The News Agents

The government has taken the Covid inquiry, that it set up and poured so much public and private faith in, to court. What the f•••?!We try to make sense of this with Lara Spirit of The TimesAnd.. is the mortgage market fast becoming a serious economic crisis in the UK?

Boris Johnson has, finally, and perhaps reluctantly, handed over a ton of WhatsApp messages between him and others while he was PM at the height of the Covid pandemic. But what will the Cabinet Office do with him, and what does this mean for Johnson, Sunak and the Conservative Party?And, we talk to a spokesperson and member of Just Stop Oil. When do the ends justify the means when it comes to civil disobedience? Are they now crossing a line?

Keir Starmer's column on Wednesday morning in right-wing tabloid newspaper The Express is another step in the Labour leader's transformation from all guns blazing Remainer to born again Brexiteer. But he's not the first Labour leader to turn to the right-leaning press to prove his prime ministerial credentials as the next general election draws ever closer.What does this mean for Labour and where does this leave Britain's place in the world, and its relationship with Europe if Labour are the next government in power? And what on earth is 'Securonomics' - the new economic model Starmer's potential Chancellor Rachel Reeves launched in Washington DC last week that will seek to boost post-Brexit Britain.Plus - the curious case of Joe Biden's former advisor fleeing to Moscow to seek 'safety' and citizenship. Hmm.

It started with a tabloid story that a male and female presenter on daytime TV were no longer getting on. Big deal. It was accompanied by darker rumours about Philip Schofield, a fixture on television for decades. And then the wisps of smoke on a hillside became a full scale wildfire, tearing through ITV. His relationship with a much younger man have now turned this into a daytime chat show into peak time drama, and questions are now growing for ITV senior management.An ITV statement on Saturday responded to allegations that ITV ignored any potential relationship Schofield had at ITV.“ITV can confirm that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated. "Both parties were questioned and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours as did Phillip's then agency YMU."Phillip’s statement [a few days ago] reveals that he lied to people at ITV… over this relationship."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan joins Lewis Goodall on The News Agents in a wide-ranging interview shedding light on working with Boris Johnson, Theresa May and Rishi Sunak. He also talks about his PTSD after getting death threats and his new book, Breathe: Tackling the Climate Emergency.

We'll be looking at sex, lies and Downing Street later in this episode with a writer who worked in Number10 - and we'll be asking if politicians REALLY want an honest conversation about Immigration - but we begin with the newest launch failure by Elon Musk. This one involved not a rocket but a presidential candidate - who thinks he can beat Donald Trump. If that was ever true, it feels much more unlikely today after the campaign launch went up in flames.

Does it matter if Boris Johnson broke more Covid rules by inviting guests to his country home, Chequers, when the rest of the country was in lockdown? His former advisor Guto Harri says it's time to get over it. There are more important things to discuss. But we're not so sure the country is quite so ready to forgive and move on. What does it say about the country in which we live, if rules no longer count and if the civil servants who report wrongdoing are threatened with legal action? Later we look at the latest Presidential hopeful to take on Donald Trump - Ron DeSantis, Florida Governor, who is launching his campaign on Twitter.

Celebrations at Newcastle United as they qualify for the Champions League. It's a success story for the club, team and fans - but it's all been helped by new money from their Saudi backers. Today we look at a future of football as nation states - securing victories on the pitch, battling geopolitics off it. And we look at the investigation by The Athletic journalist Adam Crafton, who reveals the pressure Boris Johnson's government brought to bear on the Premier League during the Saudi takeover of Newcastle, the failure of which he said would be "an immediate risk" to the UK/Saudi relationship.

Did Home Secretary Suella Braverman break the ministerial code by asking civil servants to help her avoid a public speed awareness course?She insists there's nothing to see here - she's taken the points on her licence and wants to move on. Her allies insist she's the victim of a smear campaign by those who don't like her immigration policies. But today on the News Agents we talk to former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland who asks what she was doing at the National Conservatism conference, and whether she is committed to 'collective cabinet responsibility' - a subtle dig at her own prime ministerial ambitions perhaps?

When Matt Hancock visited News Agents HQ yesterday, he repeatedly refused to answer questions about decisions he made in government during the pandemic. And it got us thinking about why so many politicians struggle to admit when they’ve got things wrong. Today Lewis asks why is it - in politics - that sorry always seems to be the hardest word?

Matt Hancock, this afternoon, walked into The News Agents bunker for the first time. In this full, unedited interview, he tells us what he makes of the right of the Conservative Party, why he gave Isabel Oakeshott 100,000 of his WhatsApp messages, and he tells us who he thinks leaked the video revealing his affair with his aide at the height of Covid restrictions.

The MP for South West Norfolk has made a speech in Taiwan urging the UK Government to treat China as a security threat. She's the first former PM to visit Taiwan since Margaret Thatcher. China - which is seeking 'reunification' with Taiwain - has called it a 'dangerous stunt'. Many in Truss's own party feel the same way. But is there sense in her message even if she's the wrong one to deliver it? And what is she hoping to achieve - for the world, her party and herself? And, later, we speak to Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz about playing twins in her drama 'Dead Ringers', moves to curtail women's rights in the US, her husband James Bond, and Lewis' acorn.

Today we take you behind the scenes at Nat Con: the Conservative-ish conference taking place in London this week. It's a meeting of hard Brexiteers, nationalists, libertarians, and the 'anti woke'. With a smattering of Holocaust minimisers, homophobes and climate-deniers thrown in for good measure. It's an exciting place - attended by senior cabinet ministers too - and today we ask if they are the fringe or the future of the Conservative Party.

A warning: explicit language from the very start of the episode. Alastair Campbell meets the The News Agents in the ultimate podcast mash up. We ask him about his "wanker switch" and what happens when things go wrong live on air. And about the Starmer strategy for quiet winning.We also talk war, Murdoch and tactical voting. Later we hear from Jacob Rees Mogg who admits the Voter ID legislation was gerrymandering.

It's Eurovision weekend. But the biggest party in Europe will not take place in Ukraine -last year’s victor - but in Liverpool. This episode is not about Eurovision, but instead asking where we are with the Ukraine war, over 400 days since its start. With more than 9000 Ukrainian civilians dead, are we any closer to the conflict’s end? We take you in depth and discover how everything hinges on the Ukrainian counter offensive, now finally coming.And in our latest My Political Make Up interview we talk to Labour MP and Shadow Minister for Women, Jess Phillips.

Daniel Morgan, a young private investigator, was murdered in a carpark in 1987. His killer has never been brought to justice. Three and a half decades on the Met Police have discovered a "locked file of documents" that were never handed over to the inquiry looking into police failures. Today on The News Agents we ask London Mayor his response to what just happened, whether the police should be trusted with new powers and whether corruption lies at the heart of what went wrong. We also take you to the car crash debate of the last 24 hours. For the first time since 2016, CNN decided to give Donald Trump a live town hall forum with a studio audience... the day after a jury found him liable for sex abuse.

Is America prepared to elect a president found to have sexually abused a woman in a department store? A New York civil court took just three hours to find Trump liable for abuse and defamation although it cleared him of rape. The response to the verdict has been achingly familiar. Senior Republicans calling the case a witch hunt and the jury "a joke". Trump probably isn’t the first sex abuser to have held high office. But he’s the first to have been found to have done so by a US jury. He's going to appeal the decision but if his own party are willing to tolerate it and denigrate the rule of law anyway - what does that tell us about America?You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Forget those apocalyptic predictions of a thousand lost Conservative council seats. In the end the losses totalled 1,063. Every Conservative strategist thinks ‘something must be done’. But what is that something? More house building? More tax cuts? More ‘true Conservative’ values? More Boris? We talk to former Brexit minister David Davis about his party and what it does next.

The results are in. And it was a complete drubbing for Rishi Sunak’s Tories. His first big electoral test and it can only go down as one massive fail. Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens are reviving in every direction. The Prime Minister is putting a brave face on it, but do the results suggest the Conservatives are doomed at the polls in 2024? In this election special show Lewis takes you through the results and what we can glean from Election 2023.

America's First Lady has just flown in for the King's coronation - without her husband the President. Donald Trump calls it 'disgraceful'. But today on The News Agents we get reaction from the Ambassador herself. Why are Americans so obsessed with our monarchy? Is Biden too old to run again?What mistakes have been made within the special relationship? And what is her favourite British swear word?You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

New laws to curb the power of protest have been pushed through parliament - just days before the Coronation. Penalties include a 12 month prison sentence for protestors who block roads. Are we happy to see more powers in the hands of the police? And how do they feel about the new obligation to arrest? Also - is Sue Gray going to be allowed to take her new job? And will Simon Case be able to keep his? A former permanent secretary says no…You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Keir Starmer has admitted the Labour party will 'move on' from his original commitment to abandon tuition fees. What does that mean? Is there a solution to what is essentially a bad graduate tax? And why should we believe pledges that keep on getting torn up?Also, as Princess Anne unironically endorses the current size of the monarchy, we ask how we feel about the Coronation and the pledge of allegiance to our King.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Richard Sharp - the embattled, embroiled BBC Chairman has resigned after a report by The Commissioner for Public Appointments found a perceived conflict of interest and a breach of the Governance Code. But this story goes much wider than one man, one job and an £800k loan to Boris Johnson. It asks questions of the institutions that run Britain: a 'jobs for the boys culture’, a toxic legacy bestowed by the former Prime Minister, and questions about the Cabinet Secretary’s conduct. Where does this all leave the BBC, the Civil Service and Rishi Sunak? We discuss.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

For the first time ever, voter ID will be required at the polling stations next week for the May local council elections in England. It may not seem like a big ask - many countries in Europe already demand it. Yet it's triggering alarm bells. Why has the government introduced a solution to a problem (voter fraud) that didn't exist? Why has it restricted the kinds of ID you're allowed to bring? And why has it refused to accept the advice - even from senior Conservatives - saying the changes could lead to massive disenfranchisement and disillusionment with the democratic system. We'll be talking about how to vote, and what these elections could tell us about the political winds.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The renting crisis in Britain is unsustainable. More than sixty percent of private renters faced a rent rise last year - and they're already spending around 32 percent of their income on housing. Today on The News Agents we hear from those who are struggling to even get on the rental ladder - properties are massively over subscribed. Some tenants are putting down payments on flats they haven't even seen. Others are seeing deposits withheld and are blamed (and charged) for the disrepairs their landlords should have fixed. We hear from tenants, a landlord, an estate agent and someone who's been analyisng the housing market for a decade. And we bring you the latest blows from PMQs.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

As Prince Harry brings his case against the News Group Newspapers (Murdoch) at the High Court, his lawyers have made an astonishing allegation: that his brother, Prince William, reached a payout over claims his phone had been hacked. News of the settlement revealed in court documents - show the late Queen was involved in “discussions and authorisation” of the agreement. The judge may yet decide to throw the case out for coming too late. But if not Harry, we are told, is determined to see it through to the end, whatever the personal cost. Murdoch has already paid out millions for phone hacking here - and last week nearly a billion dollars in the Dominion lawsuit. Was Tucker Carlson's rapid departure connected? Also, we look at Joe Biden's 2024 presidential bid, discuss ageism in politics, and discover who Ming Campbell beat in a hundred metres race in Stanford in 1967.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Stay indoors!We continue to advise all British nationals in Sudan to stay indoors wherever possible. We recognise circumstances will vary in different locations. You should exercise your own judgement about your circumstances, including whether to relocate at your own risk.This is the current advice from the Foreign Office - who have managed to evacuate UK diplomatic staff, but are struggling to help up to 3,000 UK citizens stuck in the warzone that is Sudan - many now fearing for their lives. Should the government be telling people to sit tight? Or get out. And as Dominic Raab exits stage left, his parting shot is at an 'activist' civil service. Was Whitehall really out to get him? We discuss.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has resigned. The inquiry into whether he bullied staff has finally been published. Its conclusion? Raab is a bully. Lewis explores the reports findings and asks what it means for one of his closest allies — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Tom Parker Bowles is a food writer and critic with strong views on coronation chicken, UK farming and... of course, quiche. His mum is about to be crowned Queen - so today we chat about the monarchy, the dos and don'ts of royal food, protest and a certain Harry. And we chat through the political ramifications of Rishi Sunak's response to the bullying inquiry into Dominic Raab.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

