The News Agents

Remember how there was going to be no row back and no change to the government welfare reform bill? Well, now it seems there might be... Starmer's team are talking about the importance of “conversations with colleagues“ after an amendment signed by 120 Labour MPs showed them how easily they could lose a major vote on Tuesday. Those conversations are code - as is “listening mode“. Are we about to s...

The atmosphere here at the NATO summit has been little short of obsequious towards President Trump. Leaders have worked out that if they want US buy-in to NATO they have to commit to Trump’s spending demands, and flatter him into believing he is the only person who can make things happen. Well, so far it seems to be working. The US has renewed its commitment to defending other NATO countries. And...

We’re at the Nato summit in The Hague where Europe’s leaders were hoping to put defence spending and Ukraine top of the agenda. That's before Donald Trump derailed things by swearing on the White House lawn. He’s very cross that Israel and Iran aren't listening to him, and his insistence that a ceasefire is underway. Can he will a war to end just by saying it? Or are we learning how little control...

Has Trump now decided he would like to topple Iran’s leadership? He’s let his cabinet tell the world that the only game here was to stop Iran becoming nuclear competent. Yet, overnight his motivation seems to have changed. Does this change the whole scenario and make an end game much harder? And what kind of conversations is Starmer now having with his inner circle about whether these strikes on T...

Trump did it - he attacked Iran. Overnight, US armed forces attacked three of Iran’s nuclear development sites. Trump claims to have obliterated the nascent Iranian nuclear capabilities. Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu is jubilant. European leaders are uneasy. The whole world is holding its breath. What happens now? Can we even know? What does it mean for the region, for Europe and the world? And w...

Chris Patten has done it all. Conservative cabinet minister under Thatcher and Major, our last Governor of British Hong Kong, then back home overseeing policing reform in Northern Ireland, EU Commissioner in Brussels, Chairman of the BBC, Chancellor of Oxford University, you name it, Patten has more chance than anybody of having done it. But his sort of Tory Party is one which increasingly feels c...

This week on The Sports Agents... Does the government actually have a good reason for the £2.5bn from the Chelsea FC sale not helping millions of children worldwide? And was former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich poisoned? (03:30) How do you train a horse for Royal Ascot? A full behind the scenes episode from one of Britain's best yards, which trained the late Queen's horses. (13:30) And what is it...

Sir Keir Starmer has put his cabinet on alert for a possible US attack on Iran. Just 24 hours after insisting Donald Trump had given no indication he was about to “get involved” in the conflict between Israel and Iran, the Prime Minister called a COBRA meeting to review how Britain might respond to a major escalation. Would Starmer be able to say no to Trump? What might Trump ask us to do? And how...

Later on this episode we’re joined by author of 'Sapiens' and 'Nexus' - Yuval Noah Harari - to talk politics and AI. But we begin with war. The speed of the escalation between Iran, Israel, and the US has been staggering. Trump is flirting with entering a war he doesn’t want, with an enemy he may not be able to control. At the heart of this conflict are questions over Iran’s ability to make nuclea...

Louise Casey's report on grooming gangs is incredibly tough reading. She details, over 200 pages, the repeated failings of local authorities, police forces, government departments and indeed the legal system, which treats the victims of the most horrific abuse as somehow culpable. She was tasked to look into the issue following a clamour for a national inquiry earlier this year. Bundled up in thos...

What is Israel's end game in Iran? Does it genuinely believe Iran is making nuclear weapons - or is this about overthrowing the whole regime? Did Trump make Iran more dangerous when he ripped up the diplomatic deal Obama had forged with the country? And will Trump end up dragging America into a brand new Middle East war? We talk to CNN correspondent and Ex Files host, Christiane Amanpour and ask h...

The last two decades have led to the last 24 hours: Israel, going for broke and launching an all out assault on Iran’s nuclear programme. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu claims he is trying to prevent a “nuclear holocaust.” But why now? And in acting in this way will Israel succeed in halting an Iranian nuclear weapon or guarantee it? PLUS Lewis talks at length to Zia Yusuf, the former Reform Chairm...

This week on The Sports Agents... We hear the secrets behind match fixing from convicted match fixer and former professional footballer, Moses Swaibu . With the Lucas Paqueta trial coming to an end, Swaibu tells us how many people it takes to fix a match, what signs you can look out for, and how to put an end to all of this. (01:00) Mark heads down to Soccer Aid to chat to a host of sporting stars...

It's been 3 days since the streets of Ballymena in Northern Ireland went from peaceful protest to full on riots. Since then, 41 police officers have been injured, rioters have hurled petrol bombs, and people have fled their homes as hate-filled mobs set fire to them. As the tensions builds and the protests turn to racist rioting, is this more of what we saw in Southport last summer, or is this spe...

Today, in a marked change of tone, Rachel Reeves laid out her spending review. The Chancellor set out budgets for government departments, boosting budgets for the NHS and Home Office. But the Tories are calling her approach "spend now, tax later". So is this the plan too ambitious? And are tax rises inevitable in the Autumn? And can Reeve's spending review help to rebuild her reputation? We speak...

Keir Starmer has done his first media round since the u-turn on winter fuel payments, attempting to argue that the country’s finances are now stable and also still reeling from Liz Truss mini budget. 9 million pensioners are now eligible for the benefit. Including many well off couples. Is this really the best use of public money when young families are struggling and child poverty is double the l...

Why has Trump sent the National Guard onto the streets of L.A. to deal with protests against his immigration raids? Normally, this would only happen at the invitation of the State's governor. This time, Trump acted without consultation - and the governor, Gavin Newsom, is now threatening to sue him. Is Trump right to say he needs to assert law and order on a few protestors before it gets out of co...

Last night, one of the world's most powerful relationships came to a dramatic end. Over the course of one evening, Elon Musk set fire to his already fracturing partnership with Donald Trump. The bitter feud over Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' spilled out to accusations that the President is in the Epstein files and calls for his impeachment. As the break up plays out on social media, Jon and Lewis a...

This week on The Sports Agents... With the NBA Finals starting, Gabby and Mark chat about Michael Jordan returning to our screens and why the NBA hasn't taken off in the UK with host of The Athletic’s NBA Daily podcast, Dave DuFour . (03:30) Comedian Lee Mack joined us for a laugh ahead of Soccer Aid, spilling the secrets from playing with some of the world's most famous footballers. (09:30) Forme...

The Tory leadership - in the form of shadow chancellor Mel Stride - is setting out to remind voters how dangerous their own Liz Truss was. He's pledged in a speech this morning that their party will never again risk the economy with unfunded tax cuts, and admitted the credibility of the UK economic framework was undermined by her misplaced policies. Why is this coming now? And what does it say abo...

Today, Israel has paused what little aid it was allowing into Gaza - closing all aid distribution centres. It follows 3 deadly incidents at aid centres over the last 3 days, with at least 27 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire on Tuesday. As tensions escalate and the roads leading to aid are becoming 'combat zones', the situation is increasingly desperate. So, can the new aid system in Gaza work?...

Less than 24 hours after the Defence Secretary stood up in the Commons to unveil the government's strategic defence review, months in the making, and it looks like NATO are forcing the MOD to go back to the drawing board. The PM couldn't completely commit to 3% of GDP going on defence spending, despite that being an essential part of the review. And now, according to briefings in the newspapers, N...

The Prime Minister has warned the nation that it needs to be ready for war - in an era of new threats including the “immediate” danger posed by Russia. Is more spending on defence going to alarm or reassure people? And how should he answer those in his own party who insist welfare spending should come before warfare? Later, award-winning actor Eddie Marsan sits down with Emily and Jon, talking abo...

In the Spring on 2018, a man and a young woman were found slipping in and out of consciousness on a public bench in Salisbury, Wiltshire. What would follow was an incredible story of espionage, poisoning, and political vendettas. As the world was gripped by the botched assassination of Sergei Skripal, news rooms and crisis rooms here in the UK were reeling with the implications of the Russian atta...

This week on The Sports Agents... Gabby and Mark get a rare access all areas pass to go behind the scenes at Sale Sharks rugby club, from training to the team meeting to interviews with Lions and England players Tom Curry , Ben Curry and George Ford. (02:45) Four-time Olympic champion sprinter Michael Johnson has launched a new league to make athletics popular outside the Olympics, he tells us how...