Newscast

Today, French cities were been given the power to implement partial curfews after violence across France over the weekend. Hundreds of thousands of people turned out for protests against falling education standards and the rising cost of living. There were outbreaks of rioting, looting, and arson, after weeks of student-led rallies across the country. Adam iss joined by the Financial Times’ Paris...

Today, around 3000 people are being treated in hospital corridors, as nurses and charities call on the government to take action as the annual NHS winter rush approaches. As the BBC highlights the case of two-year-old Finlay Roberts who died in a hospital corridor in 2024 - a death the coroner said could have been prevented - we speak to Health Secretary Yvette Cooper about the immediate challenge...

Today, President Trump blocked sanctions on Russia a month after he signed them into law. This comes after he said he ‘wasn’t a big fan’ of Volodymyr Zelensky. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president at a summit in Brussels said the Europeans were ‘real leaders’. Laura is joined by BBC world affairs editor John Simpson to discuss why the US president is becoming more friendly with Russian President Vla...

Today, Chris Mason joins us from the SNP party conference, where the party mood seems, once again, very high. Adam and Chris are joined by Baroness Ayesha Hazarika, Labour peer and former political advisor, and Times columnist Fraser Nelson to look back at this year’s conference season to see what it can tell us about where each party stands. We also discuss whether Labour MPs might be ready to ba...

Today, Zelensky admitted he felt ‘betrayed’ by Trump in an interview with Piers Morgan - so where does that leave the US-Ukraine relationship? Adam is joined by Sarah Smith, Americast host, and Shashank Joshi, Washington bureau chief at The Economist, to discuss what we’ve learned from Zelensky’s interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored. Plus, what is going on with intelligence sharing between the U...

Today, an OpenAI employee has been charged with allegedly installing a recording device inside a boardroom. The AI firm said it had discovered the toilet paper-wrapped device hidden in their San Francisco office and alerted the FBI. It’s claimed the device was built and hidden using chatbot prompts. Adam is joined by Tech and AI Editor Zoe Kleinman to discuss the details so far. Also, Chris Mason...

Since Andy Burnham has been in office he has consistently mentioned Brexit and why he thinks it has been a bad deal for the UK. Now, he says he wants to “deepen” the UK’s relationship with the EU at a summit in Brussels next month. Adam, Chris and Faisal Islam discuss if he has Brexit strategy, what it might be, and what it could mean for the next general election. Plus, Faisal is in Bangkok where...

Today, does the energy ceasefire President Trump announced between Russia and Ukraine actually exist? Over the weekend Trump said a truce had been reached. But whilst Ukraine’s President Zelensky said he would be willing to back one, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said Ukraine doesn't deserve the "respite" that a ceasefire would bring. To unpack what was and was not agreed, Adam is join...

US President Donald Trump has said he thinks "it's time for Ukraine to get a new president" as he responded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's criticism of the US diesel deal with Russia. Under the deal, Russia would release an initial 300,000 tonnes of diesel "to the American and global marketplace" followed by an additional 500,000 tonnes in November. We look at what’s behind Trump gett...

Today, we look at critical voices from within Green leader Zack Polanski’s own party, plus calls for a rule change on how the party decides policy. Last week a motion that declared Zionism a form of racism was voted on and became policy. Debate over the motion and it’s fallout dominated a week in which he may have preferred to have been focussing on campaigning in Holborn and St Pancras, where he...

Labour wins the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, with the Greens coming in second. But what does that result mean for Zack Polanski’s tenure as leader of the green party? Adam and Chris are joined by the pollster Luke Tryl from More In Common. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. Ge...

Today, Thames Valley Police has accepted that the search warrants it used to search Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s homes earlier this year were unlawful. Adam is joined by policing commentator Danny Shaw to discuss why they were unlawful and what this means for the ongoing criminal investigation into alleged misconduct in public office. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor denies all wrongdoing. Also, Andy Bu...

In this bonus episode, Adam speaks to Rhun ap Iorwerth, the first minister of Wales about his first few months in office, Welsh independence, and why he's asking Andy Burnham for a 'New Deal' for Wales. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community her...