This is your midweek episode of Succession. Because Rupert Murdoch - aka Logan Roy - has shelled out nearly 800 million dollars to settle a defamation suit brought by Dominion - a company that makes voting machines. Fox News had tried to claim the voting machines manipulated the result of the 2020 presidential election to make Trump lose. Which was clearly bollocks. Late last night, Fox settled out of court - to make the trial of the century go away. Today we get inside the Murdoch mind with former Sun Newspaper editor David Yelland. We also ask why food is getting ever more expensive with the latest inflation figures.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Another high profile arrest in the SNP. This time, Party Treasurer Colin Beattie - who was called in for questioning in the inquiry into party finances - specifically the concerns over £600,000 raised by supporters to fund a second independence referendum. It's been a rocky few weeks since Sturgeon announced her resignation in February. The arrest of her husband and Chief Executive of the SNP, the blue evidence tent in their garden, the removal of a camper van from the in-laws in Dunfermline, leaked conversations that surfaced two years ago and now the second arrest. What is this doing to the party, to independence and to Scottish voters? And we ask what power Russia has in Africa and how it's channeled through the many tentacles of the Wagner group. These Russian mercenaries are thought to be behind the violence in Sudan, and wield huge power all over the continent - fighting that is paid for in gold and diamonds. How close are they to Putin?You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Animal Rights Protestors are being blamed for the death of a racehorse at the Grand National this weekend after they forced a delay which - trainers say - agitated the animals. Animal Rising - the protestors - say: Don't blame us - horses are dying on racecourses; with or without the delays. But they're delighted we're now having a conversation about animal cruelty, sport and what happens to thoroughbred horses if racing stops. We speak to Ed Chamberlin who saw it all unfold with his own eyes - as the head of ITV's horse racing presenting team.And to Claudia Penna-Rojas from Animal Rising. We also discuss Rishi Sunak's finances - he's under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner. And we ask if we should all be better at maths - with maths lover and teacher Bobby Seagull.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

If you thought the overturning of Roe v Wade- the constitutional right to an abortion in the United States was the end of it in 2022, then 2023 has other ideas. Or rather the radical, anti-abortion groups in the United States have other ideas. Just this week, Florida’s Governor (and presidential hopeful) Republican Ron DeSantis introduced a six week abortion ban in the third biggest state in the country. And in Texas, a Trump-appointed judge ruled that a drug used in over 50% of abortions in America, should never have been legal in the first place. Chaos reigns and once again, the Supreme Court will decide.On a special deep dive of The News Agents we explore both of these cases and ask whether, as part of a culmination of a five decade political strategy and movement, abortion in America will be abolished, by stealth.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

China's President Xi Jinping has told his troops they should be ready for real combat. So now we are wondering if Taiwan will be the next Ukraine. It comes after a week of China sabre-rattling in the Taiwan straits - surrounding the island on all sides with a blockade. France's President Macron is just back from Beijing where he's set the cat amongst the pigeon's with some ill-judged comments about Taiwan. In fact, the Elysee Palace thought them so ill-judged they ordered their removal from the interview he gave. We discuss the damage done, and we hear from Liz Truss in Washington who goes off on one.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

We've been told off-record that Joe Biden might be Irish. Obviously, unattributable. So keep it under your hat. He's the latest in a long line of US Presidents who feels the pull of the Emerald Isle very strongly and traces his ancestry back there by 180 years. But he begins the day in Belfast - reflecting on the Good Friday peace accord 25 years ago. But can he get power-sharing back on track? Or is he too scared to even mention it? And we look at the delights and dangers of a world exclusive interview. Who has the power when Elon Musk is in the seat?You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Labour’s Easter weekend attack ads about the Conservatives and Rishi Sunak specifically have been called 'politics of the gutter' by, awkwardly, Labour’s former Home Secretary David Blunkett. Lewis is joined by Steve Reed, the party’s Shadow Justice Secretary, who was behind the campaign. He, as you’ll hear is entirely unapologetic. Is this the start of a new period of a more vicious politics? And NHS surgeons may be about to face their own #MeToo moment, with female surgeons coming forward to say that sexual assault and misogyny within surgery is commonplace. Lewis talks to Rachel Sylvester, who has written for The Times on the subject and Roshana Mehdian-Staffel, an orthopaedic surgeon who has spoken out about her experiences.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

There are two questions that accompany any political scandal. What did you know and when did you know it? After questioning Nicola Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell for eleven hours yesterday, police are back at their Glasgow house, and there's still a blue evidence tent in the garden. It comes just a week after the leadership election of new SNP First Minister Humza Yousaf, seen as the Sturgeon succession candidate. So what should we make of the timing of all this? And what are the political implications if it was pre arranged?We ask the leader of the SNP in Westminster, Stephen Flynn. And we talk e-scooters after 90% of Parisians vote to ban them from Paris.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

When we left you Trump was on the cusp of entering the Manhattan criminal court as an arrested man. That didn't go well.A door was flung shut in his face. And the indignities began. In this special all-nighter episode of The News Agents we take you through the charges against him, the reaction, the defence and the speech to his supporters in Mar-a-Lago. We speak to a key member of Trump's campaign team who was with him in the wings moments before he went on stage.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Donald Trump will today become the first US president to appear in court on criminal charges. He arrived in NYC late yesterday and will shortly be heading to Lower Manhattan District Court to have his fingerprints taken and hear the 34 charges of improper business dealings being levelled against him. Will the criminal charges stack up? Will Trump keep his cool? And will his supporters take to the streets in protest? In Part One we take you through the process step-by-step. In Part 2 - tomorrow morning - the Trump fightback.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Rishi Sunak has pledged to end the 'political correctness' that stops police arresting child sex abusers from ethnic minority backgrounds. The scandals of Rotherham, Rochdale, Telford show how badly things can go wrong for victims when the perpetrators are seen to be beyond the law. But Labour's West Yorkshire mayor has called it 'dog whistle politics' - and some are wondering why the Conservatives are borrowing the far right language of Tommy Robinson. Is it possible to have a nuanced debate? And the Italian newspapers are writing today about our 'Fifteen Hour Dover Brexit queues'. Is everyone pointing to Brexit except the British government?You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

For the first time in American history a former president has been indicted (charged) with a criminal offence. Donald Trump will appear in a New York court on Tuesday afternoon. Do the charges stack up? Will they help Trump or hinder Trump? And how is this unprecedented moment going to impact the Presidential Race of 2024.?Spoiler alert - you can actually campaign from behind bars...You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Ten years on from the horse meat crisis, a new scandal has engulfed almost the entire food retail sector. Huge quantities of foreign pork - sometimes tens of thousands of tonnes a week - has been passed off, fraudulently as British. One meat processor - who can't be named for legal reasons - has been accused by former employees of 'washing' hams that are visibly rotten, or mixing bad meat with fresh produce. They even allege paperwork - which would pick up infections like bacteria or E.coli - was being falsified. We talk to the Farmers Weekly journalist who broke the story Abi Kay. And we dip into the 'vagina-scented' ski slopes of Utah to visit the trial of the century - Gwyneth Paltrow v Terry Sanderson.At the time of publication, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) had not provided us with a comment after we approached them.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.[Two hours after the episode was published, the FSA provided us with this statement:“We are continuing our criminal investigation into how a meat supplier allegedly provided products labelled as British when they were in fact sourced from other countries.   This is a live investigation which means we are looking into all new lines of inquiry with the relevant local authorities, including investigating potential food hygiene breaches. This is alongside the work we are doing to investigate food fraud. Based on the investigation to date, there is no indication that food is unsafe or there is an increased risk to consumers.  Criminal investigations take time and need to be done with due process and fairness. The FSA will work tirelessly on behalf of consumers to ensure that this criminal investigation is done to the highest possible standards.  I do want to emphasise at a time when cost pressures and other challenges mean the risks of food fraud might be increasing, it is vital everyone involved in the food chain works to ensure that food is safe and what it says it is.”  Emily Miles, Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency]

THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS TO BE HOUSED ON LUXURY CRUISE SHIP screamed the headline in the Daily Express. That was in February of 2016. And it never happened. The idea has been mooted in various ways about ten times in the last decades - including by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor in 2020. Each time the idea is dropped for being unworkable, unaffordable or illegal. So why do we keep falling for it? Also - should the descendants of slave owners be making reparations to the people or the places they have hurt? We talk to Laura Trevelyan who's family has decided to make amends for their own past.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Jeremy Corbyn will not be allowed to stand for Labour at the next election. That’s despite the fact he’s been an MP in Islington North since 1983 and led Labour at two general elections- nothing like it has ever happened before. Jon and Lewis explain why Labour’s ruling body has made the move and why Labour’s left might not be as weak as you might think.And the News Agents are joined by a secret agent, or at least someone, who was. Sir Richard Dearlove was the head of MI6 during the Iraq War. Twenty years on we talk to him about how he and his fellow intelligence officers got it so catastrophically wrong on Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction (or lack thereof), whether or not he regrets the invasion and how life is different for young spooks, today.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

More mass protests in the streets- this time in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the rest of Israel.Millions of Israelis believe their democracy to be in jeopardy. The airport is blocked, universities out of action, a general strike has been called. Even the diplomats won’t go to work. With academic and expert Ayala Panievsky, we explain why so many - both within the Israeli state and in the population at large - believe Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempt to transform the country’s judicial system to be a gross violation of democracy. We explore whether this could finally be the end for Bibi and what it could mean for the wider Middle East.And we usher in a new SNP leader after a divisive race, and talk to the investigative journalist behind the new Led By Donkeys sting.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

In this special episode of The News Agents, Lewis travels to Paris to find out why the City of Lights is on fire. Amidst the tear gas, the riot police, the stun grenades and the flames, The News Agents ask- what's happened? why is it this bad? And why could this riot be the start of a new, far-right, European order?It all comes as huge protests have erupted across France after President Emmanuel Macron forced through a rise in the country’s pension age.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Keir Starmer spent the morning in Stoke-on-Trent. Not WOKE-on-Trent, as one hilarious Tory Red-wall-er reminded him. But attempts to fire up the culture war are something Rishi Sunak wants no part in.And recent polling suggests it's the right call. Today we look at the state of play of the two main political parties and what the numbers are currently telling us -with James Kanagasoorium of Focaldata. And we ask whether we mind have a billionaire prime minister who pays a million pound tax bill. Lewis is on the streets of Paris where they are rioting. And not just because of something he said.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Boris Johnson told the parliamentary inquiry that he HAD misled parliament, but he hadn't meant to. His repeated defence was that he hadn't been advised what he was saying might be wrong (he had). And that other people hadn't told him that rules might have been broken (they had). He insisted that the leaving parties he'd attended had been essential work and berated Downing Street itself for having too many corridors to make parties safer. Sir Bernard Jenkin led the charge asking what he would have told a press conference if the rest of the country had wanted to hold leaving parties too. Now the committee goes away to consider its findings and its verdict. We dissect the afternoon and that Stormont Brake vote that briefly interrupted proceedings.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The Met Police - so says the explosive Casey Review released today - is a bullying boys club in which predators flourish. Rape evidence is thrown out - because of broken fridges.Eye-watering force is used against Black people.Gay officers are scared of their colleagues.So what happens now? And will this diminish public trust in the force even further? The author of the review Baroness Louise Casey joins us. Plus we get hold of Boris Johnson's defence dossier. He argues he didn't mean to mislead Parliament, only called it a party because the media did and doesn't understand why he's accused of breaking rules when everyone else did too. So yes. that one.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Boris Johnson has submitted evidence to the Privileges Committee which will be judging whether he set out to mislead the House of Commons over Partygate. He argues that 'he was advised he wasn't breaking any rules' - which might seem odd coming from the person who in fact made up those rules. We now await publication of his defence. Also today - why the DUP won't vote for Sunak's latest Brexit deal: The Windsor Framework. And - on Iranian New Year we speak to Anoosheh Ashoori and his daughter Elika. Anoosheh emerged from Evin prison a year ago after being falsely arrested. He tells us of his hunger strike, his suicide attempts and his torture - and why he's now feeling optimistic for Iran.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

