The News Agents

75% of democracies in the world go to the polls next year. It's a year of enormous significance - not just for the US and for the UK, but for massive geopolitical bodies - South Africa, India, Russia etc. Where will we be come this time next year? Lewis (mostly) talks to those that know the regions best.Editor & birthday boy: Tom HughesSenior Producer & special correspondent: Gabriel RadusProducer : Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Shane FennellyYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Macron relents to the far-right and introduces tough immigration laws into multicultural France. What does this mean for the right-wing Marine Le Pen's hopes of being president - and for a country whose history is so interlinked with migration?Our new Health Secretary calls junior doctors 'doctors-in-waiting' - is that the best way to end a new flurry of strikes that could further cripple our limping health system?And Liz Truss gets a new portrait at her old home.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Shane FennellyYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

The Supreme Court of Colorado has used an arcane section of the 14th Amendment of the US constitution to disqualify Donald Trump from standing for president, on the grounds of the part he played in mounting an insurrection against the state. It’s got to be a good thing, generally, if insurrectionists aren’t allowed to stand for high office. But the judgement raises critical questions about the power of the law versus the power of democracy. And who decides who is and who isn’t an enemy of the state. Trump‘s rivals fear he will use the ruling to rocket fuel his next stint of fundraising, by calling it a witch-hunt. Democrats are waiting to to see if it’s overturned by the Supreme Court - the ultimate arbiters. Meanwhile on the mean streets of Wellingborough - another by-election looms after the suspension of Tory MP Peter Bone. We take you to both Colorado and Wellingborough you lucky things…Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Shane FennellyYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Wes Streeting is hoping to become the first Labour Health Secretary in 14 years. How honest is he prepared to be about what the health service needs and what Labour is prepared to spend? On today's episode, he tells us that frankly the system we have is "not the envy of the world". Can they really fix it by closing a non-dom tax loophole and praying for growth? We also hear what he really thinks of Israel's actions in Gaza and of the death threats he's received in his own constituency.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Shane FennellyYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

What did Michelle Mone mean when she said all she’d done was “lie to the press“ after she threatened journalists with lawsuits if they dared to investigate her story? Today we follow all the unanswered questions - is our defamation law serving the public?What did the government know about the missing Mone millions? And should she still sit in the House of Lords?Tax Lawyer Dan Neidle and Labour shadow minister Nick Thomas-Symonds join us.After that, we speak to former UK Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher on the horror and pain that the war between Israel and Hamas continues to inflict on all those affected; and is Jon Sopel running a covert cannabis farm in his basement?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Shane FennellyThe News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

The Far Right are growing in strength, power and number across Europe and beyond. In election after election extremist forces are becoming bigger and bigger players, destroying old more traditional conservative parties. In this episode of The News Agents Investigates, Lewis heads to the Netherlands, where an old political face, Geert Wilders, could now be king of all he surveys. But Holland is just one story, a microcosm of one of the biggest political tales of our time- the slow collapse of the centre and the forces of moderation on the right of politics. Online conspiracy, misinformation and the polarisation arising from the Gaza War is fuelling the fire. Liberal democracy could be burnt along with it.Producer: Laura FitzPatrickVideo Producer: Rory SymonThe News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Prince Harry won, the press lost. In a landmark court verdict, a high court judge on Friday ruled that phone hacking and other unlawful practices to obtain stories were "habitual" at the Mirror Group's newspapers. The judge also said that senior executives at the company knew about these methods, as did Piers Morgan, who once edited the Daily Mirror. Morgan has taken to the airwaves to once again deny. Lewis asks what this ruling means for Harry, the royal family, the press and Piers Morgan himself. He talks to a lawyer representing the victims of phone hacking, a former Daily Mirror editor and a former phone hacker.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Shane FennellyThe News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Vladimir Putin’s “Results of the Year “ was a marathon televised chat show where for 4+ hours he answered none of the questions the Russian public desperately wished they could ask. “When will the war end? When are our soldiers coming home? Are you as ill as the rumours suggest? Why is the Russia on TV not the real Russia?"Today we ask if Putin’s buoyant mood suggests he thinks he’s about to win the Ukraine war. We talk to those from the Bush and Obama administration who know all about Putin's methods well and ask if América is going to give up on Ukraine. Later we discuss disgraced Scott Benton - the Blackpool South MP who could be out of a job … cue *another* by-election..Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Shane FennellyThe News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

