Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins

Ian Collins asks the big question: should we fear facial recognition technology? He’s joined by former Met Police DCI Mike Neville, who has long called for wider use of the technology, and James Melville, social and political commentator, who shares his perspective on the ethical and societal implications. Later in the show, Ian turns to politics discussing Labour’s decisi...

Are we ready for war with Russia? Ian Collins asks the question head-on. Former White House adviser Steve Gill backs Trump’s Ukraine peace deal as the only way to avoid catastrophe, while ex-Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood warns it’s capitulation that invites the next invasion. Then the political earthquake: Nigel Farage has told donors he expects a Reform-Tory deal before the next election. Refor...

Ian Collins tears into Justice Secretary David Lammy's controversial reforms, slamming plans to restrict jury trials for sentences under three years as "not right" and a betrayal of peer justice and Magna Carta principles that hands unchecked power to judges while victims suffer endless delays. Former prisoner and writer/researcher, David Shipley and former Justice Secretary (2019–2021)...

Ian Collins asks whether Rachel Reeves should resign as she faces an ethics inquiry into whether she lied over the public state of the country’s finances ahead of the budget last week. London assembly member Susan Hall joins Ian as she urges Reeves to resign as chancellor. Ian is also joined by independent economist Julian Jessop to dig deep into the issues surrounding the recent budget. &nbs...

Ian Collins breaks down shocking new Home Office figures revealing that more than 53,000 illegal migrants are currently missing from the UK system. Former Border Force chief Tony Smith explains how Britain lost track of tens of thousands of arrivals and whether Shabana Mahmood’s crackdown can restore control. Immigration lawyer Harjap Singh Bhangal joins us to unpack what these numbers really mean...

Ian Collins tears into Rachel Reeves’ Budget as she targets workers, savers and pensioners with tax hikes, frozen thresholds and a raid on retirement pots — all while trying to plug a £30bn black hole. Former Special Adviser James Price breaks down the ISA cuts, the new charges on £2m-plus properties, pay-per-mile plans for EV owners and the Government’s decision to scrap green levies while expand...

Ian Collins asks what Rachel Reeves must deliver in the Budget to restore public trust as speculation intensifies over tax rises, raids on savings and claims that millions are being paid not to work. Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director and Head of Political Economy at the IEA, and Henri Murison, CEO of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership and former Labour adviser, break down the proposed measure...

Ian Collins asks whether Rachel Reeves’ mansion tax and proposed wealth-tax measures can really save Britain’s economy. Professor Len Shackleton breaks down Reeves’ £15bn welfare expansion, the plan to hit 100,000 homes with a mansion tax, and growing warnings that the Budget could hammer working-class families. Stephen Kinsella from Patriotic Millionaires argues why taxing wealth is the only way...

Ian Collins asks the question gripping Britain: Did we lock down for nothing? Professor Simon Wood breaks down the Covid Inquiry’s explosive finding that lockdowns could have been avoided entirely, while virologist Dr Chris Smith weighs in on what the science really showed in 2020. Dan Hodges joins us to discuss why the £200m Covid Inquiry is being branded an “I told you so” waste of money — and w...

Ian Collins breaks down Britain’s “500-a-day” migration shock as nearly 500 migrants every single day sign up for UK benefits. Charlie Downes from Restore Britain joins us to unpack the Telegraph’s figures, the strain on Universal Credit, and whether Labour has already lost control of the asylum system. Then Neal Lawson from Compass reacts to the growing Labour civil war as Andy Burnham circles Ke...

Jonathan Gullis sits in for Ian Collins as we ask if Britain is too weak to defend itself? Shadow Defence Minister Mark Francois reacts to the major review warning the UK is not ready for war - from depleted forces and missed spending targets to the risks facing Britain’s military and NATO commitments. We then turn to Labour’s growing civil war as Green councillor Martin Abrams joins us to discuss...

Jonathan Gullis sits in for Ian Collins as we break down Shabana Mahmood’s explosive asylum reform speech and what it means for Labour’s survival. Liam Deacon, Paul Richards and Kieran Mullan MP join us to unpack the Home Secretary’s “Asylum Reset” — from 20-year settlement waits and 30-month reviews to visa bans on Angola, Namibia and the DRC, voluntary return payments, benefit restrictions and m...