After nearly a decade of stability spearheaded by Nicola Sturgeon, why do the SNP look like they're imploding? The three candidates after her job are spending day after day taking lumps out of each other. Polling suggests that the only thing that they're hurting though is their common goal: Scottish independence.We speak to one of the candidates who's attack on the independence of the leadership process has been called 'Trumpian'. And we speak to a senior SNP MP about what this is doing to the political party that, just seven weeks ago, resembled an immovable object in the way of both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. And for some weekend listening. We ask a Labour grandee and parliamentary history-maker what it was like to be the first female Black MP in the House of Commons.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt finished his early morning media round and then came for a coffee with the News Agents. We asked how many doctors would re-enter the workforce with his pension changes. How Brexit will effect our growth longer term. And where his childcare ideas came from....You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Today's bombshell rabbit (to mix a metaphor) was the Chancellor's promise to abolish the lifetime allowance on pensions.If you're super-rich it's time to crack open the champagne. If you're working age and well-paid, it might keep you in your job longer - at least that's the aim- but this is against a backdrop where household disposable income is falling at its fastest rate since the 1950s. We talk childcare, taxation, potholes, and Brexit beer. Later, we revisit the question of BBC impartiality after leaked emails show an editor succumbing to pressure from Boris Johnson's Number 10 during the pandemic.You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/VideosThe News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Last night more than forty Conservative MPs refused to back Suella's new plan for immigration. One- the former Lord Chancellor - called it 'ineffective authoritarianism'. Another - the former Immigration Minister - called it 'an absolute horror'. So today we tackle the policy head on. Is it legal? Is it humane? And will it lead fewer people taking small boats? We also look at police violence against women. The numbers are unbelievable - how, out of 1500 officers facing accusations of violence, have only 13 been dismissed. Is the force 'institutionally sexist'? You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Gary Lineker will be back on air this weekend. And BBC Director General Tim Davie has apologised to viewers for the weekend's schedule disruptions. They'd like this row to go away now. Except it won't. Where does it leave the BBC Chair and his Tory donations and friendships? Where does it leave the social media activities of other high profile talent? And what does impartiality mean - if it's being dictated by the government? We speak to Armando Iannucci - who coined the phrase omnishambles a decade ago...And we look at the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and ask if over the weekend we got close to another financial crash.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The BBC have told Gary Lineker he won't be presenting Match of the Day on Saturday night. Emily, Jon and Lewis bring you their immediate reaction.Protests against drag queen story readings for kids have been gaining momentum in the US and increasingly the UK. This week in London there was a clash between protestors, arguing about whether these kinds of activities - where drag queens read stories to children - should be allowed to take place. Lewis asks what happens at these readings, why people are concerned, and looks at why this might develop into the latest frontier in a culture war. And is Georgia running back to sugar daddy Russia?You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The coveted Crimes against the English Language award goes to Penny Mordaunt today for mangling almost a dozen football analogies into one short Commons speech. We are still trying to work out what a left wing striker is but for now what you need to know is that the Conservative frontbench is nervously awaiting a response to their small boats policy from President Macron tomorrow when Rishi Sunak goes to Paris. The News Agents hear their might be a firm Gallic 'non' coming. So what happens to the returns policy then? And is that why Conservatives want to carry on talking about Gary Lineker for as long as they feasibly can...You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Gary Lineker has responded to the furore surrounding his tweet on the government's asylum policy with the promise to 'keep speaking for those with no voice'. It's being reported on the BBC News website - whist - we understand - the BBC is currently trying to give Lineker 'a frank talking to' for breaking impartiality rules. How do the BBC rules on impartiality work? We speak here from a little experience... And can Suella Braverman defend her language - and her policy more generally - to the country?You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The Tories have produced - at last count - over forty different failed policies to stop channel crossings. Today, Suella Braverman came up with the latest.It will prevent anyone arriving here by small boat from claiming asylum or doing so in the future. And it promises to detain them for 28 days after which they will be returned. Without quite explaining where... or how. We ask if this desperate measure will break the Geneva Convention - the UN Convention of Human Rights - and talk to former Labour Home Secretary Jack Straw.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Is Boris Johnson’s dad going to receive a knighthood? Is anyone else in the Johnson family? We speak to Rachel Johnson who opens up about family relationships and how it works if your brother is Prime Minister.We also ask why Keir Starmer seems to be unwilling or unable to answer a simple question: when did he first appoint Sue Gray? Does this all go back to Cabinet Secretary Simon Case?You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

We talk to the woman who has started a war with Matt Hancock- journalist Isabel Oakeshott. He was her source and she turned on him by taking 100,000 of her Whatsapp messages to The Telegraph. The revelations have gripped Westminster- she tells us there’s more to come. We talk to her about her motivations. And we talk all things Sue Gray, that once famous woman of Westminster who investigated Boris Johnson and Partygate, off to become…Keir Starmer’s Chief of Staff.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Boris Johnson is back. But then again, he never really went away. In a speech today at a soft power forum, he takes a swing at Rishi Sunak and his Windsor Framework after two days of lying low. We discuss the continual Johnson-shaped fly in the Sunak ointment.And Jon and Lewis go through the latest Hancock WhatsApp developments in the Lockdown Files story, and talk to Mehdi Hasan, MSNBC anchor and author of Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading and Public Speaking to talk about misinformation in the US media.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The Telegraph have released a slew of Matt Hancock's Whatsapp messages from when he was Health Secretary, at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic.Lewis and Jon discuss the politics of the investigation, and the ethics, or lack thereof, of the journalist behind the release of the messages. And is Matt Hancock, quite simply, a plonker?You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

We said yesterday that Rishi Sunak had taken a massive gamble announcing a new deal for Northern Ireland without having necessarily laid the political groundwork beforehand. Well, 24 hours later, and it feels like he might have pulled off a blinder. The far-right of his Tory party are...quiet, and the DUP seem cautiously optimistic. Perhaps most importantly, Boris Johnson, a key potential spanner in Sunak's works, hasn't poked his head above the parapet. Could this be the start of a Conservative government rising from the ashes of internecine warfare? And could that well prove problematic for one Keir Starmer?And in the podcast, we talk to someone who knows a thing or two about significant Irish agreements: former Taoiseach from 1997-2008, Bertie Ahern, who orchestrated the Good Friday Agreement with Tony Blair's Labour government back in 1998, some 25 years ago.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

For Northern Ireland Protocol, now read Windsor Framework. A beaming Rishi Sunak and European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, have signed what MIGHT come to be seen as an historic agreement to solve the conundrum of the status of Northern Ireland post-Brexit. Might, because we don't know how the loyalist, unionist DUP will react, nor the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative Party, the ERG, potentially led by mischief-maker-in-chief, Boris Johnson. What Sunak has negotiated is a victory for pragmatic policy-making. But the raw politics still looks precarious.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

U.S. Senator, Chair of the Budget Committee and TikTok sensation Bernie Sanders joins Lewis and Jon in the studio. He spoke about Joe Biden’s presidency, whether Jeremy Corbyn should stand as an independent candidate, and his new book It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The environment and food secretary has suggested that - faced with a tomato shortage - people should just eat turnips instead. It’s all a bit Marie Antoinette but just a bit more depressing. Today we look at the long-term problem behind our current empty shelves with Observer food critic Jay Rayner. And on the eve of the anniversary of Russia's second invasion of Ukraine, London's streets are blue and yellow - but is Putin successfully negotiating the West's economic sanctions? We ask corruption hunter-in-chief Bill Browder.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Most fifteen year olds do stupid things. Rarely do they join a terrorist organisation in Syria. But today. Shamima Begum - the ISIS bride - lost her appeal - and with it her chance to regain UK citizenship. Do we feel safer as a country? Or soulless? And as Kate Forbes - committed Christian and SNP Finance Minister makes her case to lead Scotland, we ask another committed Christian, MP Tim Farron - once Lib Dem leader, now podcast host - if politics and religion can ever mix in Britain.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

There is too much news today. Frankly. Putin tried to convince a domestic audience that NATO started the war in Ukraine, Rishi Sunak tried to face down Tory doubters telling him to drop his Northern Ireland deal, and the press and media are mulling over how to respond to accusations of intrusion by Nicola Bulley's grieving family. We hear from Northern Ireland Shadow Secretary Peter Kyle, Putin's former speechwriter Abbas Gallyanov, and former Head of News at ITN and formerly of broadcasting regulator Ofcom's Stewart Purvis.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Boris Johnson has been slapped down by a senior Conservative for his interventions on Rishi Sunak's latest Brexit deal over Northern Ireland. Is the former PM stirring up trouble to pave the way for a comeback? In the first interview since he left office, Johnson's former Director of Comms Guto Harri speaks exclusively to The News Agents and has a message for his old boss. And Lewis comes back from Rotherham, where he was over the weekend reporting on a far-right protest gathered outside a hotel housing asylum seekers. He tells us what he heard and saw.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Rishi Sunak has been in Belfast, hoping he can be the Prime Minister to finally answer the question on the Northern Ireland Protocol. Can he break Brexit gridlock? And elsewhere in the United Kingdom questions over the strength of the Union have been raised by Nicola Sturgeon's decision to quit as leader of the Scottish National Party. Does her resignation signal the the start of the decline of the independence movement?You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Lancashire Police have come under-fire for the revelations they made overnight about the missing mother Nicola Bulley who's not been seen for nearly three weeks. Why did they say so much - after weeks of near silence? And how damaging has that been to trust in the police? And we look at another communications disaster in the making - a train derailment in Ohio is threatening environmental catastrophe. Yet the authorities are accused of a cover up - and conspiracy theories are starting to flourish.....You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Sturgeon is stepping down as Scotland's First Minister. Jeremy Corbyn is banned from standing as a Labour MP. If there’s a broad News Agents take away it’s this: be careful about sitting down with Lewis Goodall. Today we look at what may lie behind Sturgeon's decision and what it could mean for Scottish independence. And we ask Diane Abbott - old friend of Jeremy Corbyn - is she backs the current or former Labour leader now.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The only NHS service in England to offer gender identity services to children announced it would be closing down last year - after years of whistleblowers who worked there trying to raise the alarm about a scandal in their midst: a failure to safeguard some of the country's most vulnerable young adults. What went wrong? And how much did the toxic political climate at the time over trans issues contribute to a work practice that was not fit for purpose. We talk to the investigative reporter Hannah Barnes who's new book Time to Think reflects her years spent talking to those involved - the staff, the families and most importantly, the children themselves.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the airspace, another one gets shot down. What are these unidentified flying objects? Are they *just* balloons? And are there more of them now or are we just noticing them more? What does it tell us about a) the sky b) the relations we now have with one of our biggest trading partners, China. And - missing in action? Jon Sopel has finally turned up ... on Prime Time Australian TV. We are merciless, as you would expect.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Childcare in Britain is broken and yet it is almost never talked about. Why? In this episode, Lewis dissects why Labour thinks this could be the key to a majority at the next election and why in 21st century Britain having children is fast becoming a luxury item. We talk you through how the system has become so expensive and the fact that families increasingly find themselves wondering whether it’s worth both parents staying in work - or worth even having children at all. We also bring you up to date with the ongoing set of scandals engulfing sexual crimes and the Metropolitan Police and- horrifyingly- whether there may be even more to come. You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Authoritarian regimes in both Syria and Turkey make a devastating situation even more complicated. How do we get aid in to help quake victims when the humanitarian corridors are limited and social media communication is censored?In Turkey many want to know where the 30 billion pounds of funding that was meant to make buildings earthquake-proof has gone.Meanwhile, Russia is on the move - coming to Syria's rescue. What's the agenda there? We asked former Foreign Secretary and International Rescue Committee head David Miliband, Minister for Development Andrew Mitchell, and the Times's Hannah Lucinda Smith, who has lived in the regions for years and visited the quake epicentre this week.The DEC is launching the Turkey-Syria Earthquake to deliver vital aid in the aftermath of earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria and raise funds to help its 15 charities to scale up their work to reach more of the millions of people affected. People need help now. Please donate at dec.org.uk.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