The incoming chair of the BBC, Samir Shah, has suggested that Gary Lineker may have breached BBC guidelines with his 'ad hominem attacks' on two Conservative MPs. It was only two months ago that the BBC drew up its new social media guidelines - Do they make sense? Does Lineker care? And how much is the corporation responding to pressure from the right wing papers? Later - Mark Drakeford is stepping down as Wales First Minister - and is Rishi out of trouble now after winning last night's Rwanda vote?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Shane FennellyThe News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Emily and Jon host a weekly US politics podcast; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you.Episodes are available every Tuesday, on Global Player.Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here on Global Player.

Rishi Sunak faces a crucial vote tonight in the Commons over his new Rwanda bill. It's not proving to be an easy week with his party split over whether the bill goes too far or indeed that it does not go far enough. So just how did the Prime Minister get himself into a position where his whips are scrambling at the last minute to get this vote passed? The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Shane FennellyYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Rishi Sunak is in a dark room in Paddington talking about the decisions he made as Chancellor to the covid inquiry. Meanwhile, various huddles of Tory MPs are meeting to decide whether or not to vote through the key Rwanda bill tomorrow, one backbencher, the ERG leader Mark Francois, has told the government to rip it up and start again. We ask former deputy chair of the party Paul Scully if Rishi could lose the vote.The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Shane FennellyYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

In an extended interview, Lewis Goodall speaks with the former speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow.They discuss his difficult relationships with various Tory PMs (Cameron, May and Johnson), his switch from the far-right to the centre left, the bullying allegations that ended his political career. Plus, the TV show Traitors. He's in the next series.The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory SymonYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

An impromptu Prime Minister's press conference this morning raised more questions than it answered. Rishi Sunak was responding to the resignation of Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick last night - which blindsided the government - and left the PM defending his Rwanda policy and promising he would disapply human rights law to get it through. Today - a stark message for those in the party trying to cause trouble - from Tory backbencher and 1922 committee stalwart Sir Charles Walker - who joins us on the show.The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory SymonYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Boris Johnson’s appearance before the Covid Inquiry always had the feeling of the end of season pre-Xmas finale. It began with protests from the bereaved - who Johnson had avoided by arriving early. He offered his apology , insisted the UK death rate had been comparatively normal, and couldn’t quite explain what if anything he thought he’d got wrong. Later- Suella in the Commons. What was that speech about?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Shane FennellyYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

The Home Secretary will bring in tough new rules to curb legal migration next Spring. Workers will be required to earn nearly forty thousand pounds to come here. Care workers will be exempt but won’t be allowed to bring a loved one. What will the unintended consequences be? And can we afford it ? Later, the Rwanda policy is looking for a defibrillator. What does the government have in mind?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Shane Fennelly & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Emily and Jon host a weekly US politics podcast; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you.Episodes are available every Tuesday, on Global Player.Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here on Global Player.

The Conservative Party has lost half a million voters since their October party conference - according to a brand-new poll of polls. They suggest Rishi's personal popularity is now lower than... Liz Truss. Why is this happening and is it reversible or terminal? Which political direction will it pull the PM in? And later who is Keir Starmer talking to when he warns Labour will not be making big spending plans - and confesses his admiration for the controversial Margaret Thatcher?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Shane Fennelly & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Matt Hancock has had his moment in the Covid Inquiry's sun. In characteristic form, he's been an appropriate mix of quoteworthy, weird and often both. At the heart of his testimony lies some extraordinary allegations. We dig deep.And in the latest of our extended political interviews, we talk to veteran Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge, about her battles with the far right, the far left and how identity politics has brought her own rising sense of Jewishness to the forefront of her politics.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory SymonYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

On 15 September 2008 the world changed forever. The collapse of Lehman Brothers Bank heralded the financial crash and the worst recession in 60 years. It would change our politics - perhaps forever. One man predicted the scale and depth of what was to come - the chancellor who fought to stabilise the UK economy on the brink of collapse. That was Alistair Darling, whose death was announced this afternoon. Today we look at the impact that extraordinary time and his critical interventions had on this country - and we talk to his mentee - the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves about the man he was. Later we reflect on the death of a statesman and foreign affairs titan - Henry Kissinger - at the age of 100 and ask if the man who witnessed an entire century will be better remembered for good or ill.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory SymonYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

