Newscast

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....

The ex-soldier was pulled off a bike by a plain clothes officer. The BBC’s Dominic Casciani joins Laura in the studio and Chris, who’s dialling in from the G20 in India, to explain what techniques the police may have used to track down and capture the escaped prisoner, Daniel Khalife. At least 1000 people have died following an earthquake in Morocco. Clara Bennett from Hampshire was on holiday in...

The world’s eyes are on Delhi as world leaders meet. Chris Mason joins from India. Adam and Chris chat to the former head of the UK’s Foreign Office Sir Simon McDonald about India’s ambitions. And the government’s renewable power strategy has been dealt a blow after no new offshore wind project contracts were bought by developers at a recent auction. Emma Pinchbeck, CEO of Energy UK, the body that...

The UK rejoins the EU's flagship scientific research scheme What does it mean to the country? The UK’s top scientific advisor Dame Angela McLean is on, as well as Katya Adler, who tells us whether this could be a thaw in UK/EU relations. And what does the case of the escaped Wandsworth prisoner tell us about the state of prisons? Former BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw and former Head of...

Chris and Adam speak about the escaped prisoner and the on-going issue of RAAC in schools. For more on the government’s handling of concrete, Adam is joined by hosts of the new BBC Sounds podcast When It Hits the Fan, crisis PR gurus David Yelland and Simon Lewis. They also chat about Spain’s World Cup Kiss with Spanish lawyer Miriam González Durántez. What does the story say about the country’s t...

A BBC investigation has revealed that three major water companies have been illegally spilling sewage on days when it’s not raining. Our correspondents Jonah Fisher and Emma Vardy bring us up to date. Birmingham City Council has effectively declared bankruptcy. Alex Forsyth joins Adam to explain how their finances have got to this point. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tin...

Politics is back in Westminster with an almighty bang. A hot-mic moment lands the education secretary in hot water as Sir Keir Starmer shuffles his shadow cabinet. Adam and Chris dissect the day’s events. Adam is also joined by former Labour foreign secretary, now chief executive of the International Rescue Committee, David Miliband to discuss Ukraine. You can join our Newscast online community he...

Day two of weekend Newscasts with Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. And brand new BBC political chief correspondent, Henry Zeffman, joins them from his sofa at home. Laura gives her take on her interview with the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, who says the government "won't take any risks" with children's safety following the crumbly concrete crisis. But how worried should the government be about th...

Talking crumbly concrete and Sunak’s in tray. Welcome to the first ever weekend Newscast, with Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell! Today they hear from Kirstie Allsopp, from the TV show Location, Location, Location, about falling house prices. And they talk about the political impact of the concrete problem in schools. Also, a surprise guest pops into the studio for a very special Newscast outro...

Potentially Dangerous RAAC Concrete found in schools just before the start of term. Former teacher and a senior analyst for the Times Education Supplement, Gráinne Hallahan explains how widespread the problem is, and who’s picking up the bill. We also hear from a parent whose son’s school is affected. And, Chris Giles from the Financial Times is on to talk about how a change to the way we measure...