Newscast

In his first Conservative conference speech as prime minister, Rishi Sunak confirms the Manchester leg of HS2 is to be scrapped. In its place, a range of new transport projects for the Midlands and the North are to be put forward. Aside from HS2, he also proposes raising the age that people can buy tobacco and cigarettes in England every year to create a "smoke-free generation.” Alongside the smok...

After intense speculation on the future of HS2, the BBC understands the prime minister is to announce the scrapping of HS2 from West Midlands to Manchester in his closing conference speech on Wednesday. Chris joins Adam to reflect on his interview earlier in the day with Rishi Sunak. As the Conservative Party Conference draws to a close, Henry Zeffman, the BBC's chief political correspondent, sits...

On the day of the chancellor’s speech, everyone’s talking about a train line. West Midlands Tory mayor Andy Street has said Rishi Sunak would be "cancelling the future" if he "gives up" on the Manchester leg of HS2. Adam and Chris are there for his impromptu press conference. Conservative Party chairman Greg Hands joins to react to that, as well as what Jeremy Hunt and Liz Truss had to say today....

Analysis of Laura’s sit down with the PM. Paddy’s presenting with her, and they’re joined by chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman. They talk about refusals in the interview to commit to HS2 in full, as well as tax cuts before the next election, and how it all looks together with Sunak’s attempts to be seen as being on the front foot. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://...

Can the PM win over voters as the ‘change candidate’? Laura and Paddy discuss. And Newscasters have been getting in touch about 'State of Chaos’ - Laura’s show about the political turmoil in the May/Johnson/Truss years. She answers some of them, and talks about what putting the programme together was like. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere T...

The Chancellor will be addressing the Conservative party conference on Monday to set out his economic vision - but what health is the UK economy in? Faisal Islam and Dharshini David have been reporting on economic affairs around the UK and how consumers are coping. Joined by Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry, they discuss all aspects of the economy from in...

The media regulator Ofcom has announced it will investigate the Dan Wootton Tonight show on GB News after a sexism row sparked 7,300 complaints. Adam and Chris sit down with GB News presenter Nana Akua to discuss the last 24 hours and the nature of impartiality rules. Also, Asa Bennett, a former adviser to Liz Truss, joins us to discuss what it was like writing a conference speech for the former p...

“It’s made me feel disgusting, it’s made me feel vile". Political correspondent at PoliticsJoe Ava-Santina speaks about the comments made about her by GB News presenter Laurence Fox. He and Dan Wootton have both been suspended by the broadcaster. And, the UK's largest untapped oil field has been approved by regulators. Adam speaks to the country manager for Equinor Alex Grant, one of the main stak...

Sir Ed Davey launches an all-out attack on the Conservative government’s record on the NHS as he closes the Liberal Democrat party conference. Chris Mason gives his analysis and Adam quizzes Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine on the finer details of her party’s policies. And does the 1951 Refugee Convention need updating? Suella Braverman thinks so. Adam is joined by the Labour Peer, Lord Dubs, to discu...

Soldiers were put on standby after hundreds of Metropolitan Police officers stepped back from firearms duties after an officer was charged with the murder of Chris Kaba last September. Home affairs correspondent Tom Symonds talks us through a dramatic day for the Met alongside Harriet Wistrich, the lawyer who represented the family of Jean Charles de Menezes after he was killed by police in 2005....

More politicians refuse to commit to plans for the rail link. Paddy is joined by Victoria Derbyshire who has been hosting Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Rachel Johnson, journalist and broadcaster, joins them in the studio fresh from sitting on Victoria’s panel and Henry Zeffman, BBC chief political correspondent, analyses the details of this morning’s interviews. Victoria’s been speaking to Grant S...

Paddy is joined by Salma Shah, former Conservative adviser, and Marie Le Conte, political journalist, to discuss party conference season which begins today. What happens at a conference? Who are party conferences for? And is this all about ‘electioneering’? They also discuss the latest policy announcements from the government, the Labour party and the Liberal Democrats. And Newscasters send in the...

​​The shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is in the studio. ​​ ​​She promises to hand more power to the UK economic watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), discusses Sir Keir Starmer’s comments on common ground with the EU, and tells Adam where Labour is on HS2. ​​ ​​You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere . ​​ ​​Today's Newscast was pres...