On today’s episode of The Ian Collins Show, Ian asks whether Shabana Mahmood’s new immigration crackdown can finally get control of Britain’s asylum system. The Home Secretary is preparing Trump-style UK visa bans for countries refusing to take back failed asylum seekers, alongside Denmark-inspired plans to seize valuables from illegal entrants to cover accommodation costs. Baroness Maclean, Conse...

On today’s episode of The Ian Collins Show, Ian asks the key question facing the Government: if Rachel Reeves has dropped her income tax rise, where does the money now come from? Reeves has informed the OBR that the manifesto-breaking tax raid is gone, alongside her abandoned £2bn ‘exit tax’ after a fierce backlash from business. With millionaire flight rising, tech leaders like Herman Narula cons...

In this blockbuster episode of The Ian Collins Show, Ian Collins tackles the explosive question: “Who would replace Keir Starmer?” as leadership of the Labour Party and Prime Minister of the UK. Ministers are demanding the sacking of his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney after hostile briefings allegedly targeting Wes Streeting. Leaks, counter-leaks and internal leaks are hitting the heart of Downin...

In this powerful episode of The Ian Collins Show on Talk, Ian asks whether Britain has lost its drive and its faith . With unemployment rising , businesses struggling to hire , and millions claiming benefits without ever needing to work , Ian unpacks the state of a nation in decline. Under Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves , more than 1,000 jobs a day are now being lost , while over 4...

Trump vs the BBC: The $1 Billion Showdown - In this explosive episode of The Ian Collins Show on Talk, Ian breaks down the story shaking global media: Donald Trump suing the BBC for $1 billion, and what that means for the future of Britain’s national broadcaster. With Tim Davie and Deborah Turness both resigning amid mounting pressure, former BBC presenter Sally Jones joins Ian to ask whether the...

In this hard-hitting episode of The Ian Collins Show on Talk, Ian takes on two defining stories shaking Britain: the BBC’s internal collapse after Tim Davie’s shock resignation, and the migration mess that sees asylum seekers offered £100 a week to leave taxpayer-funded hotels. Veteran broadcaster David Elstein, with over fifty years inside television — from the BBC to Channel 5 — joins Ian to exp...

In this explosive episode of The Ian Collins Show on Talk, Ian examines a nation on edge: falling national pride, rising division, and a leadership class doubling down on ideology instead of unity. As polls reveal a frightening collapse in national pride and growing divides between Brits and migrants, writer and trade unionist Paul Embery joins Ian to ask whether Sir Keir Starmer’s Britain has los...

Host Ian Collins turns the spotlight on three urgent crises hitting Britain now: the new pay-per-mile tax for EVs, warnings of a crime surge under the National Police Chiefs’ Council about the sentencing bill, and a major security operation in Birmingham ahead of the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match amid anti-Semitic protests. First, meet our EV-guest Jordan (the EV Guy), who explains how the...

Episode 1 of the Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins exposes how left-wing politics, woke ideology, and weak leadership are breaking nations on both sides of the Atlantic. Ian Collins investigates how Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is pushing Britain toward economic chaos and cultural division - while New York’s far-left figurehead Zohran Mamdani drives the same woke experiment in America. From Bri...

This week, Security and Threat expert and former Scotland Yard Detective Philip Grindell, who helped stop a terrorist attack after Jo Cox’s assassination, shares his strategies for protecting high-profile clients; now advising politicians and celebrities, he’s also author of Personal Threat Management and host of The Defuse Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Ian is joined by Kerry Daynes — a world-renowned Consultant Forensic Psychologist with over 25 years at the sharpest edge of crime. From police interrogations to courtrooms, maximum-security prisons to locked psychiatric wards — she’s seen the darkest corners of the human mind. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Ian is joined by Dawn Dines, CEO of Stamp out Spiking who’s spent 20 years fighting drink spiking and led the push to make it a specific offence, with the Prime Minister now promising new laws to help more victims come forward.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Ian is joined by Jonathan Levi and Dr Emma French, authors of the upcoming book  Inside Belmarsh , for an eye-opening conversation about life inside Britain’s most notorious high-security prison—nicknamed ‘Hellmarsh’. With exclusive access to both inmates and staff, they reveal the harsh and often brutal realities behind the walls of Belmarsh, home to spies, terrorists, and killers...