Episodes
The recent killing of Mexican drug lord ‘El Mencho’ has caused unrest and cartel violence across the country. Guadalajara - one of Mexico’s host cities in this summer’s World Cup - was one of the worst affected. So what state are we left in, just months away from the tournament? Should fans be worried about the threat of cartel violence? And with ICE and President Trump ever present in the U.S. - should more questions be asked of their hosting? Gabby and Mark are joined by The Athletic’s Adam Crafton.Plus, we look back at the best bits from The Sports Agents this week - do England need a ma...
The Royal family is no stranger to headlines, scandal and existential crisis. But with the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the mood has shifted leaving the future of the Royals more uncertain than ever before. Can the British monarchy be reformed? Or is this the beginning of the end for the Royal family?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
In a dramatic statement to MPs this morning, Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle revealed that he had felt "duty-bound" to report to the police what he had heard on a recent trip to the British Virgin Islands - that Peter Mandelson was due to head to the island. It was that tip off which led to Mandelson being arrested and questioned by the Met on Monday, and an allegation that has been called "baseless" by our former ambassador to the Washington.Why did Mandelson point the finger at a different parliamentarian for his arrest? Why did ugly scenes at PMQs follow? And is it undermining Labour's...
Late yesterday afternoon Peter Mandelson was led from his London house by two plain clothes police officers with very visible body cameras into an unmarked police car. In the bland euphemism that followed a Met statement told us a 72 year old man had been arrested in Camden. Today we discuss what this move does to Starmer, his party, and the wider reputation of New Labour. And we have insight into Mandelson’s own state of mind at 4 am this morning. He has denied all criminal wrong doing. Later, we speak to education secretary Bridget Philipson about the last 24 hours, the last 12 months an...
Trump is not a happy bunny. It all started on Friday when the Supreme Court declared his tariffs - the backbone of his economic policy - illegal. By this morning it was worse. He’s stomping around threatening the Supreme Court with a lower-case, no caps name (seriously) and warning his tariffs policy is about to get "more obnoxious".Has the ruling delivered a fatal blow to his authority? Can leaders around the world see that? And will they respond by toughening up their own stance on trade?Later, Australia confirms it’s ready to drop Andrew from the line of Royal succession. The first of 14...
The tentacles of Epstein’s billionaire paedophile ring crossed continents, age, political persuasion and profession. That much is all clear from the files. But what we are still piecing together is how Epstein made his millions in the first place. Was it endowed? Stolen? Invested? Or blackmail?This Friday, Jon and Emily speak to American journalist, Anand Giridharadas, about the 'Epstein class' and how it was allowed to flourish. And ask whether it still exists?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to represent their countries at the upcoming Winter Paralympics. For the first time since 2014, since Russia’s state-sponsored doping programme and the war with Ukraine, we will see the Russian flag and potentially hear the anthem.Ukrainian officials are boycotting, but FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, has also recently said he wants to lift football’s ban on Russia.This all comes after Ukrainian skeleton athlete, Vladyslav Heraskevych, was disqualified from the Winter Olympics for wearing a helmet showing Ukrainians killed in the war.So, is...
A man in his sixties has been arrested in Norfolk. The mundanity of the police statement belies the monumental significance of what just happened. The eighth in line to the crown, the former Prince Andrew, has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Andrew has denied any wrongdoing.The arrest centres around the alleged exchange of confidential emails between him and Epstein in his role as trade envoy. What happens now to the former royal, and to the family that’s trying so hard to distance themselves from him?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc...
Prince William gave an interview to BBC Radio 1 to talk about men’s mental health and the importance of speaking out. It’s a vital topic - and it affects millions of people.What was noticeable, however, was that in the course of the hour long discussion there was not a single mention of the man at the centre of our national discourse - and of his own family - Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.Is it still sustainable to protect the royals from awkward questions? Or does something need to change in the dialogue between press and monarchy? Is it all over if we treat them like politicians, door steppi...
