The News Agents

Has Putin lost control?

26 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 s...

The Titan submersible: when is tourism too extreme?

23 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

Who's to blame for this mortgage pain?

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Lost at sea - why are we obsessed with the sunken sub?

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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. Internatio...

Will Rishi regret running from the vote?

20 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 tog...

Why are Tories bottling the 'Partygate' vote?

19 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 -...

Why Boris is the least of Rishi's problems

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

The many lies of Boris Johnson

15 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson repeatedly knowingly misled the House of Commons, in other words he repeatedly lied.These are the conclusions and findings of Parliament...

In prison and running for President - is this the future for Trump?

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After the small matter of his federal indictment, Trump went back to doing what he does best - fundraising and shouting about witch hunts and pretendi...

The News Agents USA - Trailer - The News Agents USA

13 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The Fury of Trump (and Nadine Dorries)

13 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 golf...

Sunak v Johnson: it's war

12 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How should an incumbent handle their big beast predecessor? Rishi Sunak discovered the satisfaction of a drive by shooting - accusing Boris Johnson of...

EMERGENCY EPISODE: Boris Johnson Quits Parliament

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson quits as an MP after being handed the findings of the Privileges Committee report into whether he knowingly misled parliament.In this em...

Labour's disappearing £28bn... and Nadine resigns

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson's long-awaited resignation honours list has been published. It means some of his closest aides throughout the partygate scandal will sit...

Lords, Ladies, and Boris Johnson's honour

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak has reportedly waved through Boris Johnson's controversial and much-talked about honours list. Why? And what does this mean at the slightl...

Saudi Arabia: The Golf State?

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Golf as we know it has just been sold, kind of wholesale, to Saudi Arabia. The gulf state is acquiring lots of high end sports brands right now. And i...

Prince Harry takes the stand

06 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Prince Harry has blamed the tabloid press for the rift with his brother, the break up of former relationships and what he describes as a narrowing cir...

Why did Rishi Sunak donate $3m to a private school in California?

05 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

MPs are allowed to donate however much they wish of their private money to whomever they chose. In 2018, as per The Mirror, when Rishi Sunak was ju...

Why is Rishi Sunak taking the Covid inquiry to court?

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The government has taken the Covid inquiry, that it set up and poured so much public and private faith in, to court. What the f•••?!We try to ma...

What's up with Boris Johnson's WhatsApps?

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson has, finally, and perhaps reluctantly, handed over a ton of WhatsApp messages between him and others while he was PM at the height of th...

Keir Starmer: born again Brexiteer?

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer's column on Wednesday morning in right-wing tabloid newspaper The Express is another step in the Labour leader's transformation from all ...

The Phillip Schofield scandal and the future of ITV

30 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It started with a tabloid story that a male and female presenter on daytime TV were no longer getting on. Big deal. It was accompanied by darker rumou...

Sadiq Khan on Boris, Brexit and his PTSD

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

London Mayor Sadiq Khan joins Lewis Goodall on The News Agents in a wide-ranging interview shedding light on working with Boris Johnson, Theresa May a...

Elon Musk and the man who wants to take on Trump

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We'll be looking at sex, lies and Downing Street later in this episode with a writer who worked in Number10 - and we'll be asking if politicians REALL...

Partygate: Boris Johnson breaks the rules (again)

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Does it matter if Boris Johnson broke more Covid rules by inviting guests to his country home, Chequers, when the rest of the country was in lockdown?...

How Johnson's government pressured the Premier League into the Saudi takeover

23 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Celebrations at Newcastle United as they qualify for the Champions League. It's a success story for the club, team and fans - but it's all been helpe...

Speedy Suella: How long can she last?

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Did Home Secretary Suella Braverman break the ministerial code by asking civil servants to help her avoid a public speed awareness course?She insists ...

Why can't politicians just say sorry?

19 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Matt Hancock visited News Agents HQ yesterday, he repeatedly refused to answer questions about decisions he made in government during the pandemi...

Exclusive: Matt Hancock on NatCon, Covid, WhatsApps and “being human”

18 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matt Hancock, this afternoon, walked into The News Agents bunker for the first time. In this full, unedited interview, he tells us what he makes of th...

