaining to agreements between creditors and debtors to pay off (part or all) debt.
Disqualified Directors Northern Ireland - The official search wizard for disqualified directors in Northern Ireland. Search by Name, Surname and Trading name.
Land & Property Records
Rightmove - The UK’s largest private property rental and purchasing service.
Zoopla - Corporate provider of rental and purchasing services across the UK.
Private Eye - Interactive map showing land owned in the UK by overseas and offshore companies.
Map of Offshore Property Ownership - Taxpolicy.org
England:
HM Land Registry - Search property information, such as title deeds and ownership in England and Wales.
Scotland:
Scotland Land Registry - search property information and purchasing price in Scotland.
Wales:
HM Land Registry - Search property information, such as title deeds and ownership in England and Wales.
Rent Smart Wales - This register holds verified information on landlords and agents operating in Wales, including reference numbers, licensing and property addresses.
Northern Ireland:
LandWeb Direct - Search property information and ownership in Northern Ireland. Service is restricted to legal, financial and government professionals with no public access for now.
Legal, Criminal, Court & Sanctioning Records
Supreme Court - Access roughly 1,500 cases heard by the Supreme Court of the UK.
National Archives - The Find Case Law service provides public access to selected court judgments and tribunal decisions made in England and Wales from 2001 onwards in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, and the Judicial Office. It includes over 70,000 records from the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and Asylum & Immigration Tribunal. However, it is not a complete list.
British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII) - A free legal database, based at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. It provides access to 1,001,463 searchable documents including case law and verdicts in England & Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Ireland, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the European Court of Human Rights.
UK Sanctions List - The official resource for obtaining information about designated people, entities and ships under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018.
Crime Stoppers - An independent charity that maintains a most wanted list for the United Kingdom. Search functionality includes region, crime type and name.
National Crime Agency Most Wanted List - The official list of most wanted fugitives maintained by the UK’s lead law enforcement agency. It includes those involved in murder, large-scale drug trafficking, rape, and money laundering. This resource replaces the Consolidated List of the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI).
Offenders Database - A community driven resource documenting over 8,400 sex offenders in the UK.
Serious Fraud Office - This case finder displays information about all public and ongoing investigations and prosecutions of the Serious Fraud Office.
Burglary Hotspots - Find up to date information about burglary hotspots in the UK.
The UK Sanctions List - The UK Sanctions List provides information on all current UK sanctions designations made under the 2018 Act.
Open Sanctions - Contains 25,827 entities connected with the United Kingdom. This may include sanctioned entities, politically-exposed persons (PEPs), and their close associates, or entities involved in criminal activity.
England:
Thames Valley Police - Access news updates (including sentencing, missing person updates and more) in Berkshir, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
West Midlands Police Wanted - Information about suspects wanted by the police in the West Midlands area.
West Yorkshire Police CCTV Gallery - A selection of images of individuals sought by the police, both potential suspects and witnesses. The displayed information includes crime type and date. You can filter by period and location.
Merseyside Police News - The News section of the Merseyside police publishes information relating to wanted individuals, missing people and court results in the North West England, covering Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, and St Helens.
Scotland:
Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service - Search judgement or opinions in Scotland from 1999 onwards by keyword, court or date.
Judiciary of Scotland - Sentencing Statements, Judgement Summaries and Fatal Accident Enquiries (FAI Determination Summaries).
Scotland Criminal Database - search over 950,000 Scottish criminal records, Scottish court data and prison records.
Scotland Sheriff Court (criminal) - Over 7,000 records searchable by name, reference number or case name.
Scotland Sheriff Court (civil) - Over 2,500 records searchable by name, reference number or case name.
Wales:
The Crime and Punishment database comprises data about crimes, criminals and punishments included in the gaol files of the Court of Great Sessions in Wales from 1730 until its abolition in 1830
Northern Ireland:
Northern Ireland Unlawfully at Large - Official list of individuals on the run in Northern Ireland, maintained by the Department of Justice.
Geospatial Data and Maps
Secret Bases UK - Maps of known UK military bases.
UK AIR - The official air quality map, by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Private Eye - Interactive map showing land owned in the UK by overseas and offshore companies.
HMRC Tax Defaulters - Official list maintained by the UK tax authority for deliberate corporate tax defaulters.
England:
Who Owns England? - This map displays major landowners in England, combining public data with Freedom of Information requests.
Lancashire Police Traffic Watch - Get realtime traffic updates for the North West of England, including incidents, congestion, road works, events and cameras.
Surrey Interactive Map - Official map of Surrey County Council.
Cornwall Council Interactive Map - Official map of the Southwest England, UK.
Plymouth Maps - Various official government maps for the Plymouth region.
Kent Boundaries Map - Official map maintained by Kent County Council.