Today we have an exclusive investigation into the relationship between the Metropolitan Police Royal Protection officers and the royals they served. Did things become too cosy? Were they encouraged to ignore wrong doing? And why did none of them want to work for Prince Andrew?LBC crime correspondent and The Crime Agents host, Andy Hughes, has a story from inside the force.And later, we speak to Virginia Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts about why he thinks the Met needs to move faster and call Andrew in for questioning.The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
The Prime Minister has called for an investigation by the Cabinet Office into the campaign group Labour Together which helped get him into power. The think tank is accused of having dug up dirt on journalists investigating its use of political donations. Who signed off the dark arts smear campaign? And why are we just hearing about it now? Later, is Trump’s attorney General part of that Epstein cover up? Why is she so resistant to getting to the bottom of the crimes it reveals? The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
It has been a dizzying week in UK politics since the publication of the latest of the Epstein files, and the revelations of his links to Westminster. But as the politics took over, it is the voice of survivors that is the centre of this story.This Friday Lewis is joined by Natalie Fleet, Labour MP for Bolsover, to discuss the politics of the last week, finding a voice for the women and victims of grooming, and whether she trusts the Prime Minister to deliver.The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
What a week we’ve had here on The Sports Agents, from penis-gate, to Winter Olympics heartbreak and Premier League managers getting sacked.This weekend sees Scotland host the Auld enemy at Murrayfield as they take on England for the Calcutta Cup.Love might not be in the air north of the border, but there were remnants in the studio - as Gabby welcomed her husband and former Scottish winger Kenny Logan onto the show.England’s Six Nations title charge, mounting pressure on Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, and what does Valentine's Day look like in the Logan household?📩 Got a question? Sen...
Jim Ratcliffe, the part owner of Manchester United, multi-billionaire and Monaco based non dom, has taken the government to task for allowing immigrants to “colonise“ the U.K. Does he realise he’s using a far right trope? Have we become immune to racism in the immigration debate? And why did a successful businessman not even check his facts on the numbers?Later - why has a foreign office civil servant lashed out at the woman primed to become Keir Starmer’s cabinet secretary? Does he know something we don’t or is this the “boys club” mentality in action?The News Agents is brought to you by H...
Keir Starmer came away from a bruising Prime Minister's Questions encounter having to explain why he appeared to make the same mistake twice. No sooner had the fallout from the Mandelson appointment settled (briefly) than the question of why he’d sent another friend of a paedo to the House of Lords.This time it’s his former comms director Matthew Doyle who admitted his error of judgment in campaigning for a sex offender after he was charged by police. What does it tell us about Downing Street, vetting and the House of Lords?Later, is the story of the Murdoch dynasty essentially one of emoti...
What was the moment of maximum jeopardy for the Prime Minister on Monday? And how did he turn it around? Was there more than one plotter? And what brought the party back from the brink?We dissect what we know about the coup that went wrong.Later, why is Congress talking about the perilous state of our monarchy? And is the King doing enough to set the Andrew Mountbatten record straight?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
Another head spinning day in Westminster. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called on Starmer to stand down as Prime Minister, saying "the distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change."Many Cabinet Ministers were quick to jump to Starmer's defence. Some were notably slow to back the Prime Minister. With the drama coming just a day after Starmer lost his right-hand-man, Morgan McSweeney, the question today is whether this is the beginning of the end for Keir Starmer?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
Imagine a loan where the Government sets the terms. It can change the terms at any time, and you have no recourse to alter them yourself.A loan designed so most people never clear it, but pay for it anyway. Not because they failed, but because that’s how it was built.This is the system successive British governments have built. In this episode of The News Agents, we examine the relations of our student loan system and ask how can it be that the UK government has built a system that you might say would make a loan shark blush? The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.c...
The Winter Olympics are here! What sport are we all going to pretend to be an expert at? Curling maybe? Today Gabby and Mark are joined by one of Great Britain’s biggest medal hopes, freestyle skier Kirsty Muir.She started skiing at 3 years old on the dry slopes of Scotland - imagine the carpet burn doing flips on that surface! Her nan can’t even watch when she does the huge tricks. This year she’s already won gold at the X Games and her third World Cup title. So can she win gold in Italy?Plus, we catch you up on the best bits from The Sports Agents this week, from Carlos Alcaraz's historic...
Keir Starmer apologised this morning for appointing Peter Mandelson as Britain's ambassador to the US. He said he should never have believed "the lies" of Mandelson.He says he understands the "anger and frustration" of Labour MPs. But is he in a position to win back the support of his own party? How close is he to the brink? And - if Mandelson's relationship with Epstein was widely known at the time of his appointment - what is the PM actually apologising for?One of those concerned Labour MPs, Brian Leishman, tells us that Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney needs to leave Downing Str...