Why is Liz Truss provoking China?

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The MP for South West Norfolk has made a speech in Taiwan urging the UK Government to treat China as a security threat. She's the first former PM to v...

NatCon: fruitcakes, fringe, or future of the Tory Party?

16 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today we take you behind the scenes at Nat Con: the Conservative-ish conference taking place in London this week. It's a meeting of hard Brexiteers, n...

Alastair Campbell on war, w**kers and winning elections

15 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A warning: explicit language from the very start of the episode. Alastair Campbell meets the The News Agents in the ultimate podcast mash up. We ask h...

Ukraine: a war without end?

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's Eurovision weekend. But the biggest party in Europe will not take place in Ukraine -last year’s victor - but in Liverpool. This episode is not ...

Met corruption and Britain’s biggest unsolved crime

11 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Daniel Morgan, a young private investigator, was murdered in a carpark in 1987. His killer has never been brought to justice. Three and a half decades...

President Trump: Sexual abuser

10 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Is America prepared to elect a president found to have sexually abused a woman in a department store? A New York civil court took just three hours to ...

Will the Tories move even further to the right?

09 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Forget those apocalyptic predictions of a thousand lost Conservative council seats. In the end the losses totalled 1,063. Every Conservative strategis...

Elections 2023: Are the Tories doomed?

05 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The results are in. And it was a complete drubbing for Rishi Sunak’s Tories. His first big electoral test and it can only go down as one massive fai...

The US Ambassador on Biden, Harry and Meghan & Sunak vs Truss

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

America's First Lady has just flown in for the King's coronation - without her husband the President. Donald Trump calls it 'disgraceful'. But today o...

Suella's new powers to curb protest

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

New laws to curb the power of protest have been pushed through parliament - just days before the Coronation. Penalties include a 12 month prison sent...

Will the real Keir Starmer please stand up

02 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer has admitted the Labour party will 'move on' from his original commitment to abandon tuition fees. What does that mean? Is there a soluti...

Richard Sharp resigns: The Boris loan and the BBC

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Richard Sharp - the embattled, embroiled BBC Chairman has resigned after a report by The Commissioner for Public Appointments found a perceived confli...

Why is it becoming harder for you to vote?

27 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time ever, voter ID will be required at the polling stations next week for the May local council elections in England. It may not seem l...

The rental crisis - no end in sight?

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The renting crisis in Britain is unsustainable. More than sixty percent of private renters faced a rent rise last year - and they're already spending ...

Prince Harry V Rupert Murdoch

25 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As Prince Harry brings his case against the News Group Newspapers (Murdoch) at the High Court, his lawyers have made an astonishing allegation: that h...

The Brits trapped in Sudan's warzone

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Stay indoors!We continue to advise all British nationals in Sudan to stay indoors wherever possible. We recognise circumstances will vary in different...

Raab Resigns

21 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has resigned. The inquiry into whether he bullied staff has finally been published. Its conclusion? Raab is a bully...

Queen Camilla's son on The News Agents

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Parker Bowles is a food writer and critic with strong views on coronation chicken, UK farming and... of course, quiche. His mum is about to be cro...

Fox News Lies - and Murdoch pays millions

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is your midweek episode of Succession. Because Rupert Murdoch - aka Logan Roy - has shelled out nearly 800 million dollars to settle a defamatio...

SNP - it's getting worse

18 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Another high profile arrest in the SNP. This time, Party Treasurer Colin Beattie - who was called in for questioning in the inquiry into party finance...

Is horse racing becoming the new bullfighting?

17 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Animal Rights Protestors are being blamed for the death of a racehorse at the Grand National this weekend after they forced a delay which - trainers s...

Abortion in America: Illegal by stealth?

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you thought the overturning of Roe v Wade- the constitutional right to an abortion in the United States was the end of it in 2022, then 2023 has ot...

Liz Truss, the deep state and China

13 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

China's President Xi Jinping has told his troops they should be ready for real combat. So now we are wondering if Taiwan will be the next Ukraine. It ...

"I’m Joe Biden and I’m Irish"

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've been told off-record that Joe Biden might be Irish. Obviously, unattributable. So keep it under your hat. He's the latest in a long line of US P...