With The Telegraph newspaper up for sale we are asking a wider question about who owns our news. Does it matter if foreign parties have a stake ? Does it matter if foreign governments do? And can an owner remain truly impartial when their business depends upon it? We discuss the intersection between politics, newspaper coverage and big money.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Shane FennellyYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Rishi Sunak has cancelled a meeting with the visiting Greek PM. Downing Street says it was because he raised the issue of the return of the Elgin Marbles/Parthenon Sculptures on the BBC, after expressly being asked not to. The Greeks say no such deal was ever made, and they didn't fancy a downgraded meeting with the Deputy PM Oliver Dowden. Meanwhile Keir Starmer's team say he had a very productive meeting with Kyriakos Mitsotakis on immigration and security - and they find it odd that a NATO ally was sent home empty handed. What does the row tell us about the PM's concerns? Also on the show, Lawrence Fox is fighting a libel case at the High Court to get his name cleared after he was called 'a racist' on twitter. We discuss.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Shane FennellyYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Emily and Jon host a weekly US politics podcast; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you.Episodes are available every Tuesday, on Global Player.Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here on Global Player.

Net migration is at an all-time high. Almost three times higher - ironically - than before the Brexit vote. If everyone agrees it’s unsustainable then which parts of it do we want cut? And if migrants are actually plugging vital gaps in our economy then why can’t we say so?Also today - New Zealand has just U-turned on its smoking ban. Will we stick to ours? And where is Labour now on that 28 billion pounds promised for green spending…Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory SymonYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Oscar-winning and BAFTA-winning actress Olivia Colman joins The News Agents in a rare broadcast interview to talk about her work: on screen, and off-screen with the charity she's a patron of: Tender. Together with Susie McDonald - CEO of Tender - she explains the importance of preventative efforts iin domestic violence cases in supplementing the work of charities supporting survivors of abuse. And she talks the new season of The Crown, the writers strike and how press intrusion has radically changed her personal life.Senior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory SymonYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

As Israel and Hamas exchange hostages for prisoners, the worst riots in decades break out on the streets of Dublin (at the egging on of one Conor McGregor) and a far-right, anti-Islam populist wins in the socially liberal, deeply pro-EU Netherlands - what's happened in the world after a fortnight of all-consuming British political psychodrama.Lewis talks to Secunder Kermani, Channel 4's Foreign Correspondent who's spent most of the last 2 months on the ground Israel, POLITICO EU's Dutch reporter Pieter Haeck and Virgin Media News Correspondent Richard Chambers.Senior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

A quick trip to Downing Street for The News Agents today and an interview with the Chancellor fresh from his Autumn Statement. How does he explain those real term cuts to public spending? What does he make of todays immigration figures? And does he miss Suella?Senior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & James CropperYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.The NewsAgentsStore.com

The government is running out of chances to change the course of politics. Today’s Autumn Statement was one of them. It was billed by PM Rishi Sunak and Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, as a tax-cutting budget, a reward for the tough economic decisions they’d taken earlier. But have they really cut your taxes? And is the economic situation really much improved since they told us there was no room for cutting taxes? Forget the spin, this is what the Autumn Statement really told us about where our economy and politics is going next.Senior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

In the past couple of days, the Covid Inquiry has seen the two most powerful scientists in the country during the height of the pandemic - Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance - give evidence. What they've said has intensified the spotlight on Rishi Sunak - the architect of Eat Out to Help Out - of which testimony has revealed scientists weren't aware before the scheme was rolled out. Is this intensifying the pressure on the PM?And, ahead of the budget - tax cuts. But what kind? Are they politically motivated? And will they actually leave you better off?Senior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Emily and Jon host a weekly US politics podcast; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you.Episodes are available every Tuesday, on Global Player.Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here on Global Player.