Keir Starmer says Peter Mandelson "lied repeatedly" about the extent of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and said that he regrets appointing the Labour Peer as US ambassador in 2024. But with the relationship between the men well known, questions about the Prime Minister's political judgement are looming. Could this be the moment that brings down the Prime Minister?Later, Sir Brian Leveson on why the courts system faces potential collapse without major reform - and the calls to resurrect his investigations into phone hacking and the media.The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK -...
Things are moving at quite a pace these days, but at the time of writing Peter Mandelson has relinquished his peerage and the Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Office to hand over Mandelson's emails to the police. The Republican campaign group has also called on the police to investigate Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. Will any of this lead anywhere? Or is it all just noise? And why have the Clinton’s now decided to testify before Congress on what they knew about Jefrey Epstein?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
Peter Mandelson has resigned from the Labour party and insists he "doesn’t recall" receiving tens of thousands of pounds from Jeffrey Epstein but has now called for "an investigation...by me“ to check.What was he doing lobbying for the paedophile billionaire from the heart of government? And what retribution if any should he now face? Keir Starmer has called for his peerage to be removed. But is Keir the only person who can actually make it happen?Later we hear from tax expert Dan Neidle on whether criminal charges could be brought. And what do the 3 million strong Epstein files tell us mor...
Keir Starmer is historically unpopular. When he entered Downing Street, his approval rating stood around +10%. Now? The Prime Minister languishes around -50%. It's the steepest drop in support for any governing party still in its infancy. 8 out of 10 people say that Britain is getting worse as a place to live under Labour's watch. One poll conducted towards the end of last year suggested that even Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had more public confidence than Keir Starmer's government. What on earth is going on? What explains such an instant - and decisive - turn in public mood away from a part...
You’ve likely seen the viral video of Coco Gauff smashing her racket in a corridor at the Australian Open. She tried to go somewhere without cameras and failed. Now she's complaining the only private place is the locker room, Novak Djokovic says it's like "big brother", Iga Swiatek thinks they're "animals in a zoo". Content is king but at what cost to player privacy? Isn’t this the kind of access we all wanted to drive sports broadcasting forward and grow the sport? The bigger the sport - the more financial reward for players, so why complain? Or are we in danger of forgetting they’re only ...
The election offices of Fulton County were raided by FBI agents yesterday morning. Fulton, in the state of Georgia, was at the heart of Donald Trump's claims six years ago that he’d won the 2020 election (he didn’t). Why are ballot boxes of archived votes now being removed from the premises? Is this still about a six years ago old grudge? Or does it presage Trump's plan for the November midterm elections? We speak to the Commissioner on the premises who watched the action unfold before her eyes.Later - offensive language warning - the Reform councillor on the Redcar ballot - who got through...
Kemi Badenoch has told her party not to get in her way as she steers it further to the Right. Is this the correct assessment of what the Conservatives needs to attract voters back? Or is she way off?Later, Trump has threatened Iran with his big beautiful armada. Does he have any concern for the protestors getting killed in their tens of thousands thousands? Or is this all about US interests?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
Donald Trump's tone on Minneapolis has changed in the last 24 hours. He’s now having conciliatory meetings and phone calls with State Governor Tim Walz and the city's Mayor Jacob Frey.And it looks like he’s removed his Border Commander Gregory Bovino and put him out to pasture in California. What's behind the change of heart? Was it the polls? The murder of American citizens? Or the fact that his administration’s account of the killings has been flatly caught out by camera evidence. Is his ICE policy in meltdown? Or just on hold?Later - how extremism is climbing in the UK pushed by social m...
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has renounced the party that gave her power, and defected to Reform. She's telling us today that Britain is broken and “she” (Britain, not Suella) was “suffering”.Are Reform better off with her? Are the Tories better off without her? And has it been enough of a distraction from the Andy Burnham saga to give Keir Starmer a lucky break?Later, is Trump panicking about his ICE strategy after the latest murder of a US citizen on the streets of Minneapolis?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
In Minneapolis right now, there are more ICE and border patrol agents than there are police officers. The national guard - the army - is on standby to deploy to the city.Everybody in the city has a story about being targeted by ICE. Many now carry passports on them when they leave the house. If they are fortunate enough not to have been stopped themselves, they will know a neighbour, a friend, a colleague or a relative. Some Minnesotans literally do not know where their family have been taken.State senators have told The News Agents there is "a war against the State" being waged by the fede...