Several of the cases profiled in Rough Justice were referred back to the Court of Appeal, and several resulted in overturned convictions.
Amongst his TV documentaries for ITV, the BBC and C4 are the following:[1] A number of Ware's programmes have attracted trenchant criticism: Asylum seekers The then Home Secretary, David Blunkett described "The Asylum Game" (2003)[20] as a "poorly researched and overspun documentary" which uncritically repeated the claims of MigrationWatch UK, an organisation campaigning for tightening restrictions on immigration to the UK.
[22] Save for The Guardian, however, the programme was reviewed positively by the rest of the mainstream media,[23] with Blunkett’s criticism described as “intemperate” in The Sunday Times.
[36] The Labour Party, then led by Jeremy Corbyn, strongly condemned the programme, stating that it contained "deliberate and malicious representations designed to mislead".
[44] In a statement, the BBC said it “welcomed” the “long overdue apology to John Ware and the seven Panorama whistle-blowers who have been subjected to painful and damaging attacks on their integrity and character” adding “John Ware is a reporter with an extraordinary record of excellence at Panorama for investigative journalism in the public interest.”[45] Jeremy Corbyn and some Labour Party members stood by the original accusations.
In 2020, Ware commenced legal proceedings against Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi and Richard Kuper of Jewish Voice for Labour for making false allegations about his journalistic career and the programme.
[46][47] In September 2022, they agreed to issue a full public apology and in a settlement are reported to have paid £200,000 in costs and damages.
[48] Ware also won a libel case against Paddy French, editor of Press Gang and Rebecca Television.
[62][63] Ware now lives in north-west London with his wife, the television producer Wendy Robbins, who is also Jewish,[64] and their three children.