Today, Kemi Badenoch made her closing speech to Conservative party conference. The Conservative leader said a “battle for the soul of the nation” is coming, before pitching her vision for her party’s rebrand. She pledged a much-briefed adjustment on inheritance tax - but stopped short of abolishing it altogether. And she had a lot to say about her political opponents. Adam, Alex and Chris are in B...

Today, Chris has been speaking to Kemi Badenoch as she limbers up for her speech to the Conservative party conference tomorrow morning. Adam and Chris discuss what she had to say, including her predictions for the next election and why she says she won’t do a deal with Reform. Plus, the US says it is closely watching the death of a Russian scientist who works at a plague research centre in Siberia...

Today, after the US withdrew its bombers from RAF Fairford, the UK government has insisted the military base is safe. Our security correspondent Frank Gardner explains why the Americans moved the planes back to their home stations. It comes a week after a major incident when police were alerted to three "suspicious vehicles" near the airbase and six arrests were made. Plus, housing protests in Spa...

Today, we look at whether opposition leader Kemi Badenoch can lead a Conservative comeback. Polls have suggested the party’s popularity was at historic lows in 2025 and early 2026, but they’ve been slightly more favourable recently. So, after partygate and Liz Truss’ mini budget, are the British public ready to vote for the party again? We also look at Badenoch’s plans to build 50,000 new prison p...

Today, we look at the upcoming Holborn and St Pancras by-election, which Green leader Zack Polanski is standing in. We look at how big a gamble a resurgent Labour makes the vote for him, and what happens if he underperforms. Laura and Paddy also discuss the Green conference - happening now - and a row over the party’s position on Israel. And, after diesel prices rose above £2 a litre for first tim...

After a strong week at Labour Party conference has the Prime Minister made his first foul? Downing Street has said Manchester City are not "above the rules" after Andy Burnham was criticised for his comments about the club's breaches of Premier League financial rules. Adam, Chris and Joe are joined by the FT’s Whitehall editor and host of “Political Fix” Lucy Fisher to unpack the backlash, plus An...

Today, after Wednesday’s dramatic event in which a pilot stabbed another pilot and tried to take over a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, we look at what happened in the moments and hours after. Adam is joined by BBC Verify’s Thomas Copeland to help piece together the details of the story, and Jane Corbin who assesses the political reaction and how it’s going down in Israel. Faisal has been speaking...

Today, Andy Burnham has said rejoining the EU is one of the options the government could examine when looking at the UK’s long-term relationship with Europe. The Prime Minister also told Chris there are ‘strong indications’ that ‘Iran played a part in what happened’ at RAF Fairford, and weighed in on Manchester City. Adam, Chris and Faisal discuss the interview, which happened one day after confer...

Today, Andy Burnham delivers first his speech to the Labour Party conference as Prime Minister. During an emotional address, the prime minister outlined plans for a ‘National Care Service’ which would be free at point of use, funded in part by proposed changes to the triple lock" from 2030. He also talked about reforms to the electoral system and housing, and the water system. The Prime Minister r...

Today, Adam and Chris interview the Chancellor John Healey at Labour party conference following his first speech in the role. In his speech, the chancellor announced £6bn of new contracts for British shipyards, which he said would help defend the UK in the long term, and emphasised the need to reindustrialise Britain and get more young people into work. But amidst a tough global economic picture,...

Today, we look at Andy Burnham’s plans for a national care service for England. In the prime minister’s first Sunday morning interview of his tenure, he told Laura that he would connect the care system to the NHS, and make it free at the point of use, but not before the next General Election. Laura, Paddy, and Joe Pike look at how it would work and how much it would cost. They also talk through ot...

Laura's been speaking to Prime Minister Andy Burnham in Liverpool, ahead of the Labour Party conference. This is the interview in full, in which he proposes national care service in England, refuses to commit to backing a third runway at Heathrow, and condemns masked protesters. Laura, Paddy, and Joe Pike will be analysing what the PM said in an episode to follow in your Newscast feed.