What should the government do if the Supreme Court calls their policy unlawful? Simples. Just change the law.It’s not the Christmas cracker joke answer for some in the Conservative Party who are actively trying to get the PM to do just that. Today, a former Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland, spells out the damage that would do.Later, we ask what the decapitation of Sam Altman at the top of OpenAI tells us. Was he going too fast towards an unregulated AI world? And is it too late to put the genie back in the bottle, if so?And... MAGA. Argentine style.Senior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Lewis travels up to Aberdeenshire to speak exclusively - and at length- to the Leader of the Opposition - Sir Keir Starmer after the mother of all British political weeks.Editor: Gabriel RadusSocial Media Editor & Video Production: Rory SymonField Production: Gabriel Radus & Rory SymonYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch!To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Jess Philips - one of the 8 frontbenchers who voted against the Labour whip last night - gives her first interview to us since resigning last night from her position as Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding- to 'vote with her constituents and her heart'. Will this damage party morale and weaken Keir Starmer? Or will it show a different side to the politics of disagreement? Also, Rishi Sunak is undaunted by yesterday's excoriating judgmenet from the Supreme Court, making his Rwanda plan unlawful. He's got a new plan though don't worry! But will it actually get off (quite literally) the ground?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Jack McKay & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".And, The News Agents now have merch!To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.com

Within minutes of the Supreme Court ruling - that the government’s Rwanda scheme was ’unlawful’.Deputy chairman Lee Anderson was out of the traps saying ministers should ‘go ahead and put planes in the air to Rwanda anyway’. He has a way with words. But 50 other Tory colleagues weren’t that far off the sentiment, urging Rishi to change UK immigration law to make it work. The government was warned - by the Lords - a year ago the whole scheme would be found unlawful. But perhaps this was never about Rwanda or policy, but about party confidence in the PM. Where is he now? Why isn't the party talking about the drop of inflation on a day of good economic news? And does the new Home Secretary think the Rwanda plan was batshit?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Jack McKay & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".

Emily and Jon host a weekly US politics podcast; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you.Episodes are available every Tuesday, on Global Player.Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here on Global Player.

Who is in charge of cabinet now, with two prime ministers sitting around the table? And are they aligned on domestic, as well as foreign policy? One day after Westminster was knocked off it’s feet by the reshuffle how is the move going down in the rest of the country. And what exactly IS a minister for common sense? Later - those protests, the ceasefire and the Labour vote.AND we have our own merch! To get yours, head to: https://www.TheNewsAgentsStore.comEditor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Jack McKay & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".

By 9am this morning, Suella began her own lifestyle choice of homelessness - sacked as Home Secretary. But the big news was still to come. David Cameron emerged from Number 10 Downing Street as both a) the new Foreign Secretary and b) a Lord. This reshuffle has definitely given the Rishi's cabinet a Pulp Fiction-style adrenalin shot to the heart. But will it put him back in control of the political agenda? From what we've seen so far, the patrician centrists are back in control and the populists are being shown the door. But how long can the calm last?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Jack McKay & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".

Emily reports from Georgia, the eye of the Donald Trump legal storm, where he was caught on tape trying to get an election official to 'find' him more votes to win the 2020 election. A year out from 2024, is this purple state closer to staying blue or turning MAGA red? The latter could tip the election in Trump's favour. And she heads to South Carolina, to find out about the woman who could well be waiting in the wings in case Trump falls foul of his legal woes. ----Emily and Jon host a weekly US politics podcast; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you.Episodes are available every Tuesday, on Global Player.Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here on Global Player.

Suella Braverman is (still) the Home Secretary.That's despite ongoing calls from within her own party for the Prime Minister to sack her for comments she made about the police and so-called 'hate-marches' in an article in The Times, which wasn't signed off by No.10.We speak to senior backbench Tory Tim Loughton, author of The New Snobbery David Skelton, as well as More In Common's Luke Tryl - and we ask who Suella's extreme politics and language really speaks for.Later, we look at the far-right Vox party in Spain after its co-founder Alejo Vidal-Quadras was shot in the face yesterday in an attempted assassination attempt.Editor: Gabriel RadusSenior Producer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Jack McKay & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".