With a mere couple of hours notice that Ukraine's President Zelensky was in town, The News Agents dropped everything to get to Westminster Hall to hear him address both houses of Parliament. A speech that began with gracious tributes quickly got to its blunt point: A request for 'wings' - fighter jets - which the US and UK previously turned down. So will this historic demand change the minds of the world leaders? In the hall were both the PM and former PM Boris Johnson. Zelensky paid thanks to both. But The News Agents heard murmurings that Boris Johnson was muttering - all the way through the speech - about Rishi. We're sure it was all good thoughts...You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Rishi Sunak has had his first proper reshuffle (excluding the one he did as soon as he started).What do the changes tell us about the priorities of this government? And what has he left? TL:DR Dominica Raab remains in his job. Then, we shift to the Calder Valley. James Norton is in HQ and talks playing a rapist, being from Yorkshire and what the PM is getting wrong with the arts.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Liz Truss is back. And oh. So are those pauses. She tells Spectator TV she doesn't want to be PM again but she does want to promote her economic ideas. (You remember the ones that nearly melted the markets). We ask why there has been so little self reflection. And if her economic diagnosis might one day prove right...And we speak to Malte Grunert - producer of the world's most harrowing film, All Quiet on the Western Front about German attitudes to war, modern warfare and German history.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Jeremy Corbyn’s time as Labour leader was one of the most extraordinary periods of modern politics. For a while he seemed like he’d moved the posts of politics. And yet now, he is a political ghost. He isn’t even a Labour MP. In this wide ranging and exclusive interview, Lewis talks to the man himself, at length about the prime ministers he knew, the biggest period of industrial unrest for decades, his successor, his suspension and the anti-Semitism saga which engulfed his leadership.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Little birdies have told The News Agents we can shortly expect Liz Truss to re-emerge onto the political scene. She's going to reiterate her ideology and perhaps address some of what went wrong in those fateful 49 days. Don't think of this as another bid for PM. She may be wanting to offer a Conservative template for future generations - think America's Republican firebrand Barry Goldwater in the 1960's who paved the way for Reaganism. And on the subject of Republicans - the Culture Wars in the US are back with a vengeance. Donald Trump is talking transgender, Ron DeSantis is taking on race.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

A Labour MP has put the cat amongst the pigeons by calling Israel's government 'fascist' in the House of Commons. She's been hauled in front of Keir Starmer. Watch this space. We'll be talking about the rising tensions and indeed violence in Israel - but we also wanted to take you behind the scenes to some of the briefings we have been hearing about those Dominic Raab bullying allegations and Boris Johnson's stately trip to the USA.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Brexit is three years old. And like a raging toddler after a missed lunchtime nap it's kicking and screaming its way through our national consciousness creating chaos as it goes. New polls suggest a sizeable proportion of those who voted for Brexit now regret it. What do those who created the Brexit deal make of it now? We talk at length to Lord David Frost - architect of the Northern Ireland Protocol and Chief Brexit Negotiator about why he still believes in it.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

New polls show more bad news for Rishi Sunak less than a day after his decisive action to sack his ministerial-code breaking Conservative Party Chair, Nadhim Zahawi. Why can't the PM catch a break? And is the Zahawi saga over - or is there more to come out? We speak to former Chief of Staff at No.10 Gavin Barwell about what's happening at Tory HQ.And, who do you trust more: Boris Johnson, or the Kremlin?You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

We travel to Edinburgh and Holyrood, the home of the Scottish Parliament, and sit down in a meeting room in the belly of the building housing Scottish power. In walks one of the most formidable people on this sceptred isle. Nicola Sturgeon. She gamely gives us nearly an hour of her time. She’s the great survivor of British politics. She’s on her fifth Tory Prime Minister. She’s bestrode Scottish politics for a decade. And in the last weeks she’s found herself central to the British political conversation once again. Lewis talks to Scotland’s First Minister about her controversial Gender Recognition Reform Bill, about the coming battle (or deal?) with Labour and Keir Starmer, about the strengths and weaknesses of the prime ministers who have come and gone and who she’s observed, and even a bit on Prince Harry.And, after finding out pre-interview that she's a regular listener of the podcast(!), who does she prefer: Emily or Jon?Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Rory SymonPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel RadusEditor: Ellie CliffordExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The News Agents are on Nadhim-watch. Alas there have been no actual sightings of him this week, but he’s been talked about plenty. And now, the head of HMRC has been speaking about tax penalties, and not helpfully for the Tory party chairman, who appears to be edging ever closer to the brink.There was further bad news for the government this morning as the latest car production figures show production is now down to its lowest level for over 60 years. Why? Is it another stark illustration of Britain's shrinking manufacturing industries?And Donald Trump has got his Facebook account back, but he’s very much on probation.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel RadusEditor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

In Prime Minister's Questions this afternoon, Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer landed the blow that seems to have thus far defined political discourse since PM Rishi Sunak took office. Is he too weak to sack ministers when he needs to? Is the job just too big for him? We discuss.And, Germany and the US have agreed to send tanks to Ukraine to help ward off Russia's invasion. Are tanks useful in modern warfare? What does this mean for the Ukrainian war effort? And will this shift the dial in a war that appears to be stagnating? We ask the former Commanding Officer of one of Britain's tank regiments, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon. Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel RadusEditor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs are now becoming a problem for Rishi Sunak. The PM has asked for a full acount of what happened - a change of tune from last week when he said there was nothing to see. Does the PM show resilience from holding on to a colleague under-fire? Or weakness by refusing to face the awkward facts? And we speak to YouTube megastar Nas Daily about Chat GPT and replacing creatives with AI, artificial intelligence.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel RadusEditor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The BBC's mantra is that impartiality - and the perception of impartiality - must be at its core. Yet following revelations in The Sunday Times we are coming to understand the nature of the relationship between the former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his financial needs, and the current Chairman of the BBC - an old friend of his, Richard Sharp. Today, we ask why the Chairman failed to declare details that might have compromised that impartiality. And we speak to former Chair of the BBC Board Diane Coyle, who is horrified at what has emerged.We approached the BBC for comment before publishing this episode.Video: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel RadusEditor: Tom HughesFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

In our 100th episode, are students the forgotten part of our society? They're facing the cost of living crisis, a now near-permanent graduate tax, and many complain about the quality of their courses.On this episode Lewis spends time with a group of Manchester students whose halls have vermin, and for which they're paying a pretty penny. And we take you through one of the biggest misunderstandings of modern British politics- how the student loan system, has stopped really working as a loans system, and is now, for all intents and purposes, a stealth tax.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusEditor: Ellie CliffordFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

Up an icy cold Swiss mountain, Sir Keir Starmer talked exclusively and at length to The News Agents. Will the UK ever rejoin the EU? What should happen to the Metropolitan Police and what do his kids think of his political ambition?Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel RadusEditor: Tom HughesFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

Emily and Jon are in the Swiss mountain village of Davos. Luckily, for them, they're in the same mountain village as some of the world's most important people. It’s a power magnet, and a place to find out what people are thinking about Britain right now. We catch up wih William Hague - former Tory leader - who tells us Brexit is to blame for the collapse of the company Britishvolt. And we doorstep filmmaker Richard Curtis, of Love Actually. And with the Managing Director of The World Bank.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel Radus & Dino SofosEditor: Tom HughesFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

Two of the big conflicts which define British politics- the culture war and the war for the Union, have fused together. The Scottish government's controversial Gender Recognition Bill, which would make it easier for people to legally change their gender and hailed by some as a great advance for trans rights, has been blocked, vetoed by the UK government. UK ministers claim it would impact UK wide equalities legislation. In this episode, Lewis takes you through both the substance of the issue at hand but also how it is just the latest staging post on a constitutional clash of wills between Westminster and Holyrood, and how both issues, already fraught and volatile, are becoming interwoven making both all the more unstable still.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel RadusEditor: Tom HughesFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

It's quite a thing to pick a fight with a Holocaust survivor. But this weekend, The Home Office asked for the removal of a social media clip that showed Joan Salter MBE confronting Home Secretary Suella Braverman over what she called 'dehumanising' rhetoric around refugees. The Home Office said the clip did not show the full exchange and had been heavily edited. Was the clip unfair? In stepping in, did the Home Office act out of order? And what does it tell us more widely about the government's communications issues after a weekend where Rishi Sunak also came unstuck with questioning over Scottish independence. We talk to former Director of Comms at Downing Street Sir Craig Oliver about how you get this stuff right.And, classified documents at three of Biden's residences. Is this any different to Trump's document hoarding at Mar-a-Lago? And does this reinvigorate Trump's 2024 presidential bid and stymie Biden's re-election tilt? Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel RadusEditor: Tom HughesFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

It's been said for years that Labour have been too scared to touch the political lightning rod of Brexit, for fear of losing yet another general election. But, what if that dial is shifting now? What if Keir Starmer's party feel so comfortable in their lead in the polls that the question of Brexit is reopened? He's been in Belfast, today, outlining measures that would soften the terms of the Brexit the UK subjected itself to two years ago. We talk to Labour MP Chris Bryant, and political commentator Steve Richards about whether Starmer is playing his cards right. And, the epidemic of homelessness gets worse. Lewis visits a food station in Central London to talk to the homeless about a crisis and speaks to the CEO of Shelter Polly Neate about the increase of families without a permanent home.Research: Megan McElroySocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel Radus & Ellie CliffordEditor: Tom HughesFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

Keir Starmer is heading to Belfast and believes his party can help unlock the stalemate there. What does it take to make Brexit's biggest headache - the question of Northern Ireland - go away?And could you explain it if you needed to ? We set Lewis Goodall to the challenge with a list of banned words...And Tony Blair's former Chief of Staff in No.10, Jonathan Powell, helps demystify one of the sharpest political thorns in the British Isles.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel RadusEditor: Tom HughesFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

If you thought it was safe to go back to The Twiglets - hang fire. New revelations about what Boris Johnson knew - and what he said - have emerged which throw the inquiry into whether he misled Parliament into focus. We ask Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan whether she's ready for a Boris return, whether her Online Safety Bill would make people any safer, and what she makes of Elon Musk at the helm of Twitter.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel RadusEditor: Tom HughesFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

Do we mind if our Conservative prime minister takes a private jet (to Leeds), if has a private GP, if sends his kids to private school? Are you outraged or happy that he's using his time (and frequently his own money) more efficiently? We discuss. Also, Kevin McCarthy now finally controls the US House of Representatives for the Republicans. What will change on their international commitments? Will less spending reach Ukraine as a result?Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel RadusEditor: Tom HughesFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

The creator of The Thick of It, Veep and Alan Partridge Armando Iannucci joins us to talk about the current state of politics and his popularisation of its dirty underbelly. Jon and Emily disagree about Harry’s attack on the media. And we discuss the attempt to upend democracy in Brazil and its echoes of Jan 6th riots, just over two years ago.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel RadusEditor: Tom HughesFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.AUDIO CREDIT:Veep, HBO EntertainmentThe Thick of IT, BBC Productions

Prince Harry has taken aim at the Palace in his new memoir ‘Spare’. Is the institution of the monarchy working for those born into it, or for us? And how does this very public family feud end?And the US Congress remains in gridlock after representatives failed to elect a speaker for the eleventh time (and counting). On the second anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, Lewis asks how much this is a product of Trump-era politics, and speaks to his former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney about whether the Republican party are split beyond repair.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus & Ellie CliffordEditor: Tom HughesFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

Keir Starmer says you can’t legislate your way out of a dispute with new laws against strikes. But today on the News Agents we hear from the cabinet minister in charge of industrial relations. Grant Shapps says it’s all about ensuring “minimum safety [and service] levels”. What does that even mean? And how does that work when we haven’t got enough people on the frontline anyway? We discuss. Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

A letter sent from Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was intercepted by our very own Lewis Goodall before it was ever made public. In it, she sets out her reasons for ditching Boris Johnson and Nadine Dorries' plan to privatise Channel 4. Cue sighs of relief at Channel 4 and howls of frustration from a previous culture secretary who saw her own work being undone. We discuss what the move says about this government's direction of travel - and take in Rishi Sunak's first big speech of 2023.Also - what on earth is going on in the US Congress? Absolute scenes as the Republicans struggle to complete the first and fundamental act of Congress: the formality of choosing a Speaker of the House.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

For months - maybe years - we've talked about the NHS being at breaking point. 'On the brink'. 'On the edge'. Is it not time to admit the system itself is now broken? Today, we hear your experiences -our News Agents - with stories from the NHS frontline. The surgeon who tells us cupboards are now being used as examination cubicles because there are no beds and no privacy on the wards. The sister of an ill family member who watched a man suffering all the symptoms of a stroke in A and E with no one around to help him. How much of this comes down to funding? How much to decline? How much to a failure of social care to pick up where the emergency services leave off? We discuss...Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Emily, Jon and Lewis review 2022; at home and abroad. You know about the prime ministers and the monarchs and the presidents, but what’s going on beneath the headlines this year? The News Agents discuss a realignment in politics over the course of the last six months and ask if a new normalisation is here to stay. Does anything about how this year is ending presage what is to come in 2023?Plus - listener questions and some more special 'guest' appearances.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

For the first time since 2019 Christmas is looking “normal “. What have we learnt from Covid, the food crisis and the evolution of how and what we consume?Emily and Jon talk to two of the most famous chefs in the world about what’s on their mind this Christmas.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Dino SofosExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Emily, Jon and Lewis review 2022; at home and abroad. They talk Ukraine, Partygate, and having a fresh start. Part 2 out next week! Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Nearly two years on from the January sixth riots, a cross-party committee is uncompromising in its findings: Donald Trump assisted in insurrection, obstruction, conspiracy to defraud and deceive. Now it’s over to the US Department of Justice. Will they make criminal charges against a president for the first time in the country's history? And what happens to the Republican Party and its leaders now? Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Today, the UK High Court ruled that the UK's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is lawful. Don't expect flights to Kigali filled with asylum seekers to take off tomorrow though; they'll be plenty of appeals and cases will need to be considered case by case. And Jon and Lewis are joined by Suzanne Lynch, of POLITICO, and Nigel Gardner, formerly a European Commission spokesman. They talk Qatargate - the cash for access scandal rocking Brussels.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Liz Truss' leadership was marred by chaos. Now, Asa Bennett, her speechwriter is in News Agents HQ, to lift the lid on the rollercoaster 49-day Truss premiership. And Lewis is joined by comedian and host of The Political Party and British Scandal podcasts Matt Forde to digest Labour's overnight by-election win and the state of the Labour party at the moment. Video: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Ellie CliffordFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Nurses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are striking for the first time in over a century. Lewis has been down to the picket line at St. Thomas' Hospital - just opposite the Houses of Parliament - to ask what the political and economic consequences of this strike could be.And the last three parts of Harry and Meghan's Netflix doc take us inside a world of death threats, public birth, online harm and press management as we're taken behind the scenes of the row that spilt the two princes. What has this episode, in breaking the code of silence, done to the Monarchy, and Meghan.Social Media: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Four people, at least, died this morning, after their dinghy capsized in the freezing waters of the English Channel. The more than 40 on board were trying to travel from France to England, presumably in search of a better life.And yet, the Government could stop Channel crossing deaths tomorrow or at least substantially reduce the numbers and risk of death. And Labour, the party in opposition, could try and push that agenda. But neither do. Why? Well, because it's deemed politically unpalatable. Lewis explains why.Social Media: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

At the next election we will all be expected to show voter ID. Which is fine if you have a passport or a driving licence - but much much harder if you don't.The Conservative party believes the change is important to counter voter fraud -and say it's really not a big ask to get people to ID themselves at the polls when they do for so much else. Opposition parties say they are trying to find a solution to a problem that doesnt exist. And worse, that the people they will disenfranchise will be the poorer, more marginalised voters who are dont have the paperwork ready (and dont naturally vote conservative). So what is behind the reform? And what effect will it have?Also - Sam Bankman-Fried - one of the few men in the world who knows what it's like to lose 40 billion dollars - has just been arrested in the Bahamas and charged over money laundering and fraud. We revisit the Cryptocurrency con.Social Media: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The funding model of the NHS has always seemed sacrosanct, untouchable. We boast about having the finest service in the world - free at the point of demand to everyone. But - it doesn't take a brain surgeon to see the service is now at breaking point. The waiting lists, the A&E queues, the morale of doctors and nurses, the impending strikes and the shortage of staff more generally. So is anyone brave enough to start talking about alternatives? And does private investment in the NHS - as demonstrated by New Labour under Tony Blair - actually work or just make things worse? Also on the News Agents - England lost a major football tournament this weekend, but no one's blaming the players or the manager. What on earth is happening?Social Media: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Lewis heads to the scene of a raucous picket line to speak to CWU union members on strike. But how much worse will strikes get this winter?Lewis casts an eye over all sectors taking industrial action over pay, workers rights and terms and conditions.And then, we talk to England vs. France. But not the football. We're joined by two French people who have lived in the UK for decades; and they discuss the complex relationship between England and France; culturally, historically and in the present day, post-Brexit. Philippe Auclair, singer-songwriter and football journalist, and star of TV show First Dates, Fred Sirieix. Social Media: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Comedian Joe Lycett joins Emily and Jon in News Agents HQ. He tells us why being so angry with the government makes him do 'silly' things, 'shredding' £10,000 in a stand-off with David Beckham, and whether he'll replace Matt Lucas as the presenter of The Great British Bake-Off. Social Media: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Overnight in Germany three thousand police have made two dozen arrests after uncovering a far right plot to overthrow the German state. The group were preparing for Day X- and an attempt to storm the Bundestag, the German parliament, taking MPs hostage. It’s the stuff of horror, nightmare and fantasy - conspiracy rooted in Germany's pre-war history and America's modern QAnon movement. Today we speak to a senior MP from Germany’s governing SPD party, Nils Schmid, and from the author of Going Dark, Julia Ebner - who’s gone undercover with conspiracy networks and made extremism her life’s study.Social Media: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The Tory Peer Michelle Mone is to take a leave of absence from the House of Lords to 'clear her name' from the allegations she profited to the tune of more than £20 million from a PPE Covid contract. She hasn't voted in the Lords since the end of April - just days before her home was raided by the National Crime Agency. And today, Labour has urged the lower chamber, the House of Commons to vote to secure the release of secret texts, emails and documents relating to the 200 million pounds of contracts secured by the PPE Medpro company. And we talk to Lord Ed Vaizey - former Tory Culture Minister - about clandestine conversations between the UK and Greece on how to return the Parthenon (Elgin) Sculptures (Marbles) to Athens. Is this about art? theft? history? Or is it diplomacy?Social Media: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

On today's episode we launch the Christmas Countdown - our (and your) favourite soundbites of political inanity of 2022. Please send in the moments you want us to revisit and react to.But before we get there, we talk about Sir Keir Starmer's plans to abolish the House of Lords and redistribute the economy more faithfully around the country. Is it justifiable to have an unelected upper chamber in 2022? And what would the replacement actually look and sound like? We speak to Baroness Hilary Armstrong, a Labour peer, and Conservative MP Vicky Ford.Social Media: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

You're 30 years old, worth billions as a result of a crypto exchange you've set up - and in the space of one Sunday afternoon it all turns to dust. What must that feel like? On this episode of The News Agents we speak to someone who's been there, done that and has got the badge (the prison sentence). Nick Leeson single-handedly brought down one of Britain's most famous financial institutions in 1995 - Barings Bank - and spent four years in a Singapore jail as a result. He speaks to us about the tight spot Sam Bankman Fried now finds himself in, and how similar it was to his own.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocial Media: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Donald Trump is insisting he was set up by Kanye (Ye) West over that dinner party he accidentally hosted for a white supremacist leader. NBC News is reporting Trump's fury at West - who he thinks is deliberately trying to embarrass him off the electoral map. But some think Trump can do that all by himself. Today, we hear from a former advisor to two Bush presidents (George H.W & George W.) who tells us the stringent security around ex-presidents means NO ONE could turn up to dinner without clearance. And talking of former populist leaders, Boris Johnson has announced he will stand again in his relatively marginal West London seat. He could very well lose. What's that all about?Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocial Media: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Sir Keir Starmer wants private schools to pay more tax. He's also talking about removing their charitable status. Today at PMQ's he asked the PM why Winchester deserved 6 million pounds to spend on rowing clubs and rifle clubs which could be going to fund the state sector instead. Is the country where Starmer is now - or does this policy represent a polemic talking point which creates more class warfare than cash? And what do head teachers think about it? Today, we hear from the state sector, the private sector , a former advisor to the government on education and a staunch progressive. Warning: there is nuance.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocial Media: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

12 Tory MPs have already announced they're standing down at the next election. That includes some young politicians who would once have represented the party's future.Today, we look at how many more are likely to follow - with a looming December 5th deadline by which they need to submit their names. We speak to Seb Payne - author of Broken Heartlands - and the Tory Peer and Pollster Robert Haywood . And also to China - where police are now checking the apps on people's phones to learn of planned protests. Rishi Sunak has called for a 'robust pragmatism 'in relations with China. Honestly? There's nothing that new in that - we go back through the decades - to Tiananmen and John Major - to look at how the West has tried to deal with China.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocial Media: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Sir Tony Blair speaks exclusively with The News Agents. He has words that may surprise Matt Hancock and Liz Truss, and a gentle message for Keir Starmer to go further.He talks about gesture politics over the banning of Qatar state advertising - and he tells us he thinks he's kissed at least one Tory.Watch the full interview with Tony Blair exclusively on Global Player. https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/2JsSYUgsZkC/?category=the-news-agents/Video: Will Gibson-Smith Social Media: Georgia FoxwellProduction: Sophie Snelling & Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino Sofos