Are Labour's attack ads 'gutter politics'?

11 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Labour’s Easter weekend attack ads about the Conservatives and Rishi Sunak specifically have been called 'politics of the gutter' by, awkwardly, Lab...

Why are the police searching Nicola Sturgeon's house?

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There are two questions that accompany any political scandal. What did you know and when did you know it? After questioning Nicola Sturgeon's husband ...

The People v Donald Trump - Part 2: Trump in the Dock

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When we left you Trump was on the cusp of entering the Manhattan criminal court as an arrested man. That didn't go well.A door was flung shut in his f...

The People v Donald Trump - Part 1

04 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump will today become the first US president to appear in court on criminal charges. He arrived in NYC late yesterday and will shortly be hea...

Child grooming, 'political correctness' and dog whistle politics

03 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak has pledged to end the 'political correctness' that stops police arresting child sex abusers from ethnic minority backgrounds. The scandal...

Is Donald Trump going to jail?

31 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time in American history a former president has been indicted (charged) with a criminal offence. Donald Trump will appear in a New York...

Britain's Rotten Meat Scandal

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ten years on from the horse meat crisis, a new scandal has engulfed almost the entire food retail sector. Huge quantities of foreign pork - sometimes...

The Government's Ship Idea

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS TO BE HOUSED ON LUXURY CRUISE SHIP screamed the headline in the Daily Express. That was in February of 2016. And it never happen...

Will Corbyn get his revenge?

28 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jeremy Corbyn will not be allowed to stand for Labour at the next election. That’s despite the fact he’s been an MP in Islington North since 1983 ...

Led by Bibi, Led by Humza & Led By Donkeys

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

More mass protests in the streets- this time in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the rest of Israel.Millions of Israelis believe their democracy to be in jeopa...

Why is Paris burning?

24 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode of The News Agents, Lewis travels to Paris to find out why the City of Lights is on fire. Amidst the tear gas, the riot police...

Our billionaire PM and his £1 million tax bill

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer spent the morning in Stoke-on-Trent. Not WOKE-on-Trent, as one hilarious Tory Red-wall-er reminded him. But attempts to fire up the cultu...

Boris Johnson Swears He's Telling the Truth

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson told the parliamentary inquiry that he HAD misled parliament, but he hadn't meant to. His repeated defence was that he hadn't been advis...

The (sexist, racist, homophobic) Met Police

21 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Met Police - so says the explosive Casey Review released today - is a bullying boys club in which predators flourish. Rape evidence is thrown out ...

Can Boris Johnson defend the indefensible?

20 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson has submitted evidence to the Privileges Committee which will be judging whether he set out to mislead the House of Commons over Partyga...

Is the SNP falling apart?

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After nearly a decade of stability spearheaded by Nicola Sturgeon, why do the SNP look like they're imploding? The three candidates after her job are ...

Jeremy Hunt on junior doctors, Brexit and his Budget

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt finished his early morning media round and then came for a coffee with the News Agents. We asked how many doctors would re-...

The Budget: Will the rich get richer?

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's bombshell rabbit (to mix a metaphor) was the Chancellor's promise to abolish the lifetime allowance on pensions.If you're super-rich it's time...

Suella's asylum plan - why dozens of Tory MPs aren't backing it.

14 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last night more than forty Conservative MPs refused to back Suella's new plan for immigration. One- the former Lord Chancellor - called it 'ineffectiv...

The BBC vs. Lineker: They think it’s all over ... it isn’t

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gary Lineker will be back on air this weekend. And BBC Director General Tim Davie has apologised to viewers for the weekend's schedule disruptions. Th...

The BBC takes Gary Lineker off air

10 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The BBC have told Gary Lineker he won't be presenting Match of the Day on Saturday night. Emily, Jon and Lewis bring you their immediate reaction.Prot...

Will Macron block Rishi's small boats plan?

09 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The coveted Crimes against the English Language award goes to Penny Mordaunt today for mangling almost a dozen football analogies into one short Commo...

Should Gary Lineker be free to speak his mind?

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gary Lineker has responded to the furore surrounding his tweet on the government's asylum policy with the promise to 'keep speaking for those with no ...

Is Suella prepared to break international law?

