The News Agents

Victor Orban has held Hungary in his iron grip for the best part of two decades. He became known as the godfather of populism, overseeing democratic backsliding, media control, and the erosion of rights and laws. Last night, that came to an end. An old, angry, Putin-adjacent man was defeated in a landslide. What does this mean for hard-right EU populism? For Ukraine? And for the Trump touch? Are t...

The US/Iran war is now 45 or so days old. There has been much analysis, counter analysis, fire and brimstone about its causes, its effects and its aims. Iran has long been a security menace, but this war at the moment it began was a war of choice. Today Lewis speaks with Ali Vaez, an Iranian analyst, one of the few people in the West who can truly claim to know about Iran, its people and its bewil...

Rory McIlroy returns to Augusta looking to be the 4th man in history to retain the green jacket. His Masters dinner was reportedly the 'most expensive' ever but it was without Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson ... will he be able to join them both as back-to-back winners instead? Bryson De Chambeau is making his own clubs, Scottie Scheffler has arrived with a newborn son and Justin Rose is hoping to...

Did Israel ever sign up to Trump's ceasefire? Did Trump ever ask Netanyahu about Lebanon? The relentless bombing of the south of the country - strikes on bridges, cities, and civilian infrastructure - has left nearly a thousand injured or dead. So can anyone really claim that there even is a ceasefire in place? Today there are more problems with peace as the Iranian side retracts confirmation that...

We start with the good news - Iran wasn’t obliterated last night as Trump had threatened this time yesterday. So that’s positive. And an 11th hour temporary ceasefire is now in place. Iran has come to the table with a ten point peace plan. Will America accept any of it? Meanwhile Trump’s cronies are pretending he's won a war he may actually have lost. What has the world learnt about Trump, his whi...

It’s becoming increasingly hard to distinguish between mad rant and nuclear threat these days. Trump has gone off again and whilst this time he was expletive free and managed not to mock Islam, he did threaten to destroy an entire country. Why is no one stopping him? And - dare we ask - what comes next? Later, Kanye is blocked from coming to the UK. Are we happy with the state getting involved ? A...

Aden Durde became the first British-born coach to win a Super Bowl when the Seattle Seahawks masterminded a dominant display in California in February. His story is almost unheard of in sport - from coaching grassroots level here in UK - to the very top of the NFL . But what has made him so successful? How did a chance advert in a North London shop spark his career? And as the Premier League 's ma...

It's been another dizzying week of news and, as we head into Easter, Jon and Lewis stocked up on chocolate and headed into the studio for a special Q&A episode - answering your questions and dissecting some of the biggest stories in the headlines. Could Trump's antagonism pull Keir Starmer and Britain back into Europe? Is Tucker Carlson harbouring presidential ambitions? Would losing Congress...

Trump warned his EU allies yesterday he wouldn’t forget their cowardice and refusal to help his Iran war. Today he went full throttle and said he was considering taking America out of NATO altogether. It’s not a new thought for him. But is there enough anger in him now to push it through? Would Congress allow it? And what will the rest of us do if we lose Americas defence? Later the appalling inve...

“GO GET YOUR OWN OIL!" Just as Donald Trump woke up to begin his latest Truth Social assault on his European allies, berating UK and France for not helping him out of the Hormuz Strait, the King announced the state visit next month WOULD go ahead. Are we right to look past Trump to protect the wider relationship? Or does it look pathetic to pay homage to a warmonger? And is King Charles merely fol...

A week ago President Trump was promising peace with Iran. This week he looks set to land marines on Kharg island - with a threat to obliterate it and seize Iranian oil. Even Israel, which has been aggressive in striking targets in Iran, has warned against a ground invasion. And Keir Starmer has restated today that this is not Britain's war. Is Trump finishing a project he first thought about back...

CPAC is the biggest event in the MAGA calendar. Last year, it was a triumphant celebration of the total victory of the America First project. Donald Trump basked in the adulation. Elon Musk wielded a chainsaw and laughed maniacally. This year, something feels different. The President, who has spoken at each conference for the past decade, is suggesting he's staying away this time. The war in Iran...

The fan phenomenon of ‘ Ultras ’ has taken Scotland by storm… TIFO’s, flares and drums - like we’re used to seeing in Europe - popping up everywhere from the Old Firm right down to the 4th division. So can this sub-culture be a force for good in an online sphere dominated by the ‘ manosphere ’ or is it actually just another mask for something more sinister? Gabby & Mark are joined by Andy Hugh...

Donald Trump has urged Iran to “get serious” about reaching an agreement before it is “too late”. It’s nice having a world leader who takes peace so seriously. It’s just a shame Iran no longer believes a word he says. They’ve laughed at his fifteen point plan and insisted the Straits of Hormuz remain operational only to friendly traffic. NATO’s general secretary is trying to encourage member count...

The Met police took the unusual step of publishing a full transcript of a phone call that took place last October between Keir starmers chief of staff Morgan Mcsweeny and the 999 emergency services. In the call Morgan says his phone has been stolen out of his hand by a young man on a bike. He tells them it is a government device but doesn’t explain what his own role is or whether the material on i...

"Unusual activity" was observed on the main US stock market just fifteen minutes before Donald Trump went public with the sudden and unexpected news that he would stop striking Iranian energy sites and talks with Tehran were apparently going well. Trading volumes were up to six times higher than normal - with oil futures seeing a sudden flurry of activity in the moments before Trump broke that new...

It's a funny old world when you have to check with Iran’s state TV before you know if the US president is telling the truth. In a post early this morning - just as the markets opened - Trump declared he’d had productive discussions to end with war with Iran. An hour later Tehran flatly contradicted him. But by then there had already been a market rally putting two trillion dollars back into the sy...

It can be hard to decipher the reasons behind the US-Israeli decision to strike Iran. With a flurry of hyperbolic - often contradictory - statements from the American leadership, the objectives, the progress, and the endgame of this war are not much clearer three weeks into it. But Donald Trump has turned to one man to make the case for this war in a way he could never enunciate. Dr Muhanad Seloom...

It has been like the longest VAR ruling in history… the match finished two months ago, the Africa Cup of Nations trophy was presented, the considerable celebrations and recriminations were complete. And then, just as some last-16 Champions League fixtures were finishing on Tuesday night, a communication dropped from CAF. Senegal had actually forfeited the match by staging their now infamous walk-o...

Looking and sounding rather like a frat boy emerging from a hazing, Pete Hegseth arrived blinking, bombastic and victorious into his press conference this morning to declare complete success in his Epic Fury military campaign in Iran. He was quick to castigate America's ungrateful allies - telling the world that they should be thanking President Trump - and cracked a few jokes about Iranian ships...

Nick Timothy is the Conservative shadow justice secretary. This week, he took issue with Muslims gathering in Trafalgar Square to celebrate the last week of Ramadan and the breaking of the Iftar fast with prayer. He called the gathering an "act of dominance" in a Christian country - right beside a church. Does Kemi Badenoch agree with him? Tommy Robinson certainly does... Later - why has Ofcom got...

Donald Trump's Oval Office ramblings are nothing new. But last night was off the scale. He thrashed out at allies. Castigated his friends. Contradicted himself. Lied about former presidents in a way that was painfully easy to disprove and sounded like a man who’d missed his meds. More significant than any of this is how the rest of the world received it: with a shrug - and very little anxiety or a...

Last night, President Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he was "demanding" allies provided back up in the Strait of Hormuz and send ships to keep the supply of oil flowing. “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response", he warned, "I think it will be very bad for the future of Nato." Keir Starmer’s response this morning was clear - the PM insisting that the UK would not be dragg...

Just over a year ago, Lewis spoke to Gabriel Pogrund and Patrick Maguire, co-authors of the authoritative account of Keir Starmer's rise to power 'Get In: The Inside Story of Labour under Starmer'. Their book shone a light on the weird political inertia at the heart of the Starmer project, often lacking in instinct, allies, and any particular ideological belief. Morgan McSweeney was the driving fo...

Playing in front of a record 80,000 fans at Twickenham , captaining your country in a World Cup final and winning World Rugby’s Player of the Year … all in a day's work for Sophie De Goede . All that despite returning from a huge ACL injury just one month before the World Cup, Canada crowdfunding to get there, and training against teammates' partners to make up the numbers. Sophie joins Gabby and...