Rupert Murdoch has stepped aside as chairman of Fox and News Corp. Adam and Chris are joined by former editor of The Sun, Kelvin MacKenzie, PoliticsJOE’s Ava Santina and former Boris Johnson adviser Cleo Watson to discuss what this means for the media landscape. And COP26 President Sir Alok Sharma dials in from the UN Climate Action Summit in New York to give his thoughts on Rishi Sunak’s pivot on...

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pushes back the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK from 2030 to 2035 and extends the transition from gas boilers to heat pumps. Adam is joined by Chris Mason, Faisal Islam and the Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. And the BBC’s Disinformation & Social Media Correspondent, Marianna Spring, pops by to chat about her documentary looking at how the...

Rishi Sunak could weaken some of the government's key green commitments in a major policy shift. Chris joins Adam from Westminster to discuss what the prime minister might do and what it means for net zero. And a public inquiry has found detainees at Brook House migrant removal centre were subjected to degrading treatment and unnecessary pain. Callum Tulley, a former Brook House officer and whistl...

How did Channel 4’s Dispatches & The Sunday Times put the Russell Brand investigation together? Adam is joined by Louisa Compton, head of news and current affairs at Channel 4 and Alistair Jackson, investigations editor of Dispatches. And Liz Truss is back on the political stage, urging the Prime Minister to cut taxes a year after her Downing Street exit. The BBC’s Chris Mason and Faisal Islam...

Paddy’s been talking to Rosamund Urwin, the journalist who led The Sunday Times investigation into allegations against comedian Russell Brand. And Laura’s been talking to the Foreign Secretary James Cleverly about it. He says the entertainment industry has questions to answer. They discuss what those questions might be, and the work that’s gone into publishing the story. Also in the studio is the...

What’s Labour’s plan to win the next election? Laura and Paddy discuss the opposition’s plan to attract votes, as they make immigration and crime their subjects of the moment. They also talk about accusations against comedian and actor Russell Brand of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse in The Times and on Channel 4’s Dispatches, which he denies. And a former Network Rail director in the No...

Marianna Spring sits in for Adam. Rishi Sunak has pledged to ban American bully XL dogs, following a spate of attacks. Marianna is joined by the BBC’s Navtej Johal, who’s been following the story all week and a has spoken to a young victim. Dog law specialist Trevor Cooper is also on. And thousands of people are still missing in the city of Derna in north-east Libya, after two dams burst. The deat...

Sir Keir Starmer seeks new deal with EU to stop smugglers. Labour’s Emily Thornberry joins Adam and Chris to take us through what their plan is. And, the government’s target to reduce the hospital waiting list in England is in doubt according to the prime minister. He was speaking to health editor Hugh Pym, who joins us, as does Saffron Cordery from NHS Providers. 00:00 Labour’s plan to stop small...

BBC world affairs editor John Simpson and former spy chief Christopher Steele reveal what the Russian and North Korean leaders meeting means for the rest of the world. And Political Thinking presenter Nick Robinson joins Adam to discuss his revealing interview with former Prime Minister Theresa May. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere . Today'...

The state pension is likely to rise by 8.5% in April because of the ‘triple lock’. The policy means that the value increases in line with average earnings, inflation or 2.5% - whichever is highest. Adam and Chris are joined by our Economics Editor Faisal Islam and Jonathan Cribb from the Institute for Fiscal Studies to explore the ramifications. Google has been in court for a trial brought by the...

Questions continue following the arrest of a parliamentary researcher on suspicion of spying for China. The man, who has not been charged, has today insisted that he is ‘completely innocent’. We are joined by George Osborne to discuss how the government should engage with Beijing. The former chancellor also gives his thoughts on Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer’s prospects in the next general election...

Researcher arrested amid claims he was spying for China. Chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman helps Laura and James Cook understand what information Westminster staffers get access to, as well as the UK government’s reaction to the news. And, the case of escaped prisoner Daniel Khalife has put prisons at the top of the political agenda. Laura’s interviewed the justice secretary Alex Chalk....