07 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Tories have produced - at last count - over forty different failed policies to stop channel crossings. Today, Suella Braverman came up with the la...

The Johnson Family Honours List

06 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Is Boris Johnson’s dad going to receive a knighthood? Is anyone else in the Johnson family? We speak to Rachel Johnson who opens up about family rel...

Isabel Oakeshott: Why I did it

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We talk to the woman who has started a war with Matt Hancock- journalist Isabel Oakeshott. He was her source and she turned on him by taking 100,000 o...

Will we ever escape Boris Johnson?

02 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson is back. But then again, he never really went away. In a speech today at a soft power forum, he takes a swing at Rishi Sunak and his Win...

Inside Matt Hancock's WhatsApps

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Telegraph have released a slew of Matt Hancock's Whatsapp messages from when he was Health Secretary, at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic.Lewis...

Has Rishi sunk Boris?

28 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We said yesterday that Rishi Sunak had taken a massive gamble announcing a new deal for Northern Ireland without having necessarily laid the political...

Sunak's gamble

27 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For Northern Ireland Protocol, now read Windsor Framework. A beaming Rishi Sunak and European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, have signed ...

Bernie Sanders on Biden, Corbyn, and billionaires

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

U.S. Senator, Chair of the Budget Committee and TikTok sensation Bernie Sanders joins Lewis and Jon in the studio. He spoke about Joe Biden’s presid...

Let Them Eat Turnips

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The environment and food secretary has suggested that - faced with a tomato shortage - people should just eat turnips instead. It’s all a bit Marie ...

Shamima Begum: should we forgive the IS bride?

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Most fifteen year olds do stupid things. Rarely do they join a terrorist organisation in Syria. But today. Shamima Begum - the ISIS bride - lost her a...

Putin, the Protocol and the Press

21 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There is too much news today. Frankly. Putin tried to convince a domestic audience that NATO started the war in Ukraine, Rishi Sunak tried to face dow...

What is Boris Johnson up to?

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson has been slapped down by a senior Conservative for his interventions on Rishi Sunak's latest Brexit deal over Northern Ireland. Is the f...

Is the Union bouncing back?

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak has been in Belfast, hoping he can be the Prime Minister to finally answer the question on the Northern Ireland Protocol. Can he break Bre...

Nicola Bulley: Have the police said too much?

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lancashire Police have come under-fire for the revelations they made overnight about the missing mother Nicola Bulley who's not been seen for nearly t...

Sturgeon resigns

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sturgeon is stepping down as Scotland's First Minister. Jeremy Corbyn is banned from standing as a Labour MP. If there’s a broad News Agents take aw...

Gender Identity, Children and the NHS

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The only NHS service in England to offer gender identity services to children announced it would be closing down last year - after years of whistleblo...

Why is Joe Biden shooting down UFOs?

13 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the airspace, another one gets shot down. What are these unidentified flying objects? Are they *just...

Is it now too expensive to have kids?

10 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Childcare in Britain is broken and yet it is almost never talked about. Why? In this episode, Lewis dissects why Labour thinks this could be the key t...

Turkey-Syria earthquakes: How do we aid people under authoritarian regimes?

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Authoritarian regimes in both Syria and Turkey make a devastating situation even more complicated. How do we get aid in to help quake victims when the...

Zelenskyy wants wings: Will Rishi grant his request for fighter jets?

08 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

With a mere couple of hours notice that Ukraine's President Zelensky was in town, The News Agents dropped everything to get to Westminster Hall to hea...

High Drama, Low Politics: James Norton joins the cast

07 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak has had his first proper reshuffle (excluding the one he did as soon as he started).What do the changes tell us about the priorities of th...

All (Dis) Quiet on the Westminster Front

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Liz Truss is back. And oh. So are those pauses. She tells Spectator TV she doesn't want to be PM again but she does want to pro...

Jeremy Corbyn on strikes, Starmer and anti-Semitism

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jeremy Corbyn’s time as Labour leader was one of the most extraordinary periods of modern politics. For a while he seemed like he’d moved the post...

The Return of Liz Truss?!

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Little birdies have told The News Agents we can shortly expect Liz Truss to re-emerge onto the political scene. She's going to reiterate her ideology ...