Manchester Map - Map maintained by MappingGM (ExploreGM)
GB Maps - Unofficial map of West Yorkshire.
Drill Map of London - Gang territorial control in the capital of the UK.
Apps.London.Gov - Maps of publicly owned land in the capital region.
Train Times - Monitor activity along all bus routes in London.
London Picture Map - The London Picture Archive allows to search by keyword or period for pictures of historic London.
London Cultural Infrastructure Map - Archives, art centres, cinemas and much more.
Map of Islington - Official government map of Islington, Borough of London.
Map of Richmond upon Thames - Official government map of Richmond upon Thames, Borough of London.
Map of Kensington and Chelsea - Official government map of Kensington and Chelsea, Borough of London.
Map of Ealing - Official government map of Ealing, Borough of London.
Map of Greenwich - official government map of Greenwich, Borough of London.
Scotland:
Wales:
DataMapWales serves as a source for public sector data in Wales, providing a shared data platform to members of the public and public authorities.
Northern Ireland:
Historic Map Viewer - Historic Environment Record of Northern Ireland.
Vehicle, Flight & Vessel Tracking
RAF Watch (raf.watch) is an OSINT aviation monitoring website that provides an interactive map showing activity of United Kingdom Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft.
MOT Check - See the past results of a vehicle’s MOT (Ministry of Transport) tests, including if it passed or failed, the mileage recorded when it was tested, next MOT date and more.
FreeCarCheck - Find basic car registration details, if any vehicle is stolen, has finance obligations and more. Search by registration plate number.
Civil Aviation Authority - The official register of civil aircraft (G-INFO), which contains details for over 18,000 aircrafts. You can search for registered owners, aircraft type, and registration marks (prefix G-)
CLIP - The Crew List Index Project is a non-profit set up to assist research into the records of British merchant seafarers of the late 19th and early 20th century. Search by vessel or ship name.
UK Ship Register - The official UK ship register has limited public accessibility and does not maintain a searchable online database. Specific vessel information can be obtained by formally requesting a Transcript of Registry.
FQA Register - The Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) Register is an online UK government tool that lists information on UK fishing vessel licences and their owners. You can search by license number, vessel name or person name.
People Search
192.com - 192 offers people search functionalities based on electoral roll data.
UKPhonebook - Identify phone numbers and addresses based on name search (paid credits required).
BritishPhoneBook - Find information such as phone number and address by inserting name and location optionally (appears outdated).
BritishYellowPages - Search by Business name or category (appears outdated).
UKFriendsReunited - Find personal information by searching educational details. Search Primary, Middle or Secondary Schools, Colleges, or Universities.
FreeBMD - A project managed by Free UK Genealogy, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, that maintains a searchable copy of civil registration records for births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales, currently containing 298,510,339 distinct records (404,885,987 total records).
FreeCEN - A project managed by Free UK Geneology, a Charitable Incorportated Organisation, that maintains searchable census data from 50,000,000 individuals between 1841 and 1891.
FreeREG - A project managed by Free UK Geneology, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, that maintains 62,000,000 records from parish registers
FindmyPast - Obtain census data, death, marriage and birth records, as well as parish, military and travel records (free account setup required).
Find a Postcode - Parcel Force
UK Telephone Directory, Person Search & Company Information - UKPhoneBook
(Paid) Pipl - Online People Search
Scotland:
Northern Ireland:
Wales:
Media Outlets
Royal United Services Institute - RUSI is one of the world’s oldest and one of the UK’s most prominent think tanks in the area of defence and security.
British News Paper Archive - Explore over 100,000,000 digitised news paper sources starting in 1700.
BBC - Comprehensive UK and international news coverage from the BBC, including politics, business, and breaking news.
Sky News - Digital news service offering live updates, video reporting, and UK-focused current affairs coverage.
Channel 4 - UK and world news coverage with video reporting, investigations, and daily explainers.
GB News - News, opinion and analysis on the right side of the political spectrum
Economist - Influential weekly publication offering in-depth analysis of economics, business, and international affairs.
City AM - London-based free business newspaper focused on finance, markets, and the UK business community.
Business Insider UK - Digital business news site reporting on companies, technology, finance, and workplace trends.
The Rest is Politics - Online show that covers the latest news in Westminster, hosted by former Downing Street Director of Communications and Strategy Alastair Campbell and Cabinet Minister Rory Stewart
Yahoo Finance UK - Find information about UK stocks, ticker symbols and financial updates.
The Sun - Popular national tabloid known for celebrity news, sport coverage, and mass-market appeal across the United Kingdom.
Daily Mail - Widely read national newspaper published by DMG Media, combining news, opinion, lifestyle, and investigative reporting.
Daily Mirror - National tabloid with a centre-left editorial stance, focusing on politics, social issues, sport, and human-interest stories.