Suella Braverman is in trouble- again. It's almost like she invites it. This time she's written a piece for The Times which is being slammed as inflammatory. She's compared the Gaza protests with The Troubles and suggested the police treat right-wing and left-wing protests by different standards, and strongly suggests this Saturday's should be banned. She has called into question a very old principle, that of police independence from the government. To make it worse, it appears No.10 asked for changes to The Times piece, only for them to be ignored by Braverman's team. On today's show, is Sunak finally about to sack his Home Secretary, and if not, why not?Editor: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Jack McKay & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".

Fiona Hill is one of the most powerful British people of the 21st century but the chances are you haven’t even heard of her. She’s advised three presidents of the United States on foreign policy, especially on Putin’s Russia. She gave evidence at Trump’s first impeachment. at this time of international chaos, of an America which feels inside and out, on the edge, there could be no better time to talk to this woman with a unique perch on American power, British decline, and how in the end, all roads lead back to the Kremlin.Editor: Tom HughesProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Jack McKay & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".

Today we examine what was in the King's Speech - and what was left out. Suella's controversial "lifestyle choice" tents for the homeless were dropped. What does this tell us about the relationship between Sunak and his Home Secretary?Also as Nikki Haley pushes into 2nd place in the Republican race to run for president, we are in her home town in South Carolina.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Rory Symon, Jack McKay & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".

There are tremors amongst Democrats today - and the makings of a victory lap for Trump fans - after polling one year out from a Presidential election shows the challenge Biden is facing in key swing states. America should know their next president a year today, and in the key state of Georgia we are talking to voters and their politicians about why they’re ready to see Trump back in office. Later, is homelessness a lifestyle choice ? Suella thinks so. Will taking away people’s tents actually make them leave the streets, or will they just get colder?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Rory Symon, Jack McKay & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".

In an extended interview, Jon speaks to Layla Moran, the only MP with Palestinian heritage and the Lib Dem MP for West Oxford and Abingdon.She talks about her family in Gaza, peace talks and how hope gets her through everyday.Editor: Tom HughesProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Jack McKay & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".

Did former Health Secretary Matt Hancock think the best person to decide who should live and die during the pandemic was... Matt Hancock? That was the accusation levelled by former NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens in the Covid inquiry. Luckily, the hypothetical situation never materialised but how happy do we feel about politicians playing god? And… as the deputy cabinet secretary describes a Downing Street in which not a day went by without rules being breached, we ask whether it’s time for an amnesty on all those citizens still facing fines and trials?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Rory Symon & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".

How should the police be responding to the government’s call to arrest more people on "hate marches" (sic Suella). Do laws need to change? Do specific chants cross the legal line? And what is the terror threat like over all in the UK right now? We have an extended interview with Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley on protest, policing and public trust.In response to Sir Mark's comments about the Attorney General's Office, an AGO spokesperson said: "There has been no delay in the charging process for the two women who were arrested on suspicion of displaying images in support of Hamas."CPS received a complete version of the police report in the early hours of this morning – this was passed on to AGO at midday today for permission to consent to prosecute and this is being dealt with this evening as a matter of urgency."Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickPlanning Producer: Alex BarnettSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Rory Symon & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/2JsSa9qnmyY/

So, three guesses whose WhatsApps gave us our episode title today. That’s right, Dominic Cummings was up in front of the Covid inquiry where we were given a glimpse of his affection for cabinet colleagues...We also heard from No10 Comms director Lee Cain - his pal - together they paint a picture of the dysfunction that dominated decision making in the early months of Covid. What do the WhatsApp messages really tell us? And is any of this helping those who want resolution and an explanation for their loved one’s deaths?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Rory Symon & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".

Emily and Jon host a weekly US politics podcast; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you.Episodes are available every Tuesday, on Global Player.Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here on Global Player.

Israel began a prolonged ground invasion in northern Gaza this weekend, it continued targeted airstrikes in the region and temporarily cut off communications there. It says it wants to eliminate Hamas "surgically", but with so many civilians killed, what is Israel's endgame?Emily and Jon speak to Mark Regev - a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Israeli ambassador to the UK.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Producers: Rory Symon & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".

Is Suella Braverman nailed on to be the next Tory leader?Will Donald Trump win the presidency from a prison cell?And...when are The News Agents going on tour?Emily, Jon and Montana correspondent Lewis Goodall answer your questions in this special edition of The News Agents. Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Laura FitzPatrickVideo Producers: Rory Symon & Ben BateYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents".