Shadow Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, grew up in poverty with his single mother on an east London council estate. But if Labour win the next election, he's nailed on to be in the cabinet. His life story - which includes Christine Keeler, finding his feet at Cambridge and coming out as gay - is something he's kept relatively quiet about until the publication of his memoir: One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up. In this special edition of The News Agents, Lewis speaks to the Labour MP for Ilford North...
Jul 14, 2023•37 min
The world's worst kept secret was revealed last night when Huw Edwards was named as the BBC presenter at the centre of the media storm. In an emotional statement, his wife revealed he was in hospital and in a bad way. The Sun decided not to print further allegations. The BBC's own news teams went ahead with new breaking stories. Where do we draw the line between HR complaints and investigative reporting? Former editor of The Sun, David Yelland, is back with us - he asks if the BBC understand the...
Jul 13, 2023•37 min
'I love deadlines ... I love the whooshing sound they make when they go by.' Monday 4pm was the cut off for Boris Johnson to hand over his phone and Whatsapp messages to the Covid Inquiry. 48 hours later that phone still hasn't reached its end destination. Johnson says he's cooperating. The phone is with his lawyers. But the inquiry is waiting... Meanwhile the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has delivered a shot across the bows to his old boss accusing those who criticise the civil service of 'self...
Jul 12, 2023•28 min
Another day of stories about a high profile BBC presenter at the centre of a sex scandal and and still no name. Come 4pm, BBC News announced a second young person had come forward with a complaint about the same presenter. We explore how privacy laws work in the media, when social media plays such a huge role - is this the Wild West when it comes to keeping a name out of the public domain?
Jul 11, 2023•41 min
Emily and Jon host a new weekly podcast; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you. Episodes are available every Tuesday exclusively on Global Player and all other platforms every Wednesday. Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here on Global Player.
Jul 11, 2023•1 min
The front pages proclaim just one story in town: the sex photos that were allegedly sold by an underage crack addict to a top BBC presenter. But look a little deeper, and there may be more to this story than meets the eye. What do we know about the money that's changed hands? What does it tell us about the relationship between The Sun newspaper and the BBC? And where is the line between privacy and transparency? Today we talk to former editor of The Sun, David Yelland, who tells us whether he wo...
Jul 10, 2023•40 min
Mark Zuckerberg launched his new platform, Threads, this week. It's designed to knock Twitter - owned Elon Musk - off of its perch. This story is a parable of our age. Men of unbelievable wealth and unbelievable power locking battle. Whoever wins, if anyone wins, it will have reverberations on our culture, on our politics, on the tapestry of our lives. And Lewis also talks to the SNP leader for Westminster, Stephen Flynn MP, about his political make-up.
Jul 07, 2023•40 min
The prospect of another by-election looms after Parliament's standards committee recommended an eight-week suspension of former Conservative whip, Chris Pincher. If the name is familiar, it’s because he was arguably the one who sealed the fate of Boris Johnson and led ultimately to his resignation. Today we discuss the ramifications of the sexual assault and we look at Keir Starmer's pledge to give working class kids better oracy skills.
Jul 06, 2023•39 min
Exclusive footage of Boris Johnson from the One Decision Podcast has been shared with The News Agents. He was facing questions from hosts Julia Macfarlane and Richard Dearlove about Ukraine, democracy and global security. Towards the end, Julia asked him about his own response to British democracy - his refusal to accept the findings of the 'kangaroo court' privileges committee into his wrongdoing. She also asked him about Chris Pincher - the deputy chief whip who resigned from government over s...
Jul 05, 2023•45 min
The SNP's deputy leader in Westminster, Mhairi Black MP, joins us exclusively in News Agents HQ to announce she's stepping down at the next election. We discuss the "toxic" culture that's led to Black - the youngest MP in 350 years when she was elected in 2015 - to leave parliament, and we ask why so many other MPs won't be standing again.
Jul 04, 2023•44 min
If you landed in this country and wondered what its problems were you might see the long queues for the health services, the high inflation, the shortage of workers to fill public sector jobs and the difficulties the country has with its supply chains. The New Conservatives are a new fringe Conservative group trying to solve a different problem. They think we need to cut immigration numbers by 400k, stop foreign workers visas, and offer the jobs (that we can't currently fill) to British workers....
Jul 03, 2023•42 min
Rishi Sunak and now former government minister Lord Zac Goldsmith have a war of words over why Goldsmith resigned this morning. Sunak says its because of the latest Privileges Committee report. Goldsmith says it's because Sunak and his government are not serious about climate change. It comes in a week where it's been announced that this June has been the hottest ever, and the head of the Climate Change Committee, Lord Deben, questions how serious the Conservative government are about sticking t...
Jun 30, 2023•51 min
The Court of Appeal thwarts Home Secretary Suella Braverman's eye-wateringly expensive Rwanda plan (for now) - cue a government appeal and derision and fury from a number of Tory MPs, some of whom have also been named in the latest Privileges Committee report for their choice language on Twitter and other social media platforms in response to the findings against Boris Johnson a couple of weeks ago. And why are there riots on the streets of Paris? We talk to writer Nabila Ramdani who's reporting...
Jun 29, 2023•34 min
As we record, the government is on standby in case Thames Water collapses. The country's largest water company has £14billion of debt, and is rudderless after the exit of their chief executive. It's prompting many to ask questions about privitisation more widely. How did bills get so high, as quality got so bad? That's before you even get on to the shit in the sea. We ask what we've learnt about taking essential industries out of public control. And, we discuss football, national identity, brexi...
Jun 28, 2023•37 min
Matt Hancock appeared before the Covid inquiry to offer a profound apology. He threw the government pandemic strategy under a bus with his assessment that the covid strategy had been “completely wrong“. Two years ago our gratitude to health workers knew no bounds. This week the harsh reality set in: as the PM confirmed he wouldn’t be able to meet the public pay review recommendations for wage rises. What does that say about our relationship with the NHS? And we talk to actor Tom Hollander curren...
Jun 27, 2023•36 min
On Saturday morning it looked like we might see the collapse of one of the world's longest standing dictators, Vladimir Putin. By Monday things were suspiciously calm, and the uprising against him - by his own former chef - was being flat out denied. So what just happened in Russia? Was it the start of a revolution? Or a massive mistake? Will this weaken Putin's grip or strengthen his hand? And what to make of the mercenary leader - Prigozhin- who is literally in it for the money? We talk war ta...
Jun 26, 2023•37 min
This week, the world has been captivated ( and wrapped up in hope) by the tragedy of the five people who've died in an attempt to visit the wreck of the Titanic. Jon sits in for Lewis this week and asks whether extreme tourism is going too far - whether we should push the boundaries of exploration (even if at potential great cost to others) and why the public; and the media, have been transfixed by the story. And we speak to Peter Kyle, Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, on the anniversary of Br...
Jun 23, 2023•33 min
For the thirteenth time in a row interest rates have gone up. They’re now at 5% - the highest level since 2008. What is the knock on effect for all of us paying mortgages? Why are we struggling so much more than other countries to bring down inflation? And what will the political ramifications to all this be - will it make it easier for Labour to win an election - or will people rally to their government at a time of crisis and prefer the devil they know, to the devil they don't?...
Jun 22, 2023•35 min
The world is watching a vessel we cant even find. Newsrooms are counting down the hours of oxygen they think are left in the Titan capsule. International rescue teams are putting resources and lives at risk to bring back the missing five. What drives our obssession with this story? And how comfortably does it sit when we know thousands of people die at sea every year. We hear from a former NASA Astronaut and accident investigator. We also talk to Spencer Matthews - his brother Michael died climb...
Jun 21, 2023•38 min
We have now learnt that just seven MPs supported Boris Johnson in last night's vote in parliament. But 235 of his colleagues abstained from it all together. Why was this so hard for the governing party? What does this tell us about the relationship between Rishi Sunak and his predecessor? And why was Theresa May the only former PM to make the case for its importance? We also ask the Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley how many criminals he believes are still working within the police force - and wh...
Jun 20, 2023•38 min
The Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has just confirmed to The News Agents that the Met are looking at the video evidence of a party during lockdown - (thank you Sunday Mirror) with a view to opening another investigation. We have the full exchange on today's episode - and hear his views on politicians telling the Met how to do their jobs. Suella Braverman just suggested she'd fully support the Met 'ramping up stop and search'. Hmmm. We also ask why Rishi Sunak is trying to be anywhere else but ...
Jun 19, 2023•34 min
Boris Johnson has dominated the headlines this week. But, peek behind the bluster and noise, and the country has far bigger fish to fry. The question is whether Rishi Sunak's government, his five point plan, is more sashimi than seared. Boris Johnson distracts everybody. He's hard to avoid. But there's a cost- we ignore what is really driving our politics and voters. The truth is, when you dig down into the problems Rishi Sunak himself identified, many are worsening. In this episode, we go beyon...
Jun 16, 2023•45 min
Boris Johnson repeatedly knowingly misled the House of Commons, in other words he repeatedly lied. These are the conclusions and findings of Parliament's Privileges Committee, established unanimously by MPs to investigate claims Johnson knowingly misled them over partygate, thereby breaking rule no 1 of the British constitution: never *ever* lie to the Commons. It's a huge political day and although Johnson has already fled Parliament by resigning, the consequences ...
Jun 15, 2023•58 min
After the small matter of his federal indictment, Trump went back to doing what he does best - fundraising and shouting about witch hunts and pretending to be a political prisoner of sorts. Jon is in Miami, James Comey - the former FBI Director who created such a stir in the 2016 presidential election with his reinvestigation into Hillary Clinton - is in News Agents HQ. And Lewis has been catching up with PMQs and Peerages.
Jun 14, 2023•46 min
Welcome to The News Agents USA - a new weekly podcast hosted by Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel. Episodes are available every Tuesday on Global Player and on all other platforms from Wednesday.
Jun 13, 2023•46 sec
The News Agents are on the move this week. Jon is in Miami, where Donald Trump is due to be formally arraigned by a federal court. The man in the golfing gear brings us the latest from Florida and speaks to the legion of Mega die hards who have assembled outside the courthouse. Meanwhile, Lewis has been on his own tour of the central belt of Scotland, where the SNP are still reeling from the shock arrest of former leader and First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. He speaks to SNP MSP James Dornan and ...
Jun 13, 2023•39 min
How should an incumbent handle their big beast predecessor? Rishi Sunak discovered the satisfaction of a drive by shooting - accusing Boris Johnson of asking him to break the rules. Later on in the day, Johnson told LBC that Sunak's claims were "rubbish". In Scotland, Humza Yousaf has meanwhile refused to suspend his SNP mentor Nicola Sturgeon - arrested and released without charge over the weekend. What does this behaviour tell us about the way the parties are handing scandal in their midst? We...
Jun 12, 2023•45 min
Boris Johnson quits as an MP after being handed the findings of the Privileges Committee report into whether he knowingly misled parliament. In this emergency episode, Lewis (yes, him again), Emily and Jon pick apart this extraordinary day in UK politics.
Jun 09, 2023•32 min
Boris Johnson's long-awaited resignation honours list has been published. It means some of his closest aides throughout the partygate scandal will sit in the House of Lords for life, and his list also honours former cabinet ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel. Just minutes before the list came out, Nadine Dorries - the former culture secretary and a close ally of Boris Johnson - quit as an MP with immediate effect, triggering a by-election in her Mid-Bedfordshire seat, hours after she said...
Jun 09, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Rishi Sunak has reportedly waved through Boris Johnson's controversial and much-talked about honours list. Why? And what does this mean at the slightly grubbier end of British politics. Caroline Lucas is to step down from Parliament after 13 years of flying the Green Party flag. Is the beginning of a rebirth in left-wing politics, or is it more like the beginning of the end? And how does the newspaper industry cover Prince Harry when they’re part of the trial?
Jun 08, 2023•37 min