There are thousands of homes in Britain not fit for purpose with people living in neglected and dangerous conditions - with damp, mould and vermin.Lewis talks to social housing campaigner, Kwajo Tweneboa, former Levelling Up and Housing Secretary, Simon Clarke to get to the heart of what needs to change.And playwright James Graham talks to us about the art of bringing to life political events.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Bird Flu is bringing Britain's farmers to their knees. The disease has killed nearly a hundred million birds world wide - nearly 4 million of them in the UK - and it poses a serious threat to our food supply. So today we're on a farm talking to a twitcher, a farmer and erm a motoring journalist. And it's all the same bloke. Jeremy Clarkson talks about the dearth of birds, the cost of feed and how hard it is to get pigs to make other pigs. We also hear from a poultry farmer who's had to slaughter thousands of his own birds after avian flu hit his farm -which has been in the family for generations.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusDay Editor: Ellie CliffordExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The Supreme Court has ruled against the Scottish Parliament holding a new independence referendum without approval from Westminster. Is this the end of the fight for Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party? Lewis is joined by SNP MP Stewart Hosie and Wendy Chamberlain, Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife, to pick apart both sides of the debate.He's also joined by Financial Times’ journalist Sebastian Payne to discuss PMQs, as well as his new book ‘The Fall of Boris Johnson: The Full Story’, about the former PM’s final days in office.Planning: Melissa Tutesigensi Socials: Georgia FoxwellProduction: Ellie Clifford and Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Dominic Raab is facing renewed allegations of bullying behaviour. In this episode we turn the clock back to the time he took out a 'confidentiality agreement' -which lawyers tell us is EXACTLY the same as an NDA; a non-disclosure agreement. In 2011 he refused to release the woman who signed it from being able to tell her side of the story. We hear from Mark Stephens, a solicitor, who shows us how NDAs are being used and abused in the corridors of power. And from Zelda Perkins - former personal assistant to Harvey Weinstein - who was herself silenced by an NDA for 23 years and is now campaigning to change the law to stop NDAs being used to cover up abusive or criminal behaviour.Her campaign is Can't Buy My Silence. You can find them here: https://www.cantbuymysilence.com/Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Qatar has gone from being a quietly successful, enormously rich, largely anonymous speck on the world map to being a pariah of the Middle East. It had hoped hosting the World Cup would bring fame and more fortune - not the unedifying stink of corruption and rows about workers, women and LGBTQ+ rights. Are they wondering if it was all worth it? And will a gratifyingly rampant England victory finally stir the relatively subdued fans watching back home?Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Poverty in Britain is bad and it’s getting worse. And yet, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has set out plans to tax the British public more than ever before. Lewis travels back to Birmingham to visit a community centre which provides food and warmth for the local community, and he’s joined back in News Agents HQ by Torsten Bell, of the Resolution Foundation, and Duncan Robinson from The Economist to unpick the structural reasons of how it can be that the government is taxing more than ever before, yet public services are as bad as they are right now. This all comes with poverty becoming increasingly normalised in British society.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesDay Editor: Ellie CliffordExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The highest tax burden in decades. The biggest drop in living standards on record. The UK and its economy is stuttering into a second recession in a decade. The news today delivered by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was not good. Emily, Jon and Lewis unpack the Autumn Statement on today's episode.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Donald Trump is running for president again... to the surprise of no one. Not even the legion advisors telling him now was a really really bad time to announce it. He's on a bit of a low - the midterm results were a stinging rejection of the candidates he backed - and the election deniers were - ultimately - rejected at the polls. You can hear a very on-message, subdued Trump in the speech he made last night. We thought we'd speak to someone who's rarely on message - one Piers Morgan -about his slightly odd friendship with Trump, that Cristiano Ronaldo interview he's just done and whether television still works as a medium of mass communication. We also dip into the House of Commons for PMQs where Dominic Raab had to field questions about his own allegations of bullying at the dispatch box. It is anti-bullying week after all....Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

A second minister in two weeks faces serious allegations of bullying. Are our corridors of power a breeding ground for bullyboy behaviour? We speak to Liz Bates, political correspondent at Sky News, who has delved deep into the alleged toxic culture that appears endemic in Westminster. And we're joined by the former Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, George Eustice, who stood up in the House of Commons yesterday to brandish a trade deal he endorsed last year when he was in government 'a not very good deal'. He still says Brexit has gone well.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Comedian Joe Lycett is offering ten thousand pounds to an LGBTQ+ charity if David Beckham pulls out of his multi-zillion dollar ambassadorial role in Qatar's World Cup. He calls on Beckham as a role model and ally to think about gay football fans in a country that criminalises homosexuality. The News Agents have been hearing of the growing unease from members of the LGBTQ+ community who feel a deep disquiet from prominent figures in the world of entertainment prepared to take the Qatari dollar. Today, we'll hear from gay sports reporter Adam Crafton covering the World Cup, and from David Baddiel of 'Three Lions' fame who says he won't go to an England World Cup final in Qatar even if he's offered tickets....Planning: Melissa TutseigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Ellie CliffordDeputy Editor: Gabriel RadusExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

We often hear about mortgage rates going up, but perhaps not enough scrutiny is paid on the private renting sector... a sector that has enormous demand, and next to no supply. It's a sector that burns a mile-wide hole in the coffers of students, young professionals, families and many more. The Mini-Budget just seven weeks ago exacerbated the crisis to near breaking point.But who's to blame? And how do we fix it?We speak to an estate agents in London, a landlady with half a dozen properties, and the housing correspondent for the i paper and author Vicky Spratt and Vanessa Warwick, founder of Property Tribes, a forum for private landlords.And we cast our glance across the Atlantic to the US, where the results from the mid-term elections, and the political ramifications, continue to unfold. We speak to polling expert and data journalist for The Economist G. Elliott Morris.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusDuty Editor: Ellie CliffordExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Major TV series The Crown is back - series five - and it deals with one of the most painful and excruciatingly public decades of recent Royal history. Diana's tell-all book with Andrew Morton, Charles's intimate phonecalls with Camilla, the Queen's popularity with her public and the early years of the young Prince William and Prince Harry. Every new season brings with it questions as to what is fact in the show, and what is fiction. So today, we look at not just the drama, but the political, social, historic context of those times. We talk to one of THE great authorities on the Royal Family - Tina Brown -author of the best selling book The Palace Papers & The Diana Chronicles - who tells us about the conversation over lunch she shared with Diana just a month before she died. And we look at the Prime Ministers portrayed in the Crown - why does historical fact need to be altered and dramatised?Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

We've been up all night waiting for the US midterm election results to come through so you could wake up at your leisure. TLDR: Trump-backed candidates didn't really take off, Trump's Republican rival soared to victory and the Democrats look - at the time of recording - as if they've emerged with less damage than they might have feared. What does that mean for the next presidential contest? Does it allow Biden to seek a second term? Will it put Trump off his BIG ANNOUNCEMENT next Tuesday? And what does it tell us about how America is feeling right now?Also - as predicted on Monday's The News Agents - Charmer-in-Chief Gavin Williamson...sorry SIR Gavin Williamson has resigned from cabinet. He's got a message on anti bullying for the kids.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

It's hard to imagine leaving a job in disrepute but then giving 20 of your mates a top honour that allows them to create the laws of this country. Well, maybe it isn't that hard to imagine. It's what Boris Johnson appears to have done with his Resignation Honours List. Lara Spirit of the Times tells us that four sitting MPs want to accept peerages without immediately giving up their seats in the House of Commons. That's a constitutional clash for a start. And then there's the advisors who have barely reached their thirties who are being offered the mother of all accolades in the mother of all parliaments. Do we really want our laws being made by a bunch of the former PM's friends? We speak to Leader of the Opposition in the Lords, Baroness Angela Smith. And, after the latest revelations about Charmer-in-Chief Gavin Williamson - who told a senior civil servant to 'slit his throat' but denies it was bullying - we ask what it takes to NOT get an honour from this government.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

When Liz Truss was looking to galvanise not just the Tory party but the nation in her conference speech, she turned to Just Stop Oil protesters for help. She believed their fractious, disruptive, an d potentially dangerous tactics would make her 'anti growth' point better than any positive messaging she had hitherto used. As it turned out, she's now gone and they are still here - this morning blockading several more parts of the M25 motorway in the UK as the COP27 climate conference got underway in Egypt. So on today's The News Agents we ask whether extreme protest makes you sit up...or throw up. Jon and Emily have a (mini) row about whether shock tactics can ever bring the public on side. And we have veteran protestor Peter Tatchell in the studio- recently detained in Qatar - who has a message of his own for Just Stop Oil.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Elon Musk has begun laying off staff at Twitter, a week after taking sole control of the company. He says he’s “freed the bird” but does freedom of speech on the platform come at the price of political stability and threats to democracy?Lewis speaks to a range of guests from the tech industry, including a founding member of Twitter, Jason Goldman.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Ellie CliffordFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

In less than a week America will head to the polls for the midterms - the first national elections of the Biden presidency since the January 6th insurrection.Biden has told Americans that democracy is on the ballot - with hundreds of Republican candidates refusing to say whether they’ll accept the election outcome next week. Many more within the GOP continue to accept and propagate ‘The Big Lie’- that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump.And yet the Republican Party is rising, not falling in the polls in the final week. Have Democrats misjudged this campaign’s message? And what will it mean for the Biden presidency if he loses one or both chambers of Congress?Emily and Lewis will also discuss dire warnings about the economy from the Bank of England and the prospect of a recession which lasts until 2024.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

As we record today's episode, Benjamin Netanyahu - currrently on trial for corruption charges - is about to (re)become Israel's PM. He's been in power for 17 years out of the last 25. And this time, it's all thanks to the Religious Zionism faction - a theocratic movement far far to his right that doesn't altogether believe in democracy. What does this mean for Israel, her neighbours, the Arab vote and indeed long-term peace? And fresh from PMQs we speak to Labour's Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting about deselection, immigration, and taking on powerful 'non-dom' newspaper owners.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

So much heat surrounds the issue of immigration. And the person in charge of decision making is Home Secretary Suella Braverman - and she's at the centre of a political storm over alleged multiple security breaches. Today The News Agents ask where the crisis lies, and what the numbers really tell us. We speak to the former Brexit secretary David Davis - does he have confidence in the Home Secretary? And we talk to a key former civil servant in the Home Office Sir David Normington. One person more keen to leave the UK, rather than enter it, is Matt Hancock. He's off to the Aussie jungle on taxpayers money. What does David Davis, his former Cabinet colleague, think of that?Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Gary Lineker tells us about the burger he shared with David Beckham in a hotel bar in Zurich the night before England was knocked out of the bid to host the 2018 Football world cup. What happened next, he says, was unbelievable. Qatar - against virtually every single odd - was chosen to host the 2022 tournament. The REST, as they say IS HISTORY. Fast forward 12 years and Gary speaks of his responsibility to tell it like it is when he's out there - even if it annoys his Qatari hosts. We talk gay rights, UK gov response, Elon Musk and yes, even a bit of football. Alicia Kearns, the new Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, joins us in the second half to talk about the importance of taking a burner phone to the World Cup. And she gives her thoughts on the controversial reinstatement of current Home Secretary Suella Braverman.And Lewis brings us up to date with the Brazilian eletion result - a knife edge result that sees the 'Trump of the Tropics' removed from power.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocials: Georgia FoxwellProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

After weeks of political chaos, the real cost of the crisis is beginning to reveal itself. Lewis is joined this week by New Statesman columnist Martha Gill. They speak to Tim Durrant, Associate Director at the Institute for Government, about the staggering bill to the taxpayer, caused by an unprecedented number of ministerial redundancies over the summer. They look to Northern Ireland, and a grid-locked Stormont. Belfast-based journalist Amanda Ferguson talks to them about the quickening decline in relations there, and the possibility of fresh elections in December. And finally, Lewis is joined in the studio by Jon Livesey and Edward Keeble from the Daily Star, to hear about the runaway success of 'Liz the Lettuce’.Production: Gabriel RadusExecutive Producer: Ellie CliffordDeputy Editor: Tom HughesEditor: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

We’ve had the Brexit Opportunities Minister and the Brexit Benefits Department but weirdly - we still can’t point to what those are.Today we ask if the UK economy is measurably worse off after Brexit (spoiler : the answer is yes) and what the solutions are. We hear the position of business, and talk to Tony Danker, the Director General of the Confederate of Business Industry. We look at the metrics with the Financial Times' Peter Foster that tell us what Brexit has done to growth. And we ask if the Mini Budget Kwarteng epiphany was a result of a country now desperate to plug holes Brexit has left.Later in the show, we hear from the other side of the Brexit deal: the EU. The outgoing EU Ambassador to the UK João Vale de Almeida is in News Agents HQ.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The Lib Dems have called for an investigation into why Suella Braverman is back in her role as home secretary one week after she resigned and apologised for security leaks, and a day after Rishi Sunak promised a government of integrity. Labour tabled an urgent question to ask the same thing in the House of Commons today. But the Home Secretary didn't appear to even turn up. Instead, it was left to the blokes - Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer - to face off at PMQs.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Liz Truss and her podium left Downing Street around ten thirty this morning, with a brief nod to bravery and her excellent plans for cutting taxes. Rishi Sunak came in an hour later - new podium - and talked about restoring integrity and professionalism to the office of PM. There were no prizes for guessing who he meant. He also made clear he was there because of Liz Truss mistakes. it sounded pretty brutal - but it put clear water between him and her. And then came the cabinet appointments. And at that moment it felt like back to the future. Many of the old guard are back in their old jobs - including Suella Braverman who quit hers just six days ago...Planning: Melissa TutesigensiProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

At 1.57pm this afternoon, Penny Mordaunt's team were still insisting she would make it through to the final run off with Rushi Sunak to become Britain's next prime minister. But, just two minutes before the 2pm deadline, she pulled out of the race, crowning Rishi Sunak as the next Conservative party leader and the UK's first British Asian Prime Minister. It's quite a moment. Today The News Agents take stock of what we know about him, what we don't, and what his leadership will mean for the rest of the country. We hear from Empireland author Sathnam Sanghera on what it means for him, and do a bit of counting ourselves- cynics will tell you that if you add up all the supporters Boris Johnson claimed to have, all the supporters Penny Mordaunt believed she had and all the supporters Rishi Sunak had you arrive at a greater number than there are Tory MPs. We leave that to your musings without comment...Planning: Melissa TutesigensiProduction: Gabriel RadusExecutive Producers: Tom Hughes & Ellie CliffordFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The News Agents convene for a special Sunday night episode. Jon, Emily and Lewis talk through the big news breaking just an hour or so earlier that Boris Johnson, the former Prime Minister, has decided *not* to throw his hat in the ring for this truncated leadership election, despite the backing of dozens of MPs and sizeable support amongst Conservative Party members. It paves the way for one of either Rishi Sunak, ex-Chancellor, or Penny Mordaunt, Leader of the House of Commons, to become the UK's third premier of 2022. The former is now well and truly in the driving seat. If you thought last week was crazy, buckle up for the next few days. Production: Gabriel Radus & Dino SofosExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

In the week to end all weeks, we've lurched from the shortest prime ministerial era *ever* to the potential return of the last PM... who's only been an ex-PM for 45 days. The race to be our next Conservative Prime Minister is well and truly on (again!). Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt has already thrown her hat into the ring, and the rumour is that former Chancellor Rishi Sunak will follow too. 
Jon and Lewis speak to former Special Advisor to Boris Johnson, Henry Newman, about whether the ex-PM will run, and what it means for the party. And Matt Forde, of the British Scandal podcast, joins Lewis and Jon in the studio to talk about the blurred lines between politics and comedy... and why, if you don't laugh sometimes, you'll cry.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiDeputy Editor: Gabriel RadusExecutive Producer: Ellie CliffordFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

A day after announcing that she was a 'fighter, not a quitter', Prime Minister Liz Truss quits. A disastrous 24 hours for the Conservative government culminated in the PM's ousting at lunchtime today. She's the shortest serving Prime Minister in British political history.Today's episode looks at the events that led to Truss’ resignation after just 45 days in office, the candidates in the running to take over, and the likelihood of an early general election.Joining all three News Agents are Conservative Health Minister Robert Jenrick and former Tory party MP and now Editor of Conservative Home, Paul Goodman.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocial Editor: Will BatchelorProduction: Gabriel Radus & Ellie CliffordExecutive Producer: Tom HughesFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

After Home Secretary Suella Braverman resigned, the Prime Minister appointed one of her fiercest critics, Grant Shapps, to the post. Her Conservative project seems dead in the water, and after tonight’s chaos, Lewis and Jon discuss in this emergency episode whether the final nail has been drilled into the coffin of Liz Truss’ government.Production: Ellie Clifford & Gabriel Radus

We were about to publish this episode... and then the Home Secretary resigned. It came amidst a backdrop of a day in which an embattled prime minister had to face a series of tough questions from members of her own party, and the party opposite, at Prime Minister's Questions. The chaos in British politics continues.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocial Editor: Ollie McGrathProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

After yesterday's stunning economic U-turn, today was a day where it was eerily quiet... almost too quiet. Why? Have the Conservatives finally decided to coalesce around their beleaguered leader? Was Jeremy Hunt's announcement enough to quell the baying wolves? It certainly calmed the markets down.We explore what's happening now, what manoeuvring could be going on behind the scenes, and how pivotal tomorrow's Prime Minister's Questions is for her. If she comes through it well, she could be able to put her stuttering start behind her. And we talk to Conservative MP and former chief whip Andrew Mitchell in the studio, and we also talk President Biden's extraordinary intervention in UK politics. Jon tells him to, well, mind his own business.Plus - we want to hear your questions. Send them in via our socials or email us at newsagents@global.com.Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSocial Editor: Ollie McGrathProduction: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Today saw one of the biggest political U-turns in the UK for decades. The new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt appeared on our TV screens announcing a raft of economic changes. Liz Truss, our Prime Minister, was nowhere to be seen.We ask four questions today:1) What just happened?2) Why has the Government done it?3) What does it mean for you, the listener? 4) And what does it mean for Truss and the chances of premiership?Planning: Melissa TutesigensiVision Mixer: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel RadusSocial Editor: Ollie McGrathDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Liz Truss has sacked her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, and u-turned on her corporation tax cut. But without him, and the economic policy which defined her premiership, what does she stand for now? How long will she survive as Prime Minister and will she lead the Conservatives into the next election? Lewis is joined by Katy Balls, Deputy Political Editor of The Spectator, and Michael Jacobs, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Sheffield, and former Special Advisor to Gordon Brown. Production: Ellie Clifford and Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

It's so bad for our prime minister that even the King seemed to express dismay when he was caught on mic saying "dear oh dear" to his PM. As half the government briefs journalists that U-turns are on the horizon, and the other half refutes the concept as preposterous, the only thing that's clear is that it is dark days for this Conservative government, and for Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng. Could we be seeing the Kwarteng/Truss endgame? And maybe even Mordaunt/Sunak resurrections?And in the second half of the show we speak to two people of Iranian heritage on what they call the biggest mood change in Iran since the revolution in 1979. Christiane Amanpour and Omid Djalili join us to tell us more.Production: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

More government U-turns, gossip from an Anti Growth Coalition drinks party, and a PMQs debrief. Ian Blackford, SNP’s leader in Westminster also pops in to News Agents HQ for a chat.Production: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The Daily Mail Group - Associated Newspapers - has been accused of 'abhorrent criminal activity' by Doreen Lawrence - mother of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence. She's lodged a claim in the High Court along with Prince Harry, Elton John, David Furnish, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost and former Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes. They allege the papers engaged in unlawful acts - including the hiring of private detectives to hide listening devices inside people’s cars and homes. On today's episode of The News Agents we take our listeners into the 'dark arts' of journalism from the people who actually exploited others to get their stories. One is a private investigator who hacked Meghan Markle's data. One was a reporter for the News of the World who was convicted of phone hacking, blew the whistle on his bosses, and now campaigns for better press regulation. We ask what has happened in the decade since the Leveson enquiry threw a spotlight onto the unscrupulous and illegal way that so many tabloid stories were obtained. The government has lost its appetite for any further press regulation. But has the public? And how likely is it that further allegations will emerge of as a result of this new case?Production: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Kyiv awoke to bombs, explosion and the sour smell of retaliation. Putin had spent his 70th birthday weekend watching his precious road bridge that linked Crimea to mainland Russia blown to pieces. And today was his fightback. Revenge served just two days cold. 75 missiles launched at targets across Ukraine. Poeple on their way to work. Parks, children’s playgrounds all the seemingly pointless target of Putin’s anger. We hear from John Sweeney - in his shower as the shells hit Kyiv - and from the US special envoy to Ukraine and former NATO Ambassador Kurt Volker. And - for a bit of light relief we return to domestic politics, where the guilts are soaring, the new date for the fiscal budget has been set and the personal changes are multiple. We hear it from the scoop monster that is George Parker, Political Editor of the FT.Production: Gabriel RadusDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The National Grid has warned that British households could face power blackouts this winter, if the energy crisis exacerbates. But Liz Truss' government has ruled out any energy conservation campaign. Why?And it's been a hectic few weeks at the major party conferences, but what do the voters really think of the state of politics? Lewis went to a focus group in Swindon to ask what they make of Liz Truss and her opposite number Keir Starmer. Polly Billington, former Special Advisor to Ed Miliband, and Luke Tryl, former special advisor to ex-Conservative minister Nicky Morgan, and current director of public opinion research agency More in Common are with him to dissect the results.Production: Gabriel Radus & Ellie CliffordPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has given us her 'I have a dream speech'. She got misty eyed as she imagined a newspaper front page showing a plane full of asylum seekers being deported to Rwanda. We seem to have come a long way from Martin Luther King.But as the PM heads off to Prague to talk migrant crossings with her friend-or-foe Emmanuel Macron, we thought we'd take a look at the plan for Tory immigration - and ask whether the PM and her Home Secretary even agree.And we get Craig Oliver and Andrew Cooper back by popular demand to take us through what just happened at the Conservative Party Conference.Production: Ellie Clifford and Gabriel RadusPlanning: Mellisa TutesigensiDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino Sofos

Prime minister Liz Truss closed her conference with a speech about things she hated. These included people from north London townhouses who taxi to the BBC, tweet and go on podcasts. So Jon - who is all of these - is feeling slightly wounded. She coined a new phrase for her collective dislikes, “the anti growth coalition“ - a phrase that rather reminded us of Donald Trump's old playlist,“enemies of the people". As she talked, protests from Greenpeace tried to disrupt the speech - but may actually have given her more purpose. We look at the ideology behind the speech, whether it can unite the country and save her own political fortunes. And we talk to Mark Littlewood, the head of free market think tank IEA, and yes - we do ask him who funds them.Production: Ellie CliffordPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino Sofos

A senior Conservative MP has told The News Agents Liz Truss is facing a critical moment and may have just ten days to save her job. Party discipline appears to be crumbling before our eyes. Ministers are openly touting policies they favour or reject and some are even telling each other to quietly go away. There is a restlessness at the Conservative Party Conference which tells you things haven’t really gone back to normal. And may not ever. We speak to a Cabinet minister who wants his rebel colleagues to shut up. And to a former minister who says he’s propelled to speak truth to power when he sees a bad policy. And tomorrow they all have to coalesce behind the leader as Liz Truss gives her keynote speech. How’s that looking?Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiVideo: Rory SymonDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Somewhere between the hours of 10pm and midnight, on the opening day of the Conservative conference, a screeching U-turn was made. The Prime Minister, who’d insisted just yesterday her top rate tax cut was here to stay, decided… it wasn’t. By 7am this morning the whole policy had been ditched. Changes in unpopular policy can be a good thing. But if Liz Truss and her chancellor thought this would end the conversation, they’re in for a shock. Today, the questions are coming faster than ever: is Liz Truss still in charge? Who’s really wielding the power? And can Kwasi Kwarteng survive this? We ask the Business Secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg. Also - the Brazil election was looking like a shoe-in for the opposition candidate and former president Lula de Silva. Until it wasn’t. The populist incumbent Bolsonaro is performing better - at least in the first round - than anyone predicted.Why are pollsters still not getting the true picture from those who vote for populists?Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

It’s been a chaotic week in British politics. The slide of sterling, Bank of England interventions and a record poll showing a 33-point lead for Labour. Prime Minister Liz Truss is just three weeks into the job, and next week she'll have to face the party, and nation, at Conservative Party Conference. Can she survive this? Lewis is joined by former Conservative MP David Gauke and former advisor to Tony Blair, Baroness Sally Morgan. And, across the Atlantic, a left-wing politician is vying to oust an unabashedly conservative, populist president. But this isn’t North America, it’s in Brazil. What’s the mood in the country as it prepares to go to the polls on Sunday?Producers: Gabriel Radus & Ellie CliffordVideo Engineer: Ioana BarbuFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The prime minister crashes the airwaves after crashing the economy. We take stock of how bad this morning's regional morning round was for Liz Truss, and what this says of her ability to communicate to the public on a local and national level. Between The News Agents, they have interviewed every prime minister since and including Margaret Thatcher- discuss the quirks of the trade - and whether Truss' style will bode well, or ill, for the rest of her premiership.All this comes just before the Conservative Party Conference - which this year is being avoided like the plague by many of the MPs who would normally go. We hear from two Number 10 insiders about how to navigate these choppy waters - one gives us the curious inside track on what Keir Starmer was really like at school...Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiVideo Engineer: Ioana BarbuDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Make no mistake - the UK economy is crumbling. And this is not at the hands of a crisis beyond these shores. The Prime Minister and her Chancellor's decisions last Friday have sent the British economy into total freefall. In the last 24 hours, the IMF, a monetary body that only ever springs into action for countries in crisis have issued stark warnings against 'Trussonomics', and the Bank of England have made emergency interventions. What now?We try and make sense of it all. Later on in the podcast, we talk to Seb Payne, Whitehall Editor at the Financial Times about the lobbying groups behind the school of thought that is tangible impacting the course of modern Britain.Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiVideo Engineer: Ioana BarbuDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Keir Starmer has just made his bid to be the next UK prime minister - against a backdrop of severe economic chaos. It was a speech heavy on patriotism, green policy and the promise to fix Britain. And he even mentioned the B word - Brexit - looking to pull in leave voters lost to the Conservatives at the last election.It landed well in the hall (of course), but how will it land outside the conference bubble? And is the public ready for PM Starmer?We analyse the speech and talk to a former Labour Leader who knows what it’s like to be in that conference spotlight - Ed Miliband.Production: Ellie CliffordPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

It's a blustery day in Liverpool and the Labour Party, hosting their conference here, is hoping that means winds of change.The pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar this morning. What happens now? And which party can claim to be the one of economic competence?We ask Gary Neville why he wants to pay more tax, speak to business leaders at the labour conference for the first time. And we ask David Lammy, Shadow Foreign Secretary, whether Britain should open its doors to Russian men fleeing Putin's war in Ukraine.Production: Ellie CliffordPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Kwasi Kwarteng announced a not-so-mini budget today, his first as chancellor. In it, he laid out the Truss government's plans for low taxes and big growth. In today's episode Salma Shah, former Conservative Special Adviser and Lord Stewart Wood, former advisor to Gordon Brown join Lewis to ask if this new budget will work, and whether it has made us all a good deal poorer?Producers: Gabriel Radus & Ellie CliffordPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiSocial Editor: Rory O'ConnorFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen". Emily, Jon and Lewis are back in News Agents HQ to pour over some of the major stories around the world. They talk Iran and the death of a 22 year old woman at the hands of the morality police which has sparked massive protests across the country, Italy being on the brink of their first female (and first 'neo-fascist') prime minister, and Donald Trump and yet another lawsuit.The team also welcome Russian analyst Yuri Goligorsky to HQ, to discuss why on earth so many Putin critics seem to be suspiciously defenestrated at a rate of knots. Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiVideo Engineer: Greg JamesSocial Editor: Rory O'ConnorDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

A big day for the UK, at home and abroad and Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner joins us in The News Agents HQ. She talks about her relationship with Labour Leader Keir Starmer, whether Labour is still the party of trade unions and what happened in the House of Commons the moment she found out the Queen was gravely ill. And, reaction to Vladimir Putin's early morning televised address. Did he just threaten the world with nuclear war?Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiVideo Engineer: Greg JamesSocial Editor: Rory O'ConnorDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Hours before meeting Liz Truss, Biden tweets that he’s “sick and tired of trickle down economics”. Awkward! We’re joined by Lord Peter Mandelson who tells us why the PM is heading for a car crash.Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiSocial Editor: Rory O'ConnorDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Have the monarchy and the media got this last week right? And how are we all left feeling now, a week or so on?The last seven days have seen the country divided on how to respond to The Queen's death. Emily, Jon, and Lewis reflect on how they felt when they heard the news, and whether the media coverage has changed their feelings about the monarchy.And who will North Korea sit next to at the state funeral on Monday? Former top Foreign Office civil servant Sir Simon Fraser joins us in the studio to get under the skin of the diplomatic conundrums the UK Government faces when the world's leaders come to town.Producers: Gabriel Radus & Ellie CliffordPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiVideo Engineer: Ioana BarbuSocial Editor: Rory O'ConnorDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Is it a good idea to end the cap on bankers' bonuses? The new chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng seems to think so - why? Would it be grossly unfair when so many face such hardship? Or is it the best way to energise the economy? We discuss.And Lewis is back after days glued to Swedish TV. He catches us up on what's happened since Monday in the fallout of the tightest of general elections. He also explains why, unusually, young Swedes rebel to the right-wing, not the left-wing. Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiVideo Engineer: Ioana BarbuDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Have the Republicans scored a massive own goal in their attempts to limit women's rights to abortions in the United States? And will this fatally damage their chances of success in November's midterm elections. Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiVideo Engineer: Ioana BarbuDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The police have been cracking down on anti-monarchists protesting across the UK. Why? And what does this have to do with Priti Patel's highly controversial Policing and Crime Act when she was Home Secretary? We talk about the links between the police, the policed and the powerful with civil liberties expert Adam Wagner. Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiVideo Engineer: Will BatchelorDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Is Ukraine about to win a war no-one thought they could? And, consequently, are Vladimir Putin's days numbered?The tide seems to be turning Europe's most significant war in eight decades. Ukrainian forces moved at lightning pace over the weekend to recapture their towns from a beleaguered Russian army in the north-east of the country. But are we sure this is really all that significant? We speak to broadcaster and journalist Gabriel Gatehouse.And, we look across the North Sea to Sweden, and their nail-biting election result on Sunday night. It's so close, we may not know the final picture until Wednesday. But by the end of this week, a former Neo-Nazi party could be one of the major governing parties in a country known for its left-wing socialist politics.Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiSound Engineer: Ioana BarbuDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

For the first time in over 70 years, the United Kingdom's head of state is a King, not a Queen. Charles III begins his reign as a monarch already well known to his public. His long held views have been aired, his life documented by television and tabloids, his relationships picked over through fifty years of adult life. How will this change the type of monarchy we have and the connection the king and his country share? We hear from eminent historians, civil servants, thinkers about the challenges this could pose.Historians Simon Schama and Dan Snow, former Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell, journalist Ash Sarkar and former Supreme Court Lord Jonathan Sumption join us on the podcast.Producers: Gabriel Radus & Ellie CliffordPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiSound Engineer: Greg JamesDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

We reflect on Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and discuss King Charles III’s accession to the throne.Producer: Gabriel RadusExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The Queen is under close medical attention and with family in Balmoral. We're joined by Andrew Marr, LBC Presenter and the author of The Diamond Queen - the definitive book on the life of Her Majesty.And later in the show, we discuss Liz Truss' energy price plans announced in Parliament this morning. Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Liz Truss faces Keir Starmer in Parliament for the first time, and there’s a notable shift in tone at Prime Minister's Questions. Gone is the bluff and bluster of the Johnson era - arguments over policy and ideology are back. We analyse that, and discuss diversity on the Tory frontbench.And we need to talk Donald Trump again - classified details of foreign nuclear weapons have been found in the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago. Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiSound Engineer: Ioana BarbuDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.Clip Credits: Pienaar’s Politics, BBCUniversity Challenge BBC

A drought ends in a downpour, and Prime Minister Truss emerges outside Number 10 to deliver a dry economic message. Lewis is in Downing Street, and we discuss her early pledges and what we know of her so far.Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiSound Engineer: Ioana BarbuDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Liz Truss becomes UK Prime Minister with just 81,326 votes of Conservative party members. Has any leader ever come to power with such an array of problems? What will her first government look like? And can she solve Britain’s energy crisis? We’re joined by the former Tory Chancellor and "frenemy" of Boris Johnson, George Osborne, who knows Liz Truss well. He also has some thoughts on what the former PM might do next.Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiSound Engineer: Ioana BarbuDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has plunged millions into a profound energy crisis. But Russia's war was just the catalyst. What has led us here is a much longer, and more complex story of political failure in Britain and Europe. Today, we dig deeper into why we are where we are. And The News Agents speak to businesses in the North-West, about how that failure is already costing us, leading to business closure and job losses.Producers: Ellie Clifford and Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

It’s the final showdown between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. We’re back stage at Wembley for the final Tory leadership hustings, hosted by LBC as this interminable contest finally comes to an end. But what, if anything, have we learnt? When the whole country is worried about paying their bills, can the Tory party really justify the time and money spent on this level of introspection? Producer: Gabriel Radus Planning: Melissa TutesigensiSound Engineer: Ioana BarbuDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino Sofos For exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/ The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

When Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak cross the Downing Street threshold, Britain’s most senior civil servant will take them into the cabinet room to brief them on nuclear codes, critical national security threats and vital economic data. Gus O’Donnell was that civil servant and oversaw the transition from Blair to Brown, and Brown to Cameron. Lord O’Donnell has some candid advice for the next PM on how to rebuild trust with the British people.And following his death, can a line be drawn from Mikhail Gorbachev and what is happening in Ukraine today? We speak to the journalists Allan Little and Anne Applebaum.Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Donald Trump is being investigated by the FBI over a cache of secret documents he squirrelled away at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago. He says he’s cooperating but last night senior Republican Lindsey Graham warned there will be riots on the streets if Trump is charged. So could Trump really go to jail? And if he’s not convicted, could that relaunch him as America’s most likely next President?On our first episode of The News Agents, we hear from two people who know Donald Trump inside out - his former acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, and his former Director of Communications, Anthony Scaramucci.You can get in touch with us via our social platforms. Just search The News Agents.The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.Producers: Gabriel Radus and Melissa TutesigensiSound Engineer: Ioana BarbuDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino Sofos

We’re launching for real on Tuesday 30th, but for now listen to Emily’s keynote lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival, with some post-match analysis from Emily and Jon. The speech looks at the challenges and solutions for good journalism in the age of populism.Speech Copyright: The Edinburgh International Television Festival

A sneak peek of what's to come on The News Agents. See you next Tuesday!

Welcome to The News Agents - a new daily podcast beginning August 30th hosted by journalists Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel & Lewis Goodall.