The Times - Leading British daily newspaper published by News UK, offering in-depth reporting on politics, business, and public affairs.
The Sunday Times - Influential Sunday newspaper recognised for investigations, long-form journalism, business rankings, and analysis.
The Telegraph- National daily newspaper with a strong focus on politics, economics, opinion columns, and international reporting.
The Guardian- Internationally respected UK newspaper known for investigative journalism, progressive commentary, and global coverage.
The Observer - UK Sunday newspaper known for long-form reporting, politics, culture, and analysis.
The Independent- Digital-only national news outlet providing UK and international coverage, commentary, and investigative reporting.
Newsletter- (or Belfast News Letter), established in 1737, is one of the world’s oldest English-language daily newspaper still in publication.
Belfast Telegraph-Founded in 1870 and based in Belfast, it is known for its unionist, yet largely neutral, political stance, providing in-depth coverage of local, political, and sports news with a digital-first focus.
HM Coastguard - Updates and news relating to the UK coastguard.
RAF News - Updates on military exercises and non-operational airforce movements.
Scotland:
The Herald - The Herald is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. The Herald is the longest running national newspaper, formerly known as the Glasgow Herald.
The Scotsman- Scottish newspaper and website, headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Edinburgh News- A daily newspaper and website based in Edinburgh, Scotland, first published in 1873.
Wales:
BBC Cymru Wales (BBC Wales) – Major public broadcaster producing TV, radio, and online news about Wales.
S4C – Welsh-language public TV channel broadcasting news, culture, and entertainment entirely in Welsh.
Western Mail – Main national newspaper of Wales (English language).
The National (Wales) – National newspaper focused on Welsh politics and identity.
WalesOnline – One of the most widely visited Welsh news websites.
Northern Ireland:
The Irish News- A daily newspaper headquartered in Belfast, focused on covering news across Northern Ireland. It is one of the region’s leading daily newspapers.
BelfastLive- An online daily news publication covering local sports, entertainment and breaking news in the Belfast and Northern Ireland area.
Investigative Reporting Organizations
(Members of Global Investigative Journalism Network)
Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) - The Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) is a charity that champions critical, in-depth reporting and the defence of the public interest.
Finance Uncovered - Finance Uncovered has been established with the goal of increasing the quantity and quality of investigative journalism on illicit financial flows.
openDemocracy - Is an independent global media organization.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) - The Bureau of Investigative Journalism is an independent not-for-profit organisation.
The Gecko Project - Is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the role of land use in some of the most pressing global challenges: climate change, deforestation, the collapse of biodiversity, food security, and the rights of marginalised communities.
The Bristol Cable - The Bristol Cable is redefining local journalism through challenging multimedia, community action and cooperative ownership.
Birmingham City University School of Media - Birmingham City University School of Media has a global reputation for excellence in data journalism and reporting using new technologies.
The Centre for Climate Reporting - Is a nonprofit investigative journalism organization that holds accountable the many actors obstructing the world’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
Scotland:
The Ferret is Scotland’s investigative journalism platform. A nonprofit cooperative owned by its readers and writers, the outlet investigates issues that impact the lives of people across Scotland, the UK and beyond.
Northern Ireland:
Ulster University School of Communication and Media has a 25-year record of educating reporters with an emphasis on hard news and investigation.
WHOIS
Registration Data Access Protocol - The successor to WHOIS UK provides information about internet resources (domain names, AS, and IP addresses).
Nominet UK - Use the Domain Lookup tool to access information about existing UK domains.
Other Toolkits and Resources
UK Start Me - A UK focussed Start.me page with various resources including business, government, maps, crime, people search, vehicle information and patents.
UK OSINT Community - A UK-focused OSINT non-profit that frequently posts resources, guides and webinars. They frequently organise offline events with speakers from across the sector.
OCCRP ID - a service that helps investigations and research by sharing the most useful public records. Filter by country, including the UK.
Paul Pogoda Github - A useful Github page with useful UK OSINT tools, including public records, open data, land registers, business, people search and WHOIS.
Worldwide OSINT Tool Map - UK Phonebooks, cadastral maps, vehicle numbers databases, business registries, passengers lists, court records and much more.
Miscellaneous
UK Parliament - Watch debates and committee hearings.
Open Fact Book - Overview of UK geography, people, government, and economy (a crowd sourced alternative to the recently retired CIA World Factbook).
Want more tools? Check out our full collection of OSINT resources here: https://unishka.com/resources/
If we’ve missed any good sources, just drop us a comment or send an email to abawer@unishka.com — we’ll make sure to add them to the toolkit!
We sincerely thank David-Alex Mendelsohn, a UK-based OSINT researcher, for collaborating with UNISHKA on the development of